May 2018 – The Opinator

Sem’s 2018 Dance Marathon

Posted on May 6, 2018 by Ivy Miller

Sem’s 2018 Dance Marathon

: Students pose for a picture to commemorate their achievements. (Photo Courtesy of Wyoming Seminary Facebook)

: Students create a tunnel for Emma Straub to run through up onto stage. (Photo Courtesy of Alice Jawon Kang ‘19)

: Members of the Sem DM Committees hold up the number reveal.

: Molly Leahy ‘19 and Lillie Hornung ‘18 lead students in learning part of the Morale Dance (Photo Courtesy of Molly Leahy ‘19)

: Alexis Greene ‘21, Ava Bufalino ‘21, Shawna Casey ‘21, Quinn Medico ‘21, and Grace Aiello ‘21 pose with Rylee Bond. (Photo Courtesy of Grace Aiello ‘21)

By Reese Butcher ’20

Sem Dance Marathon is well-known and well-celebrated event. With around 300 kids turning up this year and over $31,000 raised, participants and coordinators alike were ecstatic at this record-breaking high. Over the last 7 years, Sem DM has raised over $135,000 all to be donated to the Janet Weis Children’s Miracle Network.

To kick off the week before Sem DM, there was an assembly complete with all you need to know before attending your first DM, a faculty flash mob during Chapel, and Tunes for Tots at lunch all week where you could request a song for $.50 or skip the current song for a $1. Next, Dance for a Donut and Society Day competitions brought some fun competitiveness to light where you could donate a minimum of a dollar to your society for points and dance to get a free donut. Finally, after school on Friday, there was a dunk tank where you could sink faculty members, or even students, for $1 or more depending on how close you wanted to be.

All of this was put together by a newly formed committee. Even though Sem DM has been going on for a while, this committee had its first (and successful) year due to DM normally being a government-run event. By pulling the organization and execution out of the Student Government, the hope was that more people could get involved and could be focused more specifically on one task like morale or promotion. Based on the numbers and fun had, this will definitely continue to be the new style of running Sem DM.

The event itself is jam-packed of activities, like Lip Sync Battles, Inflatable Bull (Shark) Riding, and the Morale Dance, but the real stars of the show are the miracle kids. This year, three kids came back to share their stories and have fun. Rylee Bond, Emma Shaffer, and Emma Straub each had time on stage where all people in attendance attentively listened as they each shared their stories and then lead an activity like Simon Says. Afterwards, the kids were free to go around and take pictures, play games, and dance, and there were always students ready to make their night the best it could be.

To cap off the already amazing night, students gathered around to bid on a chance to pie a faculty member in the face and then witness the grand reveal of how much money was raised. Ten students walked out on stage, all holding posters turned towards them so one wouldn’t be able to see the numbers. One by one, the numbers were revealed, 6… 5… dot(.)… 3… and so on. Cheers erupted as $21,403.56 was displayed. But wait, that wasn’t right. The students were then told there was a mistake and the number 2 needed to switch with 3 and reveal the true amount raised ($31, 402.58). Students cheered even louder and tears of joy were shed. To finally end the night. students went to a rave to celebrate all the money they just raised for the Children’s Miracle Network.

New Clubs in the Sem Community

Posted on May 5, 2018 by Ivy Miller

New Clubs in the Sem Community

by Kyleigh O’Hara ’21

Perhaps the most interesting part of the Wyoming Seminary Community is the amount of extracurricular activities the school offers. Ranging from field hockey, to Medical Club, to Mock Trial, to tennis, a student can join any club that suits their interests. However, if a student finds that a club he would be interested in doesn’t exist, he can create one, just as two students recently did in the Sem community.

Bridget Tost ‘21 has recently decided that “enough is enough” and is in the process of creating the regional group “NEPA Students Demand Action.” The main purpose of this group is to raise awareness of gun violence and how it affects students everywhere. Some of the plans for the future of the group include working on writing letters to congress, arranging town hall meetings, and organizing community outreach. Bridget is hoping to incorporate the group into Sem. However, it has not yet completed the approval process.

Additionally, The SAFE (Students Allied For Equality) club is a brand new addition to the Sem community. Freshmen co-founders Vivian Wright ‘21, Jonah Pascal ‘21, Flynn Little ‘21, and Jenny Yao ‘21, as well as sophomore co-founder Grey Cimini ‘22 have taken part in making Sem a more accepting environment for differences in sexual orientation and gender identity. They plan on meeting monthly and using that time to initiate in fun activities to learn about each other’s differences and similarities. Anyone and everyone is encouraged to join. They’re planning on continuing the club into the 2018-2019 school year, so if you’re not ready to join this year, there is still plenty of time to decide to become a part of the change in environment of this school.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Posted on May 5, 2018 by Ivy Miller

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Haley Rudofker ‘18

The mother eagle fixes the nest as one of her eaglets watches in awe (photo courtesy of raptorresource.org).

Most people watch dramatic television shows like Riverdale and The Walking Dead, but Mrs. Casterline’s ornithology classes have taken a different approach to entertainment. During the course of the spring term, her two classes have continuously tuned into Iowa’s Decorah Eagle livestream to see what the parent bald eagles and their eaglets are up to. They started off in March, watching the parent eagles protecting their eggs and each other until they hatched in the beginning of April. All was calm until the father eagle disappeared after a snow storm in the middle of April, leaving his family to fend for themselves.

Nick Bauer ‘18 has become obsessed with watching the eaglets grow and learning about their species. “What I find interesting about the eagle project is how we can study the species without leaving the comfort of the classroom.” He checks on the livestream multiple times a week to see what has changed and if the father has returned, along with Danica Mits ‘18 and Jeremy Diaz ‘18. Like Nick, Jeremy has dedicated some time towards waiting for the father’s return. “It was sad to hear the father eagle disappeared. I checked everyday to see if he would come back. Danica, although concerned about the state of the father, has drifted her focus towards the rest of the family. “It was worrying because the mom now has to defend and feed herself and the chicks, so I’m pretty worried for the rest of the little family.”

The father will most likely not return to his family, but luckily another male bald eagle has come into the picture to watch over the eaglets, so these ornithology students will probably be watching the livestream into the summer to see what happens on the next dramatic episode of the Decorah eagles.