Author: Ivy Miller

Sem Shows Spirit

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by Maya Rosenthal ’23

On Oct. 17, 2022, the spirit week dress down got students excited about the upcoming football game against Williston Northampton School. The themes were Throwback Monday, Celebrity Tuesday, Societies Wednesday, Little Miss Thursday, and Homecoming Shirt Friday. “I always love Spirit Week- every person takes it in their own direction and seems to have fun with it! I am always up for taking requests and themes. This year’s themes were definitely student driven which is what we are all here for” says Ms. T, Director of Student Activities. Some of the themes even got changed due to students taking action. 

Monday was throwback day. A variety of different decades were displayed through the way people dressed and the band t-shirts that were worn. Popular styles that day include the early 2000’s or Y2K style and hippies. On Tuesday, students dressed up as characters and celebrities. We saw a wide range of outfits including cartoon character t-shirts, Adam Sandler, and Santa Claus. Wednesday was society dress up and everyone really got into the spirit. This day was a competition between the societies. Students were rated one through three. This incentive made people go all out, “Society Colors Day this year was taken so seriously and it was a blast” says Ms. T. The standings in the end were Oxonian in first, Athenian second, Florentine third, and Alexandrian in last place. Thursday’s little miss day had people giving themselves superlatives including Little Miss Sleepy. Friday everyone wore their homecoming shirts in preparation for the football game on Saturday. 

Ruby Hackett ‘23 expressed her opinion on spirit week by saying, “I like the idea of it but I personally don’t like dressing down with certain criteria. It is hard to dress up as a character or in throwback clothes with short notice.” Ford Boock ‘23 says, “Some people got more into the spirit than others, but everyone still had fun. Spirit week effectively got people excited for the big football game and it was very exciting. The student section was packed with students even though it ended in an unfortunate loss for the football team in overtime.”  

Sem DM Raises its Largest Amount Yet

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Sem DM raises over 46,000 this spring (Photo courtesy of the Wyoming Seminary Communications Department)

by Kim Nguyen ’23

Fully in-person, the 10th annual Sem Dance Marathon was held on Saturday, April 9. SemDM is student-run and works with the Children’s Miracle Network to raise money for the local Janet Weis Children’s Hospital. In the upcoming weeks before the main event, many opportunities are held to raise money. The main way to donate is on Sem’s Donor Drive website. On-campus there were bake sales, a dress-down day, and music during lunch. Local businesses also pitched in with Rita’s and Melt Hot Yoga holding fundraisers. 

It was held in the Blue Gym with colorful posters placed on the walls, streamers, and lights strewn. The main event included the four miracle children. Each accompanied by their family they were introduced with a video describing their journey. Kimmie, Martin, Laila, and Emma were all assisted by the Children’s Miracle Network. After the introduction, there were various events like the morale dance, lip sync battles, and Just Dance Battles. There were also more opportunities to donate like raffles or bidding for the chance to pie a teacher in the face. Then there is the bracelet cutting at the end, a more serious event. They are the same bracelets the children wear when they are admitted to Janet Weis. For Mr. Shafer it’s his favorite event saying, “We spend a lot of time having fun, being silly, and celebrating the whole day long. But it’s that moment of silence before it starts, seeing the kids walk around and cut the bands, and hearing our students talk about the real meaning behind the day that makes SEMDM so special and powerful.”

The committee raised a whopping amount of $46,513. While they have been topping their previous amounts each year, almost double was made. When reflecting on the event, Shane Holcombe ‘23 an executive of the Promotion committee, highlighted the energy. “The energy was amazing among the children and the student body. I could see the kids building off the excitement of everyone else. It was my first one when everyone was together.” 

Theater Springs Back

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Senior members of the Spring Workshop (Photo courtesy of Mrs. Ellen Sherry)

by Erica Zhu ’23

Although this year, we were forced to roll back theater performances from the Fall/Winter terms to the Winter/Spring terms, our theater department was in no way ready to let COVID close out the shows for good. What many students love about the acting workshops, though, is that even if musicals and theater and everything in between isn’t a strong suit, they can still make an appearance and show off hidden talents. Described as an “acting recital” where actors train to be better presenters and performers, this year’s Spring Acting Workshop featured nineteen one-act plays and scenes in the Buckingham Performing Arts Center(BPAC) from April 27th to May 1st. 

Everyone involved gave it their all– there was certainly never a lack of prop, costume, or spirit. Directed by our beloved Jason Sherry, Ellen Sherry, and Floyd Bussie, the show went off without a hitch.

“Seeing our Sem stages come alive again with performers filled my soul this year! We had a wonderful run of Footloose and our beloved Acting Workshop featuring so many students on our stages and behind the scenes! The class of 2022 was a big part of the theater department. We are excited for their new paths, but will miss them greatly!” Ellen Sherry, Master of Costumes and Director explained. 

Perhaps the most bittersweet is that of the parting of this year’s graduates who, together, are the faces of both a little over half of our theater department and workshop: Kieran Sherry, Jake Ruderman, Nathaniel Stavish, Lily Qiu, Evan Swartz, Rhianna Lewis, Gram Doherty, Julia Poole, Sophia Galante, Cassidy Rhodes-Aniska, Daniel Irwin, Hayoung Kim, Emily Chen, Ariana Marien, Ian Poole, Jennifer Zemetro, Dominica Delayo, Gigi Ruggiero, and Marshal Curtis will all be setting off for new adventures. Their legacy of acting and smiles, along with words of advice, will never leave us.

“Spring/Winter Workshop is one of the most fun, and rewarding parts of my years at Sem. The Spring Workshop provides a smaller and less intimidating theatre experience for anyone who may be nervous to start acting. You can do anywhere from 1 to 5 scenes, and each one is so different. I was in two scenes, Go to the Light, where I was an overworked facebook obsessed 30 year old, and in a completely different scene I had to restart a conversation every time a bell was rang. If you want to act, but are too nervous to do the Musical, do the workshop. I can guarantee you that it will be so, so fun,” said Julia Poole ‘22

Every evening was filled with the laughter of students and parents who saw familiar faces, in addition to visiting alumni. From the comedy in Citizen Kane(by Kids in the Hall) and The Philadelphia(byDavid Ives), to even the cute, sweet Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind(by Charlie Kaufman)and When Harry Met Sally(by Nora Ephron), there was truly something for everyone who loves seeing or being in the theater.