Panther Illustration by Evelyn Meeker // Front Page design by Kai Lincke
STRATH HAVEN HIGH SCHOOL, WALLINGFORD, PA 19086
Press MaJune 2019
Inside This Issue... SENIOR DESTINATIONS See where this year’s graduating class is headed! Pages 8-9 PANTHER PERSPECTIVES Hear from Haven students about the topics that matter to them. Page 5 PANTHERS PROWL FOR VICTORY Girls’ track team places third place at States. Page 14 MEETING MCADOO Get to know Haven’s Diversity Consultant in an exclusive interview. Page 7
Exploring School Start Times As nearby districts make the switch to a later start time, WSSD is committing to year-long research process. Evelyn Meeker ‘21 Editor-in-Chief
W
ith her eyes fighting to stay open, she rests her head down on her desk, cradled in her arms. Her words drag behind her as she searches for an answer to the teacher’s question. Her mind is somewhere else.
This is not unusual in the life of a high school student. Teenagers are naturally disposed to sleeping in later, but a lack of sleep for high schoolers has become an epidemic impacting concentration, performance, and mental health. These consequences can be deadly, as young drivers who sleep on average less than six hours a night are twenty-percent more likely to be involved in a car accident, according to a study at the George Institute in Sydney. That’s why more and more schools, some nearby, are changing to a later start time. The Radnor and Tredyffrin-Easttown School Districts are just a few to announce that they will be making the shift in the 2019-2020 school year. Strath Haven High School is among the schools in the area looking into the implications of later start times on student health, scheduling, and budget. Sleeping isn’t the only point of benefit these schools considered, either. While there are costs to a later start time, in research referenced by the Regional Adolescent Sleep Needs Coalition, the economic benefits are also made clear. Detailed in an article for the New York Times, a recent analysis by the RAND corporation has estimated that delaying school start times to 8:30 or later would contribute $83 billion to the economy within a decade. This would be due to greater academic performance for more well-rested students, and thereby increased lifetime earnings, as well as reduced rates of car accidents among adolescent drivers.
Scanlon Visits Strath Haven Luke Mandel ‘20 Online Editor
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WASHINGTON TO WALLINGFORD: Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon answers a question during the town hall held at Haven on May 31, 2019. Photo courtesy Finn Szybist
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n Friday May 31st, Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon visited Strath Haven to answer questions and encourage discussion about various political topics within the school environment. This was the first event organized by the Committee for Educational Speakers, a new group at Strath Haven that plans to invite professors, artists, activists, authors, and others to speak throughout the year for anyone interested in an extra educational opportunity. The town hall forum took place during fourth block and many teachers permitted their classes to attend, nearly filling the auditorium. However, the senior class was dismissed early from school for prom that evening, so many seniors were not in attendance. The hour-long event was organized by a team of students led by junior Luke Mandel with the help of junior Evan Hoffman and sophomores Ava Dijstelbloem, Noa Dijstelbloem, and Mira Patel.
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