congregate

The Walrus
The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things:
Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings. - Lewis Carroll
Vol LXIII, No. 2
St. Sebastian’s School
November 2009
Open House Welcomes
Prospective Arrows
Unity Day Brings Seb’s
Community Together
By NED KINGSLEY ‘10
The St. Sebastian’s School Community
came together on Friday, November
6th, to participate in the second annual
Unity Day. Unity Day is an unusal
day for a number of reasons: there
are no tests, quizzes, labs, or even any
classes, and the day ordinarily ends
around 11 o’clock in the morning. Yet
even given the shortened schedule,
the day is both productive and
enlightening for those who actively
engage themselves. The entire day
focuses on open, informative discussion,
in which both students and
faculty gain a greater appreciation
for many of the problems that face
our community. We acknowledge our
own faults and shortcomings so that
we may move forward with a greater
understand of ourselves and our
peers. Ultimately, Unity Day brings
forth the best that this school has
to offer and helps promote a close,
open, and united community.
The day started in the Church, where
Father Arens offered Mass. This was
just the first step. Sitting in the pews,
we listened to the Word of the Lord
and reflected with Father Arens
on the meaning of unity, diversity,
and togetherness. His passionate
homily helped set the tone for a very
successful day of both personal and
group reflection.
Following the service, we made our
way down to Ward Hall, where we
sat in pre-determined groups and
listened to an eloquent and entertaining
presentation by Mr. Steven
Tejada. First, Justin Jones ’10, President
of Men with Positive Attitudes
(MPA) introduced him to us. Mr. Tejada
grew up in the South Bronx, and
attended Wesleyan University where
he discovered a passion for acting
and the performing arts. He began
his career performing various skits in
his spare time, but within just a few
years he became so well-known that
he began to focus wholly on his writing
and acting. He has performed
his one-man show throughout the
country, including shows at Yale,
Cornell, MIT, and a number of other
very well-known institutions nationwide.
He was the 2008 and 2009
AISNE Students of Color Conference
Speaker, and now he has performed
at St. Sebastian’s, courtesy of MPA.
Mr. Tejada’s performance focused on
the struggles of a young man from
the South Bronx. In particular, he
was having a hard time accepting
the fact that one of his best friends
was leaving the city to go to college.
In the show, he played the role of
both characters brilliantly, cleverly
turning his lengthy monologues into
engaging dialogue that had us both
laughing at and sympathetic to the
two young men.
These characters are fictional representations
of Mr. Tejeda’s roots in
the South Bronx. In his performance,
Continued on page 2
St. Sebastian’s students lead prospective families on tours throughout the school.
hunger that would otherwise bother where a host of Varsity captains and
BRENDAN ECCLESINE ‘10
us midway through the Open House. coaches talked about the illustrious
On Thursday, October 29th, more Mr. Nunan and Mr. Eaton both maintained
Arrows. Afterwards, tours returned
than 400 people visited St. Sebastian's
order in a potentially hectic to the Birmingham Academic Build-
School for the annual Admissions
situation by walking down the aisles ing. As they maneuvered their way
Open House. The evening was and serving food to three or four through the hallways from floor
a huge success as evidenced by the students at a time. After everyone to floor, all teachers welcomed
large number of prospective students was adequately fed, Mr. Wishart prospective students and their
who attended the event. Many thanks made the final preparations with the families with open arms, and several
go out to all those in the community help of fellow admissions officers others organized brief presentations
who dedicated their time to help Mr. Greg Lynch, Mr. McCann, and Mr. that gave a realistic flavor of the St.
craft a well-organized program. It was Cornish.
Sebastian’s experience. Beginning at
a tremendous start to the Admissions
The evening began with campus 6:00, everyone congregated in the
season that will continue with tours conducted by students in Church for the second part of the
student-led tours during the upcoming
groups of two to four. Older stu-
program.
months.
dents were intentionally paired All St. Sebastian’s students helping
St. Sebastian's students and with younger students in order to out with the even lined the edges
faculty followed an assembly schedule
best provide a diverse perspective of the Church, and prospective
on Thursday, October 29. Classes of the school. I happened to meet students and their families filled
ended at 1:45, and sports practices many seventh-graders with whom I in the pews. Father Arens shared
concluded by 4:00. After showering had never spoken prior to the Open an opening prayer with those assembled
and cleaning up, all athletes helping House, and it was a great opportunity
that shed light on the rare
out at the Open House made the trek
to get to know the future of our advantages of a Catholic education.
back across the street and gathered school. Tours left in an organized Mr. Wishart then took the podium
in the McCullough Room. Mr. Wishart, fashion and first made their way and addressed the logistical aspects
Dean of Admission and Financial Aid across the street to the Arts center. of the St. Sebastian’s Open House
at St. Seb's, offered some words of "Damn Yankees" was in the midst of before talking about the many
advice to all volunteers. Joe and Rafi, rehearsal, which enabled prospective
merits of our school. Next, Head-
thoughtful as always, served pizza,
students to get a first-hand feel master Burke worked his magic on
drinks, and cookies to help battle any for the drama department. Tours
next visited the Athletics building,
Continued on page 2
Seb’s New “Planet of the
By CHRIS MOSES ‘10
On October 30th, 2009 at 7:30am
an epidemic plagued the student
parking lot. Seniors anxiously awaited
Jake O’Malley’s big black suburban
rolling in. Like Santa delivering
presents on his sleigh, Jake hauled
in forty-five full body suit gorilla costumes.
Seniors tore open the boxes
as if it were Christmas morning. The
transformation began. One by one,
each senior evolved into a daunting
and intimidating gorilla. The parking
lot was a jungle; many gorillas scaled
trees and cars while jamming to Miley
Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” as it blared
from the suburban. Gorillas wrestled,
hollered, hooted, and leaped at one
another. Dean Ebozue and Taylor Peck
courageously sported banana costumes,
but they would soon regret it.
The identity of each senior was long
gone. By 7:45 am, the transformation
was complete. The day was set.
Gorillas rampantly chased
the bananas up the parking lot
stairs, along the sidewalk, across the
crosswalk, and into the school. A
NEWS
Apes” for Halloween
Safari leader, Mike Green, captured
the escapade on a video camera. A
few unlucky gorillas missed a step
and crumbled into the hard cement
as their fellow beasts raced
on by. Eyesight was little to none
as the gorillas tried to make their
way into the school. Some gorillas
went crazy, dancing in the crosswalk
and taunting nearby commuters.
A raucous stampede erupted in
the main entrance as the gorillas
stormed through the halls harassing
teachers and students. Mrs. Lynch,
Mr. Burke, and Mr. Sullivan stared in
awe as their school was taken over.
Sure enough, they made their way
into Ward Hall, where every faculty
member and every student sat for
the Magazine Drive assembly. Gorillas
howled and pounced through
the assembly as terrified students
jumped out of the way. Once the gorillas
raided Ward Hall, they moved
on throughout the rest of the school.
Raising hell, they leaped from floor
to floor. Howling echoed throughout
the building. Eventually, the gorillas
evacuated the building to congregate
in the parking lot for the next
plan of attack. After taking a short
respite from the activity, they went
back at it again. Gallivanting back
into the school, Gorillas stormed into
classrooms and stole 7th graders.
The screaming bananas ran for their
lives as the hungry gorillas chased
them through the halls. Eventually,
the gorillas captured their food; Peck
and Ebozue were attacked in Miss
DiBlasi’s first-floor classroom until
they ceased their struggle.
After the majority of the senior
class missed their J periods, Mr.
Sullivan brought sanity back to the
school. The gorillas were no longer
allowed to wreak havoc, as it was
time for classes to proceed as usual.
Most gorillas still ambled through
the halls with their suits on, despite
the tremendous heat. The costume
itself generated enough heat to melt
the polar ice caps. Seniors removed
their masks and gorillas hands as
they coughed up gorilla hair and
plucked it from their eyes. Had
someone entered the building at
this time, they would have thought
Keynote Speaker Steven Tejada inspires his audience to appreciate others through theatre.
St. Sebastian’s students shed like
dogs. The floors were matted with
gorilla hair. The floors looked as if
an animal was beaten to a pulp on
the ground. The hair floated in the
air so that if one were to take a deep
breath, they would inhale gorilla
hair.
The aftermath of the invasion was
irritating for many. The halls were
covered in gorilla hair and some
physical damage also occurred; unfortunately,
some gorillas went too
far and accidentally broke a picture
frame. The senior class will certainly
offer to buy a new picture frame, and
they are apologetic for letting parts
of the day get out of hand.
As if the gorilla costumes weren’t
intriguing enough, other students
flaunted their own, creative costumes.
Ryan Coffey for example,
wore short (very short) jean shorts,
a jersey to his belly button, and a
long black wig, definitely one of the
more comical costumes. Playing on
a different theme, Jim Fitzgerald
truly expressed the horror of Halloween.
St. Sebastian’s had its very
own Michael Myers for the day, as
Jim Fitz wore a dark blue jumpsuit,
a white mask with long brown hair,
while clutching a Styrofoam knife.
He stunned students with fright as
he walked through the halls. Robbie
Donahoe on the other hand, dressed
SPORTS
as our new athletic trainer, Mr. Sauve.
Dressed in sweats and wearing a
Stony Brook Football emblem on his
chest, he fit the bill. Christian Venditti
and a few others were hockey
players for the day.
All in all, Halloween ’09 was one of
the best (and most hectic) Saint Sebastian’s
has ever had. Never before
had any class dressed up as gorillas
and stormed the school. The senior
class apologizes for getting out of
hand and will redress the damage,
but overall the day was a blast for
most. A special thanks goes out to
Jake O’Malley and Dave Ruffolo for
collaborating on the gorilla idea and
putting it to work.
St. Sebastian’s Seniors wreak havoc in downtown Needham following their in-school antics
LOOKING FOR A SPORT?
Check out page 5.
Dining Hall’s supply of bananas
does not appear in photo;
renegade gorillas blamed
Soccer rolling -- but will
they reach the playoffs?
see page 8.

Page 2 The Walrus: School & National News
November 2009
Quotes of the
Open House again a big hit
Continued from page 1
Month
“To dance, you must pay the fiddler.”
-Mr. Palmaccio, after being asked how to do a Calculus problem.
“Now I can finally start my senior slide.”
-Peter Burke, perhaps in jest, at the lunch table after receiving his
Bucknell acceptance letter this weekend
“There has been a diaspora of chess
boards lately. If you see any, please
usher them back to my room.”
the crowd of prospective students.
He promised that every student
would be appreciated for who he is
as a person, regardless of his talents.
He will be cared for each and every
day by faculty who wants him to
succeed in each of his endeavors.
Edgar Escobar ’15 gave a memorable
speech that stressed how lucky we
are to have such great people at our
school, both faculty and students
alike. His delivery was tremendous,
and I know that everyone else
present would definitely agree.
Jake McLaughlin ’13 presented an
equally compelling speech that
focused more on the day-to-day life
of the typical St. Sebastian’s student.
Finally, Ned Kingsley ’10 capped off
an impressive trio of student speakers
by elaborating on the school’s
academic program, particularly its
ability to accommodate the needs
of any student. After listening to all
three speeches, I noticed that each
explored the St. Sebastian’s concept
of “growth in body, mind, and spirit.”
If I were a prospective student’s
father, I would be extremely impressed
by the overall mission of
the school, which speaks to something
greater than just schoolwork.
Mr. Wishart then retook the podium
and directed all visitors to Ward Hall
for the third and final part of the
program.
Teachers, coaches, admissions officers,
students and even parents
again interacted with prospective
students and their families in Ward
Hall. There were tables lining the
room that represented each and
every academic subject, club, and
sports team so that visitors could
easily access those of interest to
them. Refreshments and assorted
foods were served in the carpeted
area of Ward Hall during this concluding
portion of the event.
Photos from the event may be found
on the school website, and I can
assure you that smiles abounded
everywhere. The Open House was an
accurate reflection of St. Sebastian’s
life thanks to the genuine love that
all of us share for our school. Everyone
who helped out at the event
should again be commended for his
or her service to the school, and I
have no doubts that the future of St.
Sebastian’s looks promising.
-Mr. Cressotti, during a Chess Club announcement in Corporate Chapel
“I invented a car that runs on the blood of
clowns.”
-Mr. Nerbonne, when asked by his Greek class what he had ever invented
“Back at Wellesley High School, they used to call
me the ‘Fastest Chalk in the Northeast’.”
-Mr. Palmaccio, on his intense, rapid-fire chalkboarding skills
Top Ched: The Weekend
changed! Now that we know that it
By EDMUND MURPHY ‘11 is our God-given vocation to enjoy
our weekends, let’s explore how to,
and how not to, enjoy our weekends,
and forward our killer social lives.
Over the past month,
I’ve looked at the things going on
around me, and said to myself,
“That’s a perfect example of what
not to ever do in a social situation.”
On Halloween I was at an unspecified
location where both guys and
those of the fairer sex were present.
As I walked down the stairs,
I was shocked at what I saw and
heard. Two students, whose names
I will not disclose, were standing in
front of two puzzled looking young
women, singing these words:
Let’s face it fellas -- from
Monday to Friday, we are a mighty
conglomeration of warriors. We
stretch our minds to the limit in each
class period, we slave in our rooms
over endless amounts of homework,
only to sleep for what seems like no
time at all each night, and we break
our backs for our teammates and our
school out on the playing fields, and
maybe outlandishly slide on the turf
with our eyes and hands invoking
the higher powers after delivering a
glossy strike on net in the process. I’ve
already spoken about how to make
the school week fun and innovative,
but now its time to look to the Godsent
weekend.
For all you religion scholars
out there, the first commandment
given to Moses was actually: Thou
Shalt Do Work When the Weekend
Cometh. This was edited out of the
original ten by accident, however,
when Moses decided it would be a
cool idea if he played Tug o’ War over
the Tablet with a Persian Mountain
Bear (THERE’S A BEAR IN HERE!).
Needless to say, the bear, with his
unreal strength, ripped the first tenth
of the Tablet off, and looked at Moses
“kinda weird-like” with a point and a
chuckle, and ran off into the jungle.
Moses, now with only 9 Commandments,
knew God was going to “Get
His Wrath On” so Moses tossed in a
Commandment Amendment, now
widely accepted as “I am the LORD
your God. Thou Shalt Bear No False
Gods Above Me.” Sneaky Moses
was pumped at how legitimate the
amendment sounded, and guess
what? God never minded that it was
Unity Day Makes its Mark
Continued from page 1
he outlines many of the difficulties
that present themselves to people
growing up in his home town—yet
his goal is not simply to break the
stereotypes that people may or may
not have had about life in the city.
Rather, Mr. Tejeda presented them in
such a way that gave all of us a new,
deeper understanding of a relatively
unknown culture.
The main sketch focused on a young
man, “Tito”, sitting at a bus stop with
his best friend who is leaving for
college. In his dialogue, he commented
that he dropped out of high
school as an “educational activist”.
“Someone had to do something for
The LORD has revealed to the nations,
Saving Pow’r
Saving Pow’r
Saving Pow’r
the community,” he said. He also
added, “I have something against
the minimum wage. That’s why I’m
not working.”
Following the presentation, the
groups went to separate classrooms
where they discussed what they
had seen and heard. Analyzing the
themes presented in Mr. Tejada’s
dialogue, everyone strove to relate
them to thoughts and experiences
in his or her own life. The discussion
groups were probably the most effective
and most meaningful part of
the whole day, for everyone got to
hear various perspectives and ideas
from others that never would have
come forward otherwise. Everyone’s
voice was heard, and everyone benefited
as a result.
I should probably mention
that he who sang this hymn
the loudest was also the only one to
remove his shirt later on in the social
gathering; a most preposterous and
blatant act that can be classified
with, “Hey man, you took that too
far.” However, he is still a beloved
member of this community, and I
retain my artistic integrity by saying
that I do indeed have great respect
for this person for bearing the several
jokes made about the incident
with a smile. These incidents tell us
that singing church hymns outside
of school isn’t that funny…and that
also, everyone gets caught up in the
moment, but we have to be careful
about how our acts in those moments
will come across to others.
Dear Reader, these two
events are not the worst examples
I’ve heard of, however. As we grow
up, we are entrusted with certain
privileges, and making light of these
responsibilities never makes us
better people, or any “cooler”. This
means that getting pressured into
driving misdemeanors or breaking
the law for the sake of being BA, or
throwing our friends under buses to
elicit a laugh from the crowd, or to
get the respect of others (“Just me
and my permit, comin’ back from the
concert”) is unacceptable, and needs
to stop once and for all. I am guilty
of the things I speak, and I acknowledge
these wrongs. I write about
only that of which I have seen, and
that of which I know to be destructive.
Most of us have been on either
side of the spectrum. I know this is
striking a more serious note, but part
of our job here is to “take care of one
another”. Dr. Martin Luther King tells
us that a man is unjust who gains a
moral end through immoral means,
and when we find ourselves at social
gatherings, it’s good to keep this in
mind. There is no one to impress,
and no one to please. It’s time to
focus on just flat out enjoying ourselves
rather than being The Man.
Common sense.
So far, we have seen a
couple examples of maybe what
isn’t great to do around others, and
we’ve also seen some things that
are definitely out of bounds when
we’re in the company of others, and
can have more serious effects, such
as our friends, or ourselves, getting
hurt. It’s not all bad, though, my
friends. In fact, last night, I was at an
After 40 minutes, the groups then
reassembled in Ward Hall where we
were given an opportunity to ask Mr.
Tejeda any and all questions we had
concerning his life, dreams, motivations,
and personal perspectives.
Unity Day concluded with some
brief remarks by Headmaster Burke,
and a wonderful concludingprayer
by Father Arens.
Since the school day ended so early,
athletes were given the privilege of
participating in their various games
in races early that afternoon instead
of the next day. The football and soccer
teams both defeated Groton, and
cross country had a successful race
at the ISL Championships. In all, the
2009 Unity Day was one for us all to
remember as both moving and fun.
Student volunteers entertain Open House guests with the missing Chess Club boards.
event where two young men were
talking a little trash to each other
when a third party stepped in and
yelled in a really high-pitched voice,
“HEY, THAT’S MY FRIEND!” and broke
it up. I laughed, because let’s face it,
the intervener was quite a goon, and
was half-joking when he stepped in.
However, in an indirect way, he was
helping out everyone in attendance
by keeping the peace, and not allowing
a personal conflict to grow, and
to possibly affect the entire whole of
those present.
In addition, no matter
where I seem to go with friends from
Sebs, the brotherhood is always
alive. A lot of people claim there is a
certain ‘Bro Code’ to be followed at
all time: a social pact which places
the bond between fellow men over
ties with women, and in extreme
cases, only found thus far in Guam
and Alaska, brothers are placed
above family, sports, and school. Let
it be known that he is not a bro who
is too bro to go to school, or pay
any attention or respect to his family.
But I digress. I find it somewhat
amazing that even though we go
to a single-sex school and that girls
are in somewhat of a scarcity, we
maintain the “Bros before Respectable
Women” law, SOMETIMES (series
of whooping coughs). I have seen
this law violated in the most awful
circumstances, but I have moved
on from these occurrences. That
brings about another point: while
you’re enjoying your weekend, and
a fellow friend does you wrong, we
must know that holding grudges
only makes the night worse. I hate to
be a hippy here, because if I was, I’d
probably be protesting animal rights
(just kidding, bunnies are awesome)
but in truth, all we need is a mutual
peace and respect amongst us. Unity
Day fosters this sort of action within
the school, but not as much socially,
which should be a focus for everyone.
I understand that perhaps
I have overstayed my welcome with
this article by trying really hard to
mix the humor with ‘The Real’ but
The Walrus
A St. Sebastian’s Publication
Senior Editors: Brendan Ecclesine ‘10, Ned Kingsley ‘10, Edmund Murphy ‘11,
David Ruffolo ‘10
Apprentice Editors: 15 Gorillas, 2 Bananas, 1 Safari Leader
Head Writers: Joe Albanese ‘10, Chris Marino ‘10, Chris Moses ‘10,
Mike Sanderson ‘10 (Feature Writer)
we only ever do the best we can. So
let’s remember at last to enter into
our weekends with an understanding,
myself included, that our friends
can’t be left behind to suffer. We face
our classmates and open our hearts
to them in Chapel Speeches and
pray beside them in Mass. May your
weekends be blessed with an abundance
of friends of both genders and
free food and safe transportation.
Most of all though, let us not forget
about where we come from.
NOTE: I totally winged that Moses
story. Dear Religion Department, I
DO know how it all really happened,
but I decided to take my creativity
for a spin. I guess I may have actually
fooled a couple people on that one,
though, so everyone, that story isn’t
true, it was simply fabricated by me
over a span of fifteen or so minutes.
(And yes, the Persian Mountain bear
who appears on Mt. Sinai to wrestle
Moses for one-tenth of a piece of
stone tablet is fake too. Just in case
you were wondering).
CONTRIBUTORS: Joey Kelly ‘10, Will Connolly ‘10, Dillon Eccelsine ‘11, Sam
Racine ‘11, John Barrack ‘11, Mike Sanderson ‘10, John Kavolius ‘10, Joe
Albanese ‘10, Lou Heck ’11, Will Vietze ‘12, Ryan Kilcullen ‘10, Luke Sullivan
‘09, Chris Stadtler ‘12, Scott Neuberger ‘10, Chris Moses ‘10, Peter Cimini
‘12, Alex Spear ‘11, Brendan Ecclesine ‘10, Tom Hoff ‘11, John O’Connor ‘11,
Ryan Bacic ‘11, Andrew DeMatteo ‘11, Brad Walker ‘10, Ricky Mulroy ‘10, Tom
Nunan ‘11, Tom Keefe ‘11, Nick Chappel ‘11, Jared Chase ‘11, Ben Thai ‘12,
Lucas Mykulak ‘11, Will Adams ‘11, Ryan McCarthy ‘10, Chris Picher ‘13, John
Donovan ‘12, Kevin Wolfe ‘12, Chris Nadeau ‘12, Joe Dudley ‘12, Matt Fechtelkotter
‘12, John Cheever ‘12, Bobby Wright ‘12, Sean Frazzette ‘12
Editors Emeritus: Derek Morrison, Tyler Smith, Brian Walker, John Wolfe
Faculty Advisor: Mr. Dan Drummond
The Walrus is the official student newspaper of St. Sebastian’s School. The Walrus
seeks to provide news and entertainment for the St. Sebastian’s community, as well as
to provide an open forum for students to offer opinions on issues related to world, national,
and school affairs. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect opinions
of the faculty advisors or senior editors of The Walrus or of St. Sebastian’s School.
Correspondence to The Walrus should be addressed to The Walrus, c/o St. Sebastian’s
School, 1191 Greendale Avenue, Needham, MA, 02492. Senior Editors and production
staff reserve the right to reject, edit, or admit any or all submissions. To submit an
article, email it to walruseditor@gmail.com.

November 2009 The Walrus: School News
Page 3
NHS Inducts New Members
By DAVID RUFFOLO ‘10
The National Honor Society was
founded in 1921 and is the nation’s
premier organization established to
recognize outstanding high school
students. The National Honor Society
is more than an honor roll—it is an
organization that honors students
who have demonstrated excellence
in each of the four pillars: Scholarship,
Leadership, Service, and Character.
According to the National Honor Society
website, “Chapter membership
not only recognizes students for their
accomplishments, but challenges
them to develop further through
active involvement in school activities
and community service.”
At St. Sebastian’s, students are urged
to one day become a part of the National
Honor Society by following the
school’s motto: “Work hard, love God,
and take good care of one another”.
Students become eligible for election
into the National Honor Society
at the beginning of their junior year.
For eligibility, students are required
to attain at least an 85% grade point
average. In addition, each student
must write an essay that shows how
they have demonstrated excellence
in the four pillars during their time
at St. Sebastian’s. Finally, each one
of the student’s teachers writes a
recommendation either in support or
opposed to their induction. Once this
information is submitted, a panel of
St. Sebastian’s faculty then convenes
and renders a final decision for each
student.
This past week, the annual Sr. Evelyn
C. Barrett, O.P. Chapter of the National
Honor Society ceremony was held to
honor 53 students in grades 11 and
12. The ceremony was kicked off by
the Dean of Studies and Assistant
Headmaster, Mr. Nerbonne, who
provided a general overview of the
National Honor Society. Then, the
school’s President of the National
Honor Society, Chris Marino ‘10, Vice
President, Ned Kingsley ’10, Secretary,
Max Kingsley ’10, and member,
Joe Albanese ’10, each spoke
regarding one of the four pillars.
Each of these students gave brilliant
speeches regarding what it takes to
earn membership into the National
Honor Society. Their speeches were
full of enlightening advice, praising
those who are already members
and encouraging those younger
students to work hard so they can
also achieve this honor. Following
the speeches, the President, Chris
Marino, called each inductee up in
front of the church. Chris led the
new members in reciting the pledge
of the National Honor Society. Once
the pledge was complete, each new
inductee received a National Honor
Society certificate and pin from Mr.
Burke. The formal assembly concluded
when Headmaster Burke came
up and gave his final remarks on the
National Honor Society and praised
each of the speakers on their terrific
speeches.
The new inductees to the Society
were asked to stay behind after
everyone had left the assembly
for photos. For press purposes, the
students were called up according
to the town they lived in to take a
picture with Headmaster Burke as a
remembrance of the event. Following
the pictures, the members joined
their families down in Ward Hall for
a reception full of donuts, pastries,
and drinks. The members got to chat
it up with parents and fellow inductees
until Mr. Albertson came around
alerting everyone that they had to
go to their first period classes.
It was a great and memorable ceremony.
The National Honor Society
is a group that is open to every
student who aspires to achieve this
honor. The underclassmen should
watch this ceremony and visualize
themselves receiving that same certificate
in the future. To the sophomores
particularly, they should
redouble their efforts to embody
the four pillars of the National Honor
Society into their lives. In addition,
juniors have another opportunity
to qualify and should all work even
harder to ensure that they earn their
position in the group next year.
Being a part of the National Honor
Society not only might boost your
college resume, but it also makes
you feel good. It demonstrates that,
during your years at St. Sebastian’s,
you have proven yourself and made
the best of your time. It is a great
honor to receive at the end of your
Seb’s career as a symbol of all your
dedication and hard work. The ceremony,
however, is only the start of
your responsibilities in the National
Honor Society. Once inducted,
students are expected to continue
to live out the four pillars and be a
good role model for the younger
kids. In addition, the members of
the National Honor Society are relied
upon by the school to aid in many
charitable activities. For instance,
as a part of the society, members
are asked to help tutor struggling
students in a variety of subjects.
I wish the best to every St. Sebastian
student and hope each and
every one of them live a life full of
scholarship, leadership, service, and
character so that when it is their
turn, they are proudly standing up
on the stage being inducted into the
National Honor Society as well.
Movies with Mike:
By MIKE SANDERSON ‘10
I have to be honest, and say that I
went into this movie expecting the
very worst. I had seen the trailer, and
the impression I got was that the film
was a Keystone Cops-type account
of a bumbling executive turned
inept informant for the FBI. For the
first 10 minutes or so, I got just what
I expected; the attempts at humor
were cheap and borderline pathetic.
The choppy and utterly pointless
voiceover tangents were cringeworthy,
and I was tempted to join the
scores of people walking out of the
theater. In fact, if I didn’t have to write
this article, I’m sure I would have, but
I’m very glad I didn’t. The Informant!
starts slow, but evolves into one of
the most intriguing and genuinely
surprising films I’ve yet seen.
The Informant! is a difficult film to
lock into a specific genre. It takes
the solemn The Informant: A True
Story by Kurt Eichenwald and tries
to twist it into a medley of parts
satire, outright comedy, espionage,
and psychological thriller. Such an
attempt is widely considered the
cardinal sin of filmmaking, as only in
rare, brilliant instances does such an
eclectic approach come together and
succeed on all levels, and I wouldn’t
quite go so far as to say that director
Steven Soderbergh does that, but he
comes admirably close. The corporate
corruption theme hearkens back to
his hugely popular Erin Brocovich,
but takes a drastically different angle
on it.
The “protagonist” of the film
is Mark Whitacre, Vice President of
the Archer Daniels Midland corporation,
portrayed masterfully by Matt
Damon. At the starting point of the
film, the company has already been
involved in an international price
fixing scheme for some time, and by
chance the FBI starts looking into
a totally separate issue, in which
the ADM corporation is the victim.
Through that investigation, Mark
meets Special Agent Brian Shepherd
(Scott Bakula), and, at the urging of
his virtuous wife Ginger (Melanie
Lynskey), Mark decides to come clean,
and thus his six-year stretch as an FBI
informant begins.
As I mentioned, I thought that plotline
would be the essence of the story,
and I wondered why someone like
Matt Damon would attach himself
to such a project. That question was
answered resoundingly as the true
nature of Damon’s character began
seeping through. The plotline moved
along startlingly fast, and after merely
‘The Informant’
45 minutes or an hour the ADM
executives had all been arrested, and
I could never have guessed what
the second half of the film would
be like. Looking back, the first hint
that something was amiss with Mark
came during a meeting between
Agent Shepherd, his partner Agent
Herndon (Joel McHale of ‘The Soup’
fame), and some of their colleagues.
They wrapped up their presentation
of all the damning evidence
Mark had accrued, and congratulatory
fist bumps abounded. One of
the Agents not involved with the
case, however, posed an innocent
question, that began gnawing at the
back of my mind: why did Whitacre
come to the FBI out of the clear blue
sky, throwing his fat paycheck and
financial stability down the tubes,
to bring down this corporation,
of which he was Vice President?
Agent Shepherd skirts the question,
claiming that Whitacre is simply the
elusive truly good guy, motivated by
a sense of honor and moral fortitude,
and I accepted that answer at
the time. The film truly reached a
level bordering on brilliance during
Mark’s debriefing. Some inconsistencies
had arisen in Mark’s answers,
and I feel like I can’t really go much
further without ruining one of
the truly great plot twists I’ve ever
come across. I’ll simply say that Matt
Damon masterfully presents a truly
twisted character, one of the best
I’ve seen in an long movie- viewing
career.
The bottom line: I recommend
The Informant! (Not sure what the
punctuation rule is there with the
exclamation in the title at the end of
a sentence…) Matt Damon is incredible,
and I love the mind-bending
twist, but the movie is a little too
scatterbrained to be considered truly
great. The humor picks up as the
film gains momentum, and it’s just
a shade away from being a masterpiece.
You have to be willing to really
work at understanding it to appreciate
it, so casual moviegoers would
likely not enjoy the film; I, however,
would give it a very respectable 4
out of 5 stars.
Mike Sanderson gives “The Informant” four out of five stars.
The 53 new Seb’s members gather for a picture in the church after the assembly.
Student Council Updates
By CHRIS NADEAU ‘12
As the first quarter comes to a close,
the St. Sebastian’s student council
is picking up steam, as it continues
to organize many upcoming school
events. Although many of the events
will be the same as last year, some
minor details are being adjusted to
optimize student satisfaction. As
sophomore vice president Conor
Haughey says so elegantly, “Many
events may have the same idea, but
if you ask me, it’s the little things that
really make all the difference.”
One of the reasons why the
student council is able to effectively
produce so many events each year is
because of one of its only fundraisers,
the magazine drive. As every member
of the school community now knows,
the magazine drive will continue
once again this year. For all of those
in attendance at the magazine drive
assembly on Friday October 30th,
there are probably two things that
History Club Starts Up:
Future Looks Promising
ANDREW DEMATTEO ‘11
“Five, Six, Seven, Eight. Okay now,
how many for ‘Frost Nixon’ and ‘All
the Presidents Men?’ Only two, okay,
then we are watching ‘Gallipoli.’ ” It
has not been decided on when to
show the movie since the Finance
Club is meeting on the original date
as it was deemed necessary for both
programs not to interfere. Nevertheless,
sometime in the next few weeks,
the History Club will be showing “Gallipoli,”
starring Mel Gibson. “Gallipoli”
was one of Gibson’s first movies and
huge hit. The film is about Australians
who volunteered to fight for the
British Empire in the First World War.
They are sent to the battle of Gallipoli
to fight against the Turks. They try
to free the Dardanelles from Turkish
Control so they could offer supplies to
the Russian Army. The campaign fails
miserably, and the soldiers learn that
war is not fun and games. However,
just in case you really would like to
watch the movies that lost in the
vote, it is possible that the films may
be watched later in the year, when
the junior class learns about the
Watergate Scandal in United States
History.
come to mind, one being a pack of
hungry gorillas, and the other being
the ability to simultaneously raise
money for the student council while
raising cash for yourself. This year’s
magazine drive is focused on rewarding
students who sell magazine
subscriptions with cash, rather than
physical items and prizes. The additions
of the plinko game for those
who raise over $250 and the dodge
ball game for those who sell at least
$150, which both offer students to
increase their money exponentially,
and should prove to be great motivation
for the student body.
One of the student council’s
first events of November is a Middle
school social at Jillian’s Restaurant
and game lounge, which is equipped
with over 30 pool tables, 16 bowling
lanes, darts, table tennis, foosball,
not to mention a quadruple high
definition video wall and 12 plasma
screen televisions. After school on
Wednesday the 18th, the seventh
and eighth grades will travel by bus
Mr. Cleary, the Chair of the
History Department, founded the
club last year with the intention of
finding students “who like to talk
about history.” In its first year the
club saw the movies ‘Patton’ and ‘13
Days on the Cuban Missile Crisis.’
Some of the members also listened
to speakers such as Brent Scowcroft,
the national security advisor under
George H. W. Bush, Theodore Sorenson,
John F. Kennedy’s speechwriter,
and General Maxwell Taylor Kennedy,
who wrote a book on the battle
of Iwo Jima in World War II.
The club likes to meet at
least once every month to watch a
film, which is decided upon by the
board of directors in advance. The
first movie that the club watched
this year was ‘Black Hawk Down.’
For those who have not seen ‘Black
Hawk Down,’ it is a great movie
about United Nations activities in
Somalia in the mid-nineties. When
some routine military maneuvers
break down, the soldiers find themselves
trapped in a hostile city, which
rises up to fight them. The first 15
minutes of the movie are peaceful,
until all hell breaks loose and the
rest of the movie is a battle. This
movie, ‘like Gallipoli,’ reinforces the
to Jillian’s, where they will meet and
spend the afternoon with the girls
from Newton Country Day’s middle
school. Dinner will be served for the
two schools while they are able to
socialize with one another and enjoy
games of pool and bowling.
When reflecting on his
social experiences from the trip last
year, ninth grader Ryan Schnoor
commented, “For me, being such
a social butterfly, the trip gave me
a chance to strengthen my friendships,
but for those who may be
more shy, this trip was definitely a
great way to make new friends, and
to grow as a class.”
Another event that
received a great response last year
was the chili-cook-off between the
kitchen staff, teachers and students,
the student council. The student
council is not only continuing the
chili tradition, but also, they are adding
a similar competition that will
take place in the upcoming weeks.
Only instead if chili, the competition
will revolve around chocolate chip
cookies.
“Although the idea sounds so
simple,” says Haughey, “The wide
variety of styles is what will make the
contest so unique.”
During the day of parent teacher
conferences, three or four teams will
compete against Joe and Rafi to see
who can consistently make the make
chocolate chip cookie.
Another one of the student body
favorites is the candy cart, which will
once again be making an appearance
in the front foyer this year.
Although the date has not yet been
announced there is still great deal
of hype surrounding the candy cart
this year, partially due to the success
from last year, and partially due to
comments like sophomore president
Kevin Dillon’s, boasting, “It’s going to
be bigger and better than ever.”
The student council events as a
whole seem to be getting bigger
and better; lets hope that they can
continue to live up to the expectations
from previous years, and
continue to grow in popularity.
point that war is not what romantics
tell us, but is actually a terrible thing
that should be avoided at all costs.
The great thing about the
History Club is that you don’t have
to be especially talented at sports or
the arts to be in it. It is something
that anyone in the school can do.
You do not have to be in the History
club in order to attend one of the
movies. However, it is important
to note that all students under
seventeen who would like to watch
the movies will most likely need a
parent-signed permission slip in
order to attend any R-rated movies.
In the future, Mr. Cleary
hopes to organize trips to see different
speakers at the Kennedy School
of Government or perhaps the
Boston Public Library. Another possibility
is the foundation of a book
club, from some period of history.
Before I end, I just want to make a
quick shout out to all students who
are considering participating in the
Moot Court Competition. Participation
in Moot Court will really expand
your knowledge of history as well
as of the Supreme Court, and you
should consider entering the tournament.

Page 4 The Walrus: School News & Entertainment
November 2009
Rousing ‘Yankees’ Wins Big
By BOBBY WRIGHT ‘12 &
SEAN FRAZZETTE ‘12
In 1955, writers George Abbott and
Douglas Wallace joined forces with
prominent musicians Richard Adler
and Jerry Ross in order to create one
of the greatest musical comedies
of the 20th century: Damn Yankees.
On Friday, November 6th, the St.
Sebastian’s Drama club recreated this
spectacular spectacle here in Ward
Hall. The stars of the play, Tom Keefe
’11 and John Barrack ’11, acted as
an athletic baseball superstar and a
devious devil, respectively, as they
sang, danced, and laughed their way
through this stellar performance.
However, the true stardom lies in the
minor characters, whose songs, facial
expressions, and witty lines were
what made the play a must see. The
baseball players, including Mark Lane
’12, Jay Daukus ’14, and Patrick Rivard
’14, performed countless choreographed
dances that left the audience
collecting their split sides . Also,
a dramatic court scene, anchored by
Sean Frazzette ’12, Bobby Wright ’12,
and Alex Morin ’12, left all sitting on
the edge of their seat, waiting for the
final verdict. Tom Keefe ‘11 and Emily
Morgan ‘10 from Montrose shared
a passionate love scene, the likes of
which haven’t been seen since Kate
Winslet and Leonardo Dicaprio in
The Titanic. The crowd favorite had to
have been “Who’s Got the Pain” which
consist of a hilarious mambo dance
routine performed Mark Lane ’12 and
Emily Morgan ’10.
However amazing these performances
may sound, they did not
come without hours and hours of
practice. Long days, sleepless nights,
and lack of social lives were mere
sacrifices we had to make along
our steady path to perfection. For
almost 8 weeks, the cast came together
every Monday, Tuesday, and
Thursday in order to prepare for the
upcoming day of the performance.
We began the play season with a
care free approach to the production,
disregarding our lines, giving
a lack luster effort, and goofing off
in practice. However, the date of the
performance crept closer and closer,
and it became obvious that we all
needed to pull it together if we were
going to make this play a success.
Upon sitting down with Drama Club
co president himself, John Barrack
'10, he explained several flaws in the
cast’s behavior, and what was going
to be needed in order to get this
play on the right track: " If the play
continues the way it's headed, were
going to crash and burn come opening
night. It's gonna take a lot of effort
and a lot of time to the steer this
fall play out of its spiraling demise.
Nonetheless, I think it is achievable,
as long as Lou Heck actually learns
his lines."
With a week left till opening
night, we entered the long
and difficult struggle known only
as tech week. During tech week,
practices can range anywhere from
five o'clock to eight thirty, or even
five o'clock to ten. On more than one
occasion, cast members could be
found scattered around Ward Hall,
catching a quick nap before their
next scene. As you can imagine,
we were all worn down and on the
edge of defeat, but we didn't give
up. Through hard work and determination,
the play began to take
shape. The songs began to sound
like legitimate songs, and not just
incoherent nonsense. Choreography
improved tenfold, as the dances for
"Who’s Got The Pain" and "Heart"
were perfected. And lastly, Lou Heck
actually memorized his lines. Before
we knew it, opening day had arrived.
Anxiety and nervousness crept into
the minds of all the cast members,
building more and more as it neared
seven p.m. Hearts pumping, hands
sweating.. It was show time. The cast
burst on to stage, enthusiastic and
energetic, beautifully belting out the
sweet and soft lyrics of the opening
song "Six Months Out of Every Year."
Nailing it, the play continued. With
an out-of-sight performances by
Paul Lee and the rest of the ballplayers
in their song "Heart", the play
kept-a-rollin’ with full force. With an
incredible performance from Emily
Morgan in "Whatever Lola Wants,
Lola Gets" and an outstanding rendition
of "Those Were the Good Old
Days" by our very own John Barrack,
the play was nothing less than perfect.
However, "A Man Doesn't Know"
performed by Lou Heck '11 and
Katie Fitzgerald '10 was the cherry
on top of our Damn Yankees sundae.
As a last and final song, the cast
performed once again the beloved
"Heart" which left the audience feeling
happy and satisfied.
In the end, the play was a
success, but only through the hard
work and perseverance of every
single cast member. The St. Sebastian's
drama club is always looking
for new members and new ideas, so
feel free to drop by and have a word
with Mr. Rogers, or even seek out the
co presidents, Tom Keefe and John
Barrack, in the hallways. Next stop,
the winter play!
Lou Heck ‘11 and John Barrack ‘11impress with their fine performances in “Damn Yankees”
Sophomores Learn About God,
Retreat to the Marion Shrine
By BRENDAN DUNPHY ‘12
On Tuesday, September 29th, the
sophomore class went on retreat to
the Marion Shrine in Holliston. The
class boarded two buses at 8:30 AM
and left St. Sebastian’s on route to the
shrine.
When the sophomore class arrived
at the shrine we put our lunches in a
room and went back into the chapel
and the retreat leaders, Mr. Nunan,
Fr. Arens, Mr. Goulet, Mr. Schell, and
Mr. Eaton, gave us the schedule for
the day. We started off with a short
prayer service in the small chapel led
by Fr. Arens, and then Mr. Nunan gave
us a short speech on the importance
of a retreat. After we listened to Mr.
Nunan we walked outside to a walking
rosary.
The rosary started at a large cross,
and we, as a class, began to pray
the prayers of a rosary. After the
first prayer we started walking on a
path which brought us around the
rosary. At each large rock we said a
prayer then followed the chain to the
next rock where we prayed. While
we prayed the class was spiritually
united, as we walked along the rosary.
After we finished the rosary, we
walked back into the meeting hall.
In the meeting hall, we talked about
Jesus and watched videos about
when he first met Peter and the
other disciples. After watching the
videos, we had an open discussion
on how Jesus acted in his early days
with Peter, and about the courage
Jesus had to associate with the tax
collector. Later, we did some drawings
that related to the video and
talked about our drawings.
After we drew and talked about
God, we ate lunch as a class outside,
under a roof. As some ate their
lunches, others socialized. After
lunch, we went back inside to watch
more clips of Jesus. At each table we
wrote about Scripture and shared
our answers with the entire class
again.
Then, we walked around outside
toward where our class would be
celebrating mass outside. As we
were walking, we passed caves
with candles and a wishing well.
Then, we took our seats at the mass
where two students provided the
alter-serving, two others did the
readings, and Father Arens led the
mass. The class enjoyed the mass
and when it was time to receive
the Eucharist, we were all called up
around the altar and Father Arens
gave a special blessing to our class.
The class watched Fr. Arens bless
the Eucharist and then we received
it and sat down. At the end of the
mass, Mr. Goulet gave each member
of the class a special gift that Father
Arens blessed. We all received glow
in the dark rosaries to remind us of
our walking prayers as a class. Each
student took their rosary and then
waited until the buses came.
Some sat by a pond with a fountain,
others walked around and saw a
tree trunk exhibit from over two
thousand years ago. When the buses
came, we all got on the buses and
returned home to St. Sebastian’s
where we met in Ward Hall. Mr.
Nunan spoke about the retreat and
how it helped each of us become
closer to each other and God. All in
all, the sophomore class retreat was
a success in all aspects and we grew
greatly in our understanding of each
other and of God.
Tom Keefe ‘11 looks surprised to get any attention from Lola, played by Emily Morgan
Math Team Dominates
By THOMAS MURPHY ‘11
On October 20th 2009, the
prestigious varsity math team traveled
to Mr. Rest’s room in order to
partake against a mighty foe to open
the fall season. After many weeks of
taking practice tests and honing their
mathematical skills each and every
day, the day of the first contest finally
arrived. Theorems and formulas racing
through their minds, #2 pencils
sharpened, and calculators at the
ready, the varsity math team finally
took on 6 perilous problems given
to them in the allotted thirty-minute
time limit. Not intimidated by the
daunting task in front of them, the
Arrows Mathletes were able to put
together a very impressive score even
without many formal meetings of the
entire team.
The superb mathematical minds
amassed a great score of 27 having
scores of 6,6,5,5, and 5. Unlike other
varsity sports the math team did
not take on a single opponent, but
instead took on the entire I.S.L. and
many other illustrious teams throughout
New England. The math competitions
are a series of six questions with
the first question being the easiest
SADD Chapter Continues
To Promote Safe Decisions
By CHRIS STADTLER ‘12
SADD’s Mission: To provide students
with the best prevention tools
possible to deal with the issues of
underage drink, other drug use,
impaired driving and other destructive
decisions.
“Decisions now decide
your future” is the new motto of
sophomore Robert Cotter, who was
recently one of six elected to be
SADD moderators for their class. As
class moderator, he pledged to bring
our class together and help make
St. Sebastian’s a better place. When I
asked him what his plan was for the
upcoming year, he reaffirmed his
promise in saying, “I plan on trying to
get everyone to be more open and
honest with each other. You should
support your fellow classmates to
make good decisions -- just remember
to be honest and respectful to
one another. I just simply advise
all members of the community to
remember that the cornerstone of
St. Sebastians is to "take good care
of one another.” With unity day fresh
Celebrity Look-A-Like
Mr. Schell
and the last being the hardest. A
team’s score is accumulated by adding
up the top five scores.
Unlike other varsity sports, the
math team has no cuts and the
more people who participate the
more likely the team will earn a
higher score. The amount of kids
who attend St. Sebastian's that are
talented enough to join the illustrious
team and help with the score
of the Mathletes is astounding. Kids
may claim that they are too cool or
would never be caught dead doing
math for fun. However, the number
of cookies available combined with
witty comments coming from Mr.
Rest and other team members, it is
well worth the extra math problems.
If you are interested in joining the
team, here are some math problems
you should try:
Problems:
If 2^(x-3) = 1 and 5^(y+2) = 1 what is
the value of (2^x)(5^y)?
The product of 1993 consecutive
integers is 0. What is the greatest
possible value for the largest one of
these integers?
in our minds, these wise words are
important to remember.
With fellow newly elected
moderators of Chris Marino, Robert
Cotter, Chris Nadeau, Nick Chappel,
and Alex Spear, SADD Chapter is in
good hands and looks to have another
exciting and educational year.
The seatbelt survey has already gone
by. The results varied, but, in general,
a high percentage of passengers and
drivers wore seat belts. However,
there is always room to improve and,
in order to save lives, more belts
need to be clicked. In other news,
our very own Mr. Williams gave a
poignant speech to the club about
his struggles with alcohol and the
obstacles he overcame. Most of all
he stressed the importance of not
going down the path of temptation
that he succumbed to, and to avoid
situations that could make us go
that route. The entire chapter looks
forward to many more constructive
talks about the harms of potentially
destructive actions.
The future, though, looks
the brightest for the club, as many
classic events are already in the
works. The junior class has taken
If N is a positive integer, and if N^50
is a 16-digit number, what is the
value of N?
Find the area of the region bounded
by the graphs of the equations,
x = -2, y = 0, x = 3, and y = |x+2| +
|x-3|
Answers:
1) Since 2^0 = 1, x = 3. Since
5^0 = 1, y = -2. Therefore (2^3)(5^-2)
= 8/25.
2) One of the integers must
be 0, so the largest that one of the
1993 consecutive integers could be
is 1992.
3) Clearly N > 1. Also, 3^50 =
7.179 x 10^23 is too large, since it
is a 24-digit number. Finally, 2^50
= 1.126 x 10^15, 2^50 is a 16-digit
number so N = 2
4) Method I: For any value of
x from -2 to 3, the value of |x+2| +
|x-3| is 5. So, from x = -2 to x = 3, y =
|x+2| + |x-3| has the same graph as y
= 5. The region we want is a square
whose area is 25.
Method II: In the graph, the dotted
line is the graph of y = |x+2| + |x-3|.
The shaded region’s area is 25.
upon the duty of the SADD concert.
For the perennial favorite, the band
Taste has been booked of which Tom
Keefe’s older brother is a member.
The March SADDness is in the headlights
too, as everyone looks forward
to two more exciting tournaments.
SADD Chapter this year
holds more students than ever. It
is one of the largest clubs in the
school. With the growth of the
club, it is far more than likely that
new ideas will surface about future
events. Also, destructive decisions
will see continued decline as, more
and more, people are involved or
affected by the efforts of SADD
Chapter. Hopefully we can continue
to achieve our ultimate goal of
keeping students on the right path.
This first quarter, my belief is that
we have succeeded in our goal. One
new member recently stated, “SADD
chapter has become a good way for
kids my age and me to learn about
possible solutions to problems that
might arise, not only in school, but
also in our lives away from the classroom.”
Ant from the Pixar movie “Antz”

November 2009 The Walrus: School News
Page 5
Fantasy Football Report
By RYAN BACIC ‘11
When the leaves begin to change
and fall rolls around again, Belichick
wannabes everywhere gather to
plot their strategies and make their
picks to prepare themselves for the
upcoming season of America’s new
national pastime: fantasy football. In
case you’ve never heard of it, fantasy
football involves drafting a team of
NFL players and earning points based
on their real-life performances. Using
this points system, you compete
head-to-head each week against a
different member of your league to
see who’s the best potential NFL GM.
This new rage is sweeping the nation,
and with many Arrows in on the action,
it’s more important than ever
to share everything there is to know
about the goings-on of the NFL and
how it affects your squad.
As all fantasy owners know, running
back is the most important position
in the game, as they’re guaranteed to
get touches on every series and are
given plenty of opportunities in the
red zone to cap off the drive with a
touchdown. Heavy hitters at this position
include Minnesota Viking Adrian
Peterson, Jacksonville Jaguar Maurice
Jones-Drew, and Atlanta Falcon Michael
Turner. These three should have
very successful seasons this year as
expected, with each of them on pace
for at least sixteen rushing TDs.
Another heralded trio of running
backs has not been faring quite so
well this year. Though all projected
as top 10 fantasy running backs to
start the season, Steven Jackson, Matt
Forte and Steve Slaton all have had
weak starts to the 2009 campaign, as
none of them scored a touchdown
through the third week of the season
(Jackson waited until Week 8 for his
first). Based on the strong run defenses
that each will be facing during
the next couple of weeks, don’t look
for their numbers to jump up too significantly.
Forte, in particular, doesn’t
get too much of a break the rest of
the way except against St. Louis in
Week 13 and Detroit the last game of
the season.
Bruins Start Season Slow
signs of a rough journey.
By JOE DUDLEY ‘12
Brian Westbrook, out for Week 8
with a concussion, opened the door
for rookie LeSean McCoy to step
in and make his case, and he did,
rushing for 82 yards and a score in
the Eagles’ 40-17 rout of the Giants.
Even with Westbrook coming back, I
wouldn’t get rid of McCoy just yet if
you picked him up, considering the
fact that Westbrook hasn’t exactly
been setting the world on fire during
his time on the field this season (197
yards, 1 TD in 41 rushing attempts
through Week 7).
Finally, as if Chiefs back Larry Johnson
wasn’t having a bad enough
season as it was (358 rushing yards
and no touchdowns through the
first half of the season), he has been
suspended from the team at least
through Week 9 after making some
choice comments about his team
and specifically head coach Todd
Haley. If you’ve been waiting for the
“right time” to finally cut ties with
him, I think you’ve found it.
Moving on to wide receivers, Jaguar
Mike Sims-Walker was a big surprise
throughout the first few weeks
of the season. Stepping up in the
absence of Troy Williamson, Sims-
Walker appears to be the Jaguars’
premier target, with 3 touchdowns
and an average of 93 yards per game
through the first four weeks of the
season. It’s too bad that the Jaguars’
struggles in recent weeks have had
a real negative impact on his fantasy
performance, as Jacksonville hasn’t
snagged a passing TD since their
dismantling of the Titans over a
month ago.
After sitting out Week 3 with a
hamstring injury, Chiefs stud wideout
Dwayne Bowe decided to play
through the pain in Week 4 and it
showed, as he amassed only one
reception for 11 yards in a 27-16
loss to the Giants. Since that time,
his receiving yards haven’t gone
up too much, but he has amassed
four touchdowns in only six games
played, which have saved what
would have otherwise been a dismal
fantasy season for Bowe. Don’t fret
though: given some proper time to
heal, the dynamic Bowe’s numbers
should drastically improve. Look for
bigger numbers from him after the
Chiefs’ bye in Week 8.
Jets rookie QB Mark Sanchez may
have started off the season strong
with a 3-0 record before falling to
New Orleans, but don’t get caught
up in the hype in terms of fantasy.
His numbers have been enough
to get the job done but not much
more, averaging a modest 186 passing
yards and one passing touchdown
per game through the first
eight weeks of the season. Unless
you’ve got a couple guys on bye at
the same time, I wouldn’t bother
going out of your way to pick him
up. With backup—but still often
used—running back Leon Washington
being placed on injured reserve,
third-stringer Shonn Greene, not
Sanchez, should be looking to shoulder
more of the offensive load.
In other quarterback news, there
have been quite a number of teams
involved in the QB carousel, with
Derek Anderson (Browns), Chad
Henne (Dolphins), and Josh Johnson
(Buccaneers) replacing Brady
Quinn, Chad Pennington, and Byron
Leftwich, respectively. To be honest,
though, none of these QB switches
should have a significant impact on
your team, because unless you’re
playing in a huge league, neither
you nor anyone you’re up against
probably has any of these players
anyway. However, one player who
has been affected is Ronnie Brown,
who has seen increased time under
center running the Dolphins’ trademark
Wildcat offense in Pennington’s
absence. Also, keep an eye out for
another Bucs QB, 2009 first-round
pick Josh Freeman, who might see
some more snaps after his team’s
horrendous 0-7 start to the season.
And that concludes everything
that you need to know to prepare
yourself for the rest of this year’s
unpredictable and exciting fantasy
football season. Follow these tips
and guidelines and in the end you
will no doubt be basking in the glory
of victory as league champion.
Bruins players advance the puck into the offensive zone during a game earlier this season.
14 games into the NHL season, the
Bruins sit in 4th place in the Northwest
division, 12th in the conference,
have a record of 6-7-1, and have
accumulated only 13 points so far.
The only team with fewer points in
the northwest division is the Toronto
Maple Leafs, who happen to have the
ex-Bruin, Phil Kessel, on their bench.
Many injuries, such as Marc Savard’s
broken foot, have plagued the Bruins
thus far and have limited their success
on the rink.
On October 1st, Boston
was electric as the opening game for
the Bruins against the Washington
Capitals started their season. The
game was the first of a five game
home stand the Bruins were to open
the season with. The Bruins looked
to start their season on a high note
and to prove that they could generate
offense without last season’s top
goal scorer, Phil Kessel. However,
the game did not fall their way. The
first period was in a standstill until
2:45 left, when Washington’s Brooks
Laich capitalized on a power play to
give the Capitals a one goal lead. The
game was all down hill from there for
the Bruins, as about midway through
the second period, Alex Ovechkin
could not be held in check as he
scored his first goal of the season. At
the start of the third period, the game
was out of hand when Laich scored
once again on another power play.
Hardly a minute and a half later the
dangling Russian Ovechkin added
his second goal of the game and
solidified Washington’s victory. The
Bruins were able to score by the stick
of Patrice Bergeron to avoid a shutout.
After the disheartening blow
out, the Bruins set their sights on the
Carolina Hurricanes, and looked to
get revenge for last year’s playoffs.
Revenge is exactly what the
Bruins got after their 7-2 slaughter
of Carolina. Tim Thomas, last year’s
Vezina Trophy winner, made a much
better showing and helped his team
get their first win of the year. After
such a great victory the Bruins appeared
to be building momentum,
but were unable to transfer it into
the game against Anaheim. The
Bruins started off well, ending the
first period with a 1-0 lead, but the
Bruins allowed Anaheim to run the
table as the Ducks scored 6 straight
goals to win the game 6-1. After
beating the New York Islanders in
a 4-3 shootout, the Bruins set their
sites on powerhouse Colorado. With
the first period ending the score was
2-0 in favor of the Avalanche, but the
Bruins made a comeback to even
the score at 2. Colorado’s fast start
was too much to overcome, however,
and the Avalanche buried the
Bruins with two more goals in the
second period. After scoring again
in the third, the Bruins could not get
the evasive last goal they needed to
send the game to overtime, and the
team went back into the locker room
with a loss. Only five games into the
season, the Bruins gave ominous
Over the next seven games,
the Bruins hovered around .500,
losing after every win and winning
after every loss. In only one of these
games did the Bruins lose by more
than one goal, and that was to the
Phoenix Coyotes by the score of
4-1. After losing a tough game to
the Devils, where the winning goal
was scored off a rebound in the
final 1:30 of the game, the Bruins
looked to bounce back against
Edmonton, a streaky team that is
also hovering around .500. After a
sold 2-0 win, the Bruins looked to
win back to back games for the first
time this year against the Rangers,
but couldn’t follow through. The
lone goal of the game came from
a one-timer from Gaborik in the
second period. The Bruins were
not able to score on any of their 29
shots as Lundqvist was able to stop
every one. The Bruins then traveled
to Detroit for their next game. And
after 2 goals in the first period by the
Red Wings, the Bruins were not able
to respond with a goal of their own
and were outscored for the second
straight week. This loss marked the
first time the Bruins lost back to back
games all season. Although the season
is long the Bruins are headed in
the wrong direction with their losing
record. If they want to have any shot
at making the playoffs the Bruins will
need to recollect their composure
and string a few wins together and
get over the hump of a .500 record.
The ‘S’ Sports Want You!
By JOHN CHEEVER ‘12
There are many choices for
students besides hockey and basketball
for a winter sport and baseball
and lacrosse for a spring sport. These
options include: squash, swimming,
ski team, and sailing. Think of
them as the “four S squads” -- all are
looking for more participants.
St. Sebastian’s squash program
started as a club in 2001. The coach,
Mr. Moore, says that squash “still has
a lot of growing to do. It is definitely
more serious now….We would love
to have new guys come out to give it
a try.” For anyone interested in trying
squash, Coach Ryan Moore says that
the Nobles practices are the best
times to visit because there are more
courts available. The team practices
at Nobles on Monday and Tuesday
nights from 7-9 p.m and at Cross
Courts Squash in Natick on Wednesday
and Fridays from 2:30-5:30 p.m.
There are no practices on Thursdays
According to Mr. Moore, the goal of
the squash team is definitely “…to
be a varsity sport at some point, but
we can’t become one until we have
courts of our own. The situation is
kind of a Catch-22; we need courts to
develop a better varsity program, but
it seems like we can’t develop a better
varsity program without courts.
Our hope is to draw some new guys
each year…and keep building our
base until there is sufficient interest
to develop a program here.” No prior
experience is necessary to join the
squash team. As the season progresses,
you will improve your game.
Initially Mr. Moore will lend racquets
to interested players. The team plays
against teams such as Noble and
Greenough, Middlesex, and Belmont
Hill. Squash at St. Sebastian’s
offers an opportunity to play a rising
team sport. Swimming at St.
Sebastian's is entering its second
year as a varsity sport. The coaches
are Mrs. Callini and Mr. Jenkins. Mr.
Jenkins has said that they are looking
for more participants "the more
the merrier." The swim team is a joint
effort with Dana Hall and swims at
their pool. Mr. Jenkins says that the
team "feels like a coed team."
All you have to pay for is a swim
suit and goggles. The races are
during the week and the practices
are everyday after school. The team
swims against Milton Academy,
Thayer Academy, and other schools
in the co-ed NEPSSA (New England
Prep School Swimming Association).
Last year swimming drew students
from most grades. You do not need
prior experience for the sport but
Mr. Jenkins says, "You need to be
willing to work hard and improve."
The future Michael Phelps might be
in our midst…
Ski team is excited this year
because for the first time they will
be a varsity sport. Skiing has been
available to St. Sebastian's since
1994. The coaches are Ms. Rynne
and Mr. Simoneau. Ms. Rynne says
practices are at Nashoba Valley, Blue
Hills, or occasionally at Wachusett.
Participants have to pay for their
own skis. The team practices 3-4
times a week in preparation for their
competition against ISL schools.
Ms. Rynne says the varsity ski team
"requires intermediate skiing ability."
She also notes that the skiing
is "alpine racing only, no free style,
jumping, or aerial." If you enjoy the
outdoors this may just be the sport
for you. Finally, St. Sebastian's
had a sailing club early on which
competed out of Boston and then
was re-established in 1995. The
varsity sailing team primarily sails
out of Community Boating but also
race throughout New England. The
coaches are Father Arens, Ms. Rynne,
and Doctor Martin. The team competes
out of the Northern District
NESSA. Each year they compete
at the Massachusetts Bay League
Championships and Massachusetts
State Championships. They also are
frequent participants at the NESSA
O'Day Regatta. The sailing team
competes against Beaver Country
Day, Belmont Hill, Brooks School,
and many others. If you’re
interested in sailing Ms. Rynne says
you need to buy equipment including
a "wet or dry suit." The team
practices and races three to five
times a week, experiences former
sailors at Sebs have called “a blast”.
Sometimes taking a risk
and trying a new sport can be very
rewarding. Many of these sports are
lifelong skills which you can use in
your life after St. Sebastian's and
will bring you many years of enjoyment.
These sports are part of the
St. Sebastian's athletic program and
should be given their due credit.
So if you’re looking for a fun and
interesting sport to participate in
this winter or spring, give these four
“S” squads a try – you’ll not only
improve yourself, but also the results
7-1 Celts Seek Championship
BY TOM HOFF ‘11
As we all knew before the
start of the year, the Celtics are a contender
for the finals again. However,
many fans, including myself, have
been surprised how well they have
played right out of the gate. I felt
that the Celtics of this year would be
a team that had a very good regular
season record, but by no means great,
en route to a probable second or third
place finish in the conference, much
like the Spurs have done the past few
years, hoping to save their veterans
for the playoffs. However, the Celtics
so far have been able to get the best
of both worlds. Through the first four
games, the team has amassed four
wins, and they have been able to rest
Kevin Garnett, coming off of major
knee surgery. Garnett has played an
average of less than 40 minutes per
game, and a big reason for this fact is
that only one of their games has been
down to the wire. Another reason
has been the usefulness of Rasheed
Wallace, to take some of Garnett’s
minutes and keep him fresh.
Because of players like
Wallace, the Celtics have a new asset
– depth, especially in the frontcourt.
With the signings of Wallace and Shelden
Williams, as well as Glen Big Baby
Davis and Mr. D. Burke – I mean Brian
Scalabrine, the Celtics have many
guys that can step in for Garnett or
Kendrick Perkins, due to injury, fouls,
or necessary rest. Furthermore, in
the backcourt, the Celtics also have
some depth behind Allen, Pierce and
Rajon Rondo, including shooter Eddie
House, the newly acquired quick
Marquis Daniels, Bill Walker, and
Tony Allen.
There is one main reason
that the Celtics need their depth,
which is also their biggest problem
– age. Currently, Ray Allen is playing
a ton of minutes, almost an entire
game, and he’s 34. Kevin Garnett is
33, and as I said earlier, is recovering
from a knee problem that plagued
him for about five months, and Paul
Pierce, who has played almost every
game for two long playoff runs, is 32.
Rasheed Wallace, who is now their
sixth man, is the oldest at 35. This
team has a ton of mileage, and that
cannot get any better as the season
goes along. While Rondo and
Perkins are young and more durable
this year and staples of the franchise
later, a team cannot be built around
an extremely good point guard and
a very good center. This leads to
unfortunate news for Celtics’ fans:
The Celtics need to make this season
count, because, barring some unexpected
deals, in as little as two years
they will not be a contender, and
they could be near the basement of
the Eastern Conference.
With this season possibly
being the last for a title contention,
the Celtics need to do everything
they can to win this year. I’m talking
strictly about the moves that
they need to make in February, the
month of both the trading deadline
and the time to buy out players,
which is how the Celtics got Sam
Cassell and Stephon Marbury. While
Cassell didn’t help the Celtics much
Eddie House gets fired up on the court after making a three
at all, the Marbury signing was well
worth it. After all, the Celtics would
not have won game 5 against Orlando
if Marbury did not score 12 fourth
quarter points. This year, if the
Celtics can get a defensive stopper
or possibly another good shooter
in a buyout, they would be greatly
benefitted. Someone like Grant Hill,
who is looking for a championship,
could be the perfect fit for the Celtics.
Furthermore, the trade possibilities
are intriguing. With the way that
contracts are now, and the fact that
owners of bad teams want to acquire
contracts that run out sooner and
give up longer contracts, it’s possible
that the Celtics would trade Brian
Scalabrine, Tony Allen, JR Giddens,
and a draft pick for a player with a
multi-year contract on a bad team
making between $5-$9 million. Such
a move may now seem far-fetched,
but with the horrible economy, it’s
very possible that another GM would
make that move. Now, someone
with less than a $9 million contract
won’t exactly save the Celtics, but
someone like Stephen Jackson, who
falls in that range, could be a major
help. The problem with Jackson is
that his contract runs for another
three years after this year, and the
Celtics may not want to make that
kind of commitment to a player,
especially when they could be in the
basement in three years. However,
I feel that this move would help a
great deal and maybe is necessary,
because, after all, the Celtics need to
go for it all this year, because this is
their best chance.
There are two other teams
in the east, however, that feel the
exact same way. Cleveland needs to
go for the trophy this year, because,
if they don’t get it, there’s a great
chance LeBron will leave after the
year. Orlando needs to know if the
team they have now can actually
gel, after they essentially gave up
Courtney Lee and Hedo Turkoglu for
Vince Carter. This means that these
two teams will go for everyone that
they can during the season, just like
the Celtics. The Cavs have already
made a move, acquiring Shaq for
essentially nothing (also because of
contracts and the economic situation).
This move has a huge bearing
on the Celtics, because it is either hit
or miss. The Cavs could get a rejuvenated
Shaq who puts his ego aside
for a championship, and also to get a
contract next year. If this happens, it
may not matter what the Celtics do,
because, the Cavs could run away
with the title. However, if the Cavs
get the Shaq with a huge ego who
wants the ball always in his hands,
despite having the best player on
the planet on his team, then the
Cavs could fold, giving the Celtics a
good chance. Through all this, I have
concluded one fact: The Celtics can
win it all this year, if they take advantage
of their opportunities

Page 6 The Walrus: School News
November 2009
Marine Biology
Club Underway
By J. DONOVAN ‘12 and
M. FECHTELKOTTER ‘12
As of now, the Marine Biology Club
consists of a group of sophomores
and seventh graders sharing one box
of Dunkin’ Donuts. However, this will
all change very soon. In our meetings
so far, we have discussed many
field trip options such as attending
lectures and films at the aquariums
in Boston, Woods Hole, and Gloucester,
and possibly even a fishing trip.
The club was started last
spring by Mr. Stratton, who happens
to be truly interested in marine
biology. Due to the fact that the club
was started so late in the year, the
club was only able to embark on one
field trip. They went to the Imax Theater
at the New England Aquarium
located at 1 Central Wharf, Boston,
Massachusetts, 02010 (Phone 1-617-
973-5200; web address http://www.
neaq.org), to see a film about the
deep. The most fascinating aspect
was that the flick was shown in 3-D.
While sitting in the theater, schools
of fish would suddenly flash by,
flashing and dancing inches from
the face. Then, bursting through the
school, a whale would charge out
from the screen. Every detail was
portrayed with spot-on accuracy and
it was very easy to distinguish the
different types of sea creatures. The
club returned that night satisfied
and with a new understanding of
the world of marine biology.
The Marine Biology club
is unique because it is mainly run
by students rather than faculty. Mr.
Debate Makes
Early Noise in
By JOE ALBANESE ‘10
DANEIS
As the end of the fall sports season
rolls in, it isn’t hockey that is on the
collective minds of St. Sebs, or basketball,
or even squash. Or swimming or
skiing. No, it is Varsity Debate that has
captured the imaginations of countless
souls. While sports seasons have
come and gone, Debate has already
had a busy schedule, and will continue
to immerse itself in argument
during the weeks to come.
Led by Coach Nerbonne, the St.
Sebastian’s Debate Team (as he insists
it be called) has already had a busy
year. Students have competed in the
Stoneleigh-Burnham Public Speaking
Competition, and in their own
novice tournament, while the St.
Paul’s Prepared Oregon-Style debate
has twice been delayed; no doubt an
illustration of the highest cowardice.
Sundays will be hectic in the late
fall, with the Andover Parliamentary
Extemporaneous on November 18th,
Hotchkiss on November 15th, and
Roxbury Latin on December 6th.
The Novice Tournament at St.
Sebastian’s took place on Sunday,
November 15th with great success.
There was a turnout of 12 schools,
from Exeter to Roxbury Latin to the
infamous Hotchkiss. Many of the
schools brought 16 debaters and 2
judges with them, a hefty load; and
this was only the novices. Thanks to
the efforts of studious seniors doing
paperwork behind the scenes, and
judging debaters, as well as other St.
Sebs students working as speakers,
the tournament went off without a
hitch. Our own debaters had some
success in the ring: the team of Julian
Matra ’13 and Michael Petro ’13 came
through with a record of 3-0. Chris Riley
’13 also won an individual speaker
award as the speaker with a score of
66, the best score from St. Sebastian’s.
The Novice challenge is not the only
event St. Sebastian’s will be hosting
for debate. Another Parliamentary
Extemporaneous tournament will be
hosted here on Sunday, February 21.
For those who are unfamiliar with the
club or with the concept of debate,
here is a quick overview. Students devote
occasional Sundays to competing
at another school’s tournament.
The most common format is Parliamentary
Extemporaneous, in which
teams of two compete with other
Stratton is a great organizer and
planner; however, he leaves to us the
major decisions and trip planning.
Mitchell Emerson says this about the
club, “Well it's laid back and it’s not
strict or anything and we get to do
what we want to do for activities. It’s
a good club for students because
they can do what they want and
learn at the same time.”
The future of the Marine
Biology Club looks promising with
leaders Severin “Sovereign” Chambers,
Tom Kelly, and Mike Healey
at the helm. It was stated by Mark
Cunningham, “Marine Biology club is
the best thing since sliced bread.” He
also said, “I think that it's a good club
but it's really only starting up, and
we need to jump start it and if we do
we can do some pretty cool trips.”
As Mr. Stratton says at every meeting,
“This club is what you guys make
of it.” It can be great or just another
small group. Anybody is welcome
to join the club, but some interest in
Marine Biology is required because
this is club is intended to be not only
fun, but also informative.
It can’t be stressed enough how
important it is to be involved in the
school’s many activities, whether it
is Football or Debate Team. And if
you aren’t involved in any of these
activities, please go out and support
the teams. The only club you won’t
get any credit for is the 2:30 club. GO
ARROWS!
various teams throughout three
rounds in a single day. The topics
are not known beforehand, but are
given once each new round begins.
It will usually be a statement such as
“the pen is mightier than the sword”,
and it is up for the teams to redefine
it as a debatable topic. As each side
debates, it escalates into a frenzy of
things such as “sign-posting”, “clash”,
“rebuttals”, and of course scathing
“heckles”.
Each speaker is scored on the basis
of his or her speaking, organization,
and argument. The scores of both
speakers factor into the overall score
of the team. The speakers from each
side are ranked from 1st to 4th,
and the team with the most overall
points wins the round. At some
tournaments, after the third round,
the day finishes off with a dinner and
some kind of finishing competition,
whether a final debate between the
top two teams with the audience
as the judges, or an impromptu competition
where a topic is given and
a speech must be formulated nearly
on the spot by one person from each
school.
If the concept of proving someone
else wrong excites you, or you desperately
want to know what in world
“sign-posting” is, it may be time
to join the ranks of students who
comprise this large and vibrant club.
Furthermore, it is a chance to bring
home some hardware and glory for
your school, as well as some welldeserved
bragging rights. There has
already been some great success for
our school this year, as can be seen
from the early successes of this year.
The hordes of plaques and awards
in the library also give an idea of the
level at which our school is competing.
It is an exercise that can be fun,
challenging, and enlightening as
well. Spending a Sunday at some faraway
school is by no means a chore
or an ordinary school trip. It is a
chance to spend the day with many
other students, gaining experience
in public speaking and argumentation
technique. Dozens of kids from
all grade levels have already signed
up, and there remains a full calendar
for the rest of the year. For more
information about the debate club,
you should see Mr. Nerbonne or
check the schedule, rules and scores
of past tournaments online at www.
DANEIS.org.
POINT - COUNTERPOINT:
Which TV Show is Supreme?
“The Office” “Entourage”
By TOM GREGG ‘10
Every week I look forward
to one night of television: Thursday
night on NBC. Why? Because ‘The Office’,
arguably the best half-hour show
on television, fancies me with a new
episode. For those unfamiliar to the
show, ‘The Office’ follows a workforce
at a failing paper company name
Dunder-Mifflin. The boss, Michael
Scott (played by Marshfield resident
Steve Carell), is an immature and
over-promoted leader that oft manages
to embarrass himself. Under Michael
is Jim Halpert, an underachiever
and procrastinator, who just recently
was promoted to Co-Regional Manager
of the Dunder-Mifflin Scranton
branch, and a misfit group riddled
with shenanigans.
One of the better parts
about ‘The Office’ is its reality. The
show is based around a workplace
with a horrible atmosphere. The
workers all dislike their job, their
coworkers, and their bosses, and use
Dunder-Mifflin simply as a means
to get by. Inside this sea of misery
remains Michael, who over-enthusiastically
attempts to rally his troops and
create better work chemistry in the
hope he will be respected and loved. I
can connect with being in an environment
I dislike. I understand how these
people can drag themselves through
a useless work day just to have a
paycheck at the end of the month.
The other great thing about
‘The Office’ is the characters on the
show, most notably the sidekicks. No
show has people like Creed Bratton
(played by Creed Bratton), Andy
Bernard (Ed Helms), and Kevin Smith
(Fat Actor). Dynamic and utterly useless
characters such as these gems
bring true comedy to the show. On
top of Michael’s embarrassment,
Jim’s pranks, and Dwight’s naivety,
the sideshows enlighten the viewer
with at least seven solids minutes of
sidesplitting laughter. For example,
Creed Bratton, head of Quality Assurance,
once did not do his four-hour
examination that he has to do once
a year. Instead of manning up for his
mistake, Creed blamed the inappropriate
water mark on the paper on a
woman who was home sick the day
he was supposed to go. The woman
was then fired, so Creed collected
money for her from everyone in the
workplace. In the final scene of the
episode, Creed ditches the envelope
and stashes the nineteen dollars he
raises. Comedy like this from supporting
characters goes unmatched
in any show on any network. ‘The
Office’ blows ‘Entourage’ out of the
water when it comes to characters.
I have watched Entourage religiously
over the past six years, and as much
as it pains me to say this, the show
has rapidly gone downhill. The characters
have transform like the auto
bots into figures unrecognizable to
those in the first seasons. Vinny and
the boys have become caught up in
the glamour of a Hollywood lifestyle,
something that they promised
would never happen to them. Turtle,
the greatest character on the show,
went from New York tough guy to a
preppy Los Angeles brat. Turtle lost
his attitude and gained a sensitive
side. As much as I believe a show
should have growth, Entourage took
a step back with its characters. Once
E becomes a manager in an actual
business, he develops into a gungho
rat who steps on the people
around him to get ahead. Vince loses
his laidback attitude and begins
to take an interest into success, a
policy he vocalized he would never
delve in to. As much as I loved the
first few seasons of ‘Entourage’, the
show took a turn for the worst. It lost
its dreamy aura and developed into
the biography of a struggling actor
and his friends. When ‘Entourage’
blessed my eyes as an exciting new
show, I wanted to be Vincent Chase.
I wanted to take my boys with me
to L.A. and live the American dream,
but now, I do not want to. The once
surreal lifestyle lived by the entourage
lost its glamour and became
a depressing reality. They stopped
being close friends and began to go
their separate ways.
If given the option of watching an
episode of either show, I know I
would much rather sit down and
watch the office.
Kanye West Causes
a Ruckus at VMA’s
By WILL VIETZE ‘11
“I’m gonna let you finish, but Beyoncé
had one of the best videos of all
time…one of the best videos of all
time.” As you all know by now, Kanye
West and his enormous ego interrupted
the speech of our beloved Taylor
Swift during the Video Music Awards
this year. He completely ruined the
moment for Taylor, and made himself
look like a fool in front of the entire
country. I think this incident especially
hit home in the St. Sebastian’s
community, due to the widespread
obsession with Taylor Swift across all
grade levels. Nick Cortese even said
last winter, “There are very few girls I
can think of that are more beautiful
than Taylor Swift.” It is quite evident
that the collective school community
now hates Kanye and his haircut with
a passion. Although Nick’s opinion
is not my own, or in any way valid, I
think his appreciation of Taylor Swift
is similar to if not lesser than that
which most of our school has for her.
Brand new Arrow, Ty Wiik even said. “If
I was a foot taller I would totally look
Taylor in the eyes and ask her out.”
Even the youngest in our community
profess this love of Taylor without
any embarrassment or trepidation.
By choosing Taylor’s side, the Seb’s
community has waged war on Kanye
and his supporters.
Our nation’s celebrities
hate him as well, and many have
expressed this deep hatred through
the use of Twitter. Kelly Clarkson, an
avid Kanye hater, tweeted, “What
happened to you as a child?? Did
you not get hugged enough??.... It’s
absolutely fascinating how much I
don’t like you.” Kelly’s creative insults
and use of Twitter mobile has taken
hating to an entirely new stratosphere,
which can only be reached
by the most creative minds and the
most avid Tweeters. Heidi Montag,
new soldier of Christ and star of The
Hills, tweeted, "Congrats @taylorswift13
on your vma!!! you deserve it
more than anyone!! I saw the devil in
action when kanye west stole your
mic! u rock!!!" I have seen people call
Kanye a jerk, but to say that the devil
Kanye West ignited controversy at the VMA’s last month
By CHIP CABOT ‘10
HBO’s Entourage is a show about
Vincent Chase, an actor played by
Adrian Grenier and his exploits
living with his ‘entourage’: brother,
Johnny Drama, and two long time
friends from Queens, Turtle and Eric
Murphy, or ‘E’. The show follows each
of the characters as they pursue
careers and women throughout the
sunny city of Los Angeles. Johnny,
Vince’s brother and an out of work
actor faces frequent rejection from
producers while his anger management
issues and tough-guy persona
always keep him interesting.
The Office is a show about
people in an office. Sweet. Don’t let
this high-intensity setting let you
think that the show is anything to be
proud of, its not. The only character
worth listening to is Dwight Schrute,
and even his paranoid-ramblings begin
to wear on the nerves after just a
few episodes. Regional Manager of
Dunder Mifflin, Michael Scott (Steve
Carell) is the single other interesting
character on the show. I’ll admit,
his childish humor is funny sometimes—but
his sense of humor is not
enjoyed by all. In contrast, Entourage
is rich with always interesting characters
such as Ari Gold and Lloyd, his
gay assistant, who always make the
show great to watch.
Celebrity appearances also set
was working through him has taken
Kanye-bashing to a new level. This
tweet is also coming from a person
who is married to Spencer Pratt, who
is most likely the worst human being
currently living on our planet. As
good as these insults are, in my opinion,
one tweet sums up the moment
the most succinctly and creatively.
Katy Perry, of “I Kissed a Girl” fame,
tweeted, “Its like you stepped on a
kitten.” Though her apt use of simile,
Katy perfectly describes the incident.
Kanye West ruined the moment of a
nineteen-year-old girl when she was
most vulnerable and made her cry,
very similar to the action of stepping
on a little kitten. Even our president
Barack Obama, supposedly had
something to say about Kanye in an
off-the-record interview.
Although this seems to be
the most publicized Kanye outburst,
he has had a plethora of other rude
interruptions at various award shows
in the past. During the MTV Europe
Music awards, when his video for
“Touch the Sky” failed to win, he
went up on stage and argued that
he should have won the award. After
losing to Britney Spears at the 2007
VMA’s, Kanye even suggested that
the voters were racist, so they didn’t
vote for him. No other artist in recent
Entourage apart from The Office. In
a recent episode, the boys take part
in a fund raiser celeb-golf tournament.
One of the guest appearances
is by Tom Brady and Mark Wahlberg.
Turtle, a Giants fan, takes issue with
this and sets out to ruin Brady’s day.
In a bizarre and comical twist Turtle
realizes that he actually likes Brady
and they begin to act like friends—
making snide remarks about each
other.
Entourage has so much more
to offer than the Office. First, the
setting changes. Following the life of
the superstar Vince to exotic locales
like Kahn, in France and Medelin in
Colombia to name a few. Second,
with the abundance of characters
there is never a dull moment. In
another recent episode, somebody
breaks into Vince’s house and steals
all the underwear in the laundry
room. Who would commit such a
heinous act other than a creepy
stalker? After finding an ID in the
couch, Drama sets out to beat up
the alleged stalker, who turns out
to be working in a porn store. Upon
confronting the dude, Drama realizes
that the ID was just from the
red-haired creep’s earlier days working
in the furniture store. Twists like
this make Entourage a great show
to watch, much better than the stale
humor of The Office.
“The Office” and “Entourage” are both awesome TV series
memory has gone on stage to argue
his or her case, because most people
have enough dignity to accept
defeat. Throughout his career, he has
interrupted even more people than
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon
on ESPN’s popular show PTI. He has
even had an entire episode of South
Park devoted to ripping on everything
about him, a thing that very
few people have achieved in their
lifetime.
As many haters as Kanye
has, he also has a lot of people who
adore him. I myself enjoy his music,
but I can in no way say that I like his
character. When asked about Kanye,
our very own Ben Thai said, “ Yo
Vietze, I tried to get some Air Yeezy’s
on eBay yesterday, but they cost 900
bucks.” If you are not familiar with
sneaker culture, Ben was referring
to Kanye’s signature Nike shoe,
which sells for close to 1,000 dollars.
It is clear that Ben loves Kanye, in
contrast with previously mentioned
Ty Wiik, who adores TayTay. Even our
Junior Senior Walrus editor, Edmund
Murphy, quoted Mr. West in his chapel
speech last year. In conclusion I
would like to quote Kanye himself:
“Somewhere far along this road he
lost his soul…how could you be so
heartless.”

November 2009 The Walrus: School News & Sports
Page 7
“FENCES” Entertains Frosh
By CHRIS PICHER ‘13
This fall, the ninth grade class had
an optional trip to go see the performance
of “Fences’. On October 4th
we went to the Hunington Theater
to see a serious play based on the
relationships in the Maxson family
along with their family friends.
“Fences’ is a play appropriate for all
audiences, a serious play that has its
storyline based on every day conflict
between family members and
friends. “Fences’ is a play that has a
consistent setting throughout that
displays the back of the house, the
porch and the backyard, in a 1954
Pittsburgh home.
The protagonist in the play is Troy
Maxson, a 54-year-old former
baseball star in the Negro Leagues.
He currently works for the sanitation
department and he spends his days
lifting garbage into trucks. Troy’s
best friend is Jim Bono, to whom
Troy tells many stories from his past,
extending the truth while telling his
compelling stories. Cory, the son
of Troy Maxson, and his father have
a relationship conflict throughout
the play due to the fact that Cory
refuses to do anything other than
play football and refuses to invest
his time in finding a job down at the
A & P. Rose, Troy’s wife and Cory’s
mother, values the essence of family
and loving one another. Rose tends
to get frustrated during the course
of the play because fighting in this
play is a reappearing event. The
center of Troy and Cory’s arguments
are about getting a job versus
playing football. During the play,
Troy talks about his disappointing
sports career and he tries to tell his
son Cory that investing your whole
life in sports is not a smart idea.
The football scouts convince Cory
that playing college football is the
right decision instead of getting
a job that will help you with your
future. As the play progresses, Troy
becomes more distraught due to
the fact that Cory has acted oblivious
to his dad’s advice and quits his
Cross-Country Battles
Down the Homestretch
By KEVIN WOLFE ‘12
weekend job to play football. In the
end, Troy refuses to let Cory play college
football, so after graduating high
school, Cory looks for a job.
In the second half of the play, Troy
partakes in a secretive relationship
with another woman while Rose has
no clue about what is going on until
the day her heart is broken when Troy
revels the truth to her first and true
love, Rose. Rose struggles to move on
from the devastating news but in the
end she agrees to be the mother of
the baby girl. Troy’s second lover dies
while giving birth to the healthy baby
girl named Raynell but Troy admits to
Rose that he was happy with Alberta.
Alberta represents Troy’s dream world
where he is free from worries and
problems. In the end of the play, Troy
and Cory’s relationship doesn’t end
on a high note, Cory and Troy have
a fierce fight involving swinging a
baseball bat. Ultimately, this fight
between Cory and Troy strengthened
Cory’s belief in himself.
The reason for the title,
“Fences’ was chosen due to the fact
that there is a fence that is put up
As the 2009 Cross Country reaches its
end, there is no doubt that the team
has put all of its effort forth to fully
reach its potential. Because of the
tough demands of the sport, each
member of the team has been forced
to look deep into the depths of his
physical and mental strength and
push his body to its highest capacity.
From this hard work, the team
has been able to build upon a strong
foundation needed for competing
well in the two most important races
of the year: the ISL Championships
and the New England Championships.
After a strong victory at the
home course in Dover, the runners
headed up to Governor’s Academy
for a match against the home team.
Though a somewhat challenging
course with seemingly obnoxious hills
and turns, St. Sebs finished strong
with all solid race times. Captain
Ricky Mulroy `10 led the team with a
17:37 and not too far behind was Will
Adams `11 with a 19:05 finish. Terry
O’Connor was also able to break the
20 minute mark, running a strategic
19:59. Finishing at number four and
five for the time were Tom Murphy
`11 and Robbie Spencer `11, the
former running a 20:03 and Spencer
a 20:40. Peter DeMatteo `11 finished
with a 22:08 and Nick Cortese `11,
rising through the ranks, ran a 22:22.
Sean Sullivan `11 also finished strong
with a 23:19. JV runners Andrew Bono
`12, Kevin Wolfe `12, and Sam Racine
`11 also helped the team out with
strong races. Although the Arrows left
the race with a 21-38 loss, the team
grew from this experience, helping
make the following races even more
successful.
The next week the team was
greeted by a surprise appearance
from former captain Brian Horne `09.
Back on fall break, Horne decided
to visit his old teammates and offer
some motivational advice that he has
learned at college and from his rigorous
ROTC program. That week the
team trained quite intensely in the
cold weather, and Horne even came
out to run in the practices, further
motivating his teammates to put their
best efforts forth. On Friday race time
had come, and the team was prepared
to face off and dominate St.
George’s squad. As the runners lined
up on the start line, two large SUVs
came rushing down the parking lot.
In these two cars came some of St.
Sebs’s finest football players ready
to cheer their fellow Arrows on. As
the runners rounded their first and
second miles, the football team was
there to motivate everyone to run
even faster. The cheering of the footballer
players and the inspirational
words of Brian Horne led the team to
run one of its best races of the year.
Mulroy led the race again, finishing
first out of all the competitors.
He also set a course record with an
amazing 18:04 finish. Adams finished
at 19:05, while O’Connor, Murphy,
Spencer and DeMatteo all stayed
under the fast 21-minute mark. After
battling back from a knee injury,
Kevin Lynch posted an impressive
21:00. Sam Racine, shaving off 2:17
from his first home race, ran a wellearned
24:26. All runners showed
drastic improvements from their first
races at Caryl Park in September.
After another week of
strenuous training, the runners were
ready to take on Roxbury Latin,
Middlesex, and Nobles at Nobles’
home course. Although the 5K loop
may have seemed manageable in
the warmups, the course showed no
mercy as its runners battled through
its hills and windy turns. Mulroy led
the team again, posting a 17:26.
Adams ended the race close behind
Mulroy, and following him with a
valiant finish was Tom Murphy. From
the last 100 yards of the race, it did
seem as if Murphy could pass the
contender in front of him, but Tom
was determined to escape defeat.
A split second before an unknown
racer was about to cross the finish
line, Murphy leaped past this young
man and stole his placement in the
race. Nick Cortese `11 (20:42), Lynch
(20:48), Racine (22:43), and Wolfe
(21:43) all set personal records for
the year. Spencer, DeMatteo, and
Sullivan continued to improve upon
their earlier race times. Andrew Bono
also showed great improvement,
finishing with a 22:22. Although
the Arrows lost to the three other
schools, the strong finishes for all of
the runners instilled a new sense of
confidence in the team.
during the play that surrounds the
Maxson family property. I believe
that the title ““Fences’” has a deeper
meaning than just then just a
wooden barrier; it symbolizes a
task of work that Cory and Troy are
responsible for completing but fail
to accomplish.
“Fences’ was a great play to see in
a theater because the characters
were able to bring the play to life by
truly expressing the character traits
of the people in the play. As Matt
Donovan describes the play, he says,
“The actors were phenomenal and
they were able to portray the roles
and emotions that were necessary.”
Teddy O’Hara enthusiastically says,
“The actor of Tory Maxson successfully
captured the intensity of the
rough times in segregated America.”
These sentiments express their love
for the play that all of the freshman
boys had when sitting in the
Hunington Theater. October 4th
was a great day for thirty boys in
the freshman class because we were
able to see great theater as well as
learn about the play that we will be
reading in the spring.
Although not a freshman, Paul Lee ‘11 has “Fences” fever
The week before Halloween
brought neither rest nor
relaxation for the team. The runners
struggled through hill runs, track
workouts, and long tempo runs,
but this brutal exercise would be
needed in the days to come for the
next three races. On Saturday, the
team traveled to Groton to compete
against St. Marks, Milton and Groton.
The first two miles of the course
were quite flat, which was a strong
indicator that the runners would be
entering the third mile with some
fast times. Unfortunately, this was
no PR course for the entire third
mile was uphill, and quite steep at
some points. Coming in first for the
team and finishing third overall in
the race was unsurprisingly Ricky
Mulroy. Adams and Spencer both
finished under 20 minutes, earning
impressive placements amongst the
other racers. Much recognition is
awarded to Spencer, who on one of
the most challenging courses of the
year managed to set a PR of 19:54.
O’Connor, toughing out a painful hip
injury, posted a 20:30. Lynch, Murphy,
DeMatteo, and Cortese all stuck
close together in the race and gave
St. Sebs helpful finishes in the race.
Although Sean Sullivan struggled to
find the right air on the third mile,
he fought his best on the hill to earn
a 22:59. Wolfe (21:43), Bono (22:54),
and Racine (23:31) all raced well for
JV. The Arrows had no victories over
the other schools, but nonetheless
the runners learned from this challenging
course.
With the New England
Championships only days away (the
ISL championships will be completed
by the time this article is printed),
the runners will have to use all their
abilities and strength to end the season
in a victorious fashion. Although
powerhouses like Roxbury Latin or
St. Paul’s may seem out of competition,
the Arrows can surely triumph
over teams like St. Georges or
Middlesex. The St. Sebs cross country
team has reached great heights over
the past two months, and the runners
must enter the next races with
awareness, toughness, and a deep
competitive spirit in order to make
the season one of success.
Seb’s Welcomes Mrs. Madsen
By SAM RACINE ‘11
On a Wednesday afternoon, I sat
down with Mrs. Madsen for an
interview about her new position
as a Spanish teacher here at St.
Sebastian’s.
Where are you from originally?
I am from Indiana.
So, what brought you to MA?
I went to college here in Massachusetts.
What college(s) did you go to?
Well, I received my undergraduate
degree from Tufts University, and a
graduate degree from Middlebury
College in Vermont, where I majored
in Spanish.
How did you hear about St Sebastian’s
School?
I applied through a teaching
agency. My info was given to St. Sebastian’s
directly, and they accepted
me to teach here after an interview.
What classes are you teaching this
year?
I’m teaching Spanish 1A, Spanish
4H, and Spanish 5H.
What are your impressions of the
school so far?
I really like it here, and I feel like
everyone is supportive and respectful.
This is a very nice community.
What do you think about the “all
guys” atmosphere?
Well, it’s not too different, because
I had two older brothers, so this kind
of atmosphere isn’t a huge shock to
me, but then again there are things I
didn’t expect, like the sort of lifestyle
and physical joking around.
What do you like to do in your spare
time?
I enjoy reading and cooking, I also
like going to the movies.
What would you say is your favorite
lunch at Sebs so far?
Well, I don’t often get a hot lunch.
I just usually have a salad, but I do
really like the pudding they have.
So what is your favorite movie?
I can’t really think of my favorite
movie all time, but a good one I
recently saw was “Drag Me to Hell”.
Nice choice. Favorite TV show?
I’d probably say “The Office”. [See
page 6 for more information.]
How about your favorite musical
artist/band?
I really like “Travis” and “The Weepies”.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I spent last year in Madrid, which I
enjoyed very much.
Well, there you have it. Mrs. Madsen,
we welcome you to St. Sebastian’s
and we hope you enjoy being a part
of this community. We’re delighted
you’re here.
2009 Mag Drive: Cashing In
By JOHN O’CONNOR ‘10
It’s everybody’s favorite time of year
again! On the Friday before Halloween,
the majority of the student body
attended the best assembly of the
year, the magazine drive assembly.
In previous years, someone would
come into Ward Hall and shout at us
for about 45 minutes about how awesome
selling magazines can be and
about all the amazing prizes you can
win. Although I was not present at
the assembly this year, I assume it was
similar to previous years with two major
differences. The first being that a
stampede of gorillas charged through
the assembly midway through, and
the second being that there were
new and exciting prizes offered this
year.
The prizes are clearly the incentive for
students to sell magazines, though
working to sell them can be tedious
and is not required. The magazine
people have found the correct formula
for getting kids to do something
they may not want to do, however:
give them money. The only prize
you can win by doing the magazine
drive is money; the creativity comes
into play with how you receive this
money. There are basically 5 different
ways you can win money by selling
magazines. The first way is simple,
but hardly anyone ever does it. If you
handed in your magazine orders by
November 5th, you can be entered
into a drawing for $50. The second
possible way to win money is by
selling $125 dollars and praying your
name is picked out of everyone in the
entire student body to win a hefty
$500. To my knowledge, nobody
has ever won this $500 because the
person picked out of the hat never
sells $125 worth of magazines. It
The International Club is collecting
books for Hands across the Water, a
non-profit agency based in Stoneham,
Massachusetts. The organization
combines two worthy causes: the
reuse and conservation of books with
the education and literacy of children
and adults in the United States and
throughout the world. Books that
would otherwise be disposed of are
collected and sent to areas of the
country and the world where reading
materials are scarce. In this way, two
issues are addressed: donated books
are not taking up valuable space in
landfills and people who might not
could pay off big if you win, but I
wouldn’t bank on it. The chance that
you are the lucky person picked out
of the hat is .274% or 1/365. Assuming
you want a more guaranteed
way of making money in this deal
would be to take a look at the 3rd,
4th, and 5th prizes. The third way to
win money is through lollipops. This
prize is not based on how early you
turn your sales in, nor how much
money you make with magazine
sales, but actually based solely on
skill. Students receive 1 lollipop per
every 2 magazine sales they make.
Every lollipop is marked on the bottom
with colors. The colors indicate
how much money each lollipop is
worth. They have lollipops worth, $1,
$5, $10, $20, and the elusive $50. Or
so they say, as there has never actually
been a recorded sighting of a
$50 lollipop, and precious few $20 or
$10 sightings, but they are rumored
to exist.
Those aforementioned prizes have
all been used in previous years to
get people to sell magazines, but
this year, there are new prizes as
well. One such new prize is getting
to play in a dodgeball tournament.
If you sell $125 worth of magazines,
you not only get entered into the
mystery student $500 drawing, but
you also get 2 envelopes filled with
unknown sums of money and get
to play dodgeball against other
students who sold $125 of magazines.
The rules of this magazine
drive dodgeball are roughly the
same, except when you get hit with
a ball, you have to give an envelope
of money to the guy that hit you,
and you leave the game with your
leftover envelopes. The extra fun
twist is that for every $50 over $150
you sell in magazines, you get an
have books to read are getting them.
The organization recognized a
dichotomy in that some areas of the
world have an abundance of books
and other areas have too few. From
time to time, schools and libraries
must get rid of parts of their
collections to make room for new
books. Publishers often discard older
editions of books to make room for
newer editions. These books are still
in good condition. Even if they are
recycled – shredded and reduced
to pulp – there are issues. In the
process of recycling books, harmful
chemicals are released into the environment.
Hands across the Water
has come up with another option
extra envelope, so if you sell $300
worth of magazines, you start the
game of dodgeball with 5 envelopes
of money. If you are very good at
dodgeball and selling magazines,
this game has potential to earn you a
lot of money.
A final way to get money through
the magazine drive is by selling
over a whopping $250 worth of
magazines, and playing this game
called plinko. Plinko is a board with
a bunch of randomly spaced nails
in it. At the bottom of the board
are pockets worth various dollar
amounts, such as $1, $5, and $10.
To play plinko, you drop a plinko
chip into the top of a vertical plinko
board and you get whatever amount
of money is in the pocket that your
chip lands in. Similar to the dodge
ball game, you get an extra plinko
chip for every extra $50 worth of
magazines you sell.
Theoretically speaking, if you sell
over $250 worth of magazines, you
could play every game, and win
a great deal of money, but before
you go to the trouble of calling up
everyone you know and filling out
long magazine order forms, it is
important to remember that all of
these prizes are based entirely on
luck and it is unlikely you would win
any decent amount of money. Over
my years at St. Sebastian’s I have
sold hundreds of dollars worth of
magazines and have earned at most
$20 in total. Though I am telling you
that the prizes aren’t worth quite as
much as they seem, all the magazine
money you earn goes to this great
school, and it would certainly be
admirable to sell magazines for the
benefit of the school. That being
said, happy magazine drive season
to everyone – including the gorillas.
International Club Needs Books
Hands Across the Water benefits suffering children overseas
By SAM RACINE ‘11
for these books. They have taken the
steps to collect them and send them
to areas where books are scarce.
Since this group began in 2007,
they have collected over five million
books and donated them to schools
and libraries in Haiti, India, the
Philippines, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia,
Malawi, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania,
Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and
Georgia. English is the language
that is used for education and
literacy in many developing nations,
so the books collected by Hands
across the Water are a good match
for the people in these countries.
The group has been able to provide
books to schools and libraries on five
continents. Books are also provided
to disadvantaged areas of the United
States.
The organization is growing and
in addition to Massachusetts, has
collection centers in Connecticut,
Rhode Island, Georgia, and Washington.
The agency welcomes donations
of all sorts of books: hard cover
and paperback, fiction and nonfiction,
books for children and adults,
textbooks, books on tape, and DVDs.
We ask all St. Sebastian’s students,
teachers, and parents to look around
their homes and offices and bring
in any unwanted books to donate
to this cause. You will be helping
schools and libraries to expand
their range of reading materials and
enabling the people who read them
to broaden their horizons.

ARROWS SPORTS
Vol LXIII, No. 2
Varsity Soccer Vying
for Final Playoff Spot
By ALEX SPEAR ‘11
As the St. Sebastian’s Varsity Soccer
Team approached the middle of their
season, they ran into a little bit of a
rough patch, losing their first game
and following the loss with three
straight ties. After the Arrows played
a fine match at Milton Academy on
October 10th, which featured senior
goalkeeper Tom Gregg’s first shutout,
gutsy play in the backfield, dominating
midfielders, and relentless
offensive pressure by the Arrows—in
which the Red and Black won twonil—the
team’s record was an impressive
4-0-2 (four wins, no losses, and
two ties). Nevertheless, though, as all
athletes can attest, all great seasons
have their ‘roadblocks.’ But, as you
will see as you progress through this
article, the Arrows Soccer Team has
battled through some tough games
and has gotten back on track—a true
testament to the outstanding character
shared by all players and coaches.
After the Milton Academy
game, the Arrows hosted a fast,
scrappy Brooks Academy squad.
Throughout the first half of the game,
both teams battled and the play went
back and forth, and the entire match
truly was a back and forth battle. As
the whistle blew to end the first half,
both teams were scoreless yet playing
high-paced, solid soccer. The second
half began as expected—high tempo
and physical as both teams were
doing everything possible to scratch
out a goal. The score remained at a
zero tie until a Brooks forward came
streaking through the middle and received
a beautiful through ball which
he buried into the goal to make the
score one to nothing. Minutes later,
a Brooks’ midfielder get through the
defense and put a nice hooking ball
into the left side of the net to widen
the score midway through the second
half and stun the Arrows. There has
been an interesting trend throughout
the season for the Arrows, and this
trend is the following: that the Arrows
tend to play better and better as the
game gets on. Any spectator can
confidently say that the Arrows—no
matter the score—outplay their
opponent in the last ten to twenty
minutes to due phenomenal conditioning
and never quitting. And, of
course, the match versus Brooks is
a great example of this trend: as the
Arrows restarted the play after the
Brooks goal, the Arrows had the ball
in their offensive zone for the rest of
the game, looking for opportunities
to score. Just under ten minutes, midfielder
Ryan Hayes ’10 put a bouncing
ball into the bottom left corner of the
net, and all of the sudden the Arrows
were back in the game. Once again,
the Arrows loaded the pressure on
Brooks, and it for sure seemed that
the Arrows would once again score.
But a speedy Brooks forward caught
the defense playing a bit too aggressive
and got past them en route to
scoring his second goal of the game.
As Brooks took a three-one lead with
about seven minutes to play, the Arrows
brought on the immense pressure
again but just could not find the
twine and suffered a heartbreaking,
yet well-played match. This was the
Arrows’ loss of the season.
The following day, the team
hopped on the bus on a cold, rainy
Thursday afternoon to travel to Tabor
Academy. The Arrows possessed the
ball very well throughout the game,
and midfielders Zane Stanton ’11 and
Hayes played many beautiful balls to
the forwards and the outside midfielders.
In the latter part of the first
half, senior midfielder Chris Dillon
notched a nice goal as he sprinted to
the left post and scored on a loose
ball inside the six-yard box. The score
remained one-nothing until the
Tabor forwards caught the Arrows
defense back on their heels as a midfielder
hit a long through ball behind
the defense and to a forward who
beat freshman keeper Ben Piersiak
for a goal. The Arrows left Tabor’s
campus that afternoon with a 1-1
tie. The Tabor goalkeeper played a
good game, saving an Arrow penalty
kick and an unbelievable number of
chances the Arrows had to score.
Two days later, the Red
and Black welcomed a very good
Belmont Hill team for Homecoming
2009. This game was simply a battle
on all aspects of the field. Gregg and
the back four consisting of seniors
David Ruffolo, Nick Jacoby, Peirce
Daly, and junior Alex Spear played
a great defensive game, shutting
down fast, talented Belmont Hill
forwards. Once again, the midfielders
of Hayes, Stanton, Chris Dillon,
Kevin Dillon ’12, and Nick Creegan
’11 played great games. Strikers
Dillon Kerr ’11, Charlie Callanan ’11,
and George Price ’13 had to deal
with big, athletic backs but toughed
it out and had terrific games as
they mounted heavy pressure and
created some solid chances. In front
of a massive Homecoming crowd
of parents, teachers, students from
many schools, and the San Miguel
School, the Arrows gave their fans
a well fought game that featured
no goals but basically everything
else one would enjoy watching in a
soccer game—heavy pressure, solid
possession, lots of energy, intensity,
and good scoring chances.
In the final portion of the ‘roadblock,’
the Arrows took a long bus ride out
to Lawrence Academy to take on the
Lawrence Rebels. The Arrows’ adversaries
made their presence on the
scoreboard first as the two Lawrence
forwards connected on a through
ball that was struck into the top left
corner of the net. The second half
convening with Lawrence Academy
leading one-nil, the Arrows came out
flying and Creegan earned a penalty
kick for the Arrows as he took a
hard tackle just inside the top of the
eighteen-yard box. Daly took the
penalty kick, and placed his strike
perfectly into the side of the goal.
Minutes later, though, the Rebel
forwards once again connected on
passes and buried their second goal
to take another lead. The Arrows
then dominated the play in their
offensive zone, until finally a hard
tackle just outside the eighteen-yard
box gave the Arrows a free kick in
a very dangerous part of the pitch,
and the Arrows capitalized. Kerr taking
the free kick, he perfectly struck
the ball right over the defending
wall and netted the ball just under
the crossbar towards the right side
of the net. Kerr’s beauty leveled the
scoring, and that’s the way the score
stayed—two-two.
At the time, the Arrows had
a 4-1-4 record, and were preparing
to take on the Middlesex Zebras in a
very meaningful contest. In arguably
their best-played match of the year,
the Arrows shut out the Zebras 2-0,
earning Gregg his second shutout
and the defense turning in another
fine performance. The defense and
Gregg thwarted the opponent’s
attacks long enough for Callanan to
bury a ball to the back of the net to
break the scoreless tie, giving Price
the assist. Until late in the second
half, the scored remained at onenothing.
It was at this point—late in
the second half—that Kerr scored off
a Kevin Dillon strike to put the Arrows
up by two and win the match.
Once again, the Arrows out-hustled
and wore out their opponents in
the second half. The following week
featured a well-earned six-point
week for the Arrows as they beat a
good St. Mark’s squad 3-1 on a frigid,
rainy afternoon off of goals from
Stanton, Callanan, and Creegan. That
Saturday, the team ventured off to
Newport, Rhode Island to take on
a very, very good St. George’s club.
The two teams matching up quite
similarly, the game was extremely
well-fought, fast-paced, and physical.
As expressed by coaches Lynch
and Schell, the team who capitalizes
on scoring chances will win the
game. Both Arrow goals were scored
off of tremendous hustle. The first
Arrow goal, coming in the second
half after St. George’s opened the
scoring at the beginning of the
second half off of a free kick, was
produced off of great efforts from
Callanan, who beat the St. George’s
keeper to rolling ball and hit a short
cross to Junior Tim Stoddard who
pounded the ball into the back of
the net. About fifteen minutes later,
Callanan once again hustled to a
loose ball and gave it off to Kevin
Dillon, who was unmarked inside
the eighteen-yard box, settled the
pass, and chipped the ball right over
the St. George’s keeper’s head for a
stellar goal. This match was fantastic
and incredibly well-played against
an athletic, smart St. George’s Team.
Although the Arrows have
most recently suffered a tough 2-1
loss to St. Paul’s School, in which St.
Paul’s scratched out two scrappy
goals and the Arrows one hardearned
goal knocked in by Ryan
Hayes, the match was again another
fast-paced and physical one where
the Arrows—once again—took
control of the game with superior
conditioning, especially in the
second half. Many scoring chances
arose for the Arrows, but the team
just got unlucky in burying them.
Kerr had many nice tries and Stanton
just nearly missed from a long way
out.
This loss does not define
how mentally and physically tough
this Arrows team is, as they will do
their best—and expect of themselves—to
respond with another
well-played, energetic game on
Friday, November 6th at Groton at
2pm. Hopefully, this time though,
their maximum efforts will be
rewarded with a win. The Arrows—
with the prospect of post-season
play—have a tough remainder of
the regular season as they take on
Groton (aforementioned), leagueleading
Roxbury Latin, and Thayer
Academy (last home game, 10am on
Saturday, November 14th).
All twenty-two players
continue to work extremely hard
at practice day in and day out, and
a record of seven wins, two losses,
and five ties (overall) reflects this
hard work. The team thanks senior
managers Joe Albanese and Tom
Smail for their devotion to the team
and for helping out with equipment
at practices and games. This is an
exciting time for Arrows Soccer, so I
urge all of you who read this to try
and watch some of the game against
Thayer that wraps up the season—I
promise you will not be disappointed!
As Kevin Dillon ‘12 looks on, Ryan Hayes ‘10 breaks from the pack in effort to charge upfield.
St. Sebastian’s School November 2009
QB Brian Strachan ‘11 lines up in the shotgun as Mike Ewing ‘10 prepares for the handoff
5-2 Football On Tear
By DOUG KINGSLEY ‘12
Coming out of a close win against
Milton Academy the previous week,
the Varsity Football team was itching
for another victory. The Arrow’s
next game would be against their
archrivals Belmont Hill at home, on
homecoming.
The tension was rising between the
two teams as they strode out onto the
rain soaked turf early in the morning
of October 17th. The Arrows began
to warm up in front of a crowd of over
a thousand fans consisting of parents,
students, and alumni. The game was
sure to be a battle of the titans. It all
began as Captains, Max Kingsley (‘10)
Mike Ewing (‘10) and Bill Connolly
(‘10) approached center field for the
coin toss, accompanied by the honorary
captain Kevin Rich.
For those who do not yet know, Kevin
Rich is the six year old son of alumnus
W.T. Rich. Kevin has recently been
diagnosed with leukemia and is undergoing
multiple treatments as they
try to find a cure. While at St. Sebastian’s
W.T. Rich was a talented running
back of the Arrows football teem. The
football teem is honored and inspired
by having him as a member of our
team, and our prayers and support go
out to the Rich family.
After Kevin won the coin toss for the
Arrows, the game began. The first
half was eventful and fast paced,
as the Arrows battled up and down
the field, and with the help of the
offensive line, Mike Ewing and Brian
Strachan (‘11) were able to move the
ball into Sextant territory. Eventually
a touchdown pass to Charley Allen
(‘10) bolstered the Arrows with a 7-0
lead. Unfortunately however midway
through the second quarter Belmont
Hill was able to make two touchdowns
placing them in the lead with
a score of 13-7. With one last effort to
score before the half the Arrows were
able to drive down the field and score
one last time putting them up by one
point going into the second half with
the score of 14-13.
The Arrows entered into the second
half with the support of many fans
behind them, but unfortunately,
the momentum shifted again in the
Hill’s favor midway through the third
quarter. The Arrows experienced
an array of both carless errors and
unneeded penalties which slowed
down their momentum and eventually
cost them the game. The final
score was 14-36.
After the tragic loss against the
Belmont Hill school the football
team faced their next opponent,
Middlesex.
The Arrows faced off against the
Zebras at home on October 24th.
At the start of the game, the Arrows
took the opening possession and
quickly moved toward the Zebras’
territory due to a few big plays. The
first came as Brian Strachan broke
to the outside and scrambled across
the field for a 15 yard gain. Two plays
later Strachan found sophomore
Kendall Dardy-Jones, (an expert at
his position and a key part to our
offence) who maneuvered his way
around defenders for a gain of 30
yards. A few plays later Strachan
found running room off the edge
again and tiptoed past the pylon for
the touchdown. The Arrows sidelines
erupted with shouts as the points
were put up on the board and they
went ahead.
However, on the next kickoff, the
Middlesex found a lane and ran the
ball up the Arrows’ sideline all the
way down to the 20 yard line. A few
plays later the Zebras’ made a touchdown
tying the score 7-7
Once again the Arrows fought back
with another great drive. Strachan
found Jake O’Malley and made the
pass for what looked to be a short
gain. However, O’Malley shook the
first few defenders and powered his
way up the sideline for a gain of 23
yards. The next play was good for six
yards after being run by Ewing, who
put the Arrows at tin scoring position.
Strachan finished off the drive
again, by scoring, and putting the
Arrows in the lead once again with
the score 14-7. Sadly, the Zebras
scored yet again leaving the score
Varsity Results
Varsity Football:
Middlesex W 27-21
St. George’s W 34-8
Groton W 41-13
Varsity Soccer:
Middlesex W 2-0
St. Mark’s W 3 -1
St. George’s W 2-1
St. Paul’s L 2-1
Groton W 2-0
Cross Country:
St. George’s W 17-38
Nobles L 22-36
Middlesex L 26-31
Roxbury Latin L 18-44
21-14 going into the third quarter
In the second half the Arrows struck
back at the Zebras with intensity.
Charles Conigliaro pinned the Zebras
deep in their own territory to start
the third quarter, and the St. Seb’s
defense played hard, making it impossible
for Middlesex to score the
Middlesex team had no other choice
but to punt, which left the Arrows
with a chance to get back and score.
Unfortunately, just when St. Sebastian’s
moved the ball down near
the goal line, the ball was fumbled
on the three yard line by Bill Connolly,
who latter was heard saying “I
thought the count was on the color
not on two.”
In the last quarter the game came
down to a one touchdown difference,
because of an unlucky missed
the extra point. However on the kick
off Charles Conigliaro kicked the ball
on a line drive, which then bounced
off of the helmet of one of the
Zebras’ front line men and landed
in the hands of sophomore Austin
Franchi.
The Arrows burned some clock on
this fortunate possession before
punting and pinning the Zebras
deep in their own territory on an
outstanding tackle by Murphy
Vandervelde (11).
In all, the Arrows playing tough on
offense and defense, St. Sebastian’s
was in control the entire game. The
final score was 21-27. The Arrows
came out with another win.
The next week the Arrows traveled
to Newport, R.I. to take on the St.
George’s Dragons. The dragons were
egger to play, and impress their
families who had arrived for the St
Georges Family day.
The Arrows stepped drowsily
stepped off the busses in Newport,
R.I. last Saturday, after a two hour
buss ride, to find the St George football
team ready to play.
The fields were wet and muddy
which made it difficult for the football
team to run the ball. Fortunately
the Arrows overcame this obstacle.
Fortunately, the same was true for St.
George’s offence and the St. Sebastian’s
defense was able to stop the,
countless times.
Midway through the first quarter,
Brian Strachan was able to gain
some positive yards and eventually
scored after a 57 yard run. For the
remainder of the first half, the Arrows
continued to stop any offensive
chances for the Dragons, eventually
forcing three interceptions. Peter
Burke played an excellently, picking
off two passes. Jack Connolly made
a key interception in the end zone
for a touchback. Meanwhile, the Arrows
offense fought hard again, and
scored two more times in the second
quarter. One touchdown was made
by receivers Brendan Ecclesine and
the other Charley Allen, both of who
had magnificent games.
The Arrows began the second half
with a 21-0 lead, which they made
bigger with the help of Charles
Conigliaro. The final score for the Arrows
came minutes later on another
explosive play when Jake O’Malley
received a punt, lowered his shoulder
through the first defender and
found his way into the end zone for
a touchdown.
This proved to be the end of the
scoring for St. Sebastian’s but not the
end of the team effort. Several nonstarters,
including many JV players,
saw the field for the Arrows. However
with the Junior Varsity players
on the field, the Dragons were able
to score once, leaving the score 34-8,
another victory for St. Sebastian’s.
So far this year the St. Sebastian’s
football team has done a great job
and we wish the team much luck in
the final game of the season.