Campus News

Middle School boys took part in STEPs Day – or “Solving The Earth’s Problems” – this fall. The boys learned about the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets the UN has defined to solve those problems. 

Philadelphia Inquirer

Top newcomer: In the short term, that’ll be Sherif Kenney, who’s expected to start at point guard as a freshman. In the long run, Howard said guard Christian Ray, the top recruit out of The Haverford School, will develop into a leader. As a high school senior, he led his team to an unbeaten season, and averaged 23.3 points and 11.1 rebounds. Read the story >

On Oct. 24, Middle School students heard from Joshua Foer, author of Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders and co-founder of AtlasObscura.com. Foer uses his book and website to share discoveries of new adventures and encourage intellectual curiosity. 

In Kristin Brown’s Digital Art class, students learn about digital photography, graphic design, and 3D printing. As part of their current photography unit, they’re progressing from camera functions, to editing in Photoshop, to creating video.

John Urschel, a former offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens and a mathematician, spoke about his time as an athlete and a scholar at The Haverford School’s Best for Boys event on Oct. 21, 2019. Urschel signed copies of his book, Mind and Matter: A Life in Math and Football, after the lecture.

By Bruce Adams, PAPrepLive.com

The senior central midfielder has been a potent two-way performer for the Fords’ soccer team. In his last five games (as of Oct. 28), Macaione has dished out five assists, plus he has scored a number of key goals for the Fords throughout the season. fall, Macaione received second team All-Inter-Ac and All-Main Line soccer honors as a key member of Haverford’s Inter-Ac champions. Ford head coach said, “Luke has dominated as a central midfielder and helped our team find its offensive identity. He is a servant leader and a model student at our school.” Outside the pitch, Macaione spoke recently to the Haverford Upper School as a student leader of the Character Mentorship Program – a group dedicated to mentoring students that have committed honor code violations. Read the story >

Since its inception more than a century ago, The Haverford School's squash program has been the best in the country. It has garnered more Inter-Ac school titles than any other school.The legacy of this storied program is now memorialized in Squash, A History of Excellence by James Zug ’87.

On Oct. 21, Upper School students heard from Mansoor Shams, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, a Muslim, and founder of MuslimMarine.org. Shams uses his identity as both Muslim and a Marine to counter hate, bigotry, and Islamophobia through education, conversation, and dialogue. 

On Oct. 10, Upper School students heard from Terrance Lewis, a man formerly incarcerated after a wrongful conviction for second degree murder – which carries an automatic life sentence without parole – and Brett Zakeosian ’06, an Assistant District Attorney who works in the Conviction Integrity and Special Investigations Unit of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. 

By Maddie Hanna, The Philadelphia Inquirer

In an unorthodox use of a school construction site, the Haverford School, a K-12 boys’ private school, is using its middle school building project both to enhance lessons and also to expose students to job prospects they may not otherwise consider.

V Former (junior) Kieran Dias-Lalcaca is one of 20 students in the Philadelphia metro area selected as a 2019 Germination Project Fellow. The Germination Project was founded in 2015 by the Pamela and Ajay Raju Foundation, which aims to re-establish Philadelphia as a global force in policy, commerce, and culture. Thirteen Haverford School students have been accepted as Fellows since the program’s inception.

At the black heart of the Tim Donaghy scandal, at the place where culture, connections, and camaraderie coagulated into a crime that shook the Gibraltar-like NBA, was a concept called “Delco.” Read the story featuring Andy Callahan '93 >

Fifth and Sixth Formers at The Haverford School and The Baldwin School attended a showing of the play “Actually” written by Anna Ziegler. “Actually” tackles issues of gender, race, identity, and sobriety. 

In 1980, Bob Gillin Jr. was elected student body president of the Haverford School. He was only a junior, and he performed so well that he was reelected the next year. He was also captain of the crew team, and star of the school play. Outwardly, he was confident and successful. Read the story >

Vincent Scuazzo, a senior, serves as The Haverford School’s Student Body President. He also serves as a Features editor of the School’s newspaper The Index, and is a member of the school’s Choir. Scuazzo is in his second year as captain of the Fords’ cross country team, and is a member of Haverford’s winter and spring track and field teams. Outside of Haverford, he serves as an acolyte and a verger at his church, and works as a golf caddie at the St. David’s Golf Club. He was inducted into The Haverford School’s Cum Laude society last year, and was also awarded the Coach’s Award for cross country last fall. Read more >

Middle School art teacher Nancy Agati recently participated in the art exhibit We All Fall Down at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. Her art will also be on display beginning Oct. 12 in FLOW at the Independence Seaport Museum.

A senior, Sebastian Bilash is a World Science Scholar, one of only 45 scholars selected from a worldwide applicant pool. As a member, he participates in lectures and sessions (hosted online) by leading scientists and mathematicians, and is doing his own self-study project. At The Haverford School, Bilash is part of the cross-country and track teams. He’s also a founding member of the Thorns and Noble Book Club, which provided students to discuss high-level books with teachers during a lunch period. Read the interview >

Eleven seniors at The Haverford School have been recognized by the National Merit® Scholarship Program. They are among about 50,000 of 1.6 million entrants, representing some of the highest PSAT/NMSQT® Selection Index scores. 

We’re one week into the school year and our boys are already hard at work. Here are some classroom highlights.

In the history classes I teach, I begin with a digital dialogue called “What Gives Us Pause.” Before we begin formal instruction, I invite students to share with each other the social and political currents that worry them most, or make them most hopeful for the future. This dialogue unleashes a flood of student voices. Read the opinion piece in the Inquirer >

The Haverford School kicked off the 2019-20 school year with time-honored traditions on Sept. 4. Opening Day activities included the annual Walk of Virtues and the announcement of the Virtue of the Year, which is compassion.

Lieutenant Commander Stuart Ambrose '96 wrote an article called "Guard the African Coast" for the U.S. Naval Institute's 2019 Coast Guard Essay Contest, which was chosen as the 2019 3rd place winner.

By Linda Stein, Main Line Media News

Shane Fordham got the idea of making a documentary film about his grandfather, Carroll W. Braxton, for an art class assignment because he grew up hearing stories about his days in the Marine Corps, where Braxton was one of the first African Americans to desegregate that branch of the armed forces. Read the story >

This week, we present our inaugural edition of Jews of Philly Fashion, introducing you to the Chosen few who dress our city. They might mix wool and linen, but they’ve got some hard opinions on mixing stripes with florals. In this space, we’ll talk to designers, sellers, buyers, influencers, models and more. For our first week, we talked to Alex Gushner, the fourth-generation men’s buyer at Boyds. Read the Jewish Exponent story about Alexander B. Gushner '08 >

By Athlon Sports

There are those who believe the Oakland Raiders took a colossal jump into the abyss by hiring a TV guy to be their general manager, and they could be correct. When Jon Gruden announced that Mike Mayock would be taking the Silver and Black's front office reins, he wasn't exactly following the traditional playbook. For a guy so beholden to offensive staples like his beloved Spider 2 Y Banana, Gruden looked like someone committed to a wild, new frontier that was completely incongruent in the copycat NFL. Read the story about Mike Mayock '76 >

Several rising seniors are conducting college-level research in science labs as part of the Advanced Research Laboratory Cooperative elective at Haverford. The students gain real-world experience in a professional laboratory while working closely with lab directors to complete the research for individual projects selected by the students. 

The Haverford School began construction on a new Middle School in July. Members of the Board of Trustees, Middle School students, and School leadership performed a ceremonial groundbreaking to mark the occasion and bid farewell to Crosman Hall, which has served the School for more than six decades.

The Haverford School hosts a Bridge Program annually for ninth grade students who are new to Haverford and one of its sister schools, The Agnes Irwin School. Students have a chance to get to know each other, to experience the community, and to engage in meaningful activities with faculty.

Director of Diversity and Inclusion Brendon Jobs was recently interviewed on GTown Radio and Third Space. Currently, he is preparing for the Reimagining Education: Teaching and Learning in Racially Diverse Schools Conference at Teachers College, Columbia University. 

By Donald Hunt, The Philadelphia Tribune

This is a big summer for some of the best Philadelphia area high school basketball players. Roman Catholic High teammates Jalen Duren and Justice Williams and Haverford School standout Jameel Brown are expected to participate in the 2019 USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Minicamp, which will take place July 24-28 at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Read the story >

Middle School history teachers Kori Brown and Emily Lesko, along with Middle School science teacher Mario Masso, presented “Fords Focus Days: Teaching Character Development Through Nontraditional Methods” to more than 70 educators around the world at the 2019 International Boys’ Schools Coalition Conference (IBSC) in Montreal, Quebec, in June.

By Matthew DeGeorge, Delco Times

Peter Garno was one of those kids. One of those in the lower and middle schools at Haverford School, behind the netting at Sabol Field during lacrosse games, watching and learning … and yeah, playing around a little. Read the story >

Ben Gerber ’19, who served as quarterback and a team captain for Haverford’s football team, was honored by the National Football Foundation and named to their ingural 2019 Team of Distinction, which honors 82 high school football players around the United States. 

By Alan Bastable, Golf.com

John Sawin, the 34-year-old director of golf at Pebble Beach, got the call at about 8 p.m. Friday: There was an odd number of players who made the cut in the 119th U.S. Open — would Sawin be willing to fill-in as a third-round marker, joining South African pro Justin Walters? Read the story >

By Joe Perez, Sports Business Daily

New Balance Global Dir of Consumer Marketing Patrick Cassidy (@NewBalance) describes the brand’s foray into the basketball shoe space with Raptors F Kawhi Leonard leading the charge much like someone who won the lottery. Cassidy said, “This success, this momentum has come pretty fast. Our launch strategy was a long-term one, and the success we’re experiencing with Kawhi -- it’s here and not down the road. First and foremost, we are making sure he has the right product to excel on the court. We were looking for an elite athlete who would help us build the New Balance basketball brand globally, someone who is going to get in there with us and have ideas and be engaged. He has.” Read the story >