Welcome! 

We are so pleased to report that Central president Dr. Sheldon Pavel has won the Lindback Award for Distinguished Principal Leadership. He will receive the award, which includes a cash prize, at the Prince Music Theater on Wednesday, April 6.

"I'm really gratified," Dr. Pavel said. "It's not just an award for me, but for an incredible set of assistant principals and teachers who are dedicated to their work and to the kids. It's an acknowledgement of the work of the parents and the involvement of the alumni. By recognizing me, they are recognizing Central and Central is kids, parents, teachers and alumni all working together to make Central the place that it is."

Dr. Pavel started his career as an English and mathematics teacher and then became an assistant principal, before moving into the leadership at Central High School in January 1984.

Dr. Pavel's great strength as a president is his inclination to say "Yes," most of the time. It's that inclination that makes faculty, parents and alumni willing to extend themselves creatively for Central's students. And it's that same inclination that makes students feel comfortable to call him up on his office phone and invite him to visit their classrooms to see special presentations. "I'm not free third period," he told one student caller, "but I am available."

As we all know, Central is too big a school with too many smart people in it for an autocratic leadership style to be effective. It just wouldn't work. Dr. Pavel describes his approach by quoting something he remembered from his college sophomore English class. "Poetry is the expression of freedom within the bounds of convention. I set the conventions and everyone has the latitude to be creative."

We would like to express ourselves by offering our warmest congratulations.   

Dr. Pavel was not the only Central prizewinner.  Central's Spoken Word Poetry Team placed first in the Citywide Mock Slam, while Hua Chen and Jeffrey Chiang, both 270, of Central's Chess Team finished in first and second place respectively at the High School Chess Open at Haverford College. Congratulations to Lina Luong, 270, and Uriah Myers-Doyle, 272, winners of the American Math Competition 12 and 10 respectively.  

Late breaking news: The faculty trounced 270 in the faculty vs. seniors basketball game on March 28. Go adults!! Ryan Flynn, 270, won the hotdog eating contest at half-time.  

Got news? Teaching something exciting? If you want to get the news out, the Newsletter is a great way. Let us know, and we will spread your good word - centralhighschoolnewsletter@yahoo.com.

Thanks, and don't forget to write,

Dave Kalkstein and Jane M. Von Bergen, co-editors.

Let's not get into a deep psychological exploration of why Jessica Yee, 273, so enjoysplanaria. "I love planaria," she said. "I find it so interesting that you can cut part of it off and it can grow back its body parts." The worm was the basis of Jessica's Best of Fair presentation at the recent George Washington Carver Science Fair. Her parents are big believers in the medicinal use of Chinese herbs, so Jessica decided to compare the effectiveness of Chinese herbs versus over-the-counter medicines in helping planaria regenerate more quickly. The herbs won. Some day Jessica, who wants to study entrepreneurship in college, imagines herself heading a huge pharmaceutical company, like Merck. "I want to open a new medicine company which would encourage the use of Western and Chinese medicine together."

Central musicians and singers along with other talented students from Philadelphia public and parochial schools collaborated to give an amazing performance in the 193rd All-Philadelphia High School Music Festival 2011 on March 9 at the Kimmel Center. Among many Central students who took part in the festival, cellist Ariel Sortirescu, 270, was awarded second place, and trumpet player Jacob Hernandez, 270, was granted a finalist position in the All-City Concerto Competition 2011.  The program, which received local press coverage, consisted of selections such as "Sweeney Todd,"  "The Triumphal March" and a Brahms overture, performed by the All-City Orchestra, All-City Band and All-City Choir.  Renee Chenault-Fattah, co-anchor of NBC News Philadelphia and step-mother of two Central alum, presided. Congratulations to all of our gifted and artistic students.

Clean Up, Everybody, Everywhere

By the time you read this, Pam McBride's sore muscles should be back to normal. Mrs. McBride, a parent, was one of about 80 student and parent volunteers who spent Saturday, March 26 at Central picking up trash, pruning and tending to the grounds at the first annual Home and School Association Spring Cleanup. "The change was pretty dramatic," she said. She, her husband, Robert, and their daughter, Ariana, 270, worked on the blacktop. People were everywhere on the campus. A lot of positive energy emerged, including plans for a green initiative. We'll describe it more in the next newsletter, but it is very ambitious and exciting.

How do you get 70 Central seniors and juniors to abandon all fashion sense and wear identical pairs of ugly shoes?  Invite them to a bowling party at Lucky Strike in Center City!  On March 2, members of 270 and 271 joined forces and took over the Lucky Strike bowling alley on Chestnut Street in Center City to celebrate the half day of school.  They bowled, played pool and feasted on chicken, fries and pizza.  Many had never bowled before, but all had fun.  Karole Collier, 270, a recent transfer from New York City, is enjoying her second year at Central.  Karole was "very excited" to get a strike in her first ever game of bowling.  Sam Montgomery, 270, a basketball standout, and Dante Cobb, 270, a Central football star, were rolling the balls down the lane for strike after strike.  Although they won't abandon their sports for bowling, both said they were having a great time.  Looking equally dashing in their bowling shoes, school guidance counselors Robin Hart, Elana Chasan and Thomas Gilroy joined the students for the fun.  The organizer of the event, 270 class sponsor Michael Horwits, 251, (and the only person who brought his own bowling ball to the event) sees these outings as opportunities for city students to be exposed to fun pastimes that they may enjoy and make a permanent part of their life.  "It was great to see 270 and 271 mix it up and have fun doing something that many of them had never done before," he said.  

The Associated Alumni of Central High School is sponsoring its first annual 5K Run and 1.5 mile "Fun Walk" to benefit Central's extracurricular activities. Here are some of the activities that will get a boost: Anime, Art from the Heart, Peer Education Against Contracting HIV, the Robolancers, Ultimate Frisbee, Student Association of Loving American Muslims, Students for People in Need and Math Club. The list goes on and on from Zombie Nation to the National Honor Society and speaks to breadth of student interests at Central. The event also supports all the school's athletic teams. Get ready to run/walk/hang out at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 10 on Martin Luther King Drive. For more information, click here .

The April Home and School Meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the Spain Center and will feature a speaker discussing the topic of school vouchers.  Also, some exciting Home and School positions are available for anyone who would like to continue to help make Central the number one school in Philadelphia!  The following are the open positions with brief descriptions:

  Hospitality: Handles refreshments at Home and School Meetings and events such as Open House, Back to School night, etc.

  Secretary: Takes and records minutes for all Home and School Meetings and Board Meetings

  Membership: Records enrollment and handles dues for Home and School Membership

   Fundraising: Creates, implements and manages fundraising efforts There is a board-endorsed candidate for this position.  

   Class Representative for 274  

If interested is in any of these positions, please attend the April Home and School meeting for more information. Elections take place in May. At this time, we would like to thank Donna Fitzhenry, Joanne Quigley and Lena Bilenskyj for all their hard work as Home and School leaders as they exit their positions. 

Art from the Smart

Other Philadelphia high schools, such as the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts and the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush, may focus on art, but Central also boasts a competitive art program and art majors who consistently rank among the city's best.

Proof of that occurred in February when Jane Majewski, 271, earned "Best of Show" at the Philadelphia Sketch Club's 27^th Annual Philadelphia High School Art Exhibition. "Seeing all of those amazing paintings and drawings was incredible," she said. "CAPA and Rush just spew talent. It made me feel undeserving. But it's cool to prove that Central is strong in more ways than just academics."  Eden Laramee, 272, Deborah Sim, 272, Blaise Laramee, 271, Gabriela Alfaro, 270, Michael Glogowski, 270, and Rachatna Yoth, 270, also won Sketch Club awards for their artwork. With guidance from art instructors Ben Walsh, Andrea Keefe and Jude Saleet, fifteen Central student art pieces, which included photography, pastel/charcoal drawings and sculptures, were submitted for this year's competition.

Also in February, a whopping 30 Central students received Scholastic Art and Writing Awards through the Alliance for Young Artists. Blaise, Eden and Komrorng Bo, 270, earned Gold Key Recognition, the highest honor in the competition. All three Gold Key winners will move to the national level of competition. Central had the highest number of recognized students for art awards, and Mr. Walsh, art department chair, couldn't be more proud. "The kids understand the value of recognition -- they put a lot of heart and passion into their work," Mr. Walsh said. Stop by to see their prize-winning entries, now on display in Central's new hallway showcases.

When Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, 244, addressed the March Home and School Association meeting, he spoke fondly of his years at Central and lavished praise upon his teachers and friends. He stressed the importance of education and the need to put more funding into our public schools, rather than prisons. Noting that the majority of crimes are committed by high school dropouts, he stressed the necessity of working to reduce the dropout rate in Philadelphia.

Dr. Pavel, Central's president, discussed a funding issue more close to home: a School District of Philadelphia budget deficit that may necessitate the layoff of teachers with three years or less experience. Dr. Pavel said this would adversely impact the Central community, which has a large number of new faculty. Twenty-two of Central teachers have years experience or less.

In other news, Dr. Pavel reported on the auditorium renovation, noting that it will include all new seats courtesy of the Central High School Alumni Association. He also discussed Annie Get Your Gun, Central's first musical in more than 25 years, and reported on the successes of Central's Mock Trial Team.

It's a tough story to hear - the memories of a Pakistani woman who was gang-raped for complaining about the treatment of her brother, who was also gang-raped. But the story had an uplifting ending because the woman drew enough strength from her situation to build a school. That was only one story of many presented as part of "Conflicts on Ice," a set of poetry and monologues delivered on Women's Day by members of social studies teacher Ken Hung's Contemporary Affairs class, also known as "Conflicts." The presentation drew its inspiration from "Half the Sky," by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, a series of stories from women around the world. Sahar Dinar, 270, who wants to study international civil rights law at college, told the story of the Pakistani woman. Sahar said the assignment was challenging and enlightening. "It shows you what's happening in the world, so you are not secluded in this bubble here at Central," she said. "Sex slavery, honor killing, it's still happening around the world."

On a frigid December evening, a caravan of cars pulled over on Pattison Avenue in front of the Phillies' team offices.  Players scurried into the cold to descend underneath the stadium for their weekly batting practice for the Phillies' Reviving Baseball in the Inner City (RBI) 16U softball team.  Two of them, Alyssa Foronda, 272, and Gwen Franklin, 273, are now also members of Central High School's varsity softball team, and are among many Central student athletes who compete on school teams as well as outside club teams. Student athletes pursue outside club sport experiences for more specialized training, coaching and the very highest levels of regional competition in their chosen sport. 

"For many college coaches, attending tournaments involving club teams provides a great chance to see the best of the best compete at the highest levels, which is more efficient in terms of the use of recruitment resources," said Rudy Fuller, men's soccer coach at Penn. School sports, he said, provide student athletes with opportunities to develop not only as players, but also as students and as members of their school communities.  "Almost all of the students I recruit play on club teams, but they also take on important leadership roles on their school teams and within their schools."

Community Service is graded at Central, so it's not just a casual pastime. It can make a big difference in how college applicants fare. Students must provide letters that describe service performed on the official letterhead of the organization, including the dates and the group's official work phone numbers. Cell phone numbers are not acceptable. These letters are due to sponsors by May 7.  Students putting in 45 hours or more of service get an "A" grade, so it's time well spent for this reason and many others. Click here for guidelines.