News from Central High School -- Philadelphia

"I'm so proud of Central!" said Sara Kalkstein, 265 and recent Penn graduate, in response to the wonderful performance of "Annie Get Your Gun" last Friday evening. And indeed it was a most fantastic show.

A lot of achievements! We're sure we're not on top of all of them, but here are just a few:

CONGRATULATIONS

- to the team of Dawn Cheron, Brandon Walker and Octavia Simmons, all 270, for finishing first in the entire region of 186 teams in the Stock Market Game. Each will be awarded a $100 savings bond by Economics Pennsylvania for their efforts.

- to Sony Mathew, 272, for placing third among 59 entrants in the National Shakespeare Competition held at Lincoln Center on May 2.

- to Central's Spoken Word Poetry team - Kai Davis, 271; Hiwot

Adilow, 272; and Ezra Williams, Karole Collier and Qaeera Anderson of 270 - for beating out 10 public and private high schools for first place in the Philly Youth Poetry Movement's Slam League.

- to Kai Davis, 271, who will be representing Philadelphia at the Brave New Voices International Teen Poetry Slam. Kai will appear on the HBO docu-series "Russell Simmons Presents: Brave New Voices." Congratulations also to Karole Collier, 270, who was one of 10 semi-finalists for the team.

- to Champions Annie Lin, 272, and Karen and Lisa Port, 271 who were honored in May by Champions of Caring.

- And to the winners of the 34^th Annual Mordechai Anielewicz Creative Arts Competition and Exhibition for Poetry and Prose. The students were Lucy Vankleunen, Annie Line, Delani Neal, Niana Perry, all 272, with honorable mention to Emily John, 272, and Sofia Kochiashvili, 271. These students will be recognized at an awards ceremony on Monday, June 6, at 7:30 pm at Moore College of Art & Design.

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Jane Von Bergen and Dave Kalkstein, co-editors.

Central Art Show Amazes

Culture reigned in the first-floor hallways during the May 26 Art Show as scores of visitors were mesmerized by the wonderful works of Central art students. The show, which included many award-winning pieces, was a tremendous success and an enormous tribute to the Art Department, as well as its talented students. There were comic books, avant-garde lamps, wire sculptures, cardboard cutouts, black and white sketches, self-portraits, paintings and graphic works of art, as well as music by Central's string ensemble.

In a short speech, Art Department Chair Benjamin Walsh praised all involved, including art teachers Andrea Keefe and Jude Saleet. He acknowledged four of this year's Advanced Placement students who have reinstated a tradition of donating to Central one piece of art, each from their personal portfolios. These works will be framed and hung for the enjoyment of future generations of Central students.

Mr. Walsh also commended Damon Reaves, who was on loan to Central High School for 30 hours through the Delphi Art Futures Program sponsored by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Michal Glogowski, 270

274 Wowed with Welcome

You can hear the cheering from Olney Avenue before you even start up the ramp to park. Incoming 274 families wonder what's going on as they trek up to the school entrance. Trepidation turns to wonderment as they figure out that their children are being cheered by their future schoolmates. This is one of Central's very finest moments - the incoming class's initial greeting.

Before it ends, the Central class of 2015 has become Central Class 274. Families are amazed at their overwhelming reception to the school. After a warm welcome from Dr. Pavel, the incoming class and their families are treated to a wonderful full-dress rendition of "There's No Business Like Show Business" from Central's own "Annie Get Your Gun" production. No doubt about it, 274 has just entered a very different world.

From 4,489 applicants, about 1,000 were accepted by Central, 624 of whom will become members of 274. Out of applications made from 374 schools, 174 of them are sending students to Central. Thirty-two percent of the new class members come from nonpublic, charter or private schools. Of the new class, 145 students scored in the 99^th percentile in Math, and 112 scored in the 99^th percentile in Reading. With 274, a class evenly split between male and female students, the total enrollment at Central is now 2,347.

Earth Day Program Boasts Activism, Awareness

Earth Day head Galeet Cohen, 256, and her Environmental Science students brought an abundance of enthusiasm, creativity and imagination to Central's recent Earth Day festivities. Exhibits on "Going Green with SEPTA," baking in solar ovens and using energy-efficient light bulbs urged the Central community to alter behaviors and habits to help the planet.

Students learned how to recycle batteries and that sneakers can be repurposed to resurface a playground. There was an "Eco Igloo" built from 1,200 plastic bottles - which would be disassembled and recycled. Mr. Brian Howland's 273 Fundamentals of Science class used posters to illustrate the pros and cons of global warming from political and "hype" perspectives. Numerous speakers were also on hand to visit classrooms throughout the day and enlighten students on the importance of preserving Earth's resources.

Jes Franklin, 270

Students encountered some real-world barriers and controversies in their quest for environmental improvements. While promoting healthier food, Jonathan Ly, 270, and Michael Thomas, 270, met with a representative of Central's cafeteria who stated their "hands are tied" because the School District controls what is purchased and offered. A petition also circulated calling for a green roof on Central. Other real-time topics covered the use of "fracking" to extract natural gas and raising money for the Wetlands Institute to help save terrapin turtles.

K Swanson, J Potter M Cohen A Daniels K Eaddy

The Earth Day celebration also included an incredible Vegetarian Café in the wrestling gym. Tables were full of assorted dishes, which were delicious to see, smell and enjoy. The choices also included made-to-order grilled veggie burgers and freshly blended smoothies.

Central Accepts Diversity

Vasomnoleak Ly, 270, was only seven years old when he came to the United States from Cambodia. "Growing up as an immigrant, I didn't always understand how the American culture functioned," said Vasomnoleak, who is known as Ly. In his elementary and middle schools, he sometimes encountered prejudice and often felt alienated. That changed when he came to Central. "I never felt like I didn't belong at Central," he said, praising the diversity he encountered. The experience of immigration remains important to him and that's why he was among the Central students who helped to organize the Philadelphia Immigration Cultural Conference on Saturday, May 21, at the University of Pennsylvania. This is the third year that Central students through Central's Asian Students Association and other groups have taken a leadership role in setting up the daylong conference. Among the speakers this year were Asian immigrant students from South Philadelphia High School who encountered hostility at school. That kind of thing doesn't happen at Central, Ly said. "Central is an extremely accepting place regardless of where you come from."

Robolancers Roundup

Multiple robotics competitions have kept Central's awesome "Robolancers" robotics team more than just busy these days. The group, along with Daniel Ueda's robotics class, has hustled to prepare for event after event this year -and May and June are no exception. They continue to build and prepare robotic masterpieces for upcoming events.

The FIRST Robotics Competition was held this year on April 7-9 at Temple University. The object was for a robot to gather and then lift as many inner tubes as high as possible, placing them on pegs, scoring additional points for assembling the colorful design of FIRST Robotics. Central's robot made it into the quarter-finals, placing 13^th out of the 56 competing teams. The team was pleased that Ms. Kelly Norris-Wilke, last year's Robolancers coach, returned from Pittsburgh to coach the team for the final day of this event. Robo in Orlando

On April 13, Mr. Daniel Ueda and 17 members of the Robolancers were off to Orlando for the BEST Worldwide Championship, competing against 2

1 other robotic champion teams. The task was to transport and sort gismos (multicolored golf balls) and assemble packages (inverted cones fill

ed with plastic eggs, topped off with an inverted Frisbee), within three minutes. The team's video came in second place, and its engineering notebook came in third. Kevin Mai, 270, the video's animator and editor, did a fantastic job on the video, which can be viewed on YouTube here .

On April 28, Central High School and Drexel University hosted the first Robotics Expo at Drexel. Other exhibitors/sponsors included: the University of Pennsylvania; Bok High School, The Boeing Company, Texas Instruments, the Society of Women Engineers, Igus, Inc., and SolidWorks. Central's students held workshops in basic and advanced engineering and programming for middle and high school students. More than 200 visitors were amazed by the various robots and enjoyed driving Central's very lively robots over a large field.

Finally, the challenge in the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center's underwater robotics competition this year was to cap an oil well. With Mr. Ueda, Central's robotics class and the Robolancers built "Robolobster," an underwater robot. Central's team came in first place for its engineering notebook and display and second place overall, which qualifies it for the MATE International Championship, hosted by the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston from June 16-28. That's right, the Robolancers will not stop for graduation - they just keep on going!

Central Senior Excels on Ice

As current Flyers fans are painfully well aware, strong hockey goaltending is absolutely critical to team success. Central student Kevin Zhenya Lefchak , 270, played this key role on his travel ice hockey team, the Haverford Hawks. The Hawks recently finished first in the Delaware Valley Hockey League for the 2011 season and went on to capture the Atlantic District Championship from New Jersey in late March, winning all four of their playoff games.

In the championship game, New Jersey's top team played fast and furious, outshooting the Hawks by a wide margin for two full periods. Kevin's club responded with a dominant third period that allowed them to finally put the game away 5 -3 and lay claim to the district championship.

Though Central does not have an ice hockey program, Kevin used club team participation to expand his horizons outside of the classroom. Kevin is a National Honor Society member at Central with plans to major in international business and Russian. He is currently contemplating academic scholarship offers from business school honors programs at Drexel, Temple and George Washington universities.

Galeet Cohen, Science Teacher Extraordinaire

So many good teachers, and so few accolades. That was the gist of Galeet Cohen's, 256, response to being named the recipient of the Lindback Distinguished Teacher Award. The award, created just a few years ago in 2008, annually recognizes one outstanding Philadelphia teacher from each of the sixty-six Philadelphia high schools. Although a little mystified as to the selection process, Ms. Cohen was nonetheless tremendously honored to have been selected to receive this year's Lindback Distinguished Teacher Award. "There are so many great teachers here, it is unfortunate that not more get recognized for their tremendous contributions." Ms. Cohen, who started her professional science career as an aquatic ecology manager of Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York, transitioned to teaching five years ago and chose her alma mater over other more lucrative options.

As a relatively new teacher to Central, Ms. Cohen is especially honored ("It's just so cool!") to have been selected the Lindback honoree the year following that same honor having been conferred on John McMillian, her favorite teacher when she attended Central. Ms. Cohen found Mr. McMillian to be an amazing mentor when she started teaching at Central. Ms. Cohen plans to use the $3,500 prize that accompanies the award to repair her much-loved Honda and go on a summer roadtrip. Congratulations Ms. Cohen!

Central Home and School Update

The final Central Home and School Meeting concluded with fun and food, with plenty of appetizers and desserts. Business continued and elections were held.

Among the newly elected Home and School officers for the 2011/2012 school year:

Vice President: Amy L Cohen (Lucy Spiller, 271)

Vice President of Fundraising: Anita Quain (Zach, 272 )

Co-Vice Presidents for Hospitality: Lisa Kallas (Dale, 272) and Marge Donnelly (Elizabeth, 271, and Kathleen, 273)

Secretary: Laraine Andrews (James, 271)

The Incumbent Positions are-

Home and School Co-Presidents:

John Newcomb (Kyle, 272) and Terri Ranieri ( Nick Murray, 271)

Treasurer: Angela Ahmad (Idrees, 271, and Shalah, 272)

A complete roster of all Home and School positions will be posted on the Home and School website soon.

Home and School co-presidents, John Newcomb and Terri Ranieri, presented soon-to-be-retiring Assistant Principal Lynada Martinez with flowers; she will be missed by all. Lena Bilynsky, vice president of fundraising, and Donna Fitzhenry, 270 class representative, in turn, presented flowers and a blanket with the Central logo to the co-presidents. A huge note of appreciation goes out for all the hard work our Home and School officers performed for Central this year, and to the members for their ongoing support. Please remember to rejoin the phenomenal Central Home and School Association, and urge your friends to join as well. As budget cuts loom near, continued support is even more important!

*Anita Quain announced the first-ever Casino Night - November 19, 2011 - so save the date!

Help Wanted

Newsletter staffers: Interested in working on the newsletter? Contact Dave Kalkstein.

Thank You

First, a huge "Thank You" to all the students, staff and parents who worked so hard to deliver such a grand performance of "Annie Get Your Gun." Kudos to all hands!

Thanks to all who helped with this newsletter, with great stories by great volunteer parents, including Kathie Conrad (two stories this issue), Marty Franklin, and Nancy Winter. And thanks to Dan Cason as well as our editors Johnette Miller, Jane Von Bergen, Marcella Brown and Tamar Magdovitz. Thanks also to Diane Luckman, who provides the polish for our issues. Thanks as always for the support and assistance of Dr. Pavel, Mr. Walsh and the teachers and students who took part in our stories.

This newsletter is a volunteer effort brought to you by the Central High School Home and School Association.

Didn't see your news here? Want to let others know about special achievements? Have an idea for an article? Tell us about it at: centralhighschoolnewsletter@yahoo.com. Better yet, go ahead and volunteer for the most enjoyable parent activity at Central!

All the best!

Sincerely,

Dave Kalkstein and Jane M. Von Bergen, Newsletter Co-Editors
Central High School - Philadelphia