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an even greater place for our students to learn and grow.
about the Association.
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Mr. McKenna's First Day:
Monday, July 2
Dr. Pavel's Last Day:
Tuesday, July 31
Monday to Friday, Aug. 6-10
School Begins
for Staff:
Tuesday, Sept. 4
Senior Portraits:
Monday to Friday, Aug. 6-10, Dance & Wrestling Gym, 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
School Begins
for New Students:
Thursday, Sept. 6
School Begins
for All Students:
Friday, Sept. 7
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HELP WANTED
Newsletter staffers:
Interested in working
on the newsletter? Contact
Dave Kalkstein
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Bring Your Photo ID
Just a reminder:
When you come to visit Central High School, you must have a photo ID.
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| Main Office Telephone 215-276-5262 |
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Welcome!
It is indeed graduation season! Along with extending congratulations to Class 271, we would also like to congratulate Dr. Alfred Sellers, 176, who finally graduated from Temple University this June. Dr. Sellers was only a few credits short of graduating from Temple in 1944 when he joined the U.S. Army as a World War II combat medic. He went on to have a fine career in medicine that included graduating at the top of his medical school class at Duke University (which had already accepted him even though he had not yet graduated from Temple) and serving for 60 years as a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Great job, Dr. Sellers! Now your resume is complete.
In other good news, Boys' Varsity Tennis won their sixth consecutive Public League Championship, and Girls' Varsity Softball took the Public League Championship. And Central ranked pretty well nationally in a recent Newsweek article. You can read some interesting insight on this in Dr. Pavel's interview with the Philadelphia Tribune.
Enjoy this last-of-the-year issue, and have a great summer. When school starts in September, join the Newsletter staff and have some real fun!
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271: "A Tapestry of Brilliant Diversity"
New Central graduates, all 518 of them, were addressed by Dr. Sheldon Pavel at an emotional and joyful ceremony on June 13 at the Kimmel Center. Speaker Bill Cosby, 204, could not make the event but passed on his advice to the graduates: "Don't be surprised if you find that your parents have changed the locks on the house." The Greeting was offered by Penny Nixon, Chief Academic Officer of the School District of Philadelphia. She urged the graduates not forget their commitment to others and to humanity.
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Dr. Pavel addresses the graduates
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In her salutatory address, Minh Thu Truong, who came to this country not knowing English, related delight in arriving at Central to welcoming cheers instead of the expected bullying. Having selected Central because it was big and thinking she could be invisible there, she was able to be herself and be appreciated for who she was. Paraphrasing W.E.B. Du Bois, she said, "Central takes the talented of all races."
The ceremony included the distribution of 160 awards of more than $100,000 from Central alumni. There was also an inspirational message from the valedictorian, Jackson Feeny, as well as a moving address by Dr. Pavel during which he called the graduating class "a tapestry of brilliant diversity." He said he only wanted for 271 "what I wanted for myself - to make a difference in the life of others." When he finished, he turned around and began wiping his eyes. The class president, Ramon Guzman-Segura, stood up and hugged him as the Kimmel Center erupted in applause.
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Singing the school song
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Central Girls Rule in Badminton
Central girls dominated the Public League in badminton in 2012, with Hyeju Lee and Ginny Brubaker, 271, winning the All Public title in doubles, and singles players Duyen Quach, 271, Jenny Tang, 272, and Wendy Wu, 272, also being named All Public.
The team topped off an undefeated season with a 4-1 win over Frankford in the championship May 17 at Lincoln. They previously defeated MLK in the quarterfinals and Northeast in the semis.
The sport is no picnic pastime for the Central girls, who compete in the Public League's top gold tier. "The badminton league is not your normal league," Ginny said in an email. "We all respect each other and the game. When we are on the court, we are fierce, but respectful, and show good sportsmanship, but off the court we laugh and are very friendly."
In addition to the All Public team members, she gave credit to Central's second doubles players, Jing Liang and Tiffany Tran, 272, in the championship win. "All season long, Jing and Tiffany honed their skills, getting better and better with each match . . . . when they won game three, the whole gym exploded! Our coach, Mr. Glatthorn, was ecstatic, as was our former coach, Mrs. St. Clair. She could not make it, but I texted her updates."
Hyeju and Duyen, on their way to Penn State and Penn, respectively, are undecided about whether to pursue the sport next year. Ginny is headed for Johnson & Wales, where "they have open-gym badminton and are trying to form a league. I will be there!"
With the Summer Olympics coming up, she urged badminton novices to check it out. "Some of my favorite players, like Eva Lee, are so enjoyable to watch! Look up some badminton on YouTube, like these top 10 rallies. It's such a great sport!"
 | Crazy rally
@ Wilson Badminton Swiss Open 2011 |
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Dodgeball Event Thrills All, Raises Funds
Central's first-ever Dodgeball Tournament proved Central students play hard outside of the classroom, too. The tournament, held last month in the gym, was the brainchild of Jack Feeney, valedictorian of 271, and the entrance fees went to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Thirty-nine teams of students competed in best-of-three matches to advance. Two "wild card" teams of teachers (who were really good sports to let students throw balls really hard at them) got byes in the first rounds only to be smoked by the first sets of student teams they faced.
The winning team of seniors, Julian Blancon, Wesley Doe, Gabriel Buchanan, Andrew Hamilton, Julia Yanoff and Gianna Grossman, beat all comers to take the title - which consisted of only bragging rights. But by the crowd response, one would have thought there was a green jacket or trophy cup involved! Wesley Doe said that his team was "made up of neighborhood friends," but observers also noted that the team consisted of perhaps some of the best arms on Central's Varsity Baseball Team! In one matchup, Julian (a catcher who will be playing ball for his college team) battled solo against a team of six, picking them off one by one to the cheers of the screaming fans, winning that game for his team. In the words of one parent observer: "It was an absolute hoot!"
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Retired Teacher Returns for "the Kids"
You can take the teacher out of Central, but you can't take Central out of the teacher! Though social studies teacher Gerard Laut retired last year after 15 years of teaching at Central, he has still managed to stay involved in Central affairs. Finding that he was too bored to just stay home, Mr. Laut responded to a call for volunteers made via this newsletter at the beginning of the school year. He returned to Central to volunteer his time, and the Barnwell Library was able to remain open after school on Mondays and Tuesdays, filling a gap created when funding for that position was cut.
Mr. Laut "felt really useful" helping the school in this way. "I may not miss teaching, but I really miss the kids," he said. Mr. Laut got some time to enjoy "the kids" while he helped chaperone 272's ski trip and 271's nature outing as well as their trip to Washington, D.C. He said only limited numbers of teachers can go on the trips, which would be canceled without enough volunteer chaperones. Mr. Laut also proctored PSAT exams and helped out at 271's graduation. A proud parent of two Central alums, 262 and 267, Mr. Laut sees what he does as a good service to the school but also rewarding in its own right. Here's hoping he is an inspiration to others to reach out to the Central family, helping out in both big and small ways whenever possible.
Thank you to all the Central volunteers - Rest up this summer, and come back strong in the fall for another great year!
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Parting Ideas from Dr. Pavel
Dr. Pavel, retiring CHS president, continues to care a great deal about Central and public education in general. A few of his parting ideas:
- According to Dr. Pavel, one thing that would help public education a great deal is to get elected officials and legislators charged with funding schools to actually set foot in them. "They don't know first hand the value of public schools and need to learn that there are no schools in the district that don't have great kids," he said. They would be impressed with what goes on and perhaps moved to devote more resources toward education instead of less.
- Parents can help our elected representatives see the light by "constant communication with them." This includes members of City Council, members of the state legislature, and members of Congress.
Writing to all these folks is not all that easy, but it is important. To illustrate, the Pennsylvania State Senate Committee on Education has 11 members, none of whom appear to have a background in education, while the House Committee, with 23 members, has three with some training in education. Of the state Senate Appropriations Committee's 26 members, none seem to have any background in education.
Look for a special newsletter issue for some help with finding how to connect with decision-makers who can help our schools.
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Central HSA Continues Tradition of Support
We have the Central Home and School Association to thank for covering the cost of a very special and moving commencement of the 271st graduating class of Central High School. The Kimmel Center graduation is just one of the many things that our Home and School Association sponsors throughout the school year. Your membership dues and donations to the Central HSA are put to good use to sponsor and support many activities and events for our students. For instance, HSA sponsors three year-end awards: the Barnwell Award, the Barkann Award and the Perfect Attendance Awards. HSA also supports summer freshman orientation, the Freshman Tea, Back-to-School Night, freshman parent counseling, International Day and Earth Day.
Another important line item on the HSA annual budget is teacher grants. HSA sets aside thousands of dollars each year for special needs or requests from faculty for things that they could not afford to buy otherwise. This year, HSA awarded five grants for the Art Department, History Department, a Renaissance Learning Grant, a Ladies Soccer Grant and an English MG Grant. HSA also made a special contribution this year to the Logan Saleet Memorial Scholarship Fund.
And we cannot forget to show our gratitude to the Central faculty for their hard work and dedication to our students. We express our thanks with a Teacher Appreciation Dinner at the beginning of the school year and then again at the end of the year with a Teacher Appreciation Breakfast. So, be sure to join the Home and School Association and, if you can, make an extra contribution. Your support of the Central HSA goes a long way to support our students and to help make Central one of the best high schools in the country.
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Summer Credit Makeup Opportunities
These are the only summer-school options available for credit recovery for Central students (grades 9-11 only). No other credit recovery opportunities will be accepted!
1. Northeast Preparatory School, 215-342-5500
Session I: July 2 - Aug. 3, Cost: $300 (Plus $25 registration fee) payable in advance.
Session II: Aug. 6-31, Cost: $400 (Plus $25 registration fee) payable in advance.
2. Delaware Valley High School
Kelly Campus: 215-677-6107 x100
Southwest Campus: 215-677-6107 x500
3. Philadelphia Center for Arts and Technology, 267-297-6231
Cost: $355 entire course. You must register for the entire course - single semesters will not be accepted!
4. Keystone Credit Recovery, 1-800-255-4937
Cost: $109 plus $7 shipping/handling. You must register for the correspondence courses only. The online courses will not be accepted! Important: You must have a school official (counselor) sign the contract agreement form (obtained online) in order to take correspondence courses, or your credits will not be honored!
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Help Wanted
Support Girls' Varsity Soccer!: Central Girls' Soccer has an impressively successful career (100+ consecutive wins and eight consecutive public league titles) but needs help with new uniforms to comply with rule changes. Since the School District of Philadelphia cannot cover the costs, they need some help! Any amount would help for next season (begins this fall). For information on how to help, please contact Coach Jacquelyn Nevius.
Newsletter staffers: Interested in working on the newsletter? Contact Dave Kalkstein.
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Thank You
Thanks to all of our readers for their interest and responses. A very special thanks to Johnette Miller, who has dotted our "I"s and crossed our "T"s, and who we regret, will be moving on after this issue. A big thank you to our great volunteer writers this year, Nancy Winter, Kathie Conrad, Mary Sweeten, Pat Toy and Marty Franklin. We also appreciate parent Cindy Brubaker who led us to the badminton story. As always, our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Pavel, who has supported our effort wholeheartedly at all times, and to all the teachers and staff at Central.
This newsletter is a volunteer effort sponsored by the Central High School Home and School Association and would not exist without the efforts of our founder, Jane Von Bergen.
Writing for the newsletter is more fun than you think! Get in touch.
Enjoy your summer!
Dave Kalkstein and Dan Cason, Co-Editors
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