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Home and School
Association
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We're here to support Central students, parents and staff with our time, talents and dollars. Let's help
each other make Central High School
an even greater place for our students to learn and grow.
about the Association.
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Sunday, Nov. 4,
Pennsylvania Convention Center, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
School Closed, Staff Only (Election Day):
Tuesday, Nov. 6
School Closed, Veterans Day Observed:
Monday, Nov. 12
HSA Meeting:
Wednesday,
Nov. 14,
Spain Conference Room, 6 p.m.
Career Day:
Tuesday, Nov. 20
School Closed, Thanksgiving:
Thursday-Friday,
Nov. 22-23
Report Card Conferences:
Wednesday-Thursday,
Dec. 5-6
Financial Aid Night:
Thursday, Dec. 6,
Girls High, 7 p.m.
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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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Welcome!
It's November and there are leaves all over the place.
It's also the "season" for clubs at Central. Invitations to clubs new and old fill the Daily Bulletin. Juggling or ukulele, anyone? Moot Court or Math? Community Service? There's no shortage of opportunities for expanding one's horizons at Central.
Congratulations to the girls' tennis team for winning the 10th annual Cape May Tennis Club High School Round Robin Tournament last month (Sept. 15).
Having a hard time with college essays? Seniors can consult with retired English teacher and Mentally Gifted mentor Ms. Dougherty - check with the Counselors' office.
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If You're Not on Edline, You're Missing Out
Edline, Central's online academic portal, is in its third full year, and webmaster Benjamin Walsh is ready for a change. He has a major redesign in the works, which he hopes to roll out right after winter break. But the change he'd really like to see is more Central families logging in to Edline to track their students' progress.
"This is a big deal," the Lindback Award-winning art teacher said in an interview. "Parents getting on is critical."
As the building Technology Instructional Leader and a key member of Central's faculty Technology Team, Mr. Walsh has the data at his fingertips: Of the nearly 2,400 family members eligible for Edline activation this year, only 859 are signed up.
"That's great," he said, "but the other 1,500 are missing a lot." Like anyone who visits www.centralhigh.net , the 1,500 can access public information about Central, but for the good stuff - progress reports, grades, syllabuses and assignments - logging in is required. Edline activation codes, which enable parents to set up their Edline accounts at centralhigh.net, were sent home via kid mail at the beginning of the school year. Codes are being distributed again at the end of October, Walsh said - or get your friendly Central teacher to look it up for you.
 | | Mr. Walsh |
Central blazed the Web portal route four years ago. "We asked ourselves, what will our students be asked to do when they leave? And when we took it all into account, we said we had to step up," Mr. Walsh said. Edline, technically an "integrated website communication platform," according to the company, takes a huge bite out of Central's discretionary funds. "But it pays for itself just with what's posted in the Counseling section." Teachers who have tailored it to their own unique teaching and assessment methods include Ken Hung, whose students use it for their Contemporary Issues discussion boards. Stephen Innamorato, the 272 finance sponsor, has even developed an Edline "class" to keep seniors apprised of their school debt.
There have been challenges. "We're ahead of the rest of the district, but it's not perfect," said Mr. Walsh. Some pages still lack content, and the system doesn't align perfectly with the School District's database-oriented Schoolnet. Loading pages can be slow. ("They're working on it.") And plenty of Central students don't have computers or Internet service at home.
"We will always have to accommodate kids with technological needs - but the world isn't going to slow down for our problems," Mr. Walsh said. "What we can do is say, 'We're supporting you, we have tons of help you can get here.' "
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From "No Girls Allowed" to a Coed Central High School
Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Darlene Craviotto is working on a fascinating documentary about the first girls to attend Central High School just a generation ago. "It was an honor to make the film, and I too found the story a very moving one," she said. The film, "No Girls Allowed," is scheduled for release in 2013.
Today it may seem impossible to believe that Central had only six girls and they had to use the nurse's bathroom. Yet 30 years ago, in 1983, that is how it was for the first girls to attend Central after 147 years as an all-male school.
An earlier attempt to open Central to girls, in 1974, eventually wound up in the U.S. Supreme Court. Two years later, the court upheld the boys-only policy based on the doctrine of "separate but equal," since smart girls could attend Philadelphia High School for Girls.
Then, in 1982, three girls filed suit against the Board of Public Education. In this second case, Judge William Marutani (at the time the only judge on the Philadelphia Common Pleas court who was not a Central graduate) ruled in favor of the girls, finding that Central was a superior
 school providing a richer, more advanced student experience than Girls High. The school district did not appeal, so the three plaintiffs, plus three others, enrolled in Central and went on to graduate with 243.
It was by no means a smooth or easy process for anyone involved. Opening Central to girls was just one of many cases of young women struggling to make progress toward equality across the country.
And despite the fears of many, the school has been enriched greatly by the coed experience.
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One Pint Saves Three Lives
No community service is more tangible than giving one's own blood. On Oct. 16, Central set up a temporary hospital zone staffed by the Red Cross where students learned that donating one pint of blood can save three lives. Organized by 272 Blood Drive Chairs Natalie Fox (272 class president), Emily Johns, Bijan Makarechi and Asha Sankarathi, and with the help of dozens of 272 volunteers and class sponsor Mr. Schuyler Patton, this Blood Drive continued a long-time Central senior tradition.
And, as Mr. Patton proudly noted, "We had zero fainters this year."
Rewarded by time out of class and the promise of tasty post-donation treats and drinks, many students were happy to give. One student wondered if he could miss all six classes if he gave six pints. (No.)
Of those donating, approximately half were first-timers; those who were nervous found that the process was far less nerve-wracking than they had feared. "The student volunteers did a great job of comforting their classmates," Natalie said. She related that when one first-time donor seemed stressed upon actually seeing her blood, a 272 volunteer put on music, started dancing and, with the laughter that ensued, helped the young lady successfully donate her pint.
First-time donor K.J. McFarlane, 273, said donating was easy - "it only took 15 minutes." Repeat donor Yan Martins, 272, was one of 12 students who even did a "double donation," in which two units of red blood cells are donated and platelets and plasma re-infused into the donor. Said Yan: "If I am able to give, I figured I would do it all."
The drive collected 130 pints, just shy of the goal of 140, which Natalie attributed to timing - the large number of fall sports in playoffs and the PSAT scheduled for the very next day.
"We are doing two more drives in February and May, and we want to get the word out so we meet our goal next time," Natalie said. "Once people see how easy it is, they will want to be a blood donor again." Students under 17 need signed parental permission and must meet certain weight guidelines. Mr. Patton encourages parents to talk to their kids about taking part in this Central tradition and beginning a personal tradition that helps the entire community.
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Home & School Association
From the October Home and School Association meeting, we learn more on the overhaul/upgrade of Central's electrical systems. Upgrades are being done throughout the building. It takes about three days to upgrade each classroom, so there has been and will continue to be a lot of moving in and out for students and staff.
The PSSAs are now a thing of the past, replaced by Keystone Assessments. The new tests take up less time and are different in their structure than the PSSAs. Students who have already been assessed via the older system may not have to take all of the new tests this school year. More information can be found here.
If you have ever witnessed the beginning of the school day, you know the bottleneck that develops where students scan in. Mr. McKenna is trying to get additional scanners to help eliminate the delays at the front door.
To find out more about the great work the Home and School Association does for Central and its students and staff, you should join right away - or at least attend a HSA meeting, held at 6 p.m. on the second Wednesday in the Spain Conference Center.
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Help Wanted
Newsletter staffers: Interested in working on the newsletter? Contact Dave Kalkstein.
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Thank You
Thanks for reading the newsletter. It is brought to you by the Central High School Home and School Association and would not exist without the efforts of our founder, Jane Von Bergen. Our thanks to our writers, Mary Sweeten and Nancy Winter, and again to Mary for copyediting. Thanks also to filmmaker Darlene Craviotto for letting us take a peek at "No Girls Allowed." As always, we appreciate the support of Mr. McKenna and the teachers and staff of the school.
Want something made known far and wide? Tell us - or write it up and send it in.
Thanks and have a scary Halloween!
Dave Kalkstein and Dan Cason, Co-Editors
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