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Join Central's
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.
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR
School Resumes:
Monday, April 1
HSA Meeting:
Wednesday,
April 10,
Spain Conference Center, 6:30 p.m.
Hairspray! Thursday,
April 11,
3:30 p.m.;
Friday & Sat.,
April 12 & 13,
7 p.m.;
Sunday, April 14, 2 p.m.
IB Application Deadline: Friday, April 19
Party Central!
Saturday,
April 20,
Commodore Barry Club, Mount Airy,
7-11 p.m.
273 Junior Prom:
Friday, April 26, Please Touch Museum,
7-11 p.m.
HSA Meeting:
Wednesday,
May 8,
Spain Conference Center, 6:30 p.m.
Early Dismissal: Thursday & Friday,
May 2 & 3, noon
Report Card Conferences: Thursday & Friday,
May 2 & 3,
12:30 - 3 p.m.
CHS Earth Day Celebration:
Friday, May 17
272 Class Trip:
Monday, May 20
School Closed, Staff Only: Tuesday, May 21
School Closed, Memorial Day: Monday, May 27
Athletic Awards:
Tuesday, June 11
272 Nature Outing: Wednesday,
June 12
Senior Prom: Thursday,
June 13,
Crystal Tea Room
Community Service Luncheon:
Tuesday, June 18
272 Graduation: Thursday,
June 20,
Kimmel Center,
10 a.m.
Last Day of School:
Friday, June 21
Last Day for Staff:
Monday, June 24
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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!
So now we have Spring!
Congratulations to Central's Mock Trial team, best in the city. Check them out in the big-time news.
And to Fareed Simpson, 273, for trumpeting his way into the Pennsylvania state Jazz Band. More on that below.
Kudos to the RoboLancers' FTC teams for their performance at the state championships on March 2. And the Gold team won the Connect Award for their work in supporting STEM and Robotics Education in Philadelphia.
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Finalist photo by Ho Chuen Kan, 274
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Look for Ho Chuen Kan, 274, in Best of College & High School Photography 2013. Ho was selected as a Finalist in Photographer's Forum magazine's 33rd annual College and High School Photography contest.
More congratulations to Julia Bugayev, 274, who took a first in Microbiology at the Carver Science Fair, and received the Drexel College of Medicine Microbiology & Immunology Award and a Naval Science award to boot. Puja Upadhyay, 275, got a second in Medicine and Jessica Yee, 274, an honorable mention in Behavioral Science.
These are just some of Central's winners!
Heard news? Tell us! It's easy.
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Tech Central I: The New CentralHigh.net
That would be the "Under Construction" marker on the newly redesigned home page of the website, which is edging toward completion. Mr. Walsh - who also heads the faculty-staff tech team AND the Art Department, and was interrupted for this interview while supervising set-painters for "Hairspray!" - is chipping away at the upgrade, node by node by node.
"We had to grow at the same time we had to design," said Mr. Walsh. "We're still growing in amount of users, parent users, et cetera," with 80 percent of families signed up this year, compared to about a third in 2012. "I don't want to lose any functionality, so the look of the whole site will change slowly."
The new CentralHigh.net is less cluttered, and ultimately easier to navigate. "The tech team met [early on] and decided what to keep - we reduced the number of menus," he said.
Note to parents who wonder where the teacher contacts went: They're in there, but now you have to log in to access them. (Look for "Staff Directory" under "Tools" in the Interactive Classroom section.) "Privacy. You should never have been able to access them on the main page in the first place," Mr. Walsh explained.
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Blowing Our Horn for Jazz Band Winner
Trumpeter Fareed Simpson, 273, will be performing at the All State Jazz Concert in Erie, on April 19. Fareed was selected from among hundreds of high school jazz band members across the state. Typically the Jazz Band is the elite of high school bands and only 17 players will take part in the all-state concert organized by the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, a statewide nonprofit organization of over 5,000 members, dedicated to promoting the musical development of all Pennsylvanians.
To get to the state jazz band, players need to play in their school jazz band, and get through county, district and regional competitions, no small feat.
Fareed reports that he has been playing his trumpet for a long time, and aside from Central's jazz band, also plays at clubs and other venues on his own. He "was exposed to jazz" at home, where his mother is a jazz vocalist.
Members selected for the state concert practice the selections on their own, and have only two days together as a band before the big show. Fareed's favorite of this year's numbers is "Groove Merchant," in which horns play a major part.
Fareed is planning on a pre-med college path, but will continue to play whenever he can. Let's hope so!
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Tech Central II: It's in the Air
Central students have wireless - again.
Back in the day - last year - Central's tech-support coordinator and master of all hardware, Alesia Brown, took care of giving students access to the school's wireless system. "They had to come to me and sign up for the year," she explained. That worked well enough, but, as these things sometimes go, the School District decided the kids didn't need wireless.
"We weren't having that," said Ms. Brown.
So she worked with the School District to roll out the current "pilot" system, in which a student can log in to the wireless portal using his or her student ID and School District SchoolNet credentials. Ms. Brown still monitors how Central students use their wireless privileges, and kids can get kicked off for breaking the rules - for example, no bit-torrenting and only one device on the system at a time. But there's no need for them to register annually - as long as they have a current student ID, they're in. "It's been wonderful. The kids love it because they don't have to go to anybody to sign in," she said.
And after three months, Ms. Brown said, the system is now being introduced at other schools.
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Let There Be More - and Better - Light
It's hard not to notice all the work going on in classrooms and elsewhere at Central these days. The school is undergoing a $4.2 million electrical upgrade, part of a $70 million School District capital improvement program.
 | Halfway-complete:
New hallway lights in foreground, old lights begin where it's dark! |
As students relocate from time to time and room to room, each classroom is getting re-wired by the electricians of Mulhern Electric. Aside from new electrical service, classrooms are being fitted out with new receptacles and lighting fixtures. The new lighting will be controlled by occupancy sensors to reduce wasted energy and costs. More outlets will be installed to facilitate the use of many modern devices and systems that were not even dreamt of when the building was constructed years ago.
The work will be done throughout the building, not just in the classrooms. New lighting, including state-of-the-art stage lighting systems will be installed in the auditorium to do justice to the very high quality performances staged there. (And don't forget, "Hairspray!" is coming!) The auditorium will also get a new sound system.
According to Jessica Binda of The Temple Group, which is managing the project, the work should be completed by the end of 2013.
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Home and School Needs You!
There will be several seats on the Home and School Association's Executive Board opening up at the end of the year and we need nominations! The bylaws call for a Nominating Committee, which has been formed, and we're looking for volunteers from the general membership to join the committee. Please get involved! Elections will take place in May. If you are interested in serving on the Nominating Committee, or in serving on the Home and School Executive Board, send an email.
A large part of the March meeting was dedicated to information related to 272 graduation, June 20, at the Kimmel Center. Science teacher Schuyler Patton, the 272 sponsor, reported that each graduate will get two tickets, with additional seats available, especially for those with perfect attendance. About 600 will be graduating!
Mr. Patton also discussed upcoming senior class activities such as the 272 class trip, senior prom, class picnic and Athletics and Community Service luncheons.
Remember, the best way to keep tabs on the goings-on at Central High School is to join the CHS Home and School Association and attend the meetings!
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Get Your Tickets for "Hairspray"
Come join cast and crew for this year's Central High musical - "Hairspray" In 1962 Baltimore, Tracy Turnblad's dream is to dance on a local TV dance program. Amid a rocking 1960s-style song-and-dance score, Tracy not only wins a spot on the show, but also paves a path for integration and tolerance. Based on the 1988 John Waters film, the musical won eight Tony Awards when it opened on Broadway in 2002.
Performances are 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11; 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 12 and 13; and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 14.
Tickets are $10, $5 for students, senior citizens and military. Premium Patron seating is also available for $20. Buy online or visit the Music Department (Rooms 323 and 324).
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Music teacher Benjamin Blazer rehearses Brianna Stumpf, 272
and the "Hairspray" orchestra.
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Reserve Your Spot at Party Central!
The Commodore Barry Club in Mount Airy (6815 Emlen St.) will be the venue for Central High School HSA's 2nd annual social for parents, teachers, staff, alumni and friends. From 7 to 11 p.m., Saturday, April 20, this special fund-raising event will be an evening of fun with a purpose, with all proceeds to benefit Central High School.
But the main focus of the evening will be the chance to win some fabulous auction and raffle prizes, door prizes, 50-50 chances and themed baskets. Other prizes include:
- A week in a beautiful 16th-century farmhouse in southern France!
- Tickets to the Phillies, Camden Riversharks, Reading Phillies, Lakewood Blueclaws
- Eagles tickets
- Casual and fine dining - Capital Grill, Derek's, many more
- 3000 BC spa items, other hair, nail and massage services
- $2,000 toward braces
- Flyers jersey autographed by Eric Lindros
- Jewelry and art
- Tickets for the Philly Pops, the Arden, Wilma, Opera Company
- Local hotel stays
- Yards Brewery tour
- Dinner for two at the Union League with DA Seth Williams!
Tickets are limited, so buy now.
$45/each 2/$80 Table for 8/$300
Like us on Facebook! Help us get the word out. We hope to see you at the Commodore Barry Club on April 20!
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Prom Dresses
Prom time is quickly approaching, but prom can be very expensive. Central High School has a closet full of donated prom dresses, all sizes, and your daughter is welcome to come down to Room 144 to check them out.
Do you have some dresses of your own that are just sitting at home? Please consider donating them to the CHS prom closet. Contact English teacher Nicole Gaughan.
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Support Central Baseball
The Baseball team has new fundraiser -- caps for $16. See any team member or contact Coach Weiss.
There's also a Modell's coupon good for 15% off all purchases. This can be used unlimited times along with your MVP card for all of your spring needs.
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Central Night at the Phillies
This exciting event has been a huge success for the past 5 years and we plan on continuing the tradition with another night at the ballpark. Join us May 17 at 7:05 p.m. to cheer on the Philadelphia Phillies as they battle the NLC Champion Cincinnati Reds. Students, parents and alumni are welcome to purchase tickets for $25 until May 1. After that, tickets are $30.
Don't miss this opportunity to show your support for the Phillies and our Central High community. Act quickly, tickets are limited and will sell out fast!
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Help Wanted
Newsletter staffers: Interested in working on the newsletter? Contact Dave Kalkstein.
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Thank You
Thanks as always to our writers and especially to Mary Sweeten! And to Angela Hankins, who tipped us off to son Fareed Simpson winning a spot on the State Jazz Band.
This newsletter is a volunteer effort, sponsored by the Central High School Home and School Association and graciously supported by the teachers and staff of the school.
If it's news for the Central community, tell us all about it!
Dave Kalkstein and Dan Cason, Co-Editors
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