Avi Cantor

Rasa Watson

Staff Writer

Ever wonder what students from SLA do over the summer? Over 50 students throughout SLA were asked about their plans for the summer

Out of the 56 students who shared information concerning what they were doing over the summer, 43 people are going to be working. The most common job mentioned was camp counseling. Sophomore Jorge Dasilva and freshman Zoe Zisser said they will be lifeguarding at a Scout Reservation for Cub Scouts and University City Swim Club.

Aside from regular summer camps, a few students are going to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) camps.

Aside from working and camps, 12 students are looking forward to traveling all over the world. Some people are traveling as close as beaches in New Jersey, while others are traveling to various places within the United States along with a few individuals who will be traveling internationally

One student who is traveling internationally is Junior Lauren Nicolella.

“ [For] a week in August I’m going to Ireland with about 13 family members because we just got in contact with family from Ireland,” Nicolella explained.

Due to students being the age to obtain a drivers license, five students said they wanted to get their driver’s permit or drivers license over the summer.

I want my permit next year because I think that it’s essential for every teen to have. I want a way to get around when I want to. Sophomore Jeremiah Butler stated.

Within the group of students that shared what they are doing over the summer, almost all said they are looking forward to having fun. From it being baseball, basketball, hanging out with friends or other activities, summer is known for all of the things students do and the memories that come from it.

Jeremiah Butler

Staff Writer

After working at the school since day one, History Teacher Matthew Baird is leaving SLA, at the end of the 2017-2018 school year.

Many at SLA have expressed how they feel about Mr. Baird and it has been nothing, but good things about the teacher all will miss.

When asked what would she miss about Mr. Baird Junior, Nzinga Suluki-Bey responded with “His dumb jokes!”  

“One time he said to me, I was doing SAT prep, and he was like, ‘the answer is always C’. The answer was C.”

“Then he’ll be like ‘what’s uno?’ We would say ‘one’ duh. Then he would say ‘aidos….amigas’. We would say ‘no amigos’. It’s like dumb jokes, but fatherly so you enjoy them.”

“He brings a pretty unique perspective on especially American History and ways of teaching civics education, it’s sad. On the other hand, he’s doing it willfully and is going to succeed in the next thing he does,” said History Teacher Daniel Symmonds.

His leaving has definitely made many students think of the future of SLA and how it will affect their class selections and who will be added to the SLA family. Along with Art Teacher Ms. Hull, Mr. Baird is one of two founding teachers to leave the school this year, which is happening before the relocation to Benjamin Franklin High School in the school year of 2019-2020. SLA will be welcoming new teachers. The new teacher for his class at this moment is not yet decided, but during the summer they definitely will be ready to take on SLA the following year. Many hope for great teachers that are as understanding and considerate as him, but students can only hope.  

“Him leaving has struck a chord. Because he’s like one of the first, he was as people call it the team,” said Suluki-Bey. “So at least three of the first teachers has left SLA. So it’s like the more of them keep leaving, it’s like we’re getting these new teachers so SLA’s culture is changing. It’s not the same anymore.”

“He adopted one of the students at SLA, I think it was the first class or second class [of SLA] he adopted somebody who was having a very hard time in their life and they didn’t have anybody, after that I understood him as a teacher and as a person,” said Suluki-Bey.

The relationship between student and teacher for Mr. Baird has changed him for a very long time and one of the things he appreciates SLA for. She was in the second graduating class of SLA. She was in a situation where she didn’t have a lot of families and she was near leaving SLA forever. Mr.Baird and his wife provided a way for her to stay at SLA by adopting her. She now goes to Howard University and they keep in contact with her almost every day.

Mr. Baird is moving on to retirement and plans to spend his time enjoying the summer where he doesn’t have to plan classes. He isn’t entirely sure, but he knows he will not be teaching in a high school classroom. He plans on trying something new.

“I am proud to say that I have taught at SLA and have been here [SLA] for so long. I knew teaching was something I wanted to do when it reminded me of myself and how much I struggled,” said History Teacher Mr. Baird.

Jeremiah Butler

Staff Writer

Selecting courses at SLA can be a breeze or a stressful process for students. Given the effect that it has on their grades and college resumes, students are often diligent in selecting the right courses. But how exactly does this process work? Pre-Calculus teacher and Roster Chair Sunil Reddy explains the process.

“Collecting the selections takes 1-2 weeks since typically students do not all sign-up by the deadlines. Compiling all of the selections into one master document takes several days, aligning columns of a database correctly and adjusting course names and course numbers. Making the schedules actually takes all summer to perfect. In order to adhere to SLA curriculum pathways with streams, and considering electives meet at different times, it takes hand-scheduling each student one-by-one to make sure a student’s schedule is put together correctly, while also being mindful of balancing streams as evenly as possible,” Reddy explained.

When asked students would they change the way course selections are done, there was no immediate jump to push to a better course selection system. This system isn’t used by every school and that seems to be what is loved about it. That it is uniquely SLA.

“I like the idea of us being able to say that we don’t sign up through paper. Everything is electronic,” Sophomore Zeniah Navas laughed.

As the school year comes to an end, students know that course selections are coming around and what to expect. Mixed emotions run rampant throughout the SLA community. Nearly five hundred students anxiously wait for their courses to be revealed.

Sophomore Zeniah Navas is one student who enjoys course selection season.

“I get excited because it means that the next year is coming soon and I’m a year closer to being done with high school,” Navas stated.

“When course selections come around I hope I get into the one that I selected,” explained Sophomore Emmett Tsai-McCarthy, “then I’m like oh nice I got in, that’s good.”

As it may be exciting or even an anxious for some students, it can be a stress or a hassle for teachers and SLA’s Roster Chair when students don’t fill out their course selections on time. So SLA student’s listen up.   

“No one is kept from classes they want just because they sign-up late. Really, missing the deadline just means Mr. Reddy and Advisors having to chase down kids to enter their selections,” Mr.Reddy said.

The course selections at SLA has some freedom to them, that is to choose your own electives. Some examples of electives that students can choose from are Digital Video, Music, Poetry, Journalism and Art, among many others.

When asked how selecting courses is for students, many would say it doesn’t take that long and maybe 2 days at the max for them to get their selections submitted.

“It can be interpreted two ways. Some people can be like ‘oh she doesn’t care so she puts whatever and doesn’t think about it’ or ‘other people can be like wow she’s really ambitious and she knows what she wants’. It’s really two-sided,” said Navas.

It’s a lot take away from course selections especially when their essential to every student every day of their next school year. Many think about course selections highly and others think of it as just another thing of SLA. Being appreciative of the course selection process and system and those behind is essential to knowing why teachers take them seriously. For one it can affect your grades majorly if you don’t choose to your advantage. Second, it makes everyone’s life easier if your happy or at least know what to expect in your classes for the next year.

“The primary message I have for students is to first make sure they are thoughtful with their selections. While some courses are determined via the SLA required curriculum, when choices are possible, it is my hope students are thinking about their individual interests and ambitions before choosing courses because of friends’ requests or because of the teacher of the course. Talking with Advisors and current teachers is important to pick classes that will benefit the student,” Mr. Reddy closed off for students at SLA.

Meymey Seng

Staff Writer

The Class of 2019 was able to have their night of glitz and glamor on April 26th: this year’s Junior prom was at the IATSE Ballroom in South Philadelphia, totaling the most amount of students to attend junior prom: 110. Days of preparation finally paid off as hair, dresses, and makeup became flawless and everyone danced the night away.

Physical Education Teacher Pia Martin organized an event that would allow students to pay $7 in advance in order to watch The Avengers: Infinity War on the day it released. Not only that, it would be held at the Roxy Theatre in Center City, where the building would be solely for the SLA Students. Although, there were a few changes to this- some good and some bad.

On the day before prom, students received an email that the tickets for the movie would actually be free, which strikes the students has good news. When students gathered with one another to go to the movies, the projector ended up not working, and the movie was not able to be played.

Luckily, The Quiet Place was able to work which students were able to watch instead. Although, since it is a scary movie, students were given an ultimatum whether they leave without their friends, or stay and watch the horror movie. Some stayed to enjoy the popular movie together while others decided to go home.

Junior Chloe Hart was excited to watch the new Marvel movie but decided to not stay to watch the replacement movie. “I would not have been as excited if it wasn’t a Marvel movie and I was annoyed that the movie didn’t work out, but it was nice that they offered a discounted movie the next day.” In place of the movie, she went to Shake Shack which is similar to what the juniors who did not go did instead.

Close to prom were restaurants such as Oregon Diner and Miller’s Ale House. Students joined one another in large groups to go. “As a group of about ten people, we went to eat at Miller’s. I personally wanted to go to the movies, however, I simply couldn’t find a ride to there that late at night,” said Junior Amelia Benamara. “If it took place in the movie theatre a couple blocks from prom, it would’ve worked out better.”

Other students, although only a small handful, decided to call it a night and go home afterward, especially since there was school the next day. “The movie ends at around three in the morning and it’s hard to find a ride around that time, especially since I’m planning on going to school the next morning,” said Junior Cynthia To.

Whether it was to go out to eat, go to the movies, or simply go home, the students after junior prom were able to find a good way to end the night.

 

Matthew Milligan

Staff Writer

Back in April, Science Leadership Academy held its junior prom. What distinguished this prom from its predecessors was the uncharacteristically large amount of the students who attended. Most of the class of 2019 was able to take part in the prom, but why was it so popular?

Junior and prom enthusiast Taylor Green may have some answers. Greene feels as though a domino effect played a large part in motivating people to go.

“It definitely had to do with the student body because it seemed like when one person in the friend group decided to go to prom, that’s when another person the next day would be like ‘you know maybe I’m gonna go to prom’ and then another person would be like ‘maybe I’m gonna go too,’” Green explained.

Junior and fellow prom-goer Brendan Hall agreed with Greene, seeing as he went because many other students were planning on going.

“Everybody was going, I guess peer pressure,” Hall said jokingly.

Besides the urge to follow the crowd, were there other reasons that motivated students to go? Physics teacher BJ Enzweiler, who collected ticket money from students, thinks so.

“This junior class is a group of positive people who genuinely seem to like each other. That attitude is conducive to attendance at functions like this,” Enzweiler stated.

In addition to the class of 2019 getting along well, it seems as though the personalities of the students contributed to the popularity of junior prom.

“I feel as though in the class of 2019 we have a lot of people who do extravagant things . . . Everyone had a sweet sixteen last year because that’s what a lot of the girls in our grade like,” Greene explained. “They like extravagant things. They like getting dressed up and going out and partying, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Hall believes that the prom being budget-friendly this year most likely motivated more students to go than before.

“I think it was because the tickets were so cheap. They were only 30 dollars. The year before it was 50. I think the year before that I think it was 70, so we lucked out on the price.”

Greene agreed, saying that lowering the price makes prom less exclusive and more inviting to all students.

“At first I thought a lot of things would fall through. I guess I had this perception that it would be very expensive . . . I don’t like when people feel excluded because of a financial situation . . . but everything was really nice and well executed.”

While junior prom was popular this year, will it continue to be so in future years?

Greene is not hopeful.

“Honestly I don’t think it will be popular in future years . . . It seems like there is a lot of        [underclassmen] that don’t like that stuff. I just don’t think it will be popular amongst their grade.”

Hall, on the other hand, believed that we could see next year’s prom being even more lively than this year’s.

“Yeah, I think definitely if the price stays as low. I feel like the grade below us, they like to go out and go to dances even more than us probably, so I feel like that’s gonna continue next year,”Hall said.

Future popularity aside, both students feel as though the tradition of junior prom is worth keeping.

“It keeps the tradition of prom alive. I think it is important to keep that tradition . . . Prom is about seeing everyone . . . looking different and being happy and just having a good time for one night during a school week,” Green said.

“I think it does matter because prom is for the students and if the students don’t like it then there’s no point in having it,” Hall stated.

Regardless of its popularity, Mr. Enzweiler believes that junior prom will continue on as it has each year.

“We’ve had Junior Prom as a tradition at SLA since the first Junior class, and I think we’ll continue with this going forward. Nothing we’ve seen so far indicates to me that we should stop it.”

So if you’re anything like the excited junior class of this year, you may wanna start planning out your night now. Junior prom comes quicker than you know it.