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The Realities of Sports Funding at SLA

March 14, 2012 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Natasha Ashby

Staff Writer

How do we pay for sports at SLA?

Students often don’t think about where the money comes from to pay for coaches, uniforms and equipment — and they sometimes assume that it appears magically.

” I knew that some money came from donations and our sports funding, said Zayd Alsardary, senior and basketball player, “but I didn’t know where the rest came from.”

“Tyler Hankinson and Sam Sirochman’s grandfathers donated to the basketball team. People who want to see success in the teams would give us money for the things we need. I didn’t think we could afford most of what we can afford now due to budgets. It’s a good thing we have support from the SLA community and Home and School.”

As Alsadary learned, the process of funding each sport takes work.

The Philadelphia School District gives out a certain amount of money to each public school for the sports teams.

“The coaches salaries are all set. The teachers come up to me asking what they need and how much of it, then I go to the Home and School Association and ask for it.” said English Teacher and Basketball Coach Matthew Kay.

Sometimes schools also get high-profile donations. On December 1, 2011, Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies star player, announced that he was donating 1.2 million in cleats and athletic wear to 57 High Schools in Philadelphia and 4 middle schools. SLA was one of those high schools.

” It was like 30 for baseball, 30 for softball, 30 for boys and girls soccer,” said Kay. “A little over 30 plus we’re waiting on jackets to come for the softball team and shirts for the baseball team.”

However, most of the fundraising falls on the shoulders of the coaches and players.

” This is the toughest season for funding that we have had,” said Matthew Baird, a SLA history teacher and girls soccer coach.

“I don’t know where we are going to get the money for the new home jerseys we had planned. I don’t know how we are going to cover the cost of the other jerseys for players and their families that cannot afford the $50.”

“VK [Soccer Coach Matt Van Koeuwenberg] thought it was a good idea to fundraise ourselves, but there were some complications with the ordering because they cost over $1000, so we did not get the uniforms,” said Junior and soccer player Jhonas Dunakin.

“I just went to people I knew had money and were willing to donate. I pitched them the idea and they donated.”

SLA coaches and students look for people outside of school who are willing to donate to the teams.

“We sell pretzels and I get private donations from friends who what to have girls soccer succeed at SLA,” said Mr. Baird.

The budget is tight and teams have come up with various ways to fundraise, from selling chocolate bars to pretzels in order to get what they need.

“Starting early on the fundraising is the key to success”, said Erin Garvey, SLA Algebra teacher and girls basketball coach. “We are trying to raise money so that all players have adequate sneakers and warm-ups. It also works to continue building camaraderie among players despite the season being over. We’ve been fortunate that we’ve had a lot of parent support and assistance with the fundraising effort, especially Ms. Randall. I would definitely encourage other teams to start their fundraising early so that these funds can be used for the upcoming season.”

In the past year, each school was hit with budget cuts and had to make changes.

“Every school had to drop one sport. We dropped track” from the budget, said Mr. Kay. “The district isn’t funding it anymore. Luckily, our Home and School are now paying for the coach.”

What’s interesting is that many students, including members of the track team were unaware of this change.

” You don’t need funding in order to do what you love. If you truly love it, you’ll find the means in order to accomplish it, said Senior and Track team captain Tariq Smith.

“As of my meeting last week, none of the sports are going away in the immediate future. That can all change tomorrow, I have no idea,” said Kay.

“As of now, there are going to be spring sports. However, I think there might be big cuts next year, but sports are kinda a sacred cow and it’s a public relations nightmare to cut sports. So, I don’t think anyone was trying to cut them, I think it was just a rumor.”

Money is an important factor when it comes to sports. Although many rumors have been going around regarding sports, they are just rumors. Coaches and players are looking for different outlets such as fundraising and donations in order to provide for their teams.

Students respond to and celebrate African American performers.

March 14, 2012 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Kristi Bezhani

Staff Writer

For their senior capstone project, seniors Ashley Etheredge and Sekai Harris, are coordinating of a Black History Month event at SLA, which was originally scheduled for February and is now tentatively scheduled for March 21st.

The show will be the first official African American History Month event hosted at SLA, after several previous years of students planning events but not quite pulling it off.

The show is the senior capstone project for Etheredge and Harris. They have big plans.

“In this event I wanted to show a lot of different types of artistry by creating a show- showcasing talent and great African American artists,” said Etheredge.

“So you will see dances being performed, listen to some renditions of songs being sung and a collaborative step routine.”

Their planning is being influenced by the fact that last month, artists Whitney Houston, Don Cornelius, and Etta James all passed away.

After their deaths, these famous artists taught fans at SLA exactly how short life can be.

“I had a big appreciation for Whitney Houston’s voice, in my brain she was the best, like i thought her voice was the best in the game,” said both English and Drama Teacher Matthew Kay.

“What I really couldn’t stand was how, with Whitney Huston’s and Etta James’ deaths, people talked about their deaths more because of drugs, and I always thought it was weird that people get appreciated for drugs when they die.. and how if it makes a part of them, like If you do something wrong it will become your legacy,” he said.

“I think someone who can sing is more valuable instead of a singer who had a drug problem because that’s just sad. People that struggle with drugs and are promoted for it, I just think it’s not fair to such artist’s great legacies,” he said with a sigh.

Many students at SLA have also been moved by these deaths.

Sophomore Jordan Hairston was affected greatly by the timing of Whitney Houston’s death.

“I cried when Whitney Houston died, it was the day after my birthday, I was like why?! In honor of her music, I played her songs after everyone sang happy birthday. One of them was I Will Always Love You.”

She also knew Etta James as an artist, which was also heartfelt for her.

“When Etta James died, I screamed and then I downloaded two more songs by her, that I didn’t have. In tribute of three musical legends, I stuttered down the Soul Train line with musical harmonies in my mind.”

Senior Sade Skelton felt more towards her past with the artists.

“When Whitney Houston died, I mean that’s the songs you grew up on, like your mom and grandmother listen to her and it becomes a part of you. So it was sad when she died.”

For the organizers of the African American History Month show, the recent deaths mean a change in their program. They plan on a finale to honor the lives of the artists that lost their lives prior to February.

Senior Writes, Directs Capstone Plays

March 14, 2012 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Isabela Supovitz-Aznar

Staff Writer

For Senior Julia Boyer, her capstone project choice was simple:

“I wrote and directed a play.”

It all started sophomore year, when Mr. Block and Mr. Miles assigned the students to write scenes with the help of the organization Young Philly Playwrights, which comes and works with SLA to help them write monologues, scenes, or plays to submit to the program.

Julia wrote a one-act play as a part of that program, which is one of two pieces that will be performed as a part of her theater festival on Friday, March 16th.

Most of the people involved in the play have been student volunteers. many are seniors but there is also a junior and a freshman. The have been rehearsing every Wednesday and Thursday after school in the drama studio for months in preparation of the big show.

At first, Julia found the live production of her work to be “weird,” but that changed as the rehearsals continued.

“I liked seeing something that I created on paper come to life,” she said.

She also said that if she could have changed anything, she would have paced herself more, taken the time to edit her plays more, met with her mentor and her actors more. But it seems like she learned a lot from her experience.

There are three performances, all on Friday, March 16th: One each during X and Y bands, and 4:30 after school. All performances are free.

Snack sales at school create profits, conflicts

March 14, 2012 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Nia Berry

Staff Writer

Snacks are everywhere at SLA, from pretzels to hot chocolate to candy. All this in hope of fundraising for the various events and organizations within the school.

To raise money for their tickets, many upperclassmen at Science Leadership Academy have been going around school selling assorted chocolates, holiday candy grams and snacks in order to fund raise for Senior and Junior proms. These campaigns are organized by Spanish teacher Mark Bey, who is also the social coordinator at SLA.

However, these students are not the only vendors within the school trying to fund raise for a special event.

The cheerleading team, the Liverpool trip, Students Run Philly Style, and many more other groups all trying to sell to the fewer than 500 students in the school, leaving very little room for profit and success in fundraising for Mr. Bey and his team.

Mr. Bey believes that the fundraising is key to the success of proms at SLA. “

The School District doesn’t pay for these events, ya’ll do and everyone should have a chance to be a part of them,” he said.

However, he acknowledges that lack of funding for all events squeezes the school.

“International trips cost a lot, and fundraising in a small school like this is too much! That’s something the district should give some money towards.”

The process of fundraising over the years has had it’s challenges and success due to the size of the school. The most common fundraising tactic used within the school is food. The selling of candy grams, pretzels, hot chocolate, and other snacks initially resulted in a booming profit until the school store was opened. The store, located on the second floor near the office, also sells snacks and treats, and raises money for SLA’s Home and School organization.

Though most students look to the school store for their source of a more diverse choice in snaking, the school store has an irregular schedule, which can create conflict with other fundraisers.

In order to help manage sales, some fundraising events have been assigned specific days. For instance, the scheduling for pretzels sales has been back and forth between ILP Coordinator Jermey Spry and History teacher Matt Baird on Fridays to fund raise for student run and girls soccer.

Just recently, Spry relinquished his Friday spot to Girl’s Soccer after netting the quota of about $300 he needed for running supplies for the Student Run team.

Spry also doesn’t think that the pretzel sales are the best way to go.

“They don’t yield that much money,” he said. “Pretzels cost like $21 a box and only sell for 50 cents.”

Regardless of the little profit made by pretzel sales, Baird finds it a reasonable way to fund raise for members on his soccer teams who can not necessarily afford the equipment they need.

Though they do not have a set goal for how much they want to fund raise for, the girl’s soccer team is expecting to order new labeled jerseys and socks that will cost about $50 a player.

Annual Ski Trip Cancelled

March 14, 2012 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Heather Campbell

Guest Writer

This year, the SLA annual ski trip to Blue Mountain scheduled for February 25th was cancelled due to the lack of funds, snow, and overall student interest.

A ski trip has been planned every year for the past six years, but only four have actually happened.

The cancellation of the trip has been a disappointment for many of the students who were hoping to attend.

“I was really sad it was canceled. I was really looking forward to it,” commented Senior Marina Stuart.

Stuart had not been skiing since the last trip and was looking forward to it and hanging out with friends. This was the third trip that Stuart had tried to attend, but has only gone on one.

Freshmen Nikki Adeli, Leah Kelly, and Julian Makarechi were also among the students who were disappointed to learn about the cancellation of the trip.

Kelly was hoping that the skip trip would provide her the opportunity to bond with friends and have a fun time, but now they have to do so by other means.

“I usually don’t go skiing but when I do, it’s with my school trip,” commented Adeli.

Science teacher Gamal Sherif, who organizes the trip, said that “we didn’t have enough students.” They had 28 students sign up, but they needed 45 to afford it.

The cost of the trip was also a factor in the its cancellation. For the past few years the trip has been to Bear Creek because it was cheaper, but this year they opted for taking a yellow school bus to Blue Mountain to balance out the cost. The Home and School Association had offered to cover a portion of the cost.

“We thought we could spend the $500 from the Home and School and see how it would hurt the school overall,” commented Sherif.

“Every year it has been hard for us. I don’t know if the school is big enough. We tried all sorts of things; we had bake sale, we had poly-metrics and conditioning.”

With the high costs of skiing, it is essential for funding and student interest in order for the trip to be successful.

“When freshmen come at the beginning of the year, they should mention it. They need to mention it more,” suggested Adeli.

“I think they isn’t enough interest at our school and they need to team up and partner with another school” said Stuart.

To make the trip more successful, the organizers have been considering the idea of partnering up with another school, looking at Julia R. Masterman to be their model.

“Masterman gets to go on a Friday. The early mornings and Saturdays didn’t appeal to students,” stated Sherif.

Another factor in the trip’s cancellation was the lack of snow.

“If we got up there and the weather was slushy it would not be money well spent,” commented Sherif.

For this year’s ski trip, the school had to take into account the weather and student interest to assess whether the cost of the trip would be outweighed. This year, the trip was too expensive for what it was worth.