This week’s question: What is the worst thing that has ever happened to your laptop?
Interview by Emilisa Lopez. Photos by Emilisa Lopez and Isabela Supovitz-Aznar.
Locker Talk: Computer Disasters
SLA Debate Team at Penn Tournament
By Marina Stuart
Staff Writer
On Saturday, December 3rd, The SLA Debate team took second place at the Penn Youth For Debate Fall Tournament.
The debate team was founded at SLA five years ago. For some members, the debate team is part of their school schedule and meets twice a week. Many students, however, discovered their love of arguing in the Penn Debate ILP, which meets on Wddnesday afternoons.
For the past month the debaters prepared cases in response to the following statement: “The direct popular vote should replace the electoral college in presidential elections.”
The cases were written by students, edited by Penn debate interns, and practiced at the regular debates at Central High School.
After eight hours of stressful arguing, SLA won second place overall in the tournament, with one team advancing to the quarterfinals. Additionally senior, Elisa Hyder won best speaker award for the second time in a row.
Even with the amount of success, some teams felt slightly disappointed that they did not advance farther in the tournament.
“We debated well and were hoping to make it to the finals,” said Senior Jeff Kessler “Still, I have no idea as to why we lost the last debate; everyone was sure that we had won.”
However the more important point is that for about 16 of the 20 debaters this was their first tournament and a major learning experience for them
“This was my first time debating and participating in a tournament” Said Senior Ayanna Robinson. “But it felt so good to just jump into arguing, I never thought that debating an educational topic would be fun. By the end of it I had gotten the gist of what debating was all about”
“Saturday was a tough tournament.” Coach and History Teacher Diana Laufenberg said. “Nothing seemed to break our way.”
“Although we felt confident with our cases, judges did not seem to concur with our arguments. I am thrilled that we were able to get in a ton of practice for all the teams and we have some concrete goals for moving forward in the year.”
Hallway Fashion: Thomas Jeffcoat
How does it feel being the Hallway Fashion? I noticed you were really taken by surprise.
Uhh… it feels flattering (laughs). When I get dressed in the morning, I just wear things that I like. Mostly just skinny jeans and t-shirts. I guess it’s nice to see that the the things that I think look nice, other people feel the same as well.
Since you’re in a band, do all of you have the same style? If not, how would you describe you style?
Actually, we don’t all have the same style. as I described before, I have more of a skater-ish look. Our lead singer has more of the indie rocker look. Some of us even have the urban/hip hop look. We all may dress different ways, but our music expresses our mentalities as one unit.
What do you think makes you stand out in school?
Well, at SLA, everyone pretty much does have their own style. There isn’t a lot of grouping based on ethnicity, gender, or intellectual capacity (because we’re all smart). So, that being said, the main thing that divides us all are our personalities. Through our clothing, i guess we express who we truly are, and I think my style is what individualizes me.
Interview by Nia Berry.
Safe ride home from school? The challenge of the SLA commute
By Isabela Supovitz-Aznar
Staff Writer
How far would you go to get a good education at a school you love? At SLA, it can take hours.
Because SLA is a school with city-wide admissions, students hail from every zip code in the city– and many of them have intensely long commutes to get to and from the school some of which can be dangerous.
Some students spend over an hour on their way to and from school, and the commute can be complicated. For Sophomore Nick Murray, it takes “40-45 minutes to get to school by bus.”
He values the choice he made, although there are risks.
“The commute is worth it because I love the school, but I once was on the bus and a guy was getting jumped in front of me. Luckily it got stopped.”
Many students have an equally long commute in the evenings; some do not get home until 7 or 8 PM, which can be dangerous because it is after rush hour, and the streets are dark.
Some students have experienced violence in the subways first hand, and have been scared enough to consider arming themselves–which goes against school district policy about weapons.
Junior Samantha Zeisloft who lives in Roxborough, has a troubling story from one commute home. “I once was on the bus going home, and a woman who had a baby in a stroller with her got in a fight with some guy in front of me. She literally pushed the baby’s stroller out of the way and continued yelling at the guy on the bus. There were a couple pushes and shoves, and my friend who was with me got hit by the woman accidentally, it’s not what you’d expect on a ride home from school.”
Zeisloft didn’t feel that she was personally in danger during the ride, but was concerned. “I’d definitely say it’s important to be aware when things like this happen so that no one gets hurt.”
SLA students continue to make the commute, however, because they are committed to a good education and a good school. They willing to endure possibly dangerous situations and long rides home on the subway in order to continue their education.
Sometimes, the commute can put a strain of family relationships.
“My parents try and get me to come home early because they don’t want me at risk since it’s been getting dark out fast,” said Sophomore Jamie Murphy, who lives in Sharon Hill.
The administration at SLA is aware of these challenges, and aknowledges the fact that kids have a difficult time getting home on some days. They try to help the students at SLA by being cautious.
Program Coordinator Jeremy Spry organizes internships for students, but sometimes comes across issues organizing them because of safety. “One of the biggest concerns for me is students getting to and from their internships safely because students have internships all over the city, and sometimes not in the best areas.”
Spry noted that ”especially in the winter, when it gets dark out sooner, it can be a little sketchy and parents get concerned, which is understandable but unfortunatly limits opportunities for students.”
Superintendent Visits SLA, Talks About Budget Cuts
By Bach Tong
Staff Writer
Acting Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, Dr. Leroy Nunery, visited Science Leadership Academy (SLA) on Tuesday December 6, 2011 to discuss how budget issues in the District will affect the future of the school.
In March, the District announced a $629 million cut from its $3.1 billion budget due to the lost from revenue from state funding that was proposed by Governor Corbett. SLA shared approximately $400,000.
In October, another $39 million cut was made from the shrunken budget . In an email to principals signed by Dr. Nunery and the District’s Chief Financial Officer Michael Masch, the District outlined that schools’ operating budget will be cut 1.4% on average.
The event was advertised as “What is the future of SLA?” and was organized in response to concerns about the future of the school building. The event began at 6:30 pm in the cafe of SLA, with more than 120 parents present.
The speakers included Principal Chris Lehmann, the President and CEO of The Franklin Institute Dennis Wint, Dr. Nunery, and District’s Assistant Director to Chief Business Office Danielle Floyd.
According to Mr. Lehmann, SLA shares a $36,600 in total cut, exactly 1.4% in the school operating budget. This cut would wipe out extra curricular activities, extra hours for security (School Police Offcier Cynthia Byrd), and school supplies.
But on the bright side, the “Rocket Fuel Campaign”, which launched last spring by the Home and School Association, fund raised $38,000.
“Ultimately what we want to do is gather a couple of parents and some of your staff people to go to a committee”, said Dr. Nunery, “and talk about what the options are”
Dr. Nunery explicitly addressed the future building options of the school. The current building lease costs more than $1 million a year.
This amount does not come out of SLA’s school budget, but from the central district office. Compared to schools that are housed in district-owned buildings, the current home of SLA is a major financial drain on the district.
The lease of the current building will expire at the end of the school year in 2016. Philadelphia Management, who is the landlord, has begun a construction project of an apartment on the 4th floor since the beginning of the school year. This project has caused a major distraction for learning at SLA recently due to the amount of noise.
In discussing the options, Floyd said that Philadelphia Management has given three options. “The first that they would continue to build out the apartments”, in which case there will be separate entrance, cameras, and stairwell.
The second option was to “contingent on a lease for another ten years,” said Floyd. The third option was that “they would stop construction and would charge us a per-square foot cost based on what has already been finished”, in which the cost would be $25 per square foot, for about 6000 square foot.
However, Mr. Lehmann commented that “if [they] put apartments on the fourth floor, [they] are sending a message that [they] do not want us here”.
It would take at least 18 months to relocate to SLA’s new home, including time of research for a new space, paper work, refurbishing the building to accomodate learning. “I don’t want us in a building that doesn’t match our pedagogy” said Mr. Lehmann.
On the other hand, the agreement of partnership between the Franklin Institute and the District will also expired around the same time.
“It takes 4 years to apply for a new one,” said Dr. Wint, the President and CEO of the Franklin Institute.
“The partnership with the [Franklin] Institute really becomes a major drive here.” Said Dr. Nunery, “location in this case really does matter”. The Please Touch Museum old space was brought up as a possibility, but too costly to be a reality.
“I would like the engage in the discussion of a five year extension, not a ten,” Mr. Lehmann suggested. “I think that gives the district time to get over the hump of this insanity.”
Walking out of the meeting, parent Ann Bigler said that “the process is confusing”. However, she thought that “the meeting was informative and helpful.”
The future of SLA’s location remains to be seen. The school will be safe at least until 2016.
“SLA could realize its original vision, which is a teaching hospital for Philadelphia.” Mr. Lehmann concluded the meeting. “The problem is we need the facility that matches that. We’re not going to get that right now.”
Dr. Nunery agreed that SLA should be replicated as a model.
Besides the long term goal for a new home, SLA’s short term needs will be dealing with the budget cut. The school needs financial and supplies donations to humans energy to fundraise and volunteer at events like EduCon.
“We need all the help that you are able to spare,” said Mr. Lehmann.