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Senior Meeting Discusses Events, Hoodies

October 31, 2011 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Samantha Beattie

Staff Writer

On October 17th in room 503, there was a senior meeting held by Pia Martin regarding senior trip and hoodies for the Class of 2012.

As of Wednesday October 12th, the senior class has officially kicked off their year as the “SLA Class of 2012” with their senior class breakfast at the Hard Rock Cafe. This was the first of several senior class events, which were the focus of the meeting October 17th.

This year, the senior trip will be at the Split Rock Resort and Golf Club (in the Poconos), which includes and indoor water park and will take place in February around Valentine’s Day.

“Our objective is to empty the building at one time”, said Martin. The senior class was given two options for the trip. The first option was to spend one day at Split Rock, including one meal. Seniors would be leaving at 7 am from school

and will be home around 10 or 11 that night.

This trip option would price out to be around $75.00. Out of the approximate 40 seniors in the room at this time there was mixed emotion about the price, but were curious about option two.

Then, the second o

ption was given: an overnight trip to Split Rock, including two meals (dinner and breakfast) and 4-6 in each room. Everyone would check out at noon the following day.

This would be at least double the price of option one, including the price for the bus driver who would be taking seniors home the next day.

Senior Marquis Simmons asked whether students on the overnight trip will get to pick their roommates. Ms. Martin explained that there will be some freedom with roommates. Martin expressed that roommates could be chosen if they filled the room (had 4-6), but could not be Co-ed.

When the voting took place, most of the students in the room chose the overnight option.At the end of the discussion, the question of cost was addressed. “We expect money is an issue. Me and Mr. Bey try to make money not an issue”, stated Martin. More information including exact prices and days will be given in two weeks.The conversation then shifted to senior hoodies. The seniors were shown a series of hoodie designs to choose from. All except for three votes went to the seventh design. “Do we even want to continue?” asked Martin after the hands went up.

The chosen design says: “Senio12s. You wish you were one two” The R in the word seniors is made of a 1 and 2, a reference to the class of 2012.

The only issue was what would be included on the back. Martin and Bey expressed that everyone would have the same back and that there would be no special design changes. Some people wanted SLA somewhere on it, but still including their name and the people of the 2012 class.

“If I were you, I’d go to target and iron it on yourself,” stated Spanish teacher Mark Bey.

More information for the hoodies will be providedat the next meeting. Seniors interested in being involved with this discussion should meet in Pia Martin’s room, room 503, directly after advisory on Monday, October 31.

The British Invasion at SLA

October 31, 2011 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Sam Lovett-Perkins

Staff Writer

SLA is no stranger to visitors. With so many shadows in school each day, a few more students in class usually don’t get noticed–unless they have a British accent.

For one week in October, SLA played host fiftenn young women from the United Kingdom as a part of an exchange program with the school, sometimes referred as “Liverdelphia.”

The students are from Broughton Hall High School in Liverpool, England. For the program, one student from each schooll are paired together. In the fall, the Liverpudlians come to enjoy the pleasures of SLA and a general American life. This includes spending time sightseeing in New York and Washington DC. It also includes visiting historical sites and other famous places This year, Reading Terminal Market and the Philadelphia Art Museum were part of the experience.

The program capitalized on the mixture of two cultures. Each Liverpudlian students lives, eats, and sleeps with their housing partner. “Basically they are doing a home stay like having dinner and family time so they can get an understanding of student life,” described Ms. Echols, one of three SLA teachers assisting in the exchange. “They also talk to each other over the range of the different families.”

Although the visitors didn’t arrive until the 18th of October, they have been in contact with their American partners for some time. Shamus Kirby, an SLA sophomore involved in the program first had contact as early as July. “Over the summer on Facebook we went back and forth about things like what we like to do.”

When they were here, students both enjoyed and learned from each other’s cultural differences. For SLA Junior Jenn Wright, this included some jokes about different vocabulary. “I was attempting to fit in with them by using terminology that they taught me, but they didn’t indicate how offensive a particular word was, until I said it in front of their teacher. She laughed, but it was still really embarrassing.”

This process happens in reverse when students from SLA house with their partners from the UK and spend about a week living a British Life. The trip to the UK will happen at the end of March, during spring break. Wright is looking forward to new cultural experiences in England.

“Trying new foods and being totally immersed in a new culture. Because for her [Terr Duffy, her Liverpool partner] everyday life is different even though there are some similarities.”

This event has become a yearly tradition between the two schools, and will hopefully continued for years to come. Those interested should keep an eye out for applications this spring.

Hallway Fashion: Ashley Etheredge

October 31, 2011 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Where did you get your outfit?
I got from my dress from H&M, my tights from Forever 21, and my brown (suede- army styled) boots from DSW and all on sale.

Where do you usually shop?
I usually shop at those 3 stores, my favorite store is either Forever 21 or Tilly’s I like to mix the difference, which is a specific division of Forever 21. I also shop at Wet Seal, H&M and thrift stores such as Buffalo Exchange because they have very interesting “off the market” clothes that I like to mix and match to create styles for each season.How would you describe your style?
A mixture of boho-chic and flirtatious city-punk (both with a vintage flare–I love vintage). In the picture I’m rockin’ some boho-chic, my pattern is a modest floral,my boots are technically army boots but because of the color and the suede material the army feel is also modest. I decided to throw in a playful tight because I like to throw in splashes of color rather than have everything stay matching or “safe colors” with tan, white , black and grey.

What inspires your style?
I love looking at old top designer clothes, I love vintage Chanel, Betsy Johnson and Vera Wang. They all had very outspoken fashion designs and each have their own twist on something, and when I mix them together I always find a whole new spin on an outfit.Any advice for kids trying to develop their own style?
Look at fashion magazines. If you don’t know what you like look through magazines for what you like. Don’t be afraid to try new things even if you think that they are too bold or won’t fit you right, you wont know until you try it out. Have fun with it, try things out until you find your niche.

Photo and interview by Nia Berry, staff writer.

Student of the Week: Douglas Wallace

October 28, 2011 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Ayanna Robinson

Staff Writer

Douglas Wallace seems hell bent on leading the Rockets to victory. One of two seniors on the soccer team, he leads the team not only with age but with talent. In two years he has a standing record of 32 saves in a game against DelVal — one of the top teams in their division — but he doesn’t intend to stop there. His next mission? Public league.

High school students are rarely this successful when starting a sport so late in high school, but Wallace has achieved this all since beginning to play in his juniors year. Wallace’s sheer commitment to his team helps keep his eye on the ball. This is his first year starting goalie consistently. but he doesn’t plan on it being his last. He considers college soccer an “option” in his future. If not, he will have still played a key role in taking the Rockets to this year’s playoffs.

Wallace’s leadership skills are present off the field as well. Before every game, he leads the team in a prayer of sorts and warns them to keep their minds focused and energetic. Even on the field, he alternates between leading stretches, jogs, and drills to warm up the entire team. They more than appreciate his presence and share wonderful sentiments about him. Teammate Ruben Burenstein says, “I love Doug sometimes. I don’t love him in school, but I love him playing soccer.”

The forgotten world of SLA Talk

October 28, 2011 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Jenn Wright

Staff Writer

One-fourth of the students at SLA have never heard of it. The other three-fourths knows about it but maybe didn’t frequent it often. Others posted on it with ease.For those who don’t know about SLA Talk, it was the open forum for students to post on the “old” Moodle that served a variety of purposes. The space was created because, as Mr. Lehmann put it, “I felt it was important because it was a space to talk.”The first topic ever posted on SLA Talk was called “SLA in the news”. It was simply a link to a story from The Inquirer about SLA. A few topics later the then-freshman class of 2010 was discussing the potential of a school song. More topics followed. It became a space to talk about anything. “It was a combo of silly and fun and all the rest of it,” Lehmann said.

SLA Talk truly served as a space where the students could sound off about what was on their mind. If someone lost something, look on SLA Talk. Students were always finding and putting out wanted ads for their lost items via SLA Talk. Is there a snow day? Check SLA Talk and dispiritedly find just the delayed schedule. One of the most popular threads was “This or That” with 1626 replies–coke or pepsi? soccer or baseball?

This kind of online space might seem unusual at a high school, but Lehmann doesn’t think so. “I think it gives kids a place to talk in a non formal way,” he said. “I think that’s really important. Kids need to be able to that.” Whereas some schools host this kind of forum on facebook, at SLA it made sense to do it in-house.

SLA Talk could stir up controversy. Politics and beliefs came up once in a while. A bold student would post something bound to attract replies. SLA Talk was mainly self policed because every ones name was attached to their posts as opposed to other public forums on the Internets. “It sorta brought the community together,” says junior Breeanna Noi.

In the last two years, it was used more for announcements and some discussion. It had a professional side, too. Involved students used it as a broadcasting tool. “I used it to spread the word about GSA and interviews,” explained junior Max Marton.

So, where is SLA Talk now? The old one still lives in a space accessible to teachers, so the infamous “Overheard in SLA” forum is not lost forever. And the future of SLA Talk looks good. It’s currently a click-able course on Moodle 2.0 but students cannot post topics– for now. “It is coming back,” Lehmann said. “We’ve kept it down a little bit, getting it completely tweaked well for Moodle 2.0.”

Hopefully, the new SLA Talk will rival the old.