SLA Media

SLAMedia is a publication of the news for the Science Leadership Academy community. Writers come from the student body in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. We work in unison to create a functioning paper with biweekly postings on a variety of events.

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Capstone Plays Reflect SLA Community

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By Kristi Bezhani

Staff Writer

On March 16th, Senior Julia Boyer presented two plays which she wrote and directed for her Capstone project.  She coordinated the plays in a way where the audience could relate the idea of school, from the situations she created in the play.

The first play presented was “IHOP time,” Starring Seniors Anna Roman, Nadif Bracey, Andy Cowell. The was about a boy whose mom was driving him to church, while he wanted to be driven to IHOP instead. The conversations were made up of complaints from the child and demands from the mother, before and after the grandmother added in. This play was originally for the Philadelphia Young Playwrights competition which she wrote in tenth grade, when she was in Mr. Block’s class.

The second play was called “Office 309,” starring Seniors Josh Martin-Corrales, Marina Stuart, Jobe Naff, Natalie Sanchez, Tim Mamorl, Junior Sam Lovett-Perkins, and Freshman Maggie Hohenstein. This play was about a school counselor who was trying to better the lives of students, while coping with his own problems. This play was set in a counclers  school office, with one scene taking place in the fathers house of the school counselor. This play was written for her theatre class last year.

Both plays reflected the SLA community, although one more directly than the other. In “IHOP Time,” the mother told her child that, “Church is important, its tradition.” This showed that adults always emphasize the importance of school and it being mandatory. Later, the mother said, “I like the community. it’s really hard to find a church where everyone accepts you for who you are.” This sounded very much like SLA’s environment.

The grandmother character also showed the difference between generations. “When I was your age, they wouldn’t have this advanced technology.” This line, delivered by Andy Cowell dressed up as an old woman, made the audience giggle — and obviously spoke to students at SLA.

Nadif Bracey stole the show as the son, partially because of his funny lines — and also because he was much taller than his “mother.”

“Office 309” changed the mood with a more serious tone. The teacher character is flawed, and can’t help others because he cannot help himself. The audience was very sympathetic to Josh Martin-Corrales in this role, whose character had a stutter around adults, but not with his students. There were a lot of “awwwws” during the scenes with his father.

In the end, Boyer’s hard work and style payed off with a booming applause from the audience.

Home and School hosts Silent Auction

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By Jenn Wright

Staff Writer

Organized by SLA’s Home and School Association, the third annual Silent Auction raised money to support sports and academic interests of the school.

The auction happened on March 23, 2012 and was open to members of the SLA community ages 21 and older. This is the second year it was hosted at the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Old City Philadelphia.

Items available for bidding included vacation homes, pieces by local artists and photography lessons from SLA’s own DigVid and History Teacher Douglas Herman.

Raffling off baskets full of goodies from Phillies tickets to Irish-themed fare, the support of attendees in buying auction items is vital to its success.

This year, attendance reached full capacity at 200 people, and the night included appetizers, a full buffet dinner, drinks, and dessert catered by the Chemical Heritage Foundation.

A highlight of the night was the live music by a group of SLA parents Ben Burenstein, Jay Klales, Music Teacher Ben Diamond, and Principal Intern Chad Mote called the RetroRockets. Principal Lehmann performed with the group, singing “Moondance.”

The ticket included access to the Chemical Heritage Museum exhibits as well as the use of docents to guide them.

SLA Counselor Zoe Siswick said, “it was a beautiful facility and it was a really great opportunity to view the exhibits during the evening.”

Parent and Silent Auction Chair Randi Kessler spoke to commitment of the SLA community to this event.

“Between this and EduCon, these are the two gigantic fundraisers that the outpouring of parent and faculty support is amazing.”

Senior Jeff Kessler was also a big part of the planning, working as a member of the Silent Auction committee making spreadsheets and using his organizational skills to advance the process of planning.

Taking the economy into account, the cost to host an event such as this has gone up substantially. This year, all donations were solicited or donated by parents in the SLA community. Fortunately, the Chemical Heritage Foundation worked with SLA on the price to host the event at their facility.

The proceeds from last year’s auction helped pay for this year’s music program, field trips, and other benefits to SLA.

Being one of the school’s largest fundraisers, Ms. Kessler noted that, “with the school budget cuts that have been really dramatic, we depend on the money from the auction even more.”

 

SLA Clubs Gone Extinct

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Ms. Dunn's knitting supplies. Photo by DeShawn McLeod.

By DeShawn Mcleod

Staff Writer

Since SLA opened its doors to students, many clubs have come and gone throughout the years.

Science and History teacher Gamal Sherif hosted Yoga club, which lasted for one year.

“During the times Yoga was available, we would sit down and talk about what the physical postures we would be working on and the relationship between the mind and the body for a few brief moments,” he said. “Then we’d do some warm up poses and then focus on one particular activity.”

Yoga club started in the school year of 2007-2008 and student interest was “very high, we had 20 the first time,” Mr. Sherif said.

But, in the same year, student interest began to take a downward turn.

“Then it was 10 for a couple of weeks, and then five, and then two,” Mr. Sherif continued.

The club discontinued for a couple of reasons. One was student interest. Mr. Sherif thought that, “some of the clubs like yoga are not as main stream as other clubs.”

“A second one is that specially with yoga, we did it once a week, and I think students were looking for not the actual activity, but students were looking for a sense of belonging or community.”

As for Improv club, it was supervised by Former English Teacher Zac Chase, who is now a graduate student in Education at Harvard University

According to Mr. Chase, Improv club “was more of a space where people met weekly and practiced learning improvisational theatre.”

“Each week, we’d meet for anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours. We’d practice some warm-up exercises to stretch our bodies and minds to loose them from the rigors of the school day. Then, we’d play any number of improv games and practice scene work.”

The reason Improv club is no longer available because Mr. Chase ran the club, and as stated before he was no longer apart of the staff.

“The key is finding a sponsor who has a background in improv and feels comfortable leading it,” said Mr. Chase.

The Knitting club was facilitated by English teacher Alexa Dunn.

“It was Tuesday afternoons, we’d have music, I’d play something on my computer and we would sit around and knit and talk,” Ms. Dunn said. “It was fun.”

Towards the end of the 2010-2011 school year, Ms. Dunn decided to have the club come to a close.

“I was having trouble getting donations and I couldn’t sustain the club with just myself.” Dunn stated.

However, Knitting club might have a possibility of coming back.

“I’ve been asked to bring it back, there are kids who want it again. But for me to make it worth it, I would have to have regular attendance and more of a commitment. I don’t want to be sitting in my empty room on a Tuesday afternoon waiting for people to come in,” Ms. Dunn stated.

Since major budget cuts, it’s harder to support newer clubs because teachers aren’t able to host them. Ms. Dunn commented, “There’s no extra curricular money anymore, so teachers don’t get paid.”

Mr. Sherif had a different perspective.

“Everybody is really busy, if you stress a community and the community has to do more with less, like fewer teachers, there’s less leftover energy for other clubs and activities.”

They have a mutual under lying point: no school money + no teacher = no activities for students.

If the school community wants more clubs, it’s up to them to start a coalition and form a commitment. Students need to step up to the plate and act on what interests them.

“The club scene was built by students,” Ms. Dunn said, “not necessarily by faculty.”

Kickin’ it on and off the field

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By Mike Sanders

Guest Writer

Sophomore Owen Grzywinski is not your average athlete.

A new student at SLA, Grzywinski made a serious impression when he used his superhuman physical skills during a soccer game to flip over an opponent and score a goal for the Rockets during a game.

“He basically flipped to avoid someone, rolled on the ground, and then kicked it into the goal,” said Sophomore Isabela Supovitz-Aznar. “The students were like “Woah, Owen!” Everybody started clapping.”

Students are impressed.

“Owen is awesome. He’s the only one I know who can do flips without hurting himself.” Said Sophmore Jeffery Schwertz. “ If I am ever in a fight, I would choose Owen to defend me.”

Where did Grzywinski learn this skill?

Every Saturday, Grzywinski attends classes at MaMas art studio in Mount Airy. There he practices Capoeira, a Brazilian-influenced martial arts style that involves fast-paced dancing and music.

This is where Grzywinski learned how to flip. But Owen has learned so much more from Capoeira than just flipping and fighting.

His mentor Mr. Raeutier taught Grzywinski not just the flips and moves to be a great martial artist, but also the discipline to achieve certain objectives.

“I don’t think I could do what I could do now without Mr. Raeutier,” Gryzwinski said.

This applies just to fighting but also in school work. Grzywinski is a home-schooled student, and this is his first year in a regular school.

Some students would fall in the first couple of months, but in his first 2 quarters he was able to discipline himself to become an A and B student.

Grzywinski is currently the starting right outside midfield in soccer. That is a position the requires a lot of stamina, becoming both an offense and defense. But that doesn’t stop Grzywinski.

Every month, he goes to a Martial Arts tournament with his classmates a MaMa’s arts studio. There he mentions that he always loves going to the tournaments to improve his skills even more.

But even though he is serious about martial arts, Grzywinski is still a fun, lovable guy. In fact, other than the tournaments, he has never been in a fight.

“But when ever I’m in trouble,” he said, “I can always flip my way out of it.”