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Hallway Fashion: Thomas Jeffcoat

December 16, 2011 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

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.

Superintendent Visits SLA, Talks About Budget Cuts

December 13, 2011 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Acting Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, Dr. Leroy Nunery, spoke to a crowd of more than 120 parents, students, and teachers at a meeting about the effect of budget cuts on SLA.

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.

The Long Days of SLA Basketball

December 9, 2011 by lpahomov 1 Comment

By Ayanna Robinson

Staff Writer

At SLA, school starts at 8:15am and allowing for the special “SLA time” that can even be pushed to 8:20.

However, for a different type of student, days start much earlier.

Meet the SLA basketball teams, two groups of hardworking athletes dedicated to waking up earlier and even forgoing sleep to pursue a dream or even just a hobby.

You may find these kids sleeping at their desks or laid out in the middle of the hall and just think they’re lazy, but to truly understand why they seem less engaged during the winter months, you’ll have to live a day in their lives.

4:25am

Freshmen Allen Harmon and Kenayah Cerdan have just woken up. They need a couple extra hours in the morning to make sure they look their best not only for practice but also for the school day that lies ahead.

Showering is a must and for Allen, who lives an hour away from school, it just cant be done at night. But morning showers are a perfect way to wake yourself up that early.

6:00am

Juniors Eryn James and Andrew Chalfen both take SEPTA lines to school. Lucky for them, this means they won’t have to lose any Z’s for practice. Senior Sam Sirochman catches a ride, happy that this morning was a good morning for his mother to drive him to practice.

6:30am

Both girls and boys practice begin at 6:30am, but since the girl’s team is small there’s not enough people to scrimmage. Unfortunately, Coach Garvey knows there is enough people to run laps!

The team has mixed feelings about diving headfirst into practice this early. While Eryn excitedly begins to run, Kenayah lags behind, not nearly ready to begin. As the practice wears on she perks up and reminds herself, “Once it comes to that games, its all worth it.”

The boys’ team starts off a little slower with shooting as the rest of the team trickles in. As a senior, Sam should be used to this already, but even with his headstart in the car he still arrives at practice groggy.

Two other seniors, Tyler Hankinson and Nadif Bracey are already running around the court, forcing others to play defence on them. There’s no time to waste for a basketball senior, they have to be ready for college recruiters at every game!

Only one SLA basketball player remains sleeping. Sterling Perry is still in his bed as he takes a year off from playing ball.

“Last year the practices in the morning were messing up my grades and sleep schedule.” Sterling comments. “But I’m taking this year to get my grades back up.”

7:45am

Although girls’ practice may begin earlier, Garvey lets them out early, knowing girls need a little extra time to prepare for school. Kenayah is worn out from the work out, but she continues to remind herself what it will lead to.

8:00am

Kay uses his extra 15 minutes to do full court drills. He pushes his boys to the absolute best and holds them to the same standard he holds himself.

Finally awake, Andrew hurries to play defense on the tall upperclassmen in a drill.

When he finally dismisses them, Tyler and Nadif join Senior Rick Kinard in some teasing about their behavior in practice. They are examples of how once you let the routine become a part of you, you’ll recover from tiredness.

9:00am

Halfway into the first class we can find Allen sleeping at his table, but he knew this would happen. “I’m always falling asleep during my first class.”

10:30am

Lunch has finally come and for the athletes, this is the sleepiest part of the day.

“First period and a half you’re ballin’,” Andrew says. “At around the second or third you crash.”

“It’s a slow decline.” Sam adds. Luckily for these two they have plenty of time to regain their strength during their double lunch periods.

On a Tuesday, you can be sure to find Nadif wasting no time getting to lunch. “I’m hungry from cookin’ Rick.”

He’ll find his friends eventually, but for now its time for food.

11:40am

At the second lunch period, we find Sam and Andrew in the same place, unfortunately, with no food.

“You can get hungry at all parts of the day.” Sam groans, wondering who will be nice enough to give him a snack.

“I could eat thanksgiving dinner and still be hungry.” Andrew comments. “But whenever I’m eating, I’m doing ok.”

3:00pm

Rick and Tyler compare schools trying to recruit them. Tyler lists his plethora of schools and scholarships: Alvernia, St. John Fisher, Lycoming, and Drexel. And Rick counters with “A nice school.”

6:00pm

By this time, all the athletes should be home. For Eryn, shes just now reaching home after some extra time socializing. For Allen, he’s just reaching home after a long commute. There’s no space for the teams to practice afterschool so for now they’ll have to make do with early days and late nights.

7:00pm

While the seniors spend nights adjusting college applications and possibly talking to some neglected friends, Allen is already in bed waiting for the morning. He admits, “Sometimes I really go to bed four hours early.”

10:00pm

Finally all the athletes are tucked away in bed. None of them are even tempted to stay away. Eryn even has a statement prepared. If any of her friends try to make her stay up she says, “No. I like my sleep.”

It takes real dedication to keep up a schedule like this for three months and even more dedication to keep it up for four years. This is why our athletes are able to rise above all the other teams, the kids who make it through these four years build up a special kind of endurance that no one can compete with. But still the question remains: Why?

Kenayah: “It’s all about the gameplay.”

Allen: “I’m just really interested.”

Eryn: “It’s all about college.”

Andrew: “I don’t want to do bear crawls next practice.”

Sam: “I want to play.”

Tyler: “Ball is hard.”

Rick: “It’s a routine.”

Nadif: “I want to work hard.”

So perhaps the next time you see one of these athletes too tired to even walk to their next class you’ll remember how much harder they’re working to be barely there. Before you look down on them, ask yourself if you have the endurance to do what they will do or have done for the next four years.

Freshmen Adapt To SLA Life

December 9, 2011 by lpahomov 1 Comment

Samantha Beattie

Staff Writer

When coming to high school, it takes time to adjust. Most high schools reflect what the

community is, but with a school like Science Leadership Academy, being a diverse community of its own, has created a completely different way of adjusting.

Three students from Rosalind Echols’ freshman advisory felt that adapting to an environment such as SLA took a little time with the work, but found the people at SLA very outgoing and friendly.

Freshman My Troung had no trouble joining the SLA community, but her parents had a difficult understanding the use of laptops and benchmarks.

“My first stress was family because, as you know, sla is different from other schools especially 15 years ago, comparing it between both time periods”, stated Truong. “Help from the counselor and my advisor got through with school and working on laptops, including projects.”

She feels strong about how he’s adapting with school.

“I feel like i do adapt to school. I do have more work to do, at the same time i don’t learn taking tests, but I do research and learn with help from the teacher. I think that i adapted to the school in a really good way.”

Fellow freshman advisee Pierce Meier, agreed that the work was what took time getting used to.

“I was mostly used to writing things down and using text books, assignments being due after school, no nice kids, suspensions, and being on top of my work.” Meier said.

Compared to his previous schooling experiences, “here, it’s more friendly, more kind, less trouble.”

For Meier, a lot of stress had come from a medical condition hitting during benchmark season.

“Stress came with early October right when benchmark season started. I had to catch up. I was 3 days or 4 days behind. I had no work done and not a lot of sleep. I had to make a commitment.” (He ended up with As and Bs for his first quarter.)

He still feels like he might need more adjusting, but he’s doing good with adjusting.

“I still need more time. Its gonna take a little time to adapt. Writing is what I’m used to. I need to get used to using a computer, make more friends.”

Another Echols advisee, Kenyatta Bundy, felt like he adapted well with SLA and the people very well.

“Not much drama, just stress,” she said. “I have a lot of friends, participate in a lot of stuff, i do well in classes.. I think I do that well.”

Work or Call of Duty? Gaming at SLA

December 9, 2011 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Sophomores (Left to Right) Ryan Doyle, Ethan Reese, Daniel Tuveson, Antonio Reveron, and Jeffrey Schwartz. Taken by DeShawn McLeod

By Alex Ringgold

Staff Writer

As fall comes to a close, and all the big hit video games have been released for this season, it’s time for gamers to decide what to buy and what to play, but more importantly, when to play them.

Because of the laptop program, student gamers at Science Leadership Academy are abundant, especially in the freshmen and sophomore grades.

For some students, however, this occupation can become an addition. Is gaming on a school laptop a problem or a privilege? Does a student gamer life impede school life?

Every day during lunch, a cluster of students sit together outside the office with open laptops, all available outlets occupied, and whoops and hollers made out occasionally to one another. They’re all playing Call of Duty 4, a first-person shooter game set in modern era unlike its previous installments.

The objective of Call of Duty is simple: kill anyone that is not you. Sometimes it varies to team death match, where as you and a couple of teammates kill an opposing team, and which ever team gain a set number of kills wins.

For many students, this game is a great source of entertainment. Currently it’s more popular with boys, although there are girl gamers racking up kills during school hours as well. During lunch, it’s perfectly normal for a student to lollygag. But what about the other 23 hours of the day?

Some sophomores are confident that they are maintaining a healthy gamer life and school life.

“We play during lunch and sometimes over Wi-Fi when we’re at home, but it doesn’t get in the way of school work,” Sophomore Jeffery Schwartz said. “Since last year after getting the game we’ve played at least 48 hours total.”

This group of sophomores had a couple of variables that helped keep their gaming in check.

For one, only but one of them owned a console at home, leaving necessary time at home for homework.

They also enjoy Call of Duty mostly because it is a group activity, meaning they would not put gaming as a priority to work.

Not all students, however, are as responsible.

One sophomore, when asked if Call of Duty interferes with school worked, laughed as if it were obvious the amount of time he put into the game overlapped the amount of time he should be doing work.

“Does Call of Duty mess with school? Of course!”

The sophomore’s choice of game at home was Skyrim on the Xbox, which is a game that has an average 140 hours of gameplay since it’s release back in November.

For students like Sophomore Byshera Moore, who chooses not to get involved with video games, believing even spending a couple hours shooting people online seems crazy.

“Those guys during lunch are loud, crazy, and are clearly only paying attention to their game when they start playing.”

For upperclassmen, more schoolwork may mean less time for games, and many of them have worked hard to regulate how much time they play.

Senior Anthony Torrance, known letting his gaming habits get in the way of his focus school, acknowledges the challenge of balancing his hobby with his work. “I have to limit certain outlets if I am going to succeed.”

Senior Douglas Wallace used to partake in the children’s card game Yu-Gi-Oh and spend hours playing video games.

“I used to be addicted to video games,” he said. “You know what I did? I got a life, I got a girlfriend, and I had fun.”