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The Secret to a Good ILP

June 4, 2013 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Sam Lovett-Perkins

Staff Writer

One of the staples of SLA is its unique Individualized Learning Programs (ILPs) for sophomores and juniors. Students are given internships with local businesses and organizations that they find on their own or are paired with usually on Wednesdays afternoons. The goal is to get students involved out in Philadelphia and gain experience in work fields.

Understanding that a person isn’t getting paid, two years at an ILP’s also fills any community service requirements that would be asked of students by faculty. They represent the prime opportunity to get exposure to the real working wold and learning valuable life skills on school time.

It’s a wonder why more people don’t talk about their shining experience. Many people in SLA in fact don’t even go to their ILP’s or when they arrive they find out it isn’t what they wanted.

To me, this is a waste of an amazing opportunity. The problem is that students that go into an ILP expecting to be seated at their own personal desk and have their own tasks are sorely misled. Instead, most of what students get is list of chore level work, not surpassingly something an Intern would do. It’s best to go into an ILP without expectations or a feeling of entitlement for a higher position. Have it drilled into your mind that you’re an intern, the bottom of the food chain, and like everyone else must work their way up.

That being said, a general disinterest in one’s ILP can be expected and understood. Through the process of picking your own from the ILP catalogue, you could get paired up with something that has low meaning. Like a boring class, if the work is not engaging, doesn’t apply to your interests, and you see no long term goals, what incentive is there for you to continue attending?

What makes it worse if the coordinator places you in an ILP that isn’t one you want, there is even less push for you to attend. This is highly likely considering many of the ILP’s in the catalogue are outdated. I myself made my first three choices based off an interest in the medical field, only to find next year that all of them no long existed and I begrudgingly picked another.

Despite all these criticism here are some helpful tips to get the most out out of your ILP and make it a memorable experience:

First and foremost, find it and set it up yourself. The only requirements for an ILP is that it needs to be roughly two hours of unpaid work a week. This gives you the freedom to pick from the entirety of Philadelphia’s resources. Find something you love and commit. The energy you excerpt to find that perfect internship, has the opportunity to come back 10 fold. Some of the best of these self made ILP’s include working at the Phillies’ Stadium or at the Philadelphia Inquire.

The second thing is get to know the people at your ILP. Make a friendly environment that changes an ILP from a school requirement to a hobby. Invest yourself in the community and maybe meet some new friends.

I don’t want to disregard the hard work that is done by the ILP coordinator. After all, both of my ILP’s were set up through the catalogue, one at Philly Aids Thrift and the other at The Mütter Museum, and I loved both of them. What made them so special to me was that they both applied to my interests: non-profit community work and medical science. Now I’m going on to study nursing in college. If you take advantage of your ILP opportunities, you could have the same luck.

Hallway Fashion: Brent Scott

June 2, 2013 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Would you consider yourself fashionable, to stand out fashion wise amongst the students at SLA?

No, I wouldn’t consider myself fashionable, but I have been told I dress nice majority of times.

Do you know which each item is from? If so name the places you got it from.

The jean shirt and pants are from H&M. The rest is just a normal T-shirt and chucks

Who is your fashion icon that you get inspiration from?

I don’t have a fashion icon.

Where do you find inspiration?

I just try to find things that I feel fit well together.

Where do you usually shop?

I normally shop in the actual stores of H&M, Urban Outfitters, Express, but now I do most of my shopping from online stores.

Interview by Dalena Bui

Locker Talk: Whats the coolest thing you learned at your ILP?

May 31, 2013 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Sophomore Gabrielle Tryce- ILP:City Counsel Office "I learned events are really important if you're running for office" — Sophomore Gabrielle Tryce- ILP:City Counsel Office “I learned events are really important if you’re running for office.”

Sophomore Monisha Das- ILP: Squash Smarts, "I learned if you look at someones attendance records it reflects how well they play the sport — Sophomore Monisha Das- ILP: Squash Smarts, “I learned if you look at someone’s attendance records it reflects how well they play the sport.”

Sophomore Klarissa Hudson- ILP: Debate Team, "The coolest thing I learned is if you argue without raising your voice it makes your opponent angry." — Sophomore Klarissa Hudson- ILP: Debate Team, “The coolest thing I learned is if you argue without raising your voice it makes your opponent angry.”

Movie Review: The Great Gatsby

May 28, 2013 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Sara Nesbitt & Jamie Murphy

Staff Writers

All-time bestselling American Novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ has been a success since 1925, still being read by people all over the world. The long awaited movie that came out in May had high expectations from people of all ages.

The book has sold over 25 million copies over the world, and is still continuing to sell thousands of copies each year.

Tabloids predicted the Great Gatsby will be the hottest movie of the summer– Was it worth the wait?

English teacher Ms. Pahomov having taught the book for years, has a different perspective on the movie. “The movie was kind of overkill for me — I think of the book as being more intimate, having a small scope, and then all of the CGI and drama was just too much.” she said.

There were a few high points of the movie for Pahomov however, “I appreciated that they showed Gatsby’s orange juice machine, and that Gatsby and Nick pass a car full of rich black folk on their way to New York.” she said.

Junior Helen Kilmartin and Sarah-Charlotte Brown read the book in their English class this year and went to see the movie opening night–dressing up for the occasion. “The modern music with an old background was a nice modern twist.” Helen said. “I liked the casting too.”

“ Fitzgerald’s writing style and description of images, the movie can’t match the book.” said Sarah.

Not many from the SLA community have seen the movie yet… but the Juniors from Ms. Rami’s English class are planning to see it May 30th.

Aside from the mixed reviews, the highly anticipated film is sure to be an interesting experience for anyone who has read the book.

Editorial: SLA Beeber, Not a Plan B

May 28, 2013 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

It is no secret that the School District of Philadelphia is closing 23 schools which leaves many confused about the opening of SLA Beeber.

The opening is controversial. Many Philadelphians feel as though it’s unfair to close so many schools and open a new one, or even expand an already-existing one.

Others feel as though the new campus has something to offer, considering SLA has a reputation of outstanding academics and innovative ideas. Moreover, moving into the Beeber Middle School building allowed that school to stay open.

A similar situation surrounds stocking the school. Much of the furniture and supplies for classrooms, such as desks, tables, chairs and science equipment will be coming from schools around the city that are being shut down. Some people find whole situation unfair, while others think SLA is putting the supplies to good use.

From the outside, there are pros and cons to opening a new campus. But from the current SLA students, many questions have been circulating regarding SLA-B. Will we doing joint projects with SLA-B? Will there still be the same streams at the new campus? Will there be one big field day? Will we have different sports teams?

While many of these things may be unclear at the moment, there are definitely some concerns and excitements upon the opening at the new campus.

From the perspective of our school, SLA-B offers many great benefits. It will ensure that all SLA students will have access to an auditorium and gym, and opens up possibility for cross city collaboration between the two campuses.

One worry that SLA is working hard to dismiss is that SLA-B will now be seen as “second best” as compared to the original campus. This could make students feel less special if they don’t get into the campus they had hoped for — although the long-term plan is for students to interview to attend SLA and then be equally distributed between the two campuses.

So, opening a second campus at SLA gives a great deal of students the opportunity to attend SLA.

While opening SLA-B provides more opportunities for children to receive a better education, it comes with a cost.

It might be difficult but we have to separate emotions from actions and not have hard feelings– but instead look forward and discuss how we are going to fix the problems.

It’s important for people to understand that in the climate of the district there is no benefit without some cost. A good thing can happen in the midst of a lot of awful things.

Unsigned editorials are written and approved by the SLAMedia Editorial Staff. They do not reflect the opinion of Science Leadership Academy and its employees.