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.

Isabela Supovitz-Aznar

Combatting the filth at SLA

by Leave a Comment

Teachers and Students agree: SLA had been getting dirtier.

Many people at SLA have been overheard talking about some of the “trouble spots” in the school. Common spots to find litter are the pool and the ballrooms, where students leave packaging and food from lunch.

Things get more extreme in places like back stairwell, where people have left litter, extra chairs, and other messes. Even in the bathrooms, weaves, unsanitary napkins, and other trash have been found on the floor and in the sinks.

The littering has resulted in some gross consequences. Senior Winston Wright has a tale about bugs.

“During the beginning of preseason for soccer we wanted to use first floor bathroom in the morning but couldn’t because there was like 4 or 5 cockroaches running around,” he said.

As popular as SLA is, there are constantly visitors viewing our school and speaking with students. Staff is concerned about how the school looks to outsiders.

“As somebody who has to give tours all the time, it’s embarrassing when the school’s not at its best,” Said ILP Coordinator Jeremy Spry.

“The truth is that the majority of the school is clean most of the time there is just some trouble spots–everybody finds it gross but no one tries to change the culture, we are living in our own filth.” Said English teacher, Mrs. Pahomov.

In response to this problem, Health and Fitness Teacher Mrs. Martin thought of an idea to keep the school in tact and cleaner: have the students take care of the space in which they must work every day.

SLA’s new Space Adoption program officially started on the first day of school, where advisories picked…

Advisories must now clean up that space and make a sign posted there, encouraging others to keep it nice.

“You are not the new janitors for that space,” Ms. Pahomov said. “The idea is that you help beautify it, and convince others to keep it nice. Plus you have to remember that every space in the school belongs to an advisory — if you mess with it, you’re messing with them.”

One of the biggest problems at SLA is with trash and leftover mess from lunch. It’s not really noticeable to students since it’s such a normality to them now. The cleaning ladies are then left to clean up the student messes. Their job is to clean the school in general, not to clean after the disrespectful students leaving their trash behind.

SLA students seem to have some mixed feelings towards the project.

Senior Alex Johnson said,” Somewhat at first I believe it will help, but well see how it ends up as the months go on.”

“I think this is just a step towards becoming the best school we can be,” Mrs. Martin said. “When you have limited resources, your people are the best resource.”

 

Written by Isabela Supovitz-Aznar & Jamie Murphy

Public Mural Installed on 22nd Street

by Leave a Comment

By Isabela Supovitz-Aznar and DeShawn McLeod

Staff Writers

The idea began with Spanish Teacher Melanie Manual’s Spanish four class doing a unit on public art, and English and History Teacher Josh Block’s classes unit pertaining to language identity.

Being inspired by the Inside Out Project, founded by street artist JR, Ms. Manuel, Mr. Block, and many students collaborated recently to put together a street art project on the JFK bridge walls of 22nd street — between the school and neighboring grocery store Trader Joe’s.

The concept of the project is to tell a story of SLA’s culture thorough black and white portraits. The mural is made up of many pictures of students from SLA making very expressive faces, along with quotes from Mr. Block’s language identity unit.

The pictures were taken at a very close range, which is meant to give the viewer a feeling of invasion, that they are entering the subject’s perspective of the world, or see them in a new light.

“It was an experience,” Sophomore Dejah Harley stated. “Putting it up made me realize that every one’s different, and people have their own ways of thinking and their own personalities.”

The process to get permission to put the mural up was easier than the collaborating teachers expected.

“I thought it’d be complicated to get the permissions to do our mural,” said Ms. Manuel.

But after a few hours of calling PennDOT and trying to get the necessary city permit papers, they got a call indicating that it’d be perfectly fine to put up the huge images of students under the bridge.

“It was super easy in the end,” Mr. Block commented, “we just needed to call up for permission then we found out we had to call the right person.”

The posters were put up after school on Feb.16th by student and teacher volunteers.

“It was a cold day, especially under the bridge,” said Mr. Block. However, the weather did not stop the dedicated workers.

The large photographs also have quotes underneath them that are from Mr. Block’s students’ language autobiographies. The photos were taken by Sophomores Helen Kilmartin and Isabela Aznar.

The public reaction has been powerful.

Science Teacher Stephanie Dunda appreciated the quote from Sophomore Roberto Abazoski. “I was touched and moved to learn something so personal about my student through a piece of art,” she said.