March HSS PTSA Newsletter - WW

West Windsor Plainsboro High School South
P.T.S.A Newsletter
March 2015 Volume 1 Issue 2
Message From The Editor
I am so glad to be on our second Newsletter, especially after the success of
the first newsletter. As a team, we promised to bring you what was happening at High School South every month, and this month is no different.
If you know a student who enjoys writing, or would like to be part of our
newsletter team, feel free to send an email to wwphssnewsletter@gmail.
com
Pierre-Antoine Frotte
PTSA President
Hello South Families,
It feels like the cold winter days will never end, but thanks to your particpation in PTSA events you have warmed the hearts of many . Over $2,300 of
Mini-Grants were awarded to the following clubs at South:
*ESL Chinese teacher, Ms Zhao;
*Science Club, Dr. Sharma;
*Waksman Club, Dr. Bhattacharya;
*HSS Media Center, Mrs. Marinski;
*Help Club, Mr. Daniel
(continued on page 4)
Principal’s Corner:
Commitment:
1. the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc
2. an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action.
Two million minutes and too many commitments is the story of most
highschool students. In case you do not know, two million minutes is
approximately equivalent to four years or from the moment a student
enters ninth grade until graduation. I referenced the two million
minutes of high school during the last few salute speeches.
(continued on page 3)
March Upcoming Events
2nd
3rd
Student Job Fair (at HSN)
HSS Washington Seminar
Parent Meeting, 7pm
3rd-5th HSPA Testing
5-7th Spring Musical
7th Rescheduled PTSA Practice
ACT/SAT test
7th & 8th Catalyst Boot Camp
10th BOEd Meeting, CMS 7:30pm
19th HS Volunteer Fair, 4pm
10th-14th HSS Washington Seminar
12-16 HSS Senior Trip
18th PTSA Genr’l Membership 730
20th International Night
24th BOEd Meeting, CMS 7:30pm
27th SAASA, HSS , 6pm
29th HSS Band Dinner 4:30 pm &
Concert 6:30 pm
30th
End of Marking Period 3
In This Issue....
Editor’s Note
PTSA Corner
Principal’s Corner
HSS Course Scheduling
New Band Director!
In The News
Students As Teachers
Post Prom
Class of 2015
Class of 2016
Class of 2017
Class of 2018
Out Smart The SAT
Sports Pages
HSS Tips and Tricks
HSS Has Heart
Page:
1
1,2
1,3
3
4
4
5
6
7
7
7
7
7
8,9
4
10
PTSA CORNER
PAGE 2
PTSA Message Continued from page 1..
UpComing Events:
*Practice SAT / ACT test (3/7/15)
*Catalyst SAT Boot Camp (3/7 & 3/8/15)
*PTSA General Meeting - Mindful Stress (3/18/15)
*Volunteer Fair - (3/19/15)
*International Night - (3/20/15)
*Princeton Ed Network - College Workshop (3/30/15)
We want to thank the following committee’s for their hard work
and dedication to the PTSA, we are lucky to have so many amazing
volunteers making HSS PTSA a successful one:
*Food Drive - Robin Valentine, Beth Greenman (student),
and Anish Puligilla (student)
*Mini Grants - Jay Sloan, Jen Hsia, and Tiffany Hsia (Student)
*Bake Sale - Tracey Balestrieri, and Gena Maher
INTERNATIONAL NIGHT
Join us for South’s 1st Annual
International Night on Friday,
March 20, 2015 from 6-9 PM at
HSS to showcase the diversity in
our school and community, a night
filled with cultural food, games,
and a show. If you would like to
help be a part of a dynamic team
to help our community learn about
different cultures and witness
extraordinary talent from our very
own students, email
kmodi25@gmail.com
We appreciate all your support to help make HSS a great school for all our students,
Kathy Modi
HSS PTSA President
RESCHEDULED ACT/SAT COMBO TEST
Rescheduled Test Date: Saturday, March 7th, 2015
Test Time: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Check-in: Start from 9:30 a.m.
Where: High School South, 600s area near Math Dept.
Bring: Pencils, calculators, water bottle, and a snack
HIGH SCHOOL SOUTH & TARGET
HS South participates in Target’s School Fundraising Made
Simple Program, which is a terrific fundraiser for us. Simply
charge your purchases on your Target Credit Card with HS South
designated to recieve 1% back. Applications are available at Target
stores or go to their website, www.target.com, and click on the
guest card icon. Our ID number 74388. To change your designate,
call 1-800-316-6142.
JUST WRITE A CHECK CAMPAIGN
Show Your Pirate Spirit Order South unisex clothing. Contact:
Uma Sogani usogani@gmail.com
Uma Vejendla vejendla2@hotmail.com
Donate to JWAC for the new year. Consider showing your support
for the PTSA by contributing to the “Just Write a Check” program
at South. The donation form is on the PTSA website.
www.southptsa.org
HS NORTH PTSA JOB FAIR
Students looking for a summer job should attend HS North on
Monday, March 2nd; From 7pm - 8:30 pm Upper Dining Hall
for job fair. Bring 10 resumes. A resume template is available on
the district website under Virtual Backpack.
PRINCIPAL CORNER
PAGE 3
Principal’s Message Continued from page #1....
And I implored the Jaguars turning Pirates “to make the most of each minute.”
For the most part, South students accepted the challenge to make the most
of each of those two million minutes. However, in the desire to make the most
of high school, some students have forgotten the value of making and honoring
a commitment. While South provides numerous academic, athletic, and artistic
experiences, no one student can be part of all of these or even many of these
programs. Sometimes I wonder if students participate in certain programs only
to pad a college application. I would like to think students participate based
on their passions not padding. The names of the activities can never replace the
experience of the activities. The activities only offer value when they help us
learn about our world and our place in it.
When students commit to a team, club, or program, they need to recognize the
Mr. Dennis Lepold
time and energy they need to commit. They have to
HSS Principal
understand they will need to balance their social life, academic life,athletic/
artistic life with sleep and their family commitments. When one commitment
interferes with another, it is important for the person to work out a compromise or recognize they cannot participate because they are already committed to some other activity.
Let me be clear, I am not suggesting a limit to activities, but I am imploring students to honor their commitments. For example, when students join a team, a club, or activity, they should not plan on missing any games
or practices. Missing a practice or competition is not an option because they made a commitment. On a rare
occasion when there is a conflict, students must realize they have to work twice as hard to make-up for their
absence. So, I implore our students to think about their willingness to commit before deciding to join a club,
team, or activity since the experience is only worthwhile if they are passionate about their involvement. After
all, no one has control over the two million minutes, but all students have control over their commitments.
HIGH SCHOOL COURSE SCHEDULING 2015-2016
As we reported last month, students attended presentation concerning course selection for next year to learn
about classes being offered for the next school year. Beginning on Sat., Feb. 7th, 2015 you may vew a continuation of your child’s current academic program for the 2015-2016 school year; please note these courses
may or may not be the courses for which your child is eligible, as ourlined on Page 9 in the High School
Program of Studies. Visit www.ww-p.org/Guidance/program_of_studies Final course eligibility will be
deterimined when student meets with Guidance counselor or the IEP team. Beginging the week of Feb. 9th,
Guidance counselors will meet with all students to review course eligibility, verify course requests, and ensure
graduation requirements are being fullfilled.
The schedule for these meetings is:
Rising Seniors (Class of 2016) Feb. 9-27
Rising Juniors (Class of 2017) March 2 -13
Rising Sophmores (Class of 2018 March 16-27)
After your student has met with guidance counselor or IEP team please review final course request via Infinite
Campus. Any questions please contact your student’s assigned guidance counselor or case manager. If you
wish to appeal course eligibility, you may request a Course Eligibility Review, which can be applied for on
the district web site under Guidance/Program of Studies. Deadline to submit a Course Eligibility Review application is April 1st, 2015.
IN THE NEWS
PAGE 4
SOUTH HAS A NEW BAND DIRECTOR:
Mr. Jesse Argenziano, formerband director at Hackettstown High School,
is the band director at High School South. He leads three concert bands, the
marching band, the jazz band and the pit orchestra. Mr. Argenziano is also
taking the band program on a tour of Spain in mid-February.
PIRATES PRESENT...LEGALLY BLONDE, THE MUSICAL
Harvard is hit by a storm of pink in this fun,
upbeat musical about self-discovery. Based on
the adored movie, Legally Blonde: The Musical is ridiculously enjoyable from start to finish. Elle Woods appears to have it all. Her life
is turned upside down,however, when her boyfriend dumps her so he can start getting serious
about his life and attend Harvard Law. Determined to get him back,Elle uses her charm to
get into HarvardLaw. At school, she struggles
with peers, professors, and her ex-boyfriend
Warner Huntington. With the help of friends
Pallett and Emmett, though, Elle quickly realizes her potential and sets out to prove herself
to the world.
Save the dates below for a performance you
won’t want to miss! March 5 @ 7:30 p.m..
March 6 @ 7:30 p.m., March 7 @ 2 & 7:30 p.m.
Tickets will go on sale the week of the show at lunch and will also be sold at the door.$10 students, $12 adults.
Pirate cast includes Emma Kothari(Elle Woods), Adam Bachir (Emmett Forrest),Matt Deslatte (Warner Huntington II),Daisy
Chase (Vivienne Kensington),Robin Slothower (Margo),Cheryle Chong (Pilar),Shirley Hecht (Serena),Dan Stoddard (Professor
Callahan),Sophia DiLeo (Paulette Bonafonte),Kara Benerofe (BrookeWyndham),Vanessa Huang (Enid Hoopes),Lora Riehl (Kate),
Katarina Karris-Flores (Chutney Wyndham),Tristan Wiemer(Kyle/Pforzheimer),Fil Filipovic (Aaron Schultz),Austin Meo (Sundeep /Niko), Dan Puma (Carlos),Taylor Hoogsteden (Delta Nu Sister), Ryann Myers (Delta Nu Sister),Sam Schonberger (Delta Nu
Sister),Brittany Washington (Delta Nu Sister),Eric Simon (Grandmaster Chad/Kiki), Justine Labang (Grandmaster Chad), Christine
Strange (Whitney), Jake Rona (Elle’s Father),Sahib Srivastava (Lowell), Carolyn Campbell (Store Manager), Adrienne Kaplowitz
(Store Clerk). Ensemble includes Sophie Bramnick,Sara Cvetanovic,Bethany Greenman, Maddie Kartoz, Joice Kim, Lisa Maina,
Isabelle Meiers, Kritik Mirg,Jenna Paritee, Grace Sawyers, Esha Sunthankar, Anika Vincent Orchestra, Brian Starace, Angela Gao,
Claire Paul, Sarah Chen, Ben Shrager, Harry Meadows, Caroline Bromberg, Tommy Liang, Kevin Xie, Zaibo Wang, Matt Wong,
Nova Friedman, Ashwinee Manivannan, Neeraja Aravindan, Vineeta Muth Uraj, Janet Ho, Allie Cohen. The crew responsible for
managing the stage, costumes, props, and behind the scene include Gabriella Alvarez, Maggie Boyle, Koleen Hernandez, Jordan
Hoogsteden, Ryan Linskey, Keely Lyons, Alisa Rubinstein, Alex Valen and Nancy Zong.
PRINCETON PONG 2015 TOURNAMENT
Princeton Pong is hosting the Princeton Pong 2015
Winter Open Tournament on February 28th. There are
events for all skill levels, plus under 10 and under 14
age events. Everyone is welcome. Register on line at
www.princetonpong.com
EARLY DISMISSAL FROM
SCHOOL
To be excused from school early, student must
turn in a signed note to the attendance office.
In addition, when your child is picked up, he/
she must sign out at the attendance office. If a
note was not turned in on the day of early dismissal, it must be turned in the following day.
IN THE NEWS
PAGE 5
THE HAPPY MUSEUM
The second annual HAPpy
Museum at South was a huge
success. Community members
of all ages came out to view
exhibits designed by human
anatomy and physiology students. Supported by teachers
Kate Heavers and Chris Trefz,
students worked very hard on
exciting, innovative and interactive exhibits which demonstrated their knowledge of the
human body. By the looks of
attendees faces, it was clear to
see the students reached their
mission to awe, enlighten and
educate others on the science of
the human body.
POST PROM
PAGE 6
Dear Senior Parents,
February is upon us and it may seem like May is so long in the distance,
but it isn’t! There are only 116 days till Post Prom! These next few
months will be kicked into high-gear. Everyone’s help is still needed.
Decorating is meeting Monday’s from 7-9pm and Saturdays from
9-11am. Come out and see those friends you haven’t seen
since the elementary school days of class parties and such! Help us
plan the biggest “class party” ever!
We would like to “Thank” those who assisted with the Mendoker’s
sales in December. That fundraiser raised nearly $2,000 for Post Prom.
Thank you’s go out to Lori Balin (Chair), Diane Chan, Sherryl Leon,
Maureen McKay, Lisa Sheffield, Anjali Agrawal, Liz Boyle, Terri Cardulla, Ilene Case, Linda DeMilt, Ajitha Gadanji, Cynthia Goldner, Priya
Gupta, Louisa Ho, Lori Janick, Ying Li, Maria Maffei and Doreen Meo.
Fundraising is still going on. We have the Dress Sale on Saturday,
February 28 at 10am at HS South Commons 3. The Bake Sale will
be Monday, March 23-Friday March 27. There are also South Travel
Mugs, Luggage Tags, and South Window Clings for sale.
We are in need of someone to Chair the ChazMa Tazz Tuxedo rentals. Please contact Gina- orangenna@aol.com if you are interested.
ChazMa Tazz rents out the tuxes and collects them at HS South after
prom! Very generous of them!
There will be a Video Montage at Post Prom and we are looking for
photos from you! Please send up to 4 photos of your child when they
were young, in Middle School and High School. They can be alone or
with groups of friends that are part of the Class of 2015. Pictures cannot be larger than 3 megabytes. More info to come.....
COSMIC BOUNCE, DANCING,
BOXING, Wii GAMES,
BAKE SALE AND MORE!!
Join us
Friday, February 27th
from 7:30-10:00pm
at BOUNCE U in West Windsor!
Tickets will be sold during lunch 2/23-27:
$10 to bounce
$13 to bounce and for 2 slices of pizza
and unlimited amount of drinks
$11 at the door to bounce
$15 at the door to bounce and
for 2 slices pizza/drinks
** BEFORE buying a ticket you MUST get
a waiver from the Main Office/Facebook and
have it FILLED OUT by a PARENT!**
Sponsored by HSS PTSA
Class of 2015 DVD sales have begun. Don’t miss out on the memories of your child’s Senior Year. DVD includes Prom, Post Prom and
Graduation.
Last, but certainly not least, please do not forget to send in your donation to Post Prom 2015. Fundraising has been going well, but we do
still need your donations. HS South Post Prom is celebrating 30 years
of keeping students safe! Do your part to keep this tradition going and
send in your donation today!
Looking forward to completing this journey with you!
Gina
Gina Finnie
2015 Post Prom Chair
orangeenna@aol.com
609 275 8812
Support Post Prom 2015 this year by submitting your
McCaffrey’s receipts marked “Post Prom 2015 McCaffreys Receipts” . Drop off/send HSS Front Office.
CLASS OF 2016, 2017, 2018
CLASS OF 2016
PAGE 7
OUTSMART THE SAT!!
CLASS OF 2017
Stay tuned to upcoming spring event details.
Thank you for supporting Class or 2016 & 2017
Junior Liasons: Kathy Lane & Jessica Julius
Sophmore Liasons :
Uma Sognai, Uma Vejendla, and Emily Josephson
CLASS OF 2018
Hello Freshman Parents,
The Class of 2018 is currently
working on two fundraisers:
a Recycling fundraiser and a
Travel Mug fundraiser (picture right) . The high quality
stainless steel travel mug featuring a closing mechanism to
prevent spills is packaged in a
gift box.
Support freshman by sending
a check for $15.00 each, made out to WWPHSS Class
of 2018, to the HSS front office (attn: Ms. Walsh &
Mr. Siegel.) Include your name, email address and
phone number. Ques: Michelle. Walsh@ww-p.org or
Joshua.Siegel@ww-p.org Send in your empty ink
cartridges to their attn for the recycling fundraiser.
Upcoming events; Movie Night and Dinner Out.
Best Regards,
Binu Johnson, Sharon Rajaro and Cindy Alvarez
Freshman Liasons
The Catalyst SAT Bootcamp is a two-day
seminar for students that provide strategies for
every question they’ll face on the test. A preperation class designed by instructors who have
earned multiple perfect scores on the actual SAT.
The SAT Bootcamp is designed for studnets
taking the SAT before the Spring of 2016. Topics include how to: Shortcut math questions that
stump more than 90% of test-takers. Compose a
perfect-score essay no matter what question the
SAT asks. Spot hidden clues that instantly reveal
the main idea in long reading passages. Avoid
the four sneakiest ways SAT grammar questions
try to trick students.
Location: WW-P High School South
Schedule: Saturday, March 7 from 9am-1pm
and Sunday, March 8th from 9am-1pm
Cost: $175
Unfortunately, we cannot accomodate walk-in
students.
For more information or to enroll,
visit www.CatalystPrep.com and click the Bootcamp Sign-Up tab on the website’s menu bar.
The deadline to enroll in this special SAT prep
opportunity is Wednesday, March 4th.
This event is sponsored by the High School
South PTSA and a portion of the proceeds benefits HSS PTSA.
HSS ORGANIZATIONAL TIPS
PRINCETON EDUCATION NETWORK
* Sign up for Morning Announcements via Tracy Jones at tjones@
ww-p@gmail.com
*Make sure you are receiving eNews via Guidance department
“Road Map to SuccessCollege Applications”
*Signu up for Twitter emergency text alerts by sending text “follow WWP_Notices” to 40404
Presented by Princeton
Education Network
*Get sports schedules, reminders and link onto your personal
calendar via http://wwphs.sharpschool.com/h_s_s_activities/
south_calendar/
*Check out our very own South calendar:
http://wwphs.sharpschool.com/h_s_s_activities/south_calendar
March 30th, 2015 - 7 PM
High School North Auditorium
WINTER SPORTS PAGE 8
BASKETBALL
Jonathan Klines scored 23 points and Tommy Hussson scored 11 points as South defeated North, 58-33. Danny Borup scored
19 points to lead South to a 59-55 vicotry
over Trenton. Girls team Alyssen Rivers
scored 11 points to defeat North. With 48
seconds left Madigan Kelly hit a shot to
five. In the final seconds Rivers sealed the
win with a free-throw. Rachel Goldfinger
and Rivers each finished with 6 pts. Kelly
4 pts. Coach Fisher, “Our team goal is to
continue to grow as a group. The challenge
is always the same, can we stay focused
and committed to the task at hand each and
every day. We need to continue to pay attention to detail and support each other in these
last few weeks of the season.”
FENCING
Stefano Lucchette, Kevin Gao, and Frank
Huang won the district boy’s saber championship 30-3. Lucchetti won the individual
title for the district. Gao placed second,
Huang took fourth. Anna Akkara took
bronze individual girl’s epee title. They will
advance to the state squad championship.
Lucchetti is also an international fencer,
placing 1st in the Jr World Cup in Tehran,
Iran last month. He’s ranked 5th among
Jrs in the world. Joey Dachevsly and
Jade Rowland are the teams captains. Jade
placed 3rd at Jr Olympic in foil and is 5th
European Caded Circuit. Victoria Xu, girls
saber fencer, has the best team record.
Pirates have a new coach this season,
Rebecca Lehman and Assistant Coach
Richard Chang supporting the team.
SWIMMING
Pirates did a great job in both the
Mercer County Tournament and State
Championship. The girls went to the
first round. Boys made it to the second
round. Pirates finished with a 14-2 record, including two wins and a season
sweep over HSN, who finished 7-6.
Head coach Anthony Bartolone is very
proud of the teams accomplishments
this year .
WINTER SPORTS
PAGE 9
HOCKEY
Pirates won back-to-back CVS Valley Division Title as well as the Bachner Cup (North Vs South). This gives
South’s hockey team the best winning percentage in CVC history since inception of the hockey team.
We finished 9W-2L-2T for the CVC season...back in 2001-02, South had 10W-3L-2T record...they played 1
more CVC game. This year’s team has the lowest losses (2) of any South Hockey Team ever...big congrats to
all the players for this achievement. Individual accomplishments include Brian Tso achieving his 100th assist
with the 6-3 win over Steinert. An assist means more to him than goals because he is helping others score.
Brian also broke Joe Cangelosi’s (Class of 2011) all time HS South scoring record by attaining 75 Goals; 101
Assists and 176 points (season not over yet). Jon Matthews has attained 100 points this season. Support our
Pirates, 3 pm Wed., Feb 11 at Mercer County Ice Skating Rink in West Windsor, during the prelininary round
of the Mercer County Tournament.
TRACK
Pirates excelled at the
CJ IV Meet! Kathryn
Schoenauer won the 55m
hurdles in 8.63. Pirates
took the top three spots in
the long jump. They won
by 49 pts. Schoenauer named MVP of the event.
Christina Rancan wins 1st in the 3200. Nikhil Puli
mood wins 3200m. Pirates are moving on to the State
Championship then to the Meet of Champions at the
end of the month.
WRESTLING
The Wrestling team had two wrestlers take first place
at counties and one third place finish. Sean Thompson
and Nicholas Maher captured MCT crowns. Rob Armus, finished third capturing a medal. It was the first
time the school has had two champions since 2003.
Last weekend South defeated Lawrence and Steinert
High schools. This puts the team in position to be
CVC Colonial division champs. .
HSS HAS HEART
PAGE 10
FACULTY BUBBLE SOCCER
High School South Faculty
Bubble Soccer was a fun
filled event to raise funds
for Christine’s Hope for
Kids. Faculty members included Mr. Daniels MC’ing
the event, Mrs. Nagle, Ms.
Brady and more had the
courage to join teams.
WW-PSA HELPING THE COMMUNITY
The West Windsor-Plainsboro Service Association is supporting the community
by collecting much needed items for the Animal Placement Agency of the Windsors during the month of February. The WW-PSA is comprised of the district
secretaries, bus drivers, bus aides, bus mechanics, instructional assistants and
cafeteria/ playground aides. If you wish to contribute item we need Pup-Peroni
(any variety), Purina Little Bites, Purina Puppy Chow, Alpo Snaps (any variety),
Target Rawhide Blue Stripe, Peanut Butter (Creamy any brand). Checks can be
made payable to APAW. Each WW-P District School will have a donation box
located in their main office through March 1st, 2015. Questions email Sherri.
Bailey@ww-p,org Thank you!
THE SOUTH SOURCE TEAM:
Co-Chairs:
Cindy Alvarez
Kamana Misra
Pierre-Antoine Frotte
Matthew Jacobson
Simrun Laroia
Zaina Shariff
Yukti Sharma
Shivangi Sogani
PTSA BOARD MEMBERS
President
Kathy Modi
Exec Pres.
Janet Greenman
VP Fundraising Binu Johnson
VP Programing Heather Nielson
Secretary
Uma Sogani
Treasurer
Anjali Sharma
Visit web site: www.southptsa.org
Thank you to students and coaches that shared photographs and information with The South Source.
The source for South news! Interested in joining team? wwphssnewsletter@gmail.com