2016 Feb/March Newsletter

12 Pages·2016·4.11 MB·English

Volume XXII | Issue 4 Feb/Mar 2016
H T
IGH ECH

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Principally Speaking
Reforming College Admissions - Kevin Bals

A recent report from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, titled Turning the Tide:
Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good through College Admissions, sheds
some light on changes being considered in many of the best universities regarding
admissions. It appears that colleges are taking responsibility for some of the unintended
consequences the admissions process fosters onto students and their families. Two of
the dominant themes from the report are encouraging students to have meaningful
community service and reducing achievement pressure.

The report states that students should engage in authentic community service that is
sustained over a period of time. The hope is that this type of service will impact the
students and the people they serve in a meaningful way. The authors further state the
admissions process should convey what types of service are valued and should not
encourage students to “game” the system. This section of the report was encouraging
because this year the National Honor Society at High Tech took steps to make the
service hours requirement more meaningful for students. Some of the very things
mentioned in the report are what motivated the changes in how things are done here at
High Tech.

Much has been written about the pressure on students to gain entry into our nations
top universities and colleges. The Turning the Tide report does a nice job of detailing
ways colleges and universities can reduce achievement pressure on students. The report
recommends admission offices let students know that a long list of extra curricular
activities will not increase the likelihood of being admitted. They are encouraged to
emphasize quality over quantity.

Two other recommendations from the report are that admission offices should make it
clear that a large number of AP courses are not as valuable as deep learning in a few
areas, and they should make it clear, how, and to what extent, SAT or ACT tests are used
in the admission decision making process.

The report is welcome news in the light of all the recent negative press about the
pressures today’s students face when trying to gain entrance into top schools. The full
report can be found at www.makingcaringcommon.org and is well worth reading
through or at least reading the executive summary.
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C P C High Tec h Times
o- residents’ orner

Winter is upon us! We finally received our first snow and that can only
The HTHS PFA publishes
mean that Spring is not far off. Midterms are behind us, Prom is getting
the High Tech Times six
near and Seniors will have an active next few months as acceptance
letters arrive and plans for graduation and next year begin. times a year. It is posted
on the PFA web site.
In the meantime, the PFA has been active ensuring our Spring endeavors
You can access the
are supporting the staff and students. Here is a preview of coming
current and past issues
attractions;
from the Documents tab
CLASSICAL MUSIC NIGHT: on the top navigation
On Friday February 19th 6PM Classical Music & Art Night!! We will be bar.
showcasing our accomplished musicians and talented artists here at
HTHS. It is a fun night out to enjoy food, music and art and mingle with A link to the latest issue
fine company! This event is open to all HTHS families. We are grateful will also be sent to you
to Chair Susan Winograd and her dynamic committee… complete with as soon as it becomes
creative decorations, a superb appetizer & dessert buffet, sparkling cider available.
bar, extraordinary art gallery, and high tech stage.

Further info is here in the newsletter. Please check the Sign Submissions for High Tech
up Genius for way in which you can assist in making this Times should be sent to:
event the best it can be! NHS hours will be given out to [email protected]
volunteering students who serve.
Please submit articles in plain

text or MS Word format.
Please join us for one of the most enjoyable nights of the year!!! Tickets
will be available at the door.
The due date for articles

for the April/May edition
CLOTHING DRIVE:
April 4 to 7. Please bring your donations to the MPR where we will store is Friday March 25th
them until pickup on April7. Final Pick up dateThursday April
7 between 2:30 to 3:30.

The venue will be Big Brothers Big Sisters for Clothing Drive through
Clothes for Kids' Sake, Inc.

Soft donations are valued @ $0.20/lbs and hard donations @ $0.05/lbs.
Look for the flyer in this newsletter.

Thank you so much for your assistance in supporting our drive!

SCHOLARSHIP ASSISTANCE:
This spring we are strengthening our efforts to attract corporate and
individual donations for our annual scholarships. Committee Chairs
Austin Huang and Rachel Yang are working hard to infuse the Senior
Scholarship fund with new capital and donations. (Scholarship donors are
always welcome, please contact Austin or Rachel!)

High Technology High School | Lincroft, New Jersey
http://www.hths.mcvsd.org
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PFA news
Co-President’s Corner continued
More reminders and dates to keep in mind:
• Friday, Feb 6th is the last day to register for the upcoming SAT.
• Saturday, Feb, 7th is the ACT test date
• SPIRIT Week is Feb 8-11 – Dont forget HTHS Spirit Wear at www.mylocker.net
• Please note: School will NOT be in session on Monday, February 15th in observance of
President’s Day.
• Valentines is Feb 14th. Dont forget your loved ones and Support the PFA with any Online
Purchase you make! First, click on the FUNDRAISING MALL at the HTHSPFA.ORG website.
Second, find your favorite participating Merchant (that includes Flowers). Third, Click on their
Site. Then, shop, shop, shop! The HTHS PFA earns 3-7% percent of every purchase. And
there is always MyLocker.net for HTHS Spirit Wear. Enjoy!

Thank you for all of your support and participation. You allow us all to make a big impact on our
students with the generosity of your time and energy. Contact us anytime, we’d love to hear from you.
See you at Classical Music Night!

Ajita John ([email protected] ) PFA Co-President
Paul Hughes ([email protected]) PFA Co- President
Congratulations Are In Order
The PFA extends their congratulations to HTHS faculty members
Karen Brown
and
Tara Bufis
for receiving MCVSD's 2015-2016 Educator of the Year awards.
Very well-deserved recognitions!!
High Technology High School | Lincroft, New Jersey
http://www.hths.mcvsd.org
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PFA news
Co-Chairs Sought For Post-Prom Committee
The 2016 Post Prom Committee is looking for a co-chair(s) to take over the committee for next
year as current co-chairs Jeff & Kara Kniffin (belong to Hannah Kniffin) are leaving with the
Class of 2016.

The best (and easiest) way to learn and then run this committee position is to assist one year
and run it the next (Jeff & Kara found out the hard way). Jeff & Kara can provide that ease of
transition.

Please contact Jeff at: [email protected] for more info.

The 2016 Post Prom Committee will be posting a Sign Up Genius in March for help leading up
to and for the evening of Post Prom 2016.

Post Prom is Friday, May 20th 11pm to Saturday the 21st, 6am.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Please stay tuned for more information.

Mock Testing Update
On January 16th, High Tech hosted a Mock SAT. In addition to being good practice for
those students who will be taking the SAT soon, students were also able to get a first
look at what to expect on the newly redesigned SAT which is being offered for the first
time in March 2016. Fifty-eight students from both High Tech and Allied Health
attended the practice test, which was proctored by Princeton Review.

Please note: Online registration for the Mock ACT that is being held on March 19th at
the Academy of Allied Health Sciences is now CLOSED. All available spots have been
filled. Thank you to all those who have registered.

Last Call for Brick Pavers!
The deadline to order your brick pavers is March 18th. The pavers will be installed at the
High Tech HS front entrance in the Spring.

Use the the form at the end of this newsletter to place your order.
High Technology High School | Lincroft, New Jersey
http://www.hths.mcvsd.org
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PFA news
PFA Scholarship Committee Seeking New Funding Sources

To parents of the HTHS community,

Every year, the HTHS PFA Scholarship Committee is striving to find new sources of
funding for college scholarships for our hard-working HTHS seniors, and establish
long-term relationships with civic and business organizations who are willing to
sponsor our in-school scholarships.

Your support will be instrumental to our continued success!

One of our most time-consuming tasks is to locate the appropriate contact within these
organizations. If every HTHS family could provide just one contact, our potential for
success in establishing a large variety of scholarships would be greatly increased.

To that end, we are calling on every family in our HTHS community to look into an
organization you belong to, work for or are familiar with, and find out the appropriate
contact information that can be leveraged by our committee.

When you have gathered the information, please send it to Rachel Yang via email at
the email address below. Please include the following information:

• Organization Name

• Contact’s Name

• Contact’s Title

• Contact’s Department within the Organization

• Contact’s Telephone Number

• Contact’s Email Address

• Contact’s Mailing Address at the Organization

Thank you in advance!

Rachel Yang
PFA Scholarship Committee

732-762-9066 (c), [email protected]
High Technology High School | Lincroft, New Jersey
http://www.hths.mcvsd.org
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PFA news
PFA CLOTHING DRIVE
It is time to clean out your
closets
HTHS PFA IS COLLECTING:

• Wearable Clothing, Shoes, Handbags…
• Beddings, Towels, Blankets, Comforters …
• Small Rugs, Curtains, Cushions …
• Stuffed Animals …
• Hard Toys, Board Games …
• Kitchenware and Small Appliances …
• Housewares, Clocks, Luggage, Umbrellas …
• Books, CDs/DVDs/Cassettes …
• Musical Instruments, Sporting Goods …
Date: April 4 to April 7, 2016
Drop off Location: MPR Piano Corner
Please place most items into tightly tied plastic bags, or boxes.
Separate soft items (clothing, towels, blankets etc.) and
hard items (hard toys, books etc.). No wet items.
Max. size 36”x36”.

Questions? Contact Vivien Cheng
At [email protected]
or 732-233-2024.
High Technology High School | Lincroft, New Jersey
http://www.hths.mcvsd.org
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Faculty Spotlight: Karen Brown
I am thrilled to be recognized as the 2015-2016 Teacher of the Year for High Technology High
School. Given the highly distinguished faculty we have at High Tech, I consider this to be quite an
honor.

A little bit about me… I have a BS in Actuarial Science and Statistics with a Minor in Literature from
NJIT and Substance Awareness Coordinator certification from New Jersey City Sate University.
After some inspiration and encouragement from Mr. Bals, I have been working towards a Masters in
Educational Administration through the University of Scranton. After this semester, I have two
courses and two practicums to go.

I have been teaching at High Tech for 23 years. I have taught the gamut of math subjects through
the years, but my favorites will always be AP Stat and Algebra 2/Trig. Over the years, I have
advised many HTHS clubs and the Classes of 1999, 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2015. For the last
three years, I have served as the SGA advisor. I have enjoyed this extra curricular position the
most. I am passionate about balancing the needs of all of the clubs and classes and to create a
positive school spirit with our unique collaboration of all classes for the school-wide events. The
key to our success is advanced planning and communication with all of the stakeholders. I hope
that I am teaching the students that a leader is made by action, not by a title.

I am the Math Curriculum Coordinator for the five MCVSD career academies. My main goal for this
year has been to increase the amount of TI technology available at the various buildings and to
support the five math and science faculties with training for the TI Nspire. Also, I serve as the
PRIDE chair for the Monmouth County Vocational Education Association, the teachers’ union. We
are working along side of High Tech’s TSA, NHS, and Key Club to host a spring Relay for Life
through the American Cancer Society. The hope is to get all of the academies involved in this
special event.

I have been married for 15 years and have two sons. Rickey is almost 13 and Danny is 10. They
are BUSY!! In addition to being involved in various sports, both are black belts in karate and both
are heavily involved in scouts. I volunteer as the fundraising chair for Rickey’s scout troop and
Danny’s scout pack. I also, serve as Danny’s Patrol leader and Assistant Cub Master. I have truly
enjoyed both of their journeys in scouts and have seen them both grow through the plethora of
experiences. Rickey now cooks more than my husband!

One could say that High Tech is where I have truly ‘grown up’. I consider High Tech to be a
teaching Utopia (which explains my long commute). The MCVSD administration supports its
teachers like no other. The HTHS faculty is truly dedicated to the profession. The students are
impassioned to learn. The PFA treats the faculty like royalty. What else could one ask for?

Sincerely,
Karen Brown

High Technology High School | Lincroft, New Jersey
http://www.hths.mcvsd.org
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Student News

Chess Team Enjoying Strong Season
The High Tech Chess Team is enjoying a very strong season. The Team remains undefeated for the
2015-2016 season. The defending co-state champions have 7 wins and no losses in their division of
the Shore HS School Chess League (SHSCL). They have won an amazing 33 of 35 games during
the season. They have one more regular season match against arch-rival CBA on February 3rd. The
CBA match will determine the Polgar Division Champion and the team most likely to earn the number
one seed in the playoffs. League play continues until February 10th. Eight regular season matches
will be played in all. The top 16 teams in the league – three from each of the five divisions and one
wild card team – will qualify for the playoffs.

In addition to league play, a group of High Tech Chess Team members recently competed in the
annual Toms River Elks Tournament. High Tech entered 3 teams into the tournament which is only
open to players who compete for schools that are part of the SHSCL.

Team 1, consisting of players Chris Wu, Vlad Nazarchuk, Kevin Yan, Philip Meltzer and Nelson Lin,
won all 4 matches and were crowned the tournament champions. They dominated their opponents
by winning 19.5 points out of 20 points available!! The win is the first time a High Tech team has
been able to win this tournament.

Team 2, with players Eric Chai, Allen Zhang, Greg Wall, Andrew Mascillaro and Aryan Shah, played
to a record of 3 wins and 1 loss and earned an impressive 6th place finish.

Jared Braycewski, Cole Snedeker, Kyler McKee, Karan Menon and Luke LaValva competed on Team
3. They finished the day with 2 wins and 2 losses to earn 8th place. Teams 2 and 3 both finished
higher in the standings than 4 varsity programs!!

Current Roster of HTHS Chess Team Members for 2015-2016 are:
Christopher Wu
Vladyslav Nazarchuk
Kevin Yan
Kevin Lu
Philip Meltzer
Nelson Lin
Eric Chai
Greg Wall
Allen Zhang
Samantha Cheng
Andrew Mascillaro
Larry Langman
Aryan Shah
Jared Braycewski
Cole Snedeker
Kyler McKee
Karan Menon
Gilbert Rashkovsky
Lucas LaValva
High Technology High School | Lincroft, New Jersey
http://www.hths.mcvsd.org
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Student News

High Tech Shines In Math League Competition
The High Tech Math League Teams are having another excellent and productive year. In Shore Math
League (SML), High Tech is currently in first place after 5 meets of the Shore Math League. The
SML consists of 19 teams from Monmouth County and there are 6 competitions. Each school is
allowed to bring 12 students to a competition. HTHS has a rotation system that requires that students
compete amongst themselves in order to be eligible to participate as part of the SML team from
HTHS. There are currently 26 HTHS students in the SML rotation. The leading scorers for High
Tech in SML are Brandon May, Blain Liang, Vladyslav Nazarchuk, Kevin Yan, Wendy Wu and
Andrew Huang. All six currently have perfect scores after 5 competitions.

In the New Jersey Math League (NJML), High Tech has a perfect score after four rounds and is
currently in sole possession of first place in the state. There are a total of six rounds. The leading
scorer for High Tech in NJML is Emily Liu (gr 11). She has a perfect individual score (24) after four
contests. There are 50 HTHS students that have participated in at least one of the NJML contests
this year. The following students have earned a perfect score (6) on at least one official NJML
contestsEmily Liu, Brandon May, Blain Liang, Vladyslav Nazarchuk, Jacob Yatvitskiy, Jarrett, Liang,
Kevin Yan, Andrew Huang, Eric He, Daniel Jiang, David Shlivko, Lori Zhang, Karan Menon, Eric Lou,
Steven Liu, Justin Wang and Rishi Salwi.

Defending national champion HTHS completed round 1 of Calculus League in December. The
school submitted a perfect team score of 60. High Tech set a new school record with individual
perfect scores on one competition. There were 39 perfect scores! Students with a perfect score on
the round 1 competition were: Tiffany Chen, Nick Ciulla, Brady Donahue, Kathryn Jiang, Hannah
Kniffen, Matthew Kumar, Amanda Lashenick, Melodee Li, William Lin, Emily Liu (Jr), Haley Mander,
Brandon May, Anjali Nambrath, Vladyslav Nazarchuk, Vivian, Qiang, David Shlivko, Alex Susi, Sarah
Vicol, Christina Wang, Priscilla Wong, Joseph Cabral, Aaron Cheng, JP Edralin, Thomas Gibbia,
Sean Kearns, Evan Kumar, Phoebe Li, Billy Lin, Eric Lou, Jesse Luo, Siqi Ma, Siddesh Nageswaran,
James Randolph, Christian Sasso, Jessica Wolf, Yihan (Wendy) Wu, Alexander Yao, Jacob
Yatvitskiy and Owen Zhang.

Congratulations to the High Tech team that competed in the Interstellar Math Madness online math
competition for reaching the semi-finals of their bracket. The Interstellar Math Madness team
consists of 20 students who are invited based on their AMC scores. The students compete against
schools from across the nation. The HTHS Interstellar Math Madness team members for 2015-2016
are: Eric He, Andrew Huang, Arihant Jain, Thomas Li, Blain Liang, Jarrett Liang, Emily Liu (gr 11),
Eric Lou, Brandon May, Anjali Nambrath, Vladyslav Nazarchuk, Christina Wang (gr 11), Clark Wang,
Scott Wang, Priscilla Wong, Ryan Wu, Yihan Wu, Kevin Yan, Alexander Yao and Lori Zhang

High Technology High School | Lincroft, New Jersey
http://www.hths.mcvsd.org
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Student News

The Engraved Pavers Project
As an ongoing beautification and fundraising project,
The High Technology High School PFA is selling brick pavers to be
installed in the area to the left of the front entrance.
Price for a 4 x 8 brick $100 and for an 8 x 8 brick $175
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yes, we’d like to reserve a permanent brick. Please engrave our brick as follows:
ANY SYMBOL IS CONSIDERED ONE SPACE (PERIOD, COMMA, DASH)
ALL TEXT IS CENTERED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED
IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO FILL ALL THE LINES WITH TEXT
4 x 8 Brick

8 x 8 Brick
EXAMPLE
J O H N S M I T H
H T H S C L A S S O F 2 0 1 7
PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM AND YOUR CHECK PAYABLE TO:
High Technology High School PFA
P.O. Box 119
Lincroft, NJ 07738-0119
Name: ________________________________________ Phone: (_______) _________________________
Address: _______________________________________________________________________________
City: ____________________________________ State: __________________ Zip: __________________
Email Address: ___________________________________________ Amount Paid: ___________________
If you have any questions, please contact Janine Randolph [phone] or [email protected].
Order by March 1128s1t for installation this Spring!
If you have any questions, please contact Barbara Sabaitis, [email protected], 732-213-3133, or
Lily Wang, [email protected], 646-361-7360.
High Technology High School | Lincroft, New Jersey
http://www.hths.mcvsd.org
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