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ReformingCollegeAdmissions-KevinBalsArecentreportfromtheHarvardGraduateSchoolofEducation,titledTurningtheTide:InspiringConcernforOthersandtheCommonGoodthroughCollegeAdmissions,shedssomelightonchangesbeingconsideredinmanyofthebestuniversitiesregardingadmissions.Itappearsthatcollegesaretakingresponsibilityforsomeoftheunintendedconsequencestheadmissionsprocessfostersontostudentsandtheirfamilies.Twoofthedominantthemesfromthereportareencouragingstudentstohavemeaningfulcommunityserviceandreducingachievementpressure.Thereportstatesthatstudentsshouldengageinauthenticcommunityservicethatissustainedoveraperiodoftime.Thehopeisthatthistypeofservicewillimpactthestudentsandthepeopletheyserveinameaningfulway.Theauthorsfurtherstatetheadmissionsprocessshouldconveywhattypesofservicearevaluedandshouldnotencouragestudentsto“game”thesystem.ThissectionofthereportwasencouragingbecausethisyeartheNationalHonorSocietyatHighTechtookstepstomaketheservicehoursrequirementmoremeaningfulforstudents.SomeoftheverythingsmentionedinthereportarewhatmotivatedthechangesinhowthingsaredonehereatHighTech.Muchhasbeenwrittenaboutthepressureonstudentstogainentryintoournationstopuniversitiesandcolleges.TheTurningtheTidereportdoesanicejobofdetailingwayscollegesanduniversitiescanreduceachievementpressureonstudents.Thereportrecommendsadmissionofficesletstudentsknowthatalonglistofextracurricularactivitieswillnotincreasethelikelihoodofbeingadmitted.Theyareencouragedtoemphasizequalityoverquantity.TwootherrecommendationsfromthereportarethatadmissionofficesshouldmakeitclearthatalargenumberofAPcoursesarenotasvaluableasdeeplearninginafewareas,andtheyshouldmakeitclear,how,andtowhatextent,SATorACTtestsareusedintheadmissiondecisionmakingprocess.Thereportiswelcomenewsinthelightofalltherecentnegativepressaboutthepressurestoday’sstudentsfacewhentryingtogainentranceintotopschools.Thefullreportcanbefoundatwww.makingcaringcommon.organdiswellworthreadingthroughoratleastreadingtheexecutivesummary.

Volume XXII | Issue 4 Feb/Mar 2016

Co-Presidents’ Corner HighTechTimes

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HighTechnologyHighSchool|Lincroft,NewJersey

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Winter is upon us! We finally received our first snow and that can only mean that Spring is not far off. Midterms are behind us, Prom is getting near and Seniors will have an active next few months as acceptance letters arrive and plans for graduation and next year begin. In the meantime, the PFA has been active ensuring our Spring endeavors are supporting the staff and students. Here is a preview of coming attractions; CLASSICAL MUSIC NIGHT: On Friday February 19th 6PM Classical Music & Art Night!! We will be 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 fine company! This event is open to all HTHS families. We are grateful to Chair Susan Winograd and her dynamic committee… complete with creative decorations, a superb appetizer & dessert buffet, sparkling cider bar, extraordinary art gallery, and high tech stage. Further info is here in the newsletter. Please check the Sign up Genius for way in which you can assist in making this event the best it can be! NHS hours will be given out to volunteering students who serve. Please join us for one of the most enjoyable nights of the year!!! Tickets will be available at the door. CLOTHING DRIVE: April 4 to 7. Please bring your donations to the MPR where we will store 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!)

SubmissionsforHighTech

Timesshouldbesentto:

[email protected]

Pleasesubmitarticlesinplain

textorMSWordformat.

TheduedateforarticlesfortheApril/MayeditionisFridayMarch25th

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PFAnews

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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

Co-President’sCornercontinued

CongratulationsAreInOrderThePFAextendstheircongratulationstoHTHSfacultymembers

KarenBrownand

TaraBufisforreceivingMCVSD's2015-2016EducatoroftheYearawards.

Verywell-deservedrecognitions!!

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PFAnewsCo-ChairsSoughtForPost-PromCommittee

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.

LastCallforBrickPavers!ThedeadlinetoorderyourbrickpaversisMarch18th.ThepaverswillbeinstalledattheHighTechHSfrontentranceintheSpring.Usethetheformattheendofthisnewslettertoplaceyourorder.

OnJanuary16th,HighTechhostedaMockSAT.InadditiontobeinggoodpracticeforthosestudentswhowillbetakingtheSATsoon,studentswerealsoabletogetafirstlookatwhattoexpectonthenewlyredesignedSATwhichisbeingofferedforthefirsttimeinMarch2016.Fifty-eightstudentsfrombothHighTechandAlliedHealthattendedthepracticetest,whichwasproctoredbyPrincetonReview.Pleasenote:OnlineregistrationfortheMockACTthatisbeingheldonMarch19thattheAcademyofAlliedHealthSciencesisnowCLOSED.Allavailablespotshavebeenfilled.Thankyoutoallthosewhohaveregistered.

MockTestingUpdate

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PFAnewsPFA 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]

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PFAnewsPFA CLOTHING DRIVE It is time to clean out your

closets HTHS PFA IS COLLECTING:

• WearableClothing,Shoes,Handbags…

• Beddings,Towels,Blankets,Comforters…

• SmallRugs,Curtains,Cushions…

• StuffedAnimals…

• HardToys,BoardGames…

• KitchenwareandSmallAppliances…

• Housewares,Clocks,Luggage,Umbrellas…

• Books,CDs/DVDs/Cassettes…

• MusicalInstruments,SportingGoods…

Date: April 4 to April 7, 2016 Drop off Location: MPR Piano Corner

Pleaseplacemostitemsintotightlytiedplasticbags,orboxes.Separatesoftitems(clothing,towels,blanketsetc.)andharditems(hardtoys,booksetc.).Nowetitems.Max.size36”x36”.

[email protected]

or732-233-2024.

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FacultySpotlight:



KarenBrownI 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

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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

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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

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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 (732) 223-5294 or [email protected]. Order by March 1st 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.

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SchoolClosedSpringbreak

TheParentFacultyAssociationExecutiveCommittee

MembershipontheExecutiveCommitteeconsistsoftheelectedofficersandthechairperson(s)ofeachstanding

committees.Fortheschoolyearof2015-2016,theExecutiveCommitteeconsistsofthefollowingmembers:

Executive Board: Co-Presidents: Ajita John [email protected]

Paul Hughes [email protected] Vice-President: Michele Rosivack [email protected] Treasurer: Ming Wu [email protected] Corresponding Secretary: Susan Winograd [email protected] Recording Secretary: Kara Kniffin [email protected] Committees: Alumni Support: Co-Chairs/ Shilpi Agrawal [email protected] Paul Hughes [email protected] Educational Support:

Global Enrichment Chair/ Cathy Brennan [email protected] Mock PSAT/SAT Chair/ Michele Rosivack [email protected] Driver’s Ed Course Chair/ Susan Winograd [email protected]

Fundraising: Co-Chairs/ Jeff Kniffin [email protected] Paul Hughes [email protected] Ajita John [email protected]

Annual Donation Drive Co-Chairs/ Paul Hughes [email protected] Michele Rosivack [email protected] Engraved Brick Pavers Chair/ Barbara Sabaitis [email protected] Michele Rosivack [email protected] Lily Wang [email protected] Used Clothing Drive Chair/ Vivien Cheng [email protected]

HTHS Clothing Sales Co-Chairs/ Barb Lyons [email protected] Karen Duffy [email protected]

Hospitality Co-Chairs/ Annette Wall [email protected] Marla Schachter [email protected] Membership Co-Chairs/ Susan Li [email protected] Diane Steely-Brown [email protected] Tina Brendel [email protected] Newsletter Committee Keith Hawkins [email protected]

Carol Eusebi, [email protected] Uday Menon, [email protected] Viji Subramoney [email protected] Daphne Keller [email protected] Neelam Salwi [email protected] Nicole Brown [email protected]

Parent/Student Activities: Classical Music Evening Chair/ Susan Winograd [email protected]

Club and International Night Chair/ Vivien Cheng [email protected] MaryAnn Doyle Post Prom Co-Chairs/ Kara Kniffin

Jeff Kniffin [email protected] Herbert Cheng [email protected] Bill Wood [email protected]

Annual Picnic Co-Chairs/ Diane Steely-Brown [email protected] Christopher Brown [email protected] Freshman Mentorship Co-Chairs/ Susan Li [email protected] Diane Steely-Brown [email protected] Catherine Vought [email protected] and Corporate Grant: Co-Chairs/ Austin Huang [email protected] Rachel Yang [email protected] Info Technology: Chair/ Diane Steely-Brown [email protected]