On the front page of The TIE – 31 May 2017

9 June 2017

Read the complete issue.

An unexpected visit from Channel 7 news surprises SJP senior
by Kate Stanislaski `18

Melrose, MA — Recently visited by Channel 7 at our own SJP Learning Commons, Cali Lapenta `17 was surprised by her parents, classmates and teachers and presented with a special award. The award she received, known as the “Class Act” Award, honors students or teachers who excel in their service to their communities.

Cali’s classmates, parents and teachers surprise her in the Learning Commons as she receives her Class Act Award. (photo by S. Shuman)

 

Lapenta was recognized for her work with underprivileged children at her dance studio, Melrose Dance Academy, where she has been dancing for 16 years. A foundation Cali began during her junior year, the Dream to Dance Foundation has raised over $4,000 for children who share her passion for dance but are unable to pay for dance classes themselves. She started the foundation by creating a GoFundMe for her charity as well as a Facebook, Instagram and Twitter account, even including a logo she designed herself.

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“My passion really is dance. I’ve been doing it for so long, and there’s a lot of people who can’t afford it because dance is so expensive,” Lapenta told the WHDH reporter.

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Her charity quickly took off along with the help from her dance instructors, family, friends and even complete strangers. Lapenta explained that giving back to her dance community in a way she once thought would just complete her required service hours, actually became a great learning opportunity as well as something that now gives her great happiness.

She hopes to keep her foundation going as long as possible. Although she is going to college in the fall, Lapenta will continue to give kids a chance to do something that they might not be able to do without support from the Dream to Dance Foundation.

Her “Class Act” segment aired on the Channel 7 morning news on Friday, May 19. Fellow dancer, Lily Fabrizio `18, and STEAM teacher and Robotics Team Moderator, Ms. Gipson, were also featured in the story. If you missed the early morning broadcast, you can watch it online on the WHDH website (whdh.com/news/class-act-st-josephs-prep -senior-creates-dream-to-dance-foundation/)


 

Watch the latest TIE Video – STEAM Show

15 May 2017

Phoenix Hall — Sam Wu `18, TIE video reporter, interviews SJP Art Teacher, Mr. Jeffrey Glozzy who discusses the challenges of staging the May 11 STEAM show.

Watch the video now.

 

Photos of the Week – STEAM Show

11 May 2017

Phoenix Hall — Did you attend the spectacular SJP STEAM show?  In addition to paintings, photographs, and sculptures, our student artists created a magical forest, dragons and robots!  Congratulations to Mr. Glozzy, Mr. Shiner, Ms. Gipson, Mr. Tice and their talented students!

                    

       

On the Front Page of The TIE

31 March 2017                                                                       Read the complete issue.

SJP celebrates Multicultural Day
by Anthony Khoory `19

Saint Joseph Prep — On Friday, March 31, SJP celebrated its diversity in the 5th annual Multicultural Day. After attending two class periods, the students toured the school with their advisory visiting different rooms where their classmates shared the heritage of 15 different nations.

Each room typically featured a digital presentation, food, and some activity representative of that group’s cultural identity. For example, McKenzie Jennette `18 led an exercise in which she taught the visitors of Trinidad and Tobago popular slang terms specific to the islands.

Over in South Korea’s room, Jessica Kwon `17 wrote each visitor’s name in Korean characters, creating name tags for everyone.

Mr. Shiner, Nailah Khoory, Jindi Ren and Anthony Khoory dance the dabke in the Middle Eastern room. (photo by L. Walkins)

Mr. Shiner, who helped in the Middle Eastern room, was “proud to see how every room was very student-led.” The Middle Eastern presentation included garlicky hummus, savory stuffed grape leaves, sweet baklava, and a communal dabke dance.

Kira Fernandes and Maria Andrade share their favorite dishes from Cape Verde. (photo by L. Walkins)

Maria Andrade ‘19, was so glad to have helped create a Cape Verdean room. She felt overjoyed to share this culture because “most people don’t really know much about it.” In that room, the presentation included dancing, a Cape Verdean Creole lesson, and of course food.

Faculty members voted for the best overall presentations and the winners were announced at the assembly which concluded the fun-filled day. Congratulations to the winning rooms:

1st Place – South Korea – Jessica Kwon `17, Jihae Kim `18, Jamie Seo `18, Min Kang `17, Sam Lee `20
2nd Place – Italy – Anthony Bradley `17, Cali Lapenta `17, Lily Fabrizio `18
3rd Place (tie) – Ireland – Sharon King `17, Mary Forbes `17, Hannah Burke `17, Hayley Leger `17, Cayleigh McMullan `17, Jackie Joyce `17 3rd Place (tie) – Cape Verde – Maria Andrade `19, Kira Fernandes `19, Armani Monteiro `17

Visitors to South Korea compete in the Chicken Fight game. (photo by L. Walkins)

Students also showcased the unique culture of the following countries:

China – Valerie Gao `19, Yvonne Li `18, Elena Wang `18, Bruce He `18, Randy Su `18, Sam Wu `18
Germany – Maren Strauss `19, Charlie Cassidy `19, Alex Tracanna `19
Greece – Sophia Sáponte `17, Sophia Pappas `19, Emily Taranto `17 and Bianca Tracanna `17
Haiti – Shereka Dauphine `19, Joadly Duplan `17, Tyler-Gary Louis `19, Taisha Joseph `19, Emmuella Rene `19, Shanice Saint Fleur `19
Middle East – Gabe Hanna `20, Anthony Khoory `19, Nailah Khoory `18
Norway – Martine Bjöernstad `17, Jeonghun Kim `17
Russia – Aleksandra Christie `19, Cameron Ferent `19, Annie McElroy `19, Helen Miao `19
Judaism – Rebekah Forrest `17, Sarah Forrest `19, Audrey McDonough `17
Peru – Jonathan Stratter `17, Benjamin Stratter `17, Ricky Espada `17, Dante Salvucci `17, Theresa Sandbrook `17
Puerto Rico – Herminio Alvarez `18, Isaac Amato `18, Jacob Bianculli `18
Trinidad and Tobago – Kelli Aquino `18, Nacaira Hill-Malloy `18, Destiny King `18, Philippe Legagneur `17, McKenzie Jennette `18, Joseline Pineda Ruiz `18

Multicultural Day presenters proudly display flags from around the world. (photo by S. Shuman)

Watch the latest TIE News video – Multicultural Day

3-31-2017 Saint Joseph Preparatory High School

Sam Wu ’18, our Tie video news reporter, talked with Ms. Bacon about SJP’s annual Multicultural Day celebration.

Watch the video now.

 

Photo of the Week – Harvard Crimson Conference

Photo by L. Walkins

 

On Saturday, April 1, three members of the student newspaper staff attended a conference for high school journalists at the offices of the Harvard Crimson newspaper.  Nailah Khoory `18, Sam Wu `18, and Gabe Hanna`20 enjoyed listening to presentations given by the Harvard students who work on the daily paper.  They attended some interesting workshops, including Journalism in the Digital Age, Following a Lead: An Intro to Effective Investigative Journalism, and the Editors-in-Chief Roundtable.  Our student journalists came away from the day brimming with ideas to make The TIE even better!

Watch the latest TIE News video – Robotics

3-27-2017 SJP STEAM Lab

Sam Wu `18, our TIE video news reporter, interviewed Ms. Gipson and Nailah Khoory `18 about the challenges and benefits of being a part of the SJP Robotics team.

Watch the video now.

Photo of the Week – Pi Day Bake-Off

SJP Celebrates Pi Day

Photo by Kelli Aquino `18

Who knew math could be so yummy? SJP students baked a variety of pies for teacher judges to taste in the annual Pi(e) Day Contest on Thursday  Read more about the Pi Day celebrations in the next issue of The TIE.

 

On the Front Page of The TIE – Tuesday, Feb. 28

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

SJP celebrates Black History Month

by Alyssa Moreira `20

Saint Joseph Prep — Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by black Americans and a time for recognizing the role of African Americans in U.S. history. Every February, Americans come together to observe all that African Americans have contributed to our society.

The SJP community celebrated Black History Month in a variety of ways throughout the school. On the morning and afternoon announcements, facts about black inventors and African Americans who have positively impacted our history were shared to spread awareness.

Ms. Mueller and Mrs. Walkins also worked together to set up an amazing display in the Learning Commons that highlighted Black History in Boston, as well as many engaging books from our collection showcasing the remarkable achievements of African American men and women.  Some of the titles on display were Hidden Figures by Margo Lee Shetterley, Courage Has No Color by Tanya Lee Stone, Eyes on the Prize by Juan Williams, and Zora! by Dennis Brindell Fradin.

Mr. Ware, Director of Technology, gave an extremely impactful presentation at Monday morning gathering. He spoke about various African Americans including Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, William Monroe Trotter, Booker T. Washington, and Jesse Owens. He also connected Black History to his own history, sharing with the students that he had distant relatives who were once held as slaves. This helped make a connection between written facts and real life, and Mr. Ware’s openness about his family helped students realize how slavery affects many people, even people we know.

In freshman Biology classes, Mrs. Osborne incorporated Black History month into the curriculum. Students had to create a poster about a black inventor. Students chose to highlight the achievements of inventors like Benjamin Banneker, Madam CJ Walker, Lonne Johnson, and George Washington Carver. This assignment helped students learn about the lives and professional struggles of African Americans within the field of science. After the students completed the posters, Ms. Osborne hung them up around the classroom and in the halls, sharing what her students learned and raising even more awareness.

The English department also did its part in contributing to Black History Month. In AP English, Mr. Olcott  reviewed poetry by African Americans with his students. The students studied the poems of Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou.

In all freshman English classes, Ms. Mueller and Ms. Byun assigned an extremely influential graphic novel by John Lewis, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, called March Book One. This book told the tale of Mr. Lewis’s life, and his journey in the movement. Through this assignment, students learned about the march at Selma, peaceful protest, and the life of John Lewis, in an entertaining way.

The entire school community worked hand-in-hand to make sure all students became more aware of Black History Month and the obstacles African Americans have encountered along the road to fulfilling their dreams.

As Olympic legend Jesse Owens said, “We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort.”

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Read the complete issue of The TIE.

On the Front Page of The TIE

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

SJP is ready for robotics
by Gabe Hanna `20

SJP STEAM Lab — The Robotics season is off to a good start as students are guided by

The Robotics team is hard at work on this year’s challenge. (photo by N. Gipson)

engineering mentors and Ms. Gipson in order to create the most efficient robot for the 2017 FIRST Robotics competition.

Students annually start off with a pre-season, discussing strategy for the upcoming competition, the details of which were not released until January 7. This fall, the team reviewed old competitions or games, came up with robot designs, and strategized for those certain competition rules. Students created drawings of the robots, learned programming, and practiced new techniques in the mechanical building of parts.

On January 7, a peaceful Saturday morning, students rushed to the STEAM Lab to watch the reveal video of this season’s game with their fellow teammates and mentors. Once the game was revealed to the team, along with their competitors through a livestream broadcast, students and mentors got straight to work to come up with a strategy for the best and most efficient way to score as many points as possible. 


This year in Robotics, there have been some changes that could impact the team for the better. The biggest change is the creation of a Junior Varsity team. Along with the Varsity team, the Junior Varsity will play a big role by creating a prototype robot to test with. This process will limit the mistakes or errors on the Varsity’s competition robot, which will be used in all matches.  

All students have been doing great work, and actively contributing towards the team, according to Robotics moderator, Ms. Gipson and the mentors who guide students in coding and building the robot.

As the Robotics season got under way, Ms. Gipson was very impressed and said, “It’s good to see everyone knows the plan, and that everyone has been working together positively, which has led our team to a better start than in previous years.”

This promising beginning, has launched a productive season so far. The team is hopeful that their success will continue with many victories when its comes to matches in the spring.






Read the complete January issue of The TIE.