Features

Meymey Seng

Staff Writer

Have you ever been assigned a project and then realized that you have been paired with the same person multiple times? Maybe it’s a coincidence or maybe it’s just a little plan that the teachers have secretly created. Well, two sophomores at Science Leadership Academy came up with a word to describe this phenomenon, Benchmark Bae. The acronym “Bae” stands for “Before anyone else”. So, being paired with the same person often makes them come first when it comes to benchmarks.

Many students can relate to this, such as tenth graders Majd Bostani and Shana Bergmann, who were the creators of the term. They have worked with one another three times in the span of two quarters! Firstly, they collaborated on both their Spanish and World History benchmarks. Then, coincidentally for a benchmark in English class, they were the only two absent and were automatically paired with each other once again.

“We also found ourselves as tablemates in English class during both quarters, so I think Ms. Pahomov might be secretly planning something,” said Majd.

Luckily, they work well together, sharing the fact that they are both photographers. Even though there are little arguments here and there, which is normally expected when doing a project, working together so often has made their friendship stronger.

Another pair of Benchmark Baes are seniors Aaron Watson-Sharer and Jason Greene. Not only have they been paired with one another for a countless amount of times, they are the only students in the graduating class of 2017 to be in all the same streams with one another, for all four of their years at SLA. They enjoy working with one another because it has allowed them to have many successful benchmarks and also helped their friendship grow.

“We’ve had arguments. Times of incompetence and even mere silence out of frustration but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve grown accustomed to Jason and I doing our work together and it’s something I value at SLA,” said Aaron.

Whether or not these Benchmark Baes are coincidental or intentional, something that the students can agree on is that it helps a friendship grow. Although group projects almost always have little disagreements and arguments, it allows the students to learn more about one another. 

Lauren Nicolella

Staff Writer

Transitioning into high school is a big step for anyone. Leaving your friends, meeting new teachers, and going to a different building for the next four years of your life can really take a toll on someone. Adjusting to the new amount of school work is different, especially with being at a project-based school with a different setup than other public schools in Philadelphia.

A survey was sent out to the freshmen students containing seven questions about their first benchmark season and difficulty of their classes. The results show how freshmen are feeling about their first year of high school so far

In one of the questions, it was settled that English was the challenging class for a large portion of the surveyed freshman students. Out of every single class, Mr. Kay and Ms. Giknis seemed to be the most difficult for many freshmen.

When asked what would you do for yourself in the future, a majority of freshmen answered time and stress management. These two stressors play into each other, especially during benchmark season. It’s interesting that early on, freshmen are able to recognize what habits they should probably change as they go through high school.

Another question, asking about being satisfied with their social life at SLA at the moment, had pleasing results showing that more than 80% of freshmen admitted that they were happy. If you have a solid group of people around you who are willing to help and support you, there is nothing more you could ask for.

Especially since we are project-based, it is good to talk to everyone. You could potentially be paired with someone you’ve never talked to before. Everyone is most-likely going to be added into a group with a different person at least once, so it wouldn’t hurt to be friendly.

The below pie charts show the rest of the questions as well as the percentages of what was said by the 65+ freshmen who answered.

 

 

 

 

 

Meymey Seng

Staff Writer

Covering 13.1 miles in the incredible time of 1:21:22 was done by Jeremy Spry! Every year he runs the Disney Half Marathon in California. He has the determination of trying his best before going each time. With all his hard work, he managed to earn the place of being the third male in his age group to finish!

“I was excited. I was really happy. It was an unexpected thing,” said Excellence Coordinator Jeremy Spry. “The race went off and I was running my hardest. I thought I had a good chance of winning my age group and then between hard work and luck, it kind of worked out. It was really cool.” One of the most thrilling things was that he was running alongside Jenny Simpson, an Olympic medalist who got bronze in the 1,500 meter RIO, representing the U.S. “I got to talk to her and I talked to her about SLA and about Students Run Philly Style.”

The Very Beginning

As a big fan of sports, he played ultimate frisbee during high school and college. After he graduated from college, he decided he no longer wanted to play ultimate frisbee, but he still wanted to be apart of a team. Eight years ago, when he first started working at SLA, he noticed Students Run Philly Style posters hung around the school by former Physics Teacher Rosalind Echols. Seeing those posters, he automatically wanted to be a part of it.

Jeremy remembered sitting in his house, before coming to Philadelphia, and seeing the New York City marathon pass by every year. From then on, he always wanted to run a marathon. “The furthest I’ve ever traveled to run was Washington State as a part of a relay race,” Jeremy said.

The Transformation

When Jeremy first started training with Students Run, it was very difficult. After he ran his first marathon, he admitted that he would’ve never wanted to run again. Although, he had already signed up for the Walt Disney World marathon and realized that it was a lot easier to stay in shape than to get back into shape. Now, he has run about twenty-seven half marathons and twenty-two full marathons, all in the span of eight years! After more years of being with Students Run, which starts back up in March, he noticed how running was able to transform students. The students were able to gain the confidence to run marathons at the ages of 15, 16, and 17. They could later use that confidence to succeed in life.

Running became his favorite. He loves running, loves making kids run, and generally loves everything about running; it’s a part of his identity. He has ran many races and the furthest he’s ever traveled to run was for a race called the Ragnar Relay. “We ran from near Canada all the way down to Washington State. We were a relay team that covered about 200 miles in twenty-seven hours.”

Favorite Thing About Running

“My favorite thing is watching people become more healthy, both mentally and physically. Running is not something that could be faked, it’s clear that you get what you put into it,” said Jeremy Spry. ”I believe that everyone can run because most of the time, if someone has the ability to walk, there is a ninety-nine percent chance that they would be able to run.”

One of the biggest transformations that he loves to see is when people say that they’re not able to run a mile to being able to run Broad Street Run, half marathon, or full marathon.

“I love what the Philadelphia marathon represents. I love Students Run Philly Style and I love the next day after the marathon weekend when everyone comes in with their medals and their shirts. It’s like finally over and everyone’s happy.”

Making Everyone Proud

Many different members of the SLA community are impressed with Spry and everything he has accomplished.

“The one thing you will always hear Jeremy say is, ‘I love running!’ And he really does. Nothing makes him happier,” said English teacher Amal Giknis. “He’s super fast, too, so his photos are always awesome and show him all alone on a really cool course.”

Science Teacher and fellow Students Run Philly Style Coach Shannon McCullough agrees. “He is a very committed athlete who demonstrates both persistence and endurance. These are two key ingredients for any long distance runner. As for his performance in the Disney marathon, I’m not surprised at all.”

“I think it’s amazing that he was able to place third in the race, especially since it was a half-marathon. I know he’s run so many full and half marathons, and that makes me feel inspired and motivated to have someone like him as a coach,” said sophomore and participant in Students Run Lauren Nicolella. “It’s also cool to see that Jeremy is spreading his knowledge and skills to kids on the running team, helping them to improve with not only their running, but with their attitude and mentality towards running in general.”

“I am incredibly proud of him. It makes me so happy to call him my running coach. He’s so hardworking and deserves the recognition,” said junior and participant in Students Run Kaamil Jones.  

“I was thankful for him before, but this is like icing on the cake.”

Mekhi Granby

Staff Writer

How important is saving money?

For most teenagers, saving money is easy, but some teens still long to purchase things that aren’t always in their budget range.

Students at Science Leadership Academy report a range of experiences with saving money. Some of them say they’re no good.

“It’s hard for me to save because if I see something I like most likely I’ll buy it,” said Sophomore Justin Stewart.  Senior Kobe Nabried has a similar pessimistic sense about his ability to save. “I’m not good at saving and never have been. ” he said.

Other students report having an easy time saving their money.

“Yes, I only use a certain amount of money weekly, and I’ve been doing so since sixth grade,” said Junior Malachi Johnson. Junior Christian McCormack has a different way of saving, he stated “Yes I’m good at saving money, I keep it in my book.” Someone who can relate to that is Senior Cassandra Northrope who said “Yes, I put money in my bank and have been saving college funds since I was really young.”

However, saving money isn’t just about the cool new thing you want to buy. Your attitude towards saving money will have an influence on your income, salary, occupation, and future goals.

Saving money can be a challenge though as one gets more independent and less reliant on others, a.k.a your parents. College Counselor Karina Hirshfield can relate as she states “I always try to save, but it’s not always easy because cost of living is so high (mortgage, utilities, food, children, etc.) and sometimes unexpected things come up.”

The thought of the cost of living can be solved by simply saving less, just because you make $300 every two weeks doesn’t mean you have to save $150. Save what you can, it’ll add up in the long run.

Saving money does not mean that you have to be frugal. You can spend your income provided you pay yourself and save first. By putting a percentage of what you earn in savings you will continuously have money. It doesn’t necessarily mean that one needs to have a steady income, it just means that when one has access to money an amount should be stored away.

Saving money gives protection for unexpected circumstances. If you lose your job at least you have money to sustain your needs until you obtain a new one.

So why do teachers choose to save?

For Hirschfield, the reasons are in the future. “I’d like to accomplish certain goals such as paying for my children’s education and also having enough money for retirement.”

English teacher Larissa Pahomov is also thinking about the long term.  “I don’t have a lot of faith that my investment and pension will actually be there for me when I retire… but I still save, because I also don’t think it’s very important to spend money when you have it. As long as you can pay for the basics, that’s enough.”

Saving money has multiple ways of doing so. Both Hirshfield and Pahomov save money through a pension plan but that isn’t the only way. However you choose to save your money is the best way for you, as long as it works. Every penny counts and it’ll all add up.