Math Team Shines Early in League Competition

LHS Dresses Pretty in Pink

“6,310 New Jersey women will be diagnosed with Breast cancer this year.” “1,400 New Jersey women will pass away from Breast Cancer this year alone.” These were just some of the facts emblazoned on Leonia High School lockers on October 28, 2008. Written on pink ribbon Post-its, each fact appeared for a reason: to raise awareness of the seriousness of Breast Cancer. October 28, 2008 at LHS was dedicated to raising funds for and increasing awareness of Breast Cancer, a disease afflicting millions of Americans, as Leonia High School’s Ribbon Club took a stand in the fight to find a cure for this invidious disease. On Passionately Pink Day at LHS, students and teachers were asked to wear pink (the awareness color for this cancer) and donate a dollar or more to be sent to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. With their donation, contributors received a pink pass, a pin, and a cookie or chocolate treat as a thank-you for being generous. Senior Jessica Vargas won a contest for the best pink outfit worn on October 28, leaving school the proud new owner of a real live Chinese Fighting Fish! Second and third place winners senior Meeru Park and freshman David Moses won large candy necklaces for their pink ensembles.
    
The Ribbon Club also sponsored a breakfast and bake sale that morning and afternoon. Pink bracelets, key rings, hats, shirts, and socks were being sold weeks before as well as on October 28. In addition, the school was covered in pink decorations: ribbons shaped like pink balloons, pink streamers in the cafeteria, pink posters, doors, and tables. Trees surrounding the school were made pretty in pink with ribbons; even the Leonia High School signs were decorated with pink ribbons. Passionately Pink Day on October 28 was a huge success, raising over $500 to be sent to Susan G. Komen for the Cure in hope that one day, we will live in a Breast Cancer-free world.

Alumna August Keating Shares Tips
for a Successful Future

Quiz Bowl Team Shines in NY Tourney

The Leonia High School Quiz Bowl team defeated Jonathan Dayton High School of Springfield, NJ, 320-265, in the NJ Challenge/Channel 12 competition held Tuesday, October 28, in New York City. Although they trailed most of the match, our team blitzed Jonathan Dayton in the final round to advance to the Round of 16 in the Challenge. This is the first year that LHS has been invited to the NJ Challenge. The match can be seen on Channel 12 on Saturday, November 8, at 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. and again on Sunday, November 9, at the same times. In addition, the show may be viewed online at URL www.powertolearn.com .
   
Congratulations to competing team members sophomore Angela Gonzalez-Curci, seniors Ish Singh, Louis Cohen, and Alec Ziff, and junior Captain Arison Than.
   
The Quiz Bowl team meets each Friday afternoon in the Library/Media Center; current membership stands at 25 students. All students are welcome to join the team.

LHS Students Extend Helping Hand
to Earthquake Victims

The Consul General of the People’s Republic of China recently extended his gratitude to a group of LHS students led by Ms. Yu of the Mathematics Department for their fundraising in behalf of relief programs related to the disastrous May 12^th earthquake in China.  As the Consul General noted in his letter, “Since the earthquake, the Chinese Government has mobilized the whole country in the rescue operations by pooling … national resources.  And the international community also immediately extended to us a hand of friendship by offering rescue and humanitarian assistance.” Ms. Yu and her students raised $1100 for the Chinese relief effort.  Those participating in this humanitarian gesture were sophomores Mediha Awan, Meiling Gao, Shinyu Victoria Pai, Chilita Pochanatwong, Stephen Portnoy, and Ivy Sung; juniors Andres Jimenez and Shu Wang, and senior Zhuoyun Grace Xi, along with many other students.   

LHS SINGERS SHINE AT
BERGEN COUNTY  HONORS CHOIR AUDITIONS

At auditions held recently, sophomore Flor Adriana Aviles, juniors William Flaim and Robert Sanchez, and seniors Min-a Jenny Lee and Andrew Kim were selected for the 2008-2009 Bergen County Honors Choir.  Robert, a bass II, and Will, a tenor I, earned scores placing them among the top ten competitors for their respective vocal parts, while Adriana received the #1 rank of all altos in the competition, I and II.  Jenny qualified as an alto II, while Andrew qualified as a tenor II.  The Bergen County Honors Choir Concert will be held on January 18, 2009, at Bergenfield High School. 
Congratulations to all!   

Lopez Races to County Title 
Lion Harriers Take 3^rd and 4^th in Counties

Senior Victor Lopez won the Group "C" Bergen County Cross Country Championship on Saturday by outkicking three other runners at the finish line. The Leonia team wasn't quite so fortunate, losing to Pascack Hills and Ramsey, although they did qualify for the Bergen County Meet of Champions this coming Saturday, November 1. Junior Patrick Ryan, who finished 6^th, and senior Michael Wilkens, who finished 13^th, also ran well.
  
On the girls’ side, junior Betsy Eickelberg ran a strong race, finishing 4^th, qualifying for the Meet of Champions as well as leading the girls to an overall 4^th place finish. Sophomore Meghan Ford also ran well, finishing 15^th.
  
Congratulations!        

Maria Toronto Wins North Jersey Civil War 
Round Table Student Essay Contest

Congratulations to junior Maria Toronto, whose essay was selected as the 1st prize winner from among those submitted by over forty applicants in the annual North Jersey Civil War Round Table Student Essay Contest. Contestants hailed from high schools located in Morris, Passaic, and Bergen counties.
   
Maria received a $500 prize for her work on Thursday evening at an awards dinner held at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morristown.

Lady Lions’ Tennis Reaches State Final

Leonia High School’s girls’ tennis team advanced to the NJSIAA Final Four, taking on perennial powerhouse Point Pleasant Beach on Wednesday, October 22. Playing with focus and grit, the girls came from behind to defeat the Shore Region representatives, 3-1. Freshman number one singles Simona Levsky’s three-set marathon sealed the semifinal victory for the Lady Lions.
 
Two hours later, the team faced defending state champion New Providence. After 90 minutes, the two schools were tied, 2-2, with only the crucial second doubles match remaining. Following eight hard-fought deuce points and several spectacular shots, Leonia fell by a score of 5-7.
 
This has been a storybook season for the ladies. Unranked at the beginning of the season, they emerged from obscurity to reach the state title match. And despite the bitter disappointment of such an agonizing outcome, it was obvious that we were witness to that most unique combination of athletic superlatives, talent and dignity.
 
The 2008 New Jersey State Group I runners-up’s five singles players are freshman Simona Levsky, senior Christina Puleo, senior Liliana Manuel, senior Betsy Ko, and senior Audrey Park.
 
The three doubles teams are senior Julie Ha and freshman Alisha Malla, senior Celine O’Shea and junior Mayumi Tateishi, and seniors Cindy Caldas and Danielle Miller.
Congratulations to the team for another terrific year of stellar competition and good sportsmanship!   

Rebeca Fong Wins NHRP Honorable Mention

The College Board recently announced its selection of 2008-2009 National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) Scholars and Honorable Mentions.  Students receiving this honor were sent letters informing them of this recognition.  Leonia Academy of Science senior Rebeca Fong was among those selected for Honorable Mention.  Rebeca also was presented with a certificate attesting to her selection at the high school by principal Edward Bertolini.
   
The NHRP was initiated in 1983 to identify outstanding Hispanic/Latino high school students nationwide.  This year, the NHRP is recognizing nearly 5,000 students selected from a pool of over 200,000 students who took the 2007 PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) and identified themselves as Hispanic.  Students recognized by the NHSRP for Honorable Mention achieved a minimum PSAT/NMSQT score and have maintained, as in Rebeca’s case, a GPA of 3.0-3.49.
   
The College Board’s list of recognized students is distributed to subscribing four-year postsecondary institutions in October, thus giving students the opportunity to hear from colleges particularly interested in communicating with prospective students of Hispanic/Latino heritage.
   
Congratulations, Rebeca!      

Juniors Take to the Streetcar

As the recent trip for junior English students to A Streetcar Named Desire so clearly demonstrated, plays are meant to be seen.  Attending a matinee performance at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey on October 1, 2008, students had their initial enthusiasm piqued by the myriad possibilities for interpretation that Tennessee Williams’s words engender.  Would the actors and actresses look like the characters students had envisioned?  Would they play their roles with the appropriate intensity?
In general students were pleased with the performance. What is more, they now were equipped with additional material for classroom debate.  One goal of the LHS English Department is to organize field trips of this kind to enhance the study of drama.  On November 11, 2008, freshman English students likewise will make the trek down to Drew University and The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey for a matinee production of Romeo and Juliet.  Tickets will soon be on sale in freshman classrooms.

Dr. Massey Publishes Text
on Learning Arabic

LHS’s Latin teacher, Dr. Keith Massey, has just had his first book released. Intermediate Arabic for Dummies is a workbook and grammar of the Arabic language published by Wiley Publishers. Dr.Massey had worked as an Arabic language translator for the government before coming to Leonia. He is now in the early stages of preparing a similar book for Latin.
  
Congratulations!

Leonia High School
Receives Statewide Recognition

New Jersey Monthly includes LHS among Top 75 High Schools in New Jersey
     
Leonia High School earns highest state ranking ever in New Jersey Monthly, placing #51, beating its previous highest ranking, #66, in 2006. Prior to 2006, Leonia’s highest ranking was #75.
Among Leonia’s district socio-economic factor classification, FG-GH, Leonia High School is ranked #6 in the state. Only Jonathan Dayton HS (#32), Highland Park HS (#33),  Midland Park HS (#44),  Whippany Park HS (#45) and Wayne Valley HS (#46) earned higher rankings than LHS.
For more details go to Newjerseymonthly.com

Congratulations to the entire Leonia High School community!

LEONIA HIGH SCHOOL
RANKED #409 IN NEWSWEEK/WASHINGTON POST 2008 CHALLENGE INDEX OF
AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOLS

In the corrected version of its 2008 Challenge Index, this Newsweek/Washington Post  poll ranked Leonia High School #409 of 27,000 high schools nationwide. Among the 46 New Jersey high schools included, Leonia placed sixth.
The explanation of the Challenge Index below is taken from the Washington Post website. For more information and discussion, go to: 

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/challengeindex
/2008/?sid=ST2008051900652

The Newsweek and Washington Post Challenge Index measures a public high school’s effort to challenge its students. The formula is simple: Divide the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or Cambridge tests a school gave by the number of seniors who graduated in May or June. Tests taken by all students, not just seniors, are counted. Magnet or charter schools with SAT combined verbal and math averages higher than 1300, or ACT average scores above 29, are not included, since they do not have enough average students who need a challenge.
  
The rating is not a measurement of the overall quality of the school, but illuminates one factor that many educators consider important.
  
The list ... includes all public schools with a rating of 1.000. There are nearly 1,400 -- the top 5 percent of all 27,000 U.S. high schools in encouraging students to take AP, IB, or Cambridge tests. Also listed are the name of the city or school district and the percentage of a school’s students whose family incomes are low enough to qualify for federally subsidized lunches and who also apply for that program [abbreviated in the list under the heading Subs. Lunch]. The portion of subsidized-lunch applicants is a rough indicator of a school’s poverty level. High-poverty schools are at a disadvantage in persuading students to take college-level courses, but some on this list have succeeded in doing so anyway.
   
The Equity and Excellence [abbreviated in the list under the heading E&E] rate is the percentage of all seniors who have had at least one score on an AP, IB, or Cambridge test that would qualify them for college credit. The average AP Equity and Excellence rate for all U.S. schools is about 15 percent.