NEWSLETTER

HSA General Meeting

THIS TUESDAY, APRIL 18

6:30 pm, Masterman School Library

Join the community to meet and greet, have a bite to eat, and discuss Masterman affairs.

The agenda includes:

• Presentation on the impact of proposed schedule changes for next year, with time for community responses and planning next steps
• Discussion of priorities for major projects in HSA spending
• Solicitation of ideas for the HSA to help welcome and support new families

Note: this meeting will be primarily in person. Those who are unable to attend may listen in here.

Schedule Change Impacts

In an effort to understand the administration’s planned changes to the schedule and course offerings next year, the HSA Board put together an analysis of impacts on the student experience. You can preview the presentation that will be shared for discussion at Tuesday’s meeting, after which we will solicit feedback and decide how to respond as a community. 

HSA Executive Board Elections:

Call for Nominations

The Nominating Committee has been formed and is now accepting nominations from the community for the next HSA Executive Board. The volunteers serving on this year’s Nominating Committee are Leon McCrea, Erica Vanstone, Stacy Koilor, Michael Wang, and Amanda Simon.

The open positions are: President, Vice President 1, Vice President 2, Treasurer, Recording Secretary, and Corresponding Secretary.

You can nominate yourself or someone else between now and April 25 using this form.

More details about the committee, the positions, and the process can be found here.

Run for the Masterman SAC!

In addition to HSA elections coming up, elections to serve on Masterman’s School Advisory Council (SAC) will also be held soon.

Our school needs another cohort of dedicated, thoughtful community members to join this important District-sponsored team, tasked with reviewing school policy and practice regarding substantial issues and providing informed recommendations to administration.

If you are interested in developing projects and initiatives that focus on supporting student curiosity, creativity, and academic achievement; improving school climate and culture; and strengthening the health and well-being of the community, please consider stepping up!

The deadline to apply to serve is April 19—more information here.

Thank Our Auction Sponsors

Over 100 businesses donated to the spring auction to support the Masterman HSA. Show your gratitude by supporting them in return!

Browse the list here.

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 19: SAC Meeting

April 24: PSSA Testing Begins

FUTURE HSA MEETINGS

April 18 | In person, Masterman library

May 9 | 7:30 pm | Zoom

Odyssey of the Mind

Congratulations to the joint Masterman/Central Odyssey of the Mind team for finishing first place in PA State Finals!

The Masterman winners are Lachlan Pepersack, Anya Rubin, Havana Covington and Jared Way-Gregory. They will compete at the OM World Finals in May.

Young Scientists

Congratulations to Worth Bergeland, Gavriela Kalish-Schur, and Sophie Kalish-Schur on their achievements at regional science fairs this spring!

George Washington Carver Science Fair at Temple University

Gavriela Kalish-Schur 

Medicine and Health, 1st Place

Sophie Kalish-Schur

Physics, 2nd Place; Special Award for Ingenuity

Worth Bergeland

Behavioral Science, 3rd Place

Delaware Valley Science Fairs 

Gavriela Kalish-Schur 

Medicine and Health, 3rd Place

Sophie Kalish-Schur

Physics, 2nd Place; Special Award, Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers

All-City Musicians

The All-City Middle school Orchestra, Band and Jazz Band performed at the Kimmel Center on Monday night, April 10th.

37 Masterman musicians were part of the groups and their positions included concertmaster, principal cello, flute, guitar and percussion. The band was conducted by our very own woodwind teacher, Jordan Graef.

Chess Team at Nationals!

Fifteen Masterman competitors kicked off Spring Break attending the 2023 National High School Chess Championship in Washington, DC, along with over 1700 students across multiple sections.

We had several students experiencing their first Nationals and, bittersweetly, several experiencing their last as part of the Masterman team. We had a strong showing!

K-12 U1600 Section

Second Place Team!

Josh Smullens (Grade 11); Samuel Weisz (Grade 10), Caleb Landau (Grade 7), Ali Hawkes (Grade 7), Olivia Ryerson (Grade 5), and Jonathan Djoenaidi (Grade 9)

10th Place Medal: Josh Smullens 

26th Place Medal: Samuel Weisz 

27th Place Medal: Caleb Landau 

K-12 U1200 Section

5th Place Team!

Edward Lin (Grade 8), Darren Milch (Grade 8), Kael Kaufer (Grade 8), Anastasia Catelli (Grade 7), Calvin Wang (Grade 8), Valen Li (Grade 9), Austin Ready (Grade 9), Vrishab Kaushik (Grade 8), and Marisa Maisano (Grade 10)

26th Place Medal: Edward Lin

SDP Annual Survey

This survey has been shortened and renamed the Philly School Experience Survey. It is totally anonymous and asks for feedback about your experience in school—about communication, family involvement, school climate, building condition, academic standards, school mission and vision, safety, DEI, and more.

This is a great chance for our community to send feedback directly to the District and we strongly encourage all families to participate!

The portal for parents is open now, and a separate survey portal for students and teachers is to open on May 1. Filling it out makes you eligible for a raffle for a $25 gift card and to receive a summary of the responses for our school when the survey is complete.

Reminder: NHS Tutoring Always Available!

Students in all grades can drop in as needed for help from Masterman HS student members of the National Honor Society during these hours:

Mondays, 7:30am – 8:15am in Room 214 (for everyone)

Tuesdays, 8th Period in Room 406 (for HS students)

Wednesdays, 8th Period in Room 305 (for 5th- and 6th-grade students)

Thursdays, 8th Period in Room 406 (for 7th- and 8th-grade students)

This is a free resource for everyone! If you have any questions please contact the HS Dean, Mr. Gilken, at jgilken@philasd.org.

Scholarship for a Masterman Senior

Darryl J. Powell, Jr. M.D. Memorial Award

This $500 award is in honor of the legacy of Dr. Darryl Powell (Masterman C’05, Penn C’09, Perelman School of Medicine C‘13) who worked tirelessly until his passing to create more equitable and inclusive spaces in medicine for Black/African-American physicians and for better parity of healthcare for underserved patient communities.

The award will be granted to a Masterman graduating senior based on the following criteria: 

· student must identify as Black or African-American

· student must be aspiring to study in a medical science and/or healthcare related field

· student must submit a brief essay (500 word max) describing their commitment to/involvement in promoting social justice/equity/inclusion in the sciences

Apply here by April 30. Please direct any questions or concerns to DJPmemorialaward@gmail.com.