Class of 2016 Graduation Photos
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Photos courtesy of Mr. Tao and Mr. Zeng.
Where is the Class of 2016 going to College?
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Sophomore Eileen Huang at TEDx Navesink
The video above is of a recent talk Eileen Huang gave at TEDxNavesink.
Sophomore Douglas Simons Wins National History Bee Championship!
Sophomore Douglas Simons, the 2016 National JV History Bee Champion, won a huge Championship Cup [below] and an all expense paid [7 days, hotel, air fare, meals, and registration fee] trip to Honolulu, Hawaii to compete in the International History Olympiad [July 17 to 24, 2016]. The JV Division was composed of 181 students in the tenth grade and below.
From Left to Right: Dr. Eng, Samuel Kao, Ray Zeng, Doug Simons, and Andrew Huang.
The JV Championship Bee match was quite exciting. The final match is composed of 35 questions, with 3 to 6 points awarded for the correct answer, more points for the quicker response, minus 2 points for interrupting with an incorrect answer and minus 1 point for an incorrect answer after the question is completely read.
In past competitions, Douglas usually starts 'slow.' But after the first 10 questions, we were a bit nervous, with Douglas having a score of -5 points, and the other two students tied with +10 points each. After 20 questions, Douglas finally moved into positive territory with a +10 score, Rohan had +15 and Muzaffer had +19. After 25 questions, Douglas took the lead, with 25 points, Rohan had 22 points and Muzaffer had 19 points. After 30 questions, Douglas had a commanding lead with 37 points, Rohan had 21 points and Muzaffer had 15 points. At the completion of the match, Douglas finished with 43 points, compared to 25 points for Rohan and 19 points for Muzaffer.
Also competing in the Varsity Bowl division was our B Team composed of: Gaurav Sharma [junior], Karl Roush [junior], Jarrett Liang [senior], and Sean Kearns [senior]. Competing in the JV Bee & Bowl divisions was our JV Team composed of 5 freshmen: Steven Liu, Nelson Lin, Darren Petrosino, Adrian Thamburaj, and Eric Zheng. Kathryn Jiang [senior] was an official tournament Reader.
And special thanks to the PFA Student Enrichment Committee for their financial support and the traveling parents for providing transportation and wonderful encouragement.
Chess Team Places At Nationals
Some members of the NJ State Champion Chess Team from HTHS recently competed in the National HS Chess Championship Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia. The players that played in the Championship Bracket managed to earn a tie for 9th even though they were missing two very strong players. The second team captured 8th place in the U1200 Bracket. Representing HTHS and pictured below are: Greg Wall, Andrew Mascillaro, Allen Zhang, Charles Jiang, Jared Braycewski, Christopher Wu, Philip Meltzer and Samantha Cheng.
High Tech chess team members with some of the hardware they captured recently at the National Chess Tournament in Atlanta.
For The 5th Time In Six Years High Tech Is Ranked The #1 STEM High School In The Country
Today US News & World Report put out their national high school rankings. High Technology High School was ranked the #1 STEM High School in the country. This is the 5th time in six years that High Tech has reached this distinction. The STEM ranking is based solely on how well the senior class does on AP mathematics and science exams. While we have to be careful not to read too much into the national rankings, it does provide some validation for all the hard work by the staff and students of High Tech. Additionally, the school districts in Monmouth County do a tremendous job at preparing their students to excel in high school. Finally, the parents of High Tech students are to be commended as well for all they do to assist their children in their academic and extracurricular pursuits.
US News & World Report also put out rankings for each state. High Tech was ranked #1 in New Jersey, followed by our sister schools, Biotechnology at #2, and Allied Health at #9. This underscores the fact that the Monmouth County Vocational School District is providing an excellent education for the students of Monmouth County.
Washington Post Article
FIOS 1 Video
High Tech Students Excel at Delaware Valley Science Fair
Twenty-seven HTHS students earned invitations to Delaware Valley Science Fair (DVSF) via first, second or third place awards won at Jersey Shore Science Fair (JSSF). Twenty-four were able to attend DVSF during our Spring Break. Of the twenty-four, twenty earned additional recognition at this regional level as detailed below. Congratulations to all the students who participated. We are proud of the hard work each one of you put forth in your research project.
Delaware Valley Science Fairs 2016 - Regional Winners Summary
High Technology High School Awardees
Seniors
William Lin - First Place in Botany
Kunal Singh - First Place in Computer
Special Awards
American Association for Cancer Research Award
Intel, Excellence in Computer Science Award
DVSF/Medals, Bronze Medal Senior Fair
Emma Clark - Third Place in Computer
Special Awards
Society of Women Engineers, Philadelphia Section, Society of Women Engineers Award - Hoffman Award
Juniors
Anjali Nambrath
Special Awards
Harrisburg University Scholarship
ASU Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives
Dow Chemical Company Award - High School Award
Swathi Pavuluri - First Place in Engineering
Special Awards
Leonardo DaVinci Society Award
Parenteral Drug Association, Delaware Valley Chapter, Parenteral Drug Association Award
United States Navy/United States Marine Corps, United States Navy / Marine Corps - Sr High
Society of Women Engineers, Philadelphia Section, Society of Women Engineers Award
DVSF/Medals, Silver Medal Junior Fair
NANO/BIO Interface Center Award
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, USP Scholarship - First Place Winners
Yale Science and Engineering Association, Inc, Yale Science and Engineering Association Award
Drexel University, Partial Scholarship
Nethra Parasuram
Second Place in Mathematics
Special Award
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, USP Scholarship - Second Place Winner
Sophomores
Melina Muthuswamy - Honorable Mention in Biochemistry
Jennifer Driscoll - Third Place in Botany
Special Award
Future Scientist/USDA Eastern Regional Res. Ctr., Future Scientist Award
Valerie Yip - Honorable Mention in Botany
Eric He
First Place in Earth & Space Sciences
Special Awards
NASA Earth System Science Award
Mu Alpha Theta, Most Challenging, Thorough, and Creative Investigation of a Problem Involving Modern Mathematics
Lori Zhang - First Place in Engineering
Special Awards
Society of Women Engineers, Philadelphia Section, Society of Women Engineers Award
NANO/BIO Interface Center Award
DVSF/Medals, Silver Medal Sophomore Fair
Alice Lai
Special Award
Society of Women Engineers, Philadelphia Section, Society of Women Engineers Award
Eric Lou - Third Place in Mathematics
Aparna Ragupathi - Third Place in Medicine & Health
Darren Schachter - First Place in Physics
Special Awards
NANO/BIO Interface Center Award
The Franklin Institute, The Franklin Institute Physics Award
Kunaal Chaudhari - Second Place in Physics
Special Awards
United States Air Force Award
NANO/BIO Interface Center Award
Freshman
Anjali Chakradhar - First Place in Biochemistry
Special Awards
Parenteral Drug Association, Delaware Valley Chapter, Parenteral Drug Association Award
Janssen Biotech Inc, Janssen Biotech Biotechnology Award
NANO/BIO Interface Center Award
DVSF/Medals, Silver Medal Freshman Fair
Ananth Koppol - Honorable Mention in Computer
Sathya Edamadaka - First Place in Engineering
Special Award
NANO/BIO Interface Center Award
Julienne Chaqour - First Place in Medicine & Health
Special Award
DVSF/Medals, Gold Medal Freshman Fair
Chess Team Wins State Championship!
Congratulations to the HTHS Varsity Chess Team for winning the NJ State HS Championship Tournament. Last year they were Co-State Champions, but this year they won the title outright.
The State Championship Team members are: Christopher Wu, Vladyslav Nazarchuk, Kevin Yan, Charles Jiang, and Philip Meltzer. The team had a record of 4 wins and 1 draw to earn an impressive 4 1/2 points against the top teams in NJ.
The 2016 HTHS JV Team (Allen Zhang, Greg Wall, Andrew Mascillaro, and Samantha Cheng) successfully defended the JV Bracket title that HTHS won last year by winning the JV Bracket again this year. They also had a record of 4 wins and 1 draw. Jared Braycewski earned second place in the Booster Division by winning 4 games. His only loss was to the Booster Division Champion.
Several Varsity and JV players earned individual awards as well. Christopher Wu is the State Champion at Board 1, and Charles Jiang is the State Champion at Board 4. In JV, Allen Zhang won 3rd Place at Board 1, Greg Wall won 2nd Place at Board 2, Andrew Mascillaro is the JV State Champion at Board 3 and Samantha Cheng won 2nd Place at Board 4.
Congratulations to all!!
McKayla Tyrrell - Monmouth County Guidance Directors Caring Award Recipient for High Technology High School
On Thursday, March 17th, senior McKayla Tyrrell, was recognized at the annual Monmouth County Guidance Directors Caring Award Ceremony. The Caring award is given annually to one senior from each public or private high school in Monmouth County who demonstrates exceptional caring or compassion to a cause, group, or program during their high school career. A student's guidance counselor recommends the student for the award. Each student is asked to submit a short video that highlights the reason they were chosen to receive the Caring Award. McKayla's video is below.
Ms. Bufis and McKayla Tyrrell at the Caring Awards Ceremony
Poetry Workshops in Middletown and Red Bank by National Poetry Ambassador Eileen Huang
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High Tech Students Come Together To Perform a Music Night at a Local Senior Citizen's Center
Junior Matt Hawkins came up with the idea of creating a Music Night for senior citizens after visiting Brandywine Senior Living Center with his mother. After seeing his mother's friend and the other residents, he noticed that it seemed a bit lonely at times for those at the senior living center. He decided he wanted to create something that they all the residents could enjoy. He remembered how musically talented the High Tech students were, and he surmised that the High Tech students would be able to share their love of music with the residents.
All in all, 15 High Tech students put on a show that lasted an hour and a half at the Brandywine Senior Living center in Colts Neck. Some residents even started singing to the songs they knew (like "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" from the play Oklahoma and "My Way" by Frank Sinatra).
An eclectic variety of acts were performed. Students played the violin, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, flute, saxophone, clarinet, and piano. In addition, some students sang. Melodee Li's chamber music group "Vivace" performed as well, serving as the "finale" to the night.
Overall, the residents loved the music and all of the performers did an amazing job!
Key Club Collects Over 1500 lbs. of Food for the Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties
On Tuesday, January 26, High Technology High School was recognized at the Students Change Hunger event for donations made to the Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties during the Key Club's Food Drive. High Tech is now a member of the 1500 club for the 1575 pounds of food donated during the recent food drive. Thank you to all the families that donated food.
High Tech Students Garner Numerous Awards in the Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Competition
Earlier today the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards were announced. This year HTHS has twenty finalists. Below is a list of this years winners.
Taylor Bak Writing Gold Key Poetry
Michaela Boneva Writing Silver Key Poetry
Michaela Boneva Writing Silver Key Flash Fiction
Michaela Boneva Writing Honorable Mention Poetry
Eileen Huang Writing (2) Gold Keys For Poetry
Eileen Huang Writing Silver Key Science Fiction/Fantasy
Samuel Kao Writing Gold Key Short Story
Samuel Kao Writing Silver Key Poetry
Alice Lai Writing Honorable Mention Poetry
Alice Lai Writing Silver Key Poetry
Alice Lai Writing Honorable Mention Poetry
Kevin Lu Writing Silver Key Poetry
Swathi Pavuluri Writing (2) Silver Keys For Poetry
Vivian Qiang Writing Honorable Mention Personal Essay/Memoir
Ivy Wang Writing Silver Key Poetry
Yihan Wu Writing Gold Key Critical Essay
Yihan Wu Writing Honorable Mention Short Story
Yihan Wu Art Gold Key for Self Portrait
Kevin Yan Writing Honorable Mention Short Story
Anita Zhang Art (2) Gold Keys for Painting
Anita Zhang Art Gold Key for Drawing and Illustration
All of the Gold Key winners will now compete for National Medals. This is an unprecedented number of winners for HTHS! High Tech might be the #1 STEM school in the country, but our students still excel in the arts and humanities. Congratulations to all the winners.
The High Tech National Honor Society and Students From OLMC Create a Mitten Fence in Asbury Park
As winter hits with full force this year, many people across Asbury Park are in need of winter wear to stay warm. And while some cannot afford to buy essentials from stores, they will still be able to weather through the cold by finding necessary clothes in an unusual place: on a fence.
In a collaboration between Our Lady of Mount Carmel School (OLMC) and the National Honor Society of High Technology High School, students from both schools are worked together to create a Mitten Fence. They reached out across their school communities to collect donations of gloves, hats, mittens, scarves, and other winter accessories.
Recently, the students will came together for a “Warming it Forward" event, where they attached all the donated accessories to a fence surrounding OLMC and celebrated with hot chocolate. These accessories will stay up throughout the winter and will be free for the needy in Asbury Park. Below are pictures from the event.
The High Tech Robotic Team Excels at VEX Competition
On Saturday, January 30th, at the South Brunswick Vex competition, the Robotics team from High Tech placed first in a number of categories. They won the Excellence Award for overall best performance, 1st place in Robot Skills (highest score in NJ, top 80 in the world), 1st place in programming skills (2nd in NJ), and were tournament finalists. This is one of the largest tournaments in New Jersey with over 50 teams participating. Click here to see all the awards.
The Vex Robotics Team members from left to right are: Ray Tsa, Anjali Nambrath, Emily Liu, Arvind Yalavarti, Alex Yao, and Matt Ramina.
For the Second Year in a Row the High Tech Team Wins "Best of State" & "Best in Region" in the Verizon Innovative APP Challenge
For the second year in a row the High Tech Verizon Innovative App Challenge Team, was chosen as "Best in State" and "Best in Region". TEAMQ5 is now eligible for the "Best in Nation" award. By winning "Best in State", the team earned a $5000 stipend for the school and each student won a mobile Verizon tablet.
The team is in the running for the App Challenge Fan Favorite award. To win, the team needs to get the most votes. You can help them win by texting TEAMQ52 to 22333 by January 31. Please forward this information to all your friends so you can HELP OUR TEAM WIN!
The members of TEAMQ5 are pictured below.
TEAMQ5 members from left to right are: Darren Schachter, David Winograd, Wendy Wu, Sraya Das, Eric Jiang, Valerie Yip, and Kaylee Wang
The Chess Team Wins The NJ Grade School Chess Championship For 9th & 11th Grades
Congratulations to Christopher Wu, Philip Meltzer, Larry Langman and Jared Braycewski for earning the title of 11th Grade State Champions as a result of their team win in the 11th-grade bracket of the NJ GRADE SCHOOL CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS held at Brookdale on Sunday, November 22nd. Christopher won all 5 of his games. Philip had 4 wins. Larry had 2 wins and 2 draws and Jared had 2 wins and 1 draw.
Additionally, HTHS had a group of three 9th graders that also performed extremely well to claim the title of 9th Grade State Champions. The 9th grade participants were Eric Chai, Nelson Lin and Andrew Mascillaro. Eric and Andrew both had a record of 3 wins and 2 draws while Nelson earned 2 wins.
Allen Zhang also participated as a 10th grade individual and he earned 3 wins on the day.
Several players earned individual awards also. In the 9th grade bracket, Andrew earned the 5th place trophy and Eric earned the 4th place trophy. In the 11th grade bracket, Jared won 10th place, Larry won 7th place, Philip won 3rd place and Chris Wu is the 11th grade State Champion!!
Congratulations to all the participants.
11th Grade State Champions: Philip Meltzer, Jared Braycewski, Christopher Wu, Larry Langman
9th Grade State Champions: Andrew Mascillaro, Eric Chai, Nelson Lin (missing)
HTHS Academic Team Wins Big At Princeton Event
Triple Win at Princeton University
On November 21, the Academic Team competed at the Central Jersey History Bee & Bowl at Princeton University, in a series of exciting Championship matches. The team ‘Bowl’ History Championship match paired up two undefeated teams with 7 & 0 records, High Tech vs. East Brunswick. The moderator stated these two same teams were in the finals in the last 4 years. It started as an even match: after the first quarter, the score was tied, 50 to 50; after the second quarter and a late score by High Tech, High Tech trailed 120 to 110. But in the third quarter, High Tech jumped ahead 210 to 180, and finished the final quarter in the lead by a score of 340 to 230, to capture the Varsity Bowl Championship Plaque.
In the individual Varsity ‘Bee’ competition, Samuel Kao and Andrew Huang tied for the most points in the qualifying rounds and both advanced to the Championship round where the top 3 compete to achieve 6 points first. Samuel Kao took first place and the ‘Gold Medal.’ Andrew initially tied for second place but lost on the sudden death tiebreaker to take the ‘Bronze Medal.’
In the individual Junior Varsity ‘Bee’ competition for freshman and sophomores, Eric Zheng, Nelson Lin and Douglas Simons advanced to the Semi-finals. However, only Douglas Simons advanced to the Championship round where he had to compete against the 2015 National JV Bee Champion [April 2015 in Washington DC], Alex Schmidt of Lehigh Valley Academy in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The first player to reached 6 points wins. Douglas trailed badly at the start, 1 to 4. However, Douglas then rapidly scored 3 consecutive points. Alex must have been a bit unnerved, since he got up from his chair and shook Douglas’ hand in defeat. But the audience shouted the scored was only tied 4 to 4 and Alex returned to his seat. Alex took the next point, now leading Douglas 5 to 4. However, Douglas scored the next point to tying it, 5 to 5. We all held our breath for the deciding question. Douglas scored the final point and won the ‘Gold Medal’! This match is most probably a preview of the 2016 National JV Bee Championship Finals in Washington, DC in April.
In the team JV ‘Bowl’ competition, the High Tech freshman team advanced to the semi-finals to faced Alex Schmidt, who played single-handedly against a team of 4 students. Unfortunately, the High Tech JV team played without Douglas who was placed on the Varsity Team. Alex was undefeated to eventually take the JV Bowl Championship plaque. Our High Tech JV team showed great promise.
Below is a photo of the High Tech Varsity Bowl Team [taken by Austin Huang] with the Championship plaque and their Gold and Bronze medals.
A Team
Andrew Huang
Ray Zeng
Samuel Kao
Douglas Simons
B Team
Nikhil Lakhil
Sean Kearns
Gaurav Sharma
Adrian Thamburaj
C Team:
Matthew Hawkins
Karl Roush
Yihan [Wendy] Wu
Kevin Lu
D Team (JV team):
Eric Zheng
Nelson Lin
Daniel Du
Michael Li
Niche.com Ranks High Tech as the #2 Best Public High School in America
Niche.com came out today with new rankings. High Tech was listed in a number of different rankings. Below is a list with a link to the individual rankings.
#2 Best Public High School in America
#3 Best High School for College Readiness
#4 High Schools With The Best Teachers in America
Congratulations to the staff, students, and parents who work hard everyday to be successful.
The Academic Team Places 1st At The Kellenberg Tournament
The Academic Team came in 2nd place at Princeton University, Sept 26; 3rd place at Columbia University, Oct 17; and 1st place at The Kellenberg Memorial Fall Tournament in Union, Long Island, Nov 14.
The A team won the Kellenberg tournament, going 11-0, beating Great Neck South A in the finals. Below is the team picture with the Trophy. The B team went 6-4 to get 7th (out of 36 teams). Anjali also got a book prize for being one of the top preliminary scorers.
Rosters:
A Team
Kathryn Jiang
Andrew Huang
Samuel Kao
Douglas Simons
B Team
Anjali Nambrath
David Shlivko
Karl Roush
Nelson Lin
Eric Zheng
Steven Liu
Academic "A" Team Members: Kathryn Jiang, Samuel Kao, Douglas Simons, and Andrew Huang