High Technology High School Earns AP Computer Science A Female Diversity Award
Recognized for Closing the Gender Gap in AP Computer Science A
[Lincroft, NJ] – High Technology High School has earned the College Board AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science A. Schools honored with the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award have expanded young women’s access to AP computer science courses.
Out of the 20,000 institutions that offer AP courses, 818 achieved this important result during the 2018-2019 school year, nearly 20% more than the 685 schools recognized last year. In 2019, High Technology High School was one of 143 recognized in the category of AP Computer Science A. An additional 36 schools received the award for both CSA and CSP.
“We’re proud to see the creativity, commitment, and enthusiasm our female students have demonstrated in their study of AP Computer Science A,” said school administration. “As educators and administrators, we believe a STEM education plays a critical role in fostering a lifelong relationship with learning, setting our female students on a path to success in a 21st-century workforce.”
Schools receiving the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award have achieved either 50% or higher female representation in either or both of the AP computer science courses, or the percentage of female computer science examinees meets or exceeds that of the school’s female population.
“High Technology High School is empowering young women to see themselves as creators, innovators, and problem-solvers,” said Stefanie Sanford, College Board global policy chief. “We hope to see even more high schools inspire female students to harness the potential of an AP computer science education.”
AP Computer Science A students learn to design and implement computer programs that solve problems relevant to today’s society. The number of female AP CSA exam-takers has grown steadily, up nearly 60% in five years. Overall AP computer science course participation has increased by 184% since 2016, broadening STEM career opportunities for more students. The number of female, rural, and underrepresented minority students taking AP computer science exams has more than doubled in three years.
Providing female students with access to computer science courses is necessary to ensuring gender parity in high-paying technology jobs and to drive innovation, creativity, and competition. A 2014 Google study found that women are more likely to pursue computer science if they are given the opportunity to explore it in high school.
HTHS Chess Team Wins Shore High School Chess League Championship
The Chess Team competed in the Shore High School Chess League Championship Tournament at Monmouth Mall on Wednesday 2/27. The team consisted of Jason Yan, Aditya Baireddy, Abhinav Ramidi, Alexander Postovskiy, and Justin Guo.
In the first round, they defeated Manalapan high school. In the second round, High Tech was paired against perennial powerhouse Holmdel. A tough battle ensued but High Tech was able to emerge victorious with an impressive come from behind victories by Justin and Aditya. Aditya defeated his opponent to seal the win with only 1.8 seconds remaining on his clock.
So, for the 11th consecutive year, High Tech had made it into the Shore HS Chess League Championship Match!! High Tech was pitted against St Joseph high school who defeated CBA in a round 2 blitz match after both teams tied in the regular match.
An impressive battle ensued. As the match hit the 2-hour mark, the teams were tied 2 to 2. It was up to Aditya. He was ahead in material but under significant time pressure once again. But once again, Aditya would emerge victorious – with only 18 seconds of time remaining on his clock. Aditya’s win propelled the team to victory!! So, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SHORE HIGH SCHOOL CHESS LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!!!
Several players earned awards for their individual play as well:
Jason Yan earned second place at board 1.
Aditya Baireddy earned first place at board 2.
Abhinav Ramidi earned first place at board 3.
Justin Guo earned first place at board 5.
In the JV Tournament known as The Extras Tournament, Andy Zhang played some amazing chess en route to an undefeated performance. He had 4 wins and 1 draw in the 5 round tournament which propelled him to a 3-way tie for first place in the Extras Tournament. Varun Tupuri finished in 5th place with 4 wins. Arsh Singhal, Manan Saaraswat and Pranav Gaka all had 3 wins to finish in a tie for 7th place.
WAY TO GO High Tech!!!
cypHER 2020 Registration is Open!
The High Technology High School Robotics and Coding Club is hosting cypHER, a coding outreach event for middle school girls (grades 6-8). cypHER will be held on March 28th, from 9 AM - 4 PM, at HTHS.
At cypHER, students will be introduced to coding with app and web development lessons. Using the skills they learned, participants will form teams at the event and create their own projects to solve a problem. Thanks to sponsors, this event is completely free: snacks, meals, drinks, and prizes will be included.
This is a great opportunity to pass along to your students. Students will learn to code while having fun, developing teamwork skills, and practicing problem solving. Experienced mentors will teach the classes and help participants with their projects. Registration is open at hthscypher.com until March 14.
This is the second year running cypHER. Our first event was extremely successful with a turnout of about 50 girls.
Further questions can be emailed to hths.cypher@gmail.com
The Chess Team Wins The Knights of Columbus Tournament For The 6th Straight Year!!
Congratulations to the Varsity Chess Team. This past Saturday, they defeated the High Tech 2 team in the championship match of the annual Knights of Columbus Tournament by a score of 4-1 to become the champions of the 2020 Knights of Columbus Tournament!! The Varsity Team finished the day with a record of 4 and 0 and High Tech has now won the tournament for the 6th straight year!! Jason Yan was named the tournament MVP. In addition to Jason, the varsity team consisted of Aditya Baireddy, Abhinav Ramidi, Justin Guo and Alexander Postovskiy (Pictured below on the left).
The High Tech 2 team also had an excellent day. They were able to pull off a stunning draw against number 2 seed - St Joseph HS - in the second round. The draw against St Joseph HS and Kyle DiMaggio’s upset win in the final match propelled High Tech 2 to 3rd place in the tournament. High Tech 2 consisted of: Andy Zhang, Andrew Eng, Winston Li, Kyle DiMaggio and Hazem Zaky (Pictured below on the right). They finished the day with a record of 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss.
Representing High Tech 3 in the tournament were: Pranav Gaka, Andrew Somers, John Szumowski and Annika Sharp.
Congratulations to all the players!!
Chess Team Takes 1st Place At The Toms River Elks Tournament
Congratulations to the Varsity Chess Team. They won the annual Toms River Elks Chess Tournament held on Sunday (1/19). They entered the 4 round competition as the #1 seed and had to defeat both the 2nd seeded (St. Joseph HS) and the 3rd seeded (CBA) teams in the final 2 rounds en route to the title. The team was led by tournament MVP Jason Yan. The other players on the varsity team were: Aditya Baireddy, Abhinav Ramidi, Justin Guo and Alexander Postovskiy.
The High Tech JV team #2 consisting of Hazem Zaky, Ivan Wong, Ayush Pathy, Andrew Gerchak and Albert Dong finished with an impressive record of 3 and 1 to earn 4th place.
The High Tech JV team #1 consisting of Andy Zhang, Andrew Eng, Varun Tupuri, Arsh Singhal and Kyle Dimaggio finished with a record of 1 and 3 but they almost defeated both CBA and St Joseph HS.
Congratulations to all the players on a job well done!!!
Two High Tech Students Named Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholars!
Congratulations to Kelly Qiang and Sophie Zhang (pictured below) for being named been in the top 300 scholars in Regeneron Science Talent Search. The Regeneron Science Talent Search (@Society4Science #RegeneronSTS) is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and mathematics competition for high school seniors. A listing of the 300 scholars can be found here. Approximately 2,000 students entered the competition this year.
We are so proud of both girls for their accomplishments. Each one of them will receive $2000, and High Technology High School will also receive $2000 to use towards STEM-related activities.
Both girls have the potential to be named as one of 40 finalists, who each receive $25,000 and are invited to Washington, DC for the final competition in March. The top prize for the most promising emerging STEM leader in the United States is $250,000. The top 40 finalists will be announced on Wednesday, January 23rd.
Academic Team Finishes in 3rd Place at the Bard Bowl
On Saturday, Jan 4, the Academic Team competed in the Bard Bowl III, hosted by Bard High School Early College in downtown NYC.
The A-Team, composed of Selena Liu, Deepak Gopalakrishnan, Max Brodsky, and Frank Grabowski (pictured below) finished in third place with a 9 - 2 record.
Deepak was awarded a book prize for his top 10 individual performance.
The B Team, composed of Shashwat Tewari, Sidharth Srivastava, Abhilash Bodala, Varun Gupta, and Kevin Liu, finished with an excellent 5 - 5 record.
Academic Team Captures The South Jersey History Bee and Bowl Championship
On Saturday, Dec 13, the Academic Team sent 2 teams to Donovan Catholic to compete in the South Jersey History Bee and Bowl. The A-Team, composed of Frank Grabowski, Deepak Gopalakrishnan, Alexander Wu, and Max Brodsky were undefeated and won the Varsity History Bowl Championship. In the final match, High Tech defeated East Brunswick, last year's champion.
The B-Team, composed of Shashwat Tewari, Abhilash Bodala, Varun Gupta, and Spencer Lyudovyk, finished with a 3 and 2 record. In individual Bee competition, Alexander Wu won the Gold medal for finishing first in the Varsity History Bee competition and Max Brodsky won the Bronze medal for finishing third in the Junior Varsity History Bee competition.
From L to R: Alexander Wu, Max Brodsky, Frank Grabowski, and Deepak Gopalakrishnan
Alumni Day is Friday, November 29th
Wondering how your former classmates are doing? Want to catch up with some old friends? How are your former teachers doing? Come out for Alumni Day this Friday, November 29th, from 1-4pm.
Academic Team Takes 1st Place at LIFT Tournament
Over the weekend, the Academic Team traveled to Kellenberg Memorial High School for their annual Long Island Fall Quiz Bowl Tournament.
The High Tech A-Team, consisting of Frank Grabowski, Karen Li, Selena Liu, and Deepak Gopalakrishnan went 9-1 throughout the day. Their last afternoon match was against undefeated East Brunswick A-Team and effectively served as the Finals match. High Tech A-Team won the match, 415 to 310, securing the LIFT Championship. Last year, HIgh Tech placed second at the LIFT Tournament.
Originally, High Tech entered two teams into the LIFT tournament. A few days before the tournament, a team dropped out. High Tech volunteered to split its B-Team so there would be an optimal number of 24 teams competing.
As the teams gathered on Saturday, at the last minute, another team dropped out. So Max Brodsky volunteered to play solo as a team of one, to maintain the optimal competition schedule.
The High Tech B-Team consisted of Alexander Wu, Sidharth Srivastava, and Shashwat Tewari and went 5-6. They played against High Tech A-Team in the afternoon playoff rounds.
The High Tech Freshman C-Team consisted of Varun Gupta, Spencer Lyudovyk, and Abhilash Bodala and they went 4-6.
The High Tech D-Team (sophomore Max as a solo player) went 7-4, going undefeated in afternoon consolation rounds.
Book prizes for the top 10 individual scores in morning rounds were awarded to: Max Brodsky for 5th place, Deepak Gopalakrishnan for 9th place, and Alexander Wu for 10th place. The Team photos courtesy of Ms Grabowski. And special thanks to the parents providing transportation: Ms Grabowski and Mr Tewari.
High Tech A-Team: Selena Liu, Frank Grabowski, Karen Li, and Deepak Gopalakrishnan
High Tech Student Provides Free Coding Workshops For Girls
High Tech senior, Aparna Kumar, recently had her Gold Award project approved by the Girls Scouts. The Gold Award is the highest achieving award a girl scout can earn.
Aparna launched the Let’s Code Cyber Circle initiative, a program that sparks STEM awareness for middle and high school girls through free, hands-on workshops throughout NJ, on topics ranging from Python, cyber-security, wearables, Arduino, paper circuits, and more. She developed a website providing program details and developed curriculum suitable for novice users. She has conducted the workshops along with her team and has spent over 100 hours towards the project so far. Inspired by her work, she has been awarded a grant of $1900 to conduct future workshops. She plans to expand her initiative to reach more students in future years.
The Girl Scouts will be conducting a ceremony in May of 2020, when she will be presented with the Gold Award pin. You can read more about her program at her website: https://cybercircle.wixsite.com/letscode
Congratulations Aparna!
Academic Team Takes 1st Place at Rutger's Scarlet Knight Invitational
In the first academic quiz bowl tournament of the year, at Rutgers University’s Scarlet Knight Invitational Tournament, our A-Team, consisting of Frank Grabowski, Karen Li, Selena Liu and Deepak Gopalakrishnan won first place, beating East Brunswick in the Championship match and qualified for the national championship tournament in Atlanta over the Memorial Day weekend. Frank, Selena and Deepak were also part of the Championship team that won this tournament last year.
Our B-Team, consisting of Samuel Hampel, Max Brodsky, Shashwat Tewari, Sidharth Srivastava, and Alexander Wu finished in fourth place. The B-Team was undefeated in the preliminary matches, but lost to the A-Team in the playoffs.
In addition, Deepak Gopalakrishnan and Alexander Wu received individual book awards for the highest individual scores in the 10 preliminary rounds.
Below is a group picture of the Academic Team with five notable High Tech alumni assisting in the tournament. In fact, the High Tech alumni ran the first playoff match between our A-Team and B-Team, it was just like old times.
The alumni in the group picture are Jerry Huang [first person, top row, Rutgers], Adrian Thamburaj [third person, top row, Rutgers], Doug Simons [fifth person, bottom row, NYU], Steven Liu [sixth person, bottom row, MIT], and Darren Petrosino [seventh person, bottom row, Rutgers]
Twenty-Two Students Named 2020 National Merit Semifinalists
Twenty-two students from High Technology High School have been named semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for 2020. All semifinalists are eligible to compete for 7,600 National Merit Scholarship awards worth more than $31 million, to be awarded in spring 2020.
HTHS 2020 National Merit semifinalists are:
Kevin Chen Karen Li
Justin Diament Katherine Liu
Chukwuemekalum Echezona Arjun Menon
Katrina Florendo Ravi Raghavan
Gustav Hansen Abhijat Sarma
Aruj Jain Akhil Thalasila
Sana Jain Lawrence Wang
Emily Jiang Jason Yan
Addison Kalanther Brianna Yao
Amiya Kumar Adrienne Yu
Aparna Kumar Sophie Zhang
Approximately 16,000 high school seniors were named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists for 2020. More than 1.5 million juniors entered the 2020 National Merit program by taking the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which serves as the initial screen of program entrants.
The nationwide pool of semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.These determinations are made by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, not FCPS or individual schools.
Three types of Merit Scholarship awards will be offered in 2020: National Merit $2,500 scholarships, corporate-sponsored scholarships, and college-sponsored scholarships.
Merit Scholarship winners will be announced in spring 2020.
High Tech Students Excel at National TSA Competition
TSA National Conference 2019
HTHS by the Numbers
3 Trophies
8 Finalists
9 Semi-Finalists
25 Events
1 - First Place
0 – Second Place
2 – Third Place
41 Attendees
23 out of 41 are Finalists / Award Winners
Chapter Team
Semi-Finalist/Finalist
7th Place
Mary Chen, Max Lieberman, Emily Liu,
Katherine Liu, Khushi Sabuwala, Karena Yan
Cybersecurity
Semi-Finalist/Finalist
8th Place
Adithya Balachandran, Jack Hao,
Josh Rakovitsky, Manan Saaraswat
Debating Technological Issues
Semi-Finalist/Finalist
3rd Place
Denis Nazarchuk, Josh Rakovitsky
On Demand Video
Semi-Finalist/Finalist
3rd Place
Ryan Glasser, Malik Javaid, Addison Kalanther,
Apollo Lee, Nelson Lin, Jeffrey Min
Prepared Presentation
Semi-Finalist/Finalist
9th Place
Aparna Kumar
Scientific Visualization
Semi-Finalist/Finalist
9th Place
Jessica Abbott, Malik Javaid, Addison Kalanther,
Adrienne Yu, Helena Zhang, Annie Zhou
System Control Technology
Semi-Finalist / Finalist
1st Place
Thomas Chen, Emeka Echezona, Jason Yan
Transportation Modeling
Semi-Finalist / Finalist
9th Place
Kelly Qiang
TEAMS COMPETITION
2019 Overall National Ranking 9th/10th Grades
Rank #2 Digital Media
Rank #2 Engineering Computation
Rank #6 Best in Nation
Adithya Balachandran, Jack Hao, Jeffrey Min, Josh Rakovitsky,
Manan Saaraswat, Khushi Sabuwala, Varun Tupuri,
