AMERICAN HERITAGE • AMERICAN ACADEMY

Patriots’UPDATENewsletter for Heritage/Academy Parents May/June 2014

Congratulations to Nathan Kirchmier who has been chosen as an overall award winner for the prestigious 2014 Brian Piccolo Award! This award is given to the top Athlete Scholar in the county. Nate was honored at a banquet on Wednesday, April 16.

Nate played football and basketball in 9th and 10th grades and football only in 11th and 12th grades. Some of his athletic achievements are: All-State Tackle, Honorable Mention, 11th grade for Associated Press; All-State Center, 1st Team, 12th grade for Associated Press; All-County Center, 1st team for Miami Herald and Sun-Sentinel.

Nate has a 5.12 GPA, and some of his other accomplishments include: National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, and Pre-Med Club. He has over 230 community service hours between American Youth Football League and Memorial Hospital. He will attend University of Pennsylvania in the fall.

Heritage Student/Athlete Earns Brian

Piccolo Award

WAHS swept the Student Television Network Awards, winning Best in State AND Best in the Nation for their morning show. They also took home a $5,000 check for the Best Innovative Use of a Website. In addition, they won six Emmy Awards!

WAHS Morning Show Named BEST in NATIONRoom #7122 looks like any other classroom on the AHS campus. Open the door, walk in and you’ll feel like you’ve been transported to the NBC Newsroom at press time. This is where our national award-winning WAHS Morning Show comes to you—LIVE! The 18-student crew are the first students to arrive on campus before 7 a.m. They move fast. They write the scripts, key in the teleprompter, prep the set, switch on the lights, roll camera and in 5…4…3…2…1, the Morning Show is live at 7:45 a.m. sharp, airing in all Upper School classrooms and streaming online. The ten to fifteen-minute daily show wraps up, and first period continues. After first period, the bell rings for second period and room #7122 clears out. It’s quiet.

“I have big personalities in this Broadcast Room,” said Ms. Maria Molina, Adviser of WAHS News and teacher of the Multimedia class. “They’re like celebrities on campus so they grow up very quickly. The students definitely have their creative differences but that’s part of the process which helps us create such a solid show and be the best in the nation,” Ms. Molina added.

Best in the nation, they are indeed! And they are very modest about it. Last month, WAHS was named Best Daily Taped Show at the Student Television Network national convention, and received eight other national awards. Not only did they receive eight awards from the Student Television Network, but they also received $5,000 from U.S. Education TV for

(WAHS...Continued next page)

Best Innovative Use of Web Platform. From the Florida Scholastic Press Association, they received an All-Florida rating for their news program, and their new sports show received a Silver rating. They also received a total of 92 different awards from FSPA during their spring digital contests. To top it all off, WAHS News received three High School Suncoast Emmys,and three Honorable Mentions.

“We definitely feel lucky to have this facility here,” said Eduardo Serpa, Executive Producer of WAHS News and a senior who will be heading off to USC next year to major in Broadcast Journalism. Eduardo loves sports, news and making movies, so there’s a little Spielberg in him, while he aspires to be the next Anderson Cooper. “I don’t think I’d be the same person without this experience,” Eduardo added.

Any underclassmen who enjoy the art of television must first take the iLife class taught by Ms. Denise Roldan, or the Journalism class with Ms. Diana Adams. Then, they take the Multimedia class. This is an intense class taught by Ms. Molina in which the students learn the basics of broadcasting and everything involved in running a TV station. Ms. Molina will then recommend students for the WAHS Broadcast Team.

“It is a huge time commitment,” Ms. Molina said. “The hour and a half the students spend in the Broadcast Room first thing in the morning is nothing compared to how much work they do outside the classroom to make everything come together in a solid Morning Show and Broadcast Network,” she added. “I try to find what the students are good at and then I help them realize how they can apply what they do best and reinforce it so they can be successful,” Ms. Molina said.

Benjamin Pollack is the Managing Producer of WAHS, and he credits his experience at the network as a big reason for his desire to major in business at the University of Pennsylvania next year. “I have really enjoyed reporting the news as it happens here at AHS,” Ben shared. “Our goal with our Morning Show is to

be positive in our story-telling —we don’t sensationalize - we just take an innovative and unconventional approach to things which definitely gets noticed when we go to state and national competitions,” Ben added.

“It’s a great family atmosphere here,” said Aaron Sortal, WAHS Crew Chief and a Junior. Aaron is a broadcast journalist in the making whose dream is to work on the Olympics. “I love the theme of peace and people coming together from all over the world,” Aaron said, “so it would be amazing to be part of the huge broadcast operation. I know I am getting a good foundation for that here, and I am so grateful for the opportunity available to me.”

Alex Garza, a Senior attending Full Sail University next year , admits he got involved when he took the iLife Class because he needed the credit and then he said he “got hooked and ran with it.” He’s the WAHS web designer and is looking forward to continuing along this path.

“My goal is to fill their portfolios and get them ready to go to any college they want to go to,” said Ms. Molina.

Eduardo said, “WAHS has been a big part of my life for the past four years; it’s going to be so hard for me to let go when I graduate. I’m looking forward to staying involved through the AHS Alumni Network and website,” Eduardo added.

As for the $5500 winnings…the Broadcast Room is equipped with a closet filled with microphones, lights and tripods, a few antiquated small video cameras, but most students bring in their own DSLR cameras to use on the show. They even bring their own camera dollies! The plan is to use the money in order to update the equipment.

Bravo WAHS on all of its well-deserved awards! Signing off.

(WAHS...Continued from page one) Drama Students Nominated for

Cappie Awards

Congratulations to the following students who have been nominated for a Cappie Award this year! The Cappies, “Critics and Awards Program,” is a program through which high school theatre and journalism students are trained as critics, attend shows at other schools, write reviews, and publish those reviews in local newspapers like The Washington Post, Cincinnati Enquirer, Dallas Morning News, Kansas City Star, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. At the end of the year, the student critics vote for awards that are presented at a formal Cappies Gala. Best of luck to these students!

Make-upCamila Estrada, American Heritage School, Nora’s Lost

Stage CrewFernanda Barboza, American Heritage School, Nora’s Lost

Ensemble in a PlayThe School Girls, American Heritage School, Nora’s Lost

Featured Actress in a PlayJonah Stabinski, American Heritage School, Nora’s Lost

Supporting Actress in a PlayTess Rowland, American Heritage School, Nora’s Lost

Supporting Actor in a PlaySergio de la Espriella, American Heritage School, Nora’s Lost

Lead Actress in a PlayEmily Schwartz, American Heritage School, Nora’s Lost

BEST PlayNora’s Lost, American Heritage School

Congratulations to...• American Heritage young scientists. Heritage was again one of the top high schools in Florida at the recent Florida State Science and Engineering Fair. Twelve students (ten high school, two middle school) were chosen to compete at the state fair after winning at the county level. Alexander Rabin and Jonathan Mirchandani each won fifth place. Harshat Gupta, Zara Joykutty,Mayuri Viswanathan and Nicholas Mirchandani all won fourth place. Third place winners were Antares Tobelem and Angelica Gousse, Second place was won by Kristina Thoren, Nanruoyi Zhou, and Suganth Kannan. The three second place winners will represent Broward County at the International Science and Engineering Fair in May.

• the newspaper, yearbook, and literary staffs for their outstanding performance in the 2014 FSPA Digital Contest. Together, the three staffs entered 88 pieces for judging. Only six entries did not place. 36 earned Honorable Mention, 28 earned Excellent and 18 won All-Florida! Exceptional job, Publications!

Heritage Thespians Dominate at State

Competition

Congratulations to Heritage’s outstanding thespians. They spent their Spring Break in Tampa at the Florida State Thespian Festival and returned with two Critic Choice awards, 30 Superiors and 20 Excellents.

Duet Musical Critic’s Choice - (Dante Norris & Jonathan Savage) Playwriting Critic’s Choice - (Jonah Stabinski)

One Act - Elegies for Angels, Punks, and Raging Queens - Superior(Mikayla Cohen, Daniela Colon, Lauren Davis, Lindsey Davis, Sergio De La Espriella, Chris Essex, Alyssa Fantel, Tyler Flanzer, Nikki Mariutto, Casey McDonell, Chloe Nadon-Enriquez, Dante Norris, Spencer Perdeck, Tess Rowland, Jonathan Savage, Emily Schwartz, Jonah Stabinski, Erin Young)Large Group Musical - Superior(Daniela Colon, Ryan DelGaudio, Morgan Lennon, Delaney Lovejoy, Jennifer Molson, Spencer Perdeck, Jake Rothstein, Dustin Stabinski, Jonah Stabinski)Duet Acting - Superior(Chris Ralph & Jake Rothstein)Duet Musical - Superior(Sergio De La Espriella & Chris Essex; Dante Norris & Jonathan Savage)(Payton Guthrie & Emily Schwartz)Playwriting - Superior (Chris Ralph & Jonah Stabinski)Student Directed Scene - Superior(Josh Segall & Jonah Stabinski)Makeup Design - Excellent(Tess Rowland)Publicity - Excellent (Nikki Mariutto)Scene Design - Excellent(Ryan Broder & Nick Schwartz)Student Directed Scene - Excellent(Sarah Lazarus & Morgan Lennon)

Bravo to Jim Usher, Chrissy Wright-Ballard, Nina VanDerhoof and the entire Thespian troupe!

• the following students who attended the PTO meeting to represent their club for the check presentation:1st Place - National Honor Society (Pockets and Sockets Foundation) - Lindsay Spring; 2nd Place - Free the Children - (Free the Children]) - Rachel Gilfarb; 3rd Place - National Jr Honor Society - [JDRF] - Suganth KannanSuganth Kannan presents his check in above photo.

• the following guitar ensembles for receiving Superior ratings at the MPA on April 4: Guitar VIII, Guitar VI, Guitar IV, Guitar II (first and fourth period) and Junior High Advanced. Solos Superior ratings:Dominique Arevalo, Cristian Cane, Michael Ulrich, Spencer Ryan, Juan Jaramillo, Etai Davidson, Nicholas Hogan, Joshua Ramer, Marcos Serur, Ryley Hartwig, James Floyd, Lana Piwoni, Alvar Larsen, Robert Lucas, Ana Marinho, Joshua Weltman and Tucker Leo.

• Julian Pinon, who won his first national age group title for France at the French Long Course National Championships in Chartres, France. The South Florida Aquatic Club swimmer and American Heritage High School sophomore won the 200-meter freestyle 15-16 age group national title in 1:54.08

Marine Conservation Outreach Program

Brooke Lynn Elzweig, a sophomore, and Hannah Krohn, a freshman share an unwavering passion for the sea. They have expressed this devotion by being active members of the Marine Biology Club, as well as by being avid scuba divers. They are so dedicated to promoting awareness about our oceans and some of the potential threats to the waters, that they created a Marine Conservation Outreach Program designed for Lower School students.

“We want to teach the younger students about the ocean and inspire them to understand that they have the capability to change our world, to help it survive and thrive,” said Brooke.

Their first Outreach Program targeted PK4 students in their classroom. The students ro-tated to different “stations” learning at one table about the harmful effects of pollution by understanding what an excessive amount of litter can do to an ecosystem. At another table, they discovered the distinct levels of the ocean floor. Aided by the PK4 teachers, along with the support of Mrs. Chmelir, Mrs. Sheinfeld, and Mrs. Ackerman, Brooke and Hannah were able to cultivate a connection with the students and empower them to be more inclined to learn and experience what the ocean has to offer, and what they can offer to the ocean. “We are very fortunate to have this opportunity, and we are anxious to further develop the future of this Marine Conservation Outreach Program in the community,” Brooke said.

Broward County West Point Bridge Competition

Students in the Principles of Engineering (POE) class competed in the Broward County West Point Bridge Competition and won all three top prizes.

Under the supervision of Dr. Nagaranjan Kannan, the students have been learning to use the Bridge software for the past four months. They were then all given a code and submitted their best design online to compete against other students in Broward County.

The top ten students in the county moved on to the next level and competed live where they were given two hours to design a new bridge. The student who used the least amount of money to build his bridge (the software program calculates the cost of material they use) was the winner.

Congratulations to our AHS students!First Place: John Christian RiffleSecond Place: Suganth KannanThird Place: Alejandro Lopez

The First Place winner will compete next in the State Competition. Good luck to John Christian Riffle!

Book Buddies ProjectThe English IV Honors classes participated in a Book Buddies project with students in Mrs. Lovegren’s Kindergarten through 6th grade at American Academy. Heritage seniors interviewed the students about their hobbies and interests and then created personalized digital storybooks from their findings. Some of the storybooks incorporated visual elements of British literature, such as castles, monsters, princesses and knights, and some seniors even created humorous movies, action-packed video games, and artistic hard-copy books.

Daphney Torres worked with five-year-old Elisa on a tale of a duckling that lost its mother in the woods. Daphney scanned Elisa’s crayon drawings into the computer and used them to illustrate the storybook. “Not only did I befriend a kindred spirit, but I also had the opportunity to encourage my little Book Buddy to keep her creativity flowing,” said Daphney. “It was a wonderful experience!” she added.

When all of the storybooks were finished, the seniors shared their projects with their buddies at a cookie and punch party in the Environmental Education Center.

Deanna Bradley enjoys her reading time with Lower School student and Book Buddie Dante Amata.

Heritage Debate Heads to the Florida Novice State

ChampionshipsApril has been another exciting month for the Heritage Debate Team, but this month, the team has dedicated almost all of its efforts to working with the novices of the team.

In the first two weeks of the month, novice Junior High debaters attended up to three tournaments that were specifically for novices. Junior High student Ben Geller competed in Public Forum debate with a High School partner, Harrison Garfinkle, debating about whether India should prioritize economic development or environmental protection first. JH debaters Nithya Kasarla and Trishala Kumar chose to compete in Congressional Debate. Nithya and Trishala debated about whether or not the US should provide free public preschooling across the nation, among other topics. Public fForum debaters debate the same topic for one month, researching that one topic in depth and becoming experts on that topic. The Congressional debaters debate four or more topics per tournament and research and learn about many different topics. The winners of the rounds are decided by judges who are teachers and varsity debaters.

In the middle of the month, AHS rookie debaters headed to Novice State Championships, in Apopka, Florida. Ryley Hartwig, Ramiro Steinmann, and Lorenzo Lamo, among others, competed in Congressional Debate, arguing for and against about 20 topics of political and economic legislation. Ryley Hartwig made it to Finals, ranking top ten in the state. Several Public Forum teams competed as well, including Aima Shahid and Harrison Garfinkle who won second place in the state, as they debated the India economy and environment topic. Keerthika Ravikumar competed in Dramatic Performance and Extemporaneous Speaking to showcase her acting abilities and her current events knowledge.

Veteran debaters Zachary Slotkin and Christal Hector accompanied the novices to help coach and prepare the students before and during the tournament, holding practice rounds with them, listening to speeches, and giving them feedback and strategy advice.

Next up for our debaters is Debate Nationals. There are three national tournaments where the best in the nation compete at the end of each school year.

Congratulations to the following debaters who made it to Nationals!

Competing atTOC Nationals:Jared SuttonIsa GabaldonHamza Rashid

Zach SlotkinMichael HunschofskyZach ChouNoah GoldsteinMax BrennerJonathan FernandezMax GazerogluSydney BrittonAlex BaikovitzCompeting atNCFL Nationals:Jared SuttonHamza Rashid

Sydney BrittonAlex BaikovitzFarrah SklarJustin YangBeatrice RodewaldMorgan MarquezJake BeckerBrandon Becker

Competing atNFL Nationals:Jared SuttonIsa Gabaldon

(Top) Shruti Chandra, Jaime Harn and Zachary Slotkin (Bottom left) Ryley Hartwig won several first place awards in Congressional Debate and Public Forum Debates (Bottom right) Aima Shahid and Harrison Garfinkle tie for Second Place at Florida Novice

Max GazerogluJonathan FernandezAima Shahid

“In the book of life, the answers aren’t always in the back,” said Charlie Brown, one of the most lovable cartoon kids of all time. The chronicle of our PTO journey this year has been quite the page-turner, with the months passing as if in the blink of an eye and the pages filling with meaningful events and unforgettable memories for our children.

Through our monthly Art Mania and Math Lab programs, students had the chance to apply their skills in art and math in fun and innovative ways. Thanks to all of the parent volunteers who devoted their time to giving the art history presentations in the classrooms, along with organizing art projects, and facilitating math games that not only supplemented what the children were learning in the classroom, but also truly enhanced their knowledge of the concepts.

Big events always require a great deal of planning. And when the much-awaited day arrives, it’s amazing to see how our committee chairs, with the help of all of our parent volunteers, dedicate their time and work together like a well-oiled machine to host our time-honored events like Thanksgiving Tastefest, Multicultural Day, Dinner with the Principal, Snow Day, author visits, Teacher Appreciation Week and Spirit Day. Not to mention, every season our incredible grade liaisons and room parents host festive classroom parties with the wonderful help of many parent volunteers, teachers and administration.

Fundraising to supplement the PTO operating budget is another big job. Thanks to the generous support of all of our families, we exceeded our targets this year, and we’re thrilled! In the fall, we held the Boosterthon Fun Run and Meal Drive, and not only did we raise $100,000, but we also donated over 2,400 meals to local families in need. Meeting our goals

also meant the students accomplished the Principals’ Challenge. Seeing our Principals camp out in a tent on the roof of the school is a picture we will all remember for a long time. Springtime and Spring Fling seem to go hand in hand, and coordinating with the Fine Arts Festival, our oversized class baskets and hundreds of raffles and auction prizes generated funds and special keepsakes at the same time. Throughout the year, our Box Tops collections and Family Fun Nights at Yoblendz and Chick-fil-A were smaller fundraisers that were fun and social both, in and out of school.

Giving back to our school, our community and our world was another big goal we set for this year. Our Heritage Helping Hands program inspired our children to reach outside of the classroom and “Think Locally, Act Globally.” The Meal Drive in the fall helped other children and families right in Broward County. The School Supply Drive we held in May last year, and will hold again this year, helped children in need in Haiti. We partnered with an orphanage in Haiti through a local organization that made several mission trips to Haiti throughout the year. So, not only did all of our donated school supplies get delivered to the children, but, also, hundreds of sweet Valentines and bags of candy from our children were given to our special “Friends in Haiti.” On Earth Day, which is celebrated every year around the world on April 22, our students participated in community beautification projects at the beach and at local parks, and learned about the importance of recycling to preserve our environment. Empowering our children to realize what is possible can help one child in need at a time, help protect our planet, and make a big difference in our world.

It was a pleasure to join with the Upper School PTO and bring a coffee cart to school so our teachers could enjoy a

nice cup of coffee during all Teacher Conference and Planning Days. Our PTO proudly supported the American Heart Association by donating to the Jump Rope for Heart campaign in February, as well as making a donation to the AHS Pre-Med Society’s Andrea’s Angels Foundation in support of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

In the fall, we gifted AHS with fan misters in the Environmental Education Center. In the spring, we added special misters for our beloved birds in the aviary, to keep them cool in our tropical weather. Stay tuned for our end-of-the-year gift and the status of the school we are helping to build in Kenya, through our Brick by Brick campaign.

It’s been a great year! Thank you all for helping us carry on our legacy and accomplish our PTO mission. We truly appreciate you and everything you do, as each of us is an important piece of the puzzle that fits together perfectly and enriches the lives of our children. Together with our teachers, administrators, parents and children, we make a fantastic PTO family, we accomplish great things. Together we truly make a big difference in our world!

Wishing you a wonderful rest of the school year and a relaxing summer vacation.

Melanie HoffmanPresident - Lower School PTO

LOWER SCHOOL PTO NEWS

Senior Breakfast 2014On April 10, wearing t-shirts representing the colleges they plan to attend, se-niors enjoyed a photobooth, breakfast, and time with their friends at the annual Senior Breakfast sponsored by the PTO.

Haleigh Richards and Ms. Adams at Senior Breakfast.

Ms. Ackerman and Kenneth Barragan

Monday

5Baked Ziti

Garlic BreadTossed Salad

Tuna Salad Sandwich

12

Spaghetti w/Red SauceGarlic BreadTossed Salad

Tuna Salad Sandwich

19Lasagna

Garlic BreadCaesar Salad

Tuna Salad Sandwich

26

Memorial Day NO CLASSES

Friday

9All White Meat Chicken

Patty on a RollBaked Chips

Turkey Sandwich

16

Chicken Mashed Potatoes

Corn

Turkey Sandwich

23 All White Meat Chicken

Strip Tater TotsBaby Carrots

Turkey Sandwich

30*Upper School Exams

BeginChicken Wings

Yellow RiceFresh Vegetables

Turkey Sandwich

Thursday

8Personal Pizza

SoupFresh Vegetables

Ham/Cheese Sandwich

15

Personal PizzaSoup

Fresh Vegetables w/Dressing

Ham/Cheese Sandwich

22

Fresh Baked Cheese PizzaSoup

Fresh Vegetables w/Dressing

Ham/Cheese Sandwich

29

Fresh Baked Cheese PizzaSoup

Fresh Vegetables w/Dressing

Ham/Cheese Sandwich

Wednesday

7 Macaroni & Cheese

Corn BreadPeas

Chicken Salad Sandwich

14

Taco BakeYellow Rice

Peas

Chicken Salad Sandwich

21Baked Cheese Sandwich

Baked ChipsFresh Vegetables

Chicken Salad Sandwich

28Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich on a Bun Tater Tots - Corn

Chicken Salad Sandwich

Tuesday

6Corn Dog

Baked ChipsFresh Vegetables

Egg Salad Sandwich

13

CheeseburgerBaked Chips

Fresh Vegetables

Egg Salad Sandwich

20White Meat Chicken Patty

on a BunButtered Noodles

Peas

Egg Salad Sandwich

27Oven Roasted Turkey

Mashed PotatoesCorn

Egg Salad Sandwich

Register Now!American Heritage Summer School 2014

Enrollment is now open!

Session I: June 6 - June 27 Session II: June 30 -July 18Session III: July 21 - August 8

For more information, please call 954-472-0022 ext. 3053or visit www.ahschool.comFree Express Bus Transportation from many cental locations.