PHS Team Wins 2021 Euro Challenge

Princeton High School (PHS) students triumphed over 49 other teams from 14 states and the District of Columbia to bring home the first place prize in the 2021 Euro Challenge, a contest in financial literacy and specific knowledge of policy-making from a European Union perspective.

The PHS team included Christopher Bao, Charles Kaswan, Alexander Margulis, Andre Penn, Debolina Sen, Christopher Shen, Cherie Sun, Arunima Suri, and Phillip Yan.

Organized by the European Union Delegation to the United States, this year’s virtual contest marked the 16th edition of the Euro Challenge, an annual competition providing an opportunity for students from across the country to learn about the global economy, policy-making in the Euro area, and economic relations between the United States and the European Union. 

The PHS team will receive a monetary award provided by Moody’s Foundation and a virtual trip to Washington, D.C., to present their recommendations to the embassy of the country they researched.

“The Euro Challenge puts students in the shoes of policymakers to consider innovative solutions to shared problems in order to build better societies — students become the decision-makers,” said European Union Ambassador to the United States Stavros Lambrinidis, speaking at the awards ceremony. “It also highlights the important economic relationship between the EU and U.S.”

West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North was among the five runner-up schools in the competition.

Pennington School Supports Malawi Refugee Camp

Students at The Pennington School have been providing needed resources to the schools at the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi, refurbishing iPads, presenting online math tutoring sessions, designing a hybrid sanitary napkin, and developing lessons on solar power for the high school at the African camp.

A community service group at Pennington has been collaborating with the Nine Scholars nonprofit organization, which was co-founded by a group of students from boarding schools across the United States and China with the goal of donating materials to refugee schools and increasing international understanding of the refugee crisis.

The first shipment to Malawi from the Pennington-Nine Scholars joint effort included 12 refurbished iPads, an iPad charging system, 200 face shields, 400 reusable face masks, and 1,000 disposable masks. In addition The Pennington School has donated 10 more refurbished iPads, an Owl 360-degree camera, a large-screen smart TV, 10 laptops, and numerous solar panel kits.

Pennington students have also designed hands-on learning experiences for the students at the refugee camp.

Charter School Language Scholars Win National Recognition

Princeton Charter School (PCS) students won honors recently in both the National French Contest and the National Spanish Contest.

In the French Contest three of the 11 winners at the platinum level in grades 1-6 were from PCS, including third-graders Kaianne Mark and Alina Xiong and fifth-grader Madeleine Tsai. Sonya Bachurina and Kristine Wang were among only five national platinum winners at the seventh grade level.

Many other PCS French students received recognition at the gold, silver, bronze, and honorable mention levels.

In the Spanish language competition, PCS sixth grader Hannah Yap won one of three gold medals distributed in New Jersey; Emilie Shen and Henry Tsai won two of the 22 gold medals awarded to New Jersey seventh graders; and Cece Gibb brought home one of the 13 gold medals won by New Jersey eighth graders.

Hun Students Explore Real-World Issues

Hun School students have recently departed from classrooms and textbooks for three-week mini-courses, immersing themselves in the outside world. 

Examining climate change and sustainability through architecture, agriculture, and economics; traveling to a national park to understand how nature is an essential part of the human experience; and exploring how a worldwide pandemic is predicted to change the medical field and the world economy are just a few of the challenges the Hun students have undertaken.

The Hun School mini-semester, known as NextTerm, included such inter-disciplinary courses as Into the Open Spaces, which took students to the Delaware Water Gap and Shenandoah National Park, and Making Good Trouble, in which students met with activists in different fields to learn about many ways students can engage in activism and service by working with local and international organizations.

“The opportunities students have through NextTerm are ones that don’t exist anywhere else,” said Otis Douce, director of Equity, Inclusion, and Global Diversity and teacher of Making Good Trouble. “The program provides experiences that are meaningful and foundational for who they are, who they become, and how they see the world.”

Zoe Brookes Will Be New Waldorf School Leader

Zoe Brookes has been appointed the new school administrator at The Waldorf School of Princeton and will be leading the implementation of the school’s long-term vision.

Brookes has led and advised a number of small to medium-sized nonprofit organizations and most recently was founder and executive director of the Trenton Circus Squad. She also served as COO of Isles Inc., a multi-service community development organization in Trenton. She has also worked with Outward Bound, Destination Imagination, Young Audiences, and Fernbrook Farm.

Pennington Aviation Club Wins Recognition

The Pennington School Aviation Club recently designed a plane using flight simulation software to win second prize in the General Aviation Manufacturers’ Association (GAMA) Design Challenge.

Competing against more than 60 teams from across the country, the Pennington squad of high schoolers started in January studying the science of aviation and airplane design. Then entered the competition in March. The planes were evaluated based on how fast they could fly and how much weight they could carry. 

“The Pennington team’s design incorporated an increased wingspan and area, increased engine power, and a streamlined fuselage,” according to the judges’ report.  The team’s prize will include a custom aviation course from Redbird Flight Simulations.

The Pennington aviation club team is led by science teacher Ryan Vogt, co-captained by Jonathan Eaton and Jack Wang, and also includes William Arthur, Nicholas Callan, Gavin Cui, Sebastian Drezek, Michael Krajci, Avani Prakash, Charles Sanders, and Elias Sebti.