The International Insider » intern

Preparing for the Future

Priscilla Torres — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:24:06 +0000

Recently, Junior Clarisse Concepcion was one of a lucky few students accepted for a prestigious internship at The Jewish Heritage Museum. Out of the sixty two students that applied, Clarisse was one of the fifteen applicants that were chosen.

This internship was given to high school students based on their academic grades. The Jewish Heritage museum honors Jewish history, especially the Holocaust.

The museum is located in Manhattan, New York.

“The training for the internship is held every other Wednesday. The real work begins on June 29th. It’s a paid internship for participation with no tax deducted, all paid in check. I’m not certain a job will be open after the internship, however, there is a possibility. For a fact I heard from previous interns is that a few percent of the intern students do have a part-time job at the museum during college and most become part of the staff after graduation,” said Clarisse.

Clarisse and the other students chosen for this internship will learn about The Holocaust, Jewish Heritage, and what goes on behind the exhibits, which is the part of the museum visitors don’t get to see.

Over the summer, Clarisse will even learn how to create an exhibit and how to lead a tour of young groups.

“We chose Clarisse for a variety of reasons being her commitment to learning about other cultures, when we saw her in a group we saw that she really fit in well with a diverse group of her peers and we really valued that Clarisse is creative,” said Museum educator Bonnie Unger.

Eurotrip: Swiss Style

Adam Levine and Carolina Jiminez and Sean Fisher — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 04:04:49 +0000

With part one of the exchange finished, 17 eager students, along with English teacher Ms. Heather Prevosti, Spanish teacher Ms. Violetta Suroweic, and Math teacher, Ms. Ho-Ling Lo, embarked on their journey to Winterthur, Switzerland.

Similar to the school’s past two exchanges, students on this exchange lived with a host Swiss student and his/her family while touring the country, shadowing them while in school, and getting to know their host families.

“I wanted to see life from another perspective,” said junior Vanessa Kreytak.

The flight took off at 6:50 PM from Newark International Airport. After seven tiring hours on the plane, students couldn’t wait to land in Switzerland. The Americans arrived at 6:00 in the morning, where they were greeted by three Swiss students and one teacher from our host school, Kantonsshule Im Lee.

Students and teachers were taken to school where they were greeted by the Swiss principal and offered lunch.

“Their school food is so much better than our food; they actually have chefs working,” said junior Glenn Kugelman.

After the “official” welcome, the school day was over and the American students were free to go home and spend the weekend with their host students.

Some students had the pleasure to travel during the weekend, going as far as Bern, the capital of Switzerland and Rome, Italy.

On Monday, students arrived at school bright and early to start sightseeing. At first, the students went on a walking tour of the town where the Swiss hosts lived, followed by free time to shop and eat.

During the afternoon, the students were given the opportunity to tour the historic Kyburg Castle.

Tuesday was the day the students were able to see the Rhein falls. Students walked along the sight seeing paths taking many pictures with the falls as the background.

“One of my favorite students was traveling with the students, we had a lot of fun touring the cities and meeting the other [Swiss] students in their school and how they interact. I feel our students truly experienced the culture,” said Ms. Suroweic.

The Americans were set to attend school all day Wednesday. The Swiss hosts were all in the same classes, so the Americans weren’t separated. Our students attended classes such as Biology, Literature, and Calculus. This was also the day where the Principal of Kantonsshule Im Lee gave the students a fond farewell as well as a small gift. Each student received a Swiss army knife that was in the form of a credit card.

On Thursday, the American students, accompanied by their Swiss friends, traveled to Zurich where they went sightseeing around the town and finished up their last minute souvenir shopping.

That Friday marked the day of departure back to the United States. Our travelers had a connecting flight in Frankfurt, Germany before reaching there much wanted homes here in the United States. With each student’s family waiting and the crowd giving our students a round of applause as they exited the customs area. Each student couldn’t help but agree that this trip was anything but unforgettable.

Brightening Futures

Angela Salmos — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:19:29 +0000

Was it your teacher who asked you, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” Was it your Aunt? Was it your mom or dad? Is it possible that you still don’t know what you want to do? What if a friendly dragon came by and asked you now? On March 16th our school held a Career Day conference for the first time. Many successful people came out to talk about the importance of hard work, success, and dedication.

Professionally dressed students came – wide-eyed – into their transformed classrooms and school offices to hear from an impressive variety of adults, working in an equally varied number of fields.

“Career Day really opened my mind to what I want to be when I get older,” said junior Samantha DiMarco, who wasn’t alone in heralding the event’s successes. “I didn’t expect to see enthusiasm from our junior and senior students. From hats to heels and dresses to jackets, they really went all out and it made us all very proud,” said Parent Coordinator Annette Lentini.

Students were able to sample life and professional lessons from a dizzying array of presenters from entertainment executives to world renown chefs. Some student favorites included freelance multi-lingual translator, Jisu Kim, CFO Matt Signore from Warner Music Group, and Financial Planner John Ross.

Everyone wants to be successful when they get older, and good grades are a big part of achieving that goal. Many jobs today need more than a college diploma. Many seek out students who are doing significant post graduate work.

“At this age students usually don’t care or don’t know what they want to be at the moment, but when you get older you have to keep in mind to love your job,” said John Ross an Agency Sales Director, Financial Planner.

Overall, the day was a real outside-the-box learning experience for everyone, and a real boon for our school.

Save The Environment, But Be Late For Work

Greg Kolesnikov — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:23:41 +0000

Today life seems impossible without a car. It is impressive how fast cars become an integral part of one’s daily routine.

“So far, for over a hundred years of active car use, all the waste that cars produce has left irreversible damage to our ecosystem. Also the pollution, from vehicles with systems of internal combustion, is one of the causes of global warming. Until engineers find greener alternatives to gas cars, our ecosystem will be slowly dying,” said Tony Kreindler, media director for climate in Environmental Defense Fund.

Such an alternative was already found, fully electric cars, but currently there are only a few brands on the market, and almost all of them are not available to average citizens because of the price. Some, such as the Tesla Roadster, are expensive as world famous sport cars.

But, closer to the end of next year more affordable electric cars like the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt will be released.

“Nissan Leaf is expected to cost between $20,000 to $25,000,” said David Kay, one of the Nissan Leaf testers.

The main difference between electric and gas cars, is that electric cars have 0% emission, meaning that there is no production of pollutants. Because there is no emission, there is less damage to the environment.

“Electric cars seek to reduce the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere by relying on electricity instead of burning gasoline. Electric motors create magnetic fields that spin a rotor which in turn rotates the axle of the car, causing motion. All of this is done without any emission of CO2. Fewer CO2 emissions means fewer greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” said Kreindler.

One of the drawbacks of electric cars is that electric motors, that are used in electric cars, are not able to bring the same power as those in gas engines.

Although electric cars are slow, they can reach the speed within speed limits of 40 miles per hour.

“World’s Quickest & Fastest Street Legal Electric Door Slammer can go up to 114 miles per hour,” said John Wayland, owner of the fastest electric car.

Another problem that owners of electric cars can face is lack of places to charge the cars.

“When electric cars will occupy the main part of the car market, a charging station will be available on every corner,” said Kay. “It takes eight hours to fully charge the car, and the car can drive only a hundred miles on full battery.”

Electric cars, the greenest motor vehicles, are supposed to save our ecosystem. There is still a lot of work to do to switch from gas cars to electric. So the future is close, but still not here.

A Whole New Community

Steven Birch and Tirath Singh — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:22:27 +0000

January was a busy month for our school’s music department. The music department under the direction of music teacher Melissa Packowski and the ambition of the students were tested when the school held its second annual Winter Concert on January 14 and followed it quickly with a community Drum Circle on January 15. Based on the responses from participants, both events were clear successes.

Guitars, drums, and a few more international instruments combined to open the second Holiday Concert with a bang. With proceeds going to Haiti, students and faculty filled the auditorium with joy. The performers breezed though the concert with seeming ease while the audience bobbed their heads in tune to the beautifully arranged music.

The highlight of the night was the Winter Wonder Rap. Screaming students were ecstatic when freshman Leo Krkuti rapped in tune with the instrumental music played by the remainder of music students.

“In guitar, we practiced real hard on the Winter Rap and I was happy with how it went,” said freshman Calissa Mc Cue.

Closing the second annual Winter Concert was an inspirational story, Christmas Eve Sarajevo. Narrator freshman Victoria Manzo led the audience through the story with a passionate voice as music accompanied her.

The audience left not only with an earful of good music and a great performance but also with the pride of knowing that they had a chance to help out Haitians who were devastated by the earthquake by dropping money into the upside-down drum just outside the auditorium doors. Overall, $250 was collected for Haiti.

“I felt great donating because knowing a dollar or two can help someone in need was the best part of attending the Concert. I think the performers were great and have wonderful talents,” said sophomore Gilana Levin.

Preparations for both events began in the beginning of the first semester. For the freshmen students in the music classes, a five month deadline for an anticipated perfect concert was difficult despite the amazing result.

” It turned out being an awesome concert even though we had such little time to prepare. It was very good, and the crowd loved it,” said freshman Samantha Escobedo.

Of course, Mrs. Packowski had her hands full juggling two events.Only one day after the Winter Concert, H Block music students participated in a community Drum Circle with special needs students from PS 37R.

A Drum Circle is just a simple gathering of two communities who intend to share music and play together. Our school hoped to share its unique international music and instruments with students from another school community.

The Drum Circle began with students from the visiting school listening to an introduction about drums by doing a drum roll. Junior Caileen Gonzalez broke the silence by playing a classic game of Simon Says with the kids. Who doesn’t love Simon? Afterwards, the kids had a chance to play a beat on the conga, a Cuban drum, according to the number of syllables in their name.

“I loved the Drum Circle,” said visiting student Christopher V.

The drum circle wasn’t only for students but for the participating adults as well. The teachers from PS 37R appeared to have a blast playing the drums with everyone.

“I think it was a wonderful introduction. My students loved it. I can’t wait to do it again,” said teacher Darlene Bowman Archer.

Along with the teachers and students, the H block students also enjoyed working with everyone and teaching them how to play drums.

“It was a great experience. I enjoyed it very much because I love little kids,” said senior Brittany Llorca.

The entire Drum Circle was a success, though of course it had to conclude with a even greater bang. H Block students began to play a familiar song, The Lion Sleep Tonight, on their instruments as the visitors clapped in tune. Aisha Musa sang while everyone else clapped and played their instruments.

“I liked the song at the end, The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” said visiting students Joshua M.

Later, the H Block students shared cupcakes with their guests as they said their good-byes.

The community drum circle that took place on January 15, 2010 was a complete success and went as planned. Now, Mrs. Packowski is awaiting the next one to yet arrive.

“I think it went very well. It was a first time experience for the facilitators to work with students close to their age outside of this school. I think it’s wonderful that we can reach out to our community and bring them this rare and rewarding experience,” said Mrs. Packowski. “The Staten Island community at large will have an opportunity to participate in a community drum circle offered in late February.”

As the music department grows and established itself within our small yet mighty community, we can expect many more opportunities and events at school. For now, we give you all a big thumbs- up!

International Ice

The Insider — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:18:07 +0000

TORONTO, CANADA- Traveling to the Antarctic with Students on Ice taught me things that I may never have learned without this unique experience. Of course, we all gained significant knowledge about the South Pole – facts and figures and such. However, it is what I learned through the experience of being surrounded by such extraordinary people in such an extraordinary environment that has truly impacted my life.

Forming the strong relationships I did with the students on the trip lead to my realization of a few different things. For one, I learned that everybody has something to offer, whatever that is, and because that thing is unique to that one person, it is valuable. Furthermore, to label or judge people because of the way they look, talk, or where they’re from does nothing but limit a relationship. What I am referring to rather is tolerance, in that in order to form a strong relationship with someone, one must be able to embrace their perhaps less desirable qualities as much as they embrace their desirable qualities.

For me, one of the emerging topics of this trip was passion. The thing that struck me most all of the educators and chaperones that were on the trip was that they have all followed their passions. Before this trip, I had always thought that I would go to business school, get a degree, get a job that I can live with, and practice my passions on the side. However, meeting these truly inspiring adults has led me to question my own ideals and priorities that most definitely translate into life choices that I will soon be making. Talking to other students that were on the trip, I do believe that this coming of age was shared by many.

Being in an environment as untouched as Antarctica guided me to a realization of the fragility of the planet. Needless to say, it is difficult to imagine what somebody’s actions in New York, Toronto, or Shanghai have to do with the Antarctic. However, I have learned that much of what humans do around the world effects the environment, whether that environment is Central Park or Deception Island in Antarctica. Furthermore, small changes in the environment may not affect human beings; however, they may have a tremendous impact of the environment.

For example, it was a common sight throughout the trip to see penguins laying belly-down in the snow. The penguin equivalent to a mist fan on a warm summer’s day, lying in the snow is one way penguins cool down in the heat of the summer. This sight led me to wonder what were to happen if the earth continued to warm even gradually over decades. Therefore, the way humans choose to live their lives can have a direct impact on not only their surrounding environment, but the global environment.

Indeed – a delicate planet we inhabit.

Valentine’s Day Gone Global

Adetola Adeosun and Angela Salmos — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:14:13 +0000

In countries all over the world, Valentines Day is celebrated in many ways. Valentine’s Day is known as a day for love and friendship. We have adapted to the American way of celebrating this holiday, which is the typical purchasing of roses or chocolate for loved ones, spouses, or friends. Valentine’s Day is known to bring the out the good side in people, but is it the same internationally? Valentines Day, in Japan, is celebrated by having Japanese females, give Japanese males milk or dark chocolate. “They give chocolate to people they do like and don’t like,” said Japanese teacher Mrs. Higashide. In Japan Valentine’s day shows love to everyone. However, on March 14 also known as White Day, Japanese males give white chocolate to Japanese females, but have the luxury of actually choosing their own gift. Valentine’s Day in Japan honors both males and females.

According tohttp://www.novareinna.com, the custom on Valentines Day in Denmark isto be humorous and have fun. Danish men give females a valentine letter known as gaekkebrev (or “joking letter”) The sender of this gaekkebrev writes a poem but does not sign his/her name. Instead, he signs the message with dots, one dot for each letter in his name. If the lady who receives the card guesses the name of the sender, then she is rewarded with an Easter egg later on that year.

According to www.everythingvalentinesday.com, Scotland celebrates a Valentine’s Day festival. At the festival, an equal number of men and women’s write their made up names on paper and fold it half, and put them into two separate hats.The men choose from the women hat, and the women choose from the men’s hat. If the names that were drawn don’t match, then the male is matched with the woman who chose his name. The ladies pin the name of their partner over their heart or on their sleeves. Later, there’s a dance where everyone meets up and they celebrate with their partners.

In France , a custom known as “drawing for” once occurred because later on becomes banned. According to, http://www.novareinna.com unmarried individuals would go into houses facing each other and begin calling out across from one window to another, matching up with the chosen partner. If the young man failed to be interested with his valentine, he would leave her. Later, a bonfire will be lit where the ladies could burn images of the ungrateful partner and say bad things while the picture burns. This ritual was eventually banned by the French government because people would abuse one another. Today, the French exchange greeting cards known as cartes d’amities, which contain heartfelt messages.

In China, Valentine’s Day is celebrated somewhat like it is in the U.S. “Gentlemen purchase flowers for the ladies,” said Geometry teacher Ms. Anney Li. In Chinese high schools, flowers are sold and they are distributed to the classrooms, like we do at our school. Restaurants are definitely places that older couples go to, to eat on Valentine’s Day. Many different countries celebrate Valentine’s Day. Whether it’s going out to eat, celebrating a festival, or watching pictures of ungrateful men burn in fire, like in France. “I personally like Valentine’s day because I think it’s nice to feel special on that day, to know you are loved by someone else,” said junior Marisch Perera. Valentine’s Day should be celebrated with the ones you love, and in a unique way.

Fashion Column: Springing Into Fashion

Marissa Mule — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:13:08 +0000

Ladies, spring is almost here, and it’s time to celebrate the timeless and seasonally appropriate values of youth, vigor, and renewal. Designers this season all have one thing in common, the development of bold signatures and new trends. In an extraordinarily timely manner, the fresh and feminine dresses this season create the perfect silhouette for the repetitive theme of frivolous fun.

Sonia Rykiel, the “Queen of Knits,” began designing in 1962 when she was pregnant and unable to find any soft sweaters. Rykiel, who recently made an appearance on NYCTV’s, Video Fashion Daily, explained how her knitted approach is both fresh and elegant. Her style is depicted throughout her numerous embellished studded and sequin belts, wrapped over tailored knitted cardigans and dresses.

According to The Fashion Book, published by Phaidon Book Company, Rykiel states how she loves knit because it is “very magical, and sophisticated enough for the evening.” A shimmering Sonia Rykiel dress was worn by Kate Bosworth at the Grand Palais in Paris, celebrating Rykiel’s new lingerie collection for H&M. February 20, 2010, will mark the release of a second collection featuring an iconic knitwear collection for women and girls as well as playful accessories. After all, frivolity is a major theme this season. According to Nathalie Rykiel, president and artistic director of Sonia Rykiel, “The world is tough and you just have to have fun. Play around with your clothes in a way that’s different.”

Bright stripes, colorful scarves, 70’s style frizzy hair, and neon heels are also crucial to this coming season. According to style.com, Rykiel also hit the current idea of the big soft fun fur as a huge bubble of color; in her case, baby pink, purple knitted fox or teal-blue Mongolian lamb. During Paris Fashion Week, Sonia Rykiel showed her own collection for next spring.

There, she displayed gorgeous ruffled dresses in vintage floral and polka dot prints. By the time three models vamped their way down the elevated runway in metallic silver-and-black striped sweaters and skirts, it was inevitable that this seasons clothing was boisterous yet couture. Rykiel’s smocked dresses had a 70’s vibe, while crystal-strewn knit dresses mirrored the embellishment on her popular Domino bag. The seasons slogan read garçon manqué, which means tomboy, which was inspired by Rykiel’s tree climbing youth.

“Sonia Rykiel’s dresses are unique, but some girls are able to pull off her designs better than others,”said junior Danielle Ianazzi.

However, Ennio Capasa, the “mix of couture and the street,” is very different from Rykiel. His elegance is depicted throughout his use of toned down colors and sheer fabrics. His moment in fashion is used to open minds, and create fashion diversity in the future. According to Capasa, “Open backs, royal blue and black, and the mixture of dresses and high boots” is very important to him. Ennio Capasa is the creator of Costume National, the Italian fashion house he founded in 1986. He is now an internationally renowned designer label, famous for his subtle shapes, dark tones and sartorial detail.

“Capasa and Rykiel are both very different, but they both have a style in which I enjoy. I would wear Sonia Rykiel if I were going to a party or a club, but I would wear Capasa if I were going to a white tie affair, or an elegant event,” said senior Samantha Wong.

Both elegance and fun are essential to the fashion industry. So remember ladies, peace, love, Sonia Rykiel and Ennio Capasa.

Copenhagen Climate International Feature

Filip Lundin — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:06:59 +0000

SUNDSVAL, SWEEDEN- As the climate meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark was taking place, we in Sweden avidly paid attention to the issues discussed. Sweden is a neighbor to Denmark, and we actually speak the same language.

The summit was probably one of the biggest and most important meetings that ever have taken place, yet sadly there was no progress made. Hopefully important resolutions will be established soon in the future, as climate change affects us all.

Sweden is currently the leader of the European Union, and has been that during the past five months. One of the biggest challenges during those months has been agreeing upon the limit of carbon dioxide emissions until year 2020. Our Swedish leaders have done a good job making the decision to decrease our emissions by 20% until 2020 if no industrialized nations chose to make any effort.

However, the United States is probably is the most important key if we want to save the climate, being one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions. The United States hasn’t made any effort to lower the CO2 emissions.

The Copenhagen Summit is a replacement for the Kyoto protocol in 1997. Since the climate issue has to be dealt with right now, it is harder to make limitations.

The United States hasn’t chosen to ratify the protocol during the 12 years that it has been effective, and has been the biggest economy in the world during these years.

Since developing countries like China and India has seen that USA hasn’t been ratifying it, they don’t want to commit to it either. This is a big problem because the USA, at its peek, was responsible for approximately 40% of the total emissions in the world. Currently China is in the largest contributor.

The main argument from the U.S. is that the economy will be harmed. On the other hand, all countries in the EU, and especially Sweden, already have managed to drop our emissions and at them same time had a steady increase in our economy.

All over Europe, there is a big dissatisfaction about the way USA is treating this issue.

I care about the environment, and believe the Unites States can fight climate change if they tried. A developed country like Sweden has the means to fight it, and contribute less to the evident process of global warming.

After spending a month in USA I understand that it is the lifestyle that is the problem. For example, your cars compared to ours. Yours are much, much bigger both in terms of size and motor capacity. Do you really need to drive a big SUV to work? In Europe, cars are much smaller, and emit much less. SUV’s are only used to plow snow.

I hope the rest of the world will take part in postponing climate change, especially the United States, China, and India. It is time to wake up and take responsibility; otherwise it will be too late.

Copenhagen Climate Change Summit Ends with More to Do

Oscar Lee and Simit Christian — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:06:29 +0000

Even after all the effort, money, preparation, and people used to gather the world’s presidents, royalty and delegates from more than 120 countries, the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference didn’t yield a legally binding agreement.

This December featured a UN meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark intended to tackle the issue of climate change on a global and political level. Despite the proceedings in New York prior to Copenhagen, major unresolved disputes and disagreements between nations prevented smooth negotiations.

According to the UNFCC, the views of the U.S., China, and the European Union were the main obstacles that prevented the creation of a binding agreement.

“The reality of climate change is not in doubt I have to be honest, I think our ability to take collective action is in doubt right now, and it hangs in the balance,” said President Obama while addressing other world leaders, negotiators, and UN delegates.

According to members of the UNICEF’s Climate Change Team, Kerry Constabile and Sue Lee, it is tough for UN discussions to occur because a hundred countries are involved and the same arguments reappear.

Managing and financing any planned initiatives are common problems as well because they raise questions such as who will lead the fight and who will pay.

“It’s tough to set the same carbon emission standards for every country because of the difference in lifestyles among people in developed and undeveloped countries, and those same undeveloped countries need room to industrialize, so they need to be allowed to raise their carbon emissions,” said journalist, political adviser for Singapore’s ASEAN branch, environmental policy expert, and professor Simon Tay.

President Obama touched upon these difficulties while suggesting a solution that may work only through ‘Mitigation’, ‘Transparency’, and ‘Financing’.

Mitigation would involve setting standards for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, setting targets and deadlines for each country according to their contribution to climate change.

Transparency would allow nations to check each other’s progress, or the lack of it. This would ensure that each nation that signs an agreement follows its demands.

Finally, financing would primarily help developing nations transition to using greener and cleaner energy and technology.

China, Brazil, and the EU put several similar plans forward, and other nations contributed to the discussions too; however, a consensus seemed highly impossible with conflicting interests.

Regardless the controversies, the weeks of negotiating did have highlights.

“We underline that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. We emphasize our strong political will to urgently combat climate change in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities,” states Article I of the Copenhagen Accord, released on December 18.

Besides agreeing to the fact that climate change is happening the accord also addressed what needs to be done.

Article II states, “We agree that deep cuts in global emissions are required according to science, and as documented by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report with a view to reduce global emissions so as to hold the increase in global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius”

Even though the Accord sounds promising, it is simply an international declaration. An official agreement has been delayed, and will hopefully be created at future Climate Change meetings scheduled this year and the next.