Cherry Hill Sun

Tag: cherry hill high school east

  • ‘You want to get out’

    Kathy Chang/The Sun
    Jacob Adler (middle) and his two friends, Eli Birnbaum (right) and Josh Resnick – seniors at Cherry Hill High School East – began a home fire-safety initiative born out of a tragic accident. When Adler was a freshman, his home burned down. He was the only there at the time.

    For Jacob Adler, it was quick thinking that got him safely out of his home when it went up in flames four years ago.

    “I was in the shower,” Adler recalled. “I heard the fire alarms. My mom was outside at the time walking the dogs. When she was coming back, she was screaming outside. I heard her screaming.

    “All I did was run outside with a towel. I didn’t even have my phone.”

    The impact of that event led Adler and his two friends, Eli Birnbaum and Josh Resnick, to promote home fire safety. For the past year, they have presented safety tips at elementary schools in Cherry Hill, including Richard Stockton on Oct. 14.

    The trio are seniors at Cherry Hill High School East.

    “We just really want to spread awareness about fire safety and help younger generations to prevent tragedies like this,” Adler explained.

    During their 15- to 20-minute presentation, using stickers and candy, the three students emphasize how important it is for kids to know how to safely exit their own homes. The kids get to draw their home and sketch fire-escape routes.

    Members of the township fire department are on hand to provide additional tips, answer questions, and let the kids tour a fire truck.

    “In school, you don’t learn about home fires, you learn about school fires with the fire drills,” Resnick reasoned. “Nobody teaches you what to do if you are in a fire. It’s kind of assumed that you know what to do.”

    Through their research, the seniors have learned it’s important not to try to prevent or stop a fire.

    “You want to get out,” Birnbaum advised.

    “Like I did,” Adler added, noting the front door of his family home was completely engulfed, so he had to exit out from the side of his home.  

    As in school, it’s important for children and their families to practice fire drills at home, Birnbaum emphasized. As part of their initiative, the trio also partners with the American Red Cross to hold a clothing drive.

    “Last year, we raised about $3,000 worth of clothing,” Birnbaum reported, “and collected about 300 articles of clothing. All proceeds go to the American Red Cross.”

    As they go on to college next year, the friends hope to pass down their fire-safety initiative to other local students to continue what they’ve started.

    For more information, email firesafetyinitiative@gmail.com and visit the Instagram page @firesafetyinitiative.

    Kathy Chang/The Sun

  • ‘It mattered so much’

    Cherry Hill High School East graduated its class of 2025 on June 20 at Temple University’s Liacouras Center in Philadelphia in a ceremony that featured 19 valedictorians.

    Students lined up in bright red robes and moved in single file groups to take their seats in the rows of folding chairs after an 11:30 a.m. start. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by graduate Ethan Barroway and the national anthem was played and sung by the CHHSE Symphony Orchestra and choirs.

    Photos by Abigail Twiford
    Cherry Hill High School East graduates enter the Liacouras Center at Temple University in Philadelphia before the ceremony.

    Graduate Isabelle Berger then delivered the ceremony’s opening address.

    “I’m definitely still in denial that I’m going to have to do my own laundry in a few months,” said Isabele Berger of how quickly high school went by.

    She addressed how quickly high school went by and advised the graduating class to savor the moment and appreciate the good times they had in four years.

    “Finally, we were about to soak up the last few weeks and months and days of our high-school careers,” Berger said. “And now standing up here today, I’m definitely still in denial that I’m going to have to do my own laundry in a few months.”

    Student government association president Manar Hadi focused on how the graduates should not leave behind the hard work and determination that got them through high school, even as they move on to an uncertain future.

    “This may be the last time,” he noted, “however, it is not a departure from the grit that has brought you here. Continue forward.”

    Student government association president Manar Hadi gives his speech.

    Senior class president Jessica Lazaroiu then delivered a speech focused on what she would do differently if she could relive her high-school experience, a question she was asked by an administrator two weeks before the ceremony.

    “I wouldn’t change a thing,” she remarked. “Not because it was easy or perfect, but because it was ours.”

    Each of the school’s multiple valedictorians had the opportunity to write a speech celebrating their achievements in this chapter of their lives, with all of them printed in the ceremony’s program. Only one valedictorian chosen by lottery, Arden Leslie, actually read her speech.

    She began by joking about everyone wearing the same outfit: a bright red graduation gown with tassel. She then reflected on how far the class has come from their first days as freshmen at East to graduates about to head into the workforce, the military or college.

    The assistant principal for the class of 2025, George Zografos, then took the stage to recognize military service candidates, and class advisors Sharon Mills and Jodi Rinehart presented awards.

    Advisors for the Class of 2025, Jodi Rinehart (left) and Sharon Mills address the class they had advised over the past year.

    “If you ever need us, we will be here for you,” Zografos promised the graduates. “Being a Cougar means that you will fight for what is right, do the right thing when no one’s looking, and will always be my scholars. Best of luck in everything you do.” 

    Two songs were performed by the school’s combined choirs: “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield and “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” by Peter Christian Lutkin.

    Aaralyn Camp then gave the senior address. Her speech noted the countdown that had been in the background of all of the graduates’ lives since the start of their senior year, with her friends and peers often noting that it would be the last time they would do something together as a high-school class and the fear that came with it that she wasn’t doing enough to remember everything.

    “But that fear, that ache in our chests when we think about the end, is a testament,” she stated. “A testament to our love for the school and the community held within it … If I wasn’t sad about it ending, it would mean that none of it mattered. But it did. It mattered so much.”

    School Superintendent Dr. Kwame Morton gave his own address to the class of 2025 and certified them as having completed all necessary criteria to receive their diplomas. Board of education president Gina Winters then officially accepted the class.

    Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kwame Morton gives his address to the senior class before certifying them as graduates.
    Gina Winters, board of education president, accepts the class of 2025 as graduates.

    Diplomas were then handed to graduates as their names were called and they walked across the stage and down its steps to return to their seats.

    The closing address was given by Madeleine Pierlott, who asked her fellow graduates to take time and appreciate the last moments they would all spend together in the same building.

    “Let’s take one minute to cherish this moment,” she noted, “the last time we’ll all be together as the class of 2025.” said Pierlott.

  • Kim ‘spreads the word’ on issues raised at town hall

    Sen. Andy Kim held a town hall at Cherry Hill East on April 22 that drew a crowd of more than 300 people.

    The Democratic senator took to the front of the auditorium of his alma mater to address his constituents.

    “This idea (is) that we can gather together as people in this nation and talk through the challenges that are there, recognizing full well that we’re not all going to agree on it,” he said. ” … That we’ll have disagreements and issues and different perspectives here and there, but that we’re able to have this type of conversation and talk through what direction our country should be going.”

    The senator was met with a range of emotions from the crowd. While many applauded or cheered, others yelled, booed or clapped loudly in disagreement with him. Before taking questions, Kim laid out his concerns about President Trump’s actions since he has taken office.

    “First and foremost, with a simple yet profoundly important recognition, is that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, is abusing his power,” Kim noted.

    Someone in the crowd then began heckling. Kim stopped his address, walked to the back of the room and spoke directly to the individual. The two briefly discussed a disagreement on the Constitutionality of the president’s actions before Kim returned to finish his introduction and take questions and comments. 

    The town hall took place just under three weeks after the senator and 13 other Democrats joined Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ effort to withhold $8.8 billion in military equipment to Israel. The measure failed, but division over the issue among audience members at Kim’s event was clear. As attendees began asking questions, one woman stood up to thank Kim for his yes vote, saying it showed “moral clarity, care for human life and a willingness to listen to your constituents.”

    Another attendee defended Israel’s actions and expressed concerns about the country not being able to survive in the event of an arms embargo. Kim responded with his belief that there is no way to resolve the war in Gaza with military action alone.

    “I don’t discount the continued threat that Hamas … will very well pose,” he explained. “But again, what we’re seeing right now with this resumption of violence (and a) blockade (of) humanitarian assistance, it’s just going to fuel anger and hate that gives Hamas the ability to be able to regroup and be able to continue to sow their danger to the Israeli people and make it harder to be able to get … all the hostages out.”

    Outside of the Israeli issue, another town hall attendee, Linh Nguyen, addressed the need for federal workers and social services in the midst of government cutbacks.

    “I chose a career in public service, and so many of my co-workers chose a career in public service because we want to serve the public,” she remarked, “and we are not able to do that when we’re being illegally terminated.”

    Other audience members took their time to ask questions about multiple issues, including protections for LGBT individuals, in particular those in the trans community; due process in the wake of the deportation to El Salvador of immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia; and protection of U.S. citizens’ private data.

    Kim continued to take questions for a half hour after the town hall ended.

    “Go out and talk to other people in your own communities, your friends, your families and others, as I am doing as well, trying to make sure we’re spreading the word,” he noted. “The fact that you showed up today, it gives me immense gratitude for you that you’re paying attention.”

  • East performs free concert at library

    The Cherry Hill Public Library spent the first full week of April celebrating 20 years in the new library building.

    Cherry Hill High School East’s music department held a free community concert on April 8, to mark the second day of the anniversary week.

    While students did not have a specific uniform, all were dressed in black. 

    This is the third year the high school’s music performers have been invited to the library for a concert.

    Gabriela Mandescu is the string specialist for Cherry Hill East, organizing and training the students who play string instruments.

    “We are doing a lot of practice. We usually start putting the small groups together in September for the new year, and we practice through the school year after school,” said Mandescu.

    Audience members began filtering in shortly before the 2 p.m. start time, finding their seats in the rows of cushioned folding chairs. 

    The concert began with a string quartet performance of two songs, “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik- First Movement” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and “Quartet number six, opus 64- Fourth Movement” by Franz Joseph Haydn.

    The students stood or sat at the front of the room, carefully tuning their instruments before they began putting their bows to the instruments’ strings. 

    They stared intently at the sheets of music in front of them, keeping in time with each other and playing the pieces with careful concentration. 

    This quartet featured ninth graders Joyce Lee and Alessandra Vieira on violin, tenth grader Remy Choi on voila and twelfth grader Erin Li on cello.

    Timothy Keleher is the instrumental director and teaches AP music theory at Cherry Hill East.

    “The students are being challenged. This is not music that’s been adapted for students. This is adult, the same music somebody would play there in the Philadelphia Orchestra,” said Keleher. 

    Upon the completion of the first quartet’s set, a second quartet walked up to the front of the room for their performance.

    This set included “Quartet number four, opus 18” by Ludwig van Beethoven, selections from “Water Music” by George Frideric Handel, and selections from “Phantom of the Opera” by Andrew Lloyd Webber. 

    When the latter of the musical selections was announced, the crowd stirred with a few audible expressions of excitement.

    The second quartet was made up of twelfth grader Kaiyan Ling and tenth grader Ethan Yang on violin, tenth grader Jaslyn Tsai on viola and ninth grader Katherine Gao on cello.

    “They’re very fortunate to have this kind of program, and it’s one of the unique programs that are in South Jersey at this moment… to have this luxury of having these small groups performing with budgets and everything. So we’re very fortunate that Cherry Hill still has this program and to offer that to the community,” said Mandescu. 

    “Spring Sonata, Number Five- First Movement,” also by Beethoven, was a duet performed by eleventh grader Sean Tran and twelfth grader Jason Liang, on violin and piano respectively.

    The concert wrapped with a set by a small group jazz band, performing “Take Five” by Paul Desmond and originally recorded by the Dave Brubeck Band, “If I were a Bell” by Frank Loesser, written for the Broadway musical “Guys and Dolls.”

    As with the string players, none of the music was adapted for the students, allowing them to challenge themselves. 

    The finale of the show was “Autumn Leaves” by Joseph Kosma and Johnny Mercer.

    The jazz band was made up of eleventh grade students Dan Cezair, Dan Hofmann, Jay Rivi and Lukas Ortega, and twelfth grader Mira Wang. 

    Every song was followed by an enthusiastic round of applause from the audience. 
    “This program is only possible because of our incredible administration which supports us and our students 1000% and are doing everything possible so that programs such as this one are available to students,” said Mandescu.

  • East senior will spend a prestigious week in Washington

    Courtesy of Cherry Hill Public Schools
    Aaralyn Camp will meet with U.S. officials – including the president – during the U.S. Senate Youth Program Washington Week in March.

    A senior at Cherry Hill High School East has been selected to join senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim in representing New Jersey at the 63rd annual U.S. Senate Youth Program Washington Week.

    Aaralyn Camp – along with Union County’s Sriya Tallapragada – was selected from among the state’s top student leaders to be part of a 104-person national delegation that will attend meetings and briefings with senators, the president, a Supreme Court justice, members of the president’s cabinet and other officials throughout the week of March 1. Each delegate will also receive a $10,000 college scholarship for undergraduate study. 

    “I am incredibly excited about this opportunity, as I have always been deeply fascinated by politics,” Camp told The Sun. “Being selected to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate Youth Program is a tremendous honor, and I am grateful for the chance to contribute to such a distinguished initiative.

    “This week in Washington promises to offer invaluable insight into the inner workings of the political landscape,” she added. “I am also eager to connect with individuals from across the country who share a similar passion for politics and embody the hope and ambition that define our generation.” 

    Camp is a student representative on the board of education at East, co-secretary general of Model UN, an officer of Mock Trial and vice president of the French Honor Society. Her leadership extends to the arts as well; she is an officer in Belles of East, the school’s auditioned vocal ensemble.

    Camp is president of East Musicians on Call, a club dedicated to raising funds for elementary music programs, and serves in the same role for the Cum Laude Society and Tutoring, which promotes academic excellence and intellectual curiosity in her fellow classmates. 

    Outside of school, Camp is the outreach director for A Little More Love, a local nonprofit that offers care for terminally ill patients at local facilities. She plans to pursue a degree in political science and later attend law school, with the goal of becoming a champion for equity and reform. 

    The Senate Youth Program was founded in 1962 by the sons of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst and senate leaders of the day – Mike Mansfield and Hubert Humphrey among them – a response to the divisiveness that followed the McCarthy era of Communist witch hunts in the 1950s. The founders outlined a plan to encourage America’s most talented young people to consider public service as an important, life-long and noble pursuit.

    The extremely competitive, merit-based program each year chooses two outstanding high-school students from each state, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity. Each student’s $10,000 college scholarship is intended to encourage course work in government, history and public affairs. 

    The Hearst Foundations has fully funded the youth program since its inception, without government money. Program delegates and alternates are selected by state departments of education nationwide after their nomination by teachers and principals. The chief state school officer for each jurisdiction confirms the final selection. This year’s delegates and alternates were designated by Kevin Dehmer, acting commissioner of the state’s Department of Education. 

    In addition to outstanding leadership abilities and a strong commitment to volunteer work, the student delegates rank academically in the top 1% of their states among high-school juniors and seniors. 

    There are currently more than 6,200 alumni of the program, including Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the first alumnus to be elected senator; Pete Buttigieg, secretary of transportation in the Biden administration and the first alumnus to be appointed a cabinet secretary; and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the first alumnus to be elected governor.