The Wave
Message from the Principal
We are extremely excited to publish the first edition of The Wave. This newsletter is being used to showcase all the incredible things that happen within Audubon Jr.-Sr. High School. It is being shared with all the parents in our district, in addition to teachers and staff members in each school, board members and community. So many positive and meaningful activities occur in our school, and this is our attempt to start sharing these stories and experiences with you.
There are some great features of the Smore newsletter program. It is able to be translated into a host of languages. In addition, it is able to be viewed on a computer or mobile device, enabling you to access the information and pictures in an easy to read format.
I would like to thank everyone who contributed to making this newsletter possible.
Respectfully,
Jeffrey Lebb
Follow Mr. Lebb on X and Instagram
Follow AHS Principal Lebb on Instagram @ahsprincipal
All of our counselors have attended English classes to assist our high school students in reviewing courses and electives for the upcoming academic year. During these sessions, counselors provided guidance on navigating the course selection process in Genesis, our online platform. They also discussed how to choose electives and share valuable insights on making informed decisions. Counselors will be meeting with students individually to review course recommendations from teachers, course requirements, and discuss elective options based on each student's interests and academic goals.
We believe that this personalized approach will help students make well-informed decisions about their academic paths.
Newly Installed College and University Plaques
A huge thank you to Mr. Stubbs and our Woodshop students for making college and university plaques for all of our staff. Mr. Stubbs has been surprising staff members with awesome plaques, hung up by their doors. The purpose is to create a culture of learning and spark conversations with students and teachers. The plaques have sparked student interest and are resulting in great conversations. Mr. Stubb’s hard work and time is truly appreciated.
HIB and Character Education
The goal of Audubon High School for the 2023-2024 school year is to incorporate meaningful topics of tolerance, respect, character education, diversity, and citizenship into the classrooms. This is being done to better educate our students and help with the Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying initiatives within our schools. By incorporating these topics into the daily lessons, students will be able to see how tolerance, diversity and respect is incorporated into all of our disciplines. Whether it be a lesson plan on the Holocaust, novel discussion on tolerance or a class conversation about respect in Science lab groups, we are working towards teachers incorporating these important topics in their plans.
Athletic Stats & Notes
Girls Basketball
The Audubon Girls Basketball Team made a Beautiful Noise this season. The team worked hard all season and dedicated themselves to re-building the program into something pretty special and amazing. The high school girls held travel clinics for our younger players and made 10 zitis for Treats on the Streets(For the Love of Pete’s Pantry). They also traveled to the University of Pennsylvania where they watched a game and were able to hear from Coach Killion (UPenn) about the importance of sports and mental health. The future of Audubon High School Girls Basketball looks bright because of the incredible, strong, intelligent, dedicated, and amazing young women that are part of this team. They are FUTURE LEADERS.
2023-2024 TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
16-8 Overall Record
1st Place Finish in the Audubon Winter Holiday Tournament
10-0 in the Patriot Division- UNDEFEATED
2 Playoff Wins
1st Round win vs Clayton
Quarterfinal win vs Maple Shade\
Individual Accomplishments:
1st Team All-Conference
Emma Speyerer
Ashley Flynn
2nd Team All-Conference
Peyton Marrone
Al-Carino 8th Grade All-Star Game Candidate
Sophia Homa
Boys Basketball
The 2023-24 Boys Basketball team finished the season with their highest win total in Coach Brian O'Donnell's 6-year tenure as coach, finishing the regular season at 16-10. They also secured the program's first winning record and highest seed in South Jersey Group 1 (#5) in 15 years. The team won its opening playoff round matchup at home against LEAP Academy, which was the team's first home playoff win in over 10 years, while both Ryan Johnston and A'zon Young made first team all-conference. The Coaching Staff wants to send a thank you to Seniors Ryan Johsnton and Kaleb Eller for all their hard work, along with Senior managers Gianna Boland and Emily Waller for their dedication to the program.
Highlights of this past season include:
- Team's first winning record since 2009-2010
- Hosting a playoff game for the 2nd year in a row
- Most team points scored since 2016-2017
- Ryan Johnston joined the 1,000 point club this year
- A'zon Young averaged a double-double in points and rebounds for the second year in a row.
Unified Bowling
Unified Bowling had an OUTSTANDING practice season this year which ended on Wednesday, March 6. The last practice session was a match between all our Unified athletes and partners. The Gold Team defeated the Green Team by a score of 587-458. We are so proud of our incredible bowlers for their hard work and dedication to the team. We look forward to becoming a competitive team next season and showing our awesome abilities in the lanes! The Unified Bowling team also worked together to help For the Love of Pete’s Pantry by making 10 zitis that will be used to feed the homeless in Philadelphia. We will also have partner and athlete pairs attending the Winter Youth Unified Summit in Lawrenceville on March 26.
Audubon is PROUD to be a Unified Champion School!
A Unified Champion School implements three specific components, all of which are intertwined in a cohesive effort to increase social inclusion throughout the school. The three components are: whole school engagement(social inclusion and culture-shifting friendships), inclusive youth leadership, and inclusive sports.
Girls Winter Track & Field : SJ Group 1 Sectional Champions for the 2nd time in school history!
- Alaina Copsetta has run the #2 time in school history in the 55m and the #3 time in the 400.
- Riley Fayer has broken the 800, 1600, 3200 records this winter. (2:23.68, 5:18.23 11:33.27)
- The girls 4x400 team is your SJ Sectional Champ and #2 in the state for Group 1 (Arianna Bittner, Kylie Tocco, Charlie Owens, Alaina Copsetta)
- We have 9 girls going to the State Championship!
Boys Winter Track & Field
- Placed 3rd at the SJ Group 1 Sectional Championships.
- Ran the #2 All time 4x200 in school history (Luke Hoke, Al Gonzalez, Logan Gilbert, Dylan Gallagher)
- Tommy Weick and Andrew Trow broke the school record in the High Jump Relay (both jumping 5'10). Both have jumped over 6'0, making it the first time we have had two athletes jump at least 6' indoors!
- Aiden Williams and Dylan Gallagher are the only double qualifiers going to States (Dylan in Pole Vault and 4x4) (Aiden in the 1600 and 3200)
- The boys have 9 athletes also going to the State Championship!
Wrestling
What an amazing season 2024 Audubon Varsity Wrestling 18-9 overall 5-0 in Division 2024 Patriot Division Champs
2 Sectional Playoff Wins
Group 1 South Jersey Finalists
4th overall in the Colonial Conference
8th in State in Group 1
14th overall in South Jersey
Sam Myers 100 Career Wins
District 28 Champ- 190 Sam Myers
District 28 2nd Place- 144 Pedro Marte
District 28 3rd Place- 106 Rocco Monteferrante District 28 3rd Place -120 Lucas Stinger
District 28 3rd Place- 126 Blaise LaFrance District 28 Assistant Coach of the Year Coach Dylan Bushby
Regions Winners 190lb -2nd Place Sam Myers State Qualifiers 190 Sam Myers
Sam Myers finished 2nd in South Jersey for pins. (27)
Kaci Broadhurst - Competing in the State Championship
Congratulations to Kaci Broadhurst, who won the District Level Oratorical Competition! Kaci will now compete at the State Championship on March 30th. This is the 5th time Audubon will have a student competing at the State Level. Her poise and composure while presenting has been incredible to watch. Each level she gets better and better and the dedication she has to practice and work on her flaws has definitely shown. Kaci has represented our school so well. Keep up the good work and good luck at THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP!
Art Department
Chloe Epright is currently studying illustration on a full scholarship at Moore College of Art, which offers a weekend program for High School students. Check out some of her work!
English Department
Mrs. Allman
The 7th grade ELA students are working on an argumentative essay unit. They have been discussing debatable topics, studying persuasive techniques, and researching by using databases. In coordination with social studies class, students will also start reading a class novel about the Iditarod- the great sled dog race that takes place yearly in Alaska.
Mrs. Amorosi
The WIN ELA classes are continuing to read nonfiction material and have just finished a research unit on the endangered species of the world. Students chose a species and researched such aspects as what factors are endangering the species, how many remain in the world, and what the everyday person can do to help. The final project includes a poster, an original poem that teaches about the animal, as well as an oral presentation given to the class.
Mrs. Cecchini
English 2 Honors is finishing a unit on Macbeth and will start working on developing sound arguments next.
AP Language continues to prepare for the AP exam; right now they're refining their work on the Synthesis Free-Response Question.
Mrs. Drinkhouse
My 8th graders have been working on a nonfiction unit that is focused on courageous leaders of change such as Martin Luther King and Malala Yousafzai. My 11th graders just finished our March Madness IXL tournament in preparation for the NJGPA. My 12th graders are wrapping up our unit of Frankenstein before they head out to enjoy their Senior Trip!
Ms. Gidjunis
9th grade recently finished a unit on the Odyssey and are currently reading To Kill a Mockingbird.
Mr. Latini
11th graders: After reading transcendentalist writers, mainly Emerson and Thoreau, students presented multimedia presentations titled Transcendentalism in Pop Culture, tying the tenets of transcendentalism to modern film, music, and TV.
Mr. Rienstra
The 8th grade ELA students are exploring the evolution of women's rights throughout U.S. history. Students will be reading and analyzing the use of figurative and persuasive language in speeches from prominent women such as Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Gloria Steinem, and Malala Yousafzai. Ultimately, students will be writing an essay comparing two of these figures and how each represents a different era in women's rights history.
Mr. Rowan
We just finished The Scarlet Letter, and are about to begin reading Emily Dickinson.
Mrs. Wilson
We are wrapping up our unit of study on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
10th graders: Students have covered everything from Greek tragedy, medieval Italian poetry, and magical realism. They are now entering the savage world of Lord of the Flies.
History Department
Iditarod Project: Mrs. Collazzo
It’s time for the Iditarod. The 7th grade will begin its unit on the Iditarod - a dog sled race in Alaska. Commemorating the serum run of 1925 when the only hope to save the people suffering from diptheria in Nome, Alaska was a relay of dog sled teams. The 7th graders have all selected their favorite mushers to follow along in the race - join in the fun and track the mushers as they travel by sled dog - following the historic Iditarod trail. The race begins the first weekend in March and ends when the last musher reaches Nome. Click on the photo for more information.
Enlightenment Thinkers: The Campaign Poster: Mr. Webb
Junior World History student pairs were tasked with creating a campaign-style poster relating to a philosopher from the Age of Reason. Use of a simple color palette, punchy descriptions and a thoughtful quote were key. Accompanying the work is a description of their influences and relationships with other philosophers.
Shogun: The Haiku: Mr. Webb
Junior World History students were tasked with creating a haiku on the topic of the Tokugawa shogunate, demonstrating their understanding of the shogun’s various effects on Japanese culture during the 17th to 19th century
Snowflake Project: Mr. Webb
It's that time of year again for Chinese Snowflakes! Students were challenged to find eight Chinese characters related in form to a simple central word and display these related characters in a snowflake-like pattern with the English translation on the reverse.
Monarch Project: Mr. Webb
During a unit on absolute monarchs, 11th grade World History student groups were tasked to build a life size model of a selected monarch as a display of their social influence and connection to their past, present and our future. The monarchs were displayed in the skyway above the main gym. This made for both a very educational and paranoid hallway. Ever get the feeling you're being watched?
Mathematics Department
Liberty, Liberty, Liberty...
After wrapping up their Automobile Ownership unit in Advanced Algebra with Financial Applications, Mrs. Tanenbaum and Mrs. Lin invited two representatives from Liberty Mutual Insurance Company to speak with their students.
Ashley Orihel serves as a claims manager for the company, while Kelly Alston serves as an operations manager. Both are well versed in the many aspects of the insurance business. They presented the students with a well informed introduction to insurance. This included the different types of insurance coverage, how to shop for that coverage and how to keep their premiums from increasing. They discussed fraudulent claims and how they are investigated using social media and event data recorders. They talked about who might be at fault in different types of accidents and the investigation process. They informed the students of different jobs within an insurance company and much more.
The students were able to connect what they were learning in class to real world situations. They asked pertinent questions relating to their lives and driving experiences and received answers from these experts in the field. This presentation definitely enhanced the students’ awareness and hopefully will make them more careful drivers, while on the road to their futures.
Music Department
Notes & Accomplishments
The Audubon Jr/Sr High School Instrumental Music Department is proud to announce some recent accomplishments by three outstanding student musicians. The All-South Jersey Band auditions were held in December at Absegami High School, and Joanna Hyland (Junior) and PJ Szkotak (Senior) were selected to this outstanding group of student musicians from across the South Jersey area. Joanna represented Audubon as a member of the prestigious All-South Jersey Wind Ensemble on Alto Saxophone, as well as performing with the All-South Jersey Chamber Ensemble. This is the first time in recent Audubon Music history that a student was selected to the All-South Jersey Wind Ensemble on Alto Saxophone. PJ represented Audubon as a member of the flute section in the All-South Jersey Symphonic Band. This is the second time in PJ’s high school career to be selected to the All-South Jersey Band. Both students participated in the All-South Jersey Band concert at Rowan University in January. Joanna also participated in the All-South Jersey Chamber concert at Penns Grove High School in February.
The All-South Jersey Junior High Band auditions were held at the end of January at Southern Regional Middle school in Manahawkin, and Campbell Robinson (Grade 8) was selected to that group on trumpet. He will represent Audubon at the All-South Jersey Junior High Band concert at Fernwood Middle School (Egg Harbor Township) in March.
Congratulations to these band students for all of their hard work and dedication to the Audubon Instrumental Music program!
Science Department
New Elective: Plant Biology
Plant Biology: Topics such as botanical classification, structure and function, and nutrition and diseases are taught with many hand-on laboratory activities. . This course was designed for anyone interested in gardening, horticulture, or simply wanting to know more about the complexity of plants and their impacts on our lives.
New Elective: Animal Behavior
This course looks at animal behavior through the perspectives of many disciplines of
science such as Genetics, Ecology, Psychology, and Evolution. While the material is ideal for those
students considering further study in Animal Science, this also is for students who just want to learn why our pets behave the way they do.
These two half-year elective science courses are offered for the 2023-2024 school year. Please see
guidance for possible scheduling and contact Mrs. Tamara Egner for more specific information.
Modeling Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration
Students in Mrs. Resnick’s 7th grade life science class made models using cereal and candy on Valentine’s Day. The models represented the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Students focused specifically on the atoms and molecules in the reactants and products of each process and how they are related to each other.
Academic Challenge
Question: Under the category of “The Garden State:” Born to Italian Immigrants in 1915 in Hoboken, NJ, "Ol' Blue Eyes", is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of the mid-20th century. Name him. Do you know the answer?
January and February are Academic Challenge competition season at Audubon High School. After a four year hiatus due to COVID, this year's team of 13 students competed against 8 other local high schools in a trivia style competition. Questions ranged from art, science, math, history, geography, literature and even Taylor Swift (current events). Not only do you need to know the correct answer, but you must beat your opponents to buzz in first. This competitive -- but fun -- competition is a way for students to show off their knowledge.
If you love Jeopardy and other knowledge and trivia type competitions, Academic Challenge may be for you. Contact Mr. Manskopf for more information. Next year’s team will begin meeting in October.
Pictured below are the members of the 2023-24 team.
Civics Club
Our Civics Club had its first competition on January 30th. At this local level we had two freshmen compete, Eva Kostecki and Kaci Broadhurst. This takes place at our American Legion Post 262. Kaci was able to defeat Eva in their first ever scoring competition and move on to the County Level. At the County Level (Feb 11) Kaci defeated a senior from Timber Creek. With this win she now moves on to the District Level which will be held on March 12th in Maple Shade. At this level she will compete against 2 or 3 other students from other counties in South Jersey. If Kaci wins, she moves on to the State Finals! This is our 6th year we have had competitors in the club and in the previous 5 years we have had 4 years of students in the State Finals, with one state champion. Kaci is looking to continue the run that Audubon has had in the past. For those who don't know what this club is all about let me explain... This is run through the American Legion and known as the National Oratorical Contest. Kaci has had to develop a speech on the U.S. Constitution which needs to be recited without any notes or cues. Oh yeah, and the speech has to be 8-10 minutes long! Along with her prepared speech, Kaci also had 4 other assign topic speeches which are 3-5 minutes long. These speeches are on specific topics of the Constitution. This year's topics are the 2nd Amendment, 5th Amendment, 23rd Amendment and Section 3 of the 25th Amendment. The amount of work to have 20 minutes of speeches memorized in your head takes a lot of practice and focus and Kaci has been doing an excellent job thus far. We are looking forward to her competition on March 12th and hope she can continue the success she has had so far. This contest is a scholarship competition so she is accumulating money that she will get when she graduates in 4 years. Best of luck to Kaci!
Dungeons & Dragons Club
Advisor: Miss Little
Open to Grades 7 - 12
Meetings typically start after the interest meeting which takes place at the end of September. Meetings are usually held every other Monday from 2:45-3:30 or 4:00 PM depending on member availability. Any changes to the schedule as well as meeting information will be posted on Google Classroom.
DND Club is a club open to 7-12th grade students at Audubon Jr./Sr. High School. DND is short for Dungeons and Dragons which is an RPG or role playing game. In Dungeons & Dragons, the players form an adventuring party who explore fantasy worlds together as they embark on epic quests and level up in experience. Dungeon Masters run the game and guide your adventure. We will meet every other week unless otherwise specified. Hope to see you there!
French Club
The French Club recently took a trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for a guided tour of French art and had lunch at Café LeJardin.
Interact Club
Interact Club & Mrs. Drinkhouse would like to extend a BIG thank you to everyone who participated in last night's volleyball tournament, especially our referees, teachers, and administrators: Mr. Webb, Mrs. Kilvington, Mrs. Ewing, Mrs. Resnick, Mrs. Miliaresis, Mr. Bantle, Mr. Miller, Mr. Corley, Mr. Howey, Erin Connelly, and special guest, Mrs. Willis. 14 teams battled through a double-elimination bracket, and the winning team was our teacher team, The Champs, which consisted of Mr. Boland, Mr. Harris, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Reed, Mr. Harter, Mr. Cosenza . Thanks to everyone's efforts, Interact Club will be donating $640 to the Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey. At this time, Interact Club would also like to formally announce the winner of their Ronald McDonald Swag raffle. The winner was Mya Critch. Congratulations to all & way to go Interact Club!
The Parrot and Published Mind
Our student run website is spotlighting our most recent work on writing feature articles. Visit our site to read articles covering a variety of topics include high school sports and gender, Audubon’s Police Department’s new K-9 unit, the use and effects of cognitive behavior therapy, Mr. Deloach’s professional baseball career, insight into our hardworking but unseen student stage crew, and so much more.
Our Published Mind section of the site features short stories, poems, and artwork submissions from the entire student body and is an amazing showcase of the talent we have in our school. If any student is interested in submitting work, please let Miss Morrison know.
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
Mr. Buchs was a former principal of Audubon Jr. High School. What position did he have prior to becoming the principal of our school? What other language was Mr. Buchs fluent in speaking?
Audubon Jr.-Sr. High School Webite
(click on image to be taken to the AHS website)