Academy Newsletter
Kingsway Regional High School: Winter 2020
In Business Leadership Academy News...
DECA Regional Conference
DECA Reminders
Each student enrolled in the Business Leadership Academy is required to participate in DECA. DECA is an international association of high school and college students and teachers of marketing, management, and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service. This organization prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management around the globe.
Kingsway's DECA aims to provide students with the skills necessary to be successful in life and the business world through integrated classroom instruction, applied learning, connections to business, and promotion of competition. To learn more about DECA, please click HERE.
DECA Events:
- 3/2/2020- 3/4/2020: State Competition @ Atlantic City - Harrah's
- 4/29/2020 - 5/2/2020: National Competition @ Nashville, TN
Kingsway's DECA Officers:
- Co/Presidents: Anastasia Manes and Kevin Gorman
- VP Leadership: Dalton Britner
- VP Career: Taylor Gary
- VP Marketing: Evan Miles
- VP Finance: Brooke Ferguson
- VP Hospitality: Olivia Cavallaro
- Senior Director: Andrew Bott
- Junior Director: Ethan Nguyen
- Sophomore Director: Caitlyn Hickey
- Freshman Director: Francesca Solari
BLA Seniors | Exploring Businesses in West Chester, PA
In late November 2019, our Business Leadership Academy seniors visited Freddy's Custard and Steakburgers, a new fast-food restaurant, and Penn Oaks Golf Resort in West Chester, PA. At Freddy’s, students learned about their business strategy from Will Damian, the franchise manager, Kurt Herwig, the general manager, and Katie Gardler, Director of Marketing and Promotions.
Penn Oaks Golf Resort owners, Steve DiMarco, an entrepreneur, and John DiMarco, the former CEO of General Electric, welcomed students and shared their stories of how they overcame personal adversity and professional setbacks throughout their lives. Kingsway is fortunate and grateful for the networking and skill development opportunities provided by our Business Partners.
#DragonsPride #KingswayBLA
BLA Juniors | A Day at Villanova University
In January, our Business Leadership Academy’s juniors visited Villanova University with Ms. Delaney and Mr. Hendricks. They were greeted by Dr. Cathy Toner, Professor and Associate Dean of the Villanova School of Business. Dr. Daniel Fragiadakis, an Economist and Game Theory expert, presented a demo lesson to the students.
Students also toured the School of Business, Financial Learning Lab, and met with current college students. Dr. Joyce Russell, Dean of the Villanova School of Business, presented each student with a Villanova School of Business striped scarf, and an autographed copy of Coach Jay Wright’s book, “Attitude”.
BLA Summer Seminars
Summer Seminar I (Rising Juniors)
7/13/2020 - 7/17/2020 (Monday-Friday) 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Kingsway Campus
The BLA Summer Seminar I will engage students by placing them in collaborative problem-solving experiences; facilitate participation in activities that strengthen cohort partnerships, leadership acumen, and business principles. Students will visit local businesses and learn from a wide variety of business executives across the community.
Summer Seminar II - Think Like an Entrepreneur (Rising Seniors)
7/6/2020 - 7/16/2020, Monday - Thursday, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Hosted by Rowan’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Think Like an Entrepreneur Program engages students for two weeks in learning the preliminary ins and outs of starting their own business. Students who successfully complete the program earn three college credits.
In S.T.E.M. Academy News...
Kingsway Qualifies for States in the Science Olympiad
Kingsway Regional High School competed in the New Jersey Science Olympiad Regionals held at Camden County College on January 16, 2020.
Science Olympiad competitions are like academic track meets, consisting of a series of 14 team events in each division (Division B is middle school; Division C is high school). Students competed against 27 high schools from all over the state. Each year, a portion of the events are rotated to reflect the ever-changing nature of genetics, earth science, chemistry, anatomy, physics, geology, mechanical engineering, and technology. By combining events from all disciplines, Science Olympiad encourages a wide cross-section of students to get involved. Emphasis is placed on active, hands-on group participation. Through Science Olympiad, students, teachers, parents, principals and business leaders bond together and work toward a shared goal.
Science Olympiad, in its 36th year, is one of the premier science competitions in the nation, providing rigorous, standards-based challenges to nearly 8,000 teams in all 50 states. Congratulations to our students who this year took 3rd place overall in the regional competition which qualified the entire team for the state competition which will be held in Middlesex County College in Edison, NJ. This is a huge accomplishment being that it was only Kingsway’s second year in the competition.
Special congratulations goes out to following team members for receiving medals in their respective events:
o 6th place in Boomilever - Niam Patel and Sam Allen
o 5th place in Write It, Do It - Madison Phun and Bhavana Chamarthi
o 5th place in Dynamic Planet - Nick Kalfas and Sam Allen
o 3rd place in Forensics - Sarah Sciubba and Briana Worrell
o 2nd place in Circuts - Jacob Blair and Caleb Borkowski
o 2nd place in Botany - Seth Sims and Olivia Smith
o 1st place in Gravity Vehicle - Evan Bretz and Michael Parker
Great job by all students involved and good luck in the state competition!
Science Olympiad Medalists
Kingsway Explores the Aquarium
The S.T.E.M. Academy 10th grade students visited the Adventure Aquarium on January 30, 2019. The students were able to visit and enjoy all of the exhibits. Our favorite exhibits included being able to touch a manta ray and examining how sharks are in constant motion and have the inability to swim backward related to the anatomy and physiology of the pectoral fins and physics. Students attended a classroom portion of the trip where there was exposure on how to prepare for certain occupations that may be present at an aquarium.
The students also went on a “behind the scenes tour” to see the occupation in action. Students were able to learn about the nutrition that some animals require to maintain a healthy lifestyle and see the care given to ensure the habitat is one in which the animals can flourish. This is related to their chemistry class when they learned about specific pH levels and how aerobic respiration of certain fish may affect the pH, which is why plant life in the aquariums is necessary. Students were given the opportunity to ask questions and make connections with marine experts to follow this passion later if they so choose. Students received valuable information about aquatic life, discovered the plethora of S.T.E.M. careers available at an aquarium, and learned about the day-to-day routines and qualifications necessary to work with sharks, penguins, and turtles.
Hydroponic System - Sam Allen
Our S.T.E.M. Seniors are off to a great start on their Honors Capstone projects. One project that we would like to highlight is “Creating A More Versatile and Simple Non-Substrate Hydroponic System” by Samuel Allen. Sam chose this project to explore the field of advanced horticulture, primarily hydroponics. The expected goal of this project is to gain a deeper knowledge of hydroponic farming and horticulture. Sam’s ambitious goal is to develop a hydroponic system that is simple yet able to grow a large variety of plants.
The current hydroponic systems are able to be simple or grow a wide variety of plants, but not both at once. The overall scientific value of this project is to provide ideas for innovation and new designs in hydroponics. Sam wishes to pursue a career in horticulture and engineering and hydroponics is the bridge between those two fields. In the near future, hydroponics may prove to be more important in providing food to the world’s population.
Sam Allen
Bhavana Chamarthi
Timothy Ninan
S.T.E.M. Student Highlights
Code the Way Camp Program for Web Development
Bhavana Chamarthi is a junior in our S.T.E.M. Academy who will be teaching students the basics of web development. The target audience is rising 7th - 9th graders. The overall goal is to spread computer science awareness to middle and high school students. By the end of the program, students will be able to create their own personal webpage, get a kick start for a career in computer science, and learn more about technology.
Dragon S.T.E.M. Fair Coming to Kingsway Middle School
Timothy Ninan, a sophomore student in our S.T.E.M. Academy has been hard at work preparing to bring a science fair to our middle school. This will occur on April 30, 2020 at the Kingsway Regional Middle School. He has been securing entries, judges, location, and helping students find experts to aid in their endeavors. His purpose for the science fair is to create an awareness of how important it is for students to perform self-motivated research, discover a topic of interest, and spark a passion toward a career that students may be interested.
Good luck to both students are their upcoming events!
In Other Academy news...
Kingsway's 4th Annual Academy Career Day
On February 6th, Kingsway hosted their 4th annual Academy Career Day. Over 40 presenters from various organizations such as Jefferson Health, Boeing and PSE&G volunteered their time to share their career path, experiences, and advice with academy students. Our academy students were given the opportunity to select occupations that were of interest to them. They were then given a schedule based off of those interests which consisted of three small group sessions with a different presenter facilitating each session. At the conclusion, students reflected upon their experience and provided valuable feedback to the group. Thanks again to all that gave their time to help shape our students' paths!
SMART Lunch Monthly Meetings
Academy Events in Spring 2020
Field Trips and Competitions:
Grade 9-12 Competition
- 3/2/2020 - 3/4/2020 DECA State Competition @ Harrah's - Atlantic City, NJ ***For Qualifying Students Only***
- 3/4/2020-3/5/2020 NJ Junior Science and Humanities Symposium - Rutgers University New Brunswick
Freshmen
- Google Cardboard Virtual Field Trip - TBA in the auditorium
- 3/26/2020 ShopRite & McDonald's - Mullica Hill, NJ
- 3/27/2020 Rowan University Tour and Rowan C.R.E.A.T.E.S. - Glassboro, NJ
Sophomores
- 3/16/2020 American Water - Camden, NJ
- 4/24/2020 Colgate/Palmolive Industrial Design Factory - Parsippany, NJ
Juniors
- 2/25/2020 St. Joseph's University - Philadelphia, PA
- Spring 2020 Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Tours and Campus Tours
Seniors
- 2/20/2020 Amazon Fulfillment Center - West Deptford, NJ
- Spring 2020 Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine - Students will go on tours as well as participate in simulation labs and cadaver lab explanations
Additional Information
Events to Highlight:
- 2/11/2020 | 6:30 PM BLA Rising Senior Parent Info Night (Class of 2021 ONLY)
- 2/21/2020 Business Leadership Workshop for High School Girls ***All BLA female students are invited***
- 5/5/2020 Freshman Academy Service Learning Project (S.T.E.A.M. Night - Year 3) ***Mandatory for all Academy Freshmen*** - Anyone looking to donate materials, please see the sign-up genius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B094FA4AF2EA4F85-hssteam
- 5/12/2020 | 6:30 PM Academy Orientation for Class of 2024
Academy Contacts
* Please note that Mrs. Palazzo is currently out on leave. In the meantime, Ms. Sturdivant will be working with the S.T.E.M. students as the Academy's counselor for the program. Please feel free to reach out to her with any questions. Her email is sturdivantk@krsd.org.
S.T.E.M. Academy:
- Megan Bruder, S.T.E.M. Supervisor, bruderm@krsd.org
- Apryl Palazzo, S.T.E.M. Guidance Counselor, palazzoa@krsd.org
Business Leadership Academy:
- Balvir Singh, BLA Supervisor, singhb@krsd.org
- Vivian Cassidy, cassidyv@krsd.org
- Kristen Wojtkowiak, DECA Advisor, wojtkowiakk@krsd.org
- Robert Sittineri, DECA Assistant Advisor, sittinerir@krsd.org
Academy Advisors/Community Outreach:
- Jeanine Delaney, BLA, delaneyj@krsd.org
- Ann-Marie Moraca, STEM, moracaa@krsd.us