William Tennent Update

Hello, William Tennent Families.

The days are getting longer and warmer and the 2022-23 school year is flying by! Today, our Spring sports season begins and this year, for the first time, we have added girls flag football. Our students are busy with numerous clubs and activities. Now that another successful Black & White is in the books, our students are looking forward to Open Mic Night, our 9/10 Dance, our musical, Mary Poppins, and the WTHS Fashion Show. Please know our students would love to have you attend and enjoy all of their hard work! This month, we will also hold our Junior Seminar and our College Fair. The Class of 2024 is already beginning to plan for life after WTHS, and this Spring, our counselors will assist them as they take steps now to best prepare for senior year.

Midterms for half-credit courses are scheduled for March 17-22. Grades will close for the third marking period on March 23rd and spring break is only a few short weeks away. I encourage you to talk with your students about ending our academic year strongly. For those who have been working hard all year, there is light at the end of the tunnel. For those who may need to increase their efforts, the time is now! Our teachers and staff are always available to assist students who need additional support and we encourage our students to work with their teachers and school counselors to make good choices and work hard.

In addition to working hard during class, please encourage your children to complete their assignments, get to school and to class on time, use appropriate language in the classrooms and the halls, and clean up after themselves. These are not only good habits for school, they are the same good habits families work to instill at home to produce positive, productive members of society. Students who develop these habits make William Tennent High School a great place to teach and learn together!

Please be sure to check out our daily announcements which are linked to the Tennent webpage, and keep an eye out for eAlerts with more information about events.

As always, thank you for your support for William Tennent High School.

Take care and be well,

Dr. Henrich

Mrs. Erica Kelly, WTHS Health and Physical Education teacher, was honored during a CSD School Board meeting for her excellent efforts on behalf of her students. Well done, Mrs. Kelly!

Tennent's AP Research students enjoyed a virtual guest speaker session via Google Meet on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. Two recent WTHS alumni currently enrolled in Ph.D. programs discussed their own research with students and offered advice on how to analyze data and present their findings visually. Veronica Mierzejewski, WTHS Class of 2015 is a 2nd-year Ph.D. student at Arizona State University, enrolled in the Earth and Space Exploration program to study astrobiology. John Starr, WTHS Class of 2016 is a 3rd-year Ph.D student at Cornell University studying linguistics. Both guest speakers excelled at communicating complex research topics clearly for us all to understand. One AP Research student remarked "Wow, you really can do anything in life." After receiving IRB approval, the AP Research students are in the middle of their own data collection phase for the research projects they will present in April.

On March 2nd, WTHS Key Club members paired up with students from Davis Elementary School to celebrate Read Across America Day! Two high school students went into each classroom from grades K to 5. The high schoolers introduced themselves and talked about the importance of reading. Then, they read a book to the elementary school students while showing them the pictures and asking the students to make predictions and to relate the story to their personal experiences. Then, the students all engaged in activities that related to the book. Activities included egg relay races, crafts, storytelling, and planting seeds. A special thank you goes out to the Key Club officers for planning the day and training the volunteers to ensure a successful event. The day was a fantastic partnership to promote reading!

Last week, William Tennent High School celebrated the 58th year of Black and White. We had more than 450 students participate in our events this year, sold out our balcony for Pool Night and filled both sides of the stands for Gym Night.

Our Generals, Lindsay Goldberg & Matt Kotofsky for the Black Team and Delaney Lockett & Danny Scheller for the White Team were truly distinguished leaders at William Tennent High School and we are so proud of all of their passion and dedication. These four students worked diligently to ensure all of our participants felt included and made sure to work together with their teammates and each other along the way. Our advisors specifically recognized the kindness and compassion the generals shared with each and every participant and staff member. Their inclusiveness was especially on display in both Pool & Gym Nights, as they worked the entire event to make sure everyone could be involved.

Our student body is also to be congratulated for their performances. Black and White is an authentic opportunity for our students to learn how to be good ambassadors, not only for their school, but also for their classmates on both teams. This year, our students shined every night. They competed, but remained friends, and it showed in their enjoyment of each event along the way. I'm not sure I’ve seen our students behave better in my time at William Tennent than they did this year throughout Black & White, both during the school days, as well as during the evenings. It was simply outstanding.

We would like to share a special thank you to our advisors, Matt Tomlinson, Nicole O’Brien, and Mike Wasserleben for all of their organization, supervision, and dedication to our students. We would also like to thank all of the teachers and support staff who assisted, not just from WT, but from across the district. Without all of our volunteers, this would be impossible.

Finally, thank you to all of the families who came out to cheer on our students each night. I love getting an opportunity to catch up with so many WT alumni at Black and White, as well as seeing all of our future panthers in the stands already wearing their colors and supporting their teams!

The final score for the 2023 Black & White was White 438, Black 389. Historically, the White team has 31 wins, the Black team has 26 wins, and the COVID year resulted in a tie when both teams completed extraordinary community service in place of traditional events. Congratulations and thank you to all!

You're invited to The Annual English Department Open Mic Night here in the WTHS Library-turned-coffee shop. Students will share poetry, music, storytelling, and more. This event will be held on Thursday, March 9th at 6:00 PM. Friends and family are also welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be served.

See Mrs. Christine in C208 or chrish@centennialsd.org with any questions. Don't miss out on this creative showcase.

William Tennent’s production of Mary Poppins this month will include almost 90 students who are in the cast, stage, crew, and pit! Also, we have talented elementary students involved from across the district!

Tickets are available online by using the QR code on our poster, or on the CSD website! Tickets will also be available at the door for $10! Our performances are on Friday, March 24 at 7 PM; and Saturday, March 25 at 1 PM and 7 PM!

Mary Poppins, Bert, Jane and Michael, and the entire cast will be available after each performance for pictures and conversation within the lobby. Little ones are welcome to dress up as Mary Poppins and attend! We hope to see you there! For any further information, please email Ms. Julie Flack at flacju@centennialsd.org

The William Tennent Fashion Show will be held on Thursday March 30, 2023. The show will feature the designs of students, and fashion club members. This year we are bringing “Revolution Runway” our sustainable show, in which 90% of the garments that will be revealed have been created by the process of upcycling. This process takes clothes that are old, worn out or damaged, and transforms them into something new. Revolution Runway has over 100 William Tennent students participating in this year’s show. Guests can look forward to seeing fashion in the following categories: vintage /recycled, denim, streetwear, high fashion, and of course our “style category” which focuses on exactly what the title says our students' style. We will have a panel of industry professionals judging the style category and awards will be given at the end of our show.

Tickets can be purchased in advance during all lunches beginning the week of March 21 or at the door on the night of the show. More information about the show can be found by going to the website.

The 8th Annual Behind the Lens Film Festival is May 3th at 7 p.m. in the WTHS auditorium. The red carpet entrance begins at 6:30 p.m. Student film entries are being accepted through April 10. Once again students in middle school and high school are invited to submit their work. Films will be judged by industry professionals, including:

• Brad Herman, co-founder of SPACES, Inc. & former DreamWorks animator, whose resume includes Monsters vs. Aliens, and Kung Fu Panda.
• Karin Kelly, the Department Head of Cinema & Television at Drexel University. She has worked on sitcoms including Home Improvement, In the House, and Soul Man.
• Scott Randolph, a local producer and director who has worked on several productions with the Greater Philadelphia Film Office. His work includes producing "Christina Cooks" on PBS, and several documentaries including the award-winning, "The Battle of the Crooked Billet."
• David Raynor, a Philadelphia-based producer of motion pictures, television, and multimedia. His credits include: "Split," "Creed," "Silver Linings Playbook," "Limitless," "The Visit," and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."
  
• Ethan R. Sklar, a producer, filmmaker, and photographer. He founded Blue Eye Visual, a media production start-up. He works with up and coming music artists in the Philadelphia area.
• Neal Wiser, an award-winning screenwriter who began his career in Hollywood at Paramount Pictures and the former Paramount Network Television working on shows such as: "The Watcher," "The Marshal," and "America's Most Wanted." His credits also include working as an Assistant Art Director on the original "Space Jam."

Don't miss your chance to enter! Visit the Behind the Lens Film Festival site for requirements or scan the QR code for more information. Any questions, please contact the WTHS Media Production teacher and Film Festival coordinator, Mrs. Dina McCaffery at mccadi@centennialsd.org.

The Affection of Love by Anonymous

She believes he will never fully comprehend how he fulfilled her dreams, or how he opened her heart to love and the wonders it can perform. whenever he opens his front door

he will see flowers and cards with his name on them but

Would he recognize these flowers as a gift of how much she loves him, how much she misses him, and the things they usually say to each other, but it is in the way they act to show the affection of love they had for each other? She laughed at the sight of him when they first met. There was love in the air. For her, there was no need to ask for more, but for him, it was too much to bear. Her feelings for him are unforgettable, but only for a short time. She found that affection is nothing more than something made up in her head. The guy she is obsessed over is not real but only a figure of her imagination she loved so hard for each man she met until it was too much for her. She hoped this man would be the one she obsessed over him for months; her affection was too strong. Will she find love again? Will her affection towards someone be real for once? He was the affection taking over her mind and making her go insane.

The Love Bug by August Arias

don’t chase the beautiful butterflies for they will only flutter away from you

if you wait patiently, within time you might get a glimpse of a few

while you spend your time waiting create a garden to welcome them

grow them a safe home,

a place they’ll want to visit again

it may take a while till you see one flutter by

and it’s okay if u haven’t watched one fly

you can still honor your garden that u made with ur time

one of these days you’ll be laying in ur blissful garden

quietly embedded in your deep harken

and out of the corner of your eye you’ll see a beautiful blue winged butterfly stopping by

National Business Honor Society Induction

March 8

Open Mic Night

March 9 6 p.m. in WTHS Library

9th & 10 Grade Dance

March 11

Key Club Blood Drive

March 14 & 15

Snow Make-Up Day, Early Dismissal

March 20

End of Third Marking Period

March 23

Early Dismissal/Grading Day

March 24

WTHS Fashion Show

March 30 7 p.m. Auditorium

Email: henrju@centennialsd.org
Website: www.centennialsd.org
Location: 333 Centennial Road, Warminster, PA, USA
Phone: 215-441-6000