Congratulations to Detola Badmus for being recognized as a 2024 Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Detola is a Senior Vocal student. The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. In 1979, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, creative and performing arts. In 2015, the program was again extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields. Each year, up to 161 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students. Presidential Scholars in the Arts are selected through participation in YoungArts.

YoungArts congratulates the 161 high school seniors selected for the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Presidential Scholars, with special acknowledgement to the 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts (full list below), YoungArts award winners who were nominated for the honor by YoungArts. The U.S. Presidential Scholars award—one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students who exemplify academic excellence, leadership qualities and community service—is presented on behalf of the President of the United States and honors up to 161 graduating high school seniors of high potential each year. To be selected as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, students must have attended National YoungArts Week.

Monday, May 20

10:30 AM. Prom Payments & Contracts Accepted in Room 234A

12:00 pm. SGO Application Closes

Tuesday, May 21

SGO Sample Ballot Released & Campaigning Begins

7:00pm Spring Drama Festival 2 - ROMEO AND JULIET

Wednesday, May 22 - No Bells or Announcements

7:00pm Spring Drama Festival 2 - ROMEO AND JULIET

7:00 PM Choral Concert at Riverside Church (PA Event)

Thursday, May 23 - No Bells or Announcements

7:00pm Spring Drama Festival 2 - ROMEO AND JULIET

Friday, May 24 - No Bells or Announcements

7:00pm Spring Drama Festival 2 - ROMEO AND JULIET

Monday, May 27

Memorial Day; Schools Closed

Tuesday, May 28

SGO Election Begins

4:00pm SLT Meeting

Friday, May 31

12:00pm. SGO Election Closes

1:30 PM. Last Day to Make Prom Payment and Prom Contracts

1:45pm Spring Semi-Annual Art Show

7:00pm Graduation Dance Concert - CH

Saturday, June 1

First Day of LGBTQ+ Pride Month

7:00pm Graduation Dance Concert - CH

7:00pm. Spring Semi-Annual Art Show

Sunday, June 2

2:00pm. Graduation Dance Concert - CH

Tuesday, June 4

Algebra Regents -- No classes. Students only attend if they are taking the Algebra 1 Regents

Thursday, June 6

Chancellor's PD Day -- No classes. No students in attendance

NOTE: Friday, June 7, classes are in session and students attend. On the DOE Calendar, Clerical Day does not apply to LaGuardia as we are a Grade 9 - 12 school.

May is AAPI, Jewish American Heritage, and National Mental Health Month

As a reminder, it is intentional that the theme for each week's Yellow Sheet alternates between AAPI and Jewish American Heritage Months. This week's focus is AAPI; next week's will be Jewish American Heritage; and the last May Yellow Sheet will focus on Mental Health.

When we have morning announcements and bells (non-testing days), we will alternate themed music and announcements similar to the way we alternate the morning announcements.

Posting of Fliers

Fliers or handouts can be posted inside LaGuardia with permission from our Coordinator of Student Activities (COSA) Ms. Berger. Her office is in Room 234B. Fliers can be placed for a limited time and must be removed after an advertised event occurs. Only school sponsored activities are given permission. Fliers can only be placed in the following authorized locations:

• Stairwell landings
• Escalator bays entrances and exits
• Outside or inside Cafeterias
• Teacher classrooms with permission

Clerical Day - June 7

On Friday, June 7, classes are in session and students attend. On the DOE Calendar, Clerical Day does not apply to LaGuardia as we are a Grade 9 - 12 school.

x2VOL and Verifying Volunteer Hours

We are now at a place where LaGuardia will be verifying volunteer hours in x2VOL, beginning with Seniors. Some issued have been cleared up, and we apologize for the delay. A staff member has been trained on x2VOL to begin the process. We are beginning the process to approve Senior's who submitted

Graduation Policy Reminder

Per NYCPS policy, high school students must meet graduation requirements to participate in their school’s graduation ceremony. Students who are awaiting June Regents exams scores to meet the assessment requirements for graduation may participate in the graduation ceremony. Students are not graduates until they have met all New York State high school credit and exam requirements.

Final Week of Club Meetings

The week of May 27 - 31 is the final week that clubs can meet. Certain clubs with approved activities are able to meet until the completion of the event.

Want to Quit Vaping?

Youth ages 13–24 can get free, 24/7, and confidential support by texting DROPTHEVAPE to 88709.

Friday, April 19, 2024, was the end of Semester 2, Marking Period 2. On Wednesday, May 15, 2024, students and families were able to access to the 2nd marking period Progress Report in NYCSA, where teachers report on student progress by providing a grade and comments. Families should schedule time to review this progress report together, determine next steps to celebrate the students’ areas of strength, and put in place support for areas that need improvement.

For this 2nd marking period, all grades are reported numerically.

• Grades are given range from 55, 60, or 65-100 in 1-point increments.
• Science Lab grades are given as P or F.

Teachers also had a bank of comments that they could choose from to capture the student’s progress in narrative form.

As a reminder, transcript updates are semester-based. Students receive final grades at the end of each semester - Fall and Spring. Each semester has three marking periods. Progress reports are generated for the 1st and 2nd marking periods, followed by a final report card for the 3rd marking period. The grades for the 3rd marking period report card appear on the official transcript. The grades on the 1st and 2nd marking period progress reports do not appear on the official transcript. Attendance records also do not appear on the official transcript.

Students can access their marks by visiting Teach Hub, the DOE portal used to support students. Students should sign in with their DOE Student Accounts, and then navigate to Student Report Cards (available in the Student Documents icon).

Parents/Guardians can access student marks by signing into their NYCSA account, which can be found at www.schoolsaccount.nyc and then navigating to the Grades button.

Please contact the teacher directly if you have questions about the 1st marking period progress report grade and/or comments. Our faculty/staff directory can be found here: https://www.laguardiahs.org/directory/faculty

If you have any further questions about accessing your student's grade, please reach out to their assigned guidance counselor or the Parent Coordinator.

Out of an abundance of caution, we were advised by our youth officers of multiple complaints of high school aged students entering, loitering, and smoking marijuana in our neighboring Amsterdam Houses Development. High schools in the vicinity have been asked to share some important information. They would like us to reiterate, in partnership, that entering, loitering, or smoking marijuana in the housing development is a violation of multiple New York State statutes; if you are not a resident or invited guest inside a NYCHA building, you are loitering and trespassing!

Students who were unsuccessful in earning credit for any required course or exam, will be registered to enroll in Summer School. Summer Session begins on July 10 and will be in-person. Summer classes end on August 16. LaGuardia will not be a summer school sight this year. This Summer, LaGuardia High School has partnered with The High School of Fashion Industries (225 W 24th St, Manhattan) to offer courses to qualified students. Students may not take summer courses in order to accelerate; students may only take a graduation requirement where they were unsuccessful.

At this time, students are at the final stretch. It is not too late to earn credit in a course you are struggling with. Speak to your teacher for clarity on how to pass the class at this time. As always, please speak with your Guidance Counselor for more information.

For the first time in over 15 years, the LaGuardia Jazz Band was invited to travel to Europe. Our Jazz Band spent their spring break in Copenhagen collaborating, learning, experiencing the culture, and playing great jazz. They their counterpart Sankt Annæ Gymnasium ni Denmark, spending two days at SAG where they shadowed students, participated in master workshops, and rehearsed for the joint concerts.

All in all, this was a fabulous opportunity for both schools. This is the beginnings of a great partnership!

Our mission statement: LaGuardia’s Student Government Organization strives to represent students as they develop themselves artistically and academically through the opportunities of LaGuardia’s unique curriculum. As the bridge between the Administration and the Student Body, we work to ensure consistent and efficient communication, and a supportive, welcoming, and fun school environment.

If you agree with this statement and would like to support our efforts next school year, start your application!

Position descriptions are available at www.sgolag.org/run

Application Components (all 3 are required to run):

• 3 short answer prompts (2 general, 1 position specific)
• 1 Short video
• 1 Platform statement

Eligibility Requirements

• A cumulative GPA of 80 or higher
• No significant Dean’s record or violations of school policy or the Citywide Behavioral
• Expectations to Support Student Learning (Discipline Code)
• Ability to attend student meetings on a regular basis.

If 3 or more people are running for the same position, a candidate must win 51% of the

vote to be declared the winner. In the event a candidate is not declared the winner, a

run-off election will be held between the top two vote-getters. In the run-off election,

the candidate with the highest number of votes (simple majority) will be declared the

winner.

A candidate may only run for one position.

TIMELINE:

• May 3: application opens
• May 20 @ 12 PM (noon) : application closes
• May 21: sample ballot released
• May 21 - 31: campaigning
• May 28 - 31: voting (closes at noon 5/31)
• June 3: runoff candidates announced
• June 3 - 7: runoff campaigning and voting
• June 7: voting closes at noon
• June 7: Winners announced

Email sgoatlag@gmail.com for any questions or issues.

Access SGO Application using nycstudents.net email

We are excited to announce that the All-School Musical vocal and dance auditions will begin on Tuesday, May 28, and run through Thursday, June 6. All auditions will take place after school or on non-instructional days. An audition is required to be considered for the production.

Information about the audition process and materials to help you prepare your audition can be found in the website linked below:

All-School Musical Production Site

FOR THE CAST—Auditioning for the cast of a musical involves showing your dance, vocal, and acting talents. Wear comfortable clothing that you can move in.

YOU MUST SIGN UP FOR A VOCAL AND DANCE AUDITION TO BE CONSIDERED FOR A ROLE.

AUDITION SIGN-UP LINKS -You must be signed in to your NYC Schools account to sign up.

• Vocal Audition Sign-Up

• Dance Audition Sign-Up

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FOR THE PIT ORCHESTRA- Auditioning for the pit orchestra of a musical involves showing your playing, reading, and listening talents.

Audition Information for the Pit Orchestra will be coming soon.

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We are looking forward to seeing you soon!

Please send questions to ESchreiner@schools.nyc.gov

Sincerely,

The Into the Woods Production Team

Prom payments are being accepted through May 31. Seniors needing to make Sr. Dues or Cap & Gown payments are asked to wait until Monday, June 3, to continue making these payments.

Each year, the line to make payments for Prom grows longer every day closer to the Deadline, May 31. Please make your payment and return your contract when you are able. Do not wait until the deadline, if possible.

Please know that there are several events where a line will occur, such as making payments, picking up yearbooks, etc. Please be patient. Thank you.

Senior End of the Year Information is sent to families early June. This will include Graduation information.

Reminder: LaGuardia's ceremony is on Friday, June 21, at 2:00 PM (graduates will need to arrive at noon, and guests will need to arrive at 1:00 PM to pass through the building's security check.)

We're fortunate that each graduate will receive 4 tickets this year. Normally we've only been able to offer 2. Because the availability of tickets will be tights, I can't guarantee there will be any extra.

The Prom Celebrating the Class of 2024 is happening on Tuesday, June 18, from 7:00 PM until 11:00 PM at the Ascent Lounge in the Shops at Columbus Circle. Tickets are on sale until May 31 in Room 234A (Stricklin's Office.)

Here is the information you need to know:

• The cost is $200 per person (cash or money order.)
• Printed copies of the required Prom Contract are available in the hallway across from Room 229 (The Dean's Office). Take 2 copies if you are bringing a guest.
• A complete Prom Contract (field trip form + additional information) is required from everyone.
• Non-LaGuardia guests must attach a Prom Contract AND a copy of either their high school ID or their government ID.
• Turn in everything at the same time you make payment.
• Late payment may not be accepted because we have to confirm our totals with the venue.
• Read the Prom Contract as it includes some specific information that you need to know.

Because of the size of the graduating class, we were able to go to a new venue that we are very excited about. Usually, we must go to a hotel ballroom, filled with 60-70 round tables. The Ascent Lounge is a more sophisticated, elegant venue. Passed food and beverages offer a chance to socialize with the evening's attendees, and a small buffet can be eaten in a more intimate setting. Unlike banquet-style or hotel-type events students may have gone to, seating is limited and shared while eating.

TDF’s Graduation Gift offers all graduating seniors from New York City’s public high schools across the five boroughs a free TDF Membership. A TDF Membership provides significant access to the performing arts in New York City—Broadway, theatre, music and dance performances—at deeply discounted ticket prices.

BROADWAY's HELL'S KITCHEN FREE TICKET DRAWING!

Every student who signs up by early June can enter a drawing to win up to two free tickets to see the new hit musical Hell’s Kitchen on Wednesday, June 26 at 7:30pm. Prior to the performance, there will be a graduation party for the students in Duffy Square by the Red Steps of TDF’s TKTS Booth, which will include music, an opportunity to take graduation photos, and other fun activities.

TDF is committed to building the audience of tomorrow, making theatre accessible, and welcoming a new generation of theatregoers. We hope your students will sign up and enjoy this unique opportunity. If you have any questions about the registration, event or anything related to the TDF’s Graduation Gift, feel free to e-mail gradgift@tdf.org.

On behalf of Chancellor Banks, Executive Director Paul Thompson and our NYCPS Arts Office and Hell’s Kitchen on Broadway, please ensure all your graduating students have the opportunity to take advantage of this truly special offer!

Congrats to the Fine Arts Studio Class of 2024!

Your hard work has paid off and you are off to graduation and the next big adventure of your lives!

Complete GRADUATION SLIDESHOW GOOGLEFORM

We want to be sure all Fine Arts Seniors are represented at Graduation so please take the time to do this, even if it is just one photo of one artwork. =)

Deadline to submit: Monday, May 20, 8:00 AM

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was a landmark 1954 Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. Brown v. Board of Education was one of the cornerstones of the civil rights movement, and helped establish the precedent that “separate-but-equal” education and other services were not, in fact, equal at all. This year is the 70th anniversary of this landmark decision.

Learn more about the Brown v. Board of Ed decision.

To mark the anniversary, Dr. Sperber prepared a brief overview for his classes. Below is the slide deck.

Allegiance is a musical with music and lyrics by Jay Kuo and a book by Marc Acito, Kuo and Lorenzo Thione. The story, set during the Japanese American internment of World War II (with a framing story set in the present day), was inspired by the personal experiences of George Takei, who starred in the musical. It follows the Kimura family in the years following the attack on Pearl Harbor, as they are forced to leave their farm in Salinas, California and are sent to the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in the rural plains of Wyoming.

The musical began development in 2008 and premiered in September 2012 in San Diego, California. It played on Broadway from October 2015 to February 2016.[1] Reviews on Broadway were mixed, although the cast was generally praised.[2] Further productions were mounted in Los Angeles in 2018 and London in 2023.

Japanese American internment, the forced relocation by the U.S. government of thousands of Japanese Americans to detention camps during World War II. That action was the culmination of the federal government’s long history of racist and discriminatory treatment of Asian immigrants and their descendants that had begun with restrictive immigration policies in the late 1800s.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese aircraft on December 7, 1941, the U.S. War Department suspected that Japanese Americans might act as saboteurs or espionage agents, despite a lack of hard evidence to support that view. Some political leaders recommended rounding up Japanese Americans, particularly those living along the West Coast, and placing them in detention centres inland. A power struggle erupted between the U.S. Department of Justice, which opposed moving innocent civilians, and the War Department, which favoured detention.

WWII: JAPANESE AMERICAN INTERNMENT IN PICTURES

On March 18, 1942, the federal War Relocation Authority (WRA) was established to “take all people of Japanese descent into custody, surround them with troops, prevent them from buying land, and return them to their former homes at the close of the war.” This collection of pictures documents the internment of those approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans.

John J. McCloy, the assistant secretary of war, remarked that if it came to a choice between national security and the guarantee of civil liberties expressed in the Constitution, he considered the Constitution “just a scrap of paper.” In the immediate aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack, more than 1,200 Japanese community leaders were arrested, and the assets of all accounts in the U.S. branches of Japanese banks were frozen.

Dorothea Lange: photograph of a store owner's response to anti-Japanese sentiment

A store owner's response to anti-Japanese sentiment in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack, Oakland, California, 1942; photograph by Dorothea Lange. At the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, approximately 125,000 Japanese Americans lived on the mainland in the United States. About 200,000 immigrated to Hawaii, then a U.S. territory. Some were first-generation Japanese Americans, known as Issei, who had emigrated from Japan and were not eligible for U.S. citizenship. About 80,000 of them were second-generation individuals born in the United States (Nisei), who were U.S. citizens. Whereas many Issei retained their Japanese character and culture, Nisei generally acted and thought of themselves as thoroughly American.

Relocation

Japanese American internment: removal

In early February 1942, the War Department created 12 restricted zones along the Pacific coast and established nighttime curfews for Japanese Americans within them. Individuals who broke curfew were subject to immediate arrest. The nation’s political leaders still debated the question of relocation, but the issue was soon decided. On February 19, 1942, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which gave the U.S. military authority to exclude any persons from designated areas. Although the word Japanese did not appear in the executive order, it was clear that only Japanese Americans were targeted, though some other immigrants, including Germans, Italians, and Aleuts, also faced detention during the war. On March 18, 1942, the federal War Relocation Authority (WRA) was established. Its mission was to “take all people of Japanese descent into custody, surround them with troops, prevent them from buying land, and return them to their former homes at the close of the war.”

On March 31, 1942, Japanese Americans along the West Coast were ordered to report to control stations and register the names of all family members. They were then told when and where they should report for removal to an internment camp. (Some of those who survived the camps and other individuals concerned with the characterization of their history have taken issue with the use of the term internment, which they argue is used properly when referring to the wartime detention of enemy aliens but not of U.S. citizens, who constituted some two-thirds of those of Japanese extraction who were detained during the war. Many of those who are critical of the use of internment believe incarceration and detention to be more appropriate terms.) Japanese Americans were given from four days to about two weeks to settle their affairs and gather as many belongings as they could carry. In many cases, individuals and families were forced to sell some or all of their property, including businesses, within that period of time.

Some Euro-Americans took advantage of the situation, offering unreasonably low sums to buy possessions from those who were being forced to move. Many homes and businesses worth thousands of dollars were sold for substantially less than that. Nearly 2,000 Japanese Americans were told that their cars would be safely stored until they returned. However, the U.S. Army soon offered to buy the vehicles at cut-rate prices, and Japanese Americans who refused to sell were told that the vehicles were being requisitioned for the war.

After being forcibly removed from their homes, Japanese Americans were first taken to temporary assembly centres. From there they were transported inland to the internment camps (critics of the term internment argue that these facilities should be called prison camps). The first internment camp in operation was Manzanar, located in east-central California. Between 1942 and 1945 a total of 10 camps were opened, holding approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans for varying periods of time in California, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Arkansas.

Life in the camps

Conditions at the camps were spare. Internees lived in uninsulated barracks furnished only with cots and coal-burning stoves. Residents used common bathroom and laundry facilities, but hot water was usually limited. The camps were surrounded by barbed-wire fences patrolled by armed guards who had instructions to shoot anyone who tried to leave. Although there were a few isolated incidents of internees’ being shot and killed, as well as more numerous examples of preventable suffering, the camps generally were run humanely.

High-school students cleaning and raking between classroom buildings at the Minidoka Relocation Center, an internment camp for Japanese Americans in Hunt, Idaho, May 1943.(more)

People at the camps tried to establish some sense of community. Residents were allowed to live in family groups, and the internees set up schools, churches, farms, and newspapers. Children played sports and engaged in various activities. Nevertheless, the internment took its toll on Japanese Americans, who spent as long as three years living in an atmosphere of tension, suspicion, and despair.

Living without medical care in Japanese American internment camps

Without access to specialized care, Sam Mihara's father went blind while imprisoned at Heart Mountain camp.

The roundup and internment of Japanese American citizens led to a few peaceful protests as well as several legal fights. One legal battle, the case of Korematsu v. United States, led to a Supreme Court ruling in 1944 that the evacuation and internment of Nisei was constitutional. Meanwhile, however, the government had begun to investigate Japanese Americans more closely and concluded that some were loyal Americans. Individuals certified as loyal were allowed to leave the camps, usually to take jobs in the Midwest or the East. Others were allowed to work as temporary migrant labourers in the West, and still others enlisted in the U.S. Army. On the same day as the Korematsu decision, in its ruling on Ex parte Endo, the Supreme Court skirted the constitutionality of internment as a policy but determined that the government could not detain a U.S. citizen whose loyalty was recognized by the U.S. government.

On December 18, 1944, the government announced that all relocation centres would be closed by the end of 1945. The last of the camps, the high-security camp at Tule Lake, California, was closed in March 1946. With the end of internment, Japanese Americans began reclaiming or rebuilding their lives, and those who still had homes waiting returned to them.

An American promise

In 1976 Pres. Gerald R. Ford officially repealed Executive Order 9066. He used that opportunity to express regret for that policy:

February 19th is the anniversary of a sad day in American history. It was on that date in 1942…that Executive Order 9066 was issued…resulting in the uprooting of loyal Americans….We now know what we should have know then—not only was that evacuation wrong, but Japanese Americans were and are loyal Americans….I call upon the American people to affirm with me this American Promise—that we have learned from the tragedy of that long-ago experience forever to treasure liberty and justice for each individual American, and resolve that this kind of action shall never again be repeated.

Japanese American internment: Life after the prison camps

The prison camps were closed—but many Japanese Americans no longer had homes to return to.

The political history of the term “Asian American”

The first known use has been traced to a student activist group in 1968.

A presidential commission in 1982 identified race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership as the underlying causes of the government’s internment program. In 1988 the U.S. Congress passed the Civil Liberties Act, which awarded more than 80,000 Japanese Americans $20,000 each to compensate them for the ordeal they had suffered. Congress also issued a formal apology for the government’s policy toward Japanese Americans.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Meg Matthias.