Category: Announcements

Announcements

Centennial’s LGBT Students Celebrate Pride Month

Words: Maggie Ju

June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, highlighting inner diversity. Centennial’s LGBT students, particularly members of the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), could not be more enthusiastic about it.

“I’m going to do everything gay,” declared sophomore Lauren Aylaian. She is already well on her way to achieving her goal — the first weekend of June, she attended a concert featuring Hayley Kiyoko, a pop singer nicknamed “Lesbian Jesus” by her fans.

Many students in the GSA, Aylaian included, plan to attend D.C. or Baltimore Pride, festivals to celebrate being out and proud.

Sophomore Eduardo Luiggi Rosa said, “It’s all about being able to celebrate who you are, no matter what you are.”

“There’s so many people out there who are ashamed of who they are just because of their sexuality,” said sophomore Jayden Bolden. Many queer people are hesitant to disclose their orientations or identities, fearing backlash and ostracism.

Bolden continued, “They really shouldn’t be because your sexuality is who you are, and you should be proud of yourself.”

Despite the parades and festivities, LGBT people are often erased from media and popular culture. The small percentage of gay and transgender characters in shows and movies are usually played by actors who do not identify as such. Centennial’s LGBT students want to increase visibility and representation of their community.

“Gay pride is like, ‘Actually, we exist!’” said one student.

Luiggi Rosa agreed. “We’re here, and we’re queer,” he said.

Aylaian hopes that in the future, LGBT youth will not face pressure for being minorities. She explained, “They don’t get to be themselves for so long, so to be able to have a month just to express themselves fully … that’s what gay pride is all about.”

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Announcements

Centennial Students Prepare for Finals Week

Words: Shawn Kruhm

With the school year winding down, students of Centennial have begun preparing for finals. A full week of tests from every class stands between students and their summer vacation.

It can be challenging for students to balance homework, extracurricular activities, and finals. To manage their finals, students must put time aside from their daily activities to study.

Junior Peyton Sites said, “I study about three hours a day and review all of my subjects.”

Being aware of quarter and midterm grades is important. If students know their grades, they can figure out the classes in which they need to dedicate more of their study time to.

Using the point system, students can calculate their final grades. Often students are grade locked, meaning their grade is already decided. No matter what they earn on their final, their grade will not change.

Performing well on midterms can benefit students later on in the year, taking away some of the stress from finals.

Sophomore Sully Beck-Winter said, “I have to prepare more for midterms because most of my grades are already locked at this point so I think midterms set the standard.”

Finals week is very stressful and time consuming for all students regardless of their midterm grades. Good luck to everyone testing this week!

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Announcements

Centennial’s Model UN Celebrates Year with Banquet

Words and Photos: Maggie Ju

Centennial’s Model United Nations Club hosted its annual end-of-year potluck banquet on Friday, May 4, in the school cafeteria. Dozens attended to look back on and celebrate a successful year of conferences.

The event kicked off with a slideshow of the year’s events, showcasing the delegates at their best and weirdest. Superlatives followed, each winner awarded a certificate. In typical Model UN fashion, categories included “Most Dilatory” and “Most Likely to Be Stalin” — most of the winners did not come as a surprise.

Once the laughter died down, the Co-Secretaries General, sophomores Caio Goolsby and Sydney Kelley, presented speeches about all the seniors in the club. Several people became teary-eyed.

Seniors from the 2017-18 board concluded the activities of the night, taking the podium to deliver their last messages of their high school Model UN careers.

“If you’re an underclassman, please stay in this club,” said Julie Wang. “It is so much fun and it is such a great experience.”

Bryce Plunkett spoke about the skills he developed through the club, and added, “Make sure if you have siblings, tell them to join and keep the cyclical nature of Model UN going.” He was one of many club members who had joined because of an older sibling.

“It’s been a rigorously riveting, intellectually stimulating four years,” Alex Na summarized. A self-described “deadweight” in freshman year, he invested more time and energy into the club throughout high school, eventually earning the position of fundraiser.

“This club has given me so much confidence,” said Dina Eloseily. “You have a lot of new opportunities, and I’m just really happy that [my older sister] forced me to do this.”

Ms. Galante, Ms. Parker, and Mr. Riddler were presented with gifts as a token of gratitude for their hard work as club advisors. Ms. Galante, who has been an advisor for Model UN from the very beginning, expressed her disbelief that the seniors had grown up so quickly.

Sophomore Constanza Montemayor was elected to be the club’s spring coordinator for the 2018-19 school year. She looks forward to continuing the legacy that the seniors have left.

“I’ve been in Model UN for two years, and I never would have thought I would have made it to the board because I was such a shy novice,” she said. “But now, I am so excited and I can’t wait to keep going to conferences and making friends.”

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Announcements

Centennial Celebrates Color Day

Words: Kieran Senisi / Photos: Laila Abu-Ghaida

On Thursday May 3, Centennial students were able to represent their grades by wearing a certain color. Freshmen were told to wear black, sophomores were blue, juniors were white, and seniors were told to wear red. Most students participated and showed off their Eagle Pride. Tomorrow is College Pride Day, where everyone is encouraged to show off their favorite college.


For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Announcements

Centennial’s Science Olympiad Team Wins Big at States

Words: Shawn Kruhm / Photos: Takumi Fukazawa

On April 14, the Science Olympiad Team placed first in the State Tournament at Johns Hopkins University.

Leading up to the State Tournament, the team participated in four other competitions: three invitationals and regionals. The team performed exceptionally well in all five tournaments. In the State Tournament, Centennial’s Annie Liu won a bronze medal; Chy Murali, Ruoheng Zeng, and Mayur Krishna won silver medals; and Franklin Yang, Takumi Fukazawa, Eric Kim, Matthew Zeng, Jerry Yuan, Leo Wu, Thomas Luo, Nicole Meister, Jocelyn Matthew, Nadine Meister, and Helen Yang won gold medals!

All year long, the team has worked hard and practiced to get to where it is now. Many students have been members of the team for several years.

“I have been a part of the Science Olympiad Team for two years,” said Sophomore Takumi Fukazawa. “My favorite part of the club is being able to choose what science to study as well as being able to bond with the team.”

The Science Olympiad team will travel to Colorado to compete in the National Tournament on May 18.

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Announcements, Sports

Seniors Sign Off

Words: Delanie Tucker/ Photos: Rasa Welsh

On April 12, Centennial High School held the final signing day of this year, where the last group of seniors involved will sign off on the college where they will play sports. Four seniors signed off on a school and verified what sports they will be playing there.

Greg Costello was the first to sign, deciding to go to Coast Guard Academy to run cross country and track and field.

Juan Para, another runner for Centennial, will go to Division II Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for track and field.

The next to sign was Meg Thompson, going to Shippensburg University for field hockey.

The last to sign was Isabel Trojillo, a member of Centennial’s golf team. She will be going to Marymount University.

After her signing, Trojillo commented, “When choosing a college I think academics is the most important thing and athletics is second, especially for an athlete like me.”

Despite her being a serious athlete, Trojillo seemed very focused on academics, “I know Marymount is a really good school. They are academically rigorous and they have a great nursing program, which is what I want to go into, so that’s the first thing I looked at. I visited the college and I just pictured myself there, so I think Marymount is going to be a great fit for me.”

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.