On Tuesday, day two of Holiday Spirit Week, students dressed in their most spring and summer-like attire for Season Switch Day.
Wednesday’s spirit day will be Snow Day, where students will dress in blue and white to represent snow.
For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.
Poetry Out Loud, an annual Centennial tradition, took place on December 13 during periods five and six.
“Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation competition that is a collaboration among different organizations,” said Corey O’Brien, the school-site coordinator and English teacher at Centennial. “Students do not perform the poems, but bring them to life with their voices, in a way becoming the poems.”
Students recited poems of their choice from the Poetry Out Loud official website.
Poushali Banerjee, Sarah Donyaee, Sam Melicosta, Kieran Newell, Carolyn Reynolds, Masha Samokhvalova, Malika Shah, Daniyar Sheets, Selaya Smithery, Philip Wang, and Ashley Xu were featured in this year’s competition, reciting poems such as “Abandoned Farmhouse” by Ted Kooser and “Catch A Little Rhyme” by Eve Merriam.
“It starts in the classroom with classroom competition. The winners from those go to the school competition. And we send one winner to the regional competition,” O’Brien stated. “I think we’ve had 3 [students] who have placed at regionals go to states.
“I can’t say how I heard about it, like 7 or 8 years ago,” O’Brien continued, speaking on how long it has been running at Centennial. “But I thought it would be a good activity for Advanced Composition to get involved with it.”
The winner of the competition was Banerjee, with Shah in second and Smithery in third.
“Mrs. McDonough-Schlehr and [National English Honor Society] actually organizes the school competition, though. I just make sure we have the space and the people ready to go. Beyond the school competition, the Maryland State Arts Council organizes [Poetry Out Loud] for the state of Maryland,” O’Brien said, giving credit to those who made the event possible.
Banerjee will advance to the Region Two competition on January 19, 2019.
For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.
On Saturday, October 13, Centennial’s It’s Academic team made its way to the WJZ TV studios to compete against the teams from Sparrows Point and Oakland Mills. The team, composed of junior captain Adam Knox, junior Tobias Moser, sophomore Anthony Duan, and alternates Peter Wilschke and Carter Matties, won with 625 points, while 380 points went to Sparrows Point and 320 points to Oakland Mills. This win makes it Centennial’s first to be aired on TV.
“Thank you to the Drill Team and coach Tori Hammers for cheering us on,” said It’s Academic assistant coaches John Heslin and Eric and Sara Seifter. “We also thank our other high school club members for attending.”
Principal Cynthia Dillon, as well as It’s Academic students from Centennial’s feeder schools, Burleigh Manor Middle and Centennial Lane Elementary, traveled to the studio to show support for the team. Centennial’s team also mentors the younger players.
The taping premieres on TV on Saturday, November 24 at 10 a.m. on WJZ TV CBS, as well as online the day afterwards.
The It’s Academic team has two more tournaments next week: Georgetown University on Saturday October 20, and Blake High School the following Sunday.
For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.
Making the transition from being a middle schooler to a freshman in high school can be exciting, and nerve-racking. To some, freshman year of high school is no barrier to them, thinking they can handle it like a professional. To others, it is a year where they worry. To all, though, freshman year is just the start of an important high school journey. An opportunity to make new friends, meet new goals, and experience new activities all occur in the span of one’s four years in high school.
Freshman Madison Baltimore takes into account on her first year of high school. “[Freshman year] was very different than what I expected,” said Baltimore. Her thoughts were what many freshmen were thinking: What will others think of me? What groups will I fit into? Are there bullies in high school? Will I fail my classes?
“No one bothered me and the lowest grade I [received] was a C,” she added.
Although freshman year has its downs, it also highlights some amazing memories. Baltimore said, “The highlight of my year was the Homecoming pep rally and my first football game. I had so much fun at both [events] and I made a lot of new friends.”
Entering high school also gives an opportunity to reunite with friends from childhood. “I reconnected with friends from elementary school and made new friends,” she said. “I even got my first boyfriend.”
All in all, one would say that freshman year isn’t all that bad. The key to actually surviving it would to definitely not procrastinate, but also be active in clubs, sports, and meeting new people. “My first year at Centennial was amazing,” Baltimore concluded.
For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.
