Principals Office

The Pride of the Pride

Rave Reviews for BAM

For eight weeks, every Wednesday afternoon, seniors Jonathan Fernandez, Ryan Diaz, and Terrell Coakley traveled after school to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Starting in October 2005, the three young men participated in an educational program on how to critique theater. They saw performances such as Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale, a creative art piece called Shelter, and a multimedia performance titled Supervision. Also, they learned how critics question a performance to fully understand the intent of the piece. By analyzing the performances and debating opinions, each student discovered how to critique the content. Afterwards, they were required to put their views into writing, elaborating on what they thought and why.

They had to explain what the director intended and whether or not he communicated it to his audience. Ryan and Terrell agreed with Jonathan that, “it was a great experience to see performances we would not normally see. The class enhanced my writing,” says Terrell, “and I gained a new perspective on things. I also got to meet new people." Terrell and Ryan are planning on participating in the upcoming Film Critics class to learn more about being a critic.

Ryan Diaz, Jonathan Fernandez and Terrell Coakley

Reading is Still Fun-damental

Every Monday and Thursday after school Maybeli Mercado can be found studying. However, Maybeli is not always studying her homework. Maybeli participates in an after school tutoring program called the READ Foundation. She is one of five Loughlin students who spend two days a week after school tutoring kids from kindergarten to third grade.

Maybeli herself remembers what it was like to be tutored. When she was six years old she immigrated to the US. Not knowing any English made it difficult to get her homework done. After school her step- mother would help her with the alphabet and taught her how to read in English.

When tutoring, Maybeli draws from that experience.
She enjoys helping others learn. "I see the reaction from the kids. It's a nice experience. I get to deal with different situations and I'm exposed to new things. I like being with the kids. They're like my own little brothers and sisters. They get excited to come in and see me and to show me their work."

Is There a Doctor in the House?

What does it take to be a Doctor? Currently eight Loughlin students are learning just that. They are participating in the Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program run by

Cornell University. To be accepted, each student had to write two essays and provide a letter of recommendation from a science teacher. All eight are first-honors students. Together they meet with professors and medical students on Friday afternoons for two and a half hours. During the three month program, students attend lectures and participate in small group workshops.

At the end of the program each student is required to submit a research paper on an approved topic of interest in medicine. Brett Cox, a junior, is interested in pediatrics so he will be writing his paper on adolescents infected with HIV and AIDS. "They’re helping me do research about my topic, like finding out how many teens are infected and what regions are most infected."

Over the course of the ten weeks, they will learn among other things the anatomy of the heart, how to write a research paper, and how to explore financial aid options for college.

Deep Down, We're All Brothers and Sisters

This past fall, science teacher Mr. Orlando Santiago and his senior biology class found out that many of them shared a common ancestor from millions of years ago, named Alu. On November 28th the group traveled to the Dolan DNA Learning Center West for a field trip. At the lab where the famous Dr. James Watson, the discoverer of the DNA molecule, currently studies, the students conducted their own experiment. Using professional equipment, they took samples of their DNA to detect the presence of the Alu sequence.

After the procedure, they analyzed the results and found that about half the class shared the same Alu gene. Mr. Santiago and the students were very impressed with the lab and were pleased that they were able to use such high tech equipment. "Unless you're taking an advanced college or a graduate biology course," Mr. Santiago says, "it's unlikely you would be exposed to this equipment; therefore, for many, it is a once in a lifetime experience."