High Tech Students Excel At The NJ Grade School Chess Championship
Congratulations to Christopher Wu, Philip “Mr. HTHS” Meltzer, and Jared Braycewski for earning the title of 12th Grade State Champions as a result of their team win in the 12th grade bracket of the NJ GRADE SCHOOL CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS held at Brookdale last Sunday. Christopher won all 5 of his games. Philip had 4 wins and Jared had 3 wins and 1 draw.
Additionally, HTHS had two other groups of students that earned team awards. In 11th grade, Kevin Lu, Aryan Shah, Kevin Yan and Allen Zhang combined to earn the 3rd Place team award for Grade 11. In 10th grade, Eric Chai, Nelson Lin and Andrew Mascillaro combined to earn 3rd Place for Grade 10.
Several players earned individual awards also. In the 9th grade bracket, Jason Yan had 3 wins and earned the 8th Place trophy for 9th grade. In the 10th grade bracket, Eric had 3 wins to earn the 7th Place trophy and Andrew had 2 wins and 2 draws to earn the 10th Place trophy. In the 11th grade bracket, Kevin Yan had 2 wins and 2 draws to earn the 8th Place trophy while Kevin Lu had 3 wins to earn the 9th Place trophy. In the 12th grade bracket, the 3 seniors earned a sweep of the top 3 individual awards. Jared won 3rd Place, Philip won 2nd Place and Chris Wu is the 12th grade State Champion!!
Vought Sisters Named To All-State Tennis Teams
Junior Rita Vought and her sister, sophomore Vickie Vought, both made all-state honors for the role they played in another successful year for the Holmdel Girls Tennis Team. The team finished second in the state falling to Millburn 3-2 in the Tournament of Champions final.
Rita made All-State Flighted First Team.
Rita Vought uses her strong backhand to return a shot.
Vickie made All-State Second Team. Vickie was also named to the All-Group 2 First team.
Above right Vickie Vought talks strategy with her doubles partner.
Academic Team Wins Northern New Jersey History Bowl
On Saturday, November 12, the Academic Team sent 3 teams to the Northern Jersey History Bee and Bowl at Seton Hall University. The Championship Varsity Bowl match between two undefeated bowl teams, High Tech and its arch rival Hunter College High School, was a cliff hanger. At the end of first quarter, High Tech trailed by 40 points, and at the end of second quarter, High Tech trailed by 20 points. In the third quarter "lightening' round", High Tech answered all 8 questions correctly in less than a minute and earned a bonus of 20 points, in addition to 10 points for each question. After the third round, High Tech had a small lead of 20 points. The championship was eventually decided by the very last question, won by High Tech. This championship qualifies the team to go the National History Bee and Bowl in Washington DC in April.
In the separate individual Varsity History Bee competition, Samuel Kao achieved a tied with Hunter's Luke Tierney for first place on the last question in the 20-quesiton Championship match, but lose the tie-breaker in overtime to get the 'Silver Medal.' Douglas Simons was also a Varsity Bee finalist. In the JV History Bee Championship, Steven Liu was awarded the second place 'Silver Medal.' Adrian Thamburaj and Eric Zheng were also JV Bee finalists.
In the separate JV Geography Olympiad Exam, Steven Liu finished in 3rd place and Allen Lu finished in 5th place, both qualifying for the 'National' competition in Washington DC, in April.
Gaurav Sharma, Douglas Simons, Kevin Lu, and Samuel Kao celebrate their victory.
Both VEX Robotics Teams Win Awards at Competition.
On Sunday, November 6, High Technology High School's two VEX teams, composed of seven students each, traveled to Rowan University to compete in their first VRC tournament of the year. There were a total of 36 teams in the tournament.
Both teams qualified for the final round and each were presented awards (see below):
Team 765A is shown with their Excellence Award, which is presented to a team based on their quality of robot, skills score, design notebook, and their teamwork/collaboration.
Team 765X is shown with the Judges Award, which is presented to a team based on their design (specifically their anti-tip and lift designs) as well as each member having specialized knowledge on each part of the robot.
High Tech Senior Namir Agrilagos Lights It Up On Both Sides Of The Ball For The Asbury Park Blue Bishops
Asbury Park 41, Dunellen 12 (Via Shore Sports Network)
Senior running back Paul Reed exploded for 212 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries as the Blue Bishops (4-2) rolled up 358 yards on the ground on their way to a lopsided victory over the Destroyers (0-6).
Reed had a 60-yard touchdown run and a 5-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Cishuine Simmons, Namir Agrilagos, and Ja’King Agostini added touchdown runs and Dyquan Young caught a touchdown pass from Agostini. Agrilagos’ scoring run was a 58-yard scamper in the third quarter.
Simmons made a team-high 12 tackles on defense and also recorded a sack. Agrilagos had 10 tackles and Calvin Simmons-Carter had 11 tackles and a forced fumble.
Namir Agrilagos on Senior Night with his mother and younger brother.
Two Students Named As Siemens Competition Semi-finalists
High Technology High School students Julienne Chaqour and Anjali Chakradhar are among more than 400 semi-finalists named across the United States in this year’s prestigious Siemens Competition, the nation’s premier competition in math, science and technology for high school students. Julienne Chaqour and Anjali Chakradhar were selected from more than 1600 students who submitted innovative individual and team research projects.
“These semi-finalists should be extremely proud of this high-level academic accomplishment,” said David Etzwiler, CEO of the Siemens Foundation. “Their projects represent some of the most noteworthy and exceptional of those submitted and reflected an advanced level of STEM research.”
Judging is now taking place to determine who, from this elite group, will now go on to compete in the 6 regional finals, taking place in November. Individual and team winners from the regional competitions advance to the final phase of the contest which takes place in December in Washington, DC where they will compete for top prizes of up to $100,000 in scholarships.
About the Siemens Competition
Launched by the Siemens Foundation in 1999, the Siemens Competition promotes excellence in math, science, and technology and is recognized by colleges and universities as the premier math and science research competition in the United States. More than $600,000 in college scholarships are awarded to students annually through the Siemens Competition during regional and national events administered by Discovery Education. The Siemens Competition honors the best and brightest students for their accomplishments in math and science – students who are changing the world for the better. (For more information about the Siemens Competition click here )
Snacks With Scientists - A STEM Event for 5th & 6th Grade Girls on October 21st
The Premier STEM event for 5th and 6th-grade girls. Last year over 175 girls attended the first annual Snacks with Scientists program. Register early as we expect the event to fill up fast. Click here to register.
Academic Team Finishes 2nd at Princeton Tournament
On Saturday, Sept 24, the High Tech Academic Team sent to Princeton University to compete in their annual High School Academic Tournament.
The A Team composed of Samuel Kao, Anjali Nambrath, Douglas Simons, and Steven Liu, finished in second place in the 'competitive' division, among 20 teams from Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and New Jersey.
The B Team composed of Adrian Thamburaj, Micheal Li, Kevin Lu, Darren Petrosino, Eric Zheng, Nelson Lin, finished in first place in the 'standard' division, among 16 teams from 5 states.
Congratulations to all the students who competed.
High Tech Students Shine at National TSA Competition
2016 TSA National Conference Results HTHS by the Numbers
7 Trophies
10 Finalists
22 Events
2 First Place
4 Second Place
1 Third Place
43 Student Attendees
26 out of 43 are Finalists / Award Winners
4 out of 43 are Multiple event Finalists / Award Winners
1 out of 43 was a 3 time event Finalist/ Award Winner
60% are Finalists / Award Winners
LIST OF AWARD WINNERS
Senior Scholarship Award
Priscilla Wong
VEX Robotics Competition Excellence Award 1st Place
Anjali Nambrath, Arvind Yalvarti, Matthew Ramina, Raymond Tse, Alexander Yao
Software Development 1st Place
Aneesh Agrawal, Tim Vallencourt, Elijah Smith, Sarah Vicol, Jacob Yatvitsky and Qwen Zhang
Prepared Presentation 2nd Place
Aparna Ragupathi
TEAMS 11/1 Prepared Presentation Competition 2nd Place
Brandon May, Jarrett Liang, Brian Tao, Andrew Huang, Tiffany Zhao and Kathryn Jiang
TEAMS 11/12 Level Best in Nation 2nd Place
Brandon May, Jarrett Liang, Brian Tao, Andrew Huang, Tiffany Zhao and Kathryn Jiang
Technology Bowl, Oral (HS) 2nd Place
Eric He, Anjali Nambrath and Kunaal Chaudhari
TEAMS 11/12 Level Written Competition 3rd Place
Brandon May, Jarrett Liang, Brian Tao, Andrew Huang, Tiffany Zhao and Kathryn Jiang
DEBATING TECHNOLOGICAL ISSUES 9th Place
Anjali Nambrath and Tim Vallancourt
Chapter Team Presentation 10th Place
Andrew Huang, Anjali Chakradhar, Brandon May, Matt Kumar, Priscilla Wong, Tiffany Zhao
Technology Bowl, Written (HS) 10th Place
Kunaal Chaudhari
Class of 2016 Graduation Photos
Click on Image to Enlarge it.
Photos courtesy of Mr. Tao and Mr. Zeng.
Where is the Class of 2016 going to College?
Click on the image to enlarge it.
Sophomore Eileen Huang at TEDx Navesink
The video above is of a recent talk Eileen Huang gave at TEDxNavesink.
Sophomore Douglas Simons Wins National History Bee Championship!
Sophomore Douglas Simons, the 2016 National JV History Bee Champion, won a huge Championship Cup [below] and an all expense paid [7 days, hotel, air fare, meals, and registration fee] trip to Honolulu, Hawaii to compete in the International History Olympiad [July 17 to 24, 2016]. The JV Division was composed of 181 students in the tenth grade and below.
From Left to Right: Dr. Eng, Samuel Kao, Ray Zeng, Doug Simons, and Andrew Huang.
The JV Championship Bee match was quite exciting. The final match is composed of 35 questions, with 3 to 6 points awarded for the correct answer, more points for the quicker response, minus 2 points for interrupting with an incorrect answer and minus 1 point for an incorrect answer after the question is completely read.
In past competitions, Douglas usually starts 'slow.' But after the first 10 questions, we were a bit nervous, with Douglas having a score of -5 points, and the other two students tied with +10 points each. After 20 questions, Douglas finally moved into positive territory with a +10 score, Rohan had +15 and Muzaffer had +19. After 25 questions, Douglas took the lead, with 25 points, Rohan had 22 points and Muzaffer had 19 points. After 30 questions, Douglas had a commanding lead with 37 points, Rohan had 21 points and Muzaffer had 15 points. At the completion of the match, Douglas finished with 43 points, compared to 25 points for Rohan and 19 points for Muzaffer.
Also competing in the Varsity Bowl division was our B Team composed of: Gaurav Sharma [junior], Karl Roush [junior], Jarrett Liang [senior], and Sean Kearns [senior]. Competing in the JV Bee & Bowl divisions was our JV Team composed of 5 freshmen: Steven Liu, Nelson Lin, Darren Petrosino, Adrian Thamburaj, and Eric Zheng. Kathryn Jiang [senior] was an official tournament Reader.
And special thanks to the PFA Student Enrichment Committee for their financial support and the traveling parents for providing transportation and wonderful encouragement.
Chess Team Places At Nationals
Some members of the NJ State Champion Chess Team from HTHS recently competed in the National HS Chess Championship Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia. The players that played in the Championship Bracket managed to earn a tie for 9th even though they were missing two very strong players. The second team captured 8th place in the U1200 Bracket. Representing HTHS and pictured below are: Greg Wall, Andrew Mascillaro, Allen Zhang, Charles Jiang, Jared Braycewski, Christopher Wu, Philip Meltzer and Samantha Cheng.
High Tech chess team members with some of the hardware they captured recently at the National Chess Tournament in Atlanta.
For The 5th Time In Six Years High Tech Is Ranked The #1 STEM High School In The Country
Today US News & World Report put out their national high school rankings. High Technology High School was ranked the #1 STEM High School in the country. This is the 5th time in six years that High Tech has reached this distinction. The STEM ranking is based solely on how well the senior class does on AP mathematics and science exams. While we have to be careful not to read too much into the national rankings, it does provide some validation for all the hard work by the staff and students of High Tech. Additionally, the school districts in Monmouth County do a tremendous job at preparing their students to excel in high school. Finally, the parents of High Tech students are to be commended as well for all they do to assist their children in their academic and extracurricular pursuits.
US News & World Report also put out rankings for each state. High Tech was ranked #1 in New Jersey, followed by our sister schools, Biotechnology at #2, and Allied Health at #9. This underscores the fact that the Monmouth County Vocational School District is providing an excellent education for the students of Monmouth County.
Washington Post Article
FIOS 1 Video
High Tech Students Excel at Delaware Valley Science Fair
Twenty-seven HTHS students earned invitations to Delaware Valley Science Fair (DVSF) via first, second or third place awards won at Jersey Shore Science Fair (JSSF). Twenty-four were able to attend DVSF during our Spring Break. Of the twenty-four, twenty earned additional recognition at this regional level as detailed below. Congratulations to all the students who participated. We are proud of the hard work each one of you put forth in your research project.
Delaware Valley Science Fairs 2016 - Regional Winners Summary
High Technology High School Awardees
Seniors
William Lin - First Place in Botany
Kunal Singh - First Place in Computer
Special Awards
American Association for Cancer Research Award
Intel, Excellence in Computer Science Award
DVSF/Medals, Bronze Medal Senior Fair
Emma Clark - Third Place in Computer
Special Awards
Society of Women Engineers, Philadelphia Section, Society of Women Engineers Award - Hoffman Award
Juniors
Anjali Nambrath
Special Awards
Harrisburg University Scholarship
ASU Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives
Dow Chemical Company Award - High School Award
Swathi Pavuluri - First Place in Engineering
Special Awards
Leonardo DaVinci Society Award
Parenteral Drug Association, Delaware Valley Chapter, Parenteral Drug Association Award
United States Navy/United States Marine Corps, United States Navy / Marine Corps - Sr High
Society of Women Engineers, Philadelphia Section, Society of Women Engineers Award
DVSF/Medals, Silver Medal Junior Fair
NANO/BIO Interface Center Award
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, USP Scholarship - First Place Winners
Yale Science and Engineering Association, Inc, Yale Science and Engineering Association Award
Drexel University, Partial Scholarship
Nethra Parasuram
Second Place in Mathematics
Special Award
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, USP Scholarship - Second Place Winner
Sophomores
Melina Muthuswamy - Honorable Mention in Biochemistry
Jennifer Driscoll - Third Place in Botany
Special Award
Future Scientist/USDA Eastern Regional Res. Ctr., Future Scientist Award
Valerie Yip - Honorable Mention in Botany
Eric He
First Place in Earth & Space Sciences
Special Awards
NASA Earth System Science Award
Mu Alpha Theta, Most Challenging, Thorough, and Creative Investigation of a Problem Involving Modern Mathematics
Lori Zhang - First Place in Engineering
Special Awards
Society of Women Engineers, Philadelphia Section, Society of Women Engineers Award
NANO/BIO Interface Center Award
DVSF/Medals, Silver Medal Sophomore Fair
Alice Lai
Special Award
Society of Women Engineers, Philadelphia Section, Society of Women Engineers Award
Eric Lou - Third Place in Mathematics
Aparna Ragupathi - Third Place in Medicine & Health
Darren Schachter - First Place in Physics
Special Awards
NANO/BIO Interface Center Award
The Franklin Institute, The Franklin Institute Physics Award
Kunaal Chaudhari - Second Place in Physics
Special Awards
United States Air Force Award
NANO/BIO Interface Center Award
Freshman
Anjali Chakradhar - First Place in Biochemistry
Special Awards
Parenteral Drug Association, Delaware Valley Chapter, Parenteral Drug Association Award
Janssen Biotech Inc, Janssen Biotech Biotechnology Award
NANO/BIO Interface Center Award
DVSF/Medals, Silver Medal Freshman Fair
Ananth Koppol - Honorable Mention in Computer
Sathya Edamadaka - First Place in Engineering
Special Award
NANO/BIO Interface Center Award
Julienne Chaqour - First Place in Medicine & Health
Special Award
DVSF/Medals, Gold Medal Freshman Fair
Chess Team Wins State Championship!
Congratulations to the HTHS Varsity Chess Team for winning the NJ State HS Championship Tournament. Last year they were Co-State Champions, but this year they won the title outright.
The State Championship Team members are: Christopher Wu, Vladyslav Nazarchuk, Kevin Yan, Charles Jiang, and Philip Meltzer. The team had a record of 4 wins and 1 draw to earn an impressive 4 1/2 points against the top teams in NJ.
The 2016 HTHS JV Team (Allen Zhang, Greg Wall, Andrew Mascillaro, and Samantha Cheng) successfully defended the JV Bracket title that HTHS won last year by winning the JV Bracket again this year. They also had a record of 4 wins and 1 draw. Jared Braycewski earned second place in the Booster Division by winning 4 games. His only loss was to the Booster Division Champion.
Several Varsity and JV players earned individual awards as well. Christopher Wu is the State Champion at Board 1, and Charles Jiang is the State Champion at Board 4. In JV, Allen Zhang won 3rd Place at Board 1, Greg Wall won 2nd Place at Board 2, Andrew Mascillaro is the JV State Champion at Board 3 and Samantha Cheng won 2nd Place at Board 4.
Congratulations to all!!
