138 Convent Avenue, New York, New York 10031 tel: 212-281-6918 fax: 212-281-6918
December 2007
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Pre- Holiday Dance will take place on December 14 th in the CCNY NAC Ballroom from 6:00pm - 9:30pm .
Tickets are $5.00 and are on sale now. Tickets may be purchased from any school council representative.
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(See New & Noteworthy for your school council representatives.)
Meet the Teachers - Second Parent Teacher Conferences will be Thursday evening
Our next PTA meeting is Wednesday December 12 @ 6:30PM in Baskerville Hall .
December 6.

School is closed December 24 - January 1, 2008 for Winter Recess. Have a wonderful and safe vacation.
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The school council representatives are as follows:
Freshman
Sophomores
Juniors
Seniors
: William Calhoun; President & Tamhid Chowdhury; Vice President
: Aury Garcia; President & Gabriel Maria; Vice President
: Crystal Mendez; Co President & Darlin Alberto; Co - President
: Kion Sawney; President & Joselyn Lantigua; Vice President.
Treasurer , Cristina Tang; Secretary , Ashlee Lyte & SLT student representative , Mariany Polanco
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS on behalf of the HSMSE Student Council to all Teachers, Parents and Students .
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Successful events that have taken place at HSMSE :
October 6: The Key Club Stay Awake-a-thon was a fantastic event. HSMSE had the highest number of Key Club members present by far. The event took place in the Salvation Army on 14th street, from 8 pm to 8 am. Each member raised at least ten dollars for the Salvation Army; HSMSE raised over $1000 .
October 19: Twin Day and Game Night : Twin Day was a school wide activity in which students dressed up like each other. The event helped bring students together and motivated them to participate in activities that promote school spirit. Game Night was a fund raising event held after school on behalf of the
National Honor Society . Students donated their video game equipment for the night and tournaments were held. The purpose of the event was to raise money to sponsor a child. The school raised over $700, over the amount of money needed to sponsor a child. The remaining profits will be donated to charity.
October 22: Open House for prospective freshmen of 2008 took place. The number of students that attended was far beyond all expectations. HSMSE is building quite a reputation.
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Parents : To contact other parents, please join our free Yahoo email group . Email to: Hsmse_ptasubscribe@yahoogroups.com. It is very important for all parents to put their email address into the database
 to receive special announcements from the Class Parents.
Parents please review and update or add your contact information in the PTA database by browsing to:
. This page will allow you to set up a secure private login that lets you see and change the information the PTA has about you and your child.
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If you have questions or the web page does not work for you, please email
for technical support.

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Senior Trip 2007; January 18th -20th at Fallsview Best Five Resort . Final payment for senior trip is due on the last week of December before the break or alternatively the first week of January when we return. If final payment of $210 is not made by January 4th you will lose your place on the trip and your $50 deposit!
The resort just underwent a full renovation in its hope to become a 5 star hotel. The resort has a wide variety of activities from the indoor tennis courts to the indoor basketball courts.
Thank you again to all of the parents for their continued support.
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Send Mr. Klein an email if your college apps are due: Dec. 15 th .
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Deadline for requests and Brag Sheet submissions for most teacher recommendation letters- Dec. 1 st .
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Counselor Letter of Recommendation requests are due Dec. 3 rd .
 Don’t forget to complete the On-Line College Application Submission Form (Check the Yahoo Group
Posting).
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SENIORS DUES - The Prom deposit was due November; class trip balance of $210 is due by the end of
December; senior dues ($150) are due in March.
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Junior Dinner Dance Cruise - The Juniors are proposing a Dinner Dance/Junior Prom boat cruise for a
Friday in May 2008. The cost of the Junior Prom will be approx $70 for one person. Further details with a deposit date will be announced shortly .
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The Discover Scholarship Program (formerly known as the Discover Card Tribute Awards Program) awards up to $300,000 in scholarships annually to high school juniors nationwide to support continued education and training beyond high school.
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Who is eligible to apply?
Any current high school junior who:
Has at least a 2.75 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale for 9th and 10th grades
Demonstrates accomplishments in community service and leadership and has faced a significant roadblock or challenge
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How many scholarships are available?
Up to 10 scholarships of $30,000 each
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How may scholarships be used?
Scholarships may be used for any type of post-high school education or training, certification, licensing, two- or four-year trade and technical education or a two- or fouryear college degree.
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How do students apply?
To apply online, visit www.scholarshipadministrators.net and use access key
"DISC". You may also download and print a 2008 Discover Scholarship application.
The application deadline for the 2008 program is a postmark date of Jan. 31, 2008.
Online applications must be submitted by 11:59 PM EST January 31, 2008.
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For other questions, visit https://www. scholarshipadministrators.net/EmailRequest Form.asp using access key DISC, or call 866-756-7932.
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Did you know each class has a Parent Representative ? We are still looking to fill the position in the
Freshman and Sophomore classes. To volunteer please contact Betsy, barmstr2@schools.nyc.gov
.
NEW! HSMSE HOODIES
NOW ON SALE.
Available in Grey or Black.
Hoodies $25
Sweatshirts $20
See Mr. Carey in NAC Room 4/146A

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All our students need 200 hours of community service.
Do you have an organization that can use volunteers ? Send us your contacts and we will publicize them so that students can reach their goals and assist your organization. Contact Kris Frederick @ cfkf1001@yahoo.com to submit your organization’s need in the next PTA newsletter.
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The Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children (www.womenscommission.org), a non-
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 profit located in mid-town (42nd St and Lexington Ave.) would be interested in having HSMSE student volunteers. We work on behalf of refugee women, children and youth.
Call 212-551 3115 or email info@womenscommission.org.
Community Lunch at Advent Lutheran Church, 93 rd St. and Broadway, Manhattan. Every 4 th Saturday.
Volunteers report at 10am and plan to stay until 2pm. Lunch is included.
Other websites to check out for students looking for places to volunteer: www.operationsmile.org and www.dosomething.org/volunteer
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For contests and internships please contact Mr. Hesse.
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Barnard HEOP Scholars Info Session, Wednesday, Dec 12th
Qualifications as an HEOP student:
1. 85+ GPA
2. SAT Critical Reading Score of below 620
3. Low Income
4. NY State Resident
5. Permanent Resident or US Citizen
If interested please see or contact Mr. Klein at wklein@hsmse.org
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Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition (YES) for Juniors and Seniors visit: www.collegeboard. com/yes Students submit a research project that sheds light on a health problem, using methods employed by epidemiologists. Finalists can receive up to $50,000 in college scholarships .
Deadline for submissions: February 4, 2008.
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Juniors and others should continue working towards the 2009 Intel Science Talent Scholarships . Here's a link to the contest site: http://www.sciserv.org/sts/students/index.asp
. Generous scholarships go to winners.
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ExploraVision Science Competition- www.exploravision.org - Students, please seriously consider joining this contest. You can enter as a team and split the writing of the 10 page (maximum) report. It's COOL!
It encourages K-12 students to create and explore a vision of a future technology. Each student on four first-place teams will receive a $10,000 Savings and a trip to Washington, D.C.
Here's the challenge: Pick and research a technology, then explore what it could be 20 years from now. Are there problems modern technology has yet to solve? Are there practical solutions to everyday problems we've yet to consider? Imagination is crucial for this competition.
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Parents , please urge your children to check the "opportunities" bulletin board (next to the school secretary's office across from the teacher's room). There are scholarship, science fair , and poster opportunities that the students can take advantage of.
HOW CAN YOU HELP THE HSMSE PTA?
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Marketing Advice Needed - The PTA would like to put together a marketing plan. The goal is to help ensure that the strongest possible students choose HSMSE as their specialized high school. Please contact PTA Co-
President April Feffer at japsmr@aol.com.
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Grant-Writer(s) Needed - If any parents have experience writing grant proposals, or can recommend someone with experience, please contact PTA Co-President April Feffer at japsmr@aol.com.
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Corporate Matching - Check to see if your company offers corporate matching for donation. Contact PTA co-President Betsy Armstrong at barmstr2@schools.nyc.gov
or PTA Treasurer Bruce Gressin, b-gressin
8@alumni.uchicago.edu
.

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Wanted : Willing people to help organize a PTA event . If you have a new idea , can stuff envelopes or just want to help please contact April at japsmr@aol.com or Betsy at barmstr2@schools.nyc.gov.
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The PTA is asking each family to make a contribution of $300 ( or whatever you are able to give) to the
HSMSE PTA. Funds will be used for enriching the experience our students will have at MSE. SAT Prep , after school clubs, school trips, teacher development , graduation, yearbook, communication, and social functions are a few of the ways the money will be spent. Checks can be made payable to HSMSE PTA and mailed to HSMSE PTA @ City College 138 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031. Any amount is greatly appreciated.
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Reminder: Cell phones and used ink cartridges can be recycled AND benefit the school. Bring your used ones to the PTA meeting or call Cecilia 212-691-0332 to arrange drop off through backpack mail.
IMPORTANT HSMSE PTA CONTACT INFORMATION
HSMSE PTA Officers 2007-2008
Co-Presidents: April Feffer japsmr@aol.com
Betsy Armstrong barmstr2@schools.nyc.gov
Treasurer:
Corresponding Secretary:
Recording Secretary:
Newsletter:
Bruce Gressin nycnicky@aol.com
Deirdre Wyeth dcwyeth@aol.com
Cecilia Tornaghi ctornaghi@nyc.rr.com
Kris Frederick cfkf1001@yahoo.com
Parent Representatives:
Seniors:
Juniors:
Nan Siegmund nansiegmund@earthlink.net
Manon Ruiz Ruiz2102@aol.com
Wednesday December 12 @ 6:30PM in Baskerville Hall .