Bubble Tea

Ficus, Fruity Yogurt, Junbi, Kung Fu Tea, MTea: These are just a few of the bubble tea stores Princeton has to offer. But what is bubble tea? Bubble tea was invented in the 1980s by Taiwanese tea house manager, Lin Hsui Hui. While bored at a staff meeting, Hui had the revolutionary idea of dumping her tapioca pudding (“fen yuan”) into her iced Assam tea. Awestruck by the flavor and deliciousness of the beverage, it was added to the menu of the teahouse and rose to popularity almost instantly. Soon, adjacent teahouses added it to their menus too while experimenting with fruit teas, tapioca pearls, and other traditional Chinese dessert add-ons. Today bubble tea has become a globally known beverage and a social media sensation. 

Matcha

Though originating in China during the Tang Dynasty, matcha today is considered the quintessential Japanese tea that has taken the world by storm. When Buddhist merchants reached Japan between 6 C.E. and 7 C.E., they established a variety of Buddhist monasteries around the empire which utilized specific rituals, one of them being the drinking and celebration of matcha. This was quickly taken up by samurai-in-training programs in order to help the warriors cultivate their inner strength and develop a calm, clear mindset. Almost instantly, matcha’s popularity boomed and became a cultural tradition in Japan. So how is it made? Instead of being steeped, matcha is made by whisking hot water with green tea grounds in order to create a frothy drink. Nowadays, there are two kinds of matcha cultivated, ceremonial and culinary, which both act as representations of pleasant virtues such as harmony, tranquility, and purity, originating from their unique history. 

Chai
A chai latte is one of the more popular drinks ordered at Starbucks, Dunkin’, or any local coffee shops. However, the average “chai” you might purchase at those places is far from its ancestor. “Chai” is the Hindi word for tea, dating back to over 5,000 years ago where it was used mainly for medicinal purposes. It was not until after the British colonizers arrived when locals started to add sugar and milk to their chai; soon after, a chai culture erupted throughout the Indian subcontinent that has outlasted British rule. The sweet, spicy, rich flavor of chai is what makes it so popular today. 

Teatime with Vanguard

It's mind blowing to grasp that the vast expanse of dark blue water we watch while relaxing on the Jersey Shore makes up less than a fraction of the entire ocean, which in turn  occupies almost 71 percent of the Earth’s surface. The ocean creates a habitat occupied by over 276,878 known species of marine animals that have thrived for millions of years. As with all mysteries, questions arise and studies accompany them: marine biology, the study of marine life and human impact on the marine ecosystems, places a focus on the miracle that is our oceans. As pollution and climate change become a recurring topic in current times, the need for environmental awareness has surged, and a general environmental science class may not meet the demands for in-depth study of marine science. 
Due to the diversified nature of the PHS science curriculum and courses, students are able to take a deep dive into specialized science topics, including organic chemistry, planetary science, environmental science, anatomy, forensics, and more. Yet for some reason, Marine Biology is absent. On a hot summer day, the common thought process of a New Jersey resident would be to spend a day at the beach and swim in the ocean. Being exposed to the East Coast staple that is the Jersey Shore, many New Jersey students develop a love for the ocean, and in turn the marine sciences. 
“We are a coastal state. New Jersey is famous for its beaches. There's so many opportunities in the state that I think we should take advantage of… we should absolutely be integrating more into our curriculum” said biology and Research teacher Mark Eastburn.
Unfortunately, a day trip to the shore might be slightly out of reach for the average student. Including a marine biology course at PHS, however, could make learning about the ocean just that bit more accessible, fueling the curiosity of students who don’t have the resources to go down to the shore.
Aside from fostering greater curiosity about the ocean among students, a marine biology class could also help point students toward a prospective major. More and more, students have been undecided about their majors when entering college. Fortunately, providing more specialized courses that properly direct students could remedy this disorientation. In essence, a marine biology class may just be the specialized science classes PHS students need. 
Though even without a course of direction, Eastburn mentions that still he has and had students who were particularly interested in marine biology. 
“I have multiple students who want to pursue marine biology. And I have students, even outside of the research program, who come to me with an interest in doing a project associated with marine biology,” Eastburn said. 
The sheer amount of undiscovered and understudied marine could have a plethora of uses – explaining the unknown, discovering alternate biofuels to save the planet, and even curing diseases. PHS’ resources and university-collaboration opportunities can play a role in new developing scientific interests, which may result in future discoveries. 
“This is a very unique place where you can make amazing things happen. You can't do this anywhere else. One town over, Westminster, they can't do this; Montgomery, they can't do this. We can do this. And we're the only ones, so let's leverage that. Let's not be West Windsor. Let's not be Ewing, let's not be Montgomery. Let's be frickin Princeton.”

Why Marine Biology Class

  Beginning on November sixth, HackPHS 2022, a multi-day student-organized programming competition hosted at Princeton High School, brought with it more than 300 students entirely in person for the first time since the start of the COVID pandemic.
   HackPHS is free to enter and open for all students to participate in. During the event, participants are encouraged to form teams and work on a coding or robotics project of their choosing. These projects are judged at the end of the twenty-four hours, with the winners receiving a number of prizes. For participants who don’t feel as comfortable with coding, they can opt to not create a project, and instead attend a wide variety of fun, inclusive, events and lectures that take place throughout the event.
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   “I went my freshman year not having any coding knowledge at all, and I still had a bunch of fun because I was able to attend intros to languages such as Java and Python. And then also other fun activities, like a chess tournament and trivia,” said Davita Wrone ’23, a design and technology organizer for HackPHS. 
   This year’s HackPHS was successful in many ways, with over one hundred people in attendance, and an overall positive participant response. 
   “I just felt like it was really fun because I got to stay overnight and just work in the school for the entire day,” said Sophia Tsang ’23, a participant at HackPHS. “There were a lot of snacks, and a lot of events and lectures that even if you're not interested in computer science, were fun to listen to. Also just being able to look at other people's projects was really fun.”
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  While HackPHS first started as an in-person event, it was, like many other things, forced to move to an online format in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. The following year, while it returned to being held partially in person, only PHS students were allowed to attend, and many students still opted to participate virtually. HackPHS 2022 marked the first time that the event has been held fully in person since the start of the pandemic. Along with bringing back a sense of normalcy, having all of the participants in one place again had many other benefits. 
   “I think just being able to talk face to face with other students just made communication a lot easier. Also, I think people just like the experience of being able to stay overnight,” said Shrey Khetan ’24, a logistics organizer for HackPHS. “Also when you're online, it's harder to run some of the activities. So I think [being in person] makes the workshops and activities more fun.”
   Along with the return to a fully in-person format came a number of challenges for the Organizers of the event. On top of the predictable problems that come with the organization of sponsors and almost twenty unique activities, one problem stood out above the rest: turnout. 
   “This year had a smaller turnout than some of the other previous in-person years and I think that's because of those two online years. Increasing that, and getting the word out more … will probably be a way to improve,” Wrone said. 
   Aside from low attendance numbers, nothing went significantly wrong at this year’s event. Because of this, as they look into the future, the organizers of HackPHS hope to emulate the success of this year in its future installations. 
   “I think that this year was successful because everyone enjoyed their time, and we didn't have any problems,” said Khetan. “Maybe we're gonna try for next year to raise some more money so we can have some better prizes for the people. But other than that, we're probably going to follow a similar layout as we have this year.”

HackPHS returns fully in person, the first time since 2019


Every year, the Princeton Education Foundation advertises that teachers, faculty, staff, and administrators are able to apply for a grant up to $2,000. Bryan Hoffman, an English teacher at PHS, decided to use this opportunity to create an outdoor space for students within the school campus where they can relax, recharge, and enjoy the beautiful art in it.

Hoffman recruited some of his fellow teachers to create a committee for the creation of the envisioned courtyards. The vision was to create three courtyards. Their goal was to finish the first courtyard by the beginning of the 2022–2023 school year, and the second a year after, and a third the year after that.

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Even though the whole process is still in the planning phase, Hoffman never loses sight of the courtyards’ ultimate goal, the students. He wants as many students involved in the creation process as possible, and hopes that these courtyards would help to improve the mental health of the PHS students.

“Students who are in crisis, we know that they can benefit tremendously from having natural spaces.” said Hoffman. “So if you go out and sit next to a tree, you can be out of the stressful situation… in the sunshine, that can have a tremendously positive effect on students.”

Hoffman has enlisted the help of the environmental club at PHS, which helped advocate for the use of sustainable materials during the construction of these courtyards. They are working together to ensure that everything in the courtyards will be eco-friendly.

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Prior to this, Hoffman looked towards the art department for a potential mural to be put out there as well. He hoped that art students could help paint the mural as well as create many of the sculptures and possible bird baths that will be part of the landscaping.

Another idea Hoffman had was to include the word “joy” around the walls of the courtyards in many different languages, beginning with the oldest language known to humans – Sumerian. He believes this will have a significant impact on the students and remind them to include more optimism in their everyday lives.

“You would see the word in multiple languages. The impression you get is that this is a part of the human. It's like a human right, a human experience, to have joy, to have kindness and to feel good. The fact that the word exists in the oldest language known to humans, the oldest written language, I think is inspirational.” Hoffman said.

The three courtyards will be located on the open areas beside the Numina Gallery, next to the nurse’s office, and by room 161.

Hoffman’s vision for the courtyards includes amphitheaters, art, yoga, produce gardens, nature, and most of all, peace and relaxation.

“It should feel like you go out there and you're not in school. You'll see artwork, probably sculptures, spaces to sit and read, maybe under a tree, we're looking at whether or not we can put trees out there, but definitely garden boxes with bushes and native plants.” Hoffman said.

The construction process for the first courtyard beside the Numina Gallery will be completed over summer break, in time for the beginning of the next school year.

Courtyard grants: PHS envisions a new courtyard in hopes of improving students’ wellbeing

On behalf of the state of New Jersey allowing schools to not require masks, Princeton Public Schools district made the decision to remove the mask mandate starting March 7, 2022.  

   Over the past two years, schools and communities have required masks in most public spaces. Many people believe that masks have become a part of life, including Ruchira Banerjee ’22. 

   “I wouldn’t leave my house without bringing a mask everywhere I went,” said Banerjee. “It did become the new normal, at least for me and my life, and I think at school as well.”

   One main reason that the mandate was lifted is that over 88 percent of all people aged 12 and over in Princeton are fully vaccinated. Additionally, over the past three weeks, the overall number of COVID-19 cases in the school district decreased to only around five to seven cases per week. 

   However, these low numbers still didn’t mean that the decision was an easy one for the administration. Due to the complexity of this resolution, the Board of Education worked in close collaboration with the Superintendent of Schools as well as Dr. Robert Helmrich, the PPS district physician, to ensure that the decision came at the right time.

   “Expert advice is solicited from individuals including me and the Princeton Township Health Officer.  Specifically for COVID, a Health and Safety Committee has been assembled to evaluate issues and make decisions,” Helmrich said.

   Throughout the decision process, Helmrich supported the optional masking policy for the school district. However, he believes the district needs to be flexible if the number of cases changes or if there’s another outbreak.

   “If these factors begin to trend in a less favorable direction, we would need to reevaluate all of our COVID-19 policies, including masking,” said Helmrich. “But it is reasonable to expect that there should not be a significant increase in cases, as long as overall COVID-19 activity in our community remains low.”

   The lifting of the mask mandate also benefited students in different ways. Aaron Thayer, an English teacher at Princeton High School, noticed a difference in the energy of the students in the hallways after the mandate was lifted.

   “I really have felt that students’ lives have become really blank and bleak,” said Thayer. “With a mask off, there is a lot more social interaction and more emotional triggering of people … It seems like enthusiasm is way up.”

   

PHS lifts mask mandate

Growing up, Timothy Campbell always knew he had a passion for politics and history. From engaging high school history classes to family Thanksgiving dinner conversations centered around politics, Campbell was drawn to the open and interpretive nature of the two fields. Now, as a history teacher at PHS, Campbell has led meaningful discussions about American history and contemporary events for 16 years.

Before coming to Princeton, Campbell was born and raised in Michigan, where he studied at Central Michigan University. With two teachers for parents, Campbell had always seen himself becoming a teacher in his own future. In college, Campbell tried to pursue his interest in political science as much as possible, majoring in secondary education with a focus on constitutional law and political science. By senior year, Campbell was amongst a select class of around 100 other interns at the White House.“I did a lot of correspondence, letter writing, setting up of meetings with potential appointees, and ... logistics of the correspondence,” said Campbell. “I had the best job because I had pretty much daily access and interaction with the President of the United States.”Following his internship, Campbell explored many different applications of his major, such as consulting and local campaigning. But he soon felt burnt out and realized he wanted to reignite his original passions in teaching.At the recommendation of a colleague, Campbell taught at Villa Victoria Academy, an all-girls private Catholic school, for three years. After researching New Jersey school districts more, Campbell came across PHS and was drawn to students’ drive for academic success. Campbell has always placed an emphasis on student growth and broadening perspectives rather than numerical grades. His classes are discussion-based, aimed toward encouraging open conversations on topics that may be difficult or controversial. Campbell believes this style of learning gives his students a safe place to discuss, especially if there are differing opinions.

“You don’t learn anything from just talking about or listening to opinions that are your own ... nobody ever died from listening. The worst thing that ever happens is that it solidifies your faith and your conviction in your own belief system ... [and] that’s a win-win,” said Campbell. “Silencing discourse, or not listening to [it], in addition to silencing people that you disagree with, [makes you] no better than the people that you disagree with. Campbell believes it is even more important to create such an environment given the turbulent political climate the country has been facing.“I’ve always been a firm believer in the idea that the most difficult conversations in life are all usually the most important,” said Campbell. “I understand [that]... in a school setting, [there is] an unwillingness or a level of discomfort, to have those difficult conversations in class whether it’s Black Lives Matter, abortion, guns, whatever it may be, but those are the important ones.”

Expanding on this, Campbell also believes that his students are in a place in their lives where conversation about these issues is uniquely important. “Having discourse and providing a place for young adults to start to talk about and think openly about these issues is important [because] come the next election, they’re going to have the opportunity to affect some sort of change,” Campbell said. Nicholas Matese ’24, a student in AP United States History with Campbell belives that Campbell’s efforts to include everyone in class discussions have been beneficial for students.“I like the fact that he makes sure everyone who wants to speak is able to speak,” said Matese.Campbell’s students also appreciate efforts to teach uncomfortable topics and tie them back to real life examples. “Especially in government and politics, there’s a lot more relevance to current events. ... The issues that he discusses with our Constitution are really being challenged every day in the political sphere,” said William Erickson ’22, who had Campbell for AP United States History and currently takes AP Government and Politics.To incorporate current event topics and introduce these difficult topics, Campbell goes beyond the textbook, using podcasts, documentaries, YouTube videos, and articles. He believes these mediums not only supplement his lessons, but also allow him to fill informational and educational gaps from the textbook.

Campbell recognizes COVID-19 as a major setback in the past two years since it prevented his favorite part of teaching—his daily interactions with his students. However, Campbell never lets them affect his goal and objective as a teacher. “There are always going to be frustrations in public education, but ... [I never lose] sight of the fact that the students that are sitting in front of [me] are the most important constituency that [I] serve. Nothing will ever cloud that,” Campbell said.

Outside of the classroom, Campbell is an avid sports fan who loves running as well as playing golf and hockey. On top of that, he also enjoys spending time with his children and often acts as their “taxi driver,” taking them to their many sports events. Campbell’s intended takeaway for his students is to pay attention to the world and to embrace their unique opinions. “I don’t care who they vote for. I would never do that. But just that [they] have a voice. And in this world where a lot of voices are silenced... you have a way of promoting change yourself,” said Campbell. “So that’s my biggest priority... that when they leave here, they go out into the world and they exercise that voice.”

PHS Profile: Timothy Campbell promotes activism among students


 Dr. Robert Corell knew that he was drawn to the sciences after conducting independent research on white and red-eyed fruit flies when he was a junior in high school, later choosing to pursue a PhD in chemistry. Now, Corell begins his 25th year at PHS, teaching AP Chemistry and Chemistry I Accelerated. Although for many students chemistry isn’t the easiest subject to learn and understand, Dr. Corell makes sure his students are on the path to achieving their goals and fulfilling the potential that he sees in them.

   Corell began his teaching career right out of college. While studying for his master’s and PhD, he worked as a teaching assistant. After earning his graduate degrees, he taught at Spotswood High School for a year before transitioning to his position at PHS.

   While in his class, Corell wants students to feel engaged but challenged by the content. He believes that students in accelerated tracks need a different style of teaching in order to truly succeed.

   “I try to run a well organized class to try and help the students become organized,” said Corell. “That’s one of the things that I think … the top students need the most help with. They’re all smart, but most of them have spent their K–8 years being the smartest kid in class, and not having to do a lot of work to be successful.”

   Corell tries to provide a structure for his students in which they ask questions and are able to come up with their own answers. He mentions that the kids who self-motivate and stay organized are the ones who are able to succeed in his classes. For many of his students, Corell’s way of setting expectations further helps them improve and challenge them academically.

   “He’s definitely intense and his teaching style is quick, but most things are pretty straightforward. I'd say he’s good at making sure that all of his students are doing well,” said Accelerated Chemistry I student Jane Bennett ’24.

   On top of the high expectations and extra attention from Corell, his students mention his positive attitude towards learning makes it all more fun to communicate with him.

   “He’s a lot of fun to have as a teacher … He’s great at explaining everything and when you go to him for help, he explains things in a way that makes sense. He’s [also] a sarcastic person … so it’s more fun to have conversations with him.” said AP Chemistry student Audrey Kang ’24. 

   Alongside teaching his classes, Corell is also involved in running multiple activities outside of school, including Chemistry Club and PHS’s summer Chemistry I Accelerated course. He believes that the summer program has been a positive addition to PHS.

   “We felt that we could do a better job than the other institutions that were providing the summer program. And we thought we could use the money that we were making with the summer program to provide scholarships for those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, who don't generally appear in the AP program,” said Corell. “We’ve been successful beyond our wildest dreams in the first part of the program.”

   On his career journey, Corell faced no shortage of challenges. Due to his nontraditional education, when he first started teaching, he felt unprepared for his students. 

   “My entry into teaching at the high school level was definitely very rough. Having never gone to a teaching college, I went what’s called an alternative route. so I actually did not get my first course in how to teach until I actually had been teaching for several days,” said Corell. “Both my first year at Spotswood and my first year here were definitely very rough. And if it wasn’t for the support I received from certain people at the time, I wouldn’t be here.”

   Corell notes that COVID-19 was also a challenge in his teaching career, though one that created an opportunity for growth. He mentions that before the pandemic he had a very “lecture-and-slideshow-dependent” teaching style but needed to condense his lessons in order to fit the time crunch. 

   “COVID-19 forced us to really think about how we used our time when we were remote last year. We literally had 50 percent of the instructional time that we had in a normal year. So we had to think about, especially for a course like an accelerated course, how [to] deliver the content,” Corell said.

   Nevertheless, the pandemic did not stop him from helping his students achieve their goals in class. One thing that Corell did to adapt to COVID-19 was to implement something called flipped learning. 

   “The idea of the flipped learning style in its purest form, is to take what would normally happen in the classroom, and make that homework,” said Corell. “The idea is [that] you do [the practice] in front of the teacher. So the teacher can walk around and give one-on-one or small group help.”

   Outside of PHS, Corell enjoys traveling and spending time with his wife.
  “Before COVID-19, my wife and I were definitely enjoying our empty nest. We liked to go see the 4 [p.m.] movie almost every week, and then go out to dinner afterwards,” said Corell. “And I love to travel, I love to go to places I haven’t been before. New Orleans is a great city to go visit. I enjoyed my trip there just a couple of weeks ago.”

   During his 24 years of teaching at PHS, Corell believes that he has learned many lessons and encountered many obstacles, but sees these as just another aspect that makes his job interesting.

   “If you don’t improve in the beginning, you’re certainly not going to last. And there are still challenges. COVID threw a curveball at us. New administrators throw a curveball at us. There’s always challenges to overcome,” said Corell. “But it’s one of the things that makes the job fun. It’s not the same year after year, it doesn’t get boring.”



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