SJ Schools: Cherry Hill HS West

Under the direction of Principal George Munyan, Cherry Hill High School West serves more than 1600 students in a variety of disciplines. The school is located on 2102 Chapel Avenue in Cherry Hill and offers more than 180 honors, accelerated and standard courses to challenge students academically. An astounding 91 percent of West seniors continue their educational career, proving their curriculum and guidance is successful.

Cherry Hill West students’ excitement and enthusiasm for learning earns them several achievements including:
* First place finishes in chemistry and physics competitions
* National, state, and local awards in music
* First place winners in the DECA competition
* First Place by American Scholastic Press for the literary magazine Aspects

Cherry Hill West has several exciting activities, events and news to share with the community. Here are some past, present and future activities taking place at the high school:

Cherry Hill West celebrated the opening of their brand new auditorium with a gala grand opening including a ribbon cutting ceremony and the unveiling of the corner stone right outside the main entrance of the lobby to the auditorium. The rest of the evening took place inside the spectacular new building. The host for the night was Mr. Joe Akinskas, the assistant principal for Fine and Performing Arts. The evening inside the auditorium began with the presentation of the colors by the Cherry Hill West chapter of the Air Force Junior ROTC. The presentation of the colors was followed by renditions of several patriotic songs played by the West bands and the West Singers.

On Thursday, April 10th, Cherry Hill West will present “An Evening of Dance” at 7:30pm in the new auditorium. The West dance troup and Pablo Aslan from the New York Tango will entertain the audience in a variety of dance disciplines. The event is sponsored by the Cherry Hill High Schools Fine and Performing Arts Department and admission is free.

Help a senior girl look feel special for the prom! Community members are encouraged to donate unwanted prom and cocktail dresses in good shape to give someone a chance to look and feel great for their prom. Donation should be brought to Dr. DeGisi at the high school.

The West Music Boosters Club provides music to students and their parents with fundraising opportunities for music-related expenses. Their newest effort, the ‘Pave your way to a new auditorium campaign,’ will fund necessary extras for the new auditorium that were not included in the original construction project. The wish list includes curtains, backdrop, upgraded soundstage and stage lights and anew microphones. If you would like to donate, please make out your check to Cherry Hill High School West Music Boosters Auditorium fund and mail to P.O. Box 4008, Cherry Hill. For more info, call (856) 663-8006.

Cherry Hill High School promoted the joy of cooking with the ‘Cuisine with a Theme’ program. Students enrolled in the Food services class had the option to cook for teachers and staff by researching, preparing and presenting lunch for teachers and staff based on the book selection for the month. The theme for this month was ‘Chinese American Warrior.’ The students also invited students form the Chinese-American club to share their heritage.

Cherry Hill West students garner several awards for their outstanding athletic, academic and community-related achievements. Congratulations to the following students:

Senior Casey Santangelo competed in the New Jersey Jr. Olympic Women's State Gymnastic championships. She not only won first place all around, but broke an 8-year record. Casey also broke a record on beam, taking first place in the state. This is the second time Casey has won first place in the state finals.

The West swim team is enjoying a banner year with sophomore Liz Marianni winning the diving state championship and the Jim Roach 11-dive championship. Melanie Rolish also placed fifth in the state championships at the 200 individual medley, and third in the breast-stroke at state championships.

Congratulations to the West singers that performed at the American Choral Directors Association 2003 All National Convention in New York City on February 12th through 16th. Eight West students were invited to perform with the National Choirs at the convention. Selected from thousands of students across the country, freshman Jacob Earwood was selected for the All National Junior High School Choir, seniors John-Michael Earwood and John Shimchick were selected for the All National Men's and Boy's Honor Choir, and selected for the All National Women's Honors Chorus were seniors Jenny Kopil and Erin Levine and juniors Suzanne Kerr, Chelsea Pomponio, and Tracy Portik.

The West singers also participated in the Annual Roxbury Invitational Choral Showcase on Sat. March 29th at Roxbury High School. West Singers received the highest honor of being named the top Choral Group for the festival and was featured in the evening Showcase Concert. Suzanne Kerr received a recognition award and Juan Gabriel Ruiz won 1st Place in the Solo "Show" category with his performance of '76 Trombones' from the Music Man in the soloist competition.

Congratulations to the talented students at Cherry Hill West for being selected for the 2003 All State Chorus. Nineteen students have been selected, the highest number for West ever to place in this prestigious choir. The students were selected from more than 1500 students in the state competition. Congratulations to:
Samantha Boden (Section Leader)
Dean Chung
Suzanne Kerr
Shana Lore
Kevin McGinnis
Samantha Miller
Vanessa Pabon
Chelsea Pomponio
Tracy Portik
Juan Gabriel Ruiz
Justin Sacks
Bobby Sanborn
Chuck Stroup
Mike Styles
Stephanie Szabo
Chris Tjiattas
Casey Cowan
Katie Matlack
Jennifer Sheehan

For more information about Cherry Hill West, visit them on the web at west.cherryhill.k12.nj.us.

For more information about what’s going on in our local schools, and what today’s students are up to, visit our SJ Schools page.

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Author: Melissa Samuelson