Schools

Whiz Kids: Sophomores Have Chemistry on Their Minds

Three sophomore girls are breaking records in their age group.

 

 

Three sophomores at Bethel High School are breaking all the rules...in a good way! According to Principal Pat Cosentino, Romana Pilepich, Ashley Johnson and Liz Locke are the first sophomores ever to take Advanced Placement (college level) Chemistry class without having taken the prerequisite Chemistry. The girls were offered the class because the staff was sure they would succeed.

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 The three girls are among the top of their class, and they are finding the course harder than any they have ever taken. Pilepich said, “It mars your power grade if you don't get an A,” referring to her GPA.

 Locke said that she has been working very hard to keep her grades up. “Everyone wants to succeed, but I am really willing to work hard for it. I could do anything I want to do. I have a lot of strengths, but not in Chemistry.”

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 Right now, Locke is second in her class, following Pilepich, who is first. With a B in the class, Locke said she is crushed at suffering such a low grade. Her current GPA is 4.488. Locke said that the class has taught her how to deal with failing, though her GPA and class ranking show that she is far from struggling. In fact, the girls are doing as well as the seniors and juniors in the class, who previously did take Chemistry.

 Ashley Johnson, who hopes to attend Yale when she graduates, is ranked sixth in the class. Her varied interests include making teddy bears for children at Healing Hearts and the Danbury Shelter. The best part, she said, is giving them to the children and watching their faces light up. “I love doing community service,” she said, adding, “I get The President's Award every year.”

 The award is given for more than 100 hours of community service. When Ashley grows up, she hopes to combine her schoolwork with her love of service and become a pediatrician.

 All three of the girls are involved in other activities. Johnson enjoys jazz and tap dancing and has been at it for 12 years.

 Pilepich has been doing ball room dancing since the fifth grade, but her dreams of attending Harvard do not feature dancing as a career. “I want to do something in the Humanities,” she said.

 Pilepich also runs track and is also involved in Bethel High School  NJROTC program. She was recently featured dancing in the video of the recent NJROTC Ball.

 “I like high school a lot better than middle school. You have more independence and freedom to do all things that help you develop as a person,” Pilepich said. With her 4.76 GPA, it is no surprise that she is in the National Honor Society.

 Liz Locke, so confident in her abilities, so driven to keep the grades up, has different hopes and dreams to fulfill.  When asked what she wanted most in her future, she said, smiling shyly, "I really want a nice house and a nice family."

Hoping she didn't sound too silly, Locke explained, “I devote my time to cheerleading, music and my family. I spend a lot of time with my family,” she said. “Other kids go to the mall on the weekend, but I would rather spend time with them.  She added, “I play the piano really well, and I was part of the crew for the last musical, Willie Wonka. Next year, maybe I will be in the show.”

 Charming girls, all three of them.

 “The girls have done an outstanding job of challenging themselves and with a lot of very hard work on their part, have shown what students are capable of doing,” Cosentino said. “They are outstanding examples of what can be accomplished by hard work and  not giving up when it would be the easy way out.”


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