SOUTH JERSEY CHAPTER ANNUAL BRUNCH – Sunday, September 22, 2013
Come join us for the annual South Jersey Brunch held at the Mays Landing Country Club in Mays Landing, New Jersey. Festivities to begin 11:00 AM. All Southernites and their guests are invited – the cost is $25. Walk-ins with payment welcomed.
The Guest speaker is author and past Inquirer reporter Murray Dubin, who will discuss his book “South Philadelphia: Mummers. memories and the Melrose Diner”. Murray will have a book signing and for each book sold (cost is $35 and purchases can be cash or check), he will donate $5 to our Alumni Association.
For more details contact Rita D’Armi or Sam Chatis at 215-321-1065.
REUNIONS
Remember that 2013 is the “5th year” and “10th year” anniversary for graduating classes ending in “3” and “8”. If your class ends in “3” or “8”, and you have not already begun to plan for your reunion, the time to start is NOW. Of course, classes are encouraged to have reunions as often as they wish.
The following Graduating Classes have information posted about Reunions on our website:
Boys’ and Girls Classes of June 1953 – 60th Reunion – Sunday, October 6, 2013, 1pm
Class of 1968 – 45th Reunion – Saturday, October 26, 2013, 7pm
Classes of January and June 1958 – 35th Reunion – Sunday, November 3, 2013, 12noon
Class of 1973 – 40th Reunion – Saturday, November 30, 2013, 7pm
Class of 1976 – 37th Reunion – Fall 2013 – Planning Underway
Class of June 1964 – 50th Reunion – June 15, 2014 – Planning Underway
Visit our website (www.sphsalumni.com) for details and contact information for these Reunions. PLEASE ADHERE TO THE DEADLINE DATES FOR PAYMENT IN THE REUNION ANNOUNCEMENTS. It is important that you make payment by the deadline date as many venues require as exact a count as possible, two weeks in advance of the event.
If you have a scheduled reunion which is not listed above, please let us know the details of your Class Reunion (include the coordinator’s contact information) by sending an email to [email protected]. We will post your Class Reunion on our website under the “Events and Reunions” link.
If your Class Reunion details are not posted within seven (7) days of your request (or the details posted require correction), please call the office at 215-468-3377 or email [email protected]. Thank you.
OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST TO THE SPHS ALUMNI COMMUNITY
Twenty-First Annual Alfonso Cavaliere Memorial Concert – Sunday, October 20, 2013, 4pm
Annual Award of Excellence Luncheon – Wednesday, November 13, 2013, 12noon
Details for these events are posted on our website under the “Events and Reunions” section.
THE SOUTHERN FLAG POLE IS BACK!!!
For a number of years, Southern has gone without the use of its 150 feet Flag Pole because it lacked the funding to fix it. Thanks to the generous donations of community members who were approached by Principal Hackney, he was able to secure enough funds to repair the Flag Pole.
Below is the text of an email from Principal Hackney on September 10, 2013:
“Hello all,
I know that this is very short notice but things are happening very quickly. Our flag pole has been repaired as of last Friday, many thanks for B.E. [Building Engineer] John Kenney, and has been in use for the for the first time in many, many years. The last time it was working as reported to me, and I could be incorrect, was back in the 1970s. If this true, then tomorrow will be a special event.
I have wanted the flag pole repaired for some years, with a daily flag raising by our JROTC students. Well tomorrow this will happen at 7:45 am. It will not be long, if you are late you might miss it. Therefore, if you are available to attend, please do so. The JROTC students will be in full JROTC uniform during the ceremony. Also, tomorrow is 9/11 so it should have special meaning to us as American citizens.
Once again, I apologize for the late notice but this all just came together. If you take any pictures please send them to Barry Hertzberg.
Thank you to Major Astillero and SFC Mack, and our JROTC officers.
Respectfully,
Principal Hackney”
[end of Principal’s message]
The SPHS Alumni Association salutes all involved for a job well done!!!
OPERATION RECOGNITION
(Recognizing Veterans who did not receive Diploma due to entry into the Military for World War II, The Korean Conflict or The Vietnam War.)
Did you know:
Operation Recognition is a Federal Law that authorizes school districts to honor Veterans that left high school before graduating with an Honorary Diploma. It recognizes veterans who served in World War II, The Korean Conflict or The Vietnam War.
The School District of Philadelphia School Reform Commission shall grant a diploma to a Veteran who meets the following requirements:
– Was honorably discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States of America
– Served in the United States military between September 16,1940 and December 31, 1946 or between June 27, 1950 and January 30, 1955 or between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975
– Attended high school between 1937 and 1946 during WWII or between 1947 and 1955 during the Korean Conflict or between 1958 and 1975 during the Vietnam War
– Would have been a member of a graduation class during 1941 through 1950 for WWII or 1951 through 1957 for Korean conflict and 1961 through 1975 for Vietnam War but did not graduate due to entry into military service.
– Attended high school within the School District of Philadelphia.
If you know a Veteran that qualifies, an application can be found at the following link: http://www.milvet.state.pa.us/DMVA/Docs_BVA/Forms/Operation%20Recognition%20Application.pdf
For more information: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/veterans_benefits/11386/disabled_benefits/567420
You may also contact:
Shawn Baker, Special Projects Assistant, Office of Counseling & Promotion Standards, 215-400-6695
Jill Riddick, Supervisor, SDP Student Records Department, 215-400-6983 or
Yvette Young, Assistant Director Ops and Special Services, 215-400-6898
SOUTHERN’S ARCHIVES ROOM – A GREAT RESOURCE
Thanks to the hard work of Archives Chair, Marc Adelman, and others, Southern’s Archives Room has been organized. It has proven to be a valuable resource for genealogy projects, an academic thesis, study in photography, and overall nostalgia for those who have visited the Archives Room at Southern.
The Archives Room contains yearbooks going back to the first graduating class for Boys in 1910. Although Southern’s Girls Classes started in 1918, the first Girls’ Class Yearbook was not published until 1940. Commencement booklets from 1910 are also available for viewing in the Archives Room.
Archives Chair, Marc Adelman, is usually in the Archives room on Tuesdays, between 2 and 5pm. If you wish to visit the Archives Room, please contact Mr. Adelman at [email protected] to make an appointment to visit the Archives Room. A suggested donation of $10 is requested of visitors to the Archives Room.
UPDATE ON THE MERGER OF SOUTHERN AND BOK
For those of you who did not know, Edward J. Bok High School (“Bok”) was closed at the end of the 2012-2013 school year. The students from Bok now attend Southern. Because Bok was a vocational/trade high school, Southern now has a vocational/trade school component.
In the first couple of weeks of school, we are happy to report that things are running smoothly with the transition.
No worries, our Alma Mater will keep the name “South Philadelphia High School” (aka “Southern.”). The SPHS Alumni Association will have it no other way.
LIFETIME MEMBERSHIPS AS GIFT
Christmas is just around the corner. Lifetime (or Memorial) Memberships make a great gift for the Southern graduate who has not yet become a Lifetime Member. Perhaps your mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, or other relative graduated from Southern. Surprise them for Christmas (or on their birthday or anniversary) with a gift of a lifetime – a Lifetime Membership. Lifetime Memberships may be conveniently purchased online at www.sphsalumni.com for the one-time cost of just $25 (please indicate the name of the SPHS graduate and new Lifetime Member in the box for Lifetime Member’s name. Thank you.). You can also ask your relative to see if he or she has their yearbook, and if not, surprise them by purchasing their yearbook at the price of just $15. A Lifetime (or Memorial) Membership for the person photographed in the yearbook is required to be eligible to purchase a yearbook.
SPHS ALUMNI ONLINE DIRECTORY
The Online Directory on our website (www.sphsalumni.com) is now operational again. Any graduate of Southern (whether a Lifetime Member of the Alumni Association or not) can add himself/herself to the Online Directory. Southern graduates may enter as much or as little information as he/she wishes to share.
NEW COMMUNITY MAGAZINE FOCUSES ON SOUTH PHILLY
For those of you who still live in the neighborhood, you may have noticed that a new free community magazine arrived in your mail in late August or early September 2013.
The magazine is called “South Philadelphia Life” and focuses on all things South Philly. The debut issue included an article submitted by the SPHS Alumni Association to bring public awareness to the existence of the Alumni Association and what it does.
Currently, the monthly magazine is only distributed to South Philadelphia residents. Hopefully, there will be a method for anyone who would like to receive copies to be added to their mailing list in the future.
