High Tech Musical Theatre Students Set to Perform at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2015

(Edinburgh, SCT—September 24, 2014) The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the famous and largest theatre festival in the world, has once again invited High Tech Musical Theatre to tour and perform in Auld Reekie, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.
As part of the organizational forum known as the American High School Theatre Festival (AHSTF), which recently celebrated its twentieth anniversary, High Tech Musical Theatre joins only nineteen other secondary schools in the entire United States being represented at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Students will spend a fortnight in Great Britain next August, partaking in special workshops at London’s famous Globe Theatre, sightseeing in beautiful Scotland, and, finally, the pièces de résistance, putting on four performances of their adaptation of Rent—which premieres at High Tech next spring—at Church Hill Theatre in Edinburgh.

Celebrating its fifteenth year, High Tech Musical Theatre, under the direction of Alex Perez and support from Musical Director Rod Shepard, has been widely recognized state-wide, nationally, and internationally. Since 2000, the program has earned forty-five nominations and thirteen Papermill Playhouse Awards, including honors for Best Overall Production, Best Director, Best Costumes, Best Makeup, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Featured Performers, and Best Educational Impact. Other accomplishments include an Off-Off-Broadway, six-week run of the 2003 production Oz, A Twisted Musical, representing the country at the Oberhavel Germany Arts Festival in 2001, and recognition by the Metro-North Cappies Awards, which honors excellence in New Jersey Theatre, with fifteen nominations and six wins in a span of two years.
High Tech Musical Theatre offers master classes instructed by industry professionals, such as Broadway’s Kerry Butler, Rob McClure, Kenita Miller, Colin Hanlon, and James Rado, and partnerships with Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) and Papermill Playhouse. Many graduates continue in the arts and attend such prestigious institutions as Tisch School of the Arts, Carnegie Mellon, Stella Adler, Yale Drama, American Musical and Dramatic Academy, The Atlantic Theatre Company, and Rutgers Mason Gross School. Alumni have even appeared on Broadway, regional productions, national tours, and in films and television.
“Raising money is half the battle, the other half is staying committed to putting on a great production,” says Perez. “We’re up for the challenge, but we need support from our community to give these students the chance of a lifetime. It will forever be a moment in their lives that nothing else can replace.”
High Tech Musical Theatre needs to raise $130,000 to cover airline flights, room & board, rights, set & costume rentals, workshops, and travel needs. Please contribute at http://www.gofundme.com/elcavc.

Seven High Tech Students Qualify to Enter the 2015 National Merit® Scholarship Program

(Evanston, IL—September 23, 2014) High Tech High School seniors Tristan Ventura of Bayonne, Hoboken resident Gabriel Bond, Noah Dutton and Meichin Ong of Jersey City, Kearny resident SiTian Zhang, Karina Voronich of North Bergen, and Secaucus resident Luana Xu have met the qualifications for the National Merit® Scholarship Program this year, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech.
A Letter of Commendation from High Tech High School and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) will be presented by Dr. Giammarella to the seven outstanding scholars. NMSC has recognized approximately 34,000 Commended Students throughout the country, although they will not continue in the competition for National Merit® Scholarships in 2015. Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2015 competition by taking the PSAT/NMSQT® last year.
With a selection Index score of 203 or above, each student ranks among the 50,000 highest-scoring participants of those 1.5 million program entrants. Because they have demonstrated outstanding academic potential, they will be referred by the College Plans Reporting Service (CPRS) to two U.S. colleges or universities that interest them.
Of these 50,000 highest-scoring participants, about 16,000 will be recognized as National Merit Program semifinalists, representing the top scorers in each state, and approximately 34,000 other high scorers will be commended for their performances on the PSAT/NMSQT. Semifinalists will have the opportunity to continue in the competition for Merit Scholarship® awards.

High Tech Ping-Pong Club Donates New Table

(North Bergen, NJ—September 18, 2014) Merely two years after its inauguration, the High Tech High School Ping-Pong Club has donated a brand-new table to the school for club use, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.
Since its inception, the Ping-Pong Club has hosted four school-wide and district-wide tournaments, with overwhelming student participation, to become one of High Tech High’s most popular extracurricular activities.
"The Ping-Pong Club has grown tremendously in the past two years,” observes Club Moderator Dr. Syed Abbasi. “Our students at High Tech have shown great enthusiasm and interest in the sport, and this club has huge potential to grow in the near future.”
The High Tech High School Ping-Pong Club's earnings, garnered from its unanimously successful tournaments, fully funded the new table.

Explore 2000 Middle School Student’s Film: An Official Selection of the 2014 Golden Door International Film Festival

(Jersey City, NJ – September 12, 2014) For Joseph Sexton, Explore 2000 Middle School Third Year Student, film-making is his utmost passion. Most weekends, you’ll likely find this talented 13-year-old with his camera, working on a cinematic project.

At age 8, his parents got him a Flip camera, and he was hooked. “He was a natural, taking to it like a fish to water, producing some amazing stuff even back then,” explains his mom. “Course, back then, he didn’t know how to edit, so he’d shoot 10 minute long scenes that were never-ending.”

Fast forward a few years, and Joseph’s s latest film, The Colors of Timothy has been named an Official Selection of the 2014 Golden Door International Film Festival! This film was originally created for and viewed during the Explore 2000 2014 Spring Celebration: Colors. Joseph wrote, directed, edited, and played the lead.

Joeseph’s film will be screened at the Grand Ballroom Theatre at the Westin Hotel at 1pm Saturday, Sept 20, 2014. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/855050. The 2014 Golden Door International Film Festival is run by the Sorvino family of actors and this year sponsored by Tommy Hilfiger. 

The Explore 2000 family wishes to congratulate, Joseph- we are so proud of your cinematographic gift!

Read the article on Explore 2000's website >>

The Daily Beast Cites High Tech among the Best High Schools in the Nation

(New York—August 27, 2014) The Daily Beast has ranked High Tech High School one of the top 100 high schools in the United States, according to their recent survey, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech.

The Daily Beast Logo

High Tech ranked 87th out of more than 700 public high schools in the nation that The Daily Beast surveyed.  Using six indicators—graduation rates, college acceptances, free or reduced lunch programs, SAT and ACT scores, college-level courses, and academic rigor—The Daily Beast published the results of their findings this past August.

Of these indicators, graduation rates and college acceptances weighed most heavily.

High Tech boasts a 100% graduation rate, with 97% of the school’s students attending college and 39% enrolled in free or reduced lunch.  High Tech students scored an average of 1638 on the SAT and 26 on the ACT tests.  Moreover, 44% of High Tech students enrolled in AP courses and 62% of them passed their AP exams.