### The Courtyard

In 2023, Princeton Mayor Mark Freda, Board of Education members, and PHS staff and students gathered in PHS courtyard to celebrate the completion of a multi-year revitalization effort, with new gardens and space for activities such as reading or yoga. However, the project never quite reached the level of engagement that was hoped for.  

Then, in 2024 former PHS Science Supervisor Dr. Joy Barnes-Johnson received a climate literacy grant to revitalize the courtyards. This year, physics teacher Dr. Insu Yi and several other faculty members and PHS students are using the grant to clean up the courtyard and restore the gardens and research activity.

“The greenhouse was used a little bit for the horticulture class, and the courtyard for research. But they weren’t in great shape, let’s put it that way,” said Yi. “I began getting involved in a team that was formed based on our district grant. [The] initiative was to turn the ... courtyards into spaces for everyone — meaning classes, community groups, even outside groups — but most of the time we spent on cleaning up.”

Yi was initially hesitant to include PHS students, though he eventually began recruiting through his research and physics classes. In the future, he hopes to also include ESL and special education classes.

“I’m really interested in turning something as simple as a garden into a science project. For example, we have solar panels, but the solar panel is placed in the wrong way, so it doesn’t get sun[light],” said Yi. “I calculated with students what angle we should [have] from the horizon to the solar panels inclination, which we calculated to be about 30 degrees.”

The project has now grown to include several organizations. This includes a Generation Green team led by Dr. Andrea Dinan, director of the IDEAS center and community service programs at PHS.  The team uses the courtyard as a way to teach elementary school students about sustainability, and the collaboration of the PHS facilities and custodial staff.

“From a logistical standpoint, if you want to transport 60 bags of soil to the courtyard, you have to navigate it through the school building to get into there. The spaces had kind of fallen into a little disrepair, so there was a lot of cleaning that happened,” said Jacqueline Katz, PHS’s current Science Supervisor. “We [worked] with facilities and custodians to help us move some of the trash.” 
Katz hopes that the courtyards can continue to be accessible to PHS students in the future, whether for research projects or educational initiatives.

“We have some students interested in fruit trees, so we’re going to try to bring fruit trees into the space. And we have a student interested in vertical gardening, so he’s going to build some vertical gardens up in the greenhouse,” said Katz. 

PHS students recently celebrated the work they’ve already accomplished at a recent sustainability symposium at Monmouth University.

“It was really exciting. We got a chance to have a conversation with Tammy Murphy, who’s the governor’s wife, and she mentioned us in her speech, which was surprising and exciting,” said Raya Kondakindi ’26, a student involved in the project. “We got to communicate with people with similar sustainability goals, and it was a really engaging experience to talk with people who had experience in areas we’re looking into.” 

### The Lower Basin

As PHS students pass by the lower basin near the tennis courts, the bare patch of land is often overlooked. However, a new restoration project led by the Friends of Herrontown Woods (FOHW) and PHS students aims to bring the  basin back to life. 

The basin was first planted with turf grass to help reduce flooding in the area, and was later overplanted with native upland prairie vegetation in an attempt to transition the basin into a prairie-like ecosystem. However, due to the poor environmental conditions, the prairie system didn’t form, and the basin was instead dominated by invasive species. 

FOHW submitted a project proposal last summer for the wet meadow basin in response to Princeton Public School’s request for plant care in the area. They are now working with the PHS environmental science class to restore the basin and re-establish native species in the wet meadow. 
“We provide support. They provide us with an orderly opportunity to understand that invasive versus native [plants], and what a wet prairie is,” said James Smirk, an environmental science teacher at PHS.

The July contract grants FOHW around $6,000 for upkeep, workshops at PHS , and new signage around the basin.

The restoration process began with the removal of invasive species, including plantain weeds, and in the coming months will proceed to the over planting of native grasses like little bluestem, soft rush, and ironweed, and various wildflowers. Smirk estimates that a self-propagating basin is still around 20 years away.

Until then, the basin will be maintained through a partnership between FOHW and PHS’s environmental science classes, who use it as a resource for learning. 

“Before, I didn’t really know a lot of wetlands and how important they are to nature, and just in general to us,” said Amelie Kraft ’26, a student in Smirk’s environmental science class. “This class has definitely opened me to that, [and] I have a lot more knowledge about wetlands [and] preserves.”

PHS students play an active part in collecting ecological data and conducting their own experiments. This data–including information on native species’ distribution and location–will contribute to a long-term database helping track restoration efforts and biodiversity in the area. 

“[The] student role is always going to be data driven,” said Smirk. “We’re [going to] collect data on invertebrates, because [they] are a good indicator for the overall health of the system.”

The basin project is a smaller part of the large sustainability goal throughout Princeton, which is to build an Emerald necklace made up of interconnected green spaces and trails.

 “We would like to see that [the] emerald necklace has a component that every school is connected to,” said Smirk. “We want to build a green pathway through every property that eventually connects.”

Though vision for the emerald necklace in physical connection between nature in Princeton, Stephen Hiltner, the president of FOHW, emphasized the importance of a connection between nature and people.

“I’m hoping [the project] will spark an interest in students to start getting to know nature and all the tremendous diversity — nature is very complex, and for some people, that’s intimidating, but for me, it’s fascinating. If you love something, you want to find out as much as you can about it. I’m hoping to spark some of that,” said Hiltner.




Photo: Emily Kim

From left to right: Andrew Rivera ’25, Elizabeth Chorba ’25, Julia McGoldrick ’26, Bhavya Yaddanapuddi ’25, and Arnold Zacarias ’26 prepare soil for a garden bed.   

PHS works to bring courtyards and lower basin back to life

The lunch bell rings at 11:33, and fourth period ends as hundreds of students pour out of classrooms and into the halls of Princeton High School. Some students head to the library, while others head to the guidance office. Some just walk laps — earbuds in, heads down, skipping lunch for the third, maybe fourth day in a row. It is not a diet. It is not a protest. It is not always a choice. 


For too many students, lunch has become optional. Not because they are not hungry — they are — but because 35 minutes is not enough time to eat, finish an essay, ask a teacher a question, and review for the quiz they have next period. In the past few years, there has been an unhealthy exaggeration of high school performance and how it affects the futures of these students. Because of this, when given the choice between nourishing the body and “getting ahead” in their studies, the choice seems trivial.


This is not just a PHS problem. According to a 2020 national survey by Yale University, 75 percent of high school students report having negative feelings toward school. The general sentiment seems to be that these students feel negatively towards school because of apathy or laziness. The truth, though, is that these students are under copious amounts of stress, driving them to have these negative feelings.


A New York Times article written by Tim Donahue stated that “we [as a society] have pushed high school students into maximizing every part of their days and nights.” Students feel like they need to do more and more in order to stay afloat. Self-care takes a backseat because students feel like they need to do so much in order to distinguish themselves. They need to get perfect grades, take the hardest classes, be a part of every extracurricular under the sun. Of course, under all of this pressure, physical needs become an afterthought.


The way students cope with this stress is not always visible — but it is often unhealthy. Skipping meals, sleeping in fragments, and studying at midnight. It becomes a game of sacrifice: what can be dropped to make room for everything else? For too many, the answer is lunch. A study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that students given less than 20 minutes to eat consumed significantly less food and nutrients. When the body is not given the nutrients it needs to function properly, productivity drops. This, in turn, harms students’ academic performance.
When students are skipping meals just to keep up — when they feel they have to choose between eating and succeeding — something is wrong with the system, not the student.


We need to stop pretending that this is normal.


Lunch should not be a luxury. It should not be treated as expendable. It is time — real, uninterrupted time — to eat, decompress, exist as something other than a GPA.


So the questions posed are, how do we take back our lunch periods? How do we take our lives back from the grind that academia has instilled in us? There is no single fix, but there are places to start — both as individuals and as a school.


At a school-wide level, the goal should not just be more time. It should be better use of the time we already have. Lunch needs to be protected. No required meetings, no mandatory makeups, unless a student chooses them. The school can also help by making lunch more accessible — a pre-order system or even a simple form could cut down the lines that push students away. And if we are serious about student wellness, the message needs to be loud and clear: eating and resting are not optional, they are essential. Teachers and administrators should say that out loud. Not just in emails during Mental Health Week, but every day, in how they schedule, how they speak, and what they prioritize.


But change cannot just come from the top. It starts with what we do, too. That might mean bringing food from home instead of skipping lunch. Taking ten minutes to sit down and actually eat. Using free periods to slow down instead of squeezing in more. Outside of school, it means setting boundaries — around sleep, around work, around the pressure to always do more. And maybe most of all, it means shifting how we think. Getting the perfect grades and getting into a top college are not the most important things in your life. More than that, needing rest does not mean you are failing. Taking care of yourself is not weakness — it is proof that you are still trying to live, even in a system that tells you to do the opposite.


So when the lunch bell rings at 11:33, you do not need to run. You can stop. You can eat. You can let that be enough.

Photo: Julia Li


Ksenia Petukh ’27 eats lunch and studies in the IDEAS Center.

Lunch is for eating, not cooking

Walk into any grocery store in America, and you’re bound to find shelves full of ultra-processed foods wrapped in shiny plastic packaging. Ultra-processed goods, products that are prepared using industrial methods, are often high in sugar, salt, and fat. For these reasons, many health professionals and critics on social media have taken to advocating for consumption of “whole” foods such as fruits and vegetables. Although reaching for an apple is decidedly healthier than grabbing a bag of chips, both foods can be sources of a less-discussed health threat — microplastics.


Microplastics are defined as small pieces of plastic less than five millimeters long, and result from the natural degradation of plastic products, such as packaging, synthetic textiles, and paint. Since the coinage of the term “microplastics” in a 2004 University of Plymouth study, its negative effects on marine organisms have been well-established. However, microplastics aren’t just a problem for our environment — they have begun to find their way into the foods that we consume on a daily basis.


For example, a 2020 study by Catania University discovered that carrots and apples contained high levels of microplastics, likely due to absorption of microplastic-contaminated water. Additionally, according to a National Institutes of Health study from 2023, tea bags made with certain plastics can release billions of very small microplastics into cups of tea. Marine organisms consumed by humans can also have thousands of larger microplastics, and any foods stored in plastic containers contain thousands of plastic particles of all sizes. When consumed, these microplastics have been shown to mimic hormones, messenger chemicals within the body. One study from the American Chemical Society found that a gene called TRPV4 was over-expressed due to microplastics acting as growth factors, leading to respiratory issues. Microplastics can contribute to an increased risk of cancer, neurological diseases, and respiratory issues. They also exacerbate pre-existing medical issues, or activate latent disease-causing genes in the body. 


In particular, many of the microplastics in humans arise from a process known as biomagnification. Because of pollution, there are many plastic particles floating in the ocean. Small organisms eat these plastics, and they are then consumed by predators. The plastics move up in the food chain, becoming more and more concentrated in the tissue of the apex predators. When a human proceeds to eat this animal, they receive a portion of the many microplastics present in the ocean. Biomagnification occurs in a similar sense for land animals like chickens and cows, which often consume contaminated plants. In all cases, the original source of microplastics are man-made materials that pollute the environment.


This is not a problem that can be solved through selection in what we eat, but instead needs to be solved at its origin. We fill our oceans with trash, destroying the single geographic feature that gave rise to all life. As a society, we need to change to save our planet, our oceans, our marine life, and ourselves. Large societal shift begins with small, personal steps. Right here at PHS, students can make a meaningful impact in the fight against microplastic pollution. From the cafeteria to the vending machines, we make daily choices that either contribute to or help combat this growing health and environmental crisis. 


If you want to stay away from these life-threatening, cancer-causing particles, start by putting your water bottles in the recycling. The next time you go to the cafeteria or Tiger Café, choose items with less plastic packaging. Bring your own reusable water bottle instead of purchasing plastic beverage bottles from the vending machine. Even small changes like using your own reusable utensils or avoiding plastic straws count. These changes may seem insignificant, but together, we can reduce sources of microplastics that end up in our food, and in our bodies.

Photo: Julia Li

Izzah Memon ’27 eats a bag of chips during break.

Microplastics are a macro problem

As spring unfolded across Princeton, the halls of PHS
choir classes were alive with the sound of preparation.
Singers found their harmony as the choir groups performed
their annual Spring Concert at the Performing Arts Center
on April 24. A total of nine groups participated in the event,
including five choral ensembles and four student-run a
cappella groups.

This year, the program featured a variety of genres and
styles, including pop, folk songs, and musical theater. The
five choir classes performed folk songs in different languages
while each ensemble and a cappella groups presented two
selections. The concert also included international music,
such as an Indian raga, an American spiritual, a Japanese
folk song, an Italian pop, and a British song.

“We do a lot of
experimenting with
different styles, and
that’s what makes it
really interesting,” said
Mia Dunlap ’26.

The singers started
preparing for the
concert around two
months before the
concert. The choir
classes rehearsed for
their performances
during class or solo
work with choir
teachers Vincent
Metallo and Sarah
Pelletier while the
student-run a cappella
groups selected their
own repertoire and
rehearsed outside of
school.

“We started preparing for the concert in mid to late
February, choosing selections for all the groups and
immediately diving into breaking them down and working
on all the components,” said choir director Vincent Metallo.

The diversity among the songs excited the singers as they
rehearsed and performed their musical journey through
their songs.

“Through the preparation for this concert, I’ve learned
variations in singing style that are included in [the] different
signs that we are singing, [and] the different styles that
we’re singing. It [has] expanded my skills in being able to
sing,” said Benjamin Caswell Klein ’27.

The tight schedule and the lack of enough time had
sometimes put the groups into challenges that they had
to overcome.

“Consistency is key,” said Metallo. “Some days they sound
great, and others, their voices are a little raspy or they’re
not as focused. But we encourage them to always strive to
take their performances to the next level.”

With much dedication and hard work, the PHS choir
groups hoped that their audience came away from the
concerte feeling uplifted.

“I’m hoping that they feel inspired to learn more about
the musical traditions that we [sang] for them [and] I hope
they derive some joy from hearing our beautiful singers,”
said Klein.

Besides highlighting the musical range of the PHS choir
program, the concert also offered a space for students across
grade levels and experience levels to perform, collaborate,
and connect through music.

Photo: Julia Li

PHS Choir performs at the Choir Spring Concert in the Performing Arts Center,
accompanied by pianist and choir teacher Sarah Pelletier and conducted by Vincent Metallo.

Musical variety at the spring choir concert

PHS’s Spectacle Theatre brought a classic comedy to life this year with “Groundhog Day: The Musical” from March 13–15 in the Performing Arts Center. Based on the 1993 film of the same name, the musical follows Phil Connors, a weatherman who finds himself reliving Groundhog Day over and over again in the small town of Punxsutawney. Directed by drama teacher Julianna Krawiecki, the show highlighted the talents of the students involved through acting, music, dancing, and stage management.

“Last year, after we did “Beauty and the Beast,” I sat down and thought about what is a great contrast to this musical ... how do we make sure we give them a very different experience but do something that’s new and challenging and exciting, and “Groundhog Day” [is] very different from anything we’ve done,” said Krawiecki.

Bringing “Groundhog Day” to the stage required months of dedication from the cast, orchestra, and crew. With its fast-paced musical numbers, and intricate technical elements, the show posed unique challenges for everyone involved. From vocal rehearsals with PHS Choir Director
Vincent Metallo to going through scenes under the direction of Krawiecki, students in the cast and PHS Orchestra gave their all to perfect their performances while the tech crew spent hours building the set.

“Basically, as soon as the fall play was over ... we started
building the [set for the] musical because we knew that
it was going to be a huge undertaking. We’ve never done
a turntable before, so there was a lot that we wanted to
get figured out early. So we’ve been working on this [for]
eight to 10, 12, [or]14 weeks at this point,” said Jeffrey Van
Velsor, Set Designer and Technical Director for the show.

Being a member of the musical required dedication and
time management skills, as students spent a lot of time
after school rehearsing.

“The most challenging part [for me was] the amount of
time it [took]. Rehearsals [started] at 5:30 p.m. but they
often [went] past 8 p.m., and while it [was] a lot of fun, it
[could] be really time-consuming,” said cast member Ivy
Cordle ’27.

Music was a key element of the musical, with the orchestra
playing a central role. The PHS Orchestra rehearsed alongside the cast members, ensuring a seamless integration
of live music and performance that brought energy and
excitement to the show.

“Groundhog Day is a contemporary show. The genre
of the music is very upbeat pop [and] rock pop, so it’s [a]
very unique style, and that contemporary musical, more
modern musical, [brought] new challenges,” said Metallo.

PHS Orchestra, which provided a live soundtrack for the
show, faced the challenge of coordinating with the action
on stage as they were playing.

“There’s a lot of effort required ... to keep track of the
actors’ movements and lines. It’s hard to focus on just the
music when there are so many other things to consider,”
said Emily Leng ’27, a flautist in PHS Orchestra.

With months of hard work behind them, the cast, crew,
and orchestra delivered a performance that captivated
audiences over the three-night run. From the high-energy
musical numbers to the emotional character moments,
Groundhog Day was a testament to the dedication and
talent of PHS’s theater community.

Photo: Katherine Chen

Maxime DeVico ’27, Julia Scibienski ’27, Noa Zacks ’25, Sebastian Bongiovi ’25, Milania Kapoor ’27, Elena Barreto ’27, Judy Pwee ’27, Sanya Bhatt ’28, Sophie Mueller ’28, Daniel Spitkovsky ’27, Tara Venkatesh ’28, Sylven Waldman ’25, Ash Nieman ’26, and Anna Kaufman ’26 perform the number “Day One — Punxsutawney Phil” in “Groundhog Day.”

Cast, crew, and orchestra shine in “Groundhog Day” musical

After putting on their hockey gear, the boys ice hockey team huddles for their courtside ritual. A hush falls over the group. The laughter and chitchat is replaced with focus and determination. Captain Cooper Zullo ’23 gives a quick pep talk before the team strides onto the ice. Every match is like a battle, and they’ll need precise focus and adept teamwork to be victorious.

This year’s team is keeping the historically competitive boys ice hockey program at PHS alive — they advanced to the semi-finals of the Mercer County Tournament for the tenth consecutive year. In addition, they’ve maintained an impressive record this season of seven wins, two draws, and only three losses.

Although they lost the final round of the Mercer County Tournament, by far their biggest accomplishment this season was getting the number one seed in the tournament. However, their most exciting game thus far was their match against Morristown, where they tied 1-1 in a very close battle.

“That game proved we [could] play with anybody and it felt like a win for us,” said Head Coach Dave Hansen. In the past, the boys ice hockey team achieved many milestones, including winning the 2019–2020 Mercer County Championships, ending The Hun School of Princeton’s six-year domination of the Mercer County Tournament. Boys ice hockey players Gabe Silverstein ’23 and Julian Drezner ’23, who were freshmen at the time, underscored the influential lessons that the players learned at the game.

“I learned that you have to keep your head in the game and focus on the task at hand,” said Silverstein. “There’s going to be a lot of people trying to get you out of your locked-in zone, and you have to block that out and play your game.” Since the rinks were closed last year because of the pandemic, the team could not compete much last year. However, the team organized street hockey games that allowed the teammates to reconnect and stay fit, though these exercises weren’t an adequate substitute for the rigor of a normal season. Back to normal at the beginning of this season, Zullo and his team were excited and prepared to take on any challenges that came their way.

“This year has been a big step up from last year,” said Zullo. “Having this full season has benefitted everyone on the team.” Long before the winter season started, much of the team had already been practicing together and playing at games through Zullo’s hockey club, PHS Puck. The club, headed by Zullo, allowed teammates to practice together outside the regular school season and enjoy the leisure club environment. Going into the season, the strong bonds between the teammates were evident.

“The brotherhood on the team really translates into chemistry on the ice. It develops to where you know where someone’s going to be and they know where you’ll go,” Silverstein said. With the addition of many new underclassmen on the team this year, the captains have further promoted teamwork on the ice where, regardless of age, the athletes can experience the excitement and passion that comes from the sport.

“My favorite part about the team is the environment. We like to joke around and have fun on and off the ice. Especially as an underclassman, the seniors have done a good job including everyone regardless of their year. We just try to work with what we’ve got and we have a lot of fun doing so,” said team member Yitian Zhao ’24. Harnessing their skills, the team will try to rebound from their loss at the Mercer County Tournament and win as many rounds as possible in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Tournament.

“I am very happy with the hard work and dedication they have put in starting from November 8,” said Hansen. “Teamwork will be the key to our success if we want to make a push to win [more] tournaments.” Because they thrive in the companionable and passionate environment, the team encourages everyone considering joining hockey to try it out. “

My advice would be that if you fall, get back up and try again,” said Silverstein. “Be resilient, and keep working ... it’s a really rewarding sport.”

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