 On Thursday, February 12, Biology I students participated in the first Fermentation Festival at PHS. Organized by Science Supervisor Jacqueline Katz, biology teacher Alexis Custer, and Food Systems Literacy Coordinator Shannon Barlow, the Fermentation Festival was an opportunity for students to showcase the sourdough bread they worked on throughout the year as part of their new phenomena-based curriculum. 

   The festival displayed handmade sourdough bread to taste, along with posters that demonstrated the biological processes that the students learned through baking their own bread throughout the school year. PHS parents, students, and even local bakeries around Princeton were invited. Custer, the main organizer of the festival, came up with the idea of incorporating sourdough bread into her classes’ last year. 

   “Microorganisms are not visible to the naked eye, but you can see [it] with a sourdough starter, the rise and fall of the starter, and [the] taste [of] a loaf of bread,” said Custer. “[So] the students could go ahead and see what they’re learning in the classroom is applicable in their real, everyday lives.”

  In total, Custer’s students made over 300 loaves of bread, funded by a grant from the Princeton Regional Educators Association. After the success of this year’s curriculum, Custer has been working with Barlow to pilot a new food science program for autism classrooms starting next school year. The two submitted a grant to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School Program, in which they were awarded $10,000 to develop the program and continue it for the future.

“What’s really nice about Princeton is [that] we can put our own unique flair on to the way that we teach biology that makes it meaningful to us,” said Custer.

Photo: Julia Li

​​Isabella Nitze ’29, Emma Hu ’29, and Yuwei Jiang ’29 present their sourdough findings.

PHS Fermentation Festival demonstrates new phenomena-based curriculum

This fall, the PHS administration has 
increased the number of detention slips 
given to students with unverified absences. 
This practice, once widespread at PHS, was 
carried out at a much smaller scale for the 
past few years due to significant leadership 
changes and a lack of personnel. PHS 
Principal Cecilia Birge describes this change 
as a step to combat the school’s chronic 
absenteeism, defined as students missing 
10 percent or more of the school year.


If a student continues to accumulate 
absences despite repeated detentions and 
emails home, the counselors and assistant 
principals get involved to coordinate 
meetings with both students and parents. 
If all else fails, the school can disenroll or 
expel the student, or their parents can be 
taken to court by the Princeton Public 
Schools District.


“Chronic absenteeism in PHS ... has been 
highlighted at the state level, and that’s 
not a data point I want PHS’s name to be 
associated with,” said Birge.


The most common reason for the 
accumulation of unverified absences is 
cutting class. 


“They just skip. I don’t understand why 
kids skip when they’re in school. You woke 
up, got ready for school, you got on the bus 
[or] you walked here ... and then you just 
skip. You’ve already done so much. Just 
go to class,” said Torie Esposito, a special 
education teacher at PHS, who is in charge 
of running detention.


Though the administration is taking 
attendance seriously, they are also trying 
to destigmatize the concept of these 
administrative actions, like detention.


“We actually do not call [detention] 
detention. We call it progress hour ... 
because like I said, [it] is a space for all of 
us to re-engage with students, for students 
to reflect upon the impact of cutting and 
do homework to make progress. They’re 
not [at school] to party, right? And on 
the other hand, [progress hour] is a good 
negative in the sense that if you know it’s 
bad, don’t get on to the bad. Get on to the 
good,” said Birge.


The detention slips are automatically 
generated if a student is marked present 
in some classes but absent in others. Then, 
that student is required to attend detention, 
which is held on Monday, Tuesday, and 
Thursday after school from 3:30 p.m. to 
4:30 p.m. Although the use of detention 
slips has decreased student absences by 18 
percent compared to last year, some students 
nonetheless see the practice as imperfect in 
its current form.


“I think it’s a little bit too harsh because 
it takes on the assumption [that students 
deliberately missed class], and I’ve heard 
from other students as well [that] they 
weren’t missing class. They just got marked 
absent by accident,” said Olivia Chen ’27, a 
student who accidentally got marked absent 
in gym class and had to attend detention. 


Instead of going through the appeals 
process — contacting her assistant principal 
and providing evidence that she was in class 
— Chen just decided to attend detention 
for an hour. 


“I think detention is fine. It sounds serious 
and all, but all it is is just you stay an hour 
after school in the room. I think it’s fine as 
it is, it’s just you need to be a little bit more 
lenient with how [it’s] implemented because 
you should implement it [for] people that 
have patterns and not just people that 
coincidentally just missed a class and got 
marked absent,” said Chen.


Assistant Principal Lauren Freedman 
encourages students to advocate for 
themselves when they think there’s a 
mistake.


“We always tell the students to go to their 
assigned assistant principal. We think it’s 
best for the student to self-advocate and 
reach out to their teachers if [there’s a 
mistake] and have the teacher email [us], 
‘Oh, yes, they did come to class late, and then 
I changed attendance.’ And it’s an easy fix."

Photo: Julia Li


A student holds a detention slip they received for skipping class. 


PHS Investigates: the increase in detention slips

This weekend, PHS Competitive Programming Team 
will hold the first hackPHS hackathon since 2022. This 
event invites students from all over New Jersey to PHS 
to collaborate on computer science projects for 24 hours 
straight.


The hackathon will host mentors and workshops for 
computer science, with topics ranging from Intro to 
Python to Finance in Computer Science. The event also 
contains recreational activities like midnight karaoke and 
spikeball tournaments. But the main goal of the hackathon 
is for students to form teams and create one big project, 
often a software or web application, and compete to be 
the best project. 


“You can come make something cool, learn about 
programming or just, like, solve any type of problem ... 
Our themes this year are like nature and communication 
... we prefer that you’re solving some problem in those 
areas. But honestly, it can be in any area,” said Om Mehta 
’26, one of the organizers of hackPHS.


The top three winners of the hackathon will receive cash 
prize, as well as gaming equipment, a cactus plushie, or a 
Raspberry Pi mini-computer. The Wolfram Award gifts a 
year’s subscription to WolframOne (valued at $1660) and 
eligibility for a $500 scholarship to a Wolfram summer 
program. 


However, organizers say that the purpose of hackPHS 
isn’t to find a winner, but instead to promote computer 
science in an engaging way. 


“It’s really to get people to enjoy [computer science] more. 
The STEM culture of the school is definitely good, but I feel 
like we don’t come to enough events [and] we don’t have 
enough fun things to do. There are hard competitions —we 
have all these Olympiads. We don’t just have fun [events] to 
chill with your friends [and]... make a project,” said Mehta. 
“But also, I think the biggest prize at the end of the day is 
what you learn from the hackathon.”


However, hosting an event at the scale of hackPHS comes 
with many logistical challenges. The competition had been 
on a hiatus since 2022, when the previous computer science 
teacher, Grace Elia, retired from teaching. The club also 
struggled with finding sponsors, and plans to work with 
other schools to host the hackathon had fallen through.


“Having a team from a different school be on task was 
an even more difficult job, and that is one of the reasons 
that we could not effectively execute [hackPHS] ... We were 
relying on students that we did not see as often, or we were 
only corresponding to them over text messages or Discord,” 
said club advisor and computer science teacher Rida Kas.


The organizers of hackPHS hope that the hackathon 
can be continued in future years. However, as many of 
the organizers this year are seniors and will be leaving 
for college next year, organizers hope this year’s hackPHS 
helped revive and spark interest in hackathons and in 
computer science. 


“We’re trying to ... reignite it [this year]. And next year, 
we’re planning on starting the planning early. So it’s going 
to be even bigger, even better than this year,” said Mehta.

Photo: Julia Li

Jonathan Ji ’26, Oscar Huang ’27, and Om Mehta ’26 
advertise hackPHS at club fair.

HackPHS returns after three year hiatus

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

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

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.

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