HIGHLANDER NEWS November 2015 “A message from the Principal”
November is the month in which we give thanks. My first thanks go out to the veterans who came to speak with our students on Veterans’ Day. We can never repay the debt we owe to our brave men and women in uniform. I am thankful for my personal connection to, and our school’s partnership with, the West Milford Rotary. For the past 54 years, the Rotary has helped arrange Career Day, a time when successful men and women from many walks of life come to speak to our students about their experiences. Unfortunately, this year, Career Day had to be postponed due to a school evacuation. It will be rescheduled for the spring, and we are eager to continue this fine tradition.
This brings me to my next round of thanks. As you know, we have had three bomb threats thus far this school year. Due to the excellent partnership between the West Milford Police Department and our school security team, we have been able to achieve positive results in dealing with those responsible and undertaken additional security measures in our school. On Wednesday, November 4, Sergeant Nevin, Superintendent Riscica and I addressed our student body. Our students have been very receptive to our efforts, and I thank our students and staff for their flexibility, patience and understanding. My gratitude goes out to the entire district; many others are impacted whenever there are such incidences. Most importantly, I thank you, our Highlander parents. As I reminded our students, you, as parents, are worried sick every time something like this happens. The trust you have placed in us, to educate and care for your children, is a serious responsibility. We are equal to the challenge.
My thanks do not end here. Excellence does not happen by accident. Nowhere is this better exemplified than in our Highlander Band, winning both state and regional championships this fall. Tennis, girls’ soccer, field hockey and football all competed in the state playoffs. Countless other accomplishments have been realized in our classrooms and on our fields. Please read on… I hope you will feel as PROUD and thankful as I do when you reflect upon this Highlander excellence.
I wish you and yours a bountiful Thanksgiving. Let us all pause to give thanks for what we have, and to offer assistance to those who are less fortunate. I look forward to seeing you at Parent-Teacher Conferences on Monday, November 23.
Sincerely, Paul Gorski
“Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Dedication, Excellence. Highlander Pride. Every day, in everything you do.”
Important Dates
11/14 Band Tattoo 11/19 Superintendents Forum (6:30pm) 11/19 PTSO Meeting (7:00pm) 11/19 Bond Referendum Q & A (7:30pm) 11/20 Blood Drive 11/23-11/25 Early Dismissal for Students (12:19pm) 11/23 Parent Teacher Conferences 1pm-4pm and 6pm-8:30pm 11/23 MP 1 Grades available to view on Parent Portal 11/26-11/27 Schools Closed – Thanksgiving Recess 12/1 PARCC Score Report Meeting (12:30pm-1:30pm) 12/1 Freshman/Senior Assemblies 12/3 On-Site Decision Day 12/3 Choral Concert (7:30pm) 12/4 Senior Choice Awards (7:00pm) 12/7 PARCC Score Report Meeting (12:30pm-1:30pm and 6:30pm-8:30pm) 12/10 ASVAB Test 12/14-12/18 Spirit Week 12/14 Art & Poetry Night 12/16 Financial Aid Night (7:00pm-9:00pm) 12/18 Rec Assembly (Double 3rd Bell Schedule)
Student Activities The Italian Honor Society and French Honor Society (and French 4 honor students) took a field trip to see les Misérables on Broadway. The French Honor Society also raised donations for UNICEF with "Trick-or-treat for UNICEF."
Interact Club is running their yearly food drive to help stock the local food pantries for the holidays. Homerooms are collecting goods to help those less fortunate enjoy a traditional holiday meal.
On November 23 during the evening session of parent teacher conferences, the National Art Honor Society is hosting an art show and reception in the Lower Media Center.
Senior Choice Awards are on Dec 4. Superlatives will be awarded for 27 categories, both male and female. This is a very entertaining night for students and parents. It begins at 7pm in the auditorium. Advance tickets are $7.00 and available in the lower library. Tickets will be $10.00 at the door.
The Junior and Senior Classes are sponsoring a Volleyball Tournament on November 19th. Prizes will be awarded for the winners of the competitive bracket, the non-competitive bracket and the best costumed team. Anyone wishing to play can secure a spot with $5 and observers are welcome for $3. This is a very spirited night.
WM Special Olympics will be competing at the WMHS gym for their Passaic County Area Competition in Basketball skills on December 4th.
The Senior Class Clothing Sale was so successful that we are offering a second chance to buy clothing again. Seniors are proudly sporting their personalized shirts all over the building. The Senior Class is selling car magnets which display "2016 Seniors" and are available from officers or in the lower library.
As posted on our Facebook page, we continue to offer free and reduced cost yearbooks from previous years. If you graduated from our high school, or are just interested in a yearbook, please see our posted flyer and reach out.
Guidance The Guidance office is bustling with activity. So far over 70 colleges have visited, and more are scheduled. Students sign up on the bulletin board in Guidance. November is National College Application Month! The counselors will be hosting college application help sessions in the Media Center after school. Session dates and times are included in morning announcements. The students can also make appointments with their counselors for individual help during the day. Many application deadlines are approaching in December.
We administered the ASVAB test in October, and 56 students took advantage of this opportunity. ASVAB is one of the assessments that fulfill the state's graduation requirements. Another administration is scheduled for December 10. Stay tuned for more information about additional opportunities to fulfill that requirement.
Athletics As we wrap up the fall season, there are many accomplishments to highlight. The following athletes were selected by league and county coaches for recognition. In addition, Coach Roberto Zuban and Lauren Rembrandt were selected Passaic County Coach of the Year (girls soccer and gymnastics). Football and Cheer selections will be made soon. For the first time in 11 years, the football team has qualified for back-to-back playoff appearances!
Boys Soccer Ian Barrett 1st Team 2nd Team Boys Soccer Eric Gangi 1st Team 2nd Team Boys Soccer Blaise Basket 2nd Team n/a Boys Soccer Nick DeAngelis 2nd Team n/a Boys Soccer Nate Malka 2nd Team Honorable Mention Boys Soccer Thomas Gerbasio Honorable Mention n/a Boys Soccer Chris Uhr n/a Honorable Mention Girls Soccer Cristina Pelligrino 1st Team 2nd Team Girls Soccer Rebecca Jurkovich 2nd Team 2nd Team Girls Soccer Kelsey Harrison 2nd Team 2nd Team Girls Soccer Olivia DellColliano Honorable Mention Honorable Mention Girls Soccer Katherine Choma n/a Honorable Mention Field Hockey Glenna Dunlop 1st Team 1st Team Field Hockey Gillian Graham 2nd Team 1st Team Field Hockey Maeve Gordan 1st Team 2nd Team Field Hockey Bianca Cano 2nd Team 2nd Team Field Hockey Emily Magasic 2nd Team 2nd Team Field Hockey Jaclyn Sajban n/a Honorable Mention Field Hockey Alyssa Roskowsky n/a Honorable Mention Field Hockey Laura Freedman 2nd Team n/a Field Hockey Casey Butera Honorable Mention n/a Gymnastics Margaret Coyle 1st Team Gymnastics Linnea Huber 2nd Team Gymnastics Rachel Rodriguez 2nd Team Gymnastics Amanda Seugling 2nd Team Gymnastics Emily Curving 2nd Team Gymnastics Mackenzie McGuiness 2nd Team Gymnastics Sara Sekelsky Honorable Mention Gymnastics Emily Haid Honorable Mention Boys XC Joey Cummings Honorable Mention Boys XC Edward Woodcock Honorable Mention Girls XC Madeline Pluta 2nd Team Girls XC Rachael Royer Honorable Mention Girls XC Kayla Yuhas Honorable Mention Girls Tennis Tess Korinko 1st Team 1st Team Girls Tennis Theresa Fernbacher 2nd Team 2nd Team Girls Tennis Abby Johnson 2nd Team 2nd Team Girls Tennis Allison Borrelli 2nd Team 2nd Team Girls Tennis Emily Fulton Honorable Mention Honorable Mention Girls Tennis Lisa Zazi n/a Honorable Mention Girls Tennis Tatiana Nikoporochek Honorable Mention n/a
History & Social Sciences On November 3, Election Day, the Department held its annual Mock Election. Students had the opportunity to vote for candidates through the use of a Google Chromebook. Ms. Kathleen McCort's AP US Government & Politics class visited Town Hall to conduct their annual exit poll.
Mrs. Jennifer Metcalf and Mr. Robert Williams visited the 2nd grade classes at Paradise Knoll Elementary School. The High School teachers prepared students for their big trip to the Red Mill Village in Clinton Twp. Students were presented with historical information and hands on activities regarding the Industrial Revolution.
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WMHS History & Social Science teachers met with the Lakeland History Department on Tuesday, November 9, 2015 for an interdepartmental meeting at Lakeland Regional High School. Mr. Michael Novak, Lakeland's Supervisor of Humanities and Dr. Gregory Matlosz, West Milford's Supervisor of History & Social Sciences collaborated on curriculum, events that both districts could work together on, and utilizing professional learning communities with both departments.
Art & Music Department The AP Art history class along with members of the National Art Honor Society took a trip to NYC to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There they participated in a scavenger hunt of finding specific works of Art viewed in their APAH class. This was a curricular activity suggested by AP College Board for students to view actual works of Art studied in a Museum, or real world environment. Students and staff alike enjoyed their day in this cultural activity. On Saturday, October 31, the Highlander Marching Band won the USBands Group 5A New Jersey State Championship. The event was held at High Point Solutions Stadium at Rutgers University. This is the first time in the school's history for the band to be named State Champions. This comes at the end of a highly successful competition season that began on September 19th at Roxbury High school. The band's record this year is impressive: Second Place at Roxbury First Place at the Yamaha Cup at MetLife stadium First Place at Randolph First Place at West Orange First Place at Mount Olive First Place at the NJ State Championships.
The Highlander Marching Band is truly the ambassador group for our school district and community, and we are very proud of their efforts. The band can be seen in action at the annual Tattoo on November 14 at the High School Gym. The doors open at 5:00.
Jack McGraw and Audrey Leibig represented our school this year in the NJ All-State Jazz Choir at the NJEA convention in Atlantic City, NJ on Nov. 5th and 6th.
Zack McIntyre played Principal Horn in the NJ All-State Orchestra at the same conference this past week-end.
Both groups will perform at NJ PAC in Newark this week-end, Nov. 14 and 15.
English Department The English Department is pleased to announce the success and continuation of its work offering genre-based courses which meet core English requirements for the 2016-2017 school year. During this second phase, we will add options for our Juniors and Sophomores, as well as our Seniors. New course titles and descriptions soon-to-be released!
World Language Department West Milford High School recently hosted a Northern NJ World Language Showcase for supervisors and/or their teacher designees. Dr. David Greer (pictured), NJDOE Coordinator of World Languages was a guest speaker, who talked about NJ World Language initiatives such as the TELL (Teacher Effectiveness for Language Learning) project and the seal of bi-literacy. He also facilitated a Q&A. Mrs. Karen Johnson, the 2013 Passaic County Teacher of the Year did a presentation on the topic of Technology Use in World Language Instruction. The participants then visited 8th period World Language classrooms at West Milford High School. Visitors observed Mrs. Erli’s German class engaging in a storytelling/drawing activity about youth hostels; Mr. Andrade’s Spanish students presenting student-created power point presentations on Spanish-speaking countries; Mrs. Certosimo’s Italian class using iPads to practice vocabulary with Kahoot and polleverywhere.com; and Mrs. Raymar’s Spanish classes preparing past tense toy stories in the computer lab. The American Sign Language class used sign language to introduce themselves and lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Mrs. Brenda Ludwig, West Milford World Language Supervisor, organized the event. She said, “West Milford’s World Language Department made application this fall to be considered for model program status. Question number 42 of the application requested examples of how we showcase the World Language Program. In addition to our World Language Honor Society Induction, International Dinner for Senior Citizens, 6th and 9th grade parent orientations, our department decided to add a World Language Showcase for colleagues from other districts. The World Language teachers in West Milford are proud of the program we offer our students and wanted to share with other educators how we promote 21st Century Skills while teaching students to communicate in a second language.” Mrs. Julie Luce, French teacher from Park Ridge High School in Bergen County, commented, “The showcase was outstanding, informative, and full of creative ideas, which can be used immediately in our own districts. You are lucky to have access to computer labs and iPads for your language classes.”
Math, Science & Occupational Education Departments Mr. Steve Beattie, Mrs. Mary Kennedy, Mr. Ian White and Mrs. Coleen Weiss-Magasic went to the NJEA convention, where they received the continuation grant for their Boxes for Birds, Bats, and Bees project that was started last year. The grant is designed to involve Biology B, Special Ed Environmental Science, Geometry, CAD, and Woodshop students in a cross-curricular project that will result in more nesting boxes for birds on campus and a natural habitat to entice native pollinators to live here as well.
In photo from left to right…Wendell Steinhauer (NJEA President), Mary Kennedy, Coleen Weiss-Magasic, Stephen Beattie, Ian White, Edward J Richardson (NJEA Executive Director), and Marie Blistan (NJEA Vice President) (Not pictured: Ryan Heerschap, Leonard VanWingerden)
Classroom Closeup will be airing shows on two West Milford High School projects-- Uncovering Art in eARTh and Boxes for Birds. The shows can be seen on NJTV on Nov 15 and 22 at 7:30 am, 12:30 pm and 7:30 pm.