Morris Hills High School KNIGHT TIMES PARENT NEWSLETTER September 2018 Volume 114 September 2018 Dear Parents/Guardians and Students of the Morris Hills High School Community, There is a distinct inevitability about the month of August in that it suddenly presents like a siren in the night, signaling another school year, making its appearance with incredible regularity, preparing us all for Scarlet Knights the not too distant future. Yes, here we are again, students, parents, teachers, and the entire community, poised to begin anew. As I welcome you all to the 2018 – 2019 school year, hoping this summer has “Building The Future, been kind to you and those you love, I look forward to joining you in a year that brings meaning, purpose, One Student and both personal and collective satisfaction to all we plan to do together. Toward that end, I send you At A Time” my sincere gratitude for your willingness to become supportive partners as we work together to make a great school even greater every year. Todd M. Toriello As building Principal, it has been my practice in the past several years to offer a school-wide theme to Principal serve as the fulcrum to our initiatives and the anchor to our actions as a school community. I have sug- gested school-wide themes that connect directly to our district’s summer read, in an attempt to under- Robert Merle, Jr. score the message of that read and bring it home in a style that rings true for our students. I continue the Assistant Principal practice by once again linking this year’s school-wide theme to the summer read entitled Breakthrough, an inspiring memoir by Jack Andraka who, at fifteen years of age, followed a dream and created an early Eugene Melvin detection test for pancreatic cancer – a revolutionary discovery to say the least. His adolescent journey Assistant Principal was filled with many layers of struggle, depression, and homophobic bullying, just to name a few. None- Emily Barkocy theless, he found the personal resilience to face these painful forces, to rise above them, and to chase Assistant Principal his dreams, probably in direct response to watching a close family friend lose his battel with pancreatic cancer. He became driven by a goal to find a test for early detection. He realized that goal. Today, he Robert Haraka stands as a beacon for all young people to keep pushing on and, in doing so, to teach the world that Supervisor of Student young people have the right to be taken seriously. Services/Athletics It is against that background that I identify the 2018 – 2019 school theme for Morris Hills High School: Yesenia Rivera Capture Your Breakthrough Moments. Whether those moments come in the classroom, on the playing Supervisor of field, within student activities, through the community, I challenge all students, faculty, parents, and ad- School Counseling ministrators to grab them, to make them your own, and to let others know why those moments speak to you and drive you forward in your own personal style. As per past practice, the author of Breakthrough will visit the district on October 4th to speak directly to the student body in an assembly program. Following an extensive interview process last spring, Morris Hills High School opens its doors to a group of newly hired professionals to join our exemplary teaching staff. Each comes with outstanding recom- mendations and incredible energy to contribute to our school and its students. Collaboration being a key to any school’s success, I encourage all parents/guardians to make the effort to attend our fall Back to School Nights (September 20th – Last names A – L / September 26th – Last names M – Z) and meet these new professionals personally. Additionally, I encourage all students to extend a hand of welcome in your classrooms and show our new faculty the face of the student body here at Morris Hills High School. Facilities management continues to be a priority at Morris Hills High School, fueled by a deep belief that school appear- ance directly impacts school culture and climate. Some recent upgrades are these: a new HVAC system in the Main Gym; the addition of new door signs; a new sitting area in the first floor Science Wing; window decals in the School Counseling and CST suite; additional charging stations; additional etched plaques; new benches in the gym foyer; new picnic tables at Gifford Field; new work stations in the Faculty Room; and annual building painting and cleaning. Building pride is a priority here at Morris Hills High School. Speaking of pride, our professional initiatives each year are reflective of the effort and focus of a professional staff that carries out the mission of a school with seriousness of purpose. We look forward to concentrating on the following this academic year, just to name a few of our 2018 – 2019 initiatives: the 2nd year of our Learner-Active, Technology-Infused Classroom where a cohort of teachers work to raise academic rigor, actively engaging students in learning and building greater student responsibility for learning; the 2nd year of our one-to-one Chromebook initiative, Class of 2022; the 2nd year of two new cohorts of Academy students for the Class of 2022; the continuation of the Homework Free Weekends concept, an outgrowth of the Stress and Anxiety Roundtable; the 2nd year of a completely paperless summer mailing, and all athletic and medical paperwork moved to FamilyID. Please take special note of the following items: 2nd year of late buses on Tuesday and Thursday only for activity runs; 2nd year of no after school library; two Back to School Nights for the 2018 – 2019 school year on September 20th and September 26th; PARCC testing signaling some possible big changes so stay tuned – one testing window once again for the 2018 – 2019 school year; quarterly assessment process contining with revisions and updates, with no quarterlies administered during the third marking period; mini-college fairs during the lunch blocks, with a night mini-college fair in the spring; bus passes being carried by students to swipe for access to the bus; report cards posting through the ASPEN portal; varsity letters for those students participating in extra-curricular activities that compete against other schools; elimination of reporting to homeroom for pep rallies or Battle of the Classes. Allow me to close this correspondence by thanking you for all you do to make Morris Hills High School the special place it is. Your presence and your actions define the reason why. As we begin this new year together, may our journey be rich in both challenge and reward. May our personal “Breakthroughs,” in whatever venue, bring us “Moments” that both enrich and inform our lives; and may the goals we set be achieved by working together in a partnership of strength, trust, and active dialogue. In the Spirit of Partnership, Todd M. Toriello Principal AV D AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is a nationwide, four-year program that is designed to help students in the academic middle prepare for and succeed in high school and college. With individual support by trained faculty, students will pursue a challenging and rigorous curriculum while investigating careers and colleges, learning more effective study strategies, and working collaboratively with like-minded peers. The AVID approach is based on rigor and high expectations; however, the core component of the program is the AVID Elective, which lends support to students as they tackle the school’s most rigorous classes. Over the course of four years, students will work with their AVID Elective teacher and specially trained tutors to develop independent study skills, questioning techniques, and career awareness. Congratulations AVID Class of 2018! Daniel Acocella- Warren Wilson College, Victoria Aspiazu- LIU-Post, Pamela Betancur- Fairleigh Dickinson University, Brian Bunch- Kent State University, Clemente Garcia Morales- Seton Hall University, Priscilla Gomez-Acevedo- Rowan University, Vanessa Hartkopf- Pace University, Cindy Herrera- Caldwell University, Amirah Ibrahim- Centenary University, Juliana Jimenez- County College of Morris, Umer Khawaja- Rutgers University, Maximillian Lorentz- County College of Morris, Alexis Meneses- Ramapo College, Kiany Perez- Kean University, Edward Rodriguez- National Guard, Cassandra Rugel- University of Scranton, Jhon Torres- Caldwell University, and Kevin Tran-Norwich University Welcome AVID Class of 2022! In September 2018, the MHRD will proudly welcome twenty-six new freshmen into the AVID program! Many of our incoming freshmen attended the AVID Summer Experience in July, led by Mrs. Dalton, Mr. Roman and our AVID student leaders, where they learned about AVID methodologies and engaged in teambuilding activities. The program is thrilled to have Mr. Timothy Mein, AVID Elective teacher for the Class of 2018, as their Elective teacher. Your MH family wishes you the best of luck! FRESHMAN ORIENTATION INFORMATION & UPDATES Freshman Orientation for all May also be obtained through the incoming grade nine students Morris Hills High School Website: to Morris Hills High School will be conducted on Tuesday, www.mhrd.org August 28th. Orientation will begin at 8:05 a.m. Each freshman will be picked up by his/her school bus as noted in the transportation packet. Students will report to the auditorium upon arrival to Morris Hills High STUDENT SCHEDULES School. There will be a program including student government representatives, The 2018-2019 student schedules are the result administrators, school counselors, and of teacher recommendations, counselor input, Project LEAD students until 12:00 p.m. and parent review/approval. In the spring, par- ents and students were asked to complete the In a small group setting, freshmen will receive course selection process in a serious manner. their 2018-19 student schedule and have it The master schedule and student schedules were explained to them.