RHO ETA SIGMA The Student Newspaper of Rahway High School Volume 8, Number 1 Fall 2020 Welcome Back, Rahway Rho Eta Sigma Dear Rahway Schools Community, Editor-in-Chief It has been and continues to be, without a doubt, a trying time for us all. Many of us imagined back in March, when the quarantine first went into effect, that there would be no question that we would be back Maximus Sanchez to school in September, the same as every other year. Clearly that has not happened, as we greeted the Managing Editor start of the new school year with continuing restrictions and virtual learning. We at Rho Eta Sigma con- tinue to believe that we have not only a responsibility to provide you with news about the schools and es- Tiarra Kimbrough pecially the high school but that we also have a role to play in encouraging hope and cultivating the Sports Editor strong bonds of our community. So we first wish to welcome back all of our students and staff to a new school year. We’ve already Amari Thompson now completed our first marking period, and we move into the second with a better grasp of the proce- Faculty Advisor dures and policies of virtual learning and the restrictions required while we continue the academic year from home. We look now to the new year as a moment of fresh possibilities and, one hopes, the time Mr. Brighouse when all of us can return to our schools in person at some point. At the high school, we especially want to welcome our freshmen, the Class of 2024, and we want to say to each of you that by the time you graduate from Rahway High School four years from now, please be assured that these current circumstances will be a distant memory. We can’t wait to have all of you in the high school with us soon. We should also acknowledge RHS’s new principal, Dr. Cary Fields, who is already doing an amazing job under very unusual and unprecedented circumstances. We have included in this issue an interview with her that will give our readers an opportunity to get to know her better. (See below.) So, again, welcome back, RHS. It’s not the start to the year we imagined, or that we would wish for, but we’re all making the best of it. Despite it all, we have a great deal of hope and excitement for the year, and you should too. Enjoy this issue of Rho Eta Sigma. We look forward to seeing everyone very soon. Wishing you all the best for the 2020-2021 school year, Maximus Sanchez and Mr. Brighouse RHS Welcomes (Back) Dr. Cary Fields as New Principal Our greatest weakness lies in By Brinae Williams giving up. The most certain Dr. Cary Fields is the new principal of Rahway High School, way to succeed is always to but she is not new to the school or to Rahway. She has been in the school district for ten years now, and her previous positions have try just one more time. included vice principal of RHS and, most recently, principal of Roosevelt Elementary School. We’re thrilled to have her back -Thomas Edison with us. See our interview with her below. Q: Dr. Fields, congratulations on becoming the new principal of Rahway High School. Tell us a bit about your background? Where is your family from? Where did you go to school? A: Thank you so much. I grew up in New Jersey, but my mother is from Cuba and my father is from Spain. I went to col- lege at Kean University, earned a master’s degree from New Jer- sey City University, and finally earned my Ed.D. from the College of St. Elizabeth. Q: Have you worked as an administrator anywhere other than Rahway? A: Yes, I was a vice principal in Roselle before coming to Rah- way. Q: What is it like being back in the high school? A: Well, I've worked in Rahway for 10 years now, and the high school feels like home. Everyone has been very welcoming and supportive. I’m very happy to be back. The show must go on. Even though most teachers were working from home from Continued on page three the beginning and teaching their students virtually, there were a few exceptions. Ms. Evanik was able to teach her students every day in her classroom for the first few months of school. 2 The City of Rahway created open spaces downtown to assist local businesses for outdoor dining. -courtesy of Lauren Ferrigno City’s Public Relations Coordinator Interviews with Rho Eta Sigma By Elyssa Fernandez Dr. Fields reported to us just this past month, “One of our local flower shops, Blooming Fields Flowers, Lauren Ferrigno is the Public Relations Coordina- dropped off a bouquet to show appreciation for all you do. I hope this random act of kindness brightens tor for the City of Rahway. Rho Eta Sigma sat down your day!” Dr. Fields also noted that the flower shop additionally sent a bouquet to each of the other with her recently (virtually) to ask her about how Rah- schools in our district. way is doing during the ongoing pandemic. We thank her for being so generous with her time and respond- Nearly Empty Building Keeps ing to our inquiries. The interview appears below. Q: How has the town been affected by COVID-19? Attendance Office Busy as Ever A: The City of Rahway has been affected by COVID-19 through the members of the community By Tiarra Kimbrough who have suffered from it, whether it be through sick- Teaching remotely isn’t an easy task, but have you ever wondered what the ness or losing a loved one or friend or having a busi- work and responsibilities of those running the RHS offices look like virtually? ness suffer due to the virus. We stopped by the Attendance Office to see how everyone was doing and ask Q: How is Rahway doing with following state about the challenges they face with remote learning. guidelines? Ms. Pou and Ms. Dominguez (affectionately called “Ms. Iris”) run the At- A: The City of Rahway is following the guidelines tendance Office. They continue to work with Ms. Hennessy, even though her set forth by the State of New Jersey. As the state con- office has been relocated to the second floor. One thing they noted is that phone tinues to normalize, Rahway will follow suit. calls from parents and families have definitely increased, especially early in the Q: In your opinion, what has been the most con- year, as parents tried to navigate their children’s school lives and sched- cerning part of the shutdown? ules. Another difficulty they noted was how hard it has been when students A: The most concerning part is just ensuring that don’t show up for classes and the office struggles with trying to locate every- guidelines are in place to keep our residents safe. The one, call homes, and correct attendance for the remainder of the school day. city has taken precautionary measures since the begin- Still, Ms. Hennessy noted, “Attendance has been at the highest rate it has ever ning of the pandemic with shutting down city build- been, which is good.” ings, parks, etc. One of the major priorities during the Many procedures that were in place when everyone was in the building still pandemic was keeping the residents informed of state exist, just in a modified form. For example, if students have to go to the doctor guidelines, safety measures, and aid/assistance efforts or dentist, Ms. Iris reminded us, they must still notify the Attendance Office and provided by the city and local non-profits. Following submit a doctor’s note. The secretaries will then confirm when a student was the lifting of the stay-at-home order, one of the major present and absent from class that day. concerns was helping local businesses adhere to the Regarding disciplinary procedures, that has been another challenge. Ms. Pou new guidelines and offering any assistance to help told us that Google Meets are held and phone calls are made with parents if keep them operational, whether it be with the Rahway there is a serious problem, but luckily so far, there have not been many serious CARES Loan or creating public spaces to aid in out- issues. Something like cyberbullying, which one might think would be a greater door dining and recreation. problem with more students online for longer periods of time, has not been an Q: What has been the greatest change since the issue so far, and no cases have been reported. Still, the Attendance Office re- start of the pandemic? minded us that if students feel the need to speak with their school counselors, A: The Rahway community has always been a they should definitely not hesitate to do so. strong, tight-knit one. There have been many changes Some of the other changes in place while RHS continues virtual learning are through the pandemic, but the city and its residents not all bad. The Attendance Office reports that parents are more vocal than ever have been able to adapt and persevere throughout and open to communicating with the school. Students have six minutes, rather these changes. We aren’t through to the end of the than the usual three, to make it from one class to another online. Rahway’s pandemic, so it’s hard to say what changes are perma- website pages are always updated to ensure that everyone has all the infor- nent and which one is the greatest.