HASBROUCK HEIGHTS PUBLIC SCHOOLS Superintendent's Report February 25, 1999
Junior-Senior High School Highlighting these past several weeks has been the outreach of the school to the parents of eighth graders preparing them for their next phase of education at the high school. A parent orientation meeting was scheduled on February 23rd and subsequent small group parent meetings will be held in the mornings during February and March for both these groups. College acceptances have been coming in, and our seniors are successfully being accepted to the schools of their choice. Ms. Mikulka attended meetings of the Public Library Board of Trustees. Ms. Schneeweiss is coordinating our “Read Across America” program. The High School musical production this year is “Oliver”, and is scheduled for March 25 and 26. There will be a Senior Citizen matinee on March 24, at 1 pm, of the High School Musical “Oliver”. The National Honor Society sold “Cupid grams” on February 12 to raise money for its scholarship fund. The Drama Club has been selling cookie dough and coffee to raise funds for its programs. On February 2, Ms. Mikulka attended a workshop on beginners HTML language used to create and design web sites. English 10 students, under Ms. Czekaj, are studying Emerson and Thoreau. Shakespeare Honors students learned how to play the recorder (a musical instrument widely used in Elizabethan times) as part of their focus on Elizabethan Theater. Ms. Czekaj’s classes viewed the Kenneth Branagh version of “Hamlet” and the Great Books production of “Walden”. Mr. Kligman downloaded and installed the latest version of Netscape Navigator for use with the library’s office computer. On Wednesday, February 10, an ITV program on the Economic Situation in Asia was shared with Ms. Bucceri’s Social Studies class. “Students Against Drunk Driving”, under Mr. Sayer, have collected money for Bergen County’s Youth Council on the Homeless. Ms. Cassidy’s classes are taking a trip to New York City Hall and the New York Unearthed exhibit. The Mock Trial club is proceeding smoothly and students are awaiting the announcement of competition dates. To address the new speech component of the GEPA test, Mr. Sicilian, Mrs. Rucci, and Mr. Stillman have implemented a speech component in their English and Literature classes. 7th grade students are increasing their math skills while working for a community effort as participants in the 1997/98 St. Jude’s Mathathon. Members of the Middle Level Newspaper Club have been meeting monthly. Plans are underway for the publication of their Newspaper. The seventh and eighth grade students enjoyed a 'Valentines Eve' dance on February 12th. Mrs. Stein, Ms. Galfy (seventh grade teacher), Ms. Sugarman (Middle Level Special Education teacher) and I attended an informational meeting for the New Jersey Middle School Peer Leadership Initiative: A Substance Abuse Prevention Network (NJMSPLI). The program model is a 'club' of 12 seventh and eighth grade students who are trained (by their advisors who also receive extensive training) to conduct 5 major activities during the school year. Each of the activities is designed to discourage substance abuse. Under the direction of Mrs. Stein, the application process for the participation of our school has begun and funds are being provided for through the IASA Grant. Sergeant DeLorenzo of the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department has committed to being our community representative and advisor for the program. Ms. Stepanian, Middle Level Special Education teacher, has begun a long term absence due to maternity. In her place, we welcome Ms. Ellen Donnelly. Also, soon to join our Middle Level and High School staff to fill a position vacated by Mrs. Blewitt will be Ms. Danielle Monetti. Thanks go to Mr. Doug Bly who has carried out the requirements of that position as a long term substitute. Also, Mrs. Toy, seventh grade teacher, is welcomed back after her absence. Officer Sean Mullins is doing a 2 week lesson on DARE -- Drug Awareness Resistance Education for the health classes of Ms. Kolich and Mr. Caruso. In wrestling, 152lb. sophomore Morgan Horner is currently ranked 5th in the entire Northern New Jersey area with a record of 16 - 2. The Boys Basketball Team recently improved their record to 9 - 8 with a win over Secaucus High School. The victory qualified them for the State Playoffs which will begin in March. Mr. Masucci’s shop students made 32 1/4 x 12 inch discs for the Hasbrouck Heights Welcome Wagon. Ms. Jones’ classes in painting are looking at color theory and the works of M.C. Escher. Graphic Design II students, under Ms. Reed, are using computers to create business cards for their advertising campaign. The enrollment at the Junior Senior High School is 743. Euclid School Students and staff at Euclid School are beaming with pride as they completed their first successful "Have a Heart Week". In an effort to renew children's awareness of kindness and its importance on their everyday lives, staff recognized and rewarded acts of kindness performed during the week of January 25th. Euclid school had two winners in the Hasbrouck Heights Junior Woman's Club District Spelling Bee held in Westwood, NJ on Friday, February 5th. Jennifer I. and Bijal S., fifth graders from Euclid School, placed first and second, respectively in the spelling bee competition. They will now go on to compete at the state level in March. Students in grades 3-5 enjoyed a visit from the "Seeing Eye" in Morristown. The program educated the students about the raising and training of seeing eye dogs. On Tuesday, February 2nd, a "String Quartet" performed at an assembly, sponsored by the HHEF, for the entire school. The quartet performed both classical and popular selections. The students in K-2nd grades enjoyed a dental health lesson presented by Dr. Gorkowitz, a local orthodontist. On Thursday, February 11th, Dr. Bodenstein and Dr. Leung, local dentists, examined student's teeth in grades 1-5, with parental permission. The Euclid School PTA held its second book fair, this year, on Thursday, February 5th through the Monday, February 9th. The PTA held its monthly Executive Board Meeting on Tuesday, February 9th. The 1999-2000 slate of officers was presented by the nominating committee. Also, on the agenda were: Lunchtime Reading Program, Book Fair, 5th Grade Picnic, Art Auction, Drug Awareness Week and the Memory Book. School Colors Day was held on Friday, February 5th. "Play It Safe With Your Eyes" was the theme of the program, presented to grades K-2, on Wednesday, February 10th, by the NJ Commission for the Blind. Ms. Judy Policelli, Director of Prevention and Education, presented this informative program about eye safety at home, school and during sports. The current enrollment at Euclid School is 324. Lincoln School The winner of the 1999 Drug Free T-shirt contest..............Jeremy O. - 5th Grade. The winner of the 1999 Drug Free Poster contest...............Christopher O. - 1st Grade Lincoln's students spent two weeks participating in the nationwide Martin Luther King, Jr. Kindness and Justice Challenge. The purpose of participating in this challenge to is to keep Martin Luther King's dream for a "kind" and a "just" world. At the end of the two week period, Lincoln School's children committed 3,196 acts of Kindness and Justice. Mrs. Jane McClean, along with the members of the Lincoln School Kindness Committee, continue to support and promote the "Pennies for Puppies" collection. The pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters will be donated to an organization that raises seeing eyed dogs. Lincoln School's American Heart Association's North Jersey Jump Rope Demonstration Team continues to practice to prepare for their first scheduled school visitation on February 25th. In addition to the collection of hearts to acknowledge good deeds, Lincoln School had the wonderful opportunity to be filmed by a WWOR-UPN Channel 9 television crew for a television show called Classroom Closeup. Classroom is a television show affiliated with NJEA and spotlights the wonderful happenings in New Jersey's public schools. Our five minutes and 30 second segment will air on Saturday, March 20th at 8:00 a.m. on Channel 9. The Lincoln and Euclid School faculties met on January 18th and February 8th to continue work on the sequencing of the Math and Language Arts Curriculum. These meetings were dedicated to choosing the assessment components that will be utilized to assure the standards are being met and the time allotment to accomplish these tasks. Once more the teachers at both end schools had the opportunity to collaborate and discuss realistic assessment components and time allotments. In addition to grade level teachers meeting, the special area teachers at both schools have been meeting as well to work on the alignment and sequencing of the New Jersey Core Content Standards related to their fields. These meetings have been equally as productive as the grade level teachers meetings. On Tuesday evening, January 26th, over 150 Lincoln School children proudly displayed their scientific masterpieces. All in attendance seemed to be truly amazed at the many experiments and projects that were presented by our students. The enrollment for Lincoln School as of February 21st is 367
Upcoming Events
Friday, February 26th........... PTA Founders' Day 1:05/Gym
Mon.,March 1- Fri., March 5th.....National PTA Drug, Alcohol & Tobacco
Awareness Week
Tues., March 10.................... FANS Workshop
PTA Executive Board Meeting (7:30/Gym)
Wed., March 17th............. Kindergarten Registration
Tues., March 23rd............. Student Recognition Night (6:30-8:00 pm)
Wed., March 31st................. Family Fun Night (Ice House,
Hackensack, NJ
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