April 2013 Issue 4

NHS PRINCIPAL’S

NEWSLETTER

Mission Statement

Monthly Message

Welcome Middle States NHS welcomes the Middle States Accreditation Team visit this month. The team of five educators from around the tri-state area will be at Nutley High School from April 9th through April 12th. They will be assessing our student performance action plans along with 12 areas of focus, including such things as communication, facilities, and philosophy. The last Middle States cycle for NHS was in 2002 and we look forward to the feedback we will receive. As part of their visit, the Middle States team will be interviewing parent stakeholders. If you’d like to participate the session will occur on Thursday, April 11 from 1:30 pm to 2:15 pm - please contact Mr. Frank Francia at 973-661-8825 or ffrancia@nutleyschools.org. SeaPearch Victory Congratulations to the NHS SeaPearch team that came in first place at the NY regional competition on Saturday, March 30th at NY City College! See link: (http://www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2013/03/21/ccny-hosts-first-navy-aquatic-robotics-competition-in-nyc/) As part of the STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) initiative in our Science program, students have been meeting afterschool with

Dr. Naumoff and Mr. Kasner to develop their own submersibles. The team has also had some visits from Naval officers who are part of the nuclear submarine program. As a result of their victory, the NHS team now qualifies for the national competition to be held in Indianapolis, IN on Saturday, May 18, 2013. Kudos to the NHS SeaPearch team! For more information on the program see the following link: http://www.seaperch.org/page.php?identifier=seaperch_challenge) Save the Date On May 22, 2013 the NHS PTO, in conjunction with Mayor Petracco and the office of Public Safety, will be presenting “Share the Keys” a program geared towards parents and student drivers. The program is a partnership between Sangeeta Badlani of West Orange (who lost her 11-year old son in a traffic accident to a distracted driver in 2011) and Arnold Anderson, Coordinator of the Essex County Community Traffic Safety Program. The focus of the program is to instill good driving habits. Parents, I ask that, as we move toward the summer driving season, that you make every effort to attend this worthwhile program with your teenage driver. The program will begin at 7:30PM and will be held in the NHS auditorium. I look forward to seeing you there! For more information on the program please visit the following site: http://nikhilbadlanifoundation.org Google Docs! Google docs is a system that offers a collaborative, web-based environment to share documents, spreadsheets, forms, presentations, and much more. In the classroom teachers can create web-based surveys to collect data for assignments, projects, and assessment both in and outside the classroom. In addition, students can take notes during class and share the notes with classmates or work collaboratively on notes. Teachers can upload and share a variety of documents, files, and images which can then be commented on outside the classroom. Recently parents were sent acceptable use forms to enable their student to utilize Google Docs. If you haven’t returned the permission form, please do as this system will allow for student-centered instruction to occur. Inclement Weather - In the event of school closure, delayed opening, or early dismissal, School Messenger, our automated notification system, will call the phone number you have provided to us, as well as send a message by email and text. The School Messenger system will leave a voicemail if no one picks up the phone. Parents and students may also check the school’s website or call the school’s main number, 973-661-8832 (press “2” for the high school and press “0” for the Main Office) You can also listen to local radio stations 1010 Wins or check TV Channels 5 or 7. Do we have your current address and phone number? If you have changed your phone number or email address since September 2012, you must make an appointment to update your information with our registrar, Mr. Natty Ferrara at 973-320-8494.

Denis Williams Principal dwilliams@nutleyschools.org 973-661-8824

NHS Students of the Month

Naiya Gosai

Naiya is a sophomore who aspires to be a medical doctor. She finds that her participation in the Health Careers club has provided her an opportunity to further explore this field. An active member of The Student Council, Interact and Key Club, Naiya advises all students to get involved in extracurricular activities as it is a great way to meet new people and develop new friendships while providing service to others. Naiya has also been involved as a member of the Set Design club. She truly enjoyed the experience of helping make Little Shop of Horrors a success as it allowed her to interact with her peers and learn about design in the process.

Recently, Naiya has been actively engaged in the STEM program - SeaPerch. This after school club provides students the opportunity to develop their own robotic submersibles. Naiya’s team (one of four from NHS) came in second and she had great feeling representing NHS at the competition. She really likes interacting with Dr. Naumoff, Mr. Bania, and Mr. Kasner outside of the classroom setting and being afforded the opportunity to work in teams accomplish a set of goals. She tried it because she states, “Knowledge does not have a barrier and you need to be willing to follow that drive.” As she looks forward to her next few years here at NHS, Naiya has some sage advice to her peers, she states, “Don’t be afraid of failures because it is never over - life is full of opportunities to succeed.” She shared a Hindu proverb, “To be afraid of life is to be dead.” Great sentiment! Congratulations Naiya on your selection as student of the month and for your positive contributions to our NHS school community!

Phelan Yu

Phelan is a sophomore who plans on volunteering YMCA summer camp this summer as well as interning at NJIT as a biophysics lab research intern. This type of multi-tasking is what defines Phelan and his approach to life. At NHS Phelan is very involved. He is the 2nd violin principal in the school orchestra having started playing at Yantacaw School. In Grade 3 he found that the violin was fun to play and aside from the aesthetic experience of producing music, he liked the focus required to complete musical tasks. He feels that this has helped him in his academic progress. He is member of the Academic team, which provides him an opportunity to represent NHS with other elite schools. This year he was key part in initiating the NHS Mock Trial

team, which had recent success in the Essex County competition. His role as lead lawyer for defense team won praise and accolades from judges and lawyers who scored the competition. He liked the fact that he had an opportunity to use skills that he learned from public speaking team at Yantacaw School and that he was able to exercise research and analysis skills. At the present time Phelan is taking multiple languages, Italian and French, and was inducted to Italian Honor Society on Tuesday, April 2nd. He likes the challenge of language acquisition and feels that this helps him with communication skills. Outside of school Phelan has been active with a local fencing team. He is an accomplished foilist, the foil being the lightest and most versatile weapon. His experience with fencing helps him with his analysis skills as he is always planning his tactics and strategies.

Phelan is thinking about pursuing a possible career in economics and foreign relations. This interest was spurred by his experience with the Yale Global Leaders Summer Program last year. He truly learned from the interaction with and exposure to students from all over the world. Phelan thinks that NHS is a great school that provides opportunities for students to achieve and fulfill their goals. He advises all NHS students to take advantage of environment around you! Great sentiment! Congratulations Phelan on your selection as student of the month and for your positive contributions to our NHS school community!

Staff Member of the Month

Dr. Michael Naumoff

Dr. Michael Naumoff has been a faculty member at NHS for the past 9 years. He enjoys being part of the Science Department as a Physics teacher. An alumnus of Rutgers University, where he gained a masters and doctorate in Chemistry, Dr. Naumoff choose the science field at the recommendation of his parents and by his high school Chemistry teacher at Eastern Christian High School in North Haledon. He loved science and literature classes while he was a student—and was always inclined toward math and sciences. Dr. Naumoff grew up in Brazil until the age of 11, and then moved to the US. After college he started working as a clinical chemist in the East Orange VA Hospital. Employees would seek out his help for their college courses and many commented that he should become a teacher - so he did!

His favorite aspect of teaching is interacting with students. He believes in being open and sincere with his students and they seem to respond. He sees the challenges with 21st century learning initiatives but also sees opportunities for future. But his breadth of experiences makes him realize that change is a constant. He loves the move towards technology in the classroom as it reflects what is occurring in the science field. Aside from classroom teaching, Dr. Naumoff enjoys computers and reading, gardening, and being outside in his free time. He also loves watching movies; his favorite movie being Platoon - it reminds him of the service his friends experienced in the Vietnam War. Dr. Naumoff is currently involved in the STEM initiative advising the SeaPerch Club, which helps student build submersibles. He sees this as a great way of partnering math science and technology in a problem solving setting. Dr. Naumoff loves being an educator and is happiest at work in NHS he feels very lucky to be part of NHS and associating with his colleagues. His advice to students is “LEARN YOUR MATH OR AT LEAST LEARN TO LIKE IT” and always work hard! We appreciate that sentiment and are glad that Dr. Naumoff is with us every day. To our April Teacher of the Month – KUDOS!

Departmental Students of the Month

The following students have been nominated by each department for displaying good citizenship, responsibility, respect, and trustworthiness in the classroom, in addition to being positive contributors.

Business/Creative Arts

Michelle Nastasi

Tyler Schoeber

English

Zach Calluori

David Roghanian

Math

Kristen Constantino

Jacob Michels

Music

Danielle Ciminnisi

Zach Calluori

Physical Education & Health

Vivek Jani

Rosalina Perez

Science

Nicholas Scherer

Gabriel Tortora

Social Studies

Erin Toye

John McCullough

World Languages

Arielle Falcone

Joshua Rochester

Athletes of the Month

Tara McGarty

Senior Tara McGarty swam in the Essex County Swim Meet February 2nd for NHSl. She swam the 100-yard backstroke in 1:01.10 placing 4th in the county and 100-yard freestyle in 56.84 placing 7th in the county. Both were personal best times. She made the All-Essex Third Team. Tara also swims for the Red Hawks Swim Club at Montclair State University. She now currently holds 22 out of 33 team records on the Red Hawks. On March 8, 9, and 10, at Rutgers University, Tara participated in the New

Jersey Junior Olympics. She set two new Red Hawks team records in the two events she swam, 100-yard backstroke in 59.85 set on 3/8/13 and the 200-yard backstroke in 2:10.76 set on 3/10/13. She qualified for the B finals in each event and her times were fast enough to qualify for sectionals and will represent New Jersey in the Eastern Zone Championships on the weekend of March 27-31 in Webster, New York. It will be New Jersey vs. Virginia, Maryland, New York, New England and Connecticut. On March 23 – 24 at Rutgers University, Tara participated in the Bronze-Silver Championships. She set her personal best times in 100-yard breaststroke in 1:11.34 coming in 1st place in the overall event and in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:32.04, shaving 11.89 seconds off her previous time. Tara took 1st place in the overall event. She also set her personal best record for the 50-yard freestyle in 26:22 and for the 200-yard freestyle in 2:04.08.

Robert Trombetta

Senior Bobby Trombetta concludes his wrestling career at NHS as one of the all-time greats. This season he suffered a major injury at the prestigious Beast of the East Tournament held in Delaware while finishing in 8th place. Bobby put surgery off until after the season was completed. He won his 4th Essex County Championship, and was named co-outstanding wrestler and breaking the all times win record in NHS history in the process. In February Bobby claimed his 3rd District 14 Championship and qualified for the state championship for the 4th time. At the state tournament Bobby became the 2nd wrestler in school history to

earn 3 medals, this time doing so with an 8th place finish. Bobby leaves us with a career record of 141-23. Even though Bobby didn’t reach his goal of becoming a state champion, he will always be a champion in the eyes of the Nutley Wrestling family. To be able to compete the way that he did and finish where he finished in quite possibly the toughest weight class in the state tournament, Bobby showed that he has the heart of a lion.

DEPARTMENTAL HIGHLIGHTS

Music

The Nutley Schools were named to the 2013 BEST COMMUNITIES FOR MUSIC EDUCATION roster by the NAMM foundation. This is the 5th time the Nutley Schools have earned this distinction. NHS Concert Choir will be performing at CARNEGIE HALL on April 1, 2013. The same concert will be repeated at the 2013 All Eastern National Association of Music Education Convention in Hartford Connecticut on April 6, 2013. Nutley was selected as one of four choirs to represent the Eastern Region to highlight the best programs our region has to offer.

Two NHS students will also be participating in the 2013 ALL EASTERN CHOIR, they are Matthew O’Donnell and David Jeong, these two students will also perform at the NAfME Convention.

Jazz Lab – Great performance at the NJ Combo Festival –Montclair University

Wind Ensemble – Gold Rating at the Region I Concert Band Festival

Concert Band – Silver Rating at the Region I Concert Band Festival

Jazz Ensemble – Great performance at NJ State Prelim’s Division 3 State Finalist.

Winter Guard – 4 First Place wins they are undefeated for the season!

Instrumental Honor Band(s) Achievement - 2013

Caldwell Honor Band Kevin Truong Rich Martinez Amanda Llaneza Josh Idio John Salimbene Farras Sukkar Area Band KevinTruong Nick Cela Pat Dudasik

Essex Co Honor Band Nick Cela Eric Dieterle Pat Dudasik Lucca Farrell Richard Martinez Lia Negra Michael Tortorelli Kevin Truong

Region Band Nick Cela Pat Dudasik Region Jazz Lucca Farrell Zach Calluori All State Jazz Qualified Lucca Farrell Patrick Dudas

Winter Guard goes undefeated this season ~ Wins Scholastic AA Group at the MAC Championship! On Saturday, April 6, 2013 in Trumbull Connecticut, The Nutley High School Winter Guard capped off an undefeated season by winning the Scholastic AA group at the Musical Arts Conference (MAC) Championships. Winter guard is a combination of dance and guard implements put to music. This year’s show was set to the music “Color Blind” by The Counting Crows. The guard gave a spirited, emotional and very artistic performance of their show earning their second championship in the past 5 years. Congratulations on a fine season and making Nutley proud.

Library

The Library Media Center has been busy with classes researching a variety of projects including: large projects for Language Arts classes (Junior and Senior themes, five-minute speech), Science classes doing a variety of technology-based projects; Culinary Arts researching recipes; Health classes doing nutritional research projects; and World Language classes creating PowerPoints. Remember to stop by the library if you need help formatting your research papers. We have a variety of handouts available and are here in-person to help guide you through citation process. There are also links to MLA (Modern Language Association) resources and handouts available through the Library’s web page http://www.nutleyschools.org/olc/teacher.aspx?s=96 If you are thinking of taking out some books to read on spring break, stop by the library and take out a Nook. The Nooks are pre-loaded with contemporary fiction and classics and are easy to read on the beach or by the pool. Information on the Nook program and permission slips are on the library website.

Media AV News

NHS-TV ~ Where the camera is always rolling! Radio/TV I - Students have completed a series of state of the art public service messages, that will be viewed in a National Campaign. Topics range from anti-bullying, smoking, gun violence, distracted driving, depression and animal abuse. In mini-production groups the students have created an FCC standard portfolio within our curriculum standards. Kudos to all! Radio/TV II - On March 20th the top notch production field crew hit the "FLASH MOB" Production scene! Stay Tuned...You never know when you could end up on the dance floor in this production. Just a reminder, Radio/TV II students will cover all the angles. Radio/TV II - On Aril 1, 2013 the premiere of "A day in the life of a seventh grader" will air at John Walker Middle School. Middle School Orientation. Radio/TV II - March Madness game show be airing next week! No it is not hoops action, but the live game show from NHS-TV. Hosted by Angela Montelbano. Radio/TV III - Students hit the streets with camera rolling as they produce a multi-media campaign in collaboration with our Chamber of Commerce and local business leaders. You can see the campaign in full swing around town as we try to get the message out. "Raiders Ride Safe" Look for our DONATE AND DRIVE SAFE Business partners on March 29th! Radio/TV Prod III - The studio crew completed the 6th edition of "Know Your Schools" hosted by Mr. Williams. See student of the month Andrew Leyble interviewed along with his fellow award winners!

ATHLETIC HIGHLIGHTS

BOYS BASKETBALL The following boys were selected to the All-Conference Team: First Team - Scott Gonzalez Second Team - Charlie Bingham Honorable Mention - Jonathan Russo Scott Gonzalez and Charlie Bingham were also selected to participate in the Annual SEC Senior All-Star Game

Athletic Eligibility Students and parents should be aware of the rules for athletic eligibility entering into the second semester. Click here for more information: http://www.nutleyschools.org.schools.bz/userfiles/185/Classes/6466/NHS%20Athletic%20and%20Co-Curricular%20Eligibility-1.pdf

STUCO News

The Student Council meets every Tuesday morning in the gymnasium to discuss upcoming events, fundraisers and any other important activities occurring at Nutley High School. Planning for Spirit Week is in the works as is preparation for the Annual Decathlon. The Decathlon is the biggest student event of the school year with intense competition between the classes. Almost the entire student body attends. It will be held on Friday, April 26th Some Decathlon Events:

Class of 2014

Junior class decathlon t-shirt forms are out - see Mr. Porrino or Mr. Dwyer. The Junior class will be conducting a golden ticket chocolate bar sale. The student with the “Golden Ticket” gets free admissions to the Junior Formal which will be held on Saturday, May 4th at the high school. Junior Formal planning is underway and going well. The theme of the formal is the roaring twenties.

Class of 2015

Decathlon shirts on sale until April 12. See an officer for forms.

Will be selling Pies and Baked Goods from Ashley Farms for Mother's Day. Flyers will be handed out at the end of March.

Restaurant give back night at "Yo-Lish" in Nutley throughout April

Community Service Corner

Work Study Class held a children’s book drive. Approximately 450 books were donated! The

books were sent to North Star Academy in Newark, NJ. It was the goal of the Work Study Class to make an effort to improve literacy one book at a time!

We coordinated with the mayor’s office to hold "Operation Cinderella" - a Prom Dress Donation

Drive on April 3. Students and alumni were asked to donate their gently used, no longer needed prom dresses to benefit Catherine’s Closet, a non-profit organization in Newark, NJ. Catherine’s Closet helps make high school girls’ dreams come true!

A portion of the gowns will be used to benefit the students of Sojourn High School which is part of the Essex County Juvenile Detention Facility.

85 Dresses were donated!

Club News

KEY Club

The Key Club sponsored 2013 Blood Drive held on March 19th was a huge success. We collected over 125 units of blood in only 4 hours (due to delayed opening). We attribute the huge turn out to homeroom teachers who helped motivate student interest by signing them up and, of course, the assemblies that the juniors and seniors attended the week before. The students were so proud of what they accomplished. A big thank you to our custodial staff and anyone who donated or helped out in anyway. It was much appreciated. Talk about inspiring, (which was the Mission Statement word of the day) these students were truly inspirational. They were scared but determined at the same time. We are so proud of them.

Key Club Advisors, Denise Mazza, Pat Trainor and Lisa Vallo

Future Educators Association “FEA”

Shadow day in May

Held a very successful Annual Alumni Breakfast on March 15. Five Alumni came and spoke about their college experiences.

Gay/Straight Alliance

Planning a "Multi-cultural" day at the end of April

Day of silence in May

Health Careers Club

On March 23rd, five students from the Health Careers Club, accompanied by Dr. Blaise Curcio and Ms. Sharon Romaglia, participated in the Science Fair held at Nutley High School. The students demonstrated proper oral hygiene with the use of special puppets. Children and parents who visited with them were given a gift bag, courtesy of the Delta Dental Foundation of New Jersey. Special thanks to Sarah Ahmed, Cythia Ferreiras, Caroline Morales, Raveena Nigli and Alex Nguyen for their assistance in making this presentation a huge success. On April 23rd, the Health Careers Club will be touring the New York College of Technology, CUNY, Brooklyn Campus. Students will be given an opportunity to meet with the professional staff and students from the Dental Hygiene Program, the Department of Restorative Dentistry, the Medical Assisting Program, the Optical Technician and the Radiology Technician programs.

From the Nurse’s Office

Allergy Season is approaching. If you suffer from seasonal allergies, here are some tips to help minimize your body’s reaction to pollen: 1). Avoid being out of doors on very windy days when the pollen is blowing around. Rain storms help to clear pollen from the air. 2). Wear a dust mask when you are doing outdoor activities. 3). Watch or listen to weather forecast to determine what the pollen count is. Take any allergy medications before your symptoms start. 4). Avoid outdoor activity when pollen counts are highest. 5). Try over the counter remedies to help with symptoms. Antihistamines relieve sneezing, itching, runny nose and watery eyes, decongestants help with nasal stuffiness. Use saline nasal sprays to help rinse the pollen from your nasal passages. Do this regularly to help minimize your reaction. For further information see: www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-allergies