Ocean City High School Principal’s Report

March, 2017

CONGRATULATIONS! Congratulations to Greg Wheeldon for being named in the 2017 County Teacher

Recognition Program as OCHS Teacher of the Year. Listed below are some characteristics that colleagues noted about Greg: He’s always working to better students’ performance, calling home for both good and bad news; He has built a trusting relationship with his students; is asked numerous times to do projects for the city and other community groups which many times need to be done after school or weekends; Mentors other in his department and supports outside clubs and activities with video opportunities.

STUDENT OF THE MONTH Each student was chosen to be Student of the Month because of exemplary behavior, character and performance. We appreciate the support of each of the community organizations. There is a critical connection between a successful public high

school and a strong relationship with its community. Benjamin Cardwell was the Rotary Club Student of the Month.

Sydney Couval was the Exchange Club Student of the Month.

OCHS Students of the Month

Sebastian Fine - Sebastian, a senior at OCHS, was selected as

February’s Student of the Month. According to his teachers, Sebastian is dedicated to learning and unselfishly shares his knowledge with others. He helps maintain an interactive classroom environment by being a respectful listener and supporting his views with evidence.

One teacher stated that Sebastian is a mature, driven and respectful young man who has always gone above and beyond giving his best effort

toward every project / assignment given to him. Sebastian shows up every day prepared and ready to learn. Another teacher commented that he’s genuinely interested in the material, asking great questions that delve beyond the presented material. He does this not for grades, but rather out of genuine curiosity, which is a great trait to see in a student.

Theresa Stratton - Theresa, a sophomore at OCHS, was chosen as February’s Student of the Month. Theresa’s teachers state that she is a hardworking, diligent student that always has a great attitude. One teacher commented that Theresa is one of a kind- extremely pleasant, hard-working, respectful, creative, kind and she poses excellent and thought-provoking questions in class that really propel discussion. She loves a good challenge and is great at problem solving. Theresa also

volunteers to spend time with children affected with cancer, and still manages to keep up an excellent academic record.

Mr. OCHS 2017!! Congratulations to John Riordan Mr. OCHS 2017! Cheerleaders, spent two weeks choreographing and teaching the guys dances and a fitness routine. The contestants performed to a sold out audience. First Runner Up – Jake Smith, Second Runner Up – Eric Levai, Audience Choice – Michael Beebe. Other contestants were Jacob Davis, Kevin Catanoso, Andrew Donoghue, Patrick Kistler and Matthew Metzler. The Cinema Production Club is selling DVDs of this show. Mrs. Brenda Colón-Smith and Ms. Meg Riordan would like to thank the judges – Mrs. Cathy Finnegan, Mr. Michael Martirone, the cheerleaders, contestants, Mr. Bruno, Mr. Trauger and the technical production staff for all their help during the two weeks of rehearsals.

Early College Planning Night Below are photos of the early college planning night on 3/2/17 featuring our newly formed student ambassadors (16 juniors) students in grades 3-5 and 6-8 attended as well as their families!

DECA STUDENTS ADVANCE TO NATIONAL COMPETITION

Ocean City High School students competed in the DECA State Conference held from February 21st to 23rd at the Harrah’s Atlantic City Waterfront Conference Center. They competed against more that 2,500 of the top business students in New Jersey. OCHS students came home with four awards in a variety of events related to business administration, marketing, hospitality, tourism and finance. Congratulations to each of our participants: Michael Beebe William Farnan Meghan Finley Janae Isaacs Sean Lane Eric Levai Garett Longstaff Liam Mulhall Celvin Pelaez Jon Salkeld Arthur Spackman Ariel Stell Paul Stryker

Janae Isaacs received awards for her outstanding performances in Automotive Services Marketing Series competitive area which included top test score and top role plays. After advancing to the finalist round she placed fourth overall.

Eric Lane and Jon Salkeld were finalists in their event, Financial Services Team Decision Making. After advancing to the finalist round they placed third overall. Jon Salkeld also received an award for top test score in this event.

Michael Beebe and William Farnan were finalists and will advance to nationals with the project they created in the Creative Marketing event. They placed 3rd overall and will represent OCHS along with the others mentioned this April in Anaheim, California.

The DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) is the highlight of the DECA year in which fifteen thousand high school students, advisors, businesspersons and alumni gather for several days of competitive excitement. Most participants at ICDC compete

in one of DECA's business related events. The top competitors in each event are recognized for their outstanding achievements. Good luck to our ICDC competitors!

OCHS Physical Education Department March Fitness Challenge Wall-sits and Football Accuracy Throw

“Don't wait until you've reached your goal to be proud of yourself. Be proud of every step you take toward reaching that goal.” -

unknown Congratulations to the winners!! Mrs. DiMatteo 3:34 Wall Sit Matt Catanosa 12:01 Wall Sit Sofia Richmond 5:40 Wall Sit Corey Greene 1/4 Football Throw Bobby Baxter 1/4 Football Throw

CLUB ACTIVITIES On March 16 members of the Interact Club, String Orchestra and Tri-M had the pleasure of performing for and socializing with the wonderful people at the Stainton Senior Center. Pictured below: Lexis Bruursema, Amanda Allen, Laney Guido.; Natalie Katsiff, Morgan McLees, Paul Howel, Sara Ruth, Erik Larson; Bob, Ella Weigel, Alex Vitola

Open Gym Club hosted its Volleyball tournament on Wednesday March 1st. Congratulations to our 2017 champs Adam King, Matt Zelinski, Jackson Sullivan, Emily Roffman, Andrew Hollaway, Chase Jones, and Matt Di Marino. Thank you to all those who came out!

Open Gym Club held its annual Doubles Badminton Tournament on Thursday, March 23rd. Congrats to our winners- Sean Zellers and Tanner Tomassi. Thank you to all who came out and participated!

Women’s History Month March is Women's History Month. The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.

Ellie Franckle Introduction Kayla Rauner Jackie Kennedy Rose Malfitano Mary Todd Lincoln Ellie Franckle Melania Trump Maddie Eggert Michelle Obama Jackson Neill Hilary Rodham Clinton Emma Maher Eleanor Roosevelt Daniel Mulraney Helen Taft Estelle Richardson Caroline Harrison Trinity Good Rosalynn Carter Carli Kelly Betty Ford Ella Curtin Louisa Adams

Many Thanks to:

Mrs. Santoro and her public speaking students, Mr. Cox and his jazz rock students, Ms. Hillemann, Mrs. Pendleton, Mr. Wheeldon & students, Mrs. Adrianna Palmer & students, The OCHS Custodial Staff, Our wonderful audience! Raider Retailers now has ties for sale. Only $17.00.

Coffee Express In honor of International Week of Service (March 25th – March 31st) Key Club collaborated with the Ocean City Primary School’s Multicultural Club on a new project, The Coffee Express Drive, a drive used to collect items to send to the troops. The name stems from the

start-up of this program, when coffee beans and mugs were originally collected to send to the troops, though the collection has since greatly expanded to other items. This program is dedicated to sending packages to individual servicemen and servicewomen serving all around the world. Multicultural Club promotes cultural awareness, sensitivity to individual

differences, and respect for diversity, as well as promotes patriotism and pride in U.S. citizenship. Key Club is a service-based organization dedicated to helping those in the community and around the world. We thank Christa Michael, a junior at Ocean City High School, for sharing this idea with us.

Key Club was blown away by the amount of items that were donated for the troops, not only from the High School but the Primary School. Sharon Norton’s first period class wins the award for the most items collected. Not only did they not stop at just bringing in items, they also created cards and goody bags to let the troops know that we’re thinking of them in Ocean City, New Jersey. We also had special cards made from Sharon Elco’s 1st period French class. The Multicultural Club at the Primary School was able to collect four full boxes of items that will be shipped overseas. Amazingly, we were able to collect 1199 items with 146 of the items being personal cards. We thank everyone for their support and generosity, we know the troops will appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Key Club’s Senior Prom On Friday, March 31, the Key Club put on their fifth annual Senior Prom at the United Methodist Communities at the Shores to end International Week of Service. This year’s theme was “A Night in The City.” A big thank you to Student Council for once again letting us use some of their decorations from Homecoming. Key Club members danced the night away and made sure that everyone at the Senior Prom was able to walk away with a lasting memory and enjoyable evening. Though we didn’t have a band this year, Key Clubbers took turns singing and dancing to hit songs from the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. The Seniors joined the Key Clubbers for songs such as “Crazy” by Patsy Kline and New York, New York” by Frank Sinatra. When not dancing, Key Club members helped serve refreshments and were able to converse about previous dances and experiences that the residents at the Shores have had. The night ended with the crowning of a Prom King and Queen, who happened to be husband and wife; they didn’t let go of each other’s hands except when his wife danced the conga. The 2016 Prom Queen attended and had a good time bobbing her to head to some of her favorite songs. The residents thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment and look forward to next year.

Student CounCil The OCHS Student Council has been busy and working hard in the last couple months. With the introduction of Mindful Monday Yoga and Movie Nights, Student Council continues to create new ways to bring the school community together. The biggest event the Student Council organized was the annual Blood Drive. The amount of blood donated in February can help save almost 500 lives. Stay tuned for more new Student Council events!