Waldwick High School Principal's Blog

Suzanne Manning - ESL I asked each new staff member to answer a few questions about themselves.   Can you tell us a little bit about your background? I grew up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and graduated from Fair Lawn High School and then William Paterson University. I then received my Master's degree in Gender and International Studies at Towson University. After working for an anti-domestic violence agency in NYC and then two years of teaching in the Peace Corps in Moldova, I decided I wanted to go into teaching as a career. What made you choose Education as a career? I chose education because after teaching for two years in a village in Moldova in the Peace Corps, I realized how rewarding teaching was for me. I loved seeing students make progress and feeling that I had been a part of that process. What appealed to you about Waldwick High School? I liked that Waldwick was a small community where people knew each other and cared about each other. While substituting in Waldwic...

I asked each new staff member to answer a few questions about themselves.   Christine Cook - Art Teacher (This year Ms. Cook will only be teaching one class in the high school, but her addition to the department  has already been very beneficial) Can you tell us a little bit about your background? I grew up in Totowa and went to Passaic Valley High School.  Throughout my high school career, I played volleyball and softball.  After high school I attended Ramapo College of New Jersey, where I majored in Visual Arts and Art Education. What made you choose Education as a career? I always knew that I wanted to be a teacher, but I was unsure of whether I wanted to teach art or math.  I couldn't make up my mind until my senior year in high school.  My art teacher, at the time, inspired me, like I want to inspire others, to love art.  That was the moment I knew that I wanted to become an art teacher. What appealed to you about Waldwick High School? I was...

I asked each new staff member to answer a few questions about themselves.   Gayla Brewer – Secretary for Mr. Clancy Can you tell us a little bit about your background? Spent more than 20 years in Corporate Communications for numerous Fortune 500 Companies.  The last twelve years were dedicated to free-lance writing, raising three kids and community volunteering, including establishing an education foundation in the Park Ridge school district and supporting the basketball program at a local private high school. What made you choose Education as a career? I love kids, and I love sports.  Supporting the WHS Athletic Director seemed like a perfect fit. What appealed to you about Waldwick High School? Great vibe.  The two guys who interviewed me seemed focused, professional, high energy, positive and direct. Tell us something interesting about yourself? I am a die-hard Springsteen fan and have been to about 100 shows all over the country.  Hoping to publish a bo...

I asked each new staff member to answer a few questions about themselves.   Melissa Kahn - Special Services Can you tell us a little bit about your background? I grew up in Haworth, NJ about 25 minutes from Waldwick. My family consists of my father who is a CPA, my mother who does book keeping, my sister who is a publicist in entertainment, and my brother-in-law who is a lawyer. I went to Northern Valley Demarest High School, Muhlenberg College for my undergraduate degree in History, and Felician College for my Masters Degree in Education. After I graduated from Muhlenberg, I went to work at the Alpine Learning Group for 6 years. I learned to teach individuals with Autism using the principles of ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis). What made you choose Education as a career? Believe it or not, I have always wanted to be a teacher.  Ever since I was in Kindergarten, I dreamed of being a teacher. Until I graduated college, I always thought I wanted to be a general education te...

I asked each new staff member to answer a few questions about themselves.   Christina McCann – Language Arts Can you tell us a little bit about your background? I grew up in Wallington during my elementary and middle school years and then moved to New Milford   where I attended New Milford High School. I played softball, volleyball, basketball, soccer and ran cross  country. I was also Sports Editor in the school newspaper.  I went to Ramapo College where I majored in Literature and minored in Psychology.  I taught at Fort Lee High School for two years. And I teach students from Newark and Paterson in an Upward Bound Program over the summer. What made you choose Education as a career? When I was in High School I had two teachers, Mrs. DePoto and Mr. Shaw, who always told me they thought I should be an English teacher. I enjoyed reading and the educational environment. I thrived from the discussion and intellectual stimulation of the class. Keeping thei...

To all the Facebook users out there, Waldwick High School now has its own Facebook Page.       The Page will be another communication tool that I will utilize to keep everyone up to date on events and information going on at WHS. The  Official  Waldwick High School Facebook Page To follow the Official Waldwick High School Facebook Page just click on the Like button.     Not sure what the Like button does?  Here is a quick explanation: Liking a Page means you are connecting to that Page. When you connect to a Page, it will appear in your profile (timeline) and you will appear on the Page as a person who likes that Page. The Page will also be able to post content into your News Feed.   Spread the word to your Friends, Family, Alumni, etc. Keep in mind this Facebook Page is an extension of the high school and all comments should be kept appropriate.     Kevin Carroll

I asked each new staff member to answer a few questions about themselves.   Ali Terzini – World Languages (Spanish) Can you tell us a little bit about your background? I grew up in Ramsey NJ, went to high school there and then attended the University of Delaware. What made you choose Education as a career? I had an amazing Spanish teacher in high school who motivated me to stick with the language and take it for all four years of high school. Originally I was a communications major at UD and only took one Spanish class for credit, but realized halfway through that I did not want to stop taking Spanish courses,  and that I  spent most of my time tutoring and helping my friends in Spanish. What appealed to you about Waldwick High School? I loved the idea that it was a close knit school. I like that it has a great reputation for respectful and eager to learn students. Tell us something interesting about yourself? When I was younger, I used to audition for shows on Broad...

I asked each new staff member to answer a few questions about themselves.   Paola Olivo - Physical Education & Health (Mrs. Olivo was with us part of last year but this year joins us on a full-time basis.  She has been a great addition to the PE/HE Department) Can you tell us a little bit about your background? I grew up in Verona, NJ where I graduated from Verona High School.  As a high school Senior, I committed to Fairleigh Dickinson University where I was a softball player for two seasons.  In 2002 I transferred to Montclair State University in order to pursue my education as a teacher of Physical Education and Health.  Aside from attending my classes, I also took on the role of Assistant Varsity Softball Coach to the Montville Mustangs as well as the Verona Girls Freshman Basketball team.     What made you choose Education as a career? My high school Physical Education teacher and basketball coach inspired my decision to become a teac...

As I mentioned in a previous post I get some great ideas from other administrators around the world.  My next few posts will highlight the eight new staff members here at Waldwick High School.  I got this idea from Patrick Larkin who is the Principal of Burlington High School in Massachusetts.   I asked each new staff member to answer a few questions about themselves. Michael Pepe - Chemistry Can you tell us a little bit about your background? I grew up in Rockland County, New York.  I attended Clarkstown South High School in West Nyack, NY.  I went on to Binghamton University where I graduated with a B.A. in Chemistry.  I stayed at Binghamton for graduate school and received both an M.A. in Chemistry and an M.A.T in Adolescent Science Education. What made you choose Education as a career? In college during the summer I worked at a camp for disabled children where most of the activity directors were teachers.  My positive experiences working with ...

The Waldwick High School Principal’s Blog is something I wanted to start two years ago but never took the big step until today.   I have been following other principals/educational leaders from around the world, who have their own blog or use other types of social media (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc) to highlight their schools, share ideas and build their own PLN (Personal Learning Network).         I have two main goals for this blog.   1 St - It will be another communication tool to help keep our students, parents, community members and alumni informed about events, activities and achievements going on at Waldwick High School.   2 nd - Create a blog that shares ideas, connects with other educators and gives me the opportunity to highlight some of the great teachers and educational programs at Waldwick High School. As a Principal I have tried to model and expose my staff to as many Web 2.0 tools as I can over the past four years. ...