Waldwick High School Principal's Blog

Picture credit to Alex Remnick/The Start-Ledger Senior, Doug Palmadessa has been nominated by the Star Ledger as one of the top 12 HS players in North Jersey Section 1.  There is an online fan poll going  and you can cast your vote for Doug.   As of 7am Friday, January 31, Doug had  27,219 votes  which currently has him in second place.   You can vote as many times as you want, and the poll will close on Saturday morning at 11 a.m.  Lets #makeithappen and got Doug the votes he needs.  Make your vote(s) count!!  Link to Fan Poll: Boys basketball fan poll: Who is the best player in North Jersey, Section 1?

Waldwick trombonist, Cara Montella, performed in the North Jersey School Music Association  Region I Band Concert on Sunday, January 26, in Randolph.  This is the third year that Cara has been accepted into a Region honors ensemble.  Students from seven counties competed against each other in a blind audition earlier in the month; Cara was among the thirteen trombone players who were selected to participate in a Region ensemble.  All the students who were accepted into the ensembles rehearsed a challenging musical program and performed together with a guest conductor.  Congratulations, Cara!

Recently, 34 students in Mr. Apap’s Anatomy & Physiology classes traveled to Liberty Science Center to witness a program called “Live from…” The students and chaperons were able to observe Neurosurgery on a 42 year old woman complaining of loss of movement in her neck and severe pain and numbness down her left arm.  The group watched as two surgeons worked effortlessly to expose the vertebrae in the patient's neck, remove the damaged cartilage and replace the cartilage with donated bone tissue and fuse the area.  This would result in the woman, while having restricted movement of her neck, enjoy a pain-free life.  The group was amazed at how small an incision was made and how little bleeding there was.  All came away with a new perspective on what benefits can be gained by today’s medical advances and procedures.

Guest post for Mr. Opderbeck , Social Studies  Teacher @ Waldwick High School  On Friday, January 24, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department offered the students of Waldwick a glimpse into the world of forensics and crime solving.   First, Bergen County detectives provided an interactive instructional presentation centered on crime solving techniques such as fingerprint analysis, DNA processing, ballistics, and hair/fiber examination.    The detectives discussed real world cases that have been solved in recent years using high tech forensics methods.   After the enlightening presentation, the students were able to tour the mobile forensics lab, which houses advanced forensic processing equipment.    It was truly an exciting hands-on learning experience for our Criminal Procedure students. We would like to thank the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department for their willingness to reach out to students in Bergen County, including our own i...

Seniors - Are you interested in becominging a Model or Runner for the Graduation Ball Fashion Show?  It's a fun evening and it will support your Graduation Ball. For your convenience, we've set up two dates where you can pick up the information. Wednesday, January 22, at 6:30 pm in the Media Center (Canceled b/c of snow)  or  Thursday, January 23, at 3:15 pm in the Media Center or  Monday, January 27, at 6:30 pm in the Media Center.   If you don't pick up a flyer, you won't be able to participate.  Don't miss out on being a part of the tradition! If you can't make either meeting and want to be part of this event, please contact  Dawn Monaco  at  tdmonaco@verizon.net . The Fashion Show is scheduled for March 12, 2014 at Macaluso's in Hawthorne. 

Three Waldwick High School teachers ( Mrs. Orlak , Mrs. Dojer and Ms. Hummel ) get the opportunity to discuss history and civics with Supreme Court Justice as part of the Teaching American History Grant  . Read more about the experience here:  New Jersey Teachers Discuss History and Civics with Supreme Court Justice

Super Bowl Hoagies for Sale!  The Waldwick High School Band is selling Italian hoagies for $8 each - that's a 10-inch-sub with ham/salami/provolone/lettuce/tomato, delivered to your door on Super Bowl Sunday (in Waldwick).  Gluten-free bread available, too.  It's a great fundraiser, and they are delicious!  Please support the band & order hoagies - they can be purchased from any band student, or contact  whsmusicparents@gmail.com    or (201) 612-9680.

Photo Credit - WHS Student Olivia Aligo Guest post for Ms. McCann , AP  Psychology  Teacher @ Waldwick High School  Psychologist Shawn Achor explains that if you dedicate "just a two- minute span of time for 21 days in a row, you can actually rewire your brain, allowing your brain to actually work more optimistically and more successfully ."  He suggests logging/journaling/tweeting/blogging 3 new positive events or things we are grateful for each day. Let's take this positive psychology challenge and see if our happy thoughts ripple out into our productivity and well-being.  Great Ted Talk on the subject - Shawn Achor: The happy secret to better work Ms. McCann is inviting everyone to take part in this 21 day challenge.  Are you up for the challenge?  Use this link to participate:   21 Day Positive Challenge    or on Twitter use the hashtag #whs21day .  Parents   This is a great way to take ...

Students in Ms. Lentino's Journalism class are building their own interactive journalism websites.  Looking forward to see the websites!! 

Guest post by Waldwick High School Social Studies Teacher Amanda Fernicola As our society develops, the use of the internet and social media becomes more important each day.  Through Twitter, a social media site, two educators from New Jersey and one from Michigan have decided to create an online global project on the Great Depression. Amanda Fernicola ( @MissFernicola  ) from Waldwick High School in New Jersey, Dana Sirotiak ( @Sirotiak02  ) from Hackensack High School in New Jersey and David Fouch ( @davidfouch  ) from Forest Hills Northern High School in Michigan have developed a research-based project for students in US History 2 classes to complete using Google Presentations. The students in US History 2 have been broken into groups consisting of students from all three schools to work on the project. The project will ask students to research how specific areas of the United States were affected by the Great Depression. Students will be asked to...

On Friday, January 17th, the National Honor Society is sponsoring a Blood Drive @ Waldwick High School from 8:30 am - 2:30 pm.  Contact Mrs. Ralston or an NHS member to schedule an appointment.

Tommy Minervini, an 8 year old from Traphagen Elementary School, that has recently been diagnosed with Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.   He has months of treatments and hospital stays in order to recover.  The Minervini family gives so much to us and our community, so please come out to donate blood and show your support for the them! We want to see Tommy back out on the field playing soccer and baseball where all the little boys belong. How you can help: Community Blood Drive - In Honor of Tommy Minervini  Sweet Hearts for Tommy Fundraiser Event  You can always count on the Waldwick community to step up and help when one of their own is in need.  It's the WarriorNation way.  

Senior Parents - Don't forget to get your yearbook ad in before February 6.  Link to JostensAdService.com  

WALDWICK HIGH SCHOOL December Students of the Month 2013 – 2014 MATH ANDREW FUCARINO – Andrew is fascinated by mathematics and endeavors to challenge himself at every opportunity.  He is currently enrolled in Pre-calculus Honors, where he has already completed future assignments.  Thus, he is continuing to improve his mathematical acumen by working on enrichment topics outside the scope of the class.  Moreover, Andrew is a member of the High School Math Club, and has been since his freshman year.  He has been awarded with the Bronze Medal by the American Mathematics Competition for being the  school winner for two consecutive years and is currently working on attaining his third win  this February. VOCAL BRIANA RAGO - Briana is currently a member of the WHS Senior Chorus.  Brie loves to sing and she is committed to learning different ways to improve her vocal techniques.  Brie always has a smile on her face and is ready to si...

Mrs. Ralston's French 4 and 5 Honors students sent a video greeting to their French pen pals in Alsace, France.  "On espere un rendez vous un de ces jours!"

WELCOME ABOARD MRS. SHARON KATZ!   WHS Guidance Counselor - Maternity Leave Replacement for Mrs. Kristi Fortini As many of you might already know, Mrs. Fortini will be going on maternity leave from Feb. 3rd through June 20th. She will return back to WHS for the 2014/15 school year. Mrs. Fortini is expecting her third daughter on February 3rd. We wish her the very best of luck and look forward to seeing her back in the Guidance Office in September. Many leave replacement candidates were interviewed to cover Mrs. Fortini’s counseling responsibilities. Mrs. Sharon Katz was selected based on a number of factors. Mrs. Katz is an experienced high school guidance counselor with several years in the business. She was a high school guidance counselor at Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan. She left to start a family a few years ago. Mrs. Katz was a high school leave replacement counselor in Old Tappan last year as well. Mrs. Katz is well versed in the complexities of the...

COURSE SELECTION SHEETS Starting today, the counselors will be providing 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students with a 2014/2015 Course Selection Sheet for next year’s schedule.  The students must complete the selection sheet,  which includes the parent’s review/signature,  and return it back to their classroom teacher within two days of receipt of the form. The distribution of the form is noted as follows: Tuesday, January 7th – Forms to be provided to the 9th graders. The forms are due back by 1/9 (Thursday) to their English teachers. Wednesday, January 8th - Forms to be provided to the 10th graders. The forms are due back by 1/10 (Friday) to their English teachers. Thursday, January 9th - Forms to be provided to the 11th graders. The forms are due back by 1/13 (Monday) to their English teachers. The 2014-2015 Course Selection Guide is posted on the high school website.   In late February/early March, parents and students will have the abi...