“Disappointing” “Highly unfortunate” “Unnecessary” this gentleman is the leader and chief of one of the most recognized and largest schools districts on northern NJ. All he cares about is nothing that it was not during school hours. Yet the most damming angle of this is the bullying is concerning ANOTHER bullying experience that has been active for some time.
“I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you do.”
Don’t Ridgewood families deserve better? If you care about nothing else and you may care about your housing values when no one wants to move to your town because you school and it’s ineptitude are plastered all over NYC/NJ news.That was yesterday.
Can we assume that our transparent administration has immediately suspended the wresting team ? How could we possibly allow them to continue to compete with a Ridgewood school sponsor?
Can we expect our police department to execute arrests in the near future ? Can it really take 10days to get the details ?
Can we assume that we will see a number of kids expelled ?
This can not be allowed to just be swept away, nor is this a time for counseling as suggested by the administration. We need prompt, clear transparent action to let everyone know that bullying, gang fighting, team pack mentality, and not doing the right thing will not be tolerated at all
There are conflicting stories about who and what instigated the dispute that led to this prearranged fight so perhaps it’s best for the generally uninformed, myself included, to let the actual facts emerge before embracing or making accusations that may be false or even libelous.. This is after all the age of hasty reporting that sometimes lays out a storyline that is later change after proper investigation. As far as students attending and videoing, many seem shocked and disappointed by that circus like happening. Unfortunately this is the environment that our kids grow up in where social media is extensively used and sensationalized., a generation where UFC and Kardashian type entertainment reigns . Thankfully, some students appear to have interceded after the injured boy collapsed after a second punch landed .Here ‘s the reality : Fights, raging parties and hard drugs happen here in Ridgewood, most times they don’t lead to bad injuries, outcomes. or overdoses. When they do, there is a knee jerk reaction with much condemnation and efforts to place blame. .The only certainty right now is that we all should be praying for the injured boy to fully recover.
Is Dr. Fishbein speaking as we would like him to speak. Is he being transparent? Is he assuaging our concerns.
Or is the Record, with the article that just came out on what happened: that there was fight and a child is in the hospital with a fractured skull and may lose the sight of one eye, is the Record more transparent than Dr. Fishbein. Is the Record article appropriate.
Should Dr. Fishbein have just stated openly and forthrightly to the public what happened. Would that have been more or less transparent, appropriate.
The children who have not come forward as witnesses and who may have videos of the fight and who may have not intervened during the fight, is that behavior similar to Dr. Fishbein’s not being open about what happened.
Could children be learning violence and cowardice and fear of being open and honest from we adults.
This week the Ridgewood High School Administration has been investigating a serious student incident that rose to the level of police involvement following a thorough, deliberate and confidential exploration of the facts. The incident involved the misuse of social media, destruction of school property and violence.
It is important to address and dispel rumors that are circulating in our community and to ask for your understanding that this issue, like all student issues that involve minors and are also part of a student’s record, is, and will remain, confidential. Just as we protect the privacy of your child’s record, we are compelled to do the same for all children involved in this incident. For this reason, we cannot comment on the episode or on the eventual outcome, but I do want to reassure you as both a parent and also as your Superintendent, that I trust the administration to act in the best interest of all the students involved, as well as the entire school community. Anyone found to be involved in this incident will be held accountable in an appropriate way, including possible legal proceedings, school discipline and/or counseling.
At this time, I would like to also remind you that the Ridgewood High School administration is very open and transparent whenever possible. Anyone who has attended their HSA meetings would agree to their openness to discussing difficult topics and issues that the high school administrators handle. When working with children, even young adolescents to young adults, serious incidents and not-so serious incidents occur. Ridgewood Public School administrators excel at dealing with every such situation with care, and while not everyone may agree on the outcome, I can assure you our administrators work toward resolution and a goal that students will learn from the experience.
To that end, the Ridgewood High School administration will use this recent incident to address “witness” behavior as a school community. It is highly unfortunate that the incident — which happened after school hours on district property — resulted in unnecessary and unacceptable violence. It is also disappointing that other students were present who videoed the incident rather than attempted to intervene in order to prevent physical harm.
I hope you now understand the need for confidentiality in this particular event and are also reassured that action has been taken and will continue as the police complete their investigation. The safety, protection and privacy of our students is a top priority.
Thank you for your support of the Ridgewood Public Schools.
201-670-2700, ext. 40557 [email protected]
Ridgewood High School
627 East Ridgewood Avenue
Ridgewood, NJ 0745
Ridgewood High School
627 East Ridgewood Avenue
Ridgewood, NJ 0745
Ridgewood NJ, from the Ridgewood Schools website, In January, 2011 New Jersey adopted the “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act”, which augmented a battery of school harassment and bullying prevention laws that were passed in 2002. Since the 2002 laws were originally adopted, school employees have had an obligation to report harassment and bullying problems which they see, or of which they become aware. The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act has made that obligation clearer and broader.
The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act reflects a core value to which the Ridgewood Public Schools has long been committed: that respectful behavior fosters a rich and challenging learning environment. A safe and civil environment in school is necessary for pupils to learn and achieve high academic standards. All students should understand that their attitudes and actions affect both their own and their classmates’ learning, and they should accept responsibility for helping to create a positive school environment. With the support of school staff, parent(s)/guardian(s) and other adults in their lives, all students can contribute to the effectiveness of the schools and the value of their education.
The Ridgewood Board of Education explicitly and unequivocally prohibits acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying of its students. “Harassment, intimidation or bullying” means any gesture, any written, verbal or physical act, or any electronic communication, whether it be a single incident or a series of incidents, that is reasonably perceived as being motivated either by any actual or perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or a mental, physical or sensory disability, or by any other distinguishing characteristic, that takes place on school property, at any school-sponsored function, on a school bus, or off school grounds pursuant to law, that substantially disrupts or interferes with the orderly operation of the school or the rights of other students and that:
a. a reasonable person should know, under the circumstances, will have the effect of physically or emotionally harming a student or damaging the student’s property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm to his person or damage to his property;
b. has the effect of insulting or demeaning any student or group of students; or
c. creates a hostile educational environment for the student by interfering with a student’s education or by severely or pervasively causing physical or emotional harm to the student. !
Any school employee, contracted service provider, Board of Education member, student or volunteer who has witnessed, or has reliable information that a student has been subject to, harassment, intimidation or bullying is obligated by law to report the incident to the school Principal. !
An act of student harassment, intimidation, or bullying must be reported verbally to the Principal on the same day the person witnesses or receives reliable information regarding the incident. ! The incident must then be reported to the Principal in writing, using the appropriate district form, within two (2) school days of when the incident was observed or the information was received.
As a permanent or substitute school employee, a contracted service provider, a Board of Education member, a student or a volunteer in a New Jersey public school district, one of your responsibilities is to know how to respond if you become aware of harassment, intimidation or bullying that needs to be reported. If you have any questions about how or when to do this, please talk to the school Principal.
Ridgewood HS Marching Band Places Second Place At NJ State Championships
November 1,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, On Saturday, October 28, the RHS Marching Band competed at the USBands NJ State Championships at Rutgers University. The band was awarded second place in group 5A with a score of 90.9375. The band was also awarded the 2017 Esprit de Corps Award, which is given by the United States Marine Corps to the band that best demonstrates pride, professionalism, and patriotism. The RHSMB will conclude their competitive season in Allentown, Pennsylvania, at J. Birney Crum Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 4, hoping to take the crown at USBands National Championships.
Ridgewood NJ, UPDATE: Due to Sunday’s storm, the RHS Bands Poinsettia and Amaryllis sale was rescheduled to this Sunday, November 5, from 12- 4:30 p.m.
Students will be selling door to door on 10/29/17 with a delivery December 2 – 5
Sizes and prices as follows:
6″ Red or white poinsettia – $10
10″ Red or white poinsettia- $25
Pink amaryllis – $15
Orders accepted until 11/17/17. Please contact Lorissa Lightman: [email protected] for more information. Orders/ checks made out to RHS Band Assoc can be mailed c/o Lorissa Lightman, 659 Spring Ave., Ridgewood, NJ 07450
For more information on the band program and a list of events, visit www.rhsbands.org
Ridgewood NJ, Free and open to the public! Tony Award winner Tom Smedes will be giving and Artist Talk on Thursday, November 16 in the RHS Little Theatre at 7:30 p.m.
Tom Smedes is currently producing the new musical THE BANDSTAND directed by Tony Award winner Andy Blankenbuehler and written by Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor, which made its regional debut at the Paper Mill Playhouse and will transfer to Broadway in the 2016-2017 season.
Ridgewood NJ, Coach Jeff Yearing reports that the RHS Girls Soccer team has received the United Soccer Coaches High School Girls Team Academic Award (formerly the National Soccer Coaches Association of America — NSCAA). One of only six high schools out of 1,112 schools to have received the award since its inception in 1996, RHS has earned this recognition 18 times.
Ridgewood NJ, once again the Community Relations Advisory Board of Ridgewood and Glen Rock or CRAB for short is inserting it self we it does not belong . Sources tell the Ridgewood blog that the group is attempting to insert it self into the curriculum of the schools and as usual pushing its agenda on students , talking about what museums they must or must not visit . Why we ask is an advisory board of the Village council spending as much as an hour and half of their time looking for ways to influence the school board. Sources on the Ridgewood School board tell us that CRAB should not be inserting itself into school curriculum .
Ridgewood NJ, On Thursday, November 2, the Ridgewood High School Department of Fine and Practical Arts will present the first Maroon & White Music Recital and Art Exhibit for the 2017-18 school year. The first of five such events for this year, the concert will be held in the newly renovated RHS Learning Commons beginning at 3:45 p.m., followed immediately by a reception and gallery opening in the Carroll Art Gallery. Admission is free and open to the public.
Ridgewood NJ, On Saturday, October 21, the Ridgewood High School Marching Band competed at Ridge High School as part of the USBands competition circuit. This was the band’s fourth competition, and they were awarded first place in group 5A with a score of 89.475, receiving the highest score in Visual, Overall Effect, and Color Guard. The band not only placed first in their respective group, but also amongst every band there, winning “Best in Show.”
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood High School Bands annual Poinsettia and Amaryllis Sale has begun .
Students will be selling door to door on 10/29/17 with a delivery December 2 – 5, 2017.
Sizes and prices as follows: 6″ Red or white poinsettia – $10 10″ Red or white poinsettia- $25 Pink amaryllis – $15
Orders accepted until 11/17/17. Please contact Lorissa Lightman: [email protected] for more information. Orders/ checks made out to RHS Band Assoc can be mailed c/o Lorissa Lightman, 659 Spring Ave., Ridgewood, NJ 07450 .For more information on the band program and a list of events, visit www.rhsbands.org
