School Rankings : Daily Beast fails to mention Ridgewood in its top Schools Survey
The Daily Beast had this one,
PHOTO COURTESTY OF VALLEY HOSPITAL
Ridgewood High School (RHS) graduate Hayley Clark was recently hired as a labor and delivery nurse at Valley Hospital.
Ridgewood High School program points alumna toward career in healthcare
AUGUST 20, 2014 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014, 5:05 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
Valley Hospital employees can’t help swelling with pride as they welcome their latest labor and delivery nurse, Hayley Clark.
The 2009 Ridgewood High School (RHS) graduate is Valley’s first employee to come from RHS’ Ridgewood Academy of Health Professions (RAHP).
The Valley-RHS partnership, which began in 2005, has offered many students the opportunity to learn about the varied health-related professions.
The program begins sophomore year, so Clark was a member of the second RAHP class.
“It was really exciting to hear back from Valley, because it was where I grew up,” Clark said during a recent interview. “It has such a community feel, right when you walk into the hospital.”
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/ridgewood-high-school-program-points-alumna-toward-career-in-healthcare-1.1070230#sthash.XcWTgSpO.dpuf
Students air plan for extra parking at Ridgewood High
JULY 15, 2014 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
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RIDGEWOOD — When someone claims to have an idea for more parking in the village, the council tends to listen.
Last week, Ridgewood’s governing body was all ears when three students proposed utilizing a PSE&G right of way next to the high school for the creation of 75 to 100 parking spots.
The students — two current Ridgewood High School students and one recent graduate — said the right of way could be accessed via North Irving Street near Stephens Field and that cars could exit onto East Ridgewood Avenue.
The spots would mostly be used during the school year by the students, but could also be used during sporting events at the high school and at Stephens Field.
At present, the students said most of the parking available at the high school is taken up all day by students, leaving no room for visitors to park.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/towns/students-air-plan-for-extra-parking-at-ridgewood-high-1.1051337#sthash.PizAn7ex.dpuf
Ridgewood three-sport athlete seeking a leading role in his final year
JULY 11, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW BIRCHENOUGH
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
So it’s no surprise that the rising senior — a key member of the Maroons’ football, basketball and track teams — has continued his hectic routine into the summer, shuttling from working out at the gym to serving as an instructor at the RHS basketball clinic to taking part in football practices.
The regimen will only get busier as the school year begins for Davila, who is expecting to take on bigger roles for each of the three teams.
“I’m really looking forward to being a leader,” Davila said in an interview Monday evening.
He happens to be a part of three teams that will experience significant roster turnover in 2014-15 due to graduation, which places a greater emphasis on him becoming an influential senior.
But RHS head basketball coach Mike Troy said Davila is ready for the role.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/boys-basketball/rhs-star-ready-for-a-lead-role-1.1049694#sthash.Bw0x932i.dpuf
Ridgewood High School Latin team to compete at nationals
JULY 7, 2014 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014, 3:07 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
Latin teacher Catherine Venturini has a big smile and a bigger passion for Latin. And the result of that passion is clear when watching students in her rising-star Latin Academic Team practice for competition.
Talking to 10 students who came to one of the year’s last lunch meetings, the 14-year Ridgewood High School (RHS) teacher read aloud Latin phrase after Latin phrase. Students from the club, which this year won the state title in the Latin Quiz Bowl and will compete in nationals in late July, were quick to translate.
One (not necessarily authentic) Latin phrase stumped them.
“Man, don’t prepare the cow?” one student asked.
“They’re looking for something a little more colloquial,” Venturini answered.
“Don’t have a cow, man?”
Everyone burst into laughter.
It’s the kind of positive and lively atmosphere that many Latin outsiders might not associate with the so-called “dead” language. But the students say that that perception is wrong: Latin has a lot to teach them about the way modern society works, and because it happened years ago, it offers an opportunity for a more objective critique.
“It allows us to understand more of what the modern world is,” said Latin Academic Team Captain Britta Potter, who was the team’s lone senior this past year. “So much of it is rooted in the classical world … [and] looking at it in Rome, you don’t have as much of a personal connection to it. It’s a lot easier to be objective.”
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/ridgewood-headed-to-nationals-in-georgia-1.1047611#sthash.PdXa7YwA.dpuf
Ridgewood High School Teen LEADers present findings
JUNE 10, 2014 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014, 3:53 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
They’ve navigated the corridors of the county jail, tested the acumen of top-flight health care professionals and even grilled Bergen’s top executive with an assortment of questions.
But for the 20 students who made up the inaugural Ridgewood High School (RHS) Teen LEADS class, the most difficult assignment over the past eight months was to formulate answers to a question that has puzzled this municipality for years: How can civic participation in Ridgewood be improved?
Last Wednesday, the group of mostly RHS sophomores and juniors presented their findings of a months-long project addressing that question, which was personally issued by Mayor Paul Aronsohn last fall. Their research into local government was far from the typical “how a bill becomes a law” examination – their work included lengthy studies of a decade’s worth of election results, original surveys issued to village residents and an analysis of the raw data that was gathered.
“I’m impressed with how this turned out,” Aronsohn told the students. “This was an idea, and we didn’t know what it would look like [at the conclusion]. It took courage and vision, and you really made this happen.”
Teen LEADS is a spin-off of the original Bergen LEADS, a county-wide civic leadership program for adults. Bergen LEADS was created in 2007 by members of the Volunteer Center of Bergen County, who fashioned lessons learned from the larger Leadership New Jersey seminar into a local curriculum.
Among the many Bergen LEADS graduates is Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld, who was one of the main driving forces that brought the LEADS program to RHS. Sonenfeld also highlighted the support of RHS Principal Tom Gorman, club coordinator and sociology teacher Jenna Wilson and Bergen LEADS co-director Lynne Algrant.
Over the past year, the students participated in on-site classes, meeting with Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli at the county jail in Hackensack and speaking with doctors at The Valley Hospital. In addition to meeting with Ridgewood’s mayor on Government Day, the LEADS class spent time with Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan.
“This is such a superb first class. This class would not let Donovan go, and they challenged her,” Sonenfeld said. “For those of us who are passionate about LEADS, this has been great, and we had a great first class.”
Ridgewood’s Teen LEADS, the only one of its kind in the county, was tested as a pilot program over this past school year and received funding from the Volunteer Center and the Ridgewood Education Foundation. Entry into the program was based on student applications, and the same methods will be used to grant entry to those wishing to participate next year.
Gorman indicated that school officials will consider introducing LEADS as a full-time class after the 2014-15 year. And once the test period at RHS is completed, Bergen LEADS volunteers hope to expand the teen program to other high schools.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/clubs-and-service-organizations/ridgewood-high-school-teen-leaders-present-findings-1.1032721#sthash.8wuK2sKa.dpuf
Construction to begin on Ridgewood High School Learning Commons
JUNE 6, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
A new, state-of-the-art media center will greet Ridgewood High School students next fall.
After a year-long wait, construction will begin on renovations to the school’s library on Tuesday, June 10.
The library will be closed to students until the end of the year, and the literary collection and computers will be packed up before demolition, according to the organizers on the project’s parent committee — RHS Home and School Association President Carol Olson, Jaime Frederick, Tina Telesco, Lori Weil and David Zrike.
“Every effort is being made to minimize disruptions to the students and the majority of the library dislocation and construction will take place during the summer,” the organizers said in a recent letter thanking residents and district officials for their support.
The design will “honor the feedback received from students, faculty and parents,” the group added. The final project, they said, will include both individual and group study spaces, including four conference rooms; areas to accommodate different activities; improved lighting and aesthetics; more and better technology; more seating and a variety of comfortable furniture; computer and printing stations; and enhanced research service.
The history of this project traces back to the spring of 2012, when a parent-driven fundraising campaign commenced to turn the old student library, last renovated in the 1960s, into what is called a “learning commons” — a study and work space that goes beyond the traditional definition of a “library.”
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/clubs-and-service-organizations/construction-to-begin-next-week-1.1030404#sthash.xSeCb1iV.dpuf
file photo Boyd Loving
Follow Up the threat that was posted on Yik Yak late last night against Ridgewood High School
May 14, 2014
Dear Ridgewood Parent or Guardian,
As a follow-up to my earlier emails concerning the Yik Yak app, the threat that was posted on Yik Yak late last night against Ridgewood High School has been thoroughly investigated and deemed not credible by the Ridgewood Police DepartmentThis incident was treated as a serious threat that required professional police involvement at the local, state and federal levels. It also included the cooperation of Yik Yak officials, who worked with these agencies to determine the I.P. address and the GPS location of the person who posted the threat. I have been informed by the Ridgewood Police that they have taken into custody this person.
There is no doubt that apps will continue to cause problems for schools and parents. However, despite these challenges, technology is an overall positive enhancement to our lives that is here to stay. As parents and educators we need to keep our lines of communication open and work together to teach our children what is appropriate and what is not. We are committed to making sure that our students understand the serious impact of the misuse of technology on individuals and our community.
In closing, I would like to thank the Ridgewood Police Department for their immediate response and hard work mobilizing state and federal authorities through the night and into today. I want to also thank the RHS administration and staff for their professionalism, excellent communication skills and coordination with officials through the night to ensure that the high school had significant police presence in place for this morning’s opening. Administrators, agencies and officials acted swiftly and tirelessly to assure that our building was secure.
I speak for all district administrators and the Board of Education on this very important topic of student and staff safety. Please be assured that safety is our number one priority and that any and all threats will continue to be taken very seriously.
Sincerely yours,
Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Veni, vidi, vici :RHS Advanced Latin Academic Team wins Northern Regional championship then State title in the Latin Quiz Bowl
Ridgewood NJ, The RHS Advanced Latin Academic Team won the Northern Regional championship on March 14, then won the State title in the Latin Quiz Bowl (Certamen) on April 5. Captain Britta Potter led teammates Ben Bechtold, Charlotte Kahan and Peter Psathas to victory over the Southern Region (Cherry Hill West High School) and the Central Region (PACTA, a consortium of homeschoolers). The team will next attempt a National title in July at Emory University in Atlanta.
Team members also performed very well in individual exams, as follows:
Chris Criscitiello, 1st place in Mythology
Anthony Tokarz finished in 1st place in three categories: Roman History, Latin Oratory and Latin Vocabulary/English Derivatives
Britta Potter took 1st place in Latin Grammar, tied for 2nd in Mythology with Ben Bechtold, and took 3rd place in Latin Vocabulary/English derivatives
Ben Bechtold tied for 2nd place in Mythology with Britta Potter
Sophie Simpson, 2nd place in Roman Life
Charlotte Kahan took 3rd place in 2 categories: Roman History and Roman Life
Jeff Zachem, 2nd place in Latin Oratory
Elizabeth O’Keefe, 3rd place in Impromptu Art
Advisors are Stephanie Gigante and Catherine Venturini.
Ridgewood High school classroom mimics crime scene
MARCH 21, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The classroom was a crime scene.
Caution tape was everywhere.
A dead body lay sprawled on the floor.
This, of course, wasn’t a real crime (or a real body), but it was there to help simulate a real investigation.
The fake, model body on the floor was part of a lesson in Karen Walters’ forensics class for Ridgewood High School (RHS) seniors. Now in its second year, the new interdisciplinary college-level course allows students to learn a variety of subjects while using hands-on techniques, sometimes to solve classroom crimes.
And it’s not just faux deaths that the class investigates.
Once, the students discovered that their classroom had – surprise – been the subject of a burglary.
That classroom burglary was executed before class by Walters, who said she “should have gotten an Emmy” for her acting performance that day.
“I said, ‘What happened?!” she recalled.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/high-school-classroom-mimics-crime-scene-1.747145#sthash.Le9BpJPr.dpuf
Photo: Coach Josh Saladino stands with senior, Brian Collins; sophomore,Michael Thurston; seniors, Luke Dublirer and David Frering; and head cross country coach, Mike Glynn
Ridgewood High School’s Brian Collins, Luke Dublirer, David Freringand Michael Thurston take Bergen County 4×800 meter relay record
Ridgewood NJ, For 42 years the Bergen County 4×800 meter relay record stood unbroken until Ridgewood High School’s Brian Collins, Luke Dublirer, David Freringand Michael Thurston took to the track on February 15 at the Millrose Games.
The four RHS athletes finished the relay race with a combined time of 7:48.82, beating the old record of 7:51.2 by almost two full seconds. The original record was set by runners from Bergen Catholic in 1972. Ridgewood’s time is the fourth fastest in the United States this winter season, and the forty-fifth fastest of all-time for the country. It is also the tenth all-time for New Jersey.
Senior Citizen Valentine Dance at Ridgewood High School – Rescheduled Due to Weather
SENIOR CITIZEN VALENTINE DANCE
POSTPONED
Due to the inclement weather and dangerous conditions on the roads and parking lots, we feel it necessary and safe to postpone the Valentine Dance which was scheduled for Tuesday, February 11th
We will notify you with a new date and time as soon as conditions allow.
We ask you to help us to get the word out to as many people as possible.
Thank you and have a happy and safe Valentine’s Day!!
Ridgewood High School Teen LEADs club members visit jail
FRIDAY JANUARY 17, 2014, 10:38 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RHS LEADS group members learn through immersion
As they moved into the women’s section of the Bergen County Jail, the Ridgewood High School (RHS) students crossed their arms and fell silent. The sound of women laughing and talking, looking at the students through glass windows, reverberated through the hall as the teenagers hesitantly walked forward.
For students who had never been inside a jail before, this was a potentially unnerving excursion – but it was far from a “scared straight” trip for at-risk youth.
About 20 students were on the Jan. 7 trip, mostly sophomores and juniors who are members of RHS’ new applicant-based extracurricular group called Teen LEADS. On the field trip, they learned about civic engagement, leadership and the workings of the jail.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/240805881_Ridgewood_High_School_Teen_LEADs_club_members_visit_jail.html#sthash.fey2G4IT.dpuf
“Citizens for a Better Ridgewood ” tainted by the Bombace scandal
It seems “Citizens for a Better Ridgewood ” is more than just a group of complainers looking to “urbanize Ridgewood ” at taxpayers expense while reaping huge profits . The group seems to also be composed of and represented by a group of bullies who will do almost anything to get their way.
Also noted in the Judge’s decision “Plaintiff received a disturbing anonymous mailing at his home which was later found to have been sent by Former Chief Bombace”
Has Bombace been charged with anything? It seems he has culpability in this matter, costing Village Taxpayers, he should not escape without being held accountable. If the Judge found a disturbing anonymous mailing having been sent by Bombace, where is the investigation from the Ridgewood Police Department or the prosecutor’s office?
This lies on his shoulders of James Bombace as Director of the Fire Dept. for the years that this harassment to place. To find out that in the Judge opinion he active participated in the harassment is telling on the type of leader he was. This is the same man that now is actively spreading rumors about our mayor is even more telling of the kind of person he really is. He should give back his pension .
This the same Bombace heading up the “Citizens For A Better Ridgewood”? Was this group formed to advance the Aronsohn/Puciarelli/Hauck ticket?
This is the same Bombase that runs the fake misinformation blog or flog known as the “Ridgewood Views” under the Andrew & Sue moniker while on the taxpayers dime ?
This is also the same James Bombace who wrote the letter in today’s Ridgewood News supporting Paul Aronsohn, Gwenn Hauck, and Albert Pucciarelli for Village Council making these candidates complicit in a premeditated plan of lies and deceit to take over the Village?
