Tag: Ridgewood Schools

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RHS Softball happy with 2015 season

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JUNE 19, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY GREG TARTAGLIA
SPORTS EDITOR |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

RIDGEWOOD — Winning its first state-sectional title in six years was a highlight for Ridgewood High School this softball season, but it was far from the only one.

Many others were recounted during the Maroons’ season-ending celebration dinner at the RHS Campus Center last Friday. The varsity squad finished 25-5, recording its highest win total in coach Patti Auger’s nine seasons, and knocked off reigning champ Morris Knolls in the North 1, Group 4 final.

“I hope all of you, especially our seniors, will look back upon this season and recognize what you’ve achieved,” Auger said in her address to the team. “And when you stop by Gym 1 next year and look up at the softball [banner], and you see ‘2015 sectional’ displayed on it, I hope it stirs up memories of just what an amazing season you had.”

After an eight-inning, 2-1 loss to eventual Bergen County champ Northern Highlands on April 8, Ridgewood won 10 in a row, including one against the two-time State Group 3 titlist.

“By far, the highlight was a 4-2 victory over Indian Hills [on April 14], which ended their 42-game winning streak,” Auger said, triggering a round of cheers and applause from players, coaches and families present. “That truly opened the eyes of many softball followers in Bergen County.”

https://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/girls-softball/maroons-happy-with-2015-season-1.1358837

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Ridgewood Superintendent’s Column: Remarks to the Ridgewood High School Class of 2015

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JUNE 19, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015, 12:30 AM
BY DANIEL FISHBEIN
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

It’s official. The end of the school year is here. We’ve packed up the classrooms, put away the backpacks and officially said goodbye and good luck to the 426 members of the RHS Class of 2015.

In my remarks to the Class of 2015 at graduation, I mentioned the importance of the entire Ridgewood community in helping our students meet with success. I would like to thank all of you for your support and generosity of time, talent and resources. Our mission of excellence could not be accomplished without you.

For this last column of the 2014-2015 school year, I would like to share with you my remarks to the Class of 2015 at graduation on June 18.

“Congratulations to the members of the Class of 2015, and to your parents, families, friends and mentors, as well as the entire Ridgewood Public Schools community. All of these people and many village organizations have been important in your development and success.

“We are here tonight to celebrate the present, but for a moment I would like to turn your thoughts to your future. Whether you are continuing on to attend college or university, entering the work force or enlisting in the military, there is no doubt your journey will be met with a new set of challenges which will be both exciting and daunting. However, I assure you that whatever your plans may be, you are well prepared and ready to embrace the future with enthusiasm and courage.

 

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-guest-writers/remarks-to-the-rhs-class-of-2015-1.1358795

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Dwight D. Eisenhower Award Winner is Announced

Eisenhower Awardee

Photo: RHS Principal Thomas Gorman congratulates Dwight D. Eisenhower Award recipient Claire Andrews.
June 17,2015

Ridgewood NJ, RHS junior Claire Andrews is the recipient of the West Point Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Award. The program was created to recognize high school juniors who exhibit exceptional performance and potential in academics, athletics, community service, and leadership.

“The Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Program recognizes high school juniors who exhibit exceptional performance and potential in the areas of academics, athletics, community service, good citizenship, and leadership.  Students selected to receive the award are awarded a copy of Building Leaders the West Point Way by Major General Joseph P. Franklin, U.S. Army (Retired) and a letter of recognition from the West Point Society of the Lehigh Valley, as well as an invitation to participate in a Leadership Awards Recognition Day at West Point.”

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RHS Junior Makes 2015 All-National Honors Concert Band

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RHS Junior Makes 2015 All-National Honors Concert Band
June 17,2015

Ridgewood NJ,  a first for RHS,  junior flutist Stephanie Pizza has been selected for the 2015 All-National Honors Concert Band. The All-National Honors Concert Band is comprised of some of the best music students in the country. The band will perform together in October in Nashville.
Among other honors Stephanie has received, she was the gold winner in the International Virtuoso Competition, and she won the New York Flute Club Young Musician’s Contest twice. She has also represented RHS as a member of the All County High School Band for three years, serving as principal flute and piccolo.

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The Economic Policy Institute a left-leaning think tank says parenting style creates achievement gap

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the report focuses on the different parenting styles found in black and white households and argues that these cultural differences help create an achievement gap not fixable by schools

REPORT: NEGLIGENT PARENTING HURTS BLACK STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE

by JOHN SEXTON15 Jun 2015209

A newly-published report says that some parenting choices and attitudes can hurt the success of black students in school.

The Economic Policy Institute is a left-leaning think tank funded in part by unions. After noting that their report does not describe “all lower-social-class families” the authors look at social factors which depress student performance.

In its first key finding, the report focuses on the different parenting styles found in black and white households and argues that these cultural differences help create an achievement gap not fixable by schools. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey EPI produces the following chart:

https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/06/15/report-negligent-parenting-hurts-black-students-performance/

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Ridgewood mandate to ease parking concerns near Hawes School

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JUNE 15, 2015    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015, 9:40 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The Village Council unanimously adopted an ordinance at its June 10 meeting to limit parking on Corella Court to one side of the street, but officials pledged to make adjustments as necessary as they continue to monitor the situation.

The new mandate will affect parking on the north side of Corella Court from the centerline of the pedestrian bridge easement at the end of the cul-de-sac northward along the curb line, then to the west side gutter line of Stevens Avenue. A stop sign will also be placed on the south side of the street at its intersection with Stevens Avenue.

The need for the ordinance arose from an influx of cars being parked on Corella Court after an addition was built at Hawes School in recent years, which eliminated some of the staff parking. Officials have noted there was no room for emergency vehicles to travel the street, presenting a safety issue for the village.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/mandate-will-ease-parking-concerns-near-school-1.1356027

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Scholars Protest New AP U.S. History Standards

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Daniel Lattier | June 12, 2015

This week, an impressive list of scholars across the nation published a letter opposing the new framework for the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) exam in U.S. History. You can read the full letter here.

As you may know, millions of U.S. high school students take an AP U.S. History course and exam each year in the hopes of earning college credit. The new framework of the exam is designed to shape the course curriculum.

The scholars’ problems with the new framework include the following:

It takes away teachers’ previous freedom with the curriculum and “centralizes control, deemphasizes content, and promotes a particular interpretation of American history.”
The historical view it promotes “downplays American citizenship and American world leadership in favor of a more global and transnational perspective.”
The framework is organized around the theme of “identity-group conflict… while downplaying essential subjects, such as the sources, meaning, and development of America’s ideals and political institutions, notably the Constitution.”
It shifts away from the previous framework’s emphasis on American exceptionalism and national character in favor of an emphasis on “the formation of gender, class, racial and ethnic identities.”

Those with similar concerns are often met with the straw man argument that they wish to turn a blind eye to the past sins committed by Americans. Fortunately, the scholars anticipated this argument in their letter:

“We do not seek to reduce the education of our young to the inculcation of fairy tales, or of a simple, whitewashed, heroic, even hagiographical nationalist narrative. Instead, we support a course that fosters informed and reflective civic awareness, while providing a vivid sense of the grandeur and drama of its subject.”

The concerns raised in the scholars’ letter are not new to me. I brought up similar ones in an article last year on Minnesota’s U.S. history standards, which you can read here. I have provided these standards below:

https://www.better-ed.org/blog/scholars-protest-new-ap-us-history-standards

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Ridgewood Crew sends five boats to national regatta

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF GENE CALLAGHAN
The Ridgewood Crew girls varsity double of seniors Bridget Callaghan, left, and Julia Hefferon captured a gold medal at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta to qualify for the SRAA National Championships.

JUNE 12, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Ridgewood Crew concluded its 2015 season by sending five boats to the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) National Championships, held on the Cooper River in Camden over Memorial Day weekend.

The quintet qualified for Nationals by virtue of their finishes at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, held May 15-16 on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. There, 16 Ridgewood rowers earned medals out of the 5,672 athletes to participate from the U.S. and Canada.

Out of the 31 event classes — which feature 1,000 boats and 93 medals – less than 10 percent of all boats get a medal, and Ridgewood collected four.

Cousins Bridget Callaghan and Julia Hefferon garnered gold in the girls varsity double, while both Ridgewood JV quads secured silver — the boys boat featuring Brendan Caltavuturo, Charlie Koontz, Will Creedon and Colin Wilkinson, and the girls boat featuring Melissa Dexter, Isabella DeGregorio, Jordan Wittmaack and Claire Callaghan.

The freshman boys quad of Zach Seibold, William Karanikolas, Joe O’Keefe and Ed Hida brought home a bronze medal.

https://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/five-ridgewood-crew-boats-reach-nationals-1.1354522

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The Record Girls Golf Coach of The Year: Brian Quirk, Ridgewood

Brian_Quirk_theridgwoodblog

JUNE 13, 2015    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2015, 1:21 AM
THE RECORD

Brian Quirk, Ridgewood

Ridgewood played more golf than any girls team in North Jersey, and the credit belongs to coach Brian Quirk.

The Maroons have consistently been among North Jersey’s top teams for the past six years because Quirk creates so many opportunities for his players to gain experience and improve.

“Something that’s really important to me is keeping as many players involved in the game as you can,” said Quirk, The Record Girls Golf Coach of the Year.

Ridgewood (15-3) is the only local team that drove long miles to compete in 18-hole tournaments in April. The Maroons played in the prestigious Cherry Valley Invitational in Montgomery, site of the Girls State Championship, and the Red Devil Invitational in Flemington. Quirk also takes the Maroons on an annual golf trip to Maryland.

https://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/girls-golf/the-record-girls-golf-coach-of-the-year-brian-quirk-ridgewood-1.1355315

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RHS Girls Track & Field: Legendary career winding down for Jacob Brown

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PHOTO COURTESY OF RHS GIRLS TRACK PROGRAM
Ridgewood girls track coach Jacob Brown with just four of the many successful runners he has coached during his 44-year career, the Arcadia (Calif.) Invitational qualifying distance medley relay squad. From left: seniors Lauren Monnerat and Kelly Cleary, Brown, senior Carleen Jeffers and junior Leah Rosenfeld

JUNE 12, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY GREG TARTAGLIA
SPORTS EDITOR |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

RIDGEWOOD — The phrase was repeated throughout Monday evening, as it has been for the past 44 spring seasons.

“Thank you, Mr. Brown.”

The Ridgewood High School girls track and field team held its season-ending dinner that night, an annual tradition sure to continue. Yet this year’s edition took on added significance, since it was the last presided over by head coach Jacob Brown, who founded the Maroons’ program in 1972 and will retire from his post, effective at the end of the school year.

Before his historic era officially ends, Brown will get to coach one more meet. He’ll accompany RHS senior Carleen Jeffers to next weekend’s New Balance Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, N.C., after the distance standout broke the school’s 3,200-meter record in capturing a bronze medal at the June 3 State Meet of Champions (SMOC).

Jeffers’ time of 10:29.97 (third-fastest in Bergen County history) bettered the mark set by 1994 state champ Jenna Rogers (10:33.9) in her senior season at Ridgewood.

“The neat thing about track is, you don’t have this sudden end, where the whole team loses a game and it’s over,” Brown said as he addressed the team’s 16 seniors. “Track kind of fades out as your top kids continue on. And this year, Carleen was pretty good, so we get to go down for one more meet.”

https://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/girls-track/legendary-career-winds-down-for-coach-brown-1.1354712

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R.H.S. Girls Lacrosse: Imperfect ending can’t dim Ridgewood’s dominance

ridgewood-h-s-nj-2015varsity-girls-lacrosse-team

JUNE 12, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW BIRCHENOUGH
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

RIDGEWOOD — The number of inexperienced players that took the field at the start of the lacrosse season for the Ridgewood High School girls team provided an easy target for outside observers to express concern about the squad’s chances.

Head coach Karla Mixon knew it wouldn’t be a problem.

“I knew that this team was a special team,” Mixon said at the program’s season-ending banquet, held Wednesday at The Woman’s Club of Ridgewood. “I was able to see that talent in the tryouts… I wasn’t too worried about that.”

The young Maroons proved their coach right, opening the year with 23 straight wins before falling to Summit, 6-5, in the semifinals of the State Tournament of Champions last week.

The loss came with controversy after officials disallowed a potential go-ahead goal late in the game by Ridgewood after ruling it was scored with an illegal stick. Summit’s Julia Persche scored the game-winner with seconds remaining, but video of the goal showed that a Summit teammate took Persche’s stick and appeared to adjust it during the celebration before handing it back to Persche.

Ridgewood called for a stick check, but officials deemed it legal and the goal counted.

The setback was a tough way for the Maroons to end their season, but it could not erase the history that the team had made.

The 23-1 record tied the 2011 squad for the best mark in program history, and the team once again claimed the Stars and Stripes Division title.

https://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/girls-lacrosse/imperfect-end-can-t-dim-rhs-dominance-1.1354635

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Chris Christie Lays Out Education Plan

Chris_christie_theridgewoodblog

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey leaned on the podium with his right elbow, his standard let-me-give-it-to-you-straight stance, and gave one of his classic blunt warnings, this time setting up a nearly hourlong speech laying out his educational platform.

“It’s time we had a conversation about education that isn’t defined by ideological dogma or by narrow, personal, institutional interests,” Mr. Christie told the packed room at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. “Lets talk about what real educational reform for America looks like.”  (Corasaniti/The New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/06/11/chris-christie-lays-out-education-plan/

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Students learn to be leaders at Ridgewood High School summit

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JUNE 10, 2015    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015, 10:21 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Students were asked to put themselves in unfamiliar shoes as they attempted to help fictional Ridgewood High School (RHS) peers in coping with their issues at the school’s 2015 leadership summit.

After tackling the issue of social media last year, the group of ninth, 10th and 11th grade students were assigned this year with the task of helping their peers with problems they face in everyday life.

Students were split into nine groups, each one receiving a faculty advisor, and given a fictional character with certain demographics, strengths and weaknesses. Each character had a problem to solve and the students had to find a way to help that person deal with his or her troubles.

Teachers and administrators in attendance included Sean McCullough, the district’s director of Fine and Applied Arts, social studies teacher Medha Kirtane, RHS Principal Thomas Gorman and Superintendent Daniel Fishbein.

The obstacles assigned to the characters included divorce, gender issues, social anxiety, insecurity, financial struggles and both learning and physical disabilities.

The exercise taught students to solve a problem through someone else’s eyes, a person who may be very different from them, since a true leader must be able to lead people of all backgrounds and abilities.

“Even if a problem doesn’t necessarily apply to you, you still have to be understanding and be able to cope with it, because that’s what really makes a good leader,” said RHS junior Tyler Porfido.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/ridgewood-students-learn-to-be-leaders-1.1352679

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RIDGEWOOD SCHOOLS : BOE MEETS ON JUNE 22, 2015

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The  Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, June 22, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.

The public is invited to attend the meeting at the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3. The meeting will be aired live on FiOS channel 33 and Optimum channel 77. Or it may be viewed live via the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us using the “Link in Live” tab.

Click here to view the agenda and addendum for the June 1, 2015 Regular Public Meeting.

Spanish Student Achieve
Forty-eight RHS Spanish students received medals and 100 students received an honorable mention on the National Spanish Exam sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

Three Students Place in Poetry Contest
On May 14, 10 Ridgewood High School students accompanied their teachers to William Paterson University for the Annual Orlando Saa Foreign Language Poetry Recitation Contest. Three RHS students placed in the competitions. Thria Bernabe came in third place in Advanced French, Ken Marshall came in third place in Advanced German and Jeff Zachem placed first in Advanced Latin.

Help Fill the Social Services Food Pantry June 8-12
Ridgewood’s elementary and middle schools will be collection sites for non-perishable breakfast food items from Monday, June 8 through Friday, June 12. Click here for details.

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Tyler Clementi’s family unveiling new anti-bullying initiative

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JUNE 7, 2015, 3:40 PM    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 2015, 9:39 PM

BY LINDA MOSS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Tyler Clementi’s family is still shattered and struggling with his 2010 suicide. In his memory, Tyler’s heartbroken parents are stepping up their battle against bullying, trying to prevent it before it even starts.

In an emotional interview with “CBS Sunday Morning,” Ridgewood residents Joseph and Jane Clementi discussed how hard life has been since the death of their youngest son, who was an 18-year-old Rutgers University freshman when he jumped off the George Washington Bridge on Sept. 22, 2010. Tyler took his life days after learning that his college roommate had used a webcam to secretly live-stream his romantic encounter with a man in a dorm room. His death drew national attention to the issue of online bullying.

Soon after their son’s death, the Clementis formed the anti-bullying Tyler Clementi Foundation, which describes its mission as promoting “safe and inclusive spaces for LGBT and vulnerable youth and families.” This week the foundation is rolling out “Day One,” an initiative to get authorities in workplaces, schools, universities and athletic programs to immediately demand tolerance for everyone regardless of their sexual orientation, appearance, dress or religion.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/tyler-clementi-s-family-unveiling-new-anti-bullying-initiative-1.1350980