Northern Highlands Regional High School Home and School Association, Inc., (HASA) minutes of the general meeting held on January 20, 2016.
Presentat Meeting: Bing Ma, HaneetaTobaccowalla, Terry Madonna, Rosa Grippa, Cathy Squasoni, Gina Gneco, ChristinaLenihan, Kelli Moss, Bob Wei, Erin Perez, Sheila Yallowitz, Elaine Peebles, Ann Ho, Michele Madonna-Scherreik, Sarah Abrahamsen, Colleen Carrero, Jill Webb, Laure Redling, Nancy Levin, Margaret Engkvist, Lisa Ceccon, Marty Ann La Rossa, Fran Cagney.Christine Ferrarie, Ariana De Lucia, Kathy Travers, Andrea Pennington, Stacy Paton
Staff Present at Meeting: Mr. Joe Occhino, Mr. Michael Koth, Mr. Jason Grabelsky
HASA President – Stacy Paton: President, Stacy Paton called the meeting to order at 9:40AM. She announced that the HighlandsHot for theHolidays Rafflewas a great success that made around $15,000.00 which will be allocated toward items/needs for the school. She noted that between 60 -70 people attended the event and over 250 families have joined HASA so far.
Principal’s Report – Mr. Joseph Occhino: Mr. Occhino announced that grades close on 1/22. Our new student counselor has begun, Jason Grabelsky. He will speak at an upcoming HASA meeting and let the community know how things are going so far at Highlands. Mr. Occhino noted that the first strategic planning meeting was going to be tonight, 1/20 at 7:00PM. The meeting will begin with a state of the schools address before the group breaks out into sessions.
Assistant Principal’s Report – Mr. Michael Koth:Mr. Koth mentioned that the administration is assembling a school safety team made up of parents, school staff and the administration. Please see him if interested in participating. The school will be hosting a wellness day on 4/8 in the morning to promote a healthy lifestyle for the students. There will be 2 sessions that the students can attend each 40 minutes in length. Students will fill out a form and decide which session they are interested in participating.
School Counseling Report – Mr. Jason Grabelsky, Student Assistance Counselor (SAC). Jason introduced himself and told the group that his background is in substance abuse intervention. He has an open door policy with all of the students and functions as a guidance counselor without all of the academics. He mentioned that many students have stopped by already to say hi and talk.
Special Drug and Alcohol Presentation by the Police Departments of Allendale, Ho Ho Kus, Saddle River and Upper Saddle River. A special panel of police officers from the 4 feeder towns to Highlands presented trends on drugs and alcohol to the parents. They discussed new illegal drugs, with an emphasis on synthetic marijuana, its makeup and how kids are getting the drug. They discussed Vapor lounges, social trends and what to look for when it comes to drugs and our kids. They also reiterated that Highlands has a zero tolerance policy at school and that they are called if a student comes to school high on drugs. The presentation was very informative and materials were available to all.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:10AM.