Northern Highlands Regional High School Home and School Association, Inc., (HASA) minutes of the general meeting held on April 6th, 2016.
Present at Meeting: Jill Webb, Christine Ferrarie, Katy Smeichowski, Kathy Travers, Andrea Pennington, Cathy Squasoni, Stacy Paton, Michelle Madonna, Christy Soell
Staff Present at Meeting: Mr. Joe Occhino, Mr. Michael Koth, Ms. Kelly Peterfriend
President, Stacy Paton called the meeting to order at 9:40AM.
Principal’s Report – Mr. Joseph Occhino: Mr. Occhino met with 9-11th grade students and gave them a good understanding of the PARCC schedule and how it will be rolled out. There will be NO INSTRUCTION for students within the classroom who are not participating in PARCC. They will go to an assembly program and if they do not come to school in the morning it will be counted as an absence. The test will be given over a 6-day period and the time allotted has been reduced to 90 minutes. The school really would like to get a better participation level this time around. Northern Highlands is rated 275 out of over 37,000 schools in the nation and is rated #3 in the state of New Jersey. In order to keep our wonderful rating, we need to have higher participation rates in PARCC because they use many statistics to calculate the rankings results. Low participation in the test could impact those statistics. Mr. Occhino reiterated that the test WILL NOT be on the transcript. The County Superintendent is watching our school because of previous low participation rates. Our school had to come up with a plan showing how we would be improving our participation rate. A letter with the PARCC schedule will be going out to all parents and students either today or tomorrow.
Vice Principal’s Report – Mr. Michael Koth: We are constantly coming up with methods for a healthy, lifestyle for our students. We will be having a wellness day for the students to help cope with stress and how to manage it. This program is being sponsored by the SRVJW Club. There will be talks given by a chiropractor, orthopedist, acupuncturist, skin care professional and nutritionist. The students signed up for two lectures by these professionals. There will be a college transition program given in PE class. Harlan Cohen will come and discuss college life on 5/18 in an evening seminar. He will advise on methods on how to deal with transitioning to college. Mr. Koth also advised parents about a new app called google goggles. The app takes a picture of an object and then scans news feeds to let you know what it is. It is a great resource for parents who might find things in their kids’ room and are not sure about what they are. If you come across something suspicious, you can use this app to help you out.
School Counseling Report – Ms. Kelly Peterfriend: On 4/20 we will be having our college panel. The colleges included will be Rutgers, Muhlenberg, Marist and NYU. On 5/12 will be a Parent-to-Parent lecture for seniors and their parents to attend regarding the college process. If your student needs to make elective changes they can do so up until 4/8. Letters went out to all parents to acknowledge their child’s classes picked for next year. If you need to appeal to get into a particular class, you may do so in June. The deadline for appeals is in July. Any incoming 8th graders who want to appeal must write a letter to the principal and work with their 8th grade teachers. Ms. Peterfriend also shared that they will be having a college lunch with St. Andrew’s from Scotland. They are happy to be meeting with an overseas school. Some Military Academies also come to our school and have military nights which are sometimes sponsored by local congressmen.
BOE – Jill Webb: Jill reiterated the importance of taking the PARCC exam. Participation is key and we don’t want NH to be the poster child for not taking the PARCC exam.
MPAA – Cathy Squasoni: Cathy Squasoni mentioned that the band concert was tonight, 4/6. The chorus concert was slated for 5/4 this year. On 5/5 MPAA is going to have a Ladies Night Out at Andrea’s. The cost is $60.00 and you can see Cathy for more details. The MPAA is sponsoring a Stardust Diner breakfast on 5/14 from 8-11AM. The Belle’s will be singing at the café. We will also have an acapella festival run by Mr. Paster that day with Deke Sharon teaching classes throughout the day. A concert will be held in the evening featuring many acapella bands. The Belle’s are going to Memphis on 4/22 and the Voices will be going to the ICHSA Finals in NYC on 4/29.
NH Sports Association – Andrea Pennington: The Sports Association is looking for new members to join their board. Time commitment is minimal and we are looking for members to represent all 4 of the towns within the district. The Sports Association Golf and Tennis outing will be held on Monday, May 16th at the Paramount Country Club in New City, NY.
HASA President – Stacy Paton: Made a motion to approve the March Minutes. Michelle Madonna approved and Stacy Paton second approved them. We are beginning the planning process and we are looking for people to help out. Areas needed are in hospitality, newsletter (which is once a month) and emails. Please see Stacy or any of the other Executive Board members if you are interested.
Meeting was adjourned at 10:40AM.