Contact information
(All phone numbers are area code 201)
Principal’s Office: 313-2370
Principal: George Fabiano
Secretaries: Mrs. Brenda Padovan, Mrs. Ann Aquino
Attendance Office: 313-2372, 313-2375
Vice Principal: Mr. James Shelley
Attendance Officer: Mr. Themis Sountis
Dean of Discipline Mr. Kenneth Schmitt
Secretary: Mrs. Patricia Esposito
Department Heads:
Business, 313-2338
Foreign Language, 313-2338
Industrial Arts, 313-2377
Language Arts, 313-2347
Mathematics, 313-2317
Physical Education, 313-2329
Science, 313-4902
Social Studies, 313-2347
Special Services, 313-4908, 313-2319
Guidance Office: 313-2376, 313-2368
Vice Principal & Director of Guidance:
Mr. James M. Shelley
Counselors:
Mr. Salvatore Calderaro Mr. William Ludwig
Ms. Mary Kelemen Dr. Edward C. Meier
Mrs. Louise Schwartz
Secretaries: Mrs Anita Frankovic, Mrs Mederly Resto
For information via e-mail register with cphsdog@hotmail.com
Pupil Assistance Counselor
Mr. Joseph DelRisco
School Nurse: 313-2366
Mrs. Kathy Reichert
Emergency school closing or delayed opening information
201-943-0001; Channel 12 cable; 1010 WINS AM radio
District Internet site
Extra Help
2:44 – 2:55 every day, except Tuesdays.
SAT/PSAT
The SAT I and SAT II college entrance exams are offered at the high school semiannually: November and May. The PSAT is offered annually in October. Our school CEEB code is 310240.
Extracurricular Activities
Clubs: Academic Decathlon, Band, Buddy Club, Chess Club, Christian Youth Group, Chorus, Class Activities, Drama Club, Honor Society, International Club, Literary Magazine, Math Team, Newspaper, Philosophy Club, Poets Anonymous, Student Council, Yearbook
Sports: Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Cheerleading, Color Guard, Cross-Country, Football, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track, Volleyball, and Wrestling.
Students interested in participating in an extracurricular activity not listed above are encouraged to speak with an administrator.
Graduation Requirements
Credit requirements: 130 Total
· Students must pass the NJ state-mandated High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) in both areas – Language Arts and Mathematics.
· At least 20 credits in language arts literacy.
· At least 15 credits in mathematics.
· Three full years of history to include two years of United States History as required by NJAC-18A: 35-1 and one year of World History.
· At least 15 credits in science
· Class of 2008 and after:demonstrated proficiency in or one year of a foreign language
· One full year of physical education, health and safety for each year of enrollment as required by NJAC-18A: 35-5, 7, and 8.
· Classes of 2007 and before: At least 10 credits in visual, performing, and/or practical arts
· Class of 2008 and after: 5 credits in visual, performing, or fine arts; 5 credits in practical, industrial, consumer education, or vocational education.
· Elective subjects.
· Cross-content workplace readiness, which may be, satisfied through infusion into existing courses, course equivalents, or career education courses.
· Meet attendance requirements adopted by the Board of Education.
· School & Community Service. All students must perform 20 hours of volunteer service for each year of attendance at Cliffside Park High School.
· Successfully master proficiencies established for each course required for graduation.
Note: 1. The requirements listed above are the requirements that must be met in order to earn a Cliffside Park High School diploma. Requirements for college admissions are more stringent. If you are planning to continue your education beyond high school, see your counselor for assistance.
2. In order to participate in graduation exercises, students must meet all graduation requirements prior to the ceremony
Grading Policy
Teachers determines how, homework, presentations, research papers, quizzes, tests, attendance, class behavior or any other class assignment or teacher expectations are weighted and used toward an average in their classes.
Report cards are mailed quarterly; deficiency notices, if necessary, are mailed at the halfway point of each marking period. Teachers may send or parents may request additional evaluations if necessary. The student’s counselor will contact parents by phone or mail when their child’s poor grades endanger their child’s graduation or promotion status. The second quarter report card will also indicate a mid-year average. Marking period grades are based on the following number averages:
· Credit is awarded at the completion of a course. No partial credit is awarded. To complete a course, a student must take the final exam. In a full-year course, each marking period counts 2/9ths of the final average; the final exam counts 1/9th.
· Seniors with a cumulative average of 90+ in a full-year course at the end of the 4th marking period are exempt from the final exam. This exemption applies to full-year courses only.
· Students who do not take a course’s final exam do not complete course requirements and thus fail that course for the year. (See “Note D” in Attendance Policy for additional explanation.)
· A grade of N (incomplete) is a temporary grade. Students who receive a grade of N are expected to complete missed work within five weeks of the end of the marking period in which they received the N unless there are extenuating circumstances such as extended illness or bedside tutoring.
· Unless there are extenuating circumstances, students who do not make up missed work within five weeks of the end of the marking period in which they received the N will receive whatever grade their average is including the missing work.
· Students cannot receive credit for nor take the same course twice. Exemptions are permitted with written approval from the instructor in Woodshop, Power Mechanics, Vocal Music, Ensemble, and Publishing.
· Grades of W, WF, and WP are final annual grades. Students receiving a W, WF, or WP no longer attend the class (unless a state-mandated remedial class). When an administrative action removes a student from a class that s/he is passing, then a WP is given.
· The grade of NC (no credit) is a course’s final grade and given only to a student who enters a course too late to complete the required work (more than 15 weeks into a full year course; more than 8 weeks in a half-year course; more than 4 weeks in a quarter-year course). Such a student must remain in the class and is expected to complete assignments. The student does not have to take the final exam (See Transfer statement for additional information).
Credits
A student earns credits only upon satisfactory attendance in, completion of, and passing a course. All classes are 40 minutes in length.
· A full-year course that meets 5 days per week is worth 5 credits
· A full-year course that meets 5 days per week plus a lab (or labs) is worth 6 credits
· A half-year class that meets 5 days per week is worth 2.5 credits
· Health classes, quarter year courses, are worth 1.25 credits
· Regular Physical Education classes (three marking periods) are worth 3.75 credits
· PE25, a Physical Education class allowing a Health make-up, is worth 2.5 credits
· PE99, a full-year Physical Education class, is worth 5 credits
Quality Points
A student earns quality points based upon the following system
· Quality points awarded a final grade of A = 4 times credits earned; factor for Honors A = 5; factor for AP A = 6.
· Quality points awarded a final grade of B = 3 times credits earned; factor for Honors B = 4; factor for AP B = 5.
· Quality points awarded a final grade of C = 2 times credits earned; factor for Honors C = 3; factor for AP C = 4.
· Quality points awarded a final grade of D = 1 times credits earned; factor for Honors D = 2; factor for AP D = 3.
Grade Point Average and Class Rank
Student grade point averages (GPA) are calculated twice per school year:
1. At the end of the second marking period based on mid-year grades.
2. At the end of the school year based on end-of-year grades.
· A GPA is determined by dividing the total number of quality points earned by the total number of ranking credits attempted.
· Pass/Fail courses count toward total credits earned but not toward ranking credits earned as no quality point determination can be made.
· Passing self-contained special education classes counts toward credits earned but not toward ranking credits earned.
· Because of the additional quality points awarded AP and Honors classes, Cliffside Park High School’s GPA and Class Rank are considered weighted.
Transfer Students
Grade placement for any student is based on high school credits earned. The following guidelines are used:
· Credits are awarded based on a student’s official high school transcript.
· No credit is given for a student’s passing grades in religion classes taken in a previous school.
· In the event that a transfer student’s previous high school’s credit system is dissimilar to Cliffside Park High School’s, the counselor will determine the best approximation of credits earned based on Cliffside Park High School’s credit description above.
· A student with less than 30 credits is placed in 9th grade
· A student with at least 30 but less than 65 credits is placed in 10th grade
· A student with at least 65 but less than 90 credits is placed in 11th grade
· A student with at least 90 credits is placed in 12th grade
· All the above placements are also subject to a student having completed sufficient specific course requirements.
There are two types of transfer students:
I. Regular Transfer Students: a regular transfer student is one who registers…
A. By the start of the school year, or
B. During the school year and has been regularly attending a full-time program for the current year.
Scheduling regular transfer students:
Counselors will assign a schedule
A. That is sequential with completion of previous courses passed and makes up any failures if the student transfers in by the start of the school year.
B. Is equivalent to the transfer student’s previous schedule if transfer occurs during the school year. It is assumed that skills presented in Cliffside Park High School courses cover the same skills covered as similarly entitled courses in the transfer student’s previous school
C. If an equivalent course at Cliffside Park High School is unavailable, then the transfer student will be awarded a prorated credit total based on marking periods completed.
D. Counselors will give a transfer student’s marks of progress to the teachers as soon as those marks are available.
II. Non-Regular Transfer Students: a non-regular transfer student is one who registers at Cliffside Park High School during the school year…
A. But has not been attending a full-time program. or
B. Had been attending a full-time program during the current school year but left for a period of time greater than that allotted by Cliffside Park High School’s Attendance Policy regarding excessive absences, or
C. Attended and completed a school year in a school system which ends 15 weeks or more into our school year.
Scheduling non-regular transfer students:
· Non-regular transfer students will be given a schedule that meets the sequence of graduation requirements and is based on previous high school courses completed.
· Non-regular transfer students who register on or before December 15 will be given the opportunity to make up missed work. They will have until the end of the second marking period to do so.
· Non-regular transfer students entering on or before December 15 who do not make up missed work will receive a grade of F for the first marking period. English teachers will determine how the summer reading assignment will be made up in an equitable way.
· Non-regular transfer students who register after December 15 will audit full-year classes and receive a grade of NC (No credit). This NC grade is because:
A. As for all students, credit cannot be awarded unless a student fully attends, completes, and is proficient in that subject’s core curriculum content standards
B. Classes require sufficient mastery of previous work before the introduction and mastery of the next core curriculum content standards
C. Non-regular transfers will have already missed more than a third of the year’s work, an amount of work too large to reasonably expect a student to make up and master while maintaining satisfactory progress with ongoing class work.
D. The non-regular transfer will have already greatly exceeded the number of absences permitted by the Attendance Policy.
E. Note: the classroom teacher can, with administrative approval, stay with the student during extra help time to allow the student to make up the missed work.
Course Selections for the Following School Year
At the end of the third marking period, students and counselors will meet to select the following year’s courses. That course selection is based on:
A. Graduation requirements
B. Course sequence
C. Post-secondary plans
D. The student’s current and past performance in classes and on annual testing (GEPA, TerraNova, HSPA).
E. Teacher recommendation
Freshmen and sophomores, unless given administrative approval for less, are scheduled for eight classes plus lunch.
Juniors and seniors, unless they require an additional course to maintain graduation status, are scheduled for seven classes plus lunch. Juniors and seniors are permitted to take an 8th class only with a counselor recommendation, parental request, and seat availability.
· No student may take more than 8 subjects in one day.
· All students must take a lunch period.
· No student with less than a 9-period schedule is guaranteed a late start (starting 2nd period) or an early dismissal (leaving after 8th period).
· A student with less than 9 classes will be given a study period during the day if no class in his/her schedule is available at any other time than 1st or 9th period.
· Seat availability includes the goal of balanced classes
After their spring counselor conference, students will sign and keep a copy of their Student Course Selection Sheet indicating an understanding that:
1. They are permitted to change their selections only until June of the current year.
2. Failing a course or poor end-of-year grades may require course selection changes.
3. Low standardized test scores will require the addition of remedial classes and dropping electives.
4. Limited seat availability may require a course selection change. Seniors will be given preference in non-required electives.
5. Failure to attend or pass a recommended summer school program may require a course selection change.
6. An insufficient number of requests for a class, after administrative examination, may require that the class not be run for the year.
Scheduling of Classes
During the summer, computer-scheduling software creates a master schedule based on a myriad of factors including: the total number of requests, seat, room, and teacher availability, class characteristics such as labs, and other scheduling limitations such as lunch periods, balanced classes, required teacher preparation periods, and required teacher duties, and budgetary constraints. The goal of the master schedule is to insure that the greatest percentage of student requests is met. Due to any master schedule’s constraints, not every student will be able to have every request. All students are guaranteed that their schedule will provide for their timely completion of graduation requirements in light of a student’s academic record.
Schedule Conflicts
In late August counselors return to school and review schedules. They contact students whose have course requests that are in conflict or unavailable due to seat limitations. The counselor and student will agree to acceptable alternative available course selections. Graduation requirements take priority over electives.
Advanced Placement and Honors Level Classes
Before entering Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors level classes, students must be aware that these classes require a personal yearlong commitment and an above average effort to complete successfully. Departments will recommend with administrative approval whether, in addition to course sequence and previous academic excellence, certain preferences are to be part of a student’s inclusion in an AP or Honors class.
In June of the preceding school year, AP and Honor class instructors will advise those students who have selected such classes of these expectations and any summer assignments. At that time, students will sign an agreement indicating their understanding of those expectations. The agreement will also reiterate the policy with regard to withdrawal from an AP or Honors class. (See following policy regarding withdrawal from classes)
Students taking an AP class are required to take the AP examination. Any exemption from the examination is permitted by administrative approval only. The Cliffside Park Board of Education will pay the AP examination fee.
Regular transfer students who wish to take an AP or Honors course will be permitted to due so provided
A) They were already taking an AP or Honors course, or
B) Their previous academic work meets the prerequisite courses needed for an AP or Honors class.
C) Their grades in those prerequisite courses reflect scholarship and diligence.
D) They make up any summer assignment within 10 weeks.
E) They sign the same agreement that the regular students signed in the previous June.
Under certain circumstances (e.g. a student demonstrates above-average scholarship), a student already in Cliffside Park High School may transfer into an AP or Honors class before the end of the first marking period. For them, like the transfer student:
A) Their previous academic work must meet the prerequisite courses needed for an AP or Honors class.
B) Their grades in those previous courses reflect scholarship and diligence.
C) They make up any summer assignment within 10 weeks.
D) Their non-AP or non-Honors 1st marking period grade will be lowered to meet the weighed AP or Honors grading system. For example, a student’s non-Honors grade of A would be lowered to a B in the Honors class. A non-AP grade of A would be lowered to a C in the AP class
F) They sign the same agreement that the regular students signed in the previous June.
Schedule Changes or Withdrawing from Classes
Before the school year begins, counselors will attempt to change the schedule of students who are given the same teacher and class that was previously failed provided that...
A) A different teacher is available
B) The schedule change does not prevent the student from meeting a graduation requirement
C) A roster imbalance does not occur
Unless there is a procedural scheduling error as a student is
A) Placed in an academically inappropriate level
B) Placed in a class s/he has already had and passed
C) Placed in a class out of departmental sequence
D) Missing a period in the schedule
…then that student’s schedule will not be changed.
If a student or parent insists on dropping a class, a “Withdrawal from Class” form will be completed. On that form the student’s and parent’s signature indicate an understanding that:
1. The counselor does not recommend that the student drop this class as it is the appropriate class to be taken and may be needed for further study.
2. Another class cannot replace the class dropped. Students are required to attend a class for an entire year to receive credit.
3. Withdrawing from a class after the first five weeks is the same as failing the class. The student will receive a WF (Withdraw failing) and receive no credit.
4. A WF is just like an F in a student’s grade point average/rank determination.
5. The withdrawal could affect post-secondary school acceptance, including two- and four-year colleges, nursing schools, business schools, or career schools.
6. The withdrawal could affect the ability of a student to compete at the college level because of the lack of subject knowledge, which this course might have provided.
7. This withdrawal could affect athletic eligibility. A student must be passing six (6) courses in order to be eligible and dropping a class decreases the number of classes available for passing.
8. Withdrawing from the first half of two paired classes does not withdraw a student from the second half of the paired classes.
9. A student who withdraws from an Advanced Placement or Honors class is subject to same procedure as above as well as that the student is not permitted to switch into the AP or Honor class’s non-AP or non-Honors equivalent, unless, due to unusual circumstances, administrative discretion permits such a switch.
Honor Roll
Regular Honor Roll: Students achieve the regular Honor Roll by earning averages of A’s and B’s for the marking period. One average of C is permitted if there is at least one average of A
High Honor Roll: Students achieve the High Honor Roll by earning averages of all A’s for the marking period.
Requesting Homework
A student or parent may request homework assignments when there is or will be an absence exceeding 2 days. If the student knows beforehand, then the student should inform the teachers a few days ahead of time to give them time to put together such work. If a student is unexpectedly out for an extended time the parent should contact his/her child’s counselor and ask the counselor to contact the teachers for assignments. Assignments will be available for the parent to pick up the following day.
Home Tutoring
A student or parent may request home tutoring when a student will be absent for an extended absence of two weeks or more. The following procedure must be followed:
A. The parent must submit a written letter to the counselor requesting home tutoring.
B. The parent must provide a letter from a medical doctor indicating:
1. A diagnosis
2. A prognosis
3. The starting date for home tutoring
4. Approximate length of time home tutoring will be needed (minimum 2 weeks).
C. Students are tutored for 5 hours a week.
D. An adult must be present during home tutoring
E. The 5 hours may not be met in less than three days.
Time schedules
Homeroom schedule (most frequently used)
8:00 Late point for teachers
8:05 Start of school day
8:08 Late point – start of first period
8:08 – 8:48 Period 1
8:51 – 9:37 Sec HR - Period 2
9:40 – 10:20 Period 3
10:23 – 11:03 Period 4
11:06 – 11:46 Period 5 (1st lunch)
11:49 – 12:29 Period 6 (2nd lunch)
12:32 – 1:12 Period 7 (3rd lunch)
1:15 – 1:55 Period 8
1:58 - 2:38 Period 9
2:41 - 3:20 Extra Help
3:00 Teacher dismissal
Early Dismissal (1 PM) Time Schedule
8:05 Start of School Day
8:08 – 8:48 Period 1
8:51 – 9:24 Sec HR and Per 2
9:27 – 9:54 Period 3
9:57 – 10:24 Period 4
10:27 – 10:54 Period 8
10:57 – 11:24 Period 5 (1st lunch)
11:27 – 11:54 Period 6 (2nd lunch)
11:57 – 12:24 Period 7 (3rd lunch)
12:27 – 12:54 Period 9