Fall 2006
The mission of CPHS is to provide a safe, academically focused environment within our culturally diverse community. We will challenge each student to confidently achieve his or her educational and personal goals as well as acquire the work and social skills essential to become a productive member of society.
Cliffside Park high school
From the Desk of:
Mr. M. J. Romagnino, Principal
Dear Students,
The 2006-07 school year is underway with one full marking period already completed. Parents are reminded to contact our guidance department if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s report card grades and/or attendance.
Please join me in encouraging your children to take part in the many after school activities offered at CPHS. Athletics, co-curricular activities, clubs and extra-help are available for student participation on a daily basis.
Course selections for the 2007-08 school year will begin during March 2007. When you receive the course selection form please call guidance if you have any questions or concerns.
I’m always available to speak with students and parents regarding our school program. Please feel free to contact my office at your convenience if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions.
Project Graduation 2007
Planning is underway for Project Graduation 2007. We are visiting a number of facilities and hope to make a decision on a place and date in the very near future. As you know the purpose of the celebration is to give our students one final fun-filled night together as a class without the dangers associated with graduation parties. It will be a well supervised alcohol-free and drug-free night that virtually the entire class will participate in. After the graduation ceremony and all the photo opportunities with friends and family, the students will be bused to a “secret” location where they will enjoy a memorable evening of food, fun, games, swimming, music and other surprises. They will return to the school by bus between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., tired but happy and safe.
In order to make this PROJECT GRADUATION as successful as our first we need to raise $30,000 so that the evening is FREE for every student. If your child is not a senior, my hope is that he or she will have the opportunity to experience a project graduation in the future. This can only be accomplished if we continue to work together and raise the funds necessary to host such an event. A number of fund raisers will take place during this school year. Presently, CPHS and our Parent Awareness Group are running our annual Calendar Raffle. I have spoken to all of our seniors about being involved with this activity and hope to raise at least $10,000. Please ask your son or daughter to pick up some chances in my office to sell to friends, family members or at the office. Your help is needed to make this night a success
PARENT PORTAL
(ACCESS TO STUDENT GRADES, ETC.)
Cliffside Park High School is very excited to offer all parents and/or guardians the opportunity to access school related data on their child such as; grades, progress reports, fines due, attendance data, community service hours completed, testing data, etc. using any Internet capable computer.
In order to access this information you will need the following data: Portal Code, Portal Username and Portal Password.
Please follow the directions below to access the Cliffside Park Parent Portal.
Go to: www.cliffsidepark.edu
1. Click on the High School link .
2. Click on the Parent Portal link .
3. Enter the Portal Code.
4. Enter the Portal Username.
5. Enter the Portal Password.
Every parent should have received a letter giving them their portal code, username and password. If you haven’t received it please contact CPHS at 201-313-2370.
WELCOME NEW STAFF
Mr. D. Amodeo English
Ms. M. Clarke Mathematics
Mr. J. Dobish, Industrial Arts
Ms. J. Ivankovic, World Language
Mr. A. Karagiannis, Social Studies
Mr. R. Leighton, World Language
Mr. D. Nelson, Industrial Arts
Mr. C. Perez, English
Ms. Tracey Rembecky, Special Education
Mrs. Andrea Romano, Medial Specialist
Guidance News
The school year has begun and the Guidance Department is at the hub of everything that is happening.
Students are still transferring in and out. The new Limited English students are tested to see what level ESL classes we will place them in. All the previous high school records are transferred into our data base.
In October, the new seniors took and seniors who had not passed a section of the HSPA retook the section they were partially proficient in. The results from October’s HSPA will be available to them in mid-December. In the meantime, these same students will begin the Special Review Assessment process where their language arts or math skills are reinforced and tested over and over to insure mastery of those skills.
The Guidance Department continues with the same veteran counselors, but this year we have reallocated the alphabetical division of our students to rebalance each counselor’s caseload. This year the divisions are as follows:
· Mr Ludwig: Last names beginning with A through Dh-
· Ms Kelemen: Last names beginning with Di- through Ka
· Mr Calderaro: Last names beginning with Kb- through Pa-
· Dr Meier: Last names beginning with Pb through Ti-
· Mrs Schwartz: Last names beginning with Tj through Z.
Keep these new divisions in mind when you want to speak with your child’s counselor.
The counselors are excited about the new internet feature called the Parent Portal. We hope that all parents by this time have been able to use the Parent Portal to check their child’s academic, attendance, and other information available there. If there is any question about that information, please contact us. It is extremely important that the information is accurate.
We administered the PSAT on October 21. The PSAT measures:
· verbal reasoning skills
· critical reading skills
· math problem-solving skills
· writing skills
Students will see their counselor in December to pick up their scores and receive the same test book used on the test day. The score report lists the student response, indicates whether it was correct, and the difficultly of the question. The students should take advantage of this excellent opportunity to “learn from their mistakes.”
Most seniors took the SAT here on November 4. The high school will again offer an administration in January. Most juniors will take the SAT for the first time at our May administration. An SAT prep course will again be offered here during February, March, and April. We will contact you in January with the details of that course.
Now it’s time for college applications. Seniors should set December as their goal to complete all of their applications. Colleges now offer on-line applications and we strongly encourage students to take advantage of that opportunity. After applying on line, students must let their counselor know that they have applied. We have already had several college representatives visit individual classrooms and on November 2, nearly 40 school representative came to the high school cafeteria to speak with students and their parents.
As always, if there is anything that the department can do for you, please call anytime between 8 AM and 3:30 PM for a counselor. Mr James Shelley is typically there between 7 AM and 4 PM.
Health Corps
Health Corps is a free, wellness program started by Dr. Oz from Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Last year, Health Corps offered our students a number of exciting seminars on nutrition, mental health and exercise, as well as, continuing with our lunchtime workshop which focuses on nutrition. Student participation and interest has been high again with an average attendance of 75 students. Faculty support has likewise been very enthusiastic. During the coming year, Health Corps, will be reaching out to parents and will continue to move through the student curriculum of physical fitness. mental health, and emergency skills, taking appropriate measurements at each stage of the program.
CLASS DUES
Please be reminded that all students are responsible for an annual class dues of $25. The dues will cover the cost of a cap/gown and yearbook which they will receive at the end of their senior year. If the cost of these items were to increase, students would be assessed an additional fee.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
November 21st - Senior Citizen ThanksgivingLuncheon & Concert (Tentative)
November 28th - Report Cards Mailed
December 19th - Senior Citizen Holiday Luncheon & Concert (Tentative)
December 20th - Holiday Concert 7:30 pm
December 21st - Progress Reports Marking Period 2
Dec 25th-Jan 1 - Winter Recess
January 4th - Financial Aid Workshop 7 pm
School Calendar Legal Holidays & Vacations 2006-2007
November 23-24 - Thanksgiving Recess
Dec 25-Jan 1 - Holiday Recess
January 15 - Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday
February 19-23 - Winter Recess
April 6 - Good Friday
April 23-27 - Spring Recess
May 28 - Memorial Day
June 21 - Last Day for Students (Tentative)