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A Celebration of the Good Things at Parsippany High School
Volume 4, Issue 5 (Mar. 2014)
Email any newsworthy info regarding the RedHawk Nation to [email protected]
March
4- PTSA Meeting 7:15
Hello Students and Parents,
I think the snow has finally stopped… After a long winter, PHS is looking forward to spring and
some outdoor activities. Thank you to everyone for their patience and cooperation in the long
and cold and snowy and icy months.
In the meantime, our students continue to make us proud at every corner. Our ACDEC team
won their regional competition, collecting numerous honors and advancing to states. Our athletic teams, paced by Indoor Track and Wrestling, have had successful seasons and sent multiple
athletes to individual honors. In addition, we have continued to make a difference through our
monthly service nights and a new tutoring program with CMS.
Thanks, as always, for the support,
4-6 - HSPA (11-13 HSPA Makeups)
12- Band/Chorus Concert 7:00
(Snow Date 13th)
20 - Dodgeball Tourney 7:00
24-28 – Spirit Week
27– 29 Spring Musical
28 – Spring Pep Rally
April
Dr. Mulroony
5- Spring Dance 7:00
Come see our Spring Musical "How to Succeed in Business
Without Really Trying" March 27, 28 and 29.
PHOTO CAPTION CONTEST WINNER
As part of Violence Awareness Week, Mrs. Burek and the Art Dept. sponsored a photo contest
on Instagram where students had to find pictures
that depicted
positive messages.
The band represents UNITY
submitted by Katherine Yang, grade 9.
14 - 18 - Spring Break
24- Talent Show 7:00
25 - AAC Sushi Tea Dance 7:00
29 - Northvail Spring Concert
@PHS
30 - World Language Induction
7:00
The dancers represent TRUST
submitted by Victoria Dobkowski, grade 9.
Many thanks to Ms. Cabezas, our talented and
enthusiastic Spanish teacher, who filmed and
created the incredible “Happy” video featuring
PHS students and staff dancing to “Happy” by
Pharrell Williams. Special credit goes to Steven
Quigley, Marcus Ng'Oche, and Marvin Vivanco,
who helped to create the video, and to Lionel
Chambers, who posted it on YouTube where it
has gotten over 23,000 views. It should also be
noted that the artist, Pharrell, actually mentioned
PHS in a tweet with a link to the video!
10 – Student vs. Faculty Hoops
7:00
19 – PTSA Flea Market
Here are the
winners:
PHS GETS “HAPPY”
9 - World Language Department
International Day
STAFF NEWS:
Congrats to Ms. Minichiello,
who got married on March 2.
Congrats to Mrs. Maucione
(English) who had twins, Liliana
& Gabriella, on February 11.
Congrats to Mrs. Riley-Lazzari
(Science), on the birth of her
daughter Mackenzie on Feb. 18.
Mrs. Engfer became a grandmother (again) on Feb. 22. her
name is Charley Anne.
Mr. Hernandez (Social Studies)
is expecting his first child this
summer.
BRITE CLUB RETURNS...
The re-emergence of the B.R..I.T.E. Club was a success as
a group of students traveled to Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School on Tuesday afternoons to complete against 34
other teams on all types of trivia. All students were new to
the club this year but performed valiantly for three rounds.
We hope to expand the club next year and compete at a
higher level.
9TH GRADERS GRAMMAR SONGS
Mr. Zacharia and Ms. Connolly's 9th grade classes
sound a little like "PHS Idol" this week as students
are putting the finishing touches on the grammar and
punctuation songs. Students have combed their
notes to identify elements of the series comma, appositives and coordinating conjunctions to set these
rules to snappy, memorable tunes. Available on
iTunes soon...
ITALIAN CLUB MAKING A DIFFERENCE
The Italian Club and Italian Honor
Society this year raised money to
donate to St.Jude. We also worked
in collaboration with the Sons of
Italy of Parsippany to collect canned
goods for the Food Pantry and raised
$200 in Shop Rite gift cards to donate to the community as well.
NEW SOUND & LIGHTING BOOTH
Many thanks to our Stage Craft class and
Mr. Groome who recently built a beautiful and professional Sound and Lighting
booth built in the Auditorium. It looks
and works great.
GEOMETRY IN THE REAL WORLD
All Geometry students will be attending attend Geometry in the Real World on PI Day
(March 14th)! in the Real World will consist
of a series of three presentations given by professionals and hobbyists who use Geometry. Some of the
presentations include: blood spatter analysis, fire fighting,
interior design and various types of engineering. The program was developed to encourage our students to recognize
Geometry in their world.
HOFFMAN AT LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
Erin Hoffman attended the NJ State Elks 26th Annual Youth
Peer Leadership Conference February 7-9 in Long Branch.
The conference centered around leadership skills and using
those skills to effectively create positive change in your
school and environment.
SCIENCE COMPETITION
Congrats to Nick and Matt Tomaro (6th place in Boomilever), Michael Michalik and Parth Chokshi (4th place in
Scrambler) for the success at the Science Olympiad in January.
SAVE THE DATE! REDSTOCK WILL BE HELD AT PHS ON SATURDAY, JUNE 7TH!!
SPANISH 5 VISITS TROY HILLS SCHOOL
The Spanish 5 students recently visited Troy Hills Elementary School for
World Travels Day. They taught a variety of lessons in Spanish for children
in grades K-5. Our kids served as excellent role models for the little ones.
WINTER CHEERLEADING UPDATE
The PHS Cheerleaders have just wrapped up their winter season. For most, it
was a long season, as they have been going strong since August. This winter
was the first time that we were able to have 2 winter teams, the Red team and
the Gray team. We were happy to welcome 10 new freshman and we hope to
have them back next year. On a bittersweet note, as all seniors must move
on, we would like to wish "GOOD LUCK" to our captains Kayla Fales and
Gina Pasquale. Both girls have cheered four years on the winter squad and
they will be missed by their coaches and their team.
BAND & ORCHESTRA HONORS
Music Student of the Month at Mayo Performing Arts Center (February):
Joshua Lustig (Guitar Player of the Month Honoree); Phyllis Chou (String
Player of the Month Honoree). Region Band: Kyle Ting (Trombone) - Symphonic Band; Lawrence Lin (Clarinet) - Wind Ensemble
Region Orchestra: Christopher Tang (Violin); Winston Yeh (Violin); Phyllis
Chou (Cello); Lawrence Lin (Clarinet). Junior Region Band: Stephen Giercyk (Trombone); Eric Lai (Mallet). All-State Band: Lawrence Lin (Clarinet)
CUPCAKE WARS
Parsippany High School Advanced Foods
students baked off in a Cupcake Wars
competition! Each team chose its own
special recipe to prepare completely
homemade cupcakes, frosting, and decorations. Six
lucky judges made up of PHS faculty acted as judges. Each team’s cupcakes were judged on creativity, taste, texture and appearance. Our Advanced
Foods students really demonstrated their impressive
baking skills and creativity! Winners of the competition will be showcased in the Main hallway soon!
SOPHOMORE LOCK-IN
The Sophomore Lock-In was a huge success this
year. Over 100 sophomores were “locked in” the
school overnight. They participated in a variety of
activities including sporting events, video game
competitions, movies, and an assortment of other
team competitions (even a few makeovers). Special thanks to the teachers (especially
Mrs. DeGironimo & Ms. Wong), administrators,
custodians, and senior helpers for making this
memorable night run flawlessly.
ROTARY AWARD WINNERS
Congrats to Mrs.
Colello-Kim
(English) and
Andrew Herrera
(12) who were
honored by the
Parsippany Rotary with Distinguished Service
Awards in Feb.
4 HOURS 4 CHANGE
WINTER FORMAL
Interact hosted 4 Hours 4 Change Student Council hosted the winter formal and the
a service night that brought clubs school elected a the snow king and queen. It was antogether who completed projects other great night for our students.
such as jean donations, bracelets 9th: Gianna Arnaldy & Ian Schey
for
cancer
research,
and 10th: Tayler Teta & Rushil Desai
shamgrams. Money collected 11th : Phoebe Nelson & John Loaiza
will be donated to the Water Pro- 12th : Jasmine Chen (QUEEN), Sam Corbel, Alyssa
ject and cans are donated to the
Murray, Ruchi Chothani & Megan Maxwell
local food pantry.
Will Kinzer (KING), Lionel Chambers, Nick
Tomaro, Andrew Aguilera & Kyle Jones
FRESHMEN RED HAWK AWARD
A DAY IN THE LIFE
9th grade teachers continue to recognize students who exhibit the values that the 9th grade
class have chosen as the three most important to the class of 2017: caring, self-discipline and
respect. In the past two months the following students have demonstrated these values in an
exemplary way:
Harold Atienza
Alyssa Feola
Joshua Flood
Ian Schey
Christina Shultz
Anthony Hill
Jake Marlowe
Disha Patel
Connor Preston
We’ve acknowledged these Red Hawk Award recipients by displaying pictures of them in the
9th grade showcase in the PHS main hallway. Additionally, letters were sent home to these
students’ parents telling them about their child’s accomplishments, for which they can be very
proud.
Counselors at PHS have been turning
back the clock some 20 years and
shadowing students so they can experience “life as a student at PHS in
2014.”It has been enlightening, as
well as fun, for both students and
counselors. After all the shadowing
days counselors are going to report
out to the staff on what it was like,
and all shadowed students are going
to get a pizza lunch!
MUSIC AND MEMORY
The Freshman Service Project culminated on February 9, 2014,
when members of our group visited the nursing home in West
Orange where the Music and Memory program is being implemented. We worked with our liaison at the facility and put
together the Music and Memory Open House on that Sunday
morning. Each student worked with a family to design a personalized playlist for their loved one. That music was then
downloaded onto the resident’s IPod. In the months prior to our
visit, other members of our group did a fantastic job of collecting gently used IPods, as well as over 100 CDs. The families,
staff, and residents were so appreciative of all the students involved in this project who worked so hard to make the program
a success. Over 60 of our freshman devoted their time, in one
way or another, to this years’ service project. We applaud their
dedication, commitment, follow-through, and the maturity they
displayed at the facility, as they represented the Class of 2017.
In an unprecedented event,
the PHS class of 2014 features four Division 1 scholarship athletes. On February 7, we recognized the
following PHS studentathletes and their families:
Bria Saunders (Rutgers,
Track), Krysten Mayers
(Cornell, Field Hockey),
Samantha Pignatelli (Sacred
Heart, Cross Country), Amanda Nardella (Rhode Island, Soccer)
and Lionel Chambers (Cornell, Track).
PHS HALL OF FAME
JAN. & FEB. SCHOLARS OF THE MONTH
On February 19th, PHS proudly inducted five
new members into our Hall of Fame with a ceremony attended by approx. 150 family members,
students, community members and staff (active
and retired). The inductees include: Robert
Peluso ‘88, Dan Ilic ‘90, Michael Pignatelli ‘80,
Jerry Russo– former guidance counselor, and
Ron Foreso– former history teacher and NJ
Teacher of the Year. See the link for a more detailed
story:
http://www.dailyrecord.com/
article/20140223/NJNEWS/302230034/
PHS SIGNING DAY
WL: Krissy Berrios & Joanne Veloz
Math: Billy Snell & Steve Adkins
Science: Liliana Ferrara & Declan Devens
English: Kasey Hart & Josh Fortes
Tech/Art :Kim Lindner & Krissy Berrios
PE: Declan Devens & Lilian Tran
Guidance: Zakaria Mannan & Elizabeth Tu
SS: Samantha Zarro & Alex Bamert
ENVIRONMENTAL CLUB NEWS
The Environmental Club members filled the courtyard’s trees and shrubs with birdseed covered pinecones. Cleaning and holiday decorating of the
school’s greenhouse using recycled Christmas ornaments helped to liven the holiday spirit for students. The club continues its recycling programs
and awareness. Through a grant from the Morris
County Municipal Utilities Authority, the club purchased large
recycling containers for the school’s copier room and for the
popular senior lunch outdoor area. The outdoor containers
were fitted with special roller carts to ease the transition of the
set-up by the custodial staff. The club wishes to congratulate
Mr. Prall, our Head Custodian, who was selected to receive an
award by the MCMUA for his recycling efforts.
MATH TEAM NEWS
The Math Team participated in the prestigious
American Math Competition on 2/4/14 and two of
our students have made it to the second round! In
order to make it to the second round, a student has
to achieve a score in the top 2% of all scores nationally, so this is quite an accomplishment for sophomore Michael Wang and senior Esther Hsieh. They will be taking the
next round of the contest on Thursday, March 13th, so please
wish them well if you see them.
Also, the current standing of the NJ Math League shows
that Parsippany High School is now second in the county and
we've cracked the top 20 in the state! Also, Michael Wang is
one of only three students in the state who has a perfect score
through all five rounds! Congratulations on an excellent showing so far for the PHS Math Team!
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
After a hiatus of many years, Parsippany High School offered AP Computer Science course to students
in 2013-2014 school year. Starting students can try their hands at developing simple apps for iPhones.
We have also initiated a Computer Game Design club. This club is entirely student-driven. They asked
for it, they learn the technology, teach it, and experiment with it.
Computer Science has revolutionized the world, and is one of the most sought-after skills. We look
forward to the day when all Parsippany High School students will enjoy the experience of Computer
Science.
FIRE DEPT. NEWS
On February 26, Jonathan Croat became a junior volunteer firefighter for Lake Hiawatha.
Thanks to Jonathan for volunteering to make a difference.
BUSINESS NEWS
Seniors Amogh Karwar, Kesha Patel, Amanda Sorresse and
Aaron Wood will be representing PHS at the NJ DECA State
competition in mid-March. They will be competing in various
marketing events for the chance to move onto the national DECA competition in Atlanta.
Mrs. Russell's Marketing & Advertising class has been hard at
work selling ads for the 2014 yearbook as well as Restock
sponsorships. If you work for a business that is interested in
purchasing a yearbook ad, donating a prize for our Restock
raffle or setting up a booth during the Restock festival on June
7th, please contact Mrs. Russell at [email protected].
Yearbooks are still available @ Jostensyearbooks.com. Order
yours while supplies last!
CMS TUTORING
We are proud to announce another service opportunity for all PHS students. Every Thursday
from 2:50-3:50 students are invited to sign up
for tutoring with students at Central Middle
School. Come to the Main Office for details.
(One of our custodians,
Joe McManus, tackling
the snow. )
FRENCH CLUB
This winter students from the French Honor Society instructed over 30 fifth grade students from
Northvail Elementary School twice per month
during December, January and February. This is
the fourth year students from PHS have been
working with Northvail students. This year's
group was very enthusiastic!
PEER BUDDY WINTER BALL
The 7th Annual Peer Buddy Winter Ball was held on January 30.
Approximately 85 people attended the event and participated in
dancing, eating and making friends. Thanks to everyone who
attended, especially those who donated prizes for the students.
CHOIR UPDATE
Our choir and band concert is next Wednesday, March 12th at
7:00 PM. The choir is conducting a food drive to help a local
food pantry. Donations can be brought to the main office, the
choir room, or to the concert.
We had four students accepted into the North Jersey Region I
Honors Choir. They are: Sarah Ferguson, Brian Lanigan, Anne
Cheng, and Kati Hsu. A few of our choir members will be auditioning for the All-State Honors Choir in April.
SWIMMING
The Parsippany RedHawks Swim Team had another great
building and powerful season. While the wins verse loss ration did not change the spirit, drive, perseverance and dedication was beyond measurable. They would strive to drop time
and work harder in practices to achieve that goal. Freshman
Mohit Pathak, Sophomore Ryan Lo and Juniors Jason Caprioni and Ronald Tudorache were recognized as Honorable Mentions for the Southern II Conference. The girls squad has the
biggest heart on the deck and slowly but surely will be a dominate force. The RedHawks don't let the defeats and losses to
bring down their spirits. They are proud to wear their school
colors and to swim for Parsippany High School.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Despite various challenges all players in the girls basketball
program on all three levels fought hard throughout the season
and never gave up. Ultimately they finished the year with two
great wins at the end of the season. The JV team managed to
pull out seven wins this season with a roster that consisted of
mostly freshmen. Although the varsity level lost two players
to injuries, Jennifer Atherton, Angie Gano and Veronica Zoon
never gave up and served as valuable leaders. Junior Jennifer
Atherton secured a position on First Team All Conference. Seniors Angie Gano and Veronica Zoon both were
named to the All Conference Honorable Mention.
HOCKEY
Our hockey team finished the year with a 7-11 record. They were lead by their core group of seniors
(pictured right): Kyle Jones, Mike Ruggier, Casie
Farrell, Brian Lanigan, and Ray Lennie. The
team’s leading scorers included Nick Grinvalds (21 goals/12
assists), Mike Ruggier (9g/5a) and Alex Wang (10g/4a).
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Congrats to our Baldwin Pizza Athlete’s of the Week for the
Winter Season for their dominant performances this season.
Ray Lennie (12) Hockey
Kayla Fales (12) Cheerleading
Cat Lanigan (11) Swimming
Malik Francis (11) Track
Bria Saunders (12) Track
Stephen Persaud (11) Wrestling
Leonard Lee (12) Basketball
Zack Kovacs (11) Wrestling
Jen Atherton (11) Basketball
FBLA SUCCEEDS AT REGIONALS
This year FBLA had 23 students qualify at the Northern
Regional Competition for the state event. In order to qualify,
a student needs to place in the top 9. Of the 23 students who
qualified, 14 placed in the top 3, the rest qualified from 4th
through 9th. This was one of the best performances ever by
a PHS FBLA team.
BOYS BASKETBALL
The Parsippany Boys Basketball had an exciting 201314 basketball season. Despite having a record below .500 the Red Hawks played hard and showed that
they can compete with some of the better schools in
the county. The players played as a team, always displayed good
sportsmanship and were recognized by receiving the Liberty Division Sportsmanship Award for the 2013-14 season. Senior Captain
Leonard Lee, a 4 year varsity letter winner was unanimously voted
1st Team All Conference and finished the season ranked as one of
the leading scorers in the county while averaging close to 16
points per game. Fellow Senior Captain Lionel Chambers, another
4 year varsity letter winner was
voted 2nd Team All Conference.
Sophomore guard Declan Devens
and junior forward Ryan Orr
were both selected Honorable
Mention.
WINTER TRACK BREAKING RECORDS
The Parsippany Indoor Track Team had a record setting season. The girls
team placed 2nd overall in the State Sectional Meet and placed 4th in the
county. Bria Saunders broke her own school record in the 55m dash, lowering it to 7.21. She placed 4th in the Meet of Champions in the 55m
dash. Bria also broke the school record in the 200m dash, running
25.32. Sophomore Allyson Schlosser had a phenomenal season, breaking the
school record in the 800 and 1000. The girls Distance Medley team of Samantha Pignatelli, Bria Saunders, Jen Mlynar, and Allyson Schlosser broke
the school record set in 2000, running 12:51. The girls 4x800 team of Haley
Pignatelli, Jen Mlynar, Kati Hsu and Allyson Schlosser also broke the school
record, running 9:58.
On the boys side, a new Sprint Medley record was set by Peter Hernandez,
Malik Francis, Christian Hulse, and Josh Crawford, running a time of
3:47. The boys 4x400 team of Christian Hulse, Josh Crawford, Aaron Wood
and Peter Hernandez advanced to the Meet of Champions in the 4x400 with a
season best time of 3:34. The Redhawks look forward to move on to a successful spring track season!
WRESTLING
Our PHS Wrestling team completed another successful season, finishing the season 12-6 and ranked
as the #9 team in the NJAC. The
also qualified for the State Sectional Tournament and defeated Lodi at home before
bowing out to Riverdell in the semifinals. Individual standouts include:
Kevin Jones– 106 (4th MCT, 2nd District 9, 5/6
Region 3) Zack Kovacs– 113 (2nd MCT, 3rd D9,
5/6 R3)
Stephen Persaud– 126 (3rd MCT, 3rd D9, 4th R3)
Brandon Jones– 138 (3rd D9)
Michael Ilic– 145 (6th MCT)
Aarin Feliz- (5th MCT, 2nd D9)
Nigel Feliz– 170 (6th MCT, 3rd D9)
The program also celebrated its 250th win this season in a win over Madison.