John Quattrocchi

John Quattrocchi is one of two candidates running for two open seats on the Board of Education in the election that will take place on Tuesday, November 3. Since a candidates night that was to have been held by the Verona Conference of SCAs (School Community Association) was cancelled after a third contender, Joanna Breitenbach, withdrew from the election, MyVeronaNJ.com has offered Quattrocchi and fellow candidate Michele Bernardino a chance to present themselves to the community. Quattrocchi’s statement is below; you can read Bernardino’s here. The polls will be open on Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and voting also includes Verona’s state assembly seat, the Essex County clerk and the Essex County sheriff.

To Verona’s voters:

I’d like to thank the Verona community for their continuous support of our local schools. As we near Election Day, it is good to summarize my candidacy and points of view.

I’ve lived in Verona since 1993 and I work in the Investment Banking field as Managing Director and Global Head of Product Development for the Prime Financing Division at Barclays Bank, in New York.

In the 22 years I’ve been here, my wife and I purchased our second home in town and raised 3 daughters.

• Our eldest is a graduate student at NYU pursuing her masters in Social Work, while working as a student counselor at Bayonne High School.
• Our middle daughter is a freshman at Penn State pursuing a business degree and is a member of the Penn State Athletic Band.
• And our youngest is a freshman at VHS, where she’s also in the Choir and on the Cross Country/Track team.

For 12 of those 22 years, I’ve also been dedicated to the Board of Education, where I’ve served on every committee, at some point or another, negotiated most of our collective bargaining contracts, worked through two facilities referendums, and headed our efforts to create and execute both of our 5-year Strategic Plans, which we are now on our 2nd iteration.

My vision for our schools is simple – we must operate in a culture where success, hard work, and achievement are expected from each other. We must believe we can achieve more than we might think possible. And, we must do that with an operating model (leadership/people, infrastructure/tools, and purpose/objectives) that is nimble, and easy to change & evolve.
I don’t believe there are single magic bullets that shape our schools. In my view, it’s a continuous series of steps, following a plan and vision that takes our schools to higher levels.

It’s the curriculum & instruction, along with programs/athletics, that create opportunity for every student to excel. It’s the removal of barriers that may prevent some from striving or the mental barriers where we tell ourselves “that’s too hard for me”.

For example, we don’t just want computer science classes at VHS. We want, and now have, computer science for all students beginning at grade 5 and beyond. Was it hard to do – you bet. But it’s here, its sustainable, its energized, and therefore it is successful.

My vision is for our schools to operate in that way, all the time, and make it the new normal. I know it works because we’ve been doing it.

If our schools are a great place to learn and a great place to work, that makes Verona a great place to live.
I believe we are on a proper path, with many successes and more coming. With your support, I will work to continue that evolution, create a more stellar school system, and a stronger town.

Thank you,
John Quattrocchi

The post Quattrocchi Addresses BOE Voters appeared first on MyVeronaNJ.

John Quattrocchi is running for a fifth term on the Verona Board of Education, and he will be joined on the ballot by Michele Bernardino, an 11-year resident of Verona with three children in Verona public schools. The two are the only two candidates running for the two open seats this year.

Since a candidates night that was to have been held by the Verona Conference of SCAs (School Community Association) was cancelled after a third contender, Joanna Breitenbach, withdrew from the election, MyVeronaNJ.com has offered Bernardino and Quattrocchi one more chance to present themselves to the community. You can read the statements from each candidate by clicking on the links below:

Michele Bernardino’s statement
John Quattrocchi’s statement

The polls will be open on Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and voting also includes Verona’s state assembly seat, the Essex County clerk and the Essex County sheriff. Please note that, because Breitenbach withdrew from the election after the ballots were printed, her name still appears on the document.

The post Board Of Ed Election November 3 appeared first on MyVeronaNJ.

Michele Bernardino has won her bid to be elected to the Verona Board of Education and John Quattrocchi has been re-elected to a fifth term.

With 90.91% of the vote counted, the unofficial results from the Essex County Clerk’s office show Bernardino with 39.76% to 38.55% for Quattrocchi. The two were the only candidates for the two available seats after Joanna Breitenbach announced that she was withdrawing from the race. Breitenbach’s name was still on the ballot however, and she won 20.87% of the vote.

The post Bernardino Joins Quattrocchi On BOE appeared first on MyVeronaNJ.

In October 2014, a car belonging to Verona’s superintendent (back right) was totaled on Fairview opposite VHS. The driver who did that also flipped his car on the road.

For the Board of Education, the most logical solution seemed to be installing a traffic light at the corner of Fairview and Sampson Drive, where the main VHS parking lot is located. But Fairview is a county road, so the BOE had to request a traffic study from Essex County to get one. And at its November 10 meeting, the BOE reported the findings of that study: No traffic light for VHS.

“We still have a problem,” said a visibly frustrated Rui Dionisio, Verona’s public schools superintendent. “We don’t have a solution, but we need one.”

“We have a hard time understanding how this is acceptable,” he added. Dionisio also announced that, just before the BOE meeting started that night, a staff member’s car was the subject of another hit-and-run on Fairview: Its door was taken off by a southbound driver. The staffer, who was putting things into his car at the time of the accident, was thankfully uninjured, Dionisio noted.

As bad as the traffic is now on Fairview, it is going to get worse: Earlier this year, Cedar Grove had to concede defeat in its 20-year-long effort to block a huge residential development just north of the Verona Pool. Developer K. Hovnanian is going to build 460 townhouses on the site of the former Essex County Hospital Center. Though some Cedar Grove residents still want to put up a fight, the county has begun demolition of the remaining buildings at the former psychiatric hospital. In addition to slowing car flow, a traffic light could also be another deterrent to cars turning east onto Sampson, which has been one-way west-bound for more than a decade.

Dionisio isn’t the only one frustrated by the county’s traffic light decision. Cathy Jackson, the mother of a VHS student, communicated her concerns to County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. and to Verona’s town government. “I am extremely disappointed that Essex County does not see the safety issue on Fairview Avenue,” she said. “It seems an obvious and necessary safety measure given the number of students, traffic flow and development of the Hilltop. I am curious why they felt it was necessary.”

Because Fairview is a county road, Verona can’t do much more than post pedestrian safety signs.

That remains, for now, an unanswered question. Essex County has not responded to MyVeronaNJ.com’s emails and phone messages for this story. While Fairview and Sampson is not a four-way intersection, the county has put up traffic lights at similar crossings, like the pedestrian-activated light on Lakeside Avenue near Morningside Road and on Cherry Lane in West Orange by the county’s new playground at the former Orange reservoir.

Jackson’s appeal to the town did result in the Verona Police Department stationing an electronic sign alerting drivers that they were entering a school zone. At Monday night’s Town Council meeting, Interim Town Manager Mitchell Stern said that the town is still trying to work with the county to get the light. And VHS is stepping up its efforts to get students and staff to park elsewhere. Principal Joshua Cogdill sent an email two weeks ago recommending that students park on Sampson, even though it means a longer walk to the high school’s front door.

“… crossing Fairview Ave.,” he wrote, “appears to be dangerous due to the heavy traffic volume.”

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When H.B. Whitehorse’s long-time tech-ed teacher retired in June and the superintendent announced plans to make the position part of the school’s STEM curriculum, some parents wondered what would become of signature tech-ed projects like the mini-catapult. Now, three months into the new school year, we know the answer: Thanks to the added dose of science, technology, engineering and math, the catapult got got a whole lot bigger. On Tuesday afternoon, 13 middle-schooler-sized catapults are going to be wheeled out onto HBW’s field for the school’s first-ever pumpkin-chucking competition.

For several weeks, more than 60 HBW boys and girls have been building catapults as part of an after-school project. The teacher heading the project, Julia Harth, showed them two models and a video on pumpkin-chucking machines. The students then had to research their options, from slingshots and catapults to centrifugals and trebuchets. Pneumatic cannons (the record holders in pumpkin chucking) were a no-no, as were any devices bigger than a student. Each team had to submit a plan. “We made sure it was realistic and safe,” says Harth. “But we didn’t want to give them too much direction. We wanted them to find their own way.” That appealed greatly to Logan Machnowski, a fifth grader who is a natural-born tinkerer and pumpkin-chucking fan. “Did you know that a pneumatic cannon launched a pumpkin almost two miles?” he asked a reporter.

Tinkering is central to the STEM approach, which emphasizes identifying a problem and brainstorming ideas before testing a solution. Flops are OK, and several of the students tweaking their machines on Monday afternoon admitted that aspects of their original design had failed. Daphne Glatter’s team’s first try at torsion snapped their frame. “We didn’t realize how powerful the torsion was,” says the seventh grader, who’s new to HBW and thrilled by the project. “I said, ‘whoa, this is heavy machinery we’ve got here’.”

Heavy and complicated machinery. Alec Hamson, Nick Priori and their fifth- and sixth-grade teammates first wanted to build a wheel-driven machine. “It was too intricate,” says Hamson. “We went with a spring-loaded lever and an adjustable front brace.”

The catapult built by Emma Rice and Eleanor Newman’s team is called “Mr. Squashy”, and for good reason. “We practiced with a grapefruit over the weekend and it went pretty well,” said Rice. “We had grapefruit mush.” The project, by the way, attracted just about as many girls as boys. “Building things is cool,” says Lucy Hogan, a sixth grader whose Shooting Stars team included her sister Emma, Hanna Vargas and Josie Shust. “I like thinking activities,” says Shust.

Pumpkin chucking isn’t the only new manifestation of STEM in the middle school. Harth’s regular classes made musical instruments from recycled materials and then used an electronics kit called MaKey MaKey to actually get sound out of them.

With a bit of programming, these cardboard guitars can play music.

The pumpkin project has had an outpouring of support in and out of HBW. So many kids signed up to participate that Harth had to recruit other teachers to supervise the work, including science teachers Carol Thomas, Kate Smith and Paul Moschella, social studies teacher Phillip Kratzman, Sheila O’Hare-Barrows and art teacher Tony Saltalamacchia. Tech teacher Andor Kish and science/math teacher Marissa Albano also chipped in. VEA, the teachers’ union, provided some funding, the pumpkins were donated by Hillcrest Farms, Party Fair donated decorations and the Towne Scoop and AMC Theaters donated prizes.

“It has been great so see so many kids interested in doing STEM on their own time,” says Harth. Several students are already looking forward to revising their designs for next year’s pumpkin chucking, but Harth might have another project for them before then. “In spring,” she says, “I hope to do a cardboard canoe race.”

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This week, Verona families will celebrate Thanksgiving. In the spirit of the season, Verona’s Public Schools would like to thank the many businesses that donate services and support to school activities. “We are fortunate in Verona to have so many businesses that give so freely to our schools,” says Superintendent Rui Dionisio. “They support our SCA fundraisers and improve our facilities. Their efforts are often unheralded, but they are always appreciated by students, staff and school families.”

Verona’s Public Schools would like to recognize the following businesses, named by the SCAs, for their efforts at our six schools. We urge the community to thank them and support them as they support our students:

Academy Apparel, American Cleaners, Anthony Francos, Applegate Farms Homemade Ice Cream, Arctic Falls, Ariane Kitchen and Bar,

Bagelwich, Baked Bouquet, Bella Gente, Borino’s Pizza, Brookside Garden Center, B Savvy, DART Promotions, Dekko & Co., Eight Hills Caterers, Esposito’s

Frank Anthony’s, Fred Hill Sports Academy, Foodtown, Green Point Juicery, Hardbodyz, Hillcrest Farms, Hot Bagels-N-More, Jersey Embroidery, JT’s Barber Shop,

Lakeside Deli, Livingston Philly Pretzel Factory, Main Street Cottage, NY Bagel Cafe II,
The Pizza Terminal, Pleasantdale Nurseries,

Salugo Bistro, Tiny Elephant, The Towne Scoop, Trend, Verona Spine & Wellness Center

“Many of these businesses also support our school athletes,” added Dionisio. “Their banners, and those of other businesses at our athletic facilities, show a high level of commitment to advancing Verona on all fronts. This Thanksgiving, we thank them all”.

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At the Board of Education meeting on November 24, Verona High School Principal Joshua Cogdill recognized five VHS students as the Student of the Month for October.

Rebecca Marcillo-Gomez (far right) was nominated as the freshman student by math teacher Kenneth Treitler, for her grasp of Algebra 1 as well as for the help she provides to other students and the mature attitude she displays. Marcillo-Gomez is taking Honors English, Honors Modern World History and Honors Biology (Lab).

Mitch Kiwior  (center) was nominated as the sophomore student by both math teacher Danielle Mutovic and chemistry teacher Nathan Scott. Cogdill said that, according to Mutovic, Kiwior has a 102.5% average in Algebra 2 Honors and that, in the past seven years, only one other student has come close to achieving an A+. Scott called Kiwior a “paragon of excellence” in honors chemistry , where he had a 99% average for the first marking period. Kiwior is enrolled in Honors English II, AP Biology (Lab), Honors Chemistry (Lab) and Honors Algebra II, with A grades in all subjects.

Kaitlyn Deo (second from right) was nominated as the junior student by chemistry teacher Dr. Janan Wehbeh, who noted that while Deo started the year not doing well on an AP Chemistry test, she began coming for extra help and got the high score on the select response portion of her second test and 100 on the open response. When averaged, her grade was the highest in the class. Deo, who participates in several sports, takes Honors English III, AP Chemistry (Lab), Honors Physics (Lab), Honors Pre-Calculus/Trig and Fundamentals of Computer Science.

VHS teachers nominated two seniors as students of the month for October. Eileen Scandiffio (far left) was picked by math teacher Jennifer Errico for her hard work and determination, who noted that Scandiffio’s GPA has grown every year and she is currently on track to be around 4.0. Ericco said, in her note to Cogdill, that Scandiffio “is an incredible role model to any student in this school.” Scandiffio is enrolled in Intro to Financial Accounting Honors, College Algebra/Trigonometry and Physics College Prep (Lab).

Rayna Newkirk (second from left) was selected by English teach Fran Young, who singled her out as a leader in the classroom, saying “I can always count on Rayna to stimulate the discussion with her interesting comments. ” Newkirk is also heavily involved in VHS theater, having tried out for every production since her freshman year and being cast in every show. “What I love about Rayna,” Young added, “is that she doesn’t care what size part she gets. She always does her best, no matter what.” Newark’s classes include AP English Lit. & Comp, AP Environmental Science and Honors Physics (Lab), and had all A grades on her report card for marking period 1.

“All the students”, said Cogdill, “should be proud because we know we are proud to have them represent VHS.”

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Verona and Essex County have begun increased enforcement of speeding near VHS.

Verona has asked for another review of the study on Fairview Avenue traffic, the town and county have stepped up enforcement of speed limits, and Essex County is saying that it did not make the decision that a traffic light by VHS is not warranted.

At the November 10 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Rui Dionisio had attributed the decision to deny a traffic light at the corner of Fairview and Sampson drive to the county. But Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. sent a message through his Twitter feed (@Joe_D_EssexExec) today that that conclusion came from the consultant who did the study and no application for a light had been made to the county:

“I believe it is an incorrect statement to say that the county has decided against installing a traffic light on Fairview Avenue by the High School because, at this time, the township and the Board of Education have not submitted any application to the county.

“Before counties and municipalities install traffic signals–or make any changes that affect traffic flow–a ‘warrant study’ has to be completed to determine if the changes meet requirements set forth by the state. In this case the Township of Verona hired Klein Traffic Consulting to perform the study. On page 7 of the report, Klein concludes ‘that no warrants are met for the intersection of Fairview Avenue with Sampson Drive. According to the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, a traffic control signal should not be installed unless one or more of the warrants described above are satisfied. Based on the above analysis, a traffic signal is not justified at the intersection of Fairview Avenue with Sampson Drive.’ Because the township’s consultant deemed a traffic signal was not warranted, there has been no application to the county.

“As always, our Public Works Department works cooperatively with our municipal partners and, when a course of action is determined, we will be ready to assist the township and school board.”

MyVeronaNJ, which had called and emailed Essex County prior to publishing its November 18 story on the traffic light, contacted the Board of Education about the county’s statement. BOE President John Quattrocchi said today that when the BOE went over the report, it was not aware that the document had not gone to the county. “The fact that it never went to the county was alien to us,” said Quattrocchi, noting that BOE was under the impression that because Fairview is a county road, the study had been done by the county. “That conclusion was wrong,” he added. On the night that the BOE reviewed the report, a school staffer had narrowly escaped serious injury when his car was sideswiped on Fairview in a hit and run. A staff car was also sideswiped in October 2014, the superintendent’s car was totaled that same month and a student’s car was t-boned as he turned from Franklin Street towards VHS.

Interim Township Manager Mitchell Stern confirmed that Verona had commissioned the traffic study, which was conducted between October 9 and 23, because he and Police Chief Doug Huber felt that a study done this past spring did not reflect the traffic volume that happens at Sampson and Fairview in the fall. It was the October report that the BOE reviewed at its November 10 meeting.

Stern said by email that he has spoken with Klein Traffic Consulting again to “review some concerns that I had with the report”. He did not elaborate on those concerns. He also said that he and Chief Huber, who retires from his position today, also met with county engineering officials to discuss other options to improve traffic safety at the intersection. As a result, both the Verona Police Department and the county are stepping up enforcement of the 25 mph school zone speed and more signs are being installed to alert drivers.

Verona was also asked to consider banning left turns from Sampson onto Fairview, as well as lefts from the school loop. But that doesn’t seem to be a viable option because it would likely divert traffic down Durrell Street that would turn right on Grove Avenue and increase traffic in front of F.N. Brown elementary school. Traffic on Fairview is also likely to rise once developer K. Hovnanian completes construction of the 460 townhouses planned for the site of the former Essex County Hospital Center, which is just north of Verona Pool.

The post VHS Traffic Light Update appeared first on MyVeronaNJ.

Verona High School’s Girls Learn International Club is hosting a movie night fundraiser on Thursday, December 10 at 7 p.m. in Verona High School’s Learning Commons.

The club is screening the documentary Miss Representation, which discusses the representation of women in the media. Popcorn and baked goods will be for sale.

There is no charge to see the movie but donations are encouraged. All the proceeds will be donated towards girls education via GLI’s network of international partner schools that our club helps fund.

You can watch the trailer for the movie here:

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First and second grade winners Madeleine Nogales and Corinne Mullings

This year’s theme for the poster and essay contest was “The Garden State On My Plate.” The students were asked to highlight some of the many fruits and vegetables grown in New Jersey and explain why it is important to eat these fruits and vegetables every day.

Students in kindergarten through fifth grade from 18 New Jersey schools participated in the poster contest. The New Jersey Agricultural Society chose one contest winner from each school at each grade level. Then from those winners, a statewide grand prize winner was chosen for each grade level.

The poster contest winners from Laning Avenue School are:

First Grade: Madeleine Nogales
Second Grade: Corinne Mullings
Third Grade: Victor Paz
Fourth Grade: Ryan Tsang

Third and fourth grade winners Victor Paz and Ryan Tsang.

The Learning Through Gardening program is one of three New Jersey Agricultural Society programs. The others are Farmers Against Hunger and the Agricultural Leadership Development Program. Farmers Against Hunger is a program dedicated to collecting fresh fruits and vegetables from farms, wholesalers, and food distributors across the state and distributing that food to people in need. The Agricultural Leadership Development program is an educational program for individuals involved in farming and agribusiness to help them become informed, articulate leaders.

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Pushcart Players new production, “Ellis Island: Gateway to America” looks at immigrants arriving in America in the early 1900s. (Photo by Terrence Burnett)

Pushcart Players, the Verona-based, Emmy-nominated and award-winning touring theater for young audiences, has received a generous grant from The Montclair Foundation to support performances of their latest production: “Ellis Island: Gateway to America” in Montclair schools. The presentations will include post-performance discussions and workshops to enhance the arts education benefits of the program.

“Ellis Island: Gateway to America” takes a loving look at a small group of immigrants arriving in America in the early 1900s. They came seeking freedom, opportunity and a better life for themselves, their children, and their children’s children. The play follows this group’s early beginnings in the United States, and explores their impact on future generations up through the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.

“This new production provides strong curriculum connections to History and Social Studies,” said Ruth Fost, Pushcart co-founder and playwright of the piece. “With Pushcart’s trademark spin, it affords a powerful theater experience for young audiences. Further, it is timely in helping to understand the value, strength, and precious legacy of diversity provided by immigrants in our country.”

The Montclair Foundation is a nonprofit that awards grants to charitable organizations in the greater Montclair area. With giving in the areas of Family and Social Services, Community, and Arts and Education, The Foundation has supported more than seventy community organizations since its inception in 1979. Equally important is the Foundation’s strong commitment to the historic preservation of the Van Vleck House and Gardens for the education, cultural enrichment, and enjoyment of the region.

“The Foundation’s grant program is intended to support a broad range of activities that contribute to the quality of life in Montclair and it’s environs,” said Tina Jordan, Grants Chair. “We are delighted to be a part of the important work Pushcart does in our community.”

“Ellis Island: Gateway to America” features Layan Elwazani, Stacie Gogo, James Holden and JD Lynch, all playing myriad characters to illuminate the sweeping history and events of the story. Pushcart Players artistic director Paul Whelihan guides the production. Tony and Grammy Award winning arranger and composer Larry Hochman orchestrates the music. The production is stage managed by Robe Evanick and Sam Tucker.

Pushcart Players has traveled over 2 million miles nationally and abroad since 1974 to serve more than 8 million children and their families with meaningful theatre. From the White House to the little red schoolhouse, this dynamic company has received numerous state and private awards for excellence and innovation. A cast of professional Equity actors and stage managers come with complete scenery, lighting and sound systems, making every performance adaptable to any location.

For further information on this or any of Pushcart’s programs and services, contact Pushcart Players at 973.857.1115 or information@pushcartplayers.org; visit the website at www.pushcartplayers.org.

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Yvette McNeal and David Galbierczyk, principals of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, are proud to announce the names of those sixth-grade students who have earned academic recognition during the first marking period of this school year 2015-2016.

These students have qualified for the high honors award by receiving an A grade in every school subject:

Evan Bannon, Aidan Bermeo, Alyssa Casalino, Abigail Cleary, John Cleaver, Jasmine Cuartas-Ruiz, Jessica Day, Andrew Della Fera, Sabrina Farro, Julianne French

Maya Golebieski, Nicolas Handler, Giselle Jandoli, Ava Keating, Lauren Kobernick, Nicholas LaBruno, Dennis Liu

Addison Marriott, Kayla Martino, Ella Mathewson, Kaitlyn McCaffrey, James McHugh, Christopher Petrino, Carly Renna, Sebastian So, Emily Strlekar, Allyson Volpe, Annalie Ying

The names of some students who qualified for the High Honor Roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

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Yvette McNeal and David Galbierczyk, principals of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, are proud to announce the names of those sixth-grade students who have earned academic recognition during the first marking period of this school year 2015-2016.

These students have qualified for the honors award by receiving an A or B grade in every school subject:

Sofia Albanese, Rose Arias, Milo Attal, Dermot Badman, Zachary Benanchietti, Sara Bochicchio, Emily Bosco, Joshua Boyle, Alek Breitenbach

Michael Caggiano, Sadie Cantwell, Anthony Collucci, Julian Colon, Dylan Conway, Samantha Costigan, Christian Cunningham, Marcos Czupak

Nathalie De Leon, Matteo DeVito, Emma Derderian, Christian Despecci, Luca DiNatale, Ashley Duhaney, Stefano Farro, Liliana Freire Pires, Viviana Freire Pires

Jamie Gabriel, Megan Gallagher, John Ghingo, William Giarrusso, Angelina Guarducci, David Held, Anders Heyniger, Emma Hogan, Lucy Hogan, Alana Holton, Katherine Hunt

Nicholas Jacobsen, Arian Jasaraj, Meghan Kenneally, Amelia Koellhofer, Michael Kosulin, Christian Loparnos, Jacquelyn Loudon, Kamdyn Matthews, John McHugh, Ella Moore, Sean Mulligan

Gianna Napoli, Eleanor Newman, James Ortiz, Amy Ostermayer, Joseph Park, John Piro, Peter Popowich, Sophia Pruneau

Ethan Randall, Lindsey Rawding, Faith Reed, Tanner Reed, Connor Robinson, Thomas Sabo, Sofia Saj, Connor Santos
Joseph Sargenti, Shalena Seepaul, Lydia Shamin, Emma Sheehan, David Sidrak, Nicholas Socci

Sabrina Thompson, Lauren Tracey, Emma Triggiano, Emily Vallone, Dianne Valverde, Zachary Van Wagner, Naizha Wegesa, Emma Zalewski, Giovanni Zerbini, Paige Zickerman, Tyler Zimany

The names of some students who qualified for the Honor Roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

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Tonight at 7:30 p.m., the Verona High School Music Department will present its annual holiday concert, with performances by the VHS Concert Band, Verona Jazz and Beyond, the VHS Concert Choir and the Jazz Vocal Ensemble.

The Concert Band, directed by Erik Lynch, will perform “Christmas Legends” by Gary Gilmore, and the familiar and popular “Nutcracker Suite” by Tchaikovsky. Also on the instrumental side, Verona Jazz and Beyond, directed by Max Morden, will feature performances of “Little Liza Jane,” “Shake Up Christmas,” and the crowd-pleasing “Run Rudolph Run.”

Director Judy Szybist will lead the Jazz Vocal Ensemble in renditions of “White Winter Hymnal,” made popular by Pentatonix, and “Carol of the Bells.” The VHS Concert Choir, under the direction of Claire Ma, will perform two Hebrew folk songs – “Oseh Shalom” and “Hine Ma Tov,” which features a guest violinist, as well as “Mary Sat a-Rockin” by Greg Gilpin.

As always, alumnae of the program and all music lovers will be invited to join in the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s “Messiah” to cap off the evening.

The concert will be held in the Verona High School auditorium, 151 Fairview Avenue. Admission is free.

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Yvette McNeal and David Galbierczyk, principals of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, are proud to announce the names of those seventh-grade students who have earned academic recognition during the first marking period of this school year 2015-2016.

These students have qualified for the high honors award by receiving an A grade in every school subject:

Kristen Brown, Tyler DaCosta, Gianna Ehrhardt, RioMarie Gagnon, Katherine Hipp, Jack Lambert, Luke Lambert, Gabriel Lugo, Melanie Naeris, Benjamin Niesmertelny, Emma Ramsthaler, Grace Russo, Karina Squilanti, Veronica Valera, Sophia Villani, Mary Wallace, Emily Wynne

The names of some students who qualified for the High Honor Roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

The post High Honor Roll: Grade 7, 1st Marking Period 2015-2016 appeared first on MyVeronaNJ.

Yvette McNeal and David Galbierczyk, principals of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, are proud to announce the names of those seventh-grade students who have earned academic recognition during the first marking period of this school year 2015-2016.

These students have qualified for the honors award by receiving an A or B grade in every school subject:

Diana Aleynikov, Peter Alfano, Britney Allteni, Iviana Anderson, Ronald Arias, Anna Barile, Jaelyn Barkley, Matthew Barnett, Antonio Belotta, Ethan Beninghof, Grace Boutcher, Gabriel Breitenbach, Matthew Brown, Zachary Bucher

Olivia Camuti, Julia Caprari, Leonardo Celi, Nia Chesney, Byron Chu, Cailan Compierchio, Michael Dastis, Hannah Davey, Matthew Day, Jacqueline DeVivo, Derek Diskant, Aidan Dyer

Angel Fauerbach, Dylan Ferrara, Keith Fraser, Lia Gardner, Olivia Gasin, Sofia Guide, Mete Gumusayak, Maryclare Hahula, Ryan Hajtovik, Katherine Hensal, Paige Hensal, Audrey Hoffman, Peter Hoogterp, Andrew Hunt, Isabella Hussar

Claire Jackson, Kara Johansen, Sophia Josephson, Maggie Kenny, Geena Klinger, Robert Leland, John Lonsinger, Jessica Loudon, Breianna Magardino, Thomas Manganello, Laila Martes, Kyle McCaffrey, Grace McKeown, Andrew Meyer, Jeffrey Monacelli, Thomas Monroe, Dylan Munjack

Bridget O’Donnell, William O’Donnell, Nikhil Parekh, Thomas Radigan, Emma Rice, Alexander Rodner, Kathryn Romanyshyn, Natalie Romanyshyn, Madison Ruggiero

Renee Schuldiner, Buster Shick, Evan Silvia, Gerard Sona, Taylor Spinelli, Trevor Spinelli, Jordan Stafford, Savannah Szamborski, Steven Tafuri, Lia Tortoriello, Arthea Valderrama, Joshua S. Vargas, Graham Weber, Drew Weisser, Catherine Welsh, Griffin Willner, Daniel Zamloot, Alison Zanders, Quinn Zebrowski

The names of some students who qualified for the Honor Roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

The post Honor Roll: Grade 7, 1st Marking Period 2015-2016 appeared first on MyVeronaNJ.

Yvette McNeal and David Galbierczyk, principals of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, are proud to announce the names of those eighth-grade students who have earned academic recognition during the first marking period of this school year 2015-2016.

These students have qualified for the high honors award by receiving an A grade in every school subject:

Ashley Baumgard, Abigail Bermeo, Alyssa Deo, Christian Dionisio, Carolyn Feeley, Eva Fiore, Amanda Galarowicz, Maxine Haralambiev, Rebecca Katsios

Christopher Lakin, Sloan Lawless, Margaret Lonsinger, Chloe Mathewson, Caitlin McKeown, Gabriella Montagna, David Navarro, Alessandra Newman

Emily Osborne, Mia Pego, Erin Petrino, Rebecca Siclari, Jessica Sidrak, Catherine Swanstrom, Emily Weisser

The names of some students who qualified for the High Honor Roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

The post High Honor Roll: Grade 8, 1st Marking Period 2016-2016 appeared first on MyVeronaNJ.

Yvette McNeal and David Galbierczyk, principals of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, are proud to announce the names of those eighth-grade students who have earned academic recognition during the first marking period of this school year 2015-2016.

These students have qualified for the honors award by receiving an A or B grade in every school subject:

Brooke Anquillare, Elijah Baker, Madeline Bello, Erika Boone, Stephanie Boyle, Nikolai Bujnowski, Mikayla Bush, William Butler

Brianna Camp, Arianna Canal, Julia Capriglione, Andrew Castillo, Alejandro Celi, Alexander Cheung, Joseph Ciccolini, Simone Conforti, Renata Curcio

Jenna Da Rin, Colleen Dennis, Margot Deutsch, Richard DiGeronimo, Kiernan Dunphy, Kiera Egan, Monica Egnezzo, Meaghan Elliott, Andrew Emanuilidis

Ethan Forrest, Austin Frank, Skyler Freedman, Alexa Friedman, Clara Frizzi

Alena Gabbe, Jenna Gabbe, Luke Gaccione, Will Gaccione, Kylee Gallagher, Madison Gallagher, Antonio Giannini, Alexandra Gluzberg, Maggie Gorman, Julia Grise

Emily Hack, Maximilian Handler, Olivia Hasel, Patrick Hogan, Julia Holland, Nicole Imbriano, Antoinietta Johnson, Griffin Jordan

Anna Konrad-Parisi, Nicolas Kozachuk, John Lermi, Priya Limbachiya, Tess Lucanie, Steven Luehs, Tristan Lugo

Steven Macawili, Nina Machnowski, Harry Mastrogiannis, Jake McConnachie, Bryan McKeen, Jasmine Mickens, Thomas Mulligan, Aidan Murphy

Kathleen Nagy, Nicholas Napoli, Jeanette Nguyen, Gillian O’Donnell, Leah Pandian, Jimin Park, Liam Patel, Belinda Pecci, Nickolos Pilauri

Alyssa Raimondi, Caitlin Remler, Adam Renna, Jenna Romano, Thomas Romano, Jack Rysavy

Jacqueline Serino, Rachel Seubert, Sara Sexton, Jhil Sharma, Abigail Shorter, Isaac Skrivanic, Michael Sluck, Eric Song, Jeremiah Strippoli, Brady Swanstrom

Andrew Tracy, Ethan Triggiano, Olivia Vogel, David Wallace, Jordan Warner, Kelly Waterman, Rebecca Wenzel-Rideout, Henry Wertz, Patrick Yeates, Jenika Ying, Samuel Zamloot, Alexander Zebrowski

The names of some students who qualified for the Honor Roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

The post Honor Roll: Grade 8, 1st Marking Period 2015-2016 appeared first on MyVeronaNJ.

On Wednesday, December 16, Laning Avenue School held its Holiday Concert. The choral presentations were directed by Vincent Peri and the instrumental ensemble was directed by Max Morden.

Happy holidays!

The post Laning Holds Holiday Concert appeared first on MyVeronaNJ.

On the evening of November 13, 2015, terrorists affiliated with the extremist group ISIS carried out a large-scale attack on numerous public venues in Paris. These areas included the national stadium, the Bataclan concert hall, as well as various restaurants and cafes throughout the city; in total, six locations were attacked, resulting in the death of 130 people and the injury of an additional 368.

The horrors of that night unfolded on the news, where people watched with horror as images of police cars, SWAT teams, and covered bodies were shown and the panic of France conveyed as the Eiffel Tower went dark and the French borders were closed. People in the United States watched with a simultaneous empathy but disconnect; they could relate the attacks to the events of 9/11, but felt withdrawn because nothing could be done.

However, the Verona High School French Club allowed Americans to fully connect with the French as the club collected money at the football game on Saturday, November 21. The club set up a table at the home game and sold handmade bracelets and ribbons, in addition to lollipops. Announcements were made before the game and during halftime, informing those attending the game that the club was collecting money to donate to the Red Cross in order to support the victims of the Paris attacks. In addition, the Marching Maroon and White proudly sported the ribbons to show their solidarity. Through the donations and support of the community members, the club was able to raise just over $500, which will be promptly donated to the relief effort in France.

But the amount of money raised was not the only remarkable thing about the French Club; the students that started the idea, created the products, and manned the table were truly notable. I came up with the idea of raising money and donating it to the Red Cross after witnessing the atrocities of the attacks. As a French student, French Club member, and volunteer with the American Red Cross, I approached my French teacher Eugenie Mordkovich with the idea of a table at the upcoming football game. The idea immediately caught on, and preparations for the Saturday game began that Monday.

French Club members worked tirelessly during lunch, after school, and at home to create red, white, and blue bracelets and pins. After realizing the amount of bracelets that would be needed to be enough, all French students got involved as they worked on the products during their French classes. Every French student assisted, as well as some who just wanted to support the cause.

Everyone did this without the promise of volunteer hours or the chance to show off their “humanity” to colleges. Not one minute of work counted towards volunteer hours to become a member of National Honor Society, the main motivation to do volunteer work. The actions of the students were purely motivated by the desire to help the country whose language the students had been studying for countless years. The money being donated shows that France will continue to be a strong country that will recover from the attacks—“Vive la France!” But the efforts of the French students also show that honest-to-goodness volunteering is not dead either—“Vive la Volunteering!”

Special thanks to the administration of Verona High School, French teacher Eugenie Mordkovich, band director Erik Lynch, all French Club members, all French students, other Verona High School teachers and students, and the members of the community who donated.

The post ‘Vive La Volunteering!’ appeared first on MyVeronaNJ.