Joshua Cogdill, principal of Verona High School, has announced the names of the ninth-grade students who have achieved honor roll recognition during the third marking period of the 2017-2018 school year.

These students have qualified for the high honors award by attaining all “A” grades:

Ronald Arias, Kristen Brown, Amanda Caldera, Julia Caprari, Cailan Compierchio, Tyler DaCosta, Matthew Day, Gianna Ehrhardt,

RioMarie Gagnon, Olivia Gasin, Carlie Goldstein, Mete Gumusayak, Peter Hoogterp, Claire Jackson, Kara Johansen, Sophia Josephson,

Jack Lambert, Robert Leland, Breianna Magardino, Sean Maida, Leila Marcillo-Gomez, Madison Nigro, Bridget O’Donnell, Cayla Okafor,

Nikhil Parekh, Evan Silvia, Savannah Szamborski, Steven Tafuri, Arthea Valderrama, Veronica Valera, Sophia Villani, Emily Wynne, Daniel Zamloot

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.

Yvette McNeal and David Galbierczyk, principals of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, are proud to announce the names of those fifth grade students who have earned academic recognition during the third marking period of this school year 2017-2018.

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

Ella Barchie, Kelly Barrow, Connor Barshay, Alison Carvalloza, Owen Chanana, Angelina Codey, Mairi D’Andrea, Giada DeLorenzo, Sydney Ehrich, Ava Evans,

Luke Fenton, Sydney Fradette, Dylan Frey, Stephen Gaffney, Jonna Garcia, Jacqueline Gardner, Benjamin Garnet, Molly Hayter, Danielle Imbriano, Christian Kaulback, Riley Kenrick, Shaina Kogan,

Isabella Lambert, Jack Latson, Zia Mahmood, Aiden Main, Sadie McMahan, Lily Nachbaur, Maeve Nachbaur, Victoria Niziolek, Charlotte North, Frank Orrei,

Vincenza Palma, Victor Paz, Kaitlyn Pietrucha, Jackson Pope, Matthew Raff, Samantha Repoli, Mason Rossi, Luke Sampers, Ella Scipione, Jane Sorger, Kaelin Walsh, Jessica Yu, Nathaniel Zimmer

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.

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 third marking period of this school year 2017-2018.

These students have qualified for the honors award by attaining all “A” and “B” grades:

Kate Adornato, Tanzila Ahmed, Juliet Alkaysi, Samantha Andersen, Leonel Andrade, Aidan Azarowicz, Marissa Barnett, Sophie Beaubouef, Daniel Bernardino, Tessa Bichalski, Sean Brannan, Demitri Byrne,

Evan Carlson, Nicholas Ciccolini, Brian Cleaver, Shane Costigan, Mackenzie Cruz, Aeryn Curren, Cara DeMars, Robert Donohue, Gabriella Egnezzo, Cara Ehrhardt, Kayla Esposito,

Jack Fatatis, Ethan Fersch, Nicholas Fiorita, Charles Fjeldal, Finnegan Freeman, Olivia Fuentes, Gavin Fuentez, Lauren Gawley, Daniel Ghingo, Colin Giarrusso, Brandon Greene, Kaya Gumusayak,

Joshua Hayes, Andrew Healy, Jan Eric Heyniger, Carley Holland, Tyler Holland, Anna Hoogterp, Dominic Houck, Matthew Huaman, Leila Isble, Grace Keane, Emma Kirby, Anya Klinger, Daniel Kozachuk, Marley Kramer,

Violet Liaukus, Julia Loudon, Vindhyan Marimuthu, Jake Marion, Emma McDevitt, Katelyn Meehan, Peter Merle, Dillon Millar, Gavin Moore, Eoin Moy,

Alexandra Palma, Luigi Pantano, Lauren Paz, Nadia Prieto, Ryan Radigan, Agnik Ram, Samantha Rizzi, Danica Rosenbloom, Lauren Ryan, Marni Shepard, Nixon Shick, Mia Sierchio, Nicolae Stanescu,

Anthony Tedesco, Emily Theobald, Anna Till, Jasmine Traficante, Matthew Vaccaro, Joseph Vallone, Ceili Van Derzee, Mia Viganola, Michael Villani, Levi Wegesa, Elliott Ziebert

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.

Cast members (l-r) Matteo Celleri, Alex Corrigan, Brittany McFarlane, Brandon Tomeo and Kaitlyn Gibson

In an effort to further embrace the arts and give students exciting new challenges, Our Lady of the Lake School (OLL) staged its first musical on May 4 and 5, performing to a standing-room-only audience. With 21 student actors, 11 crew members, two teachers, two high school alums and several dedicated parent volunteers, the project was brought to fruition in just a few months.

The effort was embraced by Brittany McFarlane, OLL’s fifth grade teacher with a love of theater who took on her latest project wholeheartedly. When not coaching the school forensics team or teaching reading, McFarlane loves to take on a challenge. Her latest project is testament to this. This winter, in partnership with Jihan “Gigi” Hanna, the school music director, and the full support of Principal Benjamin Ronquillo, McFarlane took on a dream project, introducing twenty-odd middle school students to the world of performance. Memorizing lines, practicing dance steps and singing their hearts out these kids trained for three months.

McFarlane wanted to share her enthusiasm for theatre with her students. She shared that with her after years of performing herself. “This was my first time behind the scenes and I had the privilege of igniting a love for theater in the hearts of these young performers,” McFarlane said. “In addition, our school community had the opportunity to see the unbelievable talent that was just waiting to be put in the spotlight. I am beyond proud of the students for creating a breathtaking show and hope that they continue to share their passion and their love of theater. This musical brought our school joy, excitement and camaraderie. It was a great experience not only for the kids who participated but also for the community at large,” she concluded.

Hanna, the music director, who also maintains a music studio of her own, oversaw all aspects of the music including independent rehearsals for the solos, piano accompaniment throughout the show and full cast rehearsals. “Working on this musical with the students was a labor of love,” said Hanna. “It was a tremendous undertaking as not only the music of each character needed to be perfected but also the timing. It was especially rewarding to hear the passion in the voices of the students as they sang and to witness the collaboration of all the little pieces coming together to formulate a complete musical. They truly blossomed on stage,” she concluded.

For many of the students, it was their first experience working with choreographers. Isabel Duran and Grace Corrigan, both students from Mount Saint Dominic Academy and OLL alumni, took on the demanding task of getting 21 cast members all in sync for the performance and developed routines that the group could master. McFarlane took on the full cast rehearsals that included things like set design, crew being trained in all aspects of lighting, sound management and prop delivery.

The staff chose the musical (currently featured on Broadway) since it is one act play – hoping it would be both accessible and easier to stage. The play is about an orphan peasant girl on a tropical island who is adopted by peasants and dreams of a life bigger than her own. Part fairytale, part romance, the plot embraces social divisions and teaches about the transcendence of love allows the audience to explore a variety of emotionally charged scenarios.

The performance was greeted with great enthusiasm to a packed house for both evening performances. Proceeds from the event are being used to further develop opportunities for a drama club and future arts programs. For those interested in making donations to this program, please contact OLL Principal Benjamin Ronquillo at 973-239-1160.

Our Lady of the Lake School in Verona is committed to the Word of God through living out the Good News of Jesus Christ. A supportive educational team of students, staff, parents, and community aims at providing a creative, Christian learning environment. An emphasis is placed on developing students’ individual abilities, promoting social awareness, and encouraging them to become responsible, contributing members of church and society. 

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 third marking period of this school year 2017-2018.

These students have qualified for the honors award by attaining all “A” and “B” grades:

Alyssa Abello, Victoria Aleynikov, Gabriel Ali, Neva Anil, David Baird, Christopher Baker, Julia Balogh, Malachy Black, Leila Brolly, Gia Bujnowski,

Jadyn Chu, Logan Colon, Krystal Costa, Samantha Davis, Emma DePaul, Alana Drost, Cameron Duffy, Kaitlyn Dunn, Kara Dunphy, Xander Francis, Sophia Freda, Liam Frey,

Sofia Greco, Nicole Hagaman, Jordyn Hannigan, Caitlyn Heimerle, Jack Huze, Sarah Knoetig, Antonio Kousoulou, Michael Krusznis, Isabella Lachina, Bridget Lonergan,

Logan Machnowski, Isabelle Malanga, Zachary Markowski, Zoe Matias, Sabine Matta, Hadasha Merced, Owen Merle, Anthony Nigro, Amelia Niziolek,

Samantha Pecora, Abigail Petruzzi, Nicholas Priori, Patricia Rakova, Sara Remler, Brooke Rienecker, Jake Rizzi, Grace Schulke, Rebecca Sconzo, Trevor Semeraro, Nadine Sharabi, Maura Shea, Josephine Shust, Abigail Smith, Juliana Squilanti, Matthew Steitz,

Erika Thompson, Dylan Toriello, Sofia Ulukaya, Victoria Valese, Ashlee Vargas, Hannah Vargas, Alexander Vasquez, Amanda Visone, Jacob Vogel, Serena Warner, Nandi Webb, Fernanda Webster, Brooke Wiese, Lyndsay Williams, Dionisia Yanniotis

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.

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 third marking period of this school year 2017-2018.

These students have qualified for the honors award by attaining all “A” and “B” grades:

Sofia Albanese, Rose Arias, Dermot Badman, Alyssa Balerio, Aidan Bermeo, Derek Bernardino, Joshua Boyle, Alek Breitenbach, Keyanna Brown,

Michael Caggiano, Ava Capriglione, Abigail Castillo, Abigail Cleary, Anthony Collucci, Cassandra Conklin, Tyler Coppola, Christian Cunningham, Jayden Czupak, Marcos Czupak,

Nathalie De Leon, Matteo DeVito, Luca DiNatale, Scott Duffy, Liliana Freire Pires, Viviana Freire Pires, Jamie Gabriel, Megan Gallagher, William Giarrusso, Olivia Giessen, Maya Golebieski, Aimee Griffin, Angelina Guarducci,

Nicolas Handler, Anders Heyniger, Emma Hogan, Lucy Hogan, Katherine Hunt, Nicholas Jacobsen, Meghan Kenneally, Collin Knight, Lauren Kobernick, Michael Kosulin,

Jacob Lapid, Alyssa Lipesky, Jacquelyn Loudon, Ben Mackey, Kayla Martino, Kaitlyn McCaffrey, John McHugh, Ryan McMahon, Ella Moore, Sean Mulligan, Eleanor Newman,

Alyssa Pichardo, John Piro, Peter Popowich, Sophia Pruneau, Ethan Randall, Lindsey Rawding, Connor Robinson, Thomas Sabo, Henry Sampers, Shalena Seepaul, Emma Sheehan, Stella Shepard,

Olivia Tedesco, Sabrina Thompson, Lauren Tracey, Emma Triggiano, Michael Vaccaro, Dianne Valverde, Zachary Van Wagner, Daniel Vecchio, Naizha Wegesa, Cael Zebrowski, Christopher Zysk

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.

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 third marking period of this school year 2017-2018.

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

Amelia Axelrod, Evan Bannon, Sara Bochicchio, Emily Bosco, Alyssa Casalino, John Cleaver, Dylan Conway, Samantha Costigan, Jasmine Cuartas-Ruiz, Jessica Day, Andrew Della Fera, Emma Derderian, Christian Despecci, Ashley Duhaney, Sabrina Farro, Stefano Farro, Julianne French, John Ghingo, Charles Giordano, Dashiell Greenberg, David Held, Alana Holton, Giselle Jandoli, Alexandre Jean, Ava Keating, Amelia Koellhofer, Nicholas LaBruno, Christian Loparnos, Addison Marriott, Ella Mathewson, Kamdyn Matthews, James McHugh, Aidan Millar, Gianna Napoli, Christopher Petrino, Faith Reed, Carly Renna, Sofia Saj, David Sidrak, Sebastian So, Emily Strlekar, Emily Vallone, Allyson Volpe, Annalie Ying, Emma Zalewski, Giovanni Zerbini, Paige Zickerman

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.

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 third marking period of this school year 2017-2018.

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

Sydney Aiello, Brooke Algieri, Kendall Aromando, Jane Bartell, Stephen Bartell, Emily Baumgard, Trent Bednar, Aaliyah Best, Andrew Boyle,

Nicholas Canal, Marissa Carsillo, Amanda Cavallo, Raymond Chesney, Izabelle Cheung, Cassandra Collucci, Courtney Cullen, Emma Dillane, George Donnelly,

Olivia Egan, Emily Heimall, Kimberly Chang Horton, Charles Kenrick, Philip Konrad-Parisi, Frank Liggio, Natalia LoCurto, Bridget Lonsinger,

Ryan Meyer, Kayla Mroz, Sophia Nunez, Katherine Repoli, Amelia Wong, Sarah Wynne, Stephanie 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.

Forest Avenue School’s annual car wash will now be held on Saturday, May 19, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost is $5 per car.

All proceeds from this event will go toward purchasing a legacy gift for the school from the current fourth grade students. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Forest Avenue School is located at 118 Forest Avenue in Verona.

If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Algieri or Kristen Donahue at forest.ave.sca@gmail.com. If another rain date is needed, it will be Saturday, June 2.

Verona High School’s student news site, The Fairviewer, has compiled its annual list of the post-graduation plans of the senior class.

Three members of the VHS class of 2018 will be serving their country by enlisting in the military, though The Fairviewer does not indicate which branch of service they will be entering. One student will be taking a gap year, a year off between high school and college.

Forty-two seniors will be continuing their education in New Jersey, at colleges ranging from Montclair State University to Rutgers University, with two students enrolling in Stevens Institute of Technology and another two at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). 

Pennsylvania and Connecticut are top destinations for those going out of state, but VHS ’18 will also be headed to universities in Alabama, California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Vermont. Three students will be doing college out of the United States: one in Canada, one in Italy and one in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia.

VHS ’18’s valedictorian, Brian Feury, is going to the University of Notre Dame, while its salutatorian, Andrew Siegelin, will be attending Georgetown University.

The Fairviewer compiles its list from student interviews and the list does not include all the schools to which these students were accepted. MyVeronaNJ.com will be profiling the post-graduation plans of several Class of 2018 students as part of its annual “What’s Next” series. You can read the full Fairviewer list here.

The Verona Board of Education sent this statement about the 2018-2019 public school budget to school parents on Thursday evening:

We are proud of the progress of the Verona Public Schools, with the efforts of our dedicated teachers and administrators, highly engaged and intellectually curious students, and supportive Board of Education and parental community. Our philosophy is one where we believe that all students can achieve at a high level and maximize their full potential.

The Verona Public Schools engages in the budget process and public Board of Education discussions each year. Information regarding this year’s school budget process is provided on the district website. We encourage members of our community to review the budget presentations and public discussions. Our district administration is currently in the process of conducting neighborhood school discussions with parents through each SCA. These conversations have been informative for our community members.

A historical review of the Verona budget history provides insight along with the implications of a 2% cap and reductions to State aid since 2011. A review of the comparative spending guide below highlights a lean operating budget low in spending in the majority of categories.

Budget decisions are made by examining the needs of the district aligned to our community strategic plan while mitigating the impact to our classrooms. Adjustments were necessary this year to reduce operating costs and staffing positions in order to balance the budget. Any reduction to teaching positions are made as it relates to course enrollment projections which are driven by student and parent interest. In addition, the elimination of one administrative and two custodial positions were necessary.

We encourage community members to review the factual information in these documents on our website along with listening to the BOE meeting discussions to become more informed on the budget process and how decisions are made to minimize the impact to our classrooms. The following information is provided on the district website each year. The budget details for this year may be accessed via the hyperlinks below for anyone who would like to understand the budget process and the constraints that impact school financing:

Budget Powerpoint PDF Presentation-April 24, 2018

Comparative Spending Guide

User Friendly Budget Document

Board of Education Meeting on April 24th

Board of Education Meeting on May 8th

Superintendent Dr. Rui Dionisio and Business Administrator Cheryl Nardino are continuing to make presentations on the budget to school SCAs and the community. They will be at Forest on Monday, May 21 at 7:30 p.m.; at HBW on Wednesday, May 23, at 7 p.m.; and at Laning on Tuesday, May 29, at 7 p.m. All of the presentations are open to the public.

The Verona Board of Education has posted the agenda for its next meeting, which will be held on Tuesday, May 22.

The meeting will open with three presentations. Brookdale Avenue School Principal Nicole Stuto and some of the elementary school’s students will show how they have been using Flipgrid, a video-based discussion platform. Carol Thomas, vice president of the Verona Education Association, which is the union for Verona’s teachers and paraprofessionals, will make the annual VEA board presentation.

There will also be a presentation on full-day kindergarten by Verona’s elementary school principals and Charles Miller, Verona’s director of curriculum, instruction and assessment. In March, the BOE approved a resolution to ask for a public vote on creating a full-day kindergarten program in November. (The second public question approved at that meeting, on mental health, will be the subject of a BOE presentation in the fall). If the $215,000 plan is approved, it will result in a permanent increase in the public school district’s tax levy and the addition to our taxes would have to be used exclusively for full-day kindergarten. A previous ballot question on full-day kindergarten failed six years ago.

The BOE will also be approving the calendar for the 2019-2020 school year and revisions to the 2018-2019 school calendar, among other business.

The meeting, which will be held in the Learning Commons at Verona High School, begins at 7 p.m. It is open to the public. You can read the full agenda here.

The BOE’s website contains information on meeting dates, agendas and resolutions, Board policies, and videos of BOE meetings going back to the 2011-2012 school year.

HBW students (l-r) Meghan Kenneally, Emma Sheehan, and Ella Mathewson, and their teacher, Rebecca Hadjiloucas, at a History Day winners’ circle workshop at William Paterson University on May 9.

Three eighth grade students from H.B. Whitehorne Middle School have been chosen to represent the state of New Jersey at the 2018 National History Day contest at the University of Maryland, College Park. There, they will join other students from across the country to celebrate their historical research and compete for a coveted national medal.

Eighth-graders Ella Mathewson, Emma Sheehan, and Meghan Kenneally earned top honors at the New Jersey History Day state competition held at William Paterson University of New Jersey on May 5. New Jersey History Day is an educational program designed for students in grades 6-12. Throughout the school year, students conduct research of primary and secondary resources in order to prepare presentations based on an annual theme. The program culminates in a series of contests held at the regional, state, and national level.

The H.B. Whitehorne students created a website showcasing the historic importance of the women’s suffrage movement in connection with this year’s theme: conflict and compromise. Their website features primary source images, quotes, analysis of historical documents, and seeks to connect the women’s suffrage movement to continued progress surrounding women’s rights and equality in the present day.

The eighth-graders faced many of the same difficulties that established historians face when grappling with their own research. Selecting and narrowing down a topic, in addition to finding, evaluating, and interpreting sources, placed the students at the forefront of their own learning. This kind of problem-based inquiry establishes unique opportunities for discovery that textbooks and lectures simply cannot; it helps students bring social studies to life. Building research skills and practicing proper citations by working with Jennifer Kleinknecht, HBW’s media specialist, reinforces the importance of all stages of the research process. Additionally, while one of the greatest sources of nerves for the students has been in anticipating their presentation and interaction with judges, they all agree that this public speaking experience is valuable. In this way, Verona’s inclusion of the National History Day model is of significant advantage to students, especially in preparing them for the rigor of AP level courses at the high school and beyond, into college and career.

Their teacher, Rebecca Hadjiloucas, is proud of her students’ continued dedication to refining their historical argument and website design. She encourages students at the middle school who are interested in history to pursue the History Day elective, which is offered in the second marking period of their eighth grade year.

H.B. Whitehorne Middle School and the Verona School District congratulate Ella, Emma, and Meghan for their hard work and wish them continued success! For more information on New Jersey History Day, please contact the state coordinator at njhistoryday@wpunj.edu or visit the National History Day website at http://nhd/org .

Janki Parekh, a Verona High School alumna, receiving her Caldwell University Communication and Media Studies degree from the university’s president, Dr. Nancy Blattner on May 20.

Caldwell University celebrated its 76th annual commencement May 20 with a record-breaking number of graduates. The university awarded 502 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees.

President Nancy H. Blattner, Ph.D., presented doctoral students with their Ph.D. and Ed.D. degrees, graduate students with their Master of Arts, Master of Business Administration or Master of Science degrees, and undergraduates with their Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts or Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees.

Blattner asked the students to stay connected to their alma mater. “Return to this campus that has been your home for the past few years, and carry with you our core values of respect, integrity, community and excellence into your communities and workplaces.”

Graduates wore 100% recycled caps, gowns and tassles.

Madeline Burke, a 2015 graduate of Verona High School, will be heading to Florida later this week with the Worcester Polytechnic Institute women’s rowing team to compete in the NCAA Division III Championships for the first time in WPI program history.

Burke is the coxswain of WPI’s second varsity eight and a computer science major. Last year, she was one of 11 WPI women’s rowers to earn Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association National Scholar-Athlete status. Burke, who ran track and cross country for VHS, hasn’t been the only Veronan competing with WPI rowing: fellow junior David Bovich, who graduated from Saint Peter’s Prep, crews the men’s second varsity eight. The mens teams ended their season earlier in May at the National Invitational Rowing Championship (NIRC).

The women’s second varsity eight defeated Ithaca this past weekend in the NIRC petite final. It also split with Pacific Lutheran at the beginning of April and, like the varsity eight, has faced six of the seven Division III teams as Washington College did not make a trip to NIRC this season.

The women’s varsity eight has been a mainstay in the CRCA/USRowing Division III Coaches Poll the past three seasons, including the top ten during the past two springs. This past weekend, the third-ranked Engineers lived up to their ranking by finishing third to No. 1 Bates and No. 2 Ithaca at the National Invitation Rowing Championships. They also defeated Wesleyan twice, as well as Williams in the final and No. 10 William Smith in the morning heat. At the New England Rowing Championships, WPI again defeated the Cardinals twice while also topping Wellesley, Williams and No. 9 Tufts in the grand final.

Burke, far left, with her crew.

Verona High School students will once again exhibit their creative endeavors from this year’s curricular and extracurricular activities at the high school’s annual Creative Arts Festival on Wednesday, May 30, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Parents, families, friends, VHS graduates and the community are all invited to attend the annual event, which will be held at Verona High School.

The event is sponsored by the VHS chapter of the National Art Honor Society, with society officers and members setting up the displays and coordinating the evening’s activities. Art teacher Terry Sherman is the faculty advisor for the event and graphic design teachers Christina Sciacchitano and Helene McKelvey-Mclaughlin created the graphic design work for the evening.

The displays will be set up in the new and in the old gym. In the new gym, art, fashion, graphics, photography, English literature and world language projects will be on view. Art students will be doing free hand and face painting. Bracelets, handmade by VHS art students will be sold as a fundraiser to benefit Minette’s Angels, a Verona non-profit foundation supporting breast cancer patients and survivors. In addition, F.N. Brown art teacher Joni Jasterzbski will be painting Hearts of Hope.

In the old gym, CAD, STEM and STEAM, fabrication and design projects will be on display. At 8 p.m., CO2 Dragster Racing by the Engineering Club (a STEM project) will begin in the old gym. Throughout the night, the Engineering Club will be selling freshly popped organic popcorn, with the proceeds going to Minette’s Angels.

The evening will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the front lobby with vocal performances by VHS students under the direction of Sean Clancy and Judy Szybist. Instrumental performances will begin at 8:30 PM, under the direction of Erik Lynch, Taylor Reed, and Max Morden. At 8:30 p.m., the VHS Spotlight Players, under the guidance of Stephen Munoz, will perform student directed one-act plays in the Learning Commons.

The VHS art department wishes to extend a sincere thanks to Investor’s Bank for a generous grant of $5,000 for the new exhibition panels that we are using this year. We also wish to thank Clinton Glass in Verona for their donation of mirror and colored glass; the VEA for their Creative Arts Festival grant; and the SCA for the ongoing monetary support that the festival receives for supplies, decorations and materials needed each year to put the show together.

To The Editor:

The Laning Avenue School and Community Association would like to thank everyone who helped make our recent Garden Party Tricky Tray such a successful event.

We truly appreciate the support of DeCozen Chrysler Jeep Dodge; Fairview Insurance Agency Associates, Inc.; John Garcia Construction Co., Inc.; and Papasikos Orthodontics, our “Heart of the Community” sponsors. We also are grateful for the support of Early Explorers; The Freedman Family; Carolina and Rogerio Pezutto; and Prout Funeral Home, Inc., our “Student Achievement” sponsors.

We were fortunate to have so many local and national businesses, individuals and families donate wonderful Tricky Tray prizes, and we were delighted by the enthusiastic responses of our attendees. They reminded us of what a special place Verona is.

Last, but certainly not least, thanks to the faculty and staff of Laning Avenue School, especially Principal Howard Freund and Lisa Varuolo, who spent many hours working with our children to create prizes that were true works of art.

Rita Scelfo and Kristin Venezia
Co-Presidents
Laning Avenue School and Community Association

If you thought you were done with the PARCC test for this year, think again. Because of a screw up by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE), any New Jersey high school sophomore who did not sit for the test will have to take it, and do so almost immediately.

According to an email that Verona public schools sent to parents and guardians of the Class of 2020 today, the NJDOE issued a chart in August 2017 about graduation requirements and the PARCC to all state public school districts. Verona included that chart in a letter about the standardized test sent to parents this March. The chart indicated that students in the Class of 2020 could meet graduation requirements by getting a passing score on the PARCC assessments, or through certain SAT, ACT, or Accuplacer scores. For special education students, or general education students who didn’t satisfy the first two criteria, a district could submit a portfolio demonstrating proficiency to the department.

But on May 11, the NJDOE posted on its website that it had changed the Class of 2020 graduation requirements chart. It didn’t send a letter to school districts clarifying the post until a week later–the Friday before PARCC testing began at VHS. Verona public school officials, and others around the state, immediately demanded that the NJDOE grant a waiver to the Class of 2020 because the department made the mistake, not the schools. As of today, the department hasn’t granted a waiver or taken responsibility for the faulty chart.

The NJDOE’s new chart means that grade 10 students are required to take every PARCC Algebra 1 and English Language Arts 10 test until they pass them in order to graduate. They can’t qualify for the alternate pathways to graduation until they pass those tests.

Any sophomore who did not sit for the PARCC this week–and apparently there were a lot–must participate in make-up tests that will be held from Tuesday, June 5 through Friday, June 9. Verona is also going to hold makeup test days over the summer.

Sophomore parents were told today that they will get an email from VHS next week about whether their student has met PARCC testing high school graduation requirements. The district is asking anyone who does not get an email by Friday, June 1, to contact Mrs. Newman at the high school counseling department at (973) 571-2029 ext. 1015. If you want to call the NJDOE instead, that number is (609) 376-3500, or you can use the contact form here.

The Our Lady of the Lake School forensics team ended the year on a high note. During the very successful 2017-2018 season, the team placed third overall.

Individually, Marykate Dougherty won first place in the declamation category and Matteo Celleri placed first in humor. Dougherty came in second in the league for the year and Celleri, fourth place. In addition, Santiago Galvan was awarded 17th place for the year and newcomer Carla Granizo, 12th place.

OLL’s fifth and sixth graders will make up a strong team for next year and the school is looking forward to another great season.

On Tuesday, May 22, Verona High School inducted 50 juniors and seniors into the National Honor Society. The students* honored were:

Emily Andersen, Kathleen Ashley, Elizabeth Barile, Liliana Benanchietti, Angelo Benfante, Lauren Brown, Isabelle Buneo, Julia Burke,

Brandon Cariani, Sarah Carlucci, Maria Celentano, Philip Alexander Chivily, Hunter Coppola, Brendan Deleon, Jessica Derderian, Julia DiGeromino, Ariana Dyer,

Kelly Esposito, Margaret Evans, Megan Forrest, Maya Fortgang, Maria Gabriele, Kayla Golebieski, Elizabeth Hensal, Brianna Horton, Jarrod Keating, Mitch Kiwior,

Gillian Lamb, Carli Lavoie, Ally Madigan, Michael Maglione, Maeve McGinley, Ryan McKeown, Holly Montick, David Motley, Justin Munjack, Allison Naeris, Abigail Nochimson, Gabriel Quagliata,

Rebecca Seubert, William Sheehan, Elise Sidali, Victoria Socci, Daniela Trujillo, Colleen Whelan, Michael Willner, Emma Yee, Elyssia Yung, Alexander Ziolkowski

*One student elected to not release his/her name to the media.