Calendar for March/April 2015

3/25 ASVAB Testing

3/31-4/1 Teen Pep Workshop

4/3 – 4/8 School Closed – Spring Break

4/9 & 4/10 School Open – Snow Day make-ups

4/10 3rd Marking Period Ends

4/13 4th Marking Period Begins

4/15 PD Day (2 ½ Hour Delay for students)

4/16 – 4/19 “MARY POPPINS” Spring Musical

4/17 8th Grade S.H.I.P. Dance

4/20 – 4/21 PARCC End of Year – Math

4/22 – 4/23 PARCC End of Year – English

4/24 AP Exams Pre-Gridding

4/27 – 4/30 PARCC End of Year Make-ups

Note from the Principal

Spring is finally here and hopefully warm

and sunny days are ahead. Although the

winter weather kept adjusting our

schedules, it did not stop our students from

excelling in many areas. Inside you will

find many wonderful accomplishments that

will hopefully help you kick start a warm-

up to Spring.

Thanks to the efforts of great students,

outstanding teachers and supportive

community, our high performance as a

school over the last few years has created a

great opportunity to be honored by the U.S.

Department of Education. Voorhees High

School is one of nine schools in New Jersey

nominated by the NJ Department of

Education to apply for a National Blue

Ribbon School of Excellence Award. We,

of course, gladly accepted the nomination

and have recently submitted our

application. In September 2015, we will

receive notification if we have been

approved and if so, we will receive our

award in Washington D.C. in November

2015.

Sincerely,

Ron Peterson

Ron Peterson

Principal’s Newsletter Voorhees High School

Volume 4, Issue 3 March/April 2014-2015

Upcoming Events

Preparing Students with IEP’s and 504’s For A

Successful Transition to College

Date: May 7, 2015

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: Delaware Valley Regional High School Auditorium

When students with disabilities go to college, they enter a system where accommodations and

services are given in a very different way than they are in high school. For most students, the

changes will not be significant, but others may find that the services and adjustments they seek

are not available at the college they have chosen to attend.

The good news is that students can prepare for these changes by learning about college services

and researching available services at the colleges on their list. This presentation will give

families an overview of the laws in effect and the way they affect services, offer tips from the

research on college students as to how best prepare students with disabilities to be successful at

college, and show how students can research disability services at the colleges they are

considering. Families will leave knowing what makes students with disabilities successful at

college, what accommodations are commonly available, and what paperwork students should

bring with them in order to request accommodations.

Featured Speaker: Elizabeth C. Hamblet

Ms. Hamblet has worked both ends of the college transition, first as a high

school special education teacher and case manager, and then as a college learning disabilities

specialist for over a decade, first at Simmons College in Boston, and then at Rutgers University.

Since 2008, Ms. Hamblet has offered her presentations on transition at local school districts and

at national conferences. She is the author of 7 Steps for Success: High School to College

Transition Strategies for Student with Disabilities, and her work has appeared in the Journal of

College Admission, Raising Teens and Career Development for Exceptional Individuals.

RARITAN VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Raritan Valley Community College invites prospective students and their families to our

Spring Open House, hosting a series of events tailored to all academic interests. No matter

where you are in the college process, this event has a number of opportunities for you to learn

more about us, and how to join the RVCC community. Throughout the day you will have the

chance to attend workshops, meet with students, faculty, and staff from a number of different

departments, hear success stories from alumni, tour the campus, and more.

To attend the RVCC Spring Open House, we ask that you register on our website,

www.raritanval.edu/events. We look forward to welcoming you to campus on Saturday, March

28!

RVCC Honors College/NJ STARS Information Session

We will be hosting an Information Session for prospective honors-

caliber students:

Thursday, April 9th

6:00-8:00pm in the RVCC Atrium

If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to honors@raritanval.edu or

contact Greg DeSanctis at (908)526-1200 ext. 8966.

To learn more about the Honors College @ RVCC, please visit: www.raritanval.edu/honors

To learn more about NJ STARS, please visit: http://www.njstars.net

To be eligible for the RVCC Honors College, students must: - Have a minimum 3.5 GPA (unweighted)

- Be in the top 20 percent of your graduating class

(NOTE: If either of these criteria is not met, then a cumulative SAT score of 1700+ is

recommended)

To qualify for NJ STARS, students must: - Graduate in the top 15 percent of your high school class (based on your final class rank at the

time of graduation)

- Take a college placement test, and, if necessary, first complete developmental coursework

- Enroll full-time in an associate degree program at your home community college

- Show college-level readiness in Math & English by either submitting qualifying SAT/ACT

scores or taking the RVCC Math & English placement test

- Enroll in a minimum of 12 (maximum of 18) college-level credits per semester

- Maintain a 3.0 or higher grade point average

- Complete their associate’s degree within five (5) semesters

- Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application (listing RVCC)

and submit any financial aid documentation requested to complete or verify application data

within the NJ state deadlines

We look forward to seeing you at RVCC!

Student Achievements

The following students have work on display at the North Branch of the Hunterdon County Library in Clinton,

NJ for the month of March:

Christa Baldino

Chloe Demko

Avery DePaola

Jenna Graff

Alyssa McCabe

Kirsten Negri

Sierra Yetka

Sarah Whaley

Claire Whiston

Isabel Roppolo

Jonathan Welch

Collin Pfenninger

August Heithoff

Sadie Lipomanis

Sarah Raper

Alexandra Spencer

Bjorn-Eric Byrnes

Colton Curtis

Abigail Flynn

Megan Coward

Caleigh Flegg

Rachel Katzenberger

Erin Miners

Eleanor Trubert

Haley Vavrek

Jason Hassold

Naomi Rogers

Samantha Barinas

Students for Change

On Wednesday, February 4, 25 members of Students for Change traveled to Camden for a visit with

high school students in the city. The trip was part of Students for Change’s program to continue to

foster tolerance and acceptance between diverse groups. The Voorhees students and the students from

Urban Promise Academy participated in several group, relationship building activities. The trip also

included a tour of the city hosted by the principal of UPA and a junior student at the academy who was

able to educate the Voorhees students about some of the neighborhoods in which she and her friends

live. The group was then given a tour of the new Kroc Community Center and the students helped the

Salvation Army prepare hot food, cookies, and hot chocolate which was then taken to the bus depot

where VHS students walked around and handed out the warm treats to those in need. (See Photo

Below)

This year Mr. Brandt, VHS Video Instructor, along with senior, Collin Pfenninger and junior,

Diana Giambrone, came along on the bus to document the day. The idea was to produce a feature

story for The Morning Show that informs and enlightens our students to an impoverished area not too

far from their homes. Click on the link below to view the video.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5_FrBfS3fPxYW92Ul9sc0hnNEU/view?usp=sharing

Senior Mentors

Voorhees seniors volunteered their time once again to help High Bridge fourth grade students. On

Thursday, February 19, four seniors met with students in Mrs. Lynn Hughes’ class at the elementary

school to help them with their writing. The volunteer opportunity happens five times throughout the

year. Seniors leave the high school and work with the fourth graders in the fourth grade classroom.

Mrs. Hughes has the writing buddies work on creative pieces, character development, setting, essays,

grammar, and sentence structure.

Photos of VHS students with the High Bridge 4th Graders

Voorhees Students Make a Difference with Project C.A.R.E - Courage Awareness Respect

Exploration

The Voorhees High School FCCLA (Family Career and Community Leaders of America) Chapter in

New Jersey, under the leadership of Kavaughna Henry and Marissa Barradale, have created an

initiative that is titled PROJECT C.A.R.E. Each letter in the acronym C.A.R.E. is a word that also acts

as a goal of the project. These goals are courage, awareness, respect and exploration. The Chapter

members have reached out to an Orphanage in St.Lucia called The Holy Family Children’s home who

are in a constant need of food, supplies and support. They have gathered and sent non-perishable

foods, art supplies, and baby supplies to the home. The FCCLA Chapter members also wrote letters for

the children and adolescents who live at the home. The barrel was filled on January 30, 2015 and sent

on Friday, February 13, 2015.

The Voorhees FCCLA Chapter is presenting its Project C.A.R.E. at the FCCLA State Leadership

Conference in Cherry Hill, NJ on Thursday, March 26 for entry into the Chapter Service Project

Display event.

ATHLETICS

Girls Basketball

Hopewell Valley Holiday Tournament Champions

Valley Division Champions in Skyland Conference

Carmen Cook – Valley Division Coach of the Year

Wrestling

N2 Group 3- Sectional Champions

Kyle DiNapoli- 120 lb District 17 Champion and 8th place in the 120 lb State Championship

Derek Howarth – 220 lb District 17 Champion

Brian Baumann – District 17 Assistant Coach of the Year

Boys Swimming

Team Qualified for the NJSIAA Team Championship for the first time in school’s history

Girls and Boys Winter Track

Sectional Meet- N2 Group 2

Erin McLaughlin – 3200 m Champion

Robert Whitney – 3200 m Champion

Group 2 Meet

Erin McLaughlin – 3200m Champion

Robert Whitney – 3200m – 4th place

Meet of Champions

Erin McLaughlin- 3200m – 11th place

Cheerleading

Garden State Open Champions

Warren Hills Invitational Champions

Qualifier for Nationals in Orlando, Florida for the second year in a row.