PRSD Wildcat Wire - Winter 2015 - Pinelands Regional School District

into the real world,” said
student Matt Johnston.
Katelyn White, a student
Winter 2015 E-newsletter
also participating in the
project agrees, “I think it
is a great experience to
apply what we’re learning rather than learning
without a purpose.”
Stevens said he even
a quarterly e-newsletter for students, parents and friends of the district had one student who has
not really been enjoying
PRHS Computer Class Developing Real World Website the class and has been a
little shy suddenly “come
tudents rarely have
member to mention they components so we can
out of her shell.” He
the opportunity to
were in need of a webpresent them with some said the student started
take what they are
site, but the designers
ideas and get their feed- throwing ideas out there
learning in a class and
were expensive. Stevens back on which direction
and asked to be one of
make a real-world contri- saw an opportunity and
they would like us to pur- the members of a team
bution. But Joe Stevens’ presented the board
sue,” explains Stevens.
that would meet with the
“Coding for the Web”
member with the idea
Sparking Excitement
class is doing just that!
of having his Computer
“The majority of
Stevens’ class is
Science students design
students are excited to
working with the newly
and develop the site.
work on a ‘real’ project,”
formed Little Egg Harbor
The class will be
says Stevens. “Once
Economic Growth Group meeting with the Little
presented with the idea,
to create a website for
Egg Harbor Economic
they put themselves into
the organization. Stevens Growth Group to disgroups to brainstorm,
says the project grew out cuss their needs, likes,
started writing ideas on
of a discussion he was
dislikes, etc., although
a white board, and rehaving with a member of Stevens said the group
searched similar groups’
the group’s board about did provide some beweb design as a possible ginning specifications. “I websites.”
“This project procareer for a student with
think the idea will be to
whom they both were fa- try to put together some vides us with valuable
miliar. This led the board basic samples of website experience we can take
S
group to discuss their
needs and present the
class’ ideas.
Although the “Coding for the Web” class is
the one primarily working on the project, Stevens also is involving the
“Intro to Programming”
and “Advanced Java
Programming” classes.
He says the web coding class will handle the
content, structure, layout, and appearance of
the site, while the other
classes will help with the
interactivity by providing
scripts. “I also have one
continued on page 3
Pinelands Regional School District | Wildcat Wire | Winter 2015 | 2
A Word About Wildcat Wire
By Dr. Robert Blake, Superintendent
The second half of the 2014-2015 school
year is off to a great start and is jam-packed
from now until the last day of school!
Victory at STANJ
I want to acknowledge the Wildcat victory at STANJ. Our
Pinelands Drama Competition team has brought home another
15 State awards – winning three of the six categories at STANJ.
First place winners – Brianna Bennett, Brendan Solovey, and
Olivia Cruser – will receive the Governor’s Award in Arts this
May. Congratulations to Mr. Chuck Miller and all of his drama
students. Pinelands has won more than 150 awards at the STANJ
theatre competition – including 50 Governor’s Awards medals –
in the last ten years.
PARCC Testing
I recently sent letters to Pinelands
parents/guardians explaining the way
we will handle PARCC (Partnership for
Assessment of Readiness for College
and Careers) testing. In March, we will
administer Performance-Based Assessments, followed with End-of-Year testing in May. The tests are very similar to
the NJ ASK tests students have taken
in previous years. A major difference is
that they will be administered on computers and split into two testing timeframes, rather than over the course of
several days within the same week.
Although student assessments take some time from regular
classes, these tests actually take less time from instruction than
previous tests and will provide us with unparalleled information
on how our students are doing in relation to the state-adopted standards. These tests will provide even more useful data
than previous tests; we will use this information to evaluate our
curriculum for its effectiveness with our students. These student
assessments are required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and New Jersey state law and regulations.
As a district, we strongly believe it is in the best interest of
every child to take these tests, and it is our expectation that
every student will take their assessments as required, so we can
evaluate student learning and progress. PRSD will not provide
alternative settings or educational activities if a student chooses to not take the test. This position is supported by Commissioner Hespe (memo, 10/30/14). Eventually, these tests will replace the HSPA
as a graduation requirement.
More details are available about
the PARCC Assessments here, on the
NJ DOE website, the NJPTA website,
or the blog written by Dr. Richard G.
Bozza, Executive Director of the New
Jersey Association of School Administrators, which covers both PARCC
and the new graduation requirements.
For more information about Common
Core, please read the article in the Fall
2014 issue of Wildcat Wire.
I hope everyone understands the
value of these assessments in helping
continued on page 3
Pinelands Regional School District | Wildcat Wire | Winter 2015 | 3
Real World Website continued from page 1
extremely talented student in the web coding
class that will be creating
a small content management system with an
admin page and database,” explains Stevens.
Involving More
Students
Stevens also plans to
involve students in other
disciplines as needed.
“We have some ideas for
the site, such as a video
showcasing the local
area and businesses.
We may have students
in the Video Production
classes help out with
that,” explains Stevens.
He says the site also
will need web graphics
and, although he has a
team assigned to that,
if they need additional
A Word About Wildcat Wire
help, they will enlist the
Graphics Design classes.
“We may also need help
from Business students
(or FBLA members) for
marketing solutions,”
notes Stevens, “and
from Journalism students
for content editing
purposes.”
Work on the project
has begun. Stevens initially divided the project
into tasks and asked for
volunteers to form teams
to handle each task. “I’m
sure I will have to break
tasks into smaller steps
and provide teams with
prompts to start working
on a step,” says Stevens,
“but as the website begins to come to life, my
vision is that these teams
will begin to interact with
each other to discuss
what they need from
each other without my
prompting.”
continued from page 2
PRSD provide the best education possible for
our students.
In This Issue
Like this school year, this issue of Wildcat
Wire also is jam-packed! I hope everyone will
read the story on the proposed Random Drug
Testing policy. This is something new we are
hoping to implement and we really want everyone to understand the thinking behind the
policy and what we are hoping to achieve.
Don’t miss the story about our character education program at PRJHS – Character Counts.
And, although it is not designed to be, the story
on the National Junior Honor Society’s annual
Veteran’s Day Luncheon certainly exemplifies
Character Education. Not only do we profile our
Teachers and Educational Professionals of the
Year in this issue, but we also profile one of our
PRHS graduates – proving that great things do
happen after PRHS!
Stay in touch with the Wildcats as the year
rolls on through our mobile app, Facebook
page and right here in Wildcat Wire.
Thank you for your positive involvement in
our Schools!
Yours in Education,
Robert L. Blake, Ed.D.
Pinelands Regional School District | Wildcat Wire | Winter 2015 | 4
Protecting Our Students
N
early everyone
knows someone
who has experienced tragedy from the
illegal use of drugs and
alcohol. Over the years,
PRSD has brought numerous programs and
activities to its schools
designed to educate students about the dangerous results of such use.
The district believes it
can do more to combat
student substance use.
Providing a safe,
healthy and secure educational environment for
all of its students, faculty
and staff is the District’s
number one priority. Illegal drug and alcohol
use is a clear danger to
that commitment, so the
Board of Education is exploring the authorization
of a policy that would
provide for random testing of students.
The proposed policy
would apply to all students in grades nine
through twelve participating in athletics,
extracurricular activities
or school clubs, and/
or students granted
parking permits for oncampus parking. “These
students,” says PRHS
Athletic Director Will
Sundermann, “by virtue
of their voluntary participation in these activities,
are regarded as school
leaders and role models. We expect them
to maintain exemplary
behavior and be drug
and alcohol free.” In
fact, students – and their
parents/guardians – will
be required to complete
a “Consent to Test”
form before they will be
allowed to participate in
any of these activities or
park on campus.
Date: Thurs, April 2, 2015
Treatment,
Not Punishment
The proposed policy
will comply with confidentiality requirements
in federal and state laws
and regulations, and
states that “student alcohol or other drug testing
information resulting
from the program will
not be turned over to
any law enforcement
authorities except under
circumstances in which
the district is legally
compelled to surrender
or disclose such test results (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-3.2).”
The purpose of
the proposed Random
Alcohol or Other Drug
Testing Policy, according
to District Superintendent Dr. Robert Blake,
is to deter student use
of drugs and alcohol,
and to expedite referrals for evaluation and/or
treatment, not to punish students. “We want
Time: 9:00 am-3:00pm
Pinelands Education Association & Pinelands Regional
Junior High School sponsored….
4th Annual
HEALTH FAIR &
FITNESS EXPO.
HEALTH PRESENTATIONS!
Located @ Pinelands
By
Regional Junior High School
ATLANTIC CARE
Gymnasiums
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
All Community Members are
ST. FRANCIS CENTER
Welcome!!!
MERIDIAN FITNESS &
WELLNESS
DAYTOP of NJ
to help families keep
our children healthy and
safe,” says Dr. Blake.
Random Testing
Students who have
completed “Consent to
Test” forms will be included in the random al-
cohol/other drug testing
pool. The “Consent to
Test” form will be valid
for one calendar year.
Students will be selected
on a random basis, using software certified
for generating random
continued on page 5
Pinelands Regional School District | Wildcat Wire | Winter 2015 | 5
Protecting Our Students
selection. Students may
be randomly selected at
any time during the year,
whether or not they have
been previously tested.
They remain in the pool
for a full year, even if they
are no longer participating in athletics or extracurricular activities, parking on school grounds,
and/or have a revoked
parking permit.
Students may be
removed from the random drug testing pool
only if the parent/guardian requests - in writing - that the student
be removed prior to the
student’s selection in a
random drug test. These
students will no longer
be eligible to participate
in sports, clubs, extracurricular activities, or park
on campus.
The parents/guardians of a student that has
been tested will be notified each time his/her
child has been tested.
continued from page 4
According to the policy,
parents/guardians will receive written notification
of the results of the alcohol and/or other drug
test; these notifications
shall be confidential.
Consequences of a
Positive Test
If a student tests
positive for alcohol or
other drugs, parents/
guardians will be contacted by the principal
or a designee to remove
the student from school
and make arrangements
for the mandatory medical examination (N.J.S.A.
18A:40A-12 and N.J.A.C.
6A:16-4.3) (Board Policy
5530 Substance Abuse).
The student may be reinstated in the athletics,
co-curricular activities,
or schools clubs, and/
or have his/her parking
permit renewed only
when the student has
cooperated fully with the
resulting recommenda-
tions/treatment plan.
The ultimate purpose of
the policy is to protect
the health and safety of
the students.
If a student fails a
first test, the student
and at least one parent/
guardian must meet
with the principal and/
or an administrative
designee within five
school days to review the
policy and subsequent
consequences. The
student will be required
to complete no less than
three counseling sessions as scheduled by
the Student Assistance
Counselor (SAC). Further
treatment, if necessary,
will be recommended
at the conclusion of the
counseling sessions.
The student also must
acknowledge participation in three subsequent
random tests.
A second offense
of a confirmed positive
alcohol/other drug test
will result in forfeiture
of participating in any
athletics, extracurricular
activities or school clubs,
and/or have his/her parking permit revoked for
a longer period of time,
along with additional
SAC counseling or referral for other treatment.
The specific details are
being worked out based
upon the input we have
received from parents to
this point.
For a third failed test,
in addition to continued
treatment and counseling, a student will not be
able to participate in any
athletics, extracurricular
activities or school clubs,
and have his/her parking
permit revoked, for up to
one calendar year.
Next Steps
The district has held
meetings to discuss the
proposed policy, and is
refining some of the details of the policy based
upon suggestions and
discussion from those
meetings. If you would
like to see the presentation and the questions
which have been asked,
along with the answers,
please visit the district
website and click on the
Random Drug Testing
link on the main page.
You also can ask questions through a link on
the presentation.
Our plan is to finalize
the policy and regulation
based on the input we
received, and then have
a follow-up meeting with
parents and students.
Everything should be in
place by June, with the
policy effective for the
2015-2016 school year,
pending Board approval.
Pinelands Regional School District | Wildcat Wire | Winter 2015 | 6
PRSD Educators/Service
Professionals of the Year
A
ll of the district’s teachers and educational
services professionals are outstanding, so
it was a difficult decision for the administrators at PRJHS and PRHS to make the selections
for the educators of the year.
PRJHS
Shannon Leek, seventh-grade
math teacher, was named PRJHS’
Teacher of the Year. Leek coordinates
an extra-help math program, is the
Math Club advisor, and organizes Pi day each
year.
The school’s Educational Professional of the Year is Christine Papernik,
a school counselor and field hockey
coach.
PRHS
At PRHS, Educator of the Year
went to Katharine Bennett, business/
sports marketing teacher and head
coach of the school’s brand new volleyball team.
Susan Bishop, Educational Interpreter for the Deaf, received PRHS’
Educational Services Professional of
the Year honor.
Congratulations! Let’s give them a
Wildcat ROAR!
Where Are They Now?
Ever wonder what PRHS grads are doing today?
Let’s find out about Robert Peschko, PRHS Class
of 2013!
Peschko is a sophomore at Richard Stockton
College of New Jersey in Galloway Township, where
he is studying criminal justice. He is hoping to minor in environmental science and, ideally, this will
lead him into a career as a game warden. “Being a
game warden would be perfect. I like to hunt and fish
recreationally and I like the idea of being outside,”
explains Peschko. He also likes working with the
public. Peschko notes that if the game warden career
doesn’t happen, he most likely will continue
in some form of criminal justice.
While he was at PRHS, Peschko was involved in the drama program and performed in Bye, Bye Birdie, Les Miserables and The Wizard of Oz, among others.
He also participated in STANJ and received a Governor’s Award for Dramatic
Pairs with Corinne Levy.
According to Peschko, “PRHS prepared me well for college.” He said PRHS
teachers and professional staff are “personable and involved” with the students.
Peschko believes that the “faculty cares about students and are willing to help.
They are incredibly intelligent,” says Peschko about the faculty, “and played a
strong leadership and inspirational role in my life.”
What’s Peschko’s advice for current PRHS students? “Get involved. Try
everything you can and be involved in clubs and activities. Try to do your best in
school and set forth that mentality to take with you the rest of your life.”
Thanks Bobby – and good luck!
Pinelands Regional School District | Wildcat Wire | Winter 2015 | 7
Character Counts at PRJHS
S
chool is not always
just about math,
science and history.
At PRJHS, for example,
school also means lessons in the Six Pillars
of Good Character:
Responsibility, Caring,
Trustworthiness, Respect,
Fairness and Citizenship.
The character education program, Character
Counts, has become part
of PRJHS’ – and the district’s – culture, according
to Dr. Kim Clark, PRJHS
assistant principal. Dr.
Clark says the program
began a number of years
ago as a means of “promoting positivity”, and
has evolved into a yearlong initiative that starts
with transition lessons in
sixth-grade.
“Our Wildcats in
Action Team goes to
the sending sixth-grade
classes and does a ‘good
character’ lesson so the
students know what is
expected of them when
they get to junior high
school,” says Dr. Clark.
“We generally try to
have them do something
tangible – like a sign or a
banner – which they will
see posted in the cafeteria at PRJHS when they
come for orientation.”
Learning Good
Character
A “pillar” of character is highlighted for
approximately five or
six weeks. The Caring
Pillar, for example, was
highlighted throughout
December and January;
the current Pillar is Responsibility. Each department within the school
sponsors a Pillar and is
responsible for creating the lessons used to
teach the students about
that particular character
trait. The English department “owned” Caring,
and the Responsibility
Pillar is being sponsored
continued on page 8
Pinelands Regional School District | Wildcat Wire | Winter 2015 | 8
Character Counts continued from page 7
by the math department.
Dr. Clark says that
the Responsibility Pillar
was a good one for the
math department. She
notes that the students
are learning about making budgets and being
responsible in managing
money. “The students
are learning that they
need to ‘save-up’ for
extra things that might
not be in their budget –
like trips to the movies.
It gives them a good
opportunity to see the
difference between
things they need and
must have, and those
that they would ‘like’ to
have,” says Dr. Clark.
But character education goes beyond the
specific lessons developed to highlight each
Pillar. According to Dr.
Clark, the teachers and
administrators always
talk to the students in
terms of the Pillars of
Good Character. “I was
speaking with a student
the other day and I knew
they were not telling
me the truth. I talked to
them about being trustworthy and what that
meant. You hear those
kinds of conversations
going on all around the
school between teachers
and students,” explains
Dr. Clark.
Getting “Caught” in
the Act
Learning about good
character is not just
about lessons, it’s also all
about getting “caught”
in the act and being
rewarded!
When PRJHS’ C.O.P.s
(Cats on the Prowl) see a
student demonstrating
“caring” for example,
that student receives recognition for that action
with a certificate and
being singled out in the
school announcements.
Dr. Clark says sometimes
there will be a “blitz”.
This is when the Wildcats in Action Team will
give teachers pencils,
pencil cases – some sort
of chachkies – to give to
students any time they
see someone doing
something related to
one of the pillars. “They
do it on the spot,” says
Dr. Clark, “instant recognition.”
Why Character
Counts
Dr. Clark explains
that the Character
Counts program is
deeply ingrained in the
school’s culture. “It’s part
of our responsibility to
give students all of the
skills they need,” says
Dr. Clark. “This is an
important piece of what
we do as educators. Kids
need to learn more than
content. They need to
learn to be good citizens. They are building
life skills at this age.”
Pinelands Regional School District | Wildcat Wire | Winter 2015 | 9
Pinelands Regional Goes All Out for Anything Goes
W
ords and music
by Cole Porter. Exciting
production of Anything
Goes by PRHS!
Students involved in
the dramatic program at
PRHS will showcase their
talents in six performances of Anything Goes, on
March 5-7 and 12-14 – all
starting at 7 pm.
The three student actors with the main roles
in the show are Brendan
Solovey, Olivia Cruser,
and Brianna Bennett.
PRHS drama teacher and Anything Goes
Director Chuck Miller is
looking forward to the
shows. “The whole thing
is going to be a lot of
fun. We have a very talented cast,” said Miller.
“Every kid in the show
– all 80 of them – will tap
dance at some point in
the show. Most schools,
not everybody taps. But
it’s good that we get
them involved.”
Miller says he was eager to choose a classical
musical for his students
– last year they did Shrek
– so they could have that
in their repertoire before
some of them graduate
and possibly move on
to drama programs in
college.
“We haven’t done a
good classical musical
in a few years. There’s
nothing like them anywhere,” said Miller. “It’s
important to the kids for
when they leave high
school to do at least one.
I’ve never directed Anything Goes before, but
it’s been fun! It’s a great
classic story and style – a
20th century show, which
is my favorite century. It
will definitely be a fun
night at the theater.”
The story follows
Billy Crocker, a stowaway played by senior
Solovey, as he boards
an ocean-liner to follow
his love, heiress Hope
Harcourt, played by senior Cruser, who already
happens to be engaged
to someone else. Bennett plays a nightclub
singer who, along with
Moonface Martin, played
by sophomore Christina
DiFrancia, tries to help
Billy win Hope’s love.
In olden days a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking,
But now, heaven knows,
Anything goes.
Pinelands Regional School District | Wildcat Wire | Winter 2015 | 10
Honoring Those Who Served
Veterans in Little
Egg Harbor and Tuckerton received red-carpet
treatment at PRJHS on
Friday, November 14,
for the District’s annual
Veteran’s Day Luncheon.
More than 50 vets
– the most ever in the
decade the school
has been hosting the
event – were welcomed,
celebrated, and served
lunch by the staff and
members of the National Junior Honor Society
(NJHS), who dressed in
red, white, and blue for
the occasion.
The event provided
an opportunity for the
student volunteers to
interact with the veterans. “I like that we can
talk to them and hear
their stories and find out
what it was like to serve
our country,” said ninthgrader Rachel Balko.
“When they spoke, you
realize how much they
did for us,” said Jackie
Peschko, also a ninthgrader. “They’re an
inspiration for us; the
way they tell their stories
makes me want to work
harder.”
While the vets dined
on lunch provide by
Lefty’s Tavern in Barnegat and the Pinelands
Education Association,
the PRJHS chorus serenaded them with patriotic songs. Other highlights of the luncheon
included the presenting
of the colors, an honors
ceremony to remember fallen soldiers, a
quote read by student
Liam McGettigan, and
remarks from Little Egg
Harbor Township Mayor
Arthur Midgely.
Each veteran was
invited to introduce
themselves, identify the
military branch in which
they served, and which
years/wars they were active. Some also used the
opportunity to offer up
their own thanks. “I just
want to say I’m delighted to share this day with
all of you,” said Melvin
Longfield, a veteran who
served in WWII and the
Korean War. “Students –
my heartfelt thanks.”
Four veterans volunteered time before the
lunch to visit PRJHS history classes to tell their
stories.
“It’s an absolute
pleasure to see all of you
every year. I can’t thank
you enough for your
service,” PRJHS Principal Eric Pschorr told the
group. “You are not just
soldiers, you are our
heroes. Thank you,
today and every day.”