CHIEF’S REPORT PISCATAWAY HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS Jason Lester, Principal December 2016 MESSAGE FROM MR. LESTER Warm season’s greetings from the greatest school EMPIRE on earth…PHS! Last year, I believe I stated that we would have a tremendous 2016…this past year was OUTSTANDING! We must never, ever forget those that are less fortunate than us during this season of giving. It is also important that we keep those service men and women around the world, as well as their families, in our thoughts for safe travels and journeys. Often as I reflect on our students and staff accomplishments over the past year, I get excited about the things we have done and fearful about the future. Fearful in the sense of can we exceed our past accomplishments? I will say that the students and staff have not let the EMPIRE down nor do I expect a “letdown” in 2017. Winter is upon us… I believe that we are prepared for the long cold days ahead. As a FAMILY, we have worked long hours in the hot sun planting seeds of knowledge to ensure that our harvest would sustain us through the brisk harsh months to come. We will not only survive, but also we will THRIVE in 2017. Try to make at least one person happy every day. If that cannot be done by kind deed, then speak a kind word, or think a kind thought. Create as many happy lives as you possibly can. Happy Holidays. Be Well. Strength & Honor PHS HAPPENINGS STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT Nicholas Bagwandeen & Alyssa Ruiz have been selected by the College Board as a National Hispanic Scholar. The College Board’s NHRP program is an academic honor that can be included on college applications. It’s not a scholarship, but colleges do use this program to identify academically exceptional Hispanic/Latino students. If you would like more information about the National Hispanic Recognition Program, please click the link below: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/scholarships-and-recognition/national-hispanic- recognition-program?excmpid=VT-00078
Transcript
CHIEF’S REPORT PISCATAWAY HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS
Jason Lester, Principal December 2016
MESSAGE FROM MR. LESTER
Warm season’s greetings from the greatest school EMPIRE on earth…PHS! Last year, I believe I stated that we would have a tremendous 2016…this past year was OUTSTANDING! We must never, ever forget those that are less fortunate than us during this season of giving. It is also important that we keep those service men and women around the world, as well as their families, in our thoughts for safe travels and journeys. Often as I reflect on our students and staff accomplishments over the past year, I get excited about the things we have done and fearful about the future. Fearful in the sense of can we exceed our past accomplishments? I will say that the students and staff have not let the EMPIRE down nor do I expect a “letdown” in 2017. Winter is upon us… I believe that we are prepared for the long cold days ahead. As a FAMILY, we have worked long hours in the hot sun planting seeds of knowledge to ensure that our harvest would sustain us through the brisk harsh months to come. We will not only survive, but also we will THRIVE in 2017. Try to make at least one person happy every day. If that cannot be done by kind deed, then speak a kind word, or think a kind thought. Create as many happy lives as you possibly can. Happy Holidays. Be Well.
Strength & Honor
PHS HAPPENINGS STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Nicholas Bagwandeen & Alyssa Ruiz have been selected by the College Board as a National Hispanic Scholar. The College Board’s NHRP program is an academic honor that can be included on college applications. It’s not a scholarship, but colleges do use this program to identify academically exceptional Hispanic/Latino students. If you would like more information about the National Hispanic Recognition Program, please click the link below:
Piscataway High School art students Nina Gabriel and Mariah Pierre had their artwork selected for the Art Educators of New Jersey Early Winter Exhibit at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. Their artwork is part of a 30 piece exhibit that is hung in the Victoria Theater Lobby displaying K-12 artwork from around the state. Over 6,000 visitors to NJPAC will see their artwork while it is on display 2017 Art Educators of New Jersey Youth Art Month Design Competition
Artwork by Emma Broggi
Congratulations to Emma Broggi! Emma’s design for the 2017 Art Educators of New Jersey Youth Art Month Design Competition was chosen as one of the six winning entries. The Art Educators of New Jersey join other state art organizations to participate in the YAM Design Competition each year to highlight importance of art in our school and community. Emma’s artwork will be featured on a billboard in NJ and will be displayed at the NJ State YAM Reception in Trenton in March, where she will receive an award. AFJROTC NEWS
Second Annual Drill Comp
On Saturday December 10, 2016 Piscataway, High School’s AFJROTC hosted their Second Annual Drill Competition. This year the number of participating teams grew to 16 AFJROTC and MCJROTC teams, five more than 2015’s 11 teams. Over 500 high school students participated. Piscataway AFJROTC was fortunate to have PEPSI and Applebee’s contribute soda and meals for the event. This event raised funds for the NJ Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. $600 was collected from the participating teams and $900 was contributed from food and beverage sales to reach a total donation of $1500. A great day for everyone!
P’WAY CHIEFS GROUP V, STATE CHAMPS IN FOOTBALL!
Elijah Barnwell
Congratulations to the Piscataway High School Football Chiefs who are State Champions, Group V when they defeated Manalapan in the championship game 34 – 13 on Saturday, December 3, at Rutgers. Our team finished 10-2 (8th team in PHS history to win 10 games). This season, our Pway Chiefs scored 412 points, the 2nd most in school history. They ran a total of 3,983 yards and had 3,093 rushing yards, which was a school record. Elijah Barnwell finished with 5,728 yards rushing and 78 career touchdowns (472 points) - all school records. We congratulate the team and the coaches for an exciting season. Go Chiefs!!
BUSINESS FBLA
“Haunted” High School Breaks Fundraising Record
Each year, the PHS chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) hosts “Haunted High School” where children tour haunted classrooms and collect treats, all in a safe, supervised environment. This year’s event, held on October 28th, netted a record $914 in donations from the Piscataway community for the March of Dimes, which works to end premature birth and other problems that threaten babies.
FBLA and other PHS clubs, including AFJROTC, ICCA, NHS, and Key Club, each adopted a classroom. While this student-run event ran from 5pm to 7pm, many weeks of planning, coordination, and marketing precede it to ensure its success.
FBLA Regional Competition Over 4 dozen of our 180+ FBLA chapter members prepared for weeks for the FBLA Regional Competition, which was held on December 14. The following 15 students “placed” in the highly-competitive North-Central Region (the others are Central, Southern, and Northern), which means they move on to compete at the State Leadership Conference (SLC) in Atlantic City (March 15 – 17). All in all, we placed in 9 of the 40 events with a “double” in Network Design.
Chelsea Wong placed not once but TWICE. Battle of the Chapters is a fun event focusing on FBLA trivia and current events. Future Business Leader is a very comprehensive event that consists of an objective test (knowledge of FBLA as an organization as well as business topics such as banking, accounting, law, etc.), and submitting a cover letter and résumé, with an interview to follow at the State Leadership Conference.
Many of these topics aren’t taught in any classes. Students were brave enough to choose a topic they had never taken a course in - in these cases, the students were entirely self-taught!
The Regional round consisted of online objective tests, and this year’s results were particularly strong. Additional events start at SLC, which consist of performance/report/presentation or some combination thereof.
Congratulations to the following FBLA members: ACCOUNTING II 2nd Place: Adam Liang
BATTLE OF THE CHAPTERS 2nd Place: Neelay Patel/Chelsea Wong/Catherine Wang
Written by Malik A. Lyons of TapInto.Net, December 12, 2016 at 10:17 PM
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, NJ - Close to 200 high school students from Franklin and the surrounding area gathered at Piscataway High School on Sunday afternoon to play a charity volley ball game. The purpose was to help “spike out hunger” in the area by donating all proceeds to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. Students registered volley ball teams and were asked to bring either $5 or $3 with 2 canned goods for a donation. There was also a concession stand set up to help raise money for the event, over $850 was earned. Even though the Franklin-Somerset Kiwanis club assisted with hosting the event, almost all of the coordination was done by local Key Clubs. Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. Kiwanis members have dedicated over 18 million volunteer hours and invested millions of dollars for projects that help strengthen communities. "It is about doing everything we can to serve the children in our community," said Donna Fuhr president of Kiwanis Franklin-Somerset. Key Clubs assists Kiwanis in carrying out their mission, while providing high school students with valuable leadership skills. "I have always wanted do anything I can to serve my community, I have always been involved in my church youth group,” said Luke McGeown district governor of Key Club New Jersey. "Finding out about Key Club and discovering there are over 13,000 people in New Jersey already actively serving in their community presented an opportunity I couldn't pass up."
Rohan Mekaln and Eileen Zhu, both of whom are Key Club lieutenant governors helped organize the event by securing the location, designing the decorations and everything else in between. “Me and Rohan decided to partner up, because we both work well together,” said Zhu. “Every team gets to play at least four games, so they will get their money’s worth.” There were three courts where 18 teams played against each other in hopes to become the champion to advance to a district event in February. “We are looking for people with good character, that want to make their community a better place,” said Mitch Fuhr Kiwanis advisor for Franklin - Somerset.
LIFT (Ladies of Inspiration, Fortitude, and Talent)
On Wednesday, December 7, LIFT (Ladies of Inspiration, Fortitude, and Talent) once again welcomed L’Oréal to PHS for a presentation on professional opportunities in the STEM fields. The L’Oréal presenters consisted of a diverse group of women who hold positions in careers such as Product Development and Production. These women shared their personal journeys from high school to college to the job market to their current careers. This is the second year for the LIFT mentoring program, and the LIFT Mentoring Coaches Judith Cruz-Walsh, Dawne Dionisio, and Alexandria Artist plan future endeavors with L’Oréal. MLK SOARING RECOGNITION PROGRAM
Oona Nelson with MLK Honor Roll student Dr. C. Alex Gray, Principal, with Kevin Carolina
On December 8 and December 9, PHS Seniors and former MLK students, Oona Nelson and Kevin Carolina were guest speakers at the Soaring High (honor roll) Recognition Program held at Martin Luther King, Jr. School. The focus of this presentation was to recognize those students who achieved the honor roll as well as to inspire the entire student body to attain their academic goals. Our own AFJROTC presented the colors. ROBOTICS NEWS
A team of Mr. Giacomarra's Engineering students participated with over 20 area high school teams at New Providence High School on December 7th. All 9 students performed extremely well, with 1st place in Speed and 1st place in Engineering Design going to the vehicle built by Sean Daly, Henry Rodriguez, Valiant Abello and Vaishali Sindha. Congratulations! IMPORTANT DATES: January 11 – Piscataway High School Experience 6 pm PAC January 16 – MLK, Jr. Day – School Closed January 18 – Inclement Weather Date for the Piscataway HS Experience January 30 – Marking Period 2 Ends January 31 – In-Service Day for Teachers. Half-day for Students
