We are providing an opportunity for our parents to share out on their respective career at our February 23, 2022 Career Talks. We were hoping to get at least one parent for each period of the day to give a very informal talk (question and answer format) to a small group of students. If you are interested, please email me at pthomas@trschools.com or Diane Harz at dharz@trschools.com. Here is the link providing specific details: https://www.smore.com/rvg3u

Freshman Lunch Academies this week at HS East. Freshmen students are working with the HS East Principal Ambassadors to create resumes. Assistant Principal Mrs. Hines, and Ambassador Advisor Mrs. Daniel put together a guide to support students in writing resumes and building career skills.

Please see the respective testing dates for HSE:

1) March 14th - 17th: NJSGPA ELA & Math - All 11th graders

2) May 2nd - 13th : AP Exams

3) May 12th & 13th: NJSGPA Science - All 11th graders

4) May 16th - 19th: NJSLA ELA & Math - All 9th graders

5) May 24th: ASVAB - select 11th graders

* All make-up testing will follow the days after the originally scheduled dates.

Congratulations to Mrs. Rose Porzio for being recognized as our Employee of the Week. Mrs. Porzio is our athletic secretary. She schedules games, coordinates practices, and deals with the multitude of demands of running high school athletics. Thank you Mrs. Porzio for going above and beyond.

The Female February Senior of the Month is a leader in the school community. She is the President of the Principal Ambassador Program, Copy Editor, Social Media Coordinator and the main coordinator for the Peer Leadership Program. She has a rigorous academic program and has earned herself a spot in the top 20 of her senior class.She is described by her teachers as extremely intelligent, highly motivated and self determined! She is also a member of the National Honor Society where she is the Social Media Director. This young lady is the model student who comes to class each and every day with her notebook out, homework complete and eager to participate. Her dedication, work ethic and positive attitude embodies the true representation of Raider Excellence! Congratulations to Alexandria Kisseberth!

The Male February Senior of the Month is a student of scholastic excellence and integrity. He was described by his teachers as mature, motivated, thoughtful and reliable. He is a student that leads by example and is often seen assisting other students when in need. Although typically quiet in demeanor he is consistently seen as a leader in the classroom. He is a member of the Chess Team, Soccer Team and a member of the Technology Student Association. He is a STEAM Academy student who wishes to pursue a career in the medical field as a nurse. Congratulations to our Male Senior of the Month, Christopher Mata!

I would like thank Mrs. Tara Cunningham for her support to share out on interviewing skills and tips for our students this past week. Mrs. Cunningham has over 20 years in the disability sector focused on inclusive employment. Mrs. Cunningham has worked with Bloomberg, Salesforce, Goldman Sachs, TDBank, Deloitte, PwC, P&G, IPG Mediabrands / Kinesso, AT&T, BNY Mellon, Boeing, and MITRE. When living in Ireland, she was appointed by Ireland’s Prime Minister to the National Disability Authority to help with laws and policies, represented Ireland in the European Commission for Healthcare Innovation, was the Irish Representative at the White House. In the US, Mrs. Cunningham Co-Founded the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship at NYU School of Law and is a contributing author to the recently published the academic book “Generation A”. She has keynoted, moderated, and has spoken on panels worldwide, including Moderator at the United Nations World Autism Awareness Day. She is an Ashoka Fellow and a member of the Toms River Regional Schools Hall of Fame.

Thank you Mrs. Cunningham for going above and beyond for our children!

Raider Alumnus, Melchior Fernandez, provided a talk to our students on careers in interpreting. American Sign Language (ASL) is a complete, natural language that is expressed by movements of the hands and face. ASL is the language for Americans who are deaf and hard of hearing. Thank you Mr. Fernandez for taking your time to inform our students on ASL.

On February 10, 2022, our HSE Music Department put on a show in a CoffeeHouse format. Music was performed by student solos, duos, quartets, the HSE Rock Band, and the HSE Jazz Band! Great job kids and to Mr. Miller and Mr. Strohmetz! I enjoyed the evening!

I would like to take this time to recognize the efforts of our very own counselors. Each of them have dedicated their lives to support the social and academic success of our students. Personally, I believe we have the best in the district! It is a difficult job, but our counselors do it with a positive mindset and willingness to go above and beyond! I appreciate the tasks they accomplish that extend beyond their job descriptions - this is what makes them unique!

Thank you Mrs. Monica Santamaria, Mrs. Carolann Lulias, Mrs. Elise Weinberger, Mrs. Carrie Bush, Mrs. Ann Millard, Ms. Rachel Calhoun, Dr. Robin Lowery, Mr. Jim Cartnick, Mrs. Bridget Abatemarco, Mrs. Dawn Aulisi, Mr. Cameron Scarano, and Ms. Heather Montalvo for all you do! You are all positive reflections of our school community!

Please help us promote our Read with a Raider Community Book Club started by Mrs. Pagano. The book is " Fire Keeper's Daughter" and the first meeting is March 10th from 6:30-7:30pm.

Our 18-21 Career Exploration Program partnered with Klees Restaurant in Seaside Heights to learn and practice community based skills along with the skills necessary to gain employment in a restaurant setting. This work experience will also support the life skills activities our students practice within the classroom setting. Great job Mrs. Rachel Barry!

Congratulations to the Boys Bowling Team for their 3rd place finish at the Shore Conference Tournament!

Congratulations to Michael Bruno for qualifying for the Business Ethics Workshop in Atlantic City in March. Michael placed 15th overall on the objective test for New Jersey students! Quite impressive! Bella Wade, Nino Scala and Joey Scala will also be attending the workshop in March as they successfully placed in the Business Plan category. Good luck to all of our future Raider business leaders! I am very proud of you!

Great job to our Chess team for their success this year! We will be competing at the Shore Conference Tournament (SCT) for the first time since 2019. Alexander Brooks won 1st place 1st board in the Ocean County Championships "Kasparov District". Great job and good luck Raiders on the 23rd in SCT!