Hoboken High School Weekly Update
January 6, 2023
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday and a restful week off. I know we all needed a break to catch our breath after the whirlwind of the holidays. We are back to business at HHS, and we began 2023 celebrating all our students who achieved honors, high honors, athletic director's list and perfect attendance. With over 150 students being celebrated, and with over 300 in attendance we were able to give each child an opportunity to be recognized for their outstanding efforts at school. Keep up the great work, and we will be celebrating again in February.
Beginning January 18th, we will begin our LinkIt Benchmark B assessments in ELA and Math. These will be completed during their regularly scheduled classes, and will be approximately two class periods. Once completed, we will share your child's results with you. I cannot stress the importance of these assessments in helping us analyze our work in the classrooms. Benchmark B will provide us with data that will show your child's growth in specific standards, and which standards are in need of remediation. It is important to note that the LinkIt assessments are aligned to the standards that students will see when sitting for the NJSLA. Please encourage your child to do their very best, as this is not a pass fail exam, but a effort based exam.
Every week we update our attendance lists and if your child hits absence 4 - 7, then a meeting with the counselor or youth specialist will take place. These meetings are meant to be informative, and to remind students of our attendance policy. Please note, once a student hits 8 unexcused absences, then a parent meeting will be required. Doctor's notes are important documentation for our records, but it does not excuse the absence.
Tonight the student center is hosting "Friday Night at the Nest." If they are interested in attending, please sign up at the Student Center.
Our school is starting a new dance team. See the flyer below for more information and, if your child is a dancer, encourage them to attend the information session on January 30.
Have a great weekend,
Ms. Picc
Guidance
I hope you all had a healthy and Happy New Year! By now, most of you know that all 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students have digital access to their PSAT scores along with their score analysis. The PSAT/NMSQT assesses the same knowledge and skills as the SAT, providing a check-in on college readiness before students take the SAT. The scoring scale, after the exam is taken, provides consistent feedback and enables teachers to adjust instruction to better support students who are ahead or behind in the curriculum.
You and your students are encouraged to attend the in-person PSAT Score Interpretion Night on Thursday January 19th, at HHS. Room Location TBD.
The Guidance Department will explain how to interpret the PSAT score report, suggest testing strategies and how to best prepare for the official SAT or ACT coming up in the Spring! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to your student's guidance counselor.
Seniors, I know that many of you have questions regarding the FAFSA. In order to complete your application, you will need to sit down with a parent/guardian as you will be asked to input financial information for the government to determine how much aid you should be rewarded. The first step of the process is to create an FSA ID. You should have an FSA ID and at least one parent/guardian should have an FSA ID. Please see the attached document that outlines the steps to attain an FSA ID.
Once your FSA ID has been created, it's time to start working on the FAFSA! You will need to have the following close by to complete the FAFSA form:
- Parent/Guardian and Student's FSA ID
- Parent/Guardian's and Student's Social Security Number
- Parent/Guardian's federal income tax return
- Any records of untaxed Income
- Estimated amount of money in checking or savings accounts
- List of potential colleges/universities you are considering
- The first is a breakdown of the items listed above that you can find by clicking here.
- The second is a step-by-step video that further explains each step of the process, which can be accessed by clicking here. This video may be long, but it walks you through every section you need to complete.
Should you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out!
Stacie Gleason- sgleason@hoboken.k12.nj.us
James Terry- jterry@hoboken.k12.nj.us
Future Collegiate Student Athlete Academy
The Hoboken High School Athletic Department is launching a new academy for student athletes. The Future Collegiate Student Athlete Academy (FCSAA) was established to assist high school students who are interested in continuing their athletic pursuits while furthering their education at the next level.
The FCSAA will bond Hoboken High School’s student athletes and their families together, regardless of the sport, with a series of informational dinner sessions that will outline the eligibility, recruitment, scholarship and selection processes associated with NCAA programs across the country. Participants will explore the differences between NCAA Division I, II, and III programs and speak with Hoboken High School graduates who are playing or have played sports at the college level.
All prospective NCAA student athletes from Hoboken High School are invited to participate in the Future Collegiate Student Athlete Academy (FCSAA). In addition, 8th grade students from Hoboken Middle School and their parents are also invited to attend each of the informational sessions in order to get a head start on the collegiate athletics process.
Each session will be from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM in the Hoboken High School Cafeteria.
Dinner will be served at each event.
Please see the link below to sign up for January 11.
Future Collegiate Athlete Academy Dates
January 11, 2023 Topic: Researching schools and Virtual Tours
February 8, 2023 Topic: Round Table with Former Redwing Athletes and Coaches
March 29, 2023 Topic: SAT Registration/ Clearinghouse (Underclassmen)
May 3, 2023 Topic: Redwing Signing Day
If you have any questions about our Future Collegiate Athlete Academy Series, please contact Jack Baker, Hoboken HS Athletic Director at Jack.Baker@hoboken.k23.nj.us or (201) 356-3725.
Athletics
The Hoboken High School Athletic Department is back in full swing after Winter Break. The Hoboken High School swim team competed against McNair on Wednesday and North Bergen on Thursday.
Congratulations to our girls basketball team in their wins over University Charter School and Beloved Charter School this week.
The Hoboken High School Wrestling Team competed against Bayonne High School on Wednesday and Cliffside Park HS on Friday.
Way to Go Redwings!
Mr. MacAulay's Film Festival
Student Pedro Gonzalez directed "Dreams of a Refugee'', which was a story about a person coming to the US to earn a better living. Nzuri Henry animated "Love Is Blind" which focused on marriage equality. For this film, students used Frameforge 3D Studio to create backgrounds and then drew and paint them in Toon Boom. Cinematographer Jaiden Desriviere's group created "Society's L's" which focused on privilege and wrongfully accusing a person. They used natural light for exteriors and Kino's Divas, Paras, and Diva Lites to create lighting effects. They even used Miller Jib Arm for a crane shot. Josh Flores and Aiden Kahle directed another film titled "A Book by Its Cover;" during this process students learned how to find the right exposure for exterior shots so that images don't get tinted or overexposed. Students Jose Blanco and Eric Espinal focused on "Voting Rights" for their short film. During filming they created a complicated dolly shot that included eight feet of track, the centipede and the dolly. The final short was directed by Isabel Holmberg and is titled "The Study Room." This team wrote a traditional screenplay using Moviemagic and converted it into a shooting script.
Mr. MacAulay is proud of his students' work. They will host another event in June with their second videos to show each student's personal growth as filmmakers.
Computer Science Education Week - Mr. McKenzie
During CSEdWeek, students participated in the Alexa Hour of AI to code. The activity allowed students to code their own Alexa Skills using the simple block code platform already being incorporated in computer science classes. Students used App Inventor to create simple commands for Alexa, from teaching it to say certain phrases to creating a random fact generator, all while learning how voice AI works from experts. The week’s events and activities allowed students to dive deep into current issues as well as learning about the progress that has been made. Alexa Hour of AI is an initiative of Amazon Future Engineer.
Ms. Nellins Chemists
This week in CP Chemistry students began a new unit studying types of bonds and how the electrons in the elements determine their bonding behavior. The classes finished making models of atoms to demonstrate their knowledge of the structure of atoms before break. The students enjoyed showing their building skills and competing to win the best model contest. They also performed a lab performing an oxidation-reduction reaction in which they related to the movement of electrons between atoms. This is always a fun lab before the holidays because the students use this reaction to make a silver holiday ornament.
In AP Chemistry the students are working on the kinetic unit. They have been busy in lab determining the concentration of solutions using the analytical technique of spectrophotometry. They then analyzed the amount of an acid in a solution by performing titrations. This week they are performing an oxidation-reduction titration to determine the percent of hydrogen peroxide in a solution that is sold over the counter.
Mr. Lebegue's Biologists
Pre AP Biology
Mr. Wanko's History Classes
USI classes at the high school are currently studying the horrors of slavery and how it impacted America in the mid 1800s. Unfortunately a country built on freedom and democracy did not include African Americans.
Classes examined how the country became divided regarding slavery in America. This horrid institution was outlawed in most of Europe but actually expanded in the United States due to popular sovereignty and the invention of the cotton gin that expanded production of crops in the south.
Students utilized primary sources and detailed documentaries as to why and how slavery expanded in the south while the north became more industrialized and opposed to slavery. Each class saw the cry of abolitionism increased in the north to end this practice. Authors such as Harriet Beecher Stowe attempted to educate the public about the institution of slavery and radicals like John Brown took to extreme actions in an attempt to end these horrors.
Mr. DeBenedetto's World History
All great world changes start in the minds of people. As we we sit here in the 21st century, it is easy to take for granted that people should be born free; that they should not be subject to cruelty and abuses; that they should be able to choose and pursue the things in life that bring them joy and fulfillment; that they should be equal to anyone else and treated thusly; that they should have, by right, mechanisms in place to dispel any government or entity that violates the assumptions hitherto expressed. Students in World History classes learned that these thoughts were born in the period known as The Enlightenment, spanning between the 17th and early 19th centuries.
These ideas sparked change, indeed. As a culminating activity of our Unit of study, Student groups expound upon the causes, effects, main events, and relevant people of one political revolution and link it to the ideas of the Enlightenment by creating multimedia presentations. The audience filled out note organizers, using them to complete a synthesis writing task in which similarities and differences were highlighted and Enlightenment ideas identified. In all, an excellent peer-to-peer learning experience was had.