Hoboken High School Weekly Update
#redwingway
A very busy week as we held our National Honor Society Induction Ceremony on Tuesday night. We welcomed 28 new students to join our membership, and we sadly bid farewell to our 23 senior students. I am proud to share that our chapter contributed over 897 community service hours with an estimated community impact value of over $29,000. Three of our members received honor awards for 40 or more service hours, and ten received merit awards for more than 20 service hours from Innerview and the United Nations Association. And the year is not over…many of our members are continuing to help out with field days for our elementary schools. Here's the video if you care to view it.
Congratulations to Ms. Drumgoole and Ms. Martinez on our 2nd Annual Friendship Walk for Best Buddies. The weather was perfect, and we were joined by students, parents, and staff as we walked for inclusion. After our one mile walk, we were treated to Amanda Banana ice cream, cookies, and chips. For those who had the energy, we also did a little dancing.
Wednesday evening we were treated to the HHS and HMS Spring Concert. All participants did an amazing job, but we give a big shout out to the middle school string ensemble. Thanks to Mr. Stasiak for all his hard work with the students.
Our students in Pre AP classes will be taking the end of year examination for College Board. The schedule is as follows:
June 13th - Pre AP English 9 and Pre AP English 10 - 8:30 - 11:00
June 14th - Pre AP Chemistry and Pre AP Biology - 8:30 - 11:00
June 15th - Pre AP Algebra I and Pre AP Algebra II - 8:30 - 11:00
I am attaching our final exam schedule for students in Grade 9-12. Please review with your child, as attendance is required for final exams. If a student is absent, they must present a doctor's note to make up the exam. Senior exams will take place the week before the close of school during their regularly scheduled classes. Please ensure they are present for final exams.
On Monday, June 13th, and Tuesday, June 14th, our upcoming seniors will be taking their senior photos. Students must schedule a time directly with www.prestigeportraits.com online. For more information, email Michelle McGreivey at mmcgreivey@hoboken.k12.nj.us.
We are busy over the next few weeks with our end of year celebrations. Please mark the dates on your calendar. Remember that most up to date district calendar is ALWAYS posted on our website. The last day of school is Thursday, June 23rd. Here is a link to the calendar and a picture of the current version appears below.
June 14th - National Spanish Honor Society Induction Ceremony at 6:30 pm
June 15th - Academic and Athletic Scholarship Dinner - 6:30 pm
June 23rd - Graduation - 6:00 pm
I look forward to all these celebrations!
All the best,
Ms. Picc
June 10, 2022
Best Buddies Friendship Walk
Best Buddies Friendship Walk was a tremendous success. The event was held at JFK Stadium on Wednesday, June 8th from 12:30pm-3:00pm. The purpose of the walk is to bring awareness to the social, physical and economic isolation people with Intellectual and Developmenatl Disabilites (IDD) experience and to work towards ending it. The HHS Chapter Officers were instrumental in preparing for the event and wrapping up at the end. We are thankful to El Dixey, Ashley Justice, Leyla Best, Yazleen Rivera & Tim Magazinnik for their hard work and dedication to Best Buddies. I would be remiss if I did not also mention how incredible the Athletic Dept. Staff was in supporting this effort. Thanks to Mr. Baker, Director of Athletics, Vinny Johnson, David Roof and Seth McLaughllin for your patience and kindness.
Walkers received giveaways, including Best Buddies Friendship Walk 2022 t-shirts, noise makers and sunglasses. Certainly the sunglasses came in handy as the sun brightly shone upon this #WalkForChange event. Participants walked 4 laps around the track, earning the generous donations made by friends, family, district staff and community members. The Hoboken HS and MS Best Buddies Chapters raised $2,900.00. A highlight of the event was cooling off with Amanda Bananas Food Truck where everyone was treated with a healthy alternative to ice cream. It was refreshing, delicious, dairy & gluten free, and vegan! Who knew fruit could be so yummy? Thank you @amandabananasnj for supporting Best Buddies.
In total, Best Buddies NJ raised over $90,000.00 in the Friendship Walk fundraiser. These proceeds go towards building friendships between people with and without IDD, offering social mentoring while improving the quality of life and level of inclusion; securing jobs for people with IDD, allowing them to earn an income, pay taxes, and support themselves as self sufficent adults; educating and empowering people with and without IDD to be leaders, public speakers and advocates; and providing a vibrant, integrated living opportunity for people with and without IDD.
As the advisors of the HHS Best Buddies Chapter, we want to say how proud we are to be part of this organization and are so thankful to be working with the most compassionate, kind, funny and smart group of kiddos! - Patty Drumgoole & Mrs. Martinez
Live Surgery
Freshman students taking the PLTW Principles of Biomedical Science classes watched a coronary bypass surgery! The students were able to witness the surgeon perform an incision on the left wall of the thoracic cavity, utilize a retractor to open a space between two ribs known as a left lateral thoracotomy, and reveal the beating heart! The surgeons performed a coronary bypass surgery on a 72 year old patient with both hypercholesterolemia and hypertension. The patient’s left coronary artery (LAD) was fully blocked, necessitating a bypass to save his life. During the surgery, the students had the opportunity to ask questions to the surgical team. They heard from nurses, physician’s assistants and the lead surgeon. They spoke about their career and experience and what inspired them to join the medical field and go into surgery. The surgery was successful. Our best wishes for a speedy recovery to this patient!
Guidance
There are multiple, great opportunities for our rising seniors to experience. The Guidance Department encourages students who are interested in the following programs to stop by for additional information OR email Mrs. Gleason (sgleason@hoboken.k12.nj.us) and Ms. Markowitz (elyse.markowitz@hoboken.k12.nj.us).
Swarthmore College is hosting their Fly-In Program this upcoming fall. It is an all-expenses-paid overnight fly-in program for high-achieving students. Admissions pay for all transportation, meals, and on-campus houses for students selected to attend. This year, they are hosting 2 sessions of this program to give students flexibility in visiting their campus. This program will take place Thursday, September 29th to Saturday October 1st and Thursday, October 27th to Saturday, October 29th.
Additional information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb5MAGwjkNI&t=9s
Pomona College is hosting their first on-campus diversity Fly-In Program since 2019, “Perspectives on Pomona.” Participating students will receive shuttle transportation between local airports and Pomona College, on-campus housing, and all meals for the duration of the program. Travel grants are available to cover airfare expenses or, for local students, mileage expenses. All applicants also receive fee waivers to apply to Pomona. You will also have the opportunity to experience the Pomona community by meeting students and faculty and exploring academic and social opportunities on campus. This program will take place from October 2nd-4th.
Additional information: https://www.pomona.edu/admissions/apply/virtual-perspectives-pomona-pop
Bowdoin College is hosting their “Explore Bowdoin Program” this upcoming fall. You will have the opportunity to meet with current students, gain support and confidence in the college admissions process and experience the overall campus environment. Bowdoin accommodates all of the covers and cost of the program, including transportation to/from campus, lodging, and meals for the duration of the student’s trip.. Attendees will also have an admissions interview and meet individually with their student aid counselors while on campus. This program will take place from September 15th-17th and October 13th-15th.
Additional information: https://www.bowdoin.edu/admissions/visit/explore-bowdoin/?utm_source=explore&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=admissions&utm_term=F23&utm_content=counselor
As the end of the year is approaching, we know that it is an exciting time full of end of the year activities and summer plans. It is also important to remember that finals are coming up and to incorporate studying into your busy schedules. We recommend that each student sets aside some time leading up to the exams to organize their notes and think about what they would like to focus on for each subject area. Creating a study plan that works for each student is highly recommended. The Guidance Department wishes each student at Hoboken High School the best of luck during their upcoming final exams.
Mental Health Month
Seniors Reflect through Letters
In Ms. Schneider and Ms. Chakov’s English IV class, seniors are writing a letter to the incoming freshman class. As seniors are about to graduate, they have reflected on their experiences throughout their years at Hoboken High School, recognizing struggles that they overcame and providing tips they wish they had known to assist them during their first year and subsequent years of high school. Whether students had a difficult first year or their years were relatively smooth, they all had inspirational ideas for the incoming freshman. By recollecting their first years, students realized what may have helped them through common challenges, such as struggles with insecurities or making friends. Seniors and freshmen are at similar moments in their lives, transitioning into a new phase of life, and this reflection will not only impart useful tips for the freshmen, but it also reminds the seniors of their success and how they themselves have overcome obstacles.
Ms. Weaver's ELA
Ms. Weaver’s English II
The sophomores are ending the school year by reading Seedfolks, by Paul Fleischman. In this book, a young girl unknowingly starts a community garden by planting lima bean seeds in a trash-filled vacant lot. This small act brings 13 members of an apartment complex with diverse ethnicities and backgrounds in Cleveland together, giving them hope of a transformed community where residents want to live. While reading this story, the students are studying similes and metaphors, connotation and denotation, quote analysis, and characterization. After they finish reading this book, they will each choose two of their favorite characters to create a poster to reflect the Seedfolks’ community.
Mr. Huggins / Ms. Weaver’s English III
The juniors continue researching their topics of choice. This week, they worked on reading their source material from the library databases, taking notes from the articles, and writing rhetorical abstracts for their sources. The rhetorical abstracts identify the author of each article, provide a brief overview of the source, state the purpose of the article, and identify the intended audience of the document. This activity allows the students to interact more deeply with their sources and demonstrate their ability to comprehend scholarly articles. They ended the week by organizing their slideshows, which will identify their research questions/topics, summarize their notes, cite their sources, connect to the movie Just Mercy, and reflect on the research process.
Ms. Weaver’s English IV
The seniors have been busy writing essays this week. They began the week by writing their Senior Year Reflective Essay, which gave them the opportunity to reflect on what it means to be going out into “the real world” and how prepared they feel. They also examined and discussed how they have changed over the past four years in terms of handling challenging situations and people. Finally, they reflected on their most significant challenge they confronted during high school, how they overcame the challenge, and what they learned about themselves and others from this experience. The seniors ended the week by writing a letter of advice to incoming freshmen. They thought about what they wished they knew before starting high school and offered tips on how to succeed at Hoboken High School.
Ms. Patel's Biologists
Students in the Biology CP classes have recently finished their genetics unit and have started learning about evolution. The students engaged in a lab to review their skills identifying phenotypes, genotypes, dominant and recessive alleles while they created smiley face babies during lab. They also predicted the probability outcomes of the genetic traits by flipping coins. For the evolution unit, students learned about Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution through natural selection. Students investigated the evolution of the opposable thumb during the lab. Students completed multiple tasks while having their thumbs available for use.Then their thumbs were taped down so they were not able to use them. The students later compared the time it took the students to complete the same tasks without their thumbs. Clearly students realized that the evolution of the opposable thumb has allowed humans to be able to complete many more tasks easily and quickly compare to the organisms who do not have this feature.
PLTW
Ms. Tank's Mathematicians
Ms. Loughlin's African American History
Ms. Lisa's ESL Class
On Thursday, Ms. Lisa’s ESL class and some students from the Business Ethics class took a field trip to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City. Students walked around the memorial fountains, taking in the footprint of both towers and reading the names of the 2,977 people who were killed at the World Trade Center site, near Shanksville, PA, and at the Pentagon. Then students were given time to walk through the museum at their own pace, taking in the exhibitions. Many spent time processing the timeline of the day which included voice recordings from workers, first responders, and those on the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania. Students learned more about the events that took place and saw artifacts from the aftermath. Many also took the opportunity to walk through the temporary exhibit, “K-9 Courage,” featuring the hundreds of dogs who participated in the response to the attack.
Athletics
Congratulations to the following outdoor track athletes for qualifying for the next round of the NJSIAA track outdoor race at Pennsauken High School on Jun 11, 2022.
This past Saturday on Day 2, Senior Ty Wholf reclaimed the N2G1 200m crown for the second straight year, with the winning time of 23.03. Wholf also placed second in the 400m with a personal best time of 50.29. Xaiden Simmons placed in the 400m as well, placing 5th with a personal best time of 53.07. The Boys 4x400 relay team consisting of Wholf, Simmons, Sean Pierre, and Hudson Tseng placed 4th with a time of 3:40.50.
Senior Karilynn Jimenez placed 6th in both the 400m (1:04.92) and the 200m (28.14).
All mentioned qualified for the Group 1 Championships at Pennsauken High School this upcoming weekend.
Way to go Redwings!