SHS Highlights
Monthly Community Update
#WeAreSparta
Administrative Team:
edward.lazzara@sparta.org
Mrs. Courtney Kopf - Vice Principal
Mrs. Jamie Barker - Vice Principal
jamie.barker@sparta.org
Mr. Benson - Director of Student Support Services
Mr. Steve Stoner - Athletic Director
Staff Member Spotlight:
Ms. Vnenchak
Mr. Hood
Mr. Hood won the American Council of Teachers of Russian Award for Teaching Excellence in Russian at the 9-12 Level for 2023. The American Council of Teachers of Russian is the national-level organization for all teachers of Russian in the United States, and this is the most prestigious award and honor that 9-12 Russian language teachers can win.
Student Accomplishments:
Students of the Month:
Math - Bryan Wieczezak is a model student in CP Geometry. Bryan stands out as a class leader who leads his groups in discussions and goes above and beyond to help his classmates understand concepts. Additionally, he works hard and is self-motivated. Bryan strives to understand the deeper meaning of Geometry. He is kind, compassionate and respectful to everyone in class.
Science - Anthony Caldi is always kind and respectful to not only his teachers, but his classmates as well. He helps those around him when he is understanding a topic well. He is dedicated to his studies, always asking questions and attending AA weekly! He is such a positive influence on his peers!
World Language - Kylie Klinck has a great attitude towards learning. In her recent presentation of "Mein Leben in Bildern" she radiated joy while presenting about the different milestones in her life. Kylie is also considerate of others, and always makes sure that everyone is included.
ELL - Fernando Cardenas is such a pleasure to have in class. He is thoughtful, reflective and concerned about others. He is creative and inquisitive. He has an unending reserve of questions about the English language which is really refreshing to see. Fernando has made incredible progress in English in a short time, and I’m very happy to have had the opportunity to see him come into his own this year.
History - Ian Yip is an A+ student who is very intelligent and conscientious about all of his work assignments. Although quiet, he offers insight that is usually spot on. Ian is also a very academically motivated student with high standards.
TCC - Jayla Barbosa is a teacher's assistant for all culinary arts classes. She has become a terrific asset to the program, acting as a mentor and assistant. Jayla competed all three levels of culinary arts as a stand out student.
Music - Myles Williams always goes above and beyond to prepare for his music classes. This month he brought 100% energy to rehearsals for the Wizard of Oz and was a stand out on the stage.
Art - Kacy Biddiscombe has really grown by leaps and bounds in her AP art portfolio. She is in the art room most days during her free periods, working on intricate details. Her ideas are that of the college level, and her quest to get the portfolio details just-so has her focused and driven. She also explores interesting mediums, such as sewing, making clothes and jewelry making, forging ahead to discover something new to bring to the medium of art, painting and self expression. She is not afraid to put her thoughts on the canvas, giving her that 'sparkle' a teacher can not teach.
Physical Education - Nikolas Cucciniello brings an infectious energy to class. He has shown improvement in each activity that we have done this year. Nik works hard in class, always breaking a sweat and playing as hard as he can. He always interacts with his classmates and cheers on their success in class as well. He is a model PE student and truly enjoys the class.
Kindness Matters
Unsung Hero Award
In collaboration with the New Jersey School Boards Association, the Sussex County School Boards Association recognizes an Unsung Hero from each of Sussex County's school districts. These honorees are students who make outstanding contributions to their schools and communities. Congratulations to Katherine McCall for being receiving the Unsung Hero award for SHS. Her kindness and commitment to all students and staff is recognized and appreciated.
Counseling Department News:
Top Ten GPA
Congratulations to our Top Ten GPA students! These students deserve recognition for their hard work and academic success and accomplishments:
Ian Bellush
Charles Canzoniero
Ashley Crane, Valedictorian
Dana Dunbar
Kyleigh Mongon
Cassidy Pry
McKaela Reekie, Salutatorian
Surekha Selvaraj
Dean Stas
Anna Yerofeyev
Important Dates
Sparta High School will administer the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment (NJGPA) to all students in Grade 11 from Monday, March 11 to Thursday, March 14, 2024. Taking the NJGPA is a state graduation requirement for all Juniors in the Class of 2025. If a Junior has a planned field trip or is absent on a testing date, a makeup date will be scheduled for the following week.
Sparta High School will be hosting a College Fair for all high school students on Thursday, March 21, 2024, during student lunch. Representatives from over 50 colleges, career/technical schools, and the military will be in the main gym with information and answers to all of your questions. A list of attending schools/representatives can be found HERE. Students are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. We look forward to seeing you there!
It is the mid-point of the third marking period. We encourage our students to continue to work hard this spring through the end of the school year. Remember to check grades regularly in the parent portal.
Departmental News:
Art Department Highlights
The Fresh Perspectives Juried Art Show is an annual Art Show held by the Morris Museum. For this particular art show a group of high caliber judges select the best of the best work out of hundreds of submissions by schools all over New Jersey. There have been years where we have had one or no pieces accepted.
This year we are very excited to announce that FIVE of our very own Sparta students have been selected to be represented in this year's upcoming Fresh Perspectives show:
Milena Oberle
Alexa Hitchuk
Claire Sehnert
Lynessa Marrow
Lauren Ellrott
The Fresh Perspectives Show runs from March 15th-May 26th if anyone would like to see the work in person.
The Peters Valley Art High School Art Show celebrates the artwork of students all over Sussex County and beyond. This year, one of our own fantastic sculpture students, Eva Tururro, received an honorable mention with her ceramic coil vase entitled "A Monster of a Piece."
Athletic and Co-Curricular Highlights:
Staff Appreciation
Our Girls Basketball program hosted the First Annual Staff Appreciation Night. Players recognized staff members for the impact that they have made on their lives.
DECA
Our students competed in the state competition this week, and the following students are moving on to the DECA National competition in Anaheim:
Stock Exchange competition
Parker Hein
Jordyn Kelly
Gian Parker
Project Management Career Development:
Sama Elhamouly
Abbey Pierson
Ella Ryan
Principles of Finance:
Surekha Selvaraj (1st place)
Finance Operations Project:
Brady Flannery
Quint Flannery
School Store Gold Certification:
Jane Bleakley
Luke Silvey
Academic Bowl
The Academic Bowl team won the SCIL tournament at Newton HS. The team competed against teams from Hopatcong, Jefferson, Newton, Lenape Valley, and Pope John. SHS defeated Pope John in the finals by one question. The team was led by McKaela Reekie, Tyler Harms, Andres Parreno, Aidan Harris, Sierra Harms, Caitlin Carmody, and Sara Schwarz who all contributed to the victory. Additional team members who could not attend the competition are: Jaimin Duberry, Victoria Ilardi, Justin Knapp, Owen Murphy, Jules Papaleo, Kate Sutphen, Brooke Wydenbach and Madelyn Wydenbach.
Robotics Team
On Saturday February 3, 2024 the Sparta Robotics teams once again competed at a regional event held at South Brunswick High School.
Sparta had many victories from the day with four of our six sub-teams finishing with winning records.
5249 S and 5249 B earned their way to quarter finals and 5149 A and 5249 Z earned their way to semi finals.
Sparta's lead varsity team, 5249 Z "Spare Parts" took the highest honors of the event by winning the Tournament Excellence Award. The Excellence Award recognizes overall excellence in both the Judged Award and the Performance Award categories. The Excellence Award incorporates all the criteria of the Design Award, plus the added component of a team’s on-field performance at the event. The Excellence Award is a required award if judging is being conducted at an event.
Key criteria of the Excellence Award are:
- Be at or near the top of all Engineering Notebook Rubric rankings with a Fully Developed Notebook. The absolute minimum for a notebook to be considered "Fully Developed" would be the first four criteria of the rubric, outlining the initial design process of a single iteration.
- Exhibit a high-quality team interview.
- At the conclusion of qualifying matches, be ranked in the top 30% of teams* at the event in qualification match / teamwork match rankings.
- At the conclusion of the Robot Skills Challenge matches, be ranked in the top 30% of teams* at the event, and have a score above zero.
- At the conclusion of the Autonomous Coding Challenge matches, be ranked in the top 30% of teams* at the event with a score above zero.
- Be a candidate in consideration for other Judged Awards
- Demonstrate a student-centered ethos.
- Exhibit positive team conduct, good sportsmanship, and professionalism.
As of this past weekend, four of Sparta's teams have earned their way to the New Jersey State Championship.
5249 Z is now triple qualified
5249 A, B and S have also qualified
5249 X still has a chance and may still make it.
Currently, Sparta High School teams are ranked globally out of 13,765 High School and Middle School VEX VRC Teams from over 40 different countries.
5249 Z is in the top 3% worldwide.
5249 A and 5249 B are in the top 5%
5249 X is in the top 10%
5249 S and J are in the top 20%
The state championships will be held at NJIT on Saturday, March 9 2024.
"Our teams continue to gain ground and improve their performance. We are really proud of what they are achieving. Head Coach - Robotics and Engineering Teacher - Mark Meola
"Our team may not have had things go our way, and we may not have reached the goals which we set for ourselves, but we continued to learn and grow, which is the most important thing." Jaisen Caswell - Captain - 5249-X "Batmobile"
“We’re all very proud of how far our team has come. Despite our initial lack of experience, we’ve managed to accomplish a lot, and we’re working hard to continue pushing the envelope as the season develops.” Dean Stas - Mech. Eng., Coder - 5249-B "I.A.N"
Ice Hockey
Our KJS United ice hockey team won the Halverson Cup 5-2. Congratulations to our players and coaches!
Unified Basketball
Sparta Unified Basketball finished the season strong, winning the 2024 Tri-County Pass-it-Along Unified Basketball tournament at Hackettstown High School on February 27th. Sparta entered two teams to represent our school. Team Light Blue was led by our rebound specialist Theo Peirce with 36 points and Nik Cucciniello with 32 points. Both men led their team to an undefeated record of 4-0. Team Dark Blue was led by Grady Gaines, who scored 62 points on the day. Another 32 points were scored by Jake Sabo for Team Dark Blue. They had a record of 3-1, with their only loss to Sparta Light Blue. The two teams came together to play for the championship against High Point HS and won 35 - 22.
NJAC Honors
Congratulations to our students who were recognized by earning NJAC Award honors: Bowling 2nd Team - Khalil Masri and Karen Maasbach Honorable Mention - John Ferrara Girls Basketball
Honorable Mention - Molly Chapman and Malaya Dobbs
Sportsmanship Winner - Girls Basketball Team
Boys Basketball
2nd Team - Leshann Little
Honorable Mention - Christian Grubbs
Wrestling 1st Team - Ryan Hrenenko, Logan Hrenenko, Luke Brown, Connor White
2nd Team - Peter Donnelly, Eugene Donnelly, Anthony Petrock
Honorable Mention - Patrick Bruseo
Wrestling
Musical
Congratulations to our Wizard of Oz cast and crew for putting on such a talented and amazing production. All three performances were sold out, and we are grateful to our community for coming to support.
Align Wellness Program
Sparta High School
Email: edward.lazzara@sparta.org
Website: sparta.org
Location: 70 West Mountain Road, Sparta, NJ, USA
Phone: 9737296191
Twitter: @sparta_hs