March 2021 Message
From the Vernon Township High School Administrative Team
Welcome to March!
As we are sure you already know, we will be inviting both our Blue and Gold teams of students to attend school together beginning on Monday, April 12th, the first day back from Spring Break; and so, we will Spring Ahead to the newest plan to welcome all students back for a full day of school! If your child is an exclusively virtual student and would like to return to in-person instruction, please contact your child's assistant principal.
As always, if you have questions and/or concerns about your child's educational experience, please reach out to your child's teacher first. The teacher is the best one to assist you with questions about specific classes, assignments, and assessments. We truly believe that when the home and school work collaboratively, students receive a quality education. Thank you for being our Partners in Education!
Sincerely,
Pauline F. Anderson, Ed. D., Principal; panderson@vtsd.com
Nicholas M. Demsak, Assistant Principal; ndemsak@vtsd.com
Jacquelyn M. Van Orden, Assistant Principal; jvanorden@vtsd.com
SPRING 2021 ARRIVES ON SATURDAY, MARCH 20TH!
VTHS HONOR ROLL for MARKING PERIOD 2
Congratulations to all of our students who have worked so hard to achieve Honor Roll status for the second marking period this year! Well done!
TERRILL RECEIVES FUNDING FOR DONORS CHOOSE PROJECT!
A few months ago, Mrs. Holly Terrill submitted an application for a Donors Choose Project which was selected, sponsored and fully funded! Today, all of her items were delivered. She received a brand new iPad, iPad pro earbuds and an OtterBox protective case. This will allow Mrs. Terrill to better connect with her students who are learning virtually while still attending to the learning needs of her students who are attending school in person.
Seven contributors made this project possible and we want to acknowledge their generosity:
1- Gregory Wirtz- VTHS Alumni
2/3- Alphonso Capizzo- He donated twice (December/February) His wife is a VTHS grad
4- John Demasi- He donated
4- Altice (the company) matched John's donation
5- Joe DeMeo- He donated
5- Altice (the company) matched Joe's donation
6- Liseth Perla- Mother of a special education student (not Vernon)
6- Altice (the company) matched Liseth's donation
7- Stavros Niarchos Foundation- matched Alphonso's 2nd donation
The total cost of the project was $908.16.
Be sure to visit their website at www.donorschoose.org
The products were shipped from Best Buy
Congratulations, Mrs. Terrill!
Robotics Competition Team #189 Shares Some News!
Congratulations Lindsay Burke and Vjosa Ukella!
Your FIRST® Robotics Competition team #1989 has nominated both of you as 2021 FIRST Dean's List Award semi-finalists!
Good luck, Lindsay and Vjosa!
Congratulations to the Academic Decathlon Team!
The Academic Decathlon Team qualified for the State Competition by placing 5th in our region!
Here are some of their awards:
Economics
Language and Lit
Science
Wesley Sanders - HM
Kaitlyn Buurman - HM
Interview
Mia Annunziata - HM
Dylan Mann - HM
Kaitlyn Buurman - Gold
Math
Music
Wesley Sanders - Gold
Kaitlyn Buurman - Bronze
Speech
Updates about the State Competition will be available next month!
Roxbury "artROX" Virtual Art Show Results
We just wanted to share some great news about one of our very talented VTHS students.
Congratulations to Patience Hevi! During February's Virtual "artROX" Roxbury Art Show she was awarded the following awards:
- 1st Place in the Drawing: Color Category for "Conflict Within"
- Hartford Art School Artistic Merit Scholarship for $23k per year for a total of $92k
We are very proud of Patience as well as all of our art students, who have been working very hard, virtually or hybrid, creating, learning, striving to do their very best throughout this year. The current pandemic may have taken a lot of things away from many, but this just shows the perseverance our Vernon students hold within themselves to work hard, to get through all obstacles that come their way to make the best of every situation.
Congratulations to all our VTHS student artist representatives:
- Idalis Santiago
- Nathan Horn
- Patience Hevi
- Dyllan Terwilliger
- Theresa Lypowy
- Autumn Baker
- Jonessa Rodriguez
- Raymond Kerrison
- Gwen Rush
- Anthony Hidalgo
- Gerald Bartoli
- Alyssa Kozdron
Great Job Vernon! We are very proud of you!
Thank you all for supporting the VTHS Visual Arts!
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR VTHS ATHLETES!
Gabby Tavares is the top finisher in the Girls North Division in the NJAC Championships!
Alyssa VanDalinda Represents VTHS at the NJSIAA National Girls and Women in Sports Day Event!
VTHS JV and Varsity Girls teams recently participated in the annual Pretty in Pink Basketball Tournament at High Point. Congratulations to Head Coach Stephanie DePiano and her teams!
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT VTHS?
eSports Club Begins at VTHS!
Mr. Matt Shea has shared that an eSports club has started at the high school. The club will welcome both competitive students and casual gamers and will play weekly. Although the competitive students have already started, casual gamers are still welcome to join!
If you know a VTHS student who would like to join this unified and inclusive activity--in-person or virtually--please reach out to Coach Anthony Vitrano at avitrano@vtsd.com.
MS. WINTERS MAKES ACP CHEMISTRY FUN!
As an extra credit project for ACP Chemistry Class, students were encouraged to choose an element and create a model that represents an atom of that element using any materials they wanted to. This is a "copper" cake. What a delicious way to remember elements!
This is a screenshot of a lab Ms. Winters did with ACP Chemistry called "Mendeleev for a Day."
Students had to observe what happens to the numbered solutions when they are reacted with the lettered solutions. Then they use what they know about chemical reactions to group the numbered solutions according to similar reactivity. This is designed to represent a glimpse into how Dmitri Mendeleev classified elements and created the periodic table.
Chris Winters performed the lab over a live Zoom (by logging into Zoom from her phone and her laptop at the same time, holding her phone in one hand, and doing the lab with the other hand)! She then recorded it and then posted it in Schoology so the students could refer back to it as they were writing up the lab report.
Thank you to Ms. Winters and all of our teachers who have gone to great lengths to continue teaching during these challenging times!
SATURDAY'S HAIRCUTTING CLASS WITH MS. SUSAN!
The Cosmetology 2 class came together Saturday, February 19th (socially distanced) with their Dollies to learn haircutting hands-on. With much success and lots of determination, all of the Dollie's happily left with zero degree (bob) and 180 degree (long layered) haircuts and the students left with the hands-on knowledge to match all of the theory they have learned while Zooming and Hybrid learning.
ONCE AGAIN ......IT WAS A FABULOUS DAY AT VERNON TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL!!!!
class of 2021 snow tubing at Mountain Creek!
Organized by 2021 Senior Parents, 75 seniors were offered the opportunity to a FREE snow tubing event! As pictured below, a group of students from the Class of 2021 spent an enjoyable afternoon enjoying a free afternoon of snowtubing at Mountain Creek.
Once again, VTHS students are grateful for the generosity of VTHS alum, Mr. Joe Hessian and our friends at Mountain Creek!
SOME IMPORTANT REMINDERS!
ALL VTHS STUDENTS ARE WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FIRST WINTER CARNIVAL!
CLASS OF 2021 FUNDRAISER ASSISTANCE NEEDED!
Please consider supporting the Class of 2021!
The Class of 2021 is now making plans for our end of Senior Year activities, including prom and their senior breakfast. We are running a fundraiser and would appreciate your support. There is a link to follow in the flyer. Thank you!!
Ordering Meals for All VTSD Students
If you wish to participate in the free breakfast and lunch pick-up program which is available to ALL VTSD students, please fill out one order form per family weekly. Any questions, please contact Mrs. Remner at mremner@vtsd.com or (973) 764-2976.
Blue Team Students: Meal Ordering Form - CLICK HERE
Gold Team Students: Meal Ordering Form - CLICK HERE
Exclusively Virtual Students: Meal Ordering Form -
CLICK HERE
Please note: Order forms update every Monday.
DATES TO REMEMBER! PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
PRELIMINATRY SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE TEST (PSAT 10)
On Wednesday April 14th, 2021, all students (Blue, Gold, and Exclusively Virtual) in grades 10 will be eligible to participate in the administration of the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT10) at Vernon Township High School.
Students participating in the PSAT should arrive at school at the normal start time of 7:05 AM and proceed to their test room where they will be tested.
Grade 10 students may be dropped off at the school and regular busing will be provided.
Temperature checks will be given and all testing rooms will practice social distancing.
During testing all students will be more than 6 feet apart with masks. The PSAT test will conclude, at approximately 11:00-11:20 AM.
SPRING MUSICAL - "LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS"
Despite this year being a bit of a "horror", the production team has put blood, sweat, and tears into making a musical "grow". They are thrilled to announce that the 2021 Vernon Township High School Spring Musical will be Little Shop of Horrors.
Mrs. Lindsay McAloney and her team are planning in-person performances with socially-distanced audiences on March 25, 26, and 27, 2021; there will also be a purchasable stream available in early April.
We've Been Asked to Share this Information with You:
Fall Drama Update
The Fall Drama was recently filmed and will be available for a purchasable stream this month. We will share the details as soon as we have further updates. Thank you for your continued patience.
In closing...
As we enter a new month --- and continue with the 2020-2021 school year --- we are honored to continue our work with you and your children. If there is anything we can do to assist you, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
Wishing you all the best,
The Faculty and Staff of VTHS
Dr. Pauline F. Anderson, Principal
Mr. Nicholas M. Demsak, Asst. Principal (grades 11-12)
Mrs. Jacquelyn M. Van Orden, Asst. Principal (grades 9-10)
