...we continue with online learning. We greatly appreciate your continued assistance with your children's online learning, understand the additional stress that this pandemic has created for so many of you, and are aware of the fears you may be experiencing about what lies ahead.

Together, we will get through this crisis and will be stronger as a result. We want to remind you that Vernon Township High School is blessed with professionals who can help you and your families through this very difficult time. If there is anything we can do to assist you during this challenging journey, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

Take care and be safe,

Pauline F. Anderson, Nicholas M. Demsak and Jacquelyn M. Van Orden

At Vernon Township High School, we have been focusing on the New Jersey Social and Emotional Learning Competencies and Sub-Competencies during the 2019-2020 school year.

We understand that most of this responsibility has been transferred to your homes now and want you to know that we sincerely appreciate all of our families and the dedication that such online learning necessitates.

We just wanted to update you on what the High School SCA is doing to help our Vernon community.

We heard that the local pantries in Vernon are running low on food so we had a Zoom meeting last Thursday and made it our official April meeting where we voted on and unanimously approved to donated money to St. Francis and to the Vernon United Methodist Church, we also donate to Tracks Deli, they are giving hot meals to families in need and rely on monetary donations. We also donated money to the robotics department for supplies they need for making the face shields for the doctors and nurses. We gave $500 to each of them. This money is being donated on behalf of all the students and parents at the high school.

SCA stands for School Community Association and in this unprecedented time, we felt it necessary to give to our community in need. The High School SCA has worked very hard for the past couple of years and we have had great success with our fundraisers so we felt that, now more than ever, it was time to give back to our community. We are proud of our community and proud to be able to support in any way possible.

We would like to thank everyone who has supported our SCA in order to make such donations possible.

Some of Mrs. Weyant's beautiful insights included:

• Always remember poetry can soothe our souls and tame the scary monsters in our minds.

• We all want to leave a mark. How will future generations, how will our planet, how will our universe know you were ever here? May the reason others will know you were here is because you loved.

• Grow, grow, grow during this sheltering time. Just a little.

• Be compassionate toward yourself and others. Be patient, with yourself and this "lock down." Know that, like a river, nothing stays the same forever. It will pass. Let it be, for now.

• May only ripples cradle your boat today.

• May your days be filled with cures and blessings.

Thank you for sharing your amazing insight with us, Mrs. Weyant!

Thanks to Mrs. Lisa Hirkaler and her committee, the NJEA has awarded VTHS $10,000 to improve the high school's courtyards! We are looking forward to working collaboratively on this beautification effort.

VTHS had 4 competitors and one winner! Madison Hordych placed second in the Northern Regional Conference in Sports Medicine. Congratulations, Madison!

Arrangements may be made to have these lunches delivered by contacting your child's school counselor.

Chromebooks and chargers are also available for pick-up at the high school daily from 11:00 am -1:00 pm.

Hotspots were ordered and delivered thanks to Mr. Matt Shea and our amazing Tech Department!

The Tech Department also has a TECH RESOURCES FOR PARENTS site, which includes updates, helpful videos, resources etc www.vtsd.com/tech

Students should check into their courses on Schoology daily. Teachers are posting Daily Updates that have the assignments and expectations for the day. If you or your child have any questions regarding an assignment, please reach out to the teacher!

To streamline the process for our students, you will see some uniform things within your Courses:

• Students’ courses open to Updates

• Updates outline daily expectations

• Materials are organized based upon date and/or unit

• Office hours posted at the top of each course page

Thank you, teachers, students and parents/guardians for your assistance!

At the current time, the Junior Prom has been cancelled and will be rescheduled sometime in the future.

The Senior Prom is still on hold, as it is scheduled for May 28th, however, more than likely, it too will be cancelled. Although plans are well underway for the traditional graduation ceremony, a Virtual Graduation will be implemented if a traditional ceremony cannot be held.

These are challenging times for many of us and it is our sincere hope that you and your families will remain safe and healthy in the coming days. Please reach out if we may be of any assistance.

Take care and be safe,

Pauline F. Anderson, Nicholas M. Demsak and Jacquelyn M. Van Orden

Thank you for allowing us to work with you and your child during the 2019-2020 school year.