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Park Ridge School District
2015 Fall Newsletter
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Greetings from the Park Ridge School District! This is the first edition of the District Newsletter. We hope you enjoy the updates, news and information enclosed about our schools.
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Message from the Superintendent
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Happy Thanksgiving! I hope this note finds you stuffing the turkey or finalizing travel plans. Either way, I hope you enjoy the long weekend with family and friends.
The Park Ridge School District has enjoyed a productive start to the school year. The 1:1 laptop program was expanded in September to include all fifth graders. Also, fourth graders are enjoying classroom sets of laptops that remain in school and third grade can access laptop carts, as needed. I am very proud of our commitment to integrate technology on a regular basis.
We just received the PARCC scores and are busy analyzing them and preparing the Board of Education presentation. Right now, the plan is to present the scores to the Board on December 14th and mail the individual score reports to parents later that week. The 2016 PARCC testing schedule is still being finalized and will be released in the coming weeks.
The PRHS Owls just concluded a very exciting Fall sports season. Park Ridge Football, Girls' Soccer and Girls' Cross Country all were crowned league champions. Our student-athletes were a pleasure to watch and made wearing the maroon and white a rewarding experience.
In closing, it makes me very proud to serve as your Superintendent of Schools. As I walk around our schools, visit classrooms and watch our athletic teams, I am always impressed with the devotion and dedication of our students and staff. We have extremely talented and committed teachers working in Park Ridge and they are supported by an excellent administrative team. I am thankful to be an Owl!
I wish you and your family all the best for a happy and healthy holiday season.
Sincerely,
Robert M. Gamper, Ed.D.
Superintendent, Park Ridge Public Schools
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Park Ridge Jr/Sr High School
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What a quick and exciting start to the school year! It is hard to believe that we have already closed out the first marking period. I spent much of the first few weeks of school visiting classrooms where I witnessed many great endeavors from the students and staff. Our pursuit of excellence is once again underway and is as impressive as ever!
The 2015 fall athletic season recently came to a close and was a remarkable success! I would like to congratulate all our athletes and coaches on a great start to the year. They really set a positive tone for the rest of our teams to follow.
In addition to athletics, our PRHS Little Theater Player presented the fall drama titled “The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged).” The cast, crew and directors put on a great performance!
Our middle and high school band will hold their Annual Holiday Concert on December 10th and the Choir will ‘sing in’ the Holidays with their performance on December 17th. I am always astounded and impressed by the number of talented actors, singers and musicians we have walking our halls! I am certain their presentations will put us in the Holiday Spirit.
I look forward to seeing you all at some of our upcoming events and wish you and your families a delightful Holiday Season!
Sincerely,
Troy Lederman
Principal, Park Ridge High School
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The East Brook Owls have soared to a great start for the 2015-16 school year! I’ve been welcomed into a community of enthusiastic students, nurturing teachers, and hard working parents! We’ve watched our Kindergarteners publish their first writing pieces, our 1st graders count hundreds of pumpkin seeds, and our 2nd graders host a
Museum Share!
Our upper grade students have flourished using laptop computers which has resulted in an increase of 21st learning skills such as problem solving and collaboration. East Brook classrooms have utilized online programs such a Nearpod and Envisions Mathematics, which are 100% interactive between teachers and students using our Macbook devices.
We’ve hosted a series of successful events including our annual PTO Fun & Fitness Day in which our students walked 678 miles and raised over $7,000! The culmination of the event came when Ms. Cordeiro’s class received the grand prize for raising the most money and got to throw pies at the East Brook faculty and administration. Even Dr. Gamper and Mrs. Bernardo joined the fun! Fundraising initiatives like this support excellent assembly programs such as
Prismatic Magic’s Laser
Light Show
and
Dinosaurs Rock!
We look forward to an exciting next few months at East Brook as we continue to build upon our school’s theme of “Giving Back.” Generosity has spread throughout East Brook this Autumn as we've donated 326 pounds of Halloween candy to our troops and are planning a wonderful holiday give back to our veterans. Each day our 6th grader students serve as role models, keeping our younger students safe during lunch and recess. They give up their own free time to ensure the well-being of others. Each grade level will complete a “give back” project of their own such as
Alex’s Lemonade Stand
and
Give a Goat.
I am proud to be part of this community service initiative and look forward to helping them materialize in the coming months.
Take care,
Kevin Stokes
Principal, East Brook School
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November has been a busy and exciting month for West Ridge students and staff. We celebrated American Education Week by inviting parents to visit our classrooms on November 18th. We were thrilled that over 200 parents and grandparents were able to join us.
This month, students learned about the Character Trait of Citizenship with everyone celebrating all of the aspects of being a good citizen in and out of the classroom. Fourth and Fifth grade students attended the Veteran’s Day Ceremony at the American Legion on Veteran’s Day. Students learned some valuable lessons about our Country’s Veterans and found out that many veterans who served our country live locally and are members of their own families. The students proudly walked down Ridge Avenue to the ceremony carrying flags provided to each of them by the American Legion. They learned that their attendance at the ceremony was one way to display good citizenship. Two Park Ridge Police Officers, Office Puglis and Officer Szot, came to West Ridge to speak to all of the students about their experiences in the Marines share what Americanism means to them.
Singer and Songwriter Jonathan Sprout also visited West Ridge to join in the celebration of Citizenship. He taught the students about Good Citizenship through the lives of great American Heroes. Thanks to the West Ridge PTO for helping organize these great learning activities for our students!
Sincerely,
Christine McCaffery
Principal, West Ridge School
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The District received the 2015 PARCC scores for all students last week. The presentation of the scores to the Board of Education is scheduled for Monday, December 14th at 8PM in the HS Little Theater. Individual Score Reports will be mailed to parents December 15-18.
The 2016 PARCC testing schedule is still being finalized. The test will be administered in April/May. Exact dates are still being determined and will be released in the coming weeks.
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On Wednesday, November 18th, Superintendents and Directors from several local school districts toured the Park Ridge Schools to observe the 1:1 laptop program. The focus was on grades 5-8, since many districts do not extend these programs below 9th grade. The level of integration in the classroom is impressive, given the limited amount of time this program has been in place.
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On Friday, September 18th, Mioli Pass officially opened before the PRHS football home opener. Joined by family, friends, faculty, and the Park Ridge and Hasbrouck Heights football teams, the monument was unveiled during a brief ceremony. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed a thrilling victory by the Owls!
Feel free to view this lasting memory of a beloved coach and educator. It is located at the entrance to the footbridge, near the softball field.Special thanks to Creative Designs for donating the stone and Field Turf for donating the field inscription
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- 11/25 Early Dismissal
- 11/26-11/27 Thanksgiving Recess
- 12/14 BOE Meeting
- 12/23 Early Dismissal
- 12/24-1/1 Holiday Recess
- 1/4 BOE Reorganization Meeting
- 1/18 Schools Closed (Staff Only)
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Park Ridge Board of Education
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- Joseph Bruno, President
- Daniel Browne, Vice President
- Barbara von Bradsky
- Frank Church
- Peter Montalbano
- Patrick Moran
- Robert Sileo
- Robert M. Gamper, Superintendent
- Robert Wright, Business Administrator
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