Ramapo Logo
Ramapo High School

November / December Newsletter

November/December
 
Dear Families and Students:
 
It's been a fantastic fall for Ramapo.  Here is a summary of some great news from around campus.  All the best for wonderful holiday season and thanks for you continued support.
 
Sincerely,
 
Louis Moore
Principal
 
Congratulations to Jon Samarro, Michele Whittemore, Kathleen Steirer, Adam Nemeth and the entire cast and crew of "I Hate Hamlet" the Gold Masque fall drama. Everyone did a brilliant job and audiences were treated to another fabulous Gold Masque production.
 
Senior Devin Ruth and her sister Julia, a freshman, were recently selected to perform in the off-Broadway show "Maurice Hines Tappin' Thru Life."   Congratulations to the Ruth sisters for this remarkable achievement.  We look forward to their debut on Broadway!
 
A thunderous applause to Jackie Sarracco, Emily Amatulli and Susan Heerema for the lovely and entertaining Holiday Concert on December 9th.  The talent of our students is always wonderful to see and our special "conductor" (Superintendent Beverly MacKay) added an extra bit of excitement to the evening.  Congratulations to all for getting us into the holiday spirit.
 
A big "Thank You" to Angela Rodriguez, the APTS, and all her helpers, for an enchanting Holiday Festival. The building was decked out like a winter wonderland and the excitement of both the Roberto Clemente students and our own Ramapo elves and escorts made us all stop and appreciate the season.  This was a particularly difficult year for the Roberto Clemente students since they are all in different buildings due to the fire at their school, making our efforts mean even more to them.
 
Math Department Supervisor Mike Kaplan has been serving as a member of the Math Subcommittee for the Standards Review Committee at the New Jersey Department of Education.  The team met this fall to review the high school math standards (with a focus on clarity and coherence) and have recommended some changes to the Standards Review Committee.  Future work may involve a review of public feedback, which was gathered at listening sessions and through a survey. 
 
Congratulations to English teacher Diane Belinfanti, who has published Adrian's Odyssey, her first novel.  Diane is also the author of number books for young readers and a poetry anthology for middle-schoolers.  Copies are in the library if you would like to take a look!
 
Ramapo was one of eight schools to participate in the NJ STEM League competition this fall.  Representatives from United Water and Ameri-Corp presented teams with the challenge of processing a bucket of contaminated water to be used for consumption.  Teams needed to neutralize the acidity of the water and had to filter out both large and small particulates.  The first part of the challenge was a written lab report, and the second part of the challenge was building the apparatus.  The Ramapo team of Peter Caride, Christian Cosgrove, Andrew Sander, Gavin Viegas, and Erik Zelikman received top marks for the Lab Report.  This was the first time for Ramapo to participate in a NJ STEM League event.  Future events are currently being planned.  Congratulations to the students and thank you to Dan Vander Molen and Applied Tech teacher Jim Drobinski, who organized and planned the trip.
 
-Here is a student's perspective on two off-campus field experiences this year: " I have had the opportunity to take two field trips - one to the New York Bridge Construction site and the other to the 911 Memorial with my American Studies class.   These two experiences have brought to life the concepts that sometimes seem distant and obscure on the page. Both were incredibly valuable learning experiences and underscore the value of seeing and experiencing learning first hand.  I am thankful to my teachers for providing both opportunities."  Thanks to Susan Loccke, Pamela Sibela (American Studies) and Bob Wilson, Lisa Martone, Jim Drobinski for planning these trips. (UP Engineering)
 
Students in Staci Anson's United States history classes curated a museum display on various aspects of the American Revolution.  Students and teachers had the chance to visit and learn from the exhibit last month.  Here are a few photos of the project:


 
Ramapo's Sophomore Driver Education students were privileged to work with the Nikhil Badlani Foundation during October & November.  The Foundation was started in memory of 11-year-old Nikhil who was tragically killed in a car accident when a distracted driver ran a stop sign on June 11, 2011.  Our students have been working on a Plexiglas stained glass piece of artwork with Nikhil's Mom (Sangeeta) and artist Cindy Klein. The artwork will be unveiled on December 18th in the Media Center where it will hang for everyone to enjoy, and be reminded to "drive safely."  Thanks to Karli Basilicato for organizing the project.
 
A thunderous applause to Jackie Sarracco, Emily Amatulli and Susan Heerema for the lovely and entertaining Holiday Concert on December 9th.  The talent of our students is always wonderful to see and our special "conductor" (Superintendent Beverly MacKay) added an extra bit of excitement to the evening.  Congratulations to all for getting us into the holiday spirit.
 
 
"ON THE TURF, PITCH, COURTS AND MATS" - Ramapo Fall Athletics
 
ATHLETICS: NOVEMBER 2015
 
Gymnastics: NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1 Champions
 
Girls Tennis: Star-Ledger All Group 2: First Team Singles- Brianna Omar. Second Team Doubles- Liz Kogan , Nicolette Kogut.
 
Boys Soccer: Coach Evan Baumgarten selected as BNC Freedom Division Coach of the Year.
 
Girls Soccer: North 1 Group 2 State Sectional Champions
 
Gymnastics: Overall 5th place finish in NJSIAA  State Tournament
 
Boys Soccer: BNC Freedom Division Co-Champions
 
Gymnastics: Samantha Marion State Champion - Balance Beam (Two- time State Champion in this event). She was also named North 1 Sectional Gymnast of the Year (Star-Ledger) and First Team All-State. Emma Johnson : Second Team all-State
 
Ramapo Athletic Program ranked #5 in NJ . Study done by Niche services. Ranking was based on five factors: Survey responses, number of sports offered, number of male and female athletes, and expenses per student.
 
ATHLETICS: DECEMBER 2015
 
GIRLS SOCCER:  NJSIAA GROUP 2 STATE CHAMPIONS
 
Girls Gymnastics :   Samantha Marion - Gymnast of the Year , Bergen Record
 
All NJGL First Team : Amanda Katz, Emma Johnson, Shannon Furletti, and Kara Giacose
Second Team : Sophia Gilligan
Honorable Mention : Sara Reid, Samantha Marion
 
2015 Bergen County Team Champions
2015 Coach of the Year: Michelle Markowski, Ramapo
 
All Bergen County First Team:   Emma Johnson (All Around), Samantha Marion (All Around)
Second Team: Amanda Katz (Vault) Kara Giacose (Bars)
Honorable Mention: Jillian LoPresti, Sophia Gilligan
Team of the Year : Bergen Record
 
Football:   Drew Gibbs selected as BNC Independence Division Coach of the Year
 
Group 3 Section 1 Champions 

Ramapo High School
331 George Street
Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
201-891-1500

Join Our Mailing List