NORTH HUNTERDON HIGH SCHOOL
Annandale, NJ
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January 2021 E-Newsletter |
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Upcoming Events
The following is a list of important upcoming events:
- January 4 - School Resumes, 7:45am
- January 5 - NH Booster Club Meeting, 7pm, virtual
- January 7 - Orientation for 8th Grade Parents, 6:30pm, virtual
- January 11 - Basketball, Fencing, Cheerleading begin
- January 12 - NH Music Association Meeting, 7pm, virtual
- January 13 - PTSA Meeting, 7pm, virtual
- January 13 - 8th Grade Student Orientation, virtual
- January 18: School Closed, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- January 21: End of First Semester/3rd Marking Period
- January 22: Second Semester Begins
- January 25-February 5: Course Scheduling for 2021-2022 School Year
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December Students of the Month |
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Jasmine Jimenez
Class of 2021
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Jasmine Jimenez will be attending Penn State University in the fall as a Mechanical Engineering major. Mechanical Engineering has always been an interesting subject to Jasmine. She hopes it will help her reach her goal to one day work for NASA. Jasmine is a member of the Social Studies National Honor Society, Interact Club, and the Northern Lights Art and Literary Magazine. Her favorite classes at North have been Economics with Mr. McSweeney and Physics with Ms. Yurgel. Both classes were taught by two of her favorite teachers and were about subjects she loves to learn about. Jasmine’s favorite memories from North were going to the Screen on the Green with her friends, running the Open Mic Night with the Literary Magazine members, and attending all of the Homecoming dances. |
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Matthew Lifshitz
Class of 2021
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Senior Matthew Lifshitz has had a lot of great memories from his four years at North Hunterdon. At the top of Matthew’s list would be attending Spike for a Cure and Hoops for Hearts with his friends. Both events were a lot of fun and they helped donate money to good causes. Another great memory was going on a field trip to an Amazon warehouse and getting to experience the events with a lot of his close friends. Matthew is a member of National Honor Society and Math Honor Society. He enjoys being part of the basketball program at North where he was previously captain of the JV team. Throughout his high school career, Matthew has been volunteering his time at Or Chadash. At Or Chadash, he has the opportunity to help run religious classes and teach younger kids while in a leadership role. Matthew’s favorite class at North was Chemistry with Mr. Quinn. He really enjoyed the class because of how Mr. Quinn taught the class, the different labs and experiments they conducted, and the friends he got to work with. Next year, Matthew plans to study Business and/or Economics. So far, he has applied to the University of Miami, Villanova, and Northeastern. |
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December Athletes of the Month |
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Daniel Pedretti
Class of 2021
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Senior Daniel Pedretti has been running Cross Country since middle school and has been running since he was in second grade. Even in unprecedented circumstances within a global pandemic, Daniel says the team really found its stride under Coach Higgins’ watch this season. The team placed first at the Garret Invite, the Oak Ridge Invite and topped off the season with a team win at the East Coast Cross Country Championships on December 5th. At Holmdel Park, in the Penultimate Meet, the team averaged 16:44.8, which ties for the second-best average for North Hunterdon on the state championship course, only trailing the historic NHHS team from 1983. This season Daniel set a personal best time of 16:01 in the 5k. When not running for North, Daniel enjoys the role of Vice President for the senior class. He is also a member of National Honor Society. Daniel likes to spend his summer competing in Pack Burro Racing, the summer heritage sport of Colorado. Next year, Daniel is undecided where he will attend college but would love to partake in Cross Country and Track should the right circumstances present themselves.
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Brian Pedretti
Class of 2021
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Co-Captain, Brian Pedretti is honored to have the captain leadership role for both Cross Country and Spring Track. Being a leader on such an awesome team is the achievement Brian is most proud. The team had a huge season this year, winning every meet they were in before states season and finishing third in all of New Jersey. The team also won the East Coast Championships and took down the number two ranked team. Brian’s personal best for the season was running the 5k in 15:56. A few other achievements he is proud of are being First Team All-Conference for the past three years and his person best of 4:23 for the mile. Brian is President of FBLA, is a member of National Honor Society, and National Social Studies Honor Society. He has been running since he was in grade school and has been running competitively since the sixth grade. Next year, Brian plans to continue running in college at either Boston College, University of Illinois, Lehigh, Rutgers, Villanova, or Wisconsin. He is currently undecided on a major but is interested in business. Brian is also a huge Green Bay fan. Go Packers! |
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December Department Students
of the Month
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English: Samuel Montemurro '21 and Sean Gilhooly '21
Fine Arts: Daniel Polizzano '22 and Anna Gristina '22
Mathematics: Renee Chan '24 and Hunter Kovach '21
Music: Quinn Cowell '21 and Crystal Ade '21
PE/Health: Sean Gladdis '21 and Lauren Stanzione '21
Practical Arts: Mia Vitiello '22 and Ashlyne Piro '24
Science: Aasha Page '23 and Avni Kondra '23
Social Studies: Winston Hess '22 and Jaeden Wintermute '22
World Language: Margaret Hann '24 and Daniel Polizzano '22
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December Good Citizens of the Month |
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English: Brianna Dorr '21 and Alyssa Latargia '21
Fine Arts: Emily Smith '22 and Gabrielle Meyer '21
Mathematics: Kathleen Padmos '22 and Crystal Ade '21
Music: Selina Zhang '24 and Rahul Siddharth '23
PE/Health: Rose Gibbons '22 and David McKinnon '23
Practical Arts: Allison Masino '24 and Leah Kemp '23
Science: Kristen Weingart '22 and Sarah Curley '22
Social Studies: William Snider '22 and Emma McCormack '22
World Language: Melanie Lloyd '21 and Grace Berger '21
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Top December Tweets from Dr. Greg Cottrell @nhprincipal
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January is Thyroid Awareness Month. The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of the neck. Although relatively small, the thyroid plays a huge role in the body, influencing the function of many important organs, including the heart, brain, liver, kidneys, and skin. Click HERE to access information from the American Thyroid Association.
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For school closing notifications, you will be notified around 5:00AM (no later than 5:30AM) through automated phone calls and emails sent to the contact information we have listed for you in School Messenger (which imports from Aspen). You will also receive a text message if you downloaded the School Messenger app and added a cell number for texts. We also post the notifications on our district and high school websites and the schools’ Facebook pages if you are ever unsure of the status of school for the day.
This year, the New Jersey Department of Education is allowing school districts to use virtual instruction days for inclement weather closures and have them count towards the 180-day school year requirement.
When we have inclement weather and are unable to safely run buses and hold in-person instruction, we will be utilizing virtual instruction days as much as we can. We know Hunterdon County is prone to power and internet outages during snow storms so we will close school all together if parts of our area experience outages since we would be unable to hold virtual instruction for all students. In addition, because of our early dismissal schedule, a delayed opening is not possible so we will have virtual instruction days for all students and staff on those occasions. In essence this winter, the Superintendent will make the decision to switch to an all virtual day for all students and staff or call for a full closure due to power and internet outages.
We currently have four emergency closing days available in our 2019-2020 school calendar for the days we have outages and are unable to provide virtual instruction to all students. If we exceed the four days, closures will be made up during Spring Recess.
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Evan Kuster '22 was recently recognized at the December Hunterdon County Board of Chosen Freeholders meeting for his efforts to volunteer and assist the Flemington Area Food Pantry. As a volunteer for the pantry, Evan saw a need to help reduce the yearly cost of electricity (about $10,00) so funds could be better used for food and meals for the community it serves. Evan's project saw the installation of a 33-kilowatt solar panel system that was realized with the help of many organizations coming together. Click HERE to read the online news article. Great job, Evan!
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First Semester Classes-
Final Exam Schedule
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January 12 and 13 - Fine/Performing/Practical Arts, and Tech Ed
January 14 and 15 - English, Health, Physical Education, and Science
January 19 and 20 - Social Studies, Business, and Math
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Media Center launches
Winter Reading Challenge
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The Media Center has launched its 4th annual Winter Reading Challenge, which encourages students to read over Winter Break and beyond. As a school community, our goal is to read 300 books between Dec. 23 and Jan. 31.
To participate, students can register on Beanstack, our book-recommendation service, and then log their reading. Every book logged by Jan. 31 earns an entry into the Grand Prize drawing for one of two $25 gift cards, sponsored by the North Hunterdon Education Foundation.
Learn more about the challenge here.
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For a third consecutive year, North Hunterdon senior Ishaan Dey has collected books to donate to Tema, Ghana in Africa to form a school library. This year, Ishaan collected 1,000 books and $750 for shipping to send more books to the new school library. He was named a 2020 Global Literacy Champion by the African Literacy Project. Great job Ishaan and thank you for your community service efforts to help others! Thank you, Ishaan!
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Scholarships in Memory of Teachers |
Scholarships have been established in remembrance of North Hunterdon High School Teachers, Mrs. Chris Inscho and Mr. Ray Levandowski. The Chris Inscho Memorial Scholarship Fund and the Ray Levandowski Memorial Scholarship Fund are accepting donations for award to a North student. If you are interested in donating, please email Mrs. Kathleen Carter at kcarter@nhvweb.net
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The North Hunterdon High School Music Department recorded virtual performances of holiday classics this year since our traditional concerts could not be held. Get in the spirit of the season by clicking here to visit the music department website to view performances.
Happy Holidays!
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2021 Regis Yearbook is on SALE now! This year we feature the fantastic theme: The Silver-Lined Years. Order your yearbook today to guarantee a copy is waiting for you in June. This will definitely be a year that you'll want to remember!
Here is the direct link to purchase a yearbook through our new publisher Entourage: Click Here
If you are interested in purchasing a senior ad, please click here.
If you have any questions, please contact the appropriate person below:
Yearbook Advisor (Designer)
Yearbook Business Advisor (Sales/Distribution/Webmaster)
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The latest update from the NJSIAA has winter sports starting on three different start dates. Basketball, Fencing and Cheerleading will begin practice on January 11. Swimming and Winter Track will begin on February 1. Gymnastics, Girls Volleyball and Wrestling will begin on March 1.
This information is subject to change if the state enforces additional restrictions on indoor activities. The athletics office will keep coaches and athletes up to date on the latest information from NJSIAA. We look forward to seeing our winter sports teams, and gymnastics and girls volleyball which were postponed from Fall season, begin their season!
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Subscribe to North's Athletic YouTube Channel |
Never miss a live stream game or event by subscribing to the North Hunterdon Athletic YouTube Channel by clicking on the link below. Past and future games that are live streamed can be viewed by going to the channel.
Please subscribe to their channel so you don’t miss any events.
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VISA Holiday Gift Card Raffle-WINNERS!!
Congratulations to the lucky winners!
$250 Visa Gift Card: Lori Grygon (#7336)
$500 Visa Gift Card: Leah Wright (#7787)
$750 Visa Gift Card: Kathy & Joe Gilhooly (#0511)
Grand Prize $1000 Visa Gift Card: Bonnie Peterson (#6179)
Thank you to all who participated in the VISA Holiday Gift Card Raffle! We appreciate your support.
We Need You!
It is not too late to become a member. ALL parents, students, and staff are welcome to join. Visit our webpage at http://www.nhvweb.net/nhhs/ptsa/ to signup online, or print a paper copy located under forms. We value you and want you to become a part of our school community. Show your support by becoming a member today!
PTSA Meeting We welcome parents, students and teachers to join us. The next PTSA meeting is on Jan. 13 at 7PM and will be virtual. Please see meeting access details:
Meeting number: 130 688 9163
Meeting password: JHdWpppi285
Audio connection: 415-655-0001
Access code: 130 024 3063
Join from a mobile device
Support Our School!
Lions Card - Save Money Everyday!
Purchase a 2020-2021 Lions Discount card! Support local businesses and save money at over 95 locations!
The savings is good until NEXT DECEMBER! Tell all your family and friends about this REUSABLE discount card! For just $20, you can begin your savings and support our school! Click here to purchase online.
Show your Lion Pride!
Shop the Spiritwear store.
With the colder weather, it’s time to purchase your North hoodies, flannels and sweats. We also have 3-ply wicking face masks and much more!. Shop online and take advantage of curbside delivery at Sneakers Plus or your items can be mailed to you for a nominal fee. Click here to shop.
You can customize your purchase. Proceeds benefit each grade so at checkout don’t forget to select the grade you would like to support.
Amazon Smile Shop Smile.Amazon and a portion of your purchase goes to PTSA! Every time you shop all year long, you support our school! It’s simple and easy to set up. Click here now for more information on how to get started!
Stay connected
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NHEF Mission
The NHEF mission is to enhance education by funding innovative programs and experiences for all students. The NHEF provides funding for teacher grants and develops programming centered on the college application process to help students and parents.
Upcoming College Financial Planning Presentation:
KJM Financial is offering FREE virtual college financial planning presentation to interested parents of SENIORS, JUNIORS & SOPHOMORES on 02/11/2021
Information regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the SAT/ACT, College Tours, AP Classes and more will be covered! Please register via the link and indicate school: https://kjmfinancial.com/events/
Helpful tips on our website:
The NHEF consulted with an IT professional to share tips on optimizing home internet performance.
Please visit www.nhhsfoundation.org and review this valuable info we obtained to share with our NHHS Community!
Please consider the NHEF as your plan your support in 2021:
Please follow the NHEF on Facebook (@NHEdFoundation) and Twitter (@NHHS_NHEF). Checking in with us means so much!
Do you own a business or work for a business that supports non-profits? Please see our Annual Sponsorship Form.
Coming together with support goes a long way and benefits educational programs aimed at all NHHS students.
The NHEF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. All donations are tax-deductible.
Thank You! We wish everyone a Happy 2021 New Year! Our heartfelt thank you to all who support the efforts of the North Hunterdon Education Foundation.
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Keep music in mind as 2021 begins!
It is a new year (finally!) and with that comes hope for a better year with new hopes and dreams to imagine. The North Hunterdon Music Association continues to be so grateful for the support of our members and volunteers who have helped to keep us going during this difficult time. As we move forward we continue to look for new ideas to keep the organization growing. Our membership dollars, along with fundraising efforts, help provide programs, services and scholarships which encourage and enrich all of our music students. Click HERE to visit our website and learn more about who we are and what we do.
We’d love to see you at our next NHMA Zoom meeting - Tuesday, January 12, 2021.
We meet at 7 pm. Zoom link will be sent out separately.
Good health and happiness to you all,
Susan Wallace
NHMA President
Next meeting: Tuesday, January 12, 2021 at 7:00 PM via Zoom
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Speaker Series Coming in the New Year!
Just in time for the arrival of the new year, the NHHS Booster club is rolling out a series of professional virtual workshops tailored specifically for student-athletes. The Speaker Series will be delivered in partnership with Pro-Activity and under the advisement of a Wellness Council including coaches, trainers and students Marley Hoffman, Austin McHugh, Taylor O'Brien, Katie Roberts and Kyle Weiss. The first topic will focus on fuel for an athlete through a live, virtual discussion with a sports dietician. The date of this event is unconfirmed.
The Booster club is also proud to remind everyone that North spirit wear is available at the Clinton Pharmacy on Main Street. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Cheer clothing drive on 12/19. As you possibly clean closets over the holidays, please put aside clothing and stuffed animals to donate to upcoming collections. Next up is the Lacrosse clothing drive on January 16th.
Finally, the Booster club is thrilled that Winter Sports will begin next month! We look forward to many announcements about the winter teams' successes in coming newsletters!
For more information visit nhhsbc@gmail.com or to join the Booster Club visit nhvweb.net/nhhs/booster/join-the-nhhs-booster-club/
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Board of Education Updates |
Each month, we will include key topics discussed or approved at the most recent Board of Education meeting.
The regular meeting of the Board of Education was held on Tuesday, December 15, 2020 at 7:00pm. Items approved or discussed included:
- The Board recognized and congratulated the teachers and ESPs of the year for each high school. North Hunterdon selected Therese Flynn, Science Teacher, and Justin Matisak, Special Education Aide, and Voorhees selected Nancy Lomas-Reynolds, Science Teacher, and Carolyn Baumann, Behaviorist.
- The Board also recognized and thanked outgoing Board of Education member, Heather Richards, for her three years of service on the Board. Mrs. Richards represented Clinton Township and Lebanon Borough. Mr. Bryan Chapman was elected for the seat and will be sworn in on January 5th.
- Board approved joining the Summer Food Service Program through the National School Lunch Act. The program will provide free meals to any student who would like them for the rest of the school year. Breakfasts and lunches can be picked up at 11:55am dismissal and/or parents can sign up for delivery on student's virtual instruction weeks.
- Board approved submission of Long Range Facilities Plan to the NJ Department of Education.
- Board approved moving forward to obtain necessary approvals and permits for the installation of solar panels at both high schools.
The Reorganization Meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, January 15 at 6:00pm virtually. The next regular meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 19 at 7:00pm virtually or in the North Hunterdon Main Gym.
For more information on Board meetings and agendas, please visit the district website at www.nhvweb.net and click on the District & BOE Services menu tab.
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North Hunterdon High School
1445 State Route 31, Annandale, NJ 08801
(908) 713-4199
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