Secondary School Teachers Honored by Board of Education

 Westfield BOE President Ginny Leiz (left) presented resolutions to:  WHS teachers l-r: Louis De Angelo, Mabel Huynh, and
Judith McLoughlin and EIS teacher
Marnie Kirschenbaum and RIS teacher
Marc Biunno. (Click here for story)

√  Facts & Figures about the Westfield Public Schools ( click here)

√  NJ School Report Cards available at http://education.state.nj.us/rc/rc08 .  Westfield test scores above state average; spending per student below state average.

√   Revised drafts of New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards are posted at
http://www.nj.gov/education/aps/cccs/2009/

√ Subscribe to SYNOPSIS - The Superintendent's summary of Board of Education meetings ( click here )

√  To read our schools' Newsletters, click here.

New! SUPPORT OUR SCHOOLS by funding or volunteering to bring back extra-curricular programs and projects for 2009-10.  Click here to find out how you can help.

New!  Message from Superintendent re implication on Westfield of School Funding Reform Act, click here   

Letter to Parents from Education Commissioner and Health Commissioner re H1N1 , click here

Messaging Alert System sign-up for parents/staff, click here .

• WHS students received 15 "Certificates of Excellence" and claimed three of the six top honors, including Best Director Award to senior Dara Silverman, Best Supporting Actor Award to Bobby O'Rourke and Best Actress to sophomore Colleen McCabe at the Bucks County One Act Play Festival.  (Click here for story)

• 114 students and 3 teachers at WHS received awards for outstanding achievement.  Click here and scroll for second posted story.
  
  
• 22 WHS students inducted in to the Italian National Honor Society. Click here for more information.
  
  
•   New Jersey Federation of Women's Clubs Youth Poetry & Short Story winners, competing with writers throughout New Jersey:  First Place Poetry:  Geneva Gleason, 7th grader at Roosevelt Intermediate School; and second place winners Leah Andrews, 3rd grader at  Franklin, and Isabelle Ick, 6th grader at Roosevelt. Short Story: first place winners Chelsea Frisch and Olivia Loggia of Franklin School; and Rachel Baron, 10th grader at Westfield High School. 
  
  
• The Paper Mill Playhouse nominated 4 WHS students for the Rising Star Awards: Sophomore Catalina Gaglioti for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role; Sophomore Peter Surace for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Senior Bobby O'Rourke and junior Justin Rosin for Outstanding Performance by a Featured Ensemble Group in the WHS production of Kiss Me Kate.
  
  
•   Roosevelt students Ben Howell received the Excellence in Acting Award and Erica Ripperger landed the Best Actress Overall Award at the Bucks County Playhouse competition.

•  18 WHS students  were inducted into the National Spanish Honor Society.  Click here to see their names.
  
  
• WHS Boys' Tennis team won State Sectional Championship.
  
  
• WHS seniors Annie Re and Max Sugarman selected for the 2009 Ellen Maher Volunteer Award, given by BRIDGES Outreach, dedicated to serving the homeless and hungry through volunteerism.
  
  
• RIS student Asher Horowitz awarded 3rd place in statewide art contest.
  
  
• Westfield Optimist Club's Intermediate School Oratorical Contest's winners included Edison seventh graders Jack Lynch (lst place), Sherry Shenker (2nd) and Samantha Gruskin (3rd), and Roosevelt's seventh grader Kelly O'Connor tied for 3rd place.
  
  
• National Honor Society inducted 127 juniors and 4 seniors from Westfield High School. (Click here for more information)
  
  
• All State Mixed Chorus selected WHS students Olivia Ryan, Melissa Riegel and Keith Hurtt.  Mary Barber chosen for All State Women's Chorus.
  
  
• American Legion Boys and Girls State program selected Rebecca Romano and Christopher Salemme in its 6-day summer program on government and leadership.
  
  
• WHS students Emily Harris and Sara Birkenthal received recognition for Outstanding Position Paper at the two-day Model UN Conference at St. Peter's University.
  
  
•  8th grade chorus from Roosevelt Intermediate School invited to perform at Union County Performing Arts Center.  200 Roosevelt and Edison students participated in the Union County Teen Arts Festival.
  
  
• WHS Girls' Basketball team won the Watchung Conference Championship.
  
  
• WHS Bowling team won the State Sectional Championship.
  
  
• Roosevelt Intermediate School student Eunsol Baek won second place in the Lion's Club Peace Poster Contest encompassing Union, Morris and Essex Counties.
  
  
  
• Westfield High School's 2008 edition of Folio earned highest rating from the National Council of Teachers of English. We are one of four New Jersey schools to earn this honor.
  
  
• Zach Connolly, a Westfield High School senior, who was selected as one of five students who will represent the state of New Jersey in the national youth poetry  competition in Chicago. 
  
  
• Edison seventh grader Rachel Holtzman and Roosevelt eighth grader Kate Chin progressed to the State level in the National Geographic Bee. 
  
  
• Westfield High School Boys Swim Team State Champs! Both Boys and Girls WHS Swim teams won the Union County Championships.
  
  
  
• Julian Seltzer on the Westfield High School Drama Competition Team captured 3rd place at the Speech and Theatre Association of New Jersey's 2009 Governor's Awards. 
  
  
• Nine  Westfield High School students had perfect scores on the Nov/Dec SAT: Andrew Weiss; Vladislav Bouchouev; Melissa Shulman; Ming Chen , Edward Purcell; Marc Cervantes; Graeme Stahl, Monica Hong  and Joseph Lee. |
  
  
• At the Regional Science Olympiad Competition at NJIT,Edison students finished 4th overall and Roosevelt's team placed 8th out of 20 teams. 20 of our students received honors including 1st place  in "Experimental Design" to Pat Terry and Joseph Obiajulu.  
  
  
• Hershey, PA., Model United Nations Conference led by WHS senior Daniel Morse.WHS  earned the Outstanding Delegation Award.  Other awards included: Premier Diplomat, won by Joshua Schwartz and Daniel Krack; and Outstanding First Year Delegate, presented to Corey Lipschultz and Joshua Solomon.
  
  
• Glenn Kurz was Voted Union County Coach of the year by the Union County wrestling Coaches Association. Assistant Coach John Cheddar was voted Assistant Coach of the Year. 
  
  
• John Barnes won the "Outstanding Wrestler" award, voted on by the Union County District 11 coaches from 9 different schools.  Westfield High School wrestlers won the District 11 championship with three wrestlers winning firstt place - John Barnes, Nick DeFreitas and Christian Barber
  
  
• WHS student musicians were chosen to perform with the Central Jersey Music Educators Association Region II Ensembles: Leslie Bartsch, Alex Goldschmidt, Jason Isbit, Alison Ricardo, Christopher Walsh, Yixiao Wang, and Deborah Wu.
  

•  Four WHS students garnered seats in the New Jersey Music Educators Association All State Symphonic Band and will perform at  the NJPAC on February 21 with select musicians from high schools throughout New Jersey.  They include: Leslie Bartsch , Alison Ricardo, Yixiao Wang, and Deborah Wu.

•  Seven student musicians from WHS were chosen to perform in the New Jersey Youth Symphony ensembles for the 2008-2009 season: Jason Qin, Alison Ricardo, Christopher Walsh, Yixiao Wang, David Osterman, Caroline Fahey, and Tim Ko. 

•  Westfield Intermediate School students named to the Central Jersey Music Educators Association Region II Intermediate Band: From Edison Intermediate School - Clay Beyert, Kevin Galasso, Samantha Gruskin, and Kevin Smith, and from Roosevelt Intermediate School - Jeff Marino.

•  Central Jersey Music Educators Association Region II Intermediate String Orchestra selected: Edison students - Kristin Hauge, Francis Wong and Cindy Xiao, and Roosevelt students Cindy Gong and Edmund Han.

•  Kristin Hauge and Jingyan (Cindy) Xiao, both seventh graders at Edison Intermediate School, performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on December 6, 2008 as part of the Russian Music Festival sponsored by the Talented Young Musicians Association of New Jersey. 

•  Roosevelt eighth graders Megan Ariola and Sonya Khedr, and sixth grader Amber Johnson were accepted in the Region II choir. 

• 38 WHS seniors are recipients of the Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholars Award.  Their names are posted at www.westfieldnjk12.org/news .

•  WHS art teacher, Mrs. Annora Happe-Conway is the 2008 recipient of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Visual Arts Initiative Award.

•  WHS Gymnastics Coach Melissa Bryan, was named the Star Ledger Gymnastics Coach of the year.

•  McKinley School has been chosen as a recipient of a 2008 Union County Green Grant.

Westfield HIgh School named public high school with most athletic wins in New Jersey in 90-years. ( Click here for story)

• Forensics Club captures first and third place at statewide competition. 

• WHS Marching Band won second place in the Northern States Championships and received the Best Percussion award.  The band placed 5th out of 20 school bands in NJ in the State Championship.

• 131 WHS students earned "AP Scholar" designation by the College Board for exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program (AP) Exams. .  . a 27% increase over the number of students in 2007. 

• 6 WHS Students named semi-finalists in the National Merit Scholarship program:  Devin Cline, Alice Li, William Perry, Samantha Ritter, Moira Smith, and Alan Workman.

• 29 Westfield High School students have been named Commended Students in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program, placing among the top 2 ½ % of more than 1.5 million students.

• Ninth grader Mary Barber was selected to the Region Women's Chorus.

• Jennifer Frega's fifth grade artwork at Franklin was selected by the Art Educators of New Jersey to be part of the 2009 AENJ Calendar.

• Westfield High School Concert Choir performed with the Westfield Symphony Orchestra at PNC Arts Center to an audience of 3,000.

• Catalina Gaglioti, a Westfield High School 10th grader and member of the Concert Choir, won the 2008 National High School Coaches Association Teen Idol singing competition, surpassing 150 teen performers from around the country. 

• Girls tennis team, with first year Coach Frank Geiger, won the Union County Tournament Oct 3, 2008.

• Hi's Eye ,the weekly student newspaper at Westfield High School, earned a silver medal from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, earning 917 points out of a possible 1000. 
  
  Click here for the "Points of Pride" from the previous 2007-2008 school year