Lakeland Regional High School

[Pages:3]MATTHEW CERTO Principal

Lakeland Regional High School

205 Conklintown Road

Wanaque, New Jersey 07465-2198 Phone: 973 835-1900 Fax: 973 835-6369

August 2015

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students:

I hope your summer has given you a chance to achieve a "peaceful closure" to last school year. The faculty and staff at Lakeland are very proud of each of our student's efforts at academic achievement, and their progress towards individual goals, responsibility, maturity and independence. We believe a true team (students, parents, faculty, staff, BOE members) effort of support is the key to continued, methodical success. As you return for another year of learning, growth and discovery, I encourage you to adopt an "all in" approach and an "I will" mindset. Together, I'm sure we will see the signs of progress in the exciting new days of the 2015-2016 school year.

Thank You As we welcome Mr. Hugh Beattie, our new Superintendent, we also say goodbye to Mr. Robert Mooney, our Interim Superintendent for the 2014-2015 school year. We are grateful for Mr. Mooney's veteran leadership, interpersonal class, institutional respect, and caring stewardship of Lakeland Regional High School.

Can I Make A Difference? YES.....YES.....YES........Completing this 2015-2016 PTO Membership Form and returning it with a $5 check to the LRHS Main Office is the best way you can make a difference. Not only will your $5 go to help support the PTO Mini Grants, and PTO Scholarships, but you will also be joining the overwhelming majority of LRHS teachers and administrators in a very important and symbolic act of unity. Joining the PTO does not mean you will automatically sign yourself up for hours of service, but it will enable our current PTO the ability to communicate the dates of interesting speakers, fundraisers, events and other information throughout the year. For example, for the second year in a row, Co-President Mrs. Riikka Bottino (Parent Representative), Co-Vice-President Mrs. Debbie Sienko (Parent Representative), and Treasurer Mrs. Mary Michaels (Parent Representative) spearheaded the wonderful PTO Teacher Appreciation Breakfast held on May 5, 2015. This is just one of the many examples of selfless parents giving their time, love and baking expertise to help make Lakeland Regional a better place.

Also important to mention are a few of the changes in PTO Leadership from this past year. Mrs. Nicole DeCarlo, our PTO Co-President (Teacher Representative) will be stepping back after four-years of outstanding service. Ms. Jessica DellaPenna (Business Teacher) will be our new PTO Co-President. Mrs. Ceil Radicchi has graciously agreed to volunteer as the new Secretary (Parent Representative), and our new Membership Chairman Mrs. Stacey Imbasciani (Parent Representative) will also be dedicating some of her valuable time. Ms. Becky Sienko, our outgoing Co-Vice-President Student Council Representative (for 3 years), cannot do the job from St. Bonaventure University, so she will be handing the title and responsibilities over to Ms. Tyler Polansky (Class of 2016). I would like to sincerely thank Mrs. DeCarlo and Ms. Sienko for their faithful and dedicated service to the Lakeland Regional High School PTO.

Very Clean Facility It is impossible to overlook the incredible efforts of our extremely hard working Maintenance Department and Grounds Crew. Each classroom, hallway, staircase and bathroom were scrubbed and polished to a shiny new finish. Hundreds of lockers were painted, over a thousand desks were sanitized, and the windows/screens in both buildings were cleaned. It is easy to see for yourself ? our facility is clean and inviting.

Why is this important? First of all, everyone appreciates a clean and well-maintained working atmosphere. It also has a positive impact on student achievement. One study (DC, 1993) found that when school buildings were improved significantly, average student achievement test scores at those schools climbed by 10.9%. Another study (NMSA, 1994) found that "an attractive, inviting and clean physical plant is an expression of a supportive and safe environment.

School Resource Officers (SRO) LRHS is extremely fortunate to have two (2) new School Resource Officers (SRO's) sharing time in the building this year. For those who are not familiar with the people or the position, they are 2 Wanaque Police Officers (Detective Sgt. Phil Cavallaro and Detective Kathleen Carman) who share an office and help keep the buildings safe and secure. As veteran officers in the WPD, each of these two individuals possess valuable knowledge of the campus and building layouts, the policies and most importantly, established relationships with the staff and students of LRHS. Moreover, they each have valuable past-experiences having served as a coach or a SRO at LRHS for numerous years. They are a very welcome addition to our staff!

Technology and Building Upgrades Our Business Administrator, Ms. Kathryn Davenport, has been extremely organized and methodical in her management of the many facility-related summer projects here at LRHS. She is overseeing the installation of three (3) new virtual servers, seventy-two (72) new wireless access points, seventeen (17) new HVAC units, seven (7) new building-entrance carpet replacements, seven-hundred-fifty (750) newly painted hallway lockers, five-hundred (500) new lockers for the girls' and boys' team rooms and physical education locker rooms, one (1) new security camera and key pad, two (2) new re-finished gym floors, and 50 new Chrome Book laptop computers for classroom use and PARCC Testing. Each of these technology and facility upgrades helps keep Lakeland on the cutting edge of technology in a 1st class facility.

Class of 2016 Goals Please take the time to visit the hallway outside the Main Office (East Building) to see the beautiful display of "Senior Goals" on the walls.

"Get my GPA above 4.1.......Score higher than 2000 on the SAT tests..........Earn Honor Roll all 4 marking periods..........Become captain of the tennis team.........Get accepted to at least 5 colleges.........Complete my Eagle Scout Project.......Manage my time better..........Strive for perfect attendance.......The only difference between try and triumph is a little bit of umph."

These are just a few examples of the academic, athletic, and extracurricular goals. Each of the seniors also included a successful habit (good for the underclassmen to see and read), an inspirational phrase, and a meaningful quote. Now in Year-2 of this initiative, almost 500 LRHS students took "inventory of their dreams", and developed a plan-of-action to accomplish a series of meaningful short-term and long-term goals. The staff at Lakeland believes if students are challenged to set goals, it will help them to set priorities, identify strengths, eliminate distractions, and make more effective decisions. Please help support each of our 226 seniors in their year-long journey by reading about them and tracking their progress.

New Staff at Lakeland Regional High School Mr. Hugh Beattie ?Superintendent Mr. Michael Novak ? Supervisor of English, Art, S. Studies, W. Language, Music and Media

Ms. Louise Marlow ? Special Education ABA Therapist Mr. Jeffrey Fuentes ? Special Education ABA Therapist Mr. Brian DeYoung - Special Education ABA Therapist Ms. Sandra Miele ? Special Education Department Mr. Ryan Sottolano ? Special Education Department Ms. Donna Joseph Ford ? Family and Consumer Science Department Mr. James Fleming ? Technology Department Ms. Melanie Bronstein ? School Psychologist Dr. Ashley DiBiasi ? School Psychologist Mrs. Anna Marie Driscoll ? Administrative Assistant Ms. Valerie Gawron ? Art Department Ms. Margaret Ann Danza ? Guidance Department Mr. Keith Kelley ? Senior Options Coordinator

Important Dates Friday, July 17, 2015 ? Electronic Mailing to Parents/Guardians Tuesday and Wednesday, August 25th and 26th ? Freshman Connections Program Wednesday, September 2nd ? 1st Day of School for Students Thursday, September 17, 2015 ? Back to School Night at 6:40 PM

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at 973-835-1900 x 148 or mcerto@lakeland.k12.nj.us.

Respectfully,

Matthew Certo Principal

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