OCHS principal’s Report

November, 2016

CONGRATULATIONS

The Principal’s Council has selected new members for induction into the Ocean City High School Chapter of the National Honor Society. The induction ceremony is scheduled for December 15th at 7:00 pm. They have found that the candidates below exhibit the qualities of scholarship, service, leadership and character: Jany Anderson Christopher Bailey Michael Beebe Julia Bornhardt Jonathan Carter Matthew Catanoso Alina Chiccarine Analise Ciannilli Jack Crowell Amelia Culleny Kellie Edwards Meghan Finley Haleigh Flukey Andre Freire Julianna Gallelli Emily Greenling Diana Hadad Haley Harper

Harrison Hepding Hannah Iannone Melissa Kampf Nicole Kramer Sean Lane Brenna Laverty Aspen Lawler Kelsey LeNoir Courtney Leonard Giuliana Leotta William Mack Elizabeth May Christina McLaughlin Morgan McLees Domenic Monteleone Daniel Nunan Lauren Oleksiak Shannon O'Reilly

Alanna Palombo Victoria Patella Avi Rabia Manav Randheri Rebecca Reade Megan Reeves Sophia Ritzel Terence Rumer Samantha Smith Hailey Stack Hannah Stanks Maren Stickley Sophia Terry Nalu Tripician Mary Tumelty Melody Young

VETERAN’S DAY Veterans’ Day is an opportunity to remember the price many people have paid over the years so that we can live our lives freely and peacefully. It was originally Armistice Day, often observed in many countries today as Remembrance Day, and celebrates the day World War One ended. It is remembered at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Today is a day to remember and salute all veterans.

Our thanks today go to the following staff members: Mr. Andrew Beattie - Navy - Vietnam 1970-1972 Mr. Larry Brook – Army Military Police 1981-1985 Mr. Matthew Carey – USMC 1991-1994 Mr. Brian King - Navy - Vietnam 1968-1974 Mr. Robert LeMaire - Navy 1988-1992 Mr. Herb Snyder – Army – Vietnam - 1969-1970

COMMUNITY STUDENT OF THE MONTH Each student was chosen to be Student of the Month because of exemplary behavior, character and performance. We appreciate the support of each of the community organizations. There is a critical connection between a successful public high school and a strong relationship with its community.

Bradari Altman was the Rotary Club Student of the Month. Giuliana Leotta was the Exchange Club Student of

the Month.

OCHS Students of the Month Zoe Wade, a junior at Ocean City High School, is described by her teachers as one that always has a positive attitude in class and volunteers to help others. Zoe’s effort to complete her work efficiently and thoroughly shows her dedicated work ethic. Another teacher states that Zoe is a happy person, always smiling and polite, and willing to do anything asked of her. Zoe is involved in choir, piano, dance, and color guard for the marching band. Josh Brown, a junior at Ocean City High School,

is described by his teachers as a diligent student who comes to class prepared to learn each and every day. Josh is an excellent team player who is respected by both faculty and peers alike. Another teacher stated that Josh always has a smile on his face and his laugh is contagious. Josh is quick to help his classmates, going out of his way to include all of them in every way possible.

Congratulations to Allisun Wiltshire for being selected for the 2017 Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Conference (HOBY). This program is open to sophomores with demonstrated or potential leadership skills. Estelle Richardson has been selected as an alternate.

College Options On 10/31/16 OCHS hosted 17 Colleges/Universities who offered On Site Admissions to 71 students from the class of 2017! See the photos below. It was a wonderful day.

On 11/1/16 the National Association of College Admissions Counselors hosted a college fair at the Atlantic City Convention Center. Over 600 colleges/universities from across the country (and a few from Canada and Europe) were represented

On 10/18/16 the ASVAB was administered to 55 OCHS students and the branches of the military supported a military day for our students.

Week of Respect Students participated in the Chalk Message Project on October 6. The “You Are Loved” chalk message project that originated at the college level as a suicide prevention program encourages students to write positive messages to their peers that are uplifting and empowering and can change the course of their day.

A 12th grade student brought in an activity she experienced at a leadership convention at Stockton this summer in hopes of impacting OCHS. The “Bendy Guy” action figure and poem that creatively gives directions on how to pass along encouragement were passed out at random to teachers to be trickled down to students in need. This activity promotes the idea of ‘paying it forward’ in regards to kindness and helping others.

School Safety Week

STOP Club students created a large heart on October 21 to ask the students to share their experiences with random acts of kindness – either a kind act they received or a kind act that they did for someone else. They were written on post-it notes and were added to a giant cut out of a heart – promoting enhancing kindness as part of our climate and culture.

Matt Maher, a native from Cape May County, came to speak on October 20 about safety, decision-making and accountability. Matt, who was incarcerated for a drunk driving accident, shares his experiences in hopes of changing the thought-pattern of young people. Matt was introduced by our SADD/REBEL/STOP Club Members at this special assembly program.

The “What’s Wrong with Being Nice?” Video was presented to students school-wide on October 17-18, in driver’s education, TIES or English classes. This video, that discusses the importance of kindness in our culture was created by the owner of “Dude. Be Nice. Project” which is a non-profit that promotes kindness and appreciation in schools and communities.

The Intramural Club hosted a Pickleball event on October 18 titled “Pickle Out Your Anger” which promoted healthy ways of releasing anger, such as physical activities.

Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week was kicked off on Monday October 24th with a table set up during lunch promoting the organization Natural High, which is a non-profit that promotes a drug-free lifestyle and prosocial activities. STOP, REBEL and SADD Club members assisted in getting their peers to partake in a “What is your natural high?” activity where students were able to highlight their healthy drug-free activities and have their pictures displayed. These pictures were then displayed on the monitors throughout the week to encourage prosocial activities for all students.

On Wednesday, October 26th, students asked their peers what healthy way they express their anger/negative emotions – which promotes and encourages use of coping skills in life.

On Friday, October 29th students from REBEL/SADD/STOP Clubs asked their peers to pledge to be drug-free by placing a red ribbon stamp on their hand to promote healthy lifestyles drug-free.

Throughout the month we have passed out orange bracelets that say “JUST BREATHE” on the outside with 2nd Floor’s helpline on the inside. (A student who participated in the Natural High activity is sporting one in the photo!) While orange is the color of suicide prevention, 2nd floor is being promoted as a helpline for moments when a counselor, parent, friend can’t be reached and a student needs some assistance. Every day I notice more and more students wearing this bracelet

with pride and have had students seek me out to get more bracelets for their friends. This is an ongoing project that is promoting overall wellness for students and the community.

BEST BUDDIES INTERNATIONAL CLUB

Best Buddies braved the bad weather and took part in the

Halloween Parade in October.

Best Buddies painted pumpkins with their buddies for

Halloween!

ASL The ASL students at OCHS were asked to participate in a wonderful event this year at the Katzenbach School for the Deaf in Trenton. The

Parent Staff Organization, led by Michelle Stover-Barsch reached out to Mrs. Andersen last summer in the hopes that some of the ASL students would participate in the first annual “ASL CONNECT: Food & Fun Festival” on Saturday, November 5 from 11 AM – 4 PM. The intention of the festival

was to bring together the Deaf and hearing communities to showcase the importance of American Sign Language in our lives. The festival was open to the public who could join in on the fun with Food Trucks, Vendors/Crafts/Art, Raffles, Games, Entertainment and Children’s Activities. A comedy show featuring America’s FUNNIEST ASL Comedian, Keith Wann, took place at the end of the day. Twenty-seven ASL Club participants volunteered to participate in this festival on a Saturday, even though it required a 7:30am arrival to board the bus. Students created original DEAF PRIDE t-shirts and did everything from creating the design, to screen printing over 70 shirts! Together, they set up a tent and a sales table where shirts, ASL wrist bands, and ASL water bottles were sold to support the club. Students prepared and performed various songs throughout the day as well. It was a great time and a wonderful experience for students as they spent the day in a Deaf environment using their second language and learning about Deaf Culture first hand. Keith Wann was hysterical and students are still laughing about many of his jokes. Several community members made a point of sharing with Mrs. Andersen how impressed they were by Ocean City students and the level of respect they showed throughout the day. They

were particularly impressed that the students maintained a commitment to using ASL all day so there was never a time when they created an exclusionary language environment for anyone in attendance!

Key Club November has been even busier than October for Key Club. On November 7, Key Clubbers came together after school to make Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches for the Atlantic City Rescue Mission; we were able to make 620 sandwiches, an almost record! Key Club plans to change things up and go to the Ocean City Intermediate School on December 12 to make PB&J sandw iches with the Peanut Butter and Jelly Club. Again, the sandwiches will go to the Atlantic City Rescue Mission. Before, Key Club was told by the Rescue Mission that

around 700 sandwiches will

only last for three meals; we’re

grateful to help others in need.

On November 15, Key Club walked to the Primary School for their annual Shoe-Tying Clinic with the kindergarten students. Key Clubbers each sat with a Kindergartner and taught them how to tie their shoes by singing to them and using a

shoe prop. Key Club was able to work along-side with the Ocean City Police Department to help the younger children.

In coordination with our local Kiwanis chapter and the Community Food Bank of New Jersey,

Key Club participated in an annual Signature Holiday Turkey Drive on November 19. Students stood in front

of the ACME in Ocean City and ShopRite in Marmora and helped collect turkeys and other much-needed food to help our hungry

neighbors this holiday season.

Each year, Key Club puts on their annual OC’s Got Talent to help benefit The Children’s Miracle Network at The Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania. Key Club has developed a close relationship with CHOP and has had Lena O’Malley, Coordinator and Retail Cause Marketer of the Children’s Miracle

Network, come down and speak to Key Club, as well as came to be a judge for our talent show.

This year, she invited us up to CHOP for a Children’s Miracle Network tour.

Two days before Key Club went for the visit, General Members made posters for CHOP’s annual RadioThon in the center of the hospital. Posters are made to hang along the indoor windows with titles such as Hope Lives Here, Miracles Happen Here, and We Love 98.1 WOGL. The Officers, Class Representatives, and a few General Members of Key Club went to the Children’s

Hospital of Philadelphia on November 16 for the tour and to see what

their fundraising

goes towards. We were able to visit

different departments

within the hospital such

as: The Connelly Resource Center for Families with a children’s library, a learning center, laundry room, and a comfortable place to take a break

The Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care is the house that generosity built; build solely from donations. It is an outpatient care facility for children with each floor modeled after a different theme and everything created kid-friendly Aquatic therapy with a moveable pool where the floor moves up and down to cater to individual patients Oncology Department with the newest options in children cancer treatment

While at times sad, this was a

very gratifying

trip for the Key Clubbers. With the donations and help of Key

Club and many other organizations and people, the Children’s Miracle Network is able continue providing the best care available to the tiniest of

patients. Key Club will continue their strong relationship with CHOP with ongoing fundraising and participating in various service projects.

This November, Mrs. Georges’ Advanced Anatomy and Physiology classes were visited by two local doctors. Dr. Matthew Corbo, a chiropractor with Mainland Wellness Center in Linwood, came to discuss chiropractic as a career and also demonstrated stim machines in the class. Dr. Bradford Tucker, an orthopedic surgeon at the Rothman Institute, came to discuss orthopedics as a career and allowed students to perform a rotator cuff tear repair laparoscopically in class. Our students are well on their way to making informed decisions about medicine as a career!

Also, Dr. Bradford Tucker

and Mr. Chuck Lehman visited Mrs. Georges’ Advanced

Anatomy & Physiology class on November 17. Dr. Tucker is an Ocean City resident and an orthopedic surgeon for the Rothman Institute. He gave a description of the academic

requirements to become a surgeon and discussed shoulder anatomy. The class was then able to perform a rotator cuff tear repair laparoscopically on a shoulder model in class. Mr. Lehman provided all of the materials and assisted in the procedure. Ocean City High School has some steady hands and potentially excellent physicians in its

midst! We are incredibly fortunate to have locals in the medical field share their expertise.

Mrs. Georges’ Advanced Biotechnology/Forensics class took a field trip on November 8 to the Ocean City Police Station for a tour and discussion with police officers and detectives. This quick walk allowed students to see cells and the booking process, how fingerprints and DNA is collected and use in investigations. Students were able to speak with Ocean City patrolmen and women as well as detectives. Huge thank you to the Ocean City Police Department for allowing us this learning experience.

Eli Gbayee returned to OCHS on Monday to

update students on his Hope For Liberia campaign. Eli came to America from a

refugee camp in Liberia. He went to Absegami

High School with Shawn Burke and then on to college. Eli showed a video of his most recent trip to deliver aid such as rice and clothing personally. Eli reminded students of his story of survival during

the Liberian civil war, when he 'ran' from school at 4 years old as the war broke out, being reunited with his family only after 8 years in a refugee camp. at 14 he came with his mother's family to New Jersey. In 2013 he returned to Liberia to see his 102-year old grandfather and was moved to try to help the people who were suffering, as he had done as a child.

Mrs. Lois Fried a CPA from the firm of Capaldi, Reynolds & Pelosi spoke to Mr. Mensinger’s Academy of Finance College Accounting class on November 28. The focus of her presentation pertained to different careers available to Certified Public Accountants, scholarship opportunities from the NJCPA organization, how the CPA designation allows you to earn more money than an accountant without the designation and the CPA exam. Her presentation demonstrated accountants do more than work with numbers. The glamour side of accounting was illustrated with examples of CPA’s for KPMG, Department of the Navy, WithumSmith + Brown, G Collins & Company, and the New Jersey Devils. The OCHS Peer to Peer Club with advisors Debbie Cathcart and Nicole McMaster attended the 21st annual Peer Leadership Conference at the Wildwood Convention Center. Thirty-seven of our Peer to Peer students participated in a variety of workshops and seminars that included leadership skills, communication skills, trust challenges, problem solving, proper skills for a job interview and what to expect during encounters with police officers. The theme was “The

Power of YOU” and the students were captivated with the presentation by Jeffrey Bucholtz. His presentation “What will you do?” looked at the topics of leadership and social action that students today have to deal with throughout high school and college. Mr. Bucholtz discussed what it means to be a leader, especially when it comes to ending violence. Finally, he had the students look at how pop culture can create healthy or

abusive relationships and how they can make a difference and even create positive social change.

Ocean City High School Students in the REBEL and SADD Clubs along with advisors Katie Kline and Debbie Cathcart joined Renee Bendig’s Health Classes at Ocean City Intermediate

School for the “Great American Smoke Out” on November 22, 2016. Every year, on the third Thursday of November, smokers across the nation take part in the American Cancer

Society’s “Great American Smoke Out” event. The event encourages individuals to reach out to someone they know that uses tobacco and they can take advantage of the date to make a plan to quit, or plan in advance and then quit that day. High School students explained to the Intermediate School students the deceptive ways tobacco companies target youth with their tobacco products through advertising, flavors, and branding. Students paired up to play a memory game that illustrates deceptive targeting and how to recognize it and warn others about it.

OCHS Red Raider Band performs for the Sea Isle City Veteran’s Day

Ceremony

Don't let holiday shopping get you down. Raider Retailers has new Under

Armour products for your gift giving needs. We are offering free gift wrapping. Our Under Armour winter hats have arrived! Thanks for supporting Raider Retailers and the Life Skills students!

UA Beanies-$20.00/ UA

Headbands-$15.00/ Sport Triblend Pants-$37.00.