October 2020

A glimpse into the many

happenings at RHS!

Principal's Message:

It has been great to have students back in the building. Each day presents new challenges for us all and the students have been true partners in our efforts. We continue to encourage an empathetic approach to the way we interact, make decisions, and actions we all take as members of the RHS learning community. There is no model, schedule, or approach to learning that works for everyone and we continue to monitor and adjust our approach each day.

This pandemic continues to cause us to sacrifice and unfortunately, a clear end is not in sight. We as a learning community and Ramsey as a District must carefully balance serving our students’ needs to learn and grow while maintaining a safe environment. We ask you to trust that we have all of our students’ best interest in mind with the decisions we make. We ask you to take a moment to step back and reflect in order to put things in perspective. We will have setbacks but we will rise beyond them. We will face disappointment but ultimately, we will feel a sense of reward in the end. Our students will not learn what we would have set out to teach them in a typical year, but they may learn more. None of the activities we pursue will be the same but our efforts to reimagine them will bring us together and allow us to grow as a learning community.

Campus Spotlight:

We are proud that our coaches and athletes are prepared and have begun to compete.
In the arts, our students will soon be sharing their talents by playing, singing, and performing, thanks to the creative and tireless efforts of Mr. Bialkin, Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Wolf, and Mr. Gipple.
Activities have been streamlined and will be promoted shortly. They have been streamlined in terms of the number of activities offered and the focus of clubs and activities have evolved to address our current environment. Senior Marketing guru Ava Dolcemascolo will be spearheading the effort to create a Virtual Activity Fair for all of the activities that will be running this year.
We are working to develop an idea that we are calling GoRamstv. This will be a platform for our learning community to come together to share events, thoughts, ideas, work, art, performances and competitions. During the school closure in the Spring, we attempted to keep our learning community connected through daily posts on Instagram. However, the content was mostly driven by administrators and teachers. Our goal for this school year is to launch a "streaming" service where we student content creators can highlight academics, activities, athletics, alumni, and the arts. As a result, we have created GoRamsTV as the location to house all of the highlights, spotlights, and game nights of Ramsey High School.
We are working to bring students into a more active role in the PTSO, primarily through service related activities (ie. Ramsey Responds & Relay for Life)
We are working to bring Alumni into our learning community as Professional in Residence and in support roles as needed.

Academics

Testing the Law of Conservation of Mass

Students in Ms. Fromkin's Science course planned investigations to test the law of conservation of mass. Everyone’s plans look different, but that’s what makes them great!

Teaching Critical Media Literacy Skills

RHS Media Specialist, Mrs. Nicole Wohlrab presented at the September 29 BOE meeting, "Supporting Our 21st Century Learners," which highlighted the importance of being a critical consumer of media and the role of the media center in supporting media literacy skills.

Adapting to Hybrid Instruction

As teachers and students adapt to a hybrid instructional model, Mrs. Rodriguez shares her tech tool life saver, Jamboard. "My at-home learners were able to interact right along with my in-person learners!"

Activities

RHS Participates in the 2020 NJ Ballot Bowl

Civic engagement is key to our civic health. A core mission of the New Jersey Department of State is to promote civic engagement through voting. To encourage and promote civic engagement, particularly among our young people, the Department of State and Secretary of State Tahesha Way are pleased to announce the launch of the 2020 New Jersey Ballot Bowl - A Statewide Non-Partisan Voter Registration Competition Led By and For Students.

For more information on participating in the Ballot Bowl, please see Mr. Brennan Heffernan or contact him @ bheffernan@ramsey.k12.nj.us

Virtual Activity Fair

Student Congress is getting creative! Due to our commitment to the health and safety of all our students and staff, this year's Activity Fair will be held virtually! More details coming soon! Get involved, RHS!

Athletics

Dear Running: You've Taught Me To Pick Myself Up When I FallA letter to the sport from Ramsey HS senior Kaitlyn Garofalo, on how it has taught her to come back stronger.

Ramsey football preview, 2020: Rams wants to rebrand with new coach, new identityThe Rams bring back plenty of experience and turn to a new coach to snap their recent stretch of mediocrity.

The Team that Tye Dyes Together...

A little Cross Country Tie-Dye team building to get the season off to a great start!

Arts

Honoring our 9/11 Heroes

RHS Ram Jams, under choral director Mr. Matt Wolf & RHS Alumni Katy Dinning paid tribute to the selflessness of the Police, Firefighters and all First Responders while honoring all those lost on 9/11/01.

Advanced Ceramics & Sculpture

Advanced Ceramics & Sculpture students brainstorm ideas for their storytelling shadow box lanterns.

Alumni Spotlight

Matt provides workshops for teachers and therapists including: "Movement Tips for Virtual School", "Using Ropes to Improve Coordination and Focus", and "Neuro-diverstiy, Motor Skills, and PE". Check them out here.

Matt Sloan, RHS Class of '94

"Make a little splash. Whatever it is you decide to do let the world know who you are because you have something to offer somebody."

We reached out to Mr. Sloan to see what he is up to these days. His letter was so heartfelt, we decided to publish it in its entirety. You can find Matt Sloan on Facebook @sensoryfitnesstacoma and Instagram @sensoryfitness_llc and at www.sensoryfitness.org.

Hello Nicole and thanks again for reaching out! I grew up in Ramsey and graduated in 1994. Since then I was a special education teacher for about 13 years working in Wyoming, Japan, San Diego, and Tacoma WA (With a small stint as an MMA fighter in Japan). I am now a certified occupational therapy assistant (COTA) specializing in sensory integration therapy. Using my experience as a special education teacher, martial artist, coach, adaptive PE teacher, and personal trainer I started a business called Sensory Fitness. I started out doing fitness for kids with neurodiversities (autism, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, or just struggled in general). Now I train teachers in sensory strategies and movement to use in the classroom, PE teachers and fitness professionals on how to work with the neurodiverse population, as well as training for parents and caregivers at home on sensory strategies and movement. I'd like to tell you my hobbies but my work is kind of my hobby! I get to play, workout, and teach all the time which are three things I absolutely love! And I get to do these things with my two sons so I'm constantly doing everything I love! I'm currently living in Tacoma, WA with my wife and two sons, 6 and 9.

As a student in Ramsey I struggled in school quite a bit. I was diagnosed with ADHD and a learning disability in reading and math calculation. I had an IEP since Tisdale and even got left back in 5th grade while all my friends went to Smith School. If it was not for my special education teachers throughout my schooling in Ramsey I don't think I even would have graduated High School! I can't remember all of my teachers that took the time to help me but my high school teachers I cannot thank enough! Mr. Schmarge played a huge role as well as Mr. Chesney and Mrs. Peterfriend. I truly hated school as I struggled and those teachers were the only classes I looked forward to because I knew I would get the help I needed. Mr. Schmarge in particular really helped guide me through high school for all 4 years. I cannot express enough gratitude for having all of them as teachers! It was because of them I became a special education teacher in the first place. I wanted to help kids that were falling through the cracks just as I was helped.

My words of advice to students of Ramsey would be to always keep moving. Literally and figuratively. Movement is the key to everything. Don't be afraid to take a chance. You will stumble and fall but that is OK. Take a minute, get back up, and learn from your mistakes. And while you're at it, make a little splash. Whatever it is you decide to do let the world know who you are because you have something to offer somebody.

I have a lot of passion to bring sensory education to teachers and I have a huge spot in my heart for Ramsey because it's where I grew up and the influence its teachers have had on my life.

Ramsey Happenings

The Peace Garden | Itcinfo

After visiting the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park and Jimmy Carter Library in Atlanta, Georgia, RHS Student Robin Falkow was inspired by the colorful "Peace Rose Gardens" filled with messages of hope. So, why not build one in Ramsey, New Jersey? Robin earned her Girl Scout Gold Award by creating dialogues & connections between teens from different religious & cultural backgrounds. She also built a native plant peace garden at the Old Stone House.

Next Blood Drive Scheduled for November 11, 2020!

Donate and you'll get a COVID-19 Antibodies test! Click here to make an appointment!

Relay for Life Scheduled for June 4, 2021

Relay For Life | Cancer Walk | Cancer Fundraising Events Relay For Life events are life-changing cancer fundraising events that help communities across the globe fight back against cancer.