December 22, 2023
Around the Building
The holiday spirit was in full swing in the math office when staff members unintentionally came to work in matching Christmas sweaters.
Kristi Geronimo's Concert Orchestra class spread holiday cheer around the building with their rendition of "Frosty the Snowman."
Students stopped by the campus center on Thursday during unit lunch to partake in an ugly sweater competition and some holiday karaoke.
8th Grade Parent Meeting
On December 13th, the parents of 8th-grade middle school students attended an informative presentation conducted by the Administrative team at Ridgewood High School. The session included discussions on the various programs and opportunities accessible to our students both inside and outside the classroom along with feedback from our student panel.
Club Happenings
Chinese Club
Winter Solstice - the Victory of Light Over Darkness
Chinese people celebrate "Dongzhi" also known as Winter Solstice. The festival celebrates the start of winter, with the date mark the turning point on the calendar where the days that follow start to get longer as the nights get shorter. During Dongzhi, families in Southern China typically get tother to make and eat Tangyuan (汤圆). Tangyuan are small glutinous balls with red bean, sesame for a sweet touch served in a bowl with broth. It symblizes a family unit and prosperity.
Girls Who Code
Over 40 RHS members of the GirlsWhoCode club explored Machine Learning and AI during a field trip to Google's NYC office. Club members coded their own machine learning algorithms using images, sounds, and video poses (anyone can try it now at https://teachablemachine.withgoogle.com/). Students also met with software engineers who work on speech recognition, Google productivity tools, and Youtube to learn about careers in technology.
National Honor Society
The holidays are approaching and NHS members are making this winter season a bit more special for the children at Valley Hospital. Throughout the month of December, NHS collected a total of $300 generously donated from the RHS community, which was used to purchase gifts. NHS spent time not only wrapping them but also making cards. Thank you to NHS and happy holidays!
Wind Ensemble
The 2023 7th and 8th Grade District Honor Band had its concert this past Wednesday in the RHS Campus Center, featuring 35 students from BFMS, GWMS and members of the RHS Wind Ensemble. Conducted by RHS Band Directors Jeffrey Haas and John Luckenbill, RHS Wind Ensemble students worked with the band in a mentorship role throughout the entire rehearsal process.
Congratulations to the 2023 Honor Band on a successful performance!
French Club
This Wednesday, French club held its end-of-the-year celebration with a cheese tasting. Among gouda, camembert, chablochon, and mimolette, chablochon was ranked the highest among club members!
Quiz Bowl
The Ridgewood Quiz Bowl Team had a busy December. On December 9th, they ran a tournament for novice players and it was very successful. On December 16th, they attended the Garden Cup at Livingston High School. Within a field of over 64 teams, Ridgewood soared to 18th place and junior Aditya Rajesh was crowned the 5th best individual player in the tournament! In the new year, they hope to run a second tournament and continue playing with the hopes of making it to nationals.
In the Classroom
Anatomy
Students have been studying the human skeleton in Anatomy class.
Announcements
Upcoming Meetings & Events
Dec. 23rd- Jan. 1st: Closed for Winter Break
Jan. 5th: RHS winter dance concert, 7:30pm, Little Theatre
Jan. 4th-7th: New Players in Concert, various times, Little Theatre
Jan. 6th: Seal of Biliteracy Qualifying Exam, 8:30am-12:00pm, Learning Commons
Jan 11th: Maroon & White Recital/Art Exhibit; 3:45pm, RHS Learning Commons & Art Gallery
Jan 15th: MLK Day - Schools Closed
Jan. 18th-23rd; mid-term exam period