Wall High School Knightly News

I would like to welcome back all of our staff and students to another year of school, and extend a very warm welcome to our newest Crimson Knights, the WHS Class of 2028. We got to meet all of our freshmen and their parents this week at Orientation and it was a fantastic way to kick off the school year. Please take a look at the Freshmen Orientation section below for pictures and videos from the events there.

As you know, student schedules are available in Genesis. See below for links and more details regarding scheduling. All student and parent forms in Genesis must be completed in order to view student schedules. A link to school supply lists is also provided below.

As you know we have transitioned to a new bell schedule for the 24-25 school year. The Daily Rotation Calendar and the 24-25 Bell Schedules can be found on the WHS website under the Our School tab.

Students start school on Wednesday, September 4th, with a full-day schedule. Please see below for the bell schedule on the first day of school. All students should bring their school issued Chromebook to school charged for the first day. School lunches will be served on the first day. Please see links below for menus and to add money to your student's account. Balances can also be checked in the Genesis Parent Portal.

Parents please note that school starts promptly at 7:20am. Any student not in homeroom by 7:20am is considered late to school. Student bus stop information is posted in the Genesis portal and students are reminded to arrive to their bus stop early on the first day of school. Please be patient as it may take a few days for buses to establish a routine pick up time.

Anyone dropping off at school may enter through the 18th Ave entrance near the tennis courts or on the New Bedford Road entrance and then follow the traffic pattern to drop off by Door #13 (by the cafeteria). Please be mindful of pedestrians in crosswalks, and please do NOT drop off anywhere else. Remember that students need to be in homeroom/1st period by 7:20am so students should be dropped off no later than 7:15am to allow for time to get to their classrooms. The doors to the school will open at 7am daily.

To our students who drive, please make sure to obtain a parking pass in order to be permitted to park on campus. There are designated lots for juniors and seniors. Please refer to the parking application for more information and for a list of rules regarding student driving and parking on campus. Please complete a parking application and bring it to the main office during lunch or before or after school to receive a parking pass.

Dismissal is at 2:02pm and buses will assemble in the front (18th Ave) and side of the building (New Bedford Road). Students who are being picked up should meet their families in the parking lot near the tennis courts and all vehicles picking up must enter the lot from 18th Ave.

Back to School Night will be held on Thursday, September 19th at 7pm. Senior parents are invited to the Class of 2025 Information Night at 6pm in the auditorium before Back to School Night.

Please consider joining us for our Parent Advisory Council (PAC) meetings. These meetings will offer you a chance to hear information regarding school programs and other important information directly from the High School Administration. The PAC meeting schedule can be found here.

We’ve been working hard this summer to prepare for the new school year and we can't wait to roll out the new schedule! We’re very excited to get off to a great start on September 4th!

Have a great Labor Day and we will see all of our students and staff soon!

-Mr. Davis

• Valid reasons for which a student may request a change of schedule include:

  • An error or omission in data entry

  • Meeting a graduation requirement (seniors)

  • Course failures, which prohibit progress to the next sequential course

  • Successful summer school attendance allowing progress to the next sequential course

  • In order to honor, where possible, the student’s original course selection requests

  
  

  Any student requesting a change of schedule must do so by Friday, September 13th. The dropped course will not become a part of the student’s permanent record. A student dropping a course after September 13th will have the course printed on his/her permanent record. The course will appear on the student’s transcript as either Withdraw Pass (WP) or Withdraw Fail (WF) based upon the grade at the time of dropping the course. This policy for changes will be followed at all times.

• The Genesis portal also communicates busing information. Should you have any questions or concerns regarding busing, please contact the Transportation Department at 732.681.7698
  

"E" Day all periods meet

HR: 7:20-7:24

1: 7:24-8:05

2: 8:09-8:50

3: 8:54-9:35

4: 9:39-10:20

LUNCH: 10:20-11:02

5: 11:06-11:47

6: 11:51-12:32

7: 12:36-1:17

8: 1:21-2:02

Lors Studio will be taking pictures for all 9th, 10th and 11th grade students during gym classes on September 19th and 20th. Make up pictures will be on October 25th in the WHS media center.

TO ORDER UNDERCLASS PICTURES GO TO:
http://www.lorsstudio.com/undergrads/order/
and enter our school login code: 25-29W

TO CONTACT CUSTOMER SERVICE GO TO:
https://myschool.lorsstudio.com/custserv/begin/
OR CALL: 908.964.3040

We have made changes to our cell phone policy that all students and parents should be aware of. In order to reduce distractions and disruptions in the classroom and to increase student focus and engagement, each student will be required to place their cell phone in a classroom phone caddy at the beginning of each instructional period when they enter the classroom. The cell phones will remain in the phone caddy until the end of the period. Students may not retrieve phones when going to the bathroom, nurse, guidance, etc. I surveyed our staff last year and found out that 50 percent of our teachers were already enforcing this policy or something similar. Furthermore, 100 percent of those teachers reported positive outcomes in their classroom as a result of separating students from their phones.

Students will still be allowed to use their phones during unit lunch. We ask parents and guardians to please use lunch time to message your student (10:20 a.m. to 11:02 a.m.) if you need to contact them during the school day. Any student using a cell phone or having it in plain sight in class or anywhere in school during an instructional period (in route to the bathroom, nurse, guidance, etc.) will have the phone confiscated for the remainder of the day and be disciplined accordingly. Students will be briefed on this new policy at the start of the school year, and we appreciate your support.

We wanted to share some details to assist you in gearing up for a successful start of the 2024-2025 school year. All AP classes have a required summer assignment. Most math courses have an optional assignment to enhance your readiness for the math course. Summer Reading is required in all grades.

You can access Summer Assignments on the Wall High School Website under the Academics tab or by following this link:

• WHS Summer Assignments - 2024

We are excited to welcome some new faces and some returning staff back to Wall High School this school year:

• Kaitlyn Lash, ELA
• Kelly Pizzo, Psychology
• Elizabeth Sernotti, Special Education
• Meghan McDermott, Special Education
• Jeffrey Pierce, Special Education
• Kristin Ferris, Special Education
• Stephen Bryant, Music

Before Back to School Night, join the Counseling Department on

Thursday, September 19th at 6:00 p.m. in the WHS Auditorium

to learn about the college application process!

Scoir is a solution for students, supporters, counselors, and colleges focused on finding the right fit through a unified college search and planning network. This platform connects students to a powerful set of tools to help them identify their talents, search for their college fit, plan with their supporters, and apply when ready. As a parent/guardian, you play an integral role on Scoir by providing your student(s) with college suggestions, financial information, and general guidance.

**All visits are during Unit Lunch at 10:22 a.m. in the Counseling Office**

More visits will be added. Please check the College Visit Calendar for updates.

Get Involved and make this year count!

Everyone should try to join at least one club! Take a look at the club and activities website and email the clubs advisor if you have any questions.

Welcome Class of 2028!

Congratulations to WHS 11th grader, Elena Cunnif, who works in Bradley Beach as a beach lifeguard. Elena and several other lifeguards were recognized at the Bradley Beach council meeting in July for their lifesaving efforts during a water emergency on Sunday, July 14th. A swimmer was found facedown in the ocean, unconscious and not breathing. Elena and her fellow lifeguards sprung into action, performing CPR and ultimately bringing back a pulse to the victim. The victim was brough to the hospital where he eventually made a full recovery. Congratulations to Elena for her heroic and lifesaving efforts!

Student bathrooms in multiple hallways were completely renovated and updated this summer. We anticipate most of those bathrooms to be complete and open on the first day of school. For pictures of the work feel free to visit the photo gallery on the Referendum tab of the district website. I plan to include pictures of the completed bathrooms in the next newsletter.

The north gym floor at the high school was sanded and repainted this summer and it looks better than ever! We will also be replacing the scoreboard in the next few weeks.

Thank you to our maintenance and custodial crews for all their hard work preparing our buildings to open on time!

• WHS: Thursday, September 19th at 7:00 pm

• WIS: Tuesday, September 24th at 7:00 pm

• Allenwood: Wednesday, September 18th at 6:30 pm

• Central: Thursday, September 26th at 6:30 pm

• Old Mill: Thursday, September 12th at 6:30 pm

• West Belmar: Monday, September 16th at 7:00 pm

• Primary: Wednesday, September 25th at 6:00 pm

We will kick off the new year focusing on the mindset, EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Join us for our first Mindset Showcase on September 17th during the Board of Education meeting at 7:00 PM at Wall Intermediate School.

Please join us for “THE POWER OF SHOWING UP,” an evening presentation related to school participation and engagement by Integrated Care Concepts!

Also, gain access to support personnel who will assist in the following areas:

• Technology Support Staff- Genesis Parent Portal
• School Counselors & CST members- Social support and HIB prevention
• Nursing Staff- Required health forms and paperwork

Dear Wall Community,

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! We’re thrilled to continue our journey with The 7 Mindsets curriculum and are eager to build on the success of our first year. Last year, we saw fantastic engagement through counselor-led classroom lessons, morning announcements, parent newsletters, and staff workshops, all designed to celebrate and reinforce each mindset. To get a comprehensive view of what we achieved, please take a moment to watch the presentation linked HERE and posted on our District website.

This year, we are excited to deepen our commitment with continued instruction and new initiatives. Our plan includes:

• School-wide activities to help students apply positive mindsets.

• “Wellness in the Works” parent newsletters.

• Monthly “Mindset Showcase” at Board of Education meetings to highlight our progress.

• Wellness Webinars for students in grades 3-8, facilitating real-time, grade-level discussions.

• A new 9th-grade transitional curriculum aligned with the mindsets.

• Student leadership opportunities, known as Mindset Mentors.

• Enhanced curricular connections through classroom instruction.

We will kick off the new year focusing on the mindset, EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Join us for our first Mindset Showcase on September 17th during the Board of Education meeting at 7:00 PM at Wall Intermediate School.

Additionally, we remind you to join us at our first Family Night on September 5th from 5:30-7:00 PM at West Belmar School. Family Night is an opportunity for parents and children to socialize over dinner, win prizes, and learn about a topic aligned with health and wellness. The topic of September 5th is WE ARE CONNECTED: Parent Partnerships & School Supports. Please use this link HERE to learn more about the evening and reserve your spot at Family Night.

Looking forward to another impactful year together!

Warm regards,

Tiffany A. Steiner
Director of Intervention Programs and Student Wellness

Families must submit a new application every school year.

During the first 30 school days, students with free and reduced-price meal eligibility from the prior school year will be carried over.

Any student who has not filled out an application up the the 30th school day will have their prior year status changed to full pay status until a new application is received.

Parents / guardians are highly encouraged to fill out the applications as soon as possible. Also, it is very important that applications are filled out correctly.

Please note if families receive a direct certification letter in the mail / email, families do not have to fill out a free and reduced application for the school year. If you are unable to print at home, copies are available in your school's main office.

Questions? Please contact Joe Piddington at jpiddington@wallpublicschools.org or 732.556.2602