Summit High School

Dear SHS Families,

Third marking period report cards will be available this week in Genesis. An email will be sent to all families once they are ready to be viewed. Please encourage your student to participate in this week's Spirit Week activities.

We will have Spring Break starting on Monday, April 14th through Friday, April 18th. I hope that you all have a wonderful break.

It's a great day to be a Hilltopper!

Stacy Grimaldi

Principal

Join us on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at 7:00 PM for the fourth Parent Wellness Consortium event: "Supporting Teens in Reducing Their Stress (And Ours)" with Clinical Psychologist, Comedian, and Author, Dr. Matt Bellace.

In this session, parents will:

• Discover effective coping strategies, including meditation, reframing disappointment, and encouraging natural highs

• Gain insight into how adolescent brain development, screen time, sleep deprivation, and substance use affect mental health

• Learn practical approaches to improving communication with their teens

This event will be hosted at Chatham High School Auditorium, 255 Lafayette Ave, Chatham Township, NJ. Our program is generously sponsored by the Municipal Alliance Committee of the Chathams.

For more information about the event, email SHS Student Assistance Counselor, Amy Herber, aherber@summit.k12.nj.us, or LCJSMS Student Assistance Counselor, Monica Galasso, mgalasso@summit.k12.nj.us.

The packet of information containing all the information about graduation and senior events was mailed to all 12th grade families last week. Please be on the lookout for this mailing. There are items in the mailing that need to be completed and are time sensitive.

If you did not get a mailing, please contact the main office of the high school. You can also find the information on the Graduation Tab of the Resources Page of the High School Website.

The State of New Jersey has implemented a new graduation requirement (P.L. 2023 c.295) for members of the Class of 2025. For students to fulfill this graduation requirement, they must complete one of the following:

• Complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
• Complete and submit the NJ Alternative Financial Aid Application (NJAFA)..
• Have a parent/guardian complete and submit a waiver form. The form is located in the Genesis Parent Portal under Forms, titled NJ Financial Aid Application Graduation Requirement Waiver Form.

The FAFSA gives students access to the largest source of financial aid to pay for college or vocational school. Completing the FAFSA allows students to be considered for federal financial aid, including Pell grants, work-study programs, and loans. In addition, many colleges and universities, as well as some private financial aid providers, use the FAFSA information to determine students’ eligibility for aid.

Students who are NJ residents but do not meet the requirements for FAFSA, may consider the NJAFAA as an option. The NJAFAA enables students to receive state financial assistance to support their post-secondary college and career goals.

If you choose to submit the FAFSA or the NJAFAA, no other action or notification is required on your part. If you submit the waiver, please note that this does not prohibit a student from submitting the FAFSA or NJAFAA in the future.

More information about this graduation requirement can be found on the Summit High School website under “New Graduation Requirements for Classes of 2025, 2026, and 2027” on the Resources tab. You can also contact your student’s school counselor with any questions.

The deadline for completing this requirement (the FAFSA, the NJAFAA, or the waiver) is Friday, May 16th. Thank you for your prompt attention to this new requirement.

This week the Student Council is planning a Spirit Week with a Pep Rally on Friday. Please encourage your student to participate. The themes are:

Monday: Sweats/PJ's

Tuesday: Concert/Event T-Shirt

Wednesday: Western Rodeo

Thursday: Sports Jerseys

Friday: Class colors

If your student is absent from school or will be late to school, please contact the attendance office by emailing shsattendance@summit.k12.nj.us or calling 908-273-1494, option 1. Please be sure to include the student's name, grade, and reason for absence or lateness. Please contact the attendance office before 10am on the day of the absence or tardy. If reporting a late to school, please also include the time the student will arrive at school.

If your student will need to leave school early please contact the attendance office by emailing shsattendance@summit.k12.nj.us or calling 908-273-1494, option 1. Please be sure to notify the attendance office by 8am for an early dismissal. This will allow us to get a pass to your student so they can leave class. Please be sure to include the student's name, grade, reason for dismissal, time of dismissal, and if the student will return to school.

Did you know that you can view your student's check-ins on Genesis? Students scan into the bathrooms, library, help centers, counseling office, and nurse's office when they visit these locations during the school day. You can view these check-ins in Genesis. Log into your Genesis account, and click check-ins on the left side of the screen. Please discuss with your student any excessive time out of class.

You can also view how many times your student did not have their ID badge with them in school. Please help ensure that your student has their ID badge with them each morning.

Appointments must be made in advance to see teachers, counselors, administrators, and other staff. Please be prepared to announce your name and purpose in order to be granted access into the building.

When a visitor arrives at the school, they will be asked to provide identification, such as a driver's license or state-issued ID card. If the visitor does not have any means of identification on them, they will be asked to input their first name, last name, and date of birth into our visitor management system. The identification is then scanned into the system, and the visitor's information is checked against a database to ensure they are not on any prohibited lists. Once the visitor's information has been verified, a temporary badge will be printed and provided to them by the school security officer or school secretary. This badge must be worn at all times while the visitor is on school grounds and will be collected upon their departure. All visitors to the building must be escorted by a staff member at all time.

In the event an emergency visit is necessary, please call the school’s main office ahead of your arrival so we are prepared to accommodate your needs.

Drop-off items (lunch, instrument, Chromebook, etc.) may be dropped off in the bin outside the main entrance vestibule. We will not inform students when items have been dropped off for them.

Monday, April 7th

A Day

Sweats/PJs Day

Prom Ticket Sales at Lunch

Union Hispana Empanada and Bake Sale, After School

Tuesday, April 8th

B Day

Concert/Event T-Shirt Day

Prom Ticket Sales at Lunch and After School

Wednesday, April 9th

C Day

Western Rodeo Day

Chemistry Club Bake Sale, After School

Thursday, April 10th

D Day

Sports Jerseys Day

Peer Leadership Bake Sale, After School

Friday, April 11th

A Day - Pep Rally Schedule

Class Color Day

Schedule for the Day

Period 1: 7:45am - 8:33am

Period 2: 8:37am - 9:25am

Period 7: 9:29am - 10:17am

Period 3: 10:21am - 11:09am

Lunch: 11:09am - 12:05pm

Period 6: 12:05pm - 12:53pm

Period 8: 12:57pm - 1:45pm

Pep Rally: 1:45pm - 2:49pm

Science Labs will still be held.

Monday, April 14th through Friday, April 18th

No School - Spring Break

• Monday, April 14th through Friday, April 18th - Spring Break