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Students of the Month: Mathematicians 'March' to Success
The Student of the Month award gives academically gifted students recognition for their achievements and hard work. March highlighted students who excelled in mathematics. This month's awards went to Joseph Valencia '19, Salvatore Mancini '21, Johnny Sahdou '22, and Isabella Zigarelli '22.
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Mr. Donnelly's Holocaust and Genocide Classes Visit U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
On March 8th, Mr. Donnelly’s Holocaust and Genocide classes visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. While the museum displays many historical artifacts dedicated to the remembrance of The Holocaust, it also educates students in a way that a classroom simply is unable to.
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PV Continues to Pay Homage to Early Photography Techniques
In the age of digital photography, young people may never be exposed to the film process, a highlight of Passaic Valley's Photography classes. PV is one of just a few high schools that have maintained a "dark room" and continue teaching the multi-faceted film process in addition to digital photography.
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PV Expands Program of Studies with Newly Developed Course Offerings and Academic Partnerships
On February 25th, Passaic Valley publicly announced its most extensive additions to its course offerings in school history. The updated Program of Studies looks to build on PV's already impressive and innovative opportunities offered to students.
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Engineering: Expanding Options for STEM
Passaic Valley offers various different courses and electives that enhance the learning environment for students. Engineering, a new course for the 2018-19 school year, provides another important STEM pathway for interested and eager students.
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Chemistry Students Perform Edible Water Bottle Experiment
Science teacher Ms. Richeall Kennedy introduced a new experiment for her chemistry students this past week. The students created edible water bottles out of certain elements mixed with water.
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Oxford University Accepts Catherine Fergesen into Esteemed Ranks
As the school year nears its midpoint, many seniors are finishing college applications or eagerly awaiting responses. For Catherine Fergesen, her four years of hard work and relentless studying have earned her a well-deserved acceptance letter from Oxford University.
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Sophomore Stars Shine Bright After First Year
This year’s Sophomore Class has a vast array of talented students. Three students, Elizabeth Dubov, Raima Islam, and Betul Koc, have especially made the most of their first high school years. Each has achieved a high enough GPA to be among the top of their class.
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Juniors with the Drive to Succeed Share Their Stories
Passaic Valley's Class of 2020 is currently academically thriving. Three very bright, intelligent young students at the top of the class, Brian Katat; Lexie De Luca; and Jerry Sevillano, shared their experiences and advice with the Valley Echo.
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PV Honored on 9th Annual AP District Honor Roll
PV was included on the 9th Annual District Honor Roll, administered by College Board. This placement recognizes schools with an increasing number of students taking AP courses and a rise in the number of those students achieving an exam score of 3 or higher.
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A.P. Psychology Launches Human Brain Project
The students of A.P. Psychology were assigned a very complex project that really put their brains to work. Mrs. Geraldine Volonnino tasked her students with creating a 3-dimensional model of the human brain in a project that require ingenuity, creativity, and teamwork.
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New Elective Opportunities Offered for ABA Students
Recently, the ABA program expanded its elective choices provided for students. The students are now able to partake in Photography, Art, Media, and Music. As the marking periods change, the students rotate between each new elective.
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Senior Scholars Reflect on Their Success
Academic achievement is an important factor in the high school experience. Three seniors, who have excelled throughout their four years and established themselves among the top five academically ranked students, shared their reflections on their experiences with the Valley Echo.
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Physics Kicks Off 2019 with Balloon-Car Race
Every year, Physics and Physics Honors hold their balloon-car race, challenging students to engineer a car powered by just a balloon. The challenge becomes a competition between the students to see who can make the fastest moving or the furthest travelling car.
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Superintendent's Breakfast Commends Scholars for First Marking Period
On Monday, January 7th, the Superintendent’s Breakfast for the first marking period of the 2018-2019 academic year was held. With nearly 100 students in attendance, the breakfast recognized the achievements of students inside and outside of the classroom.
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Senior Academic Team Answers its Way to Silver at NorJac
Saturday, December 8th: the Passaic Valley Academic Team competed against schools such as Seneca, Bergenfield, and BioTech in the North Jersey Academic Championships (NorJac) at Leonia High School. The Senior Team placed this year, achieving silver status by collecting almost 1,900 points.
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Italian Field Trip to the Metropolitan Opera Allows Students to Celebrate Culture
On Friday, November 30, Signora Carmela Monzo and Signora Maria Papaleo brought their Italian students to New York City on a field trip to the Metropolitan Opera. The group saw a dress rehearsal of the opera La Traviata.
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Critical Thinking Team Develops Lunchtime Activity
Starting in early November, the Passaic Valley Critical Thinking Team implemented an activity to encourage critical thinking during lunch periods in the cafeteria. Every Friday, a puzzle is written on a white board in the cafe. The first two students to answer correctly win a prize.
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Hornet Helping Hands Offers Senior Interns Insight into the Future of Education
Starting in the 2017-2018 school year, Passaic Valley partnered with Little Falls Township to create the Helping Hands internship program. This year, five new seniors chose to participate: Sarah Covello, Taylor Davis, Sarah Esmarian, Alexandra Levajac, and Gabriella Rose.
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CITVC Rice Game Activity Provides Engaging Method For Students to Give Back
On Tuesday, November 27th, and Wednesday, November 28th, Ms. Kathleen Menake's Contemporary Issues Through Videoconferencing (CITVC) classes took a break from their conferences to partake in a unique, charitable tradition: the Free Rice Activity.
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Seniors Vie for Breakfast and Bragging Rights in the 12 Days of College Competition
The Guidance Office has initiated the 12 Days of College Homeroom Competition. The senior homeroom with the highest percentage of applicants to college by December 18th will receive a breakfast in Campbell Hall right before winter break.
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PV Introduces New Science Course: A.P. Human Geography
Along with several other new courses this year, A.P. Human Geography is now offered by Passaic Valley as both a new Science and advanced placement course for students. This course focuses on the spatial relationships of people to each other and their physical environment.
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Ms. Menake's CITVC Students Use Teamwork in NYC Escape Room
CITVC took it's annual team-building trip to New York City on November 20, 2018. Collectively, the class decided on going to Escape Entertainment. The field trip's main goal was to promote teamwork as CITVC depends on unity for successful videoconferences.
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In New Location, Writing Lab Now Open for Third Year
The Writing Lab, which has successfully helped many students at Passaic Valley revise their essays and research papers for the past two years, made its grand opening on November 12th. The Lab has been moved to Library Annex, Room 111.
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New Class Opportunity for Book Lovers: A.P. Lang
Passaic Valley offers numerous academic courses where students can learn and flourish. This year, Passaic Valley added to its impressive catalogue with several new courses, including a new English course, A.P. Language and Composition (A.P. Lang).
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PV Offers AP Psychology as One of Several New Rigorous Courses
Academically, students are now being offered several new Advanced Placement/college-level courses to challenge and prepare them. One of these new additions is AP Psychology, taught by Mrs. Geraldine Volonnino. Stay tuned to the Valley Echo for future articles detailing more new courses.
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PV Welcomes Its Newest Member, Mrs. Lions, to the Hive
Every year, Passaic Valley welcomes a handful of new staff members, determined to enhance the academic advancements of their students. This year, Passaic Valley welcomes a new member to the World Language Department, French Teacher Mrs. Lynn Lions.
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B.Y.O.D Program Officially Launches
This new school year, the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program officially launched. Students are now able to bring their own laptops, tablets, and I-Pads from home to use in the classroom through the PV Wi-Fi network.
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Education Foundation Launches GoFundMe Page for Media Center Renovation
The Passaic Valley Education Foundation has launched a GoFundMe.com page in hopes of raising funds for a proposed Media Center Renovation Project. The fundraiser will be open for the next two years.
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Costanzo & Lambert Crowned Top Chefs 2018
Top Chef 2018 lived up to it's hype as 6 pairs of students battled it out to create the most appetizing dishes. Seniors Gabby Lambert and Nick Costanzo won but all finalists were treated to a field trip in New York City.
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Mindfulness in School: Stretching Towards AP Testing
Twice a week, Ms. Standish, a licensed therapist and yoga/mindfulness instructor, visits Ms. Peters’ AP English classes. They hope for these sessions to create healthy coping mechanisms during a very eventful and stressful period for students as AP testing commences.
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Academic Lab to Open PARCC Workshops After Spring Break
Starting on April 9th, the Academic Lab in Room 012 PARCC workshops will open for all Freshmen looking for an edge on the upcoming standardized test. Workshops for the ELA 9 and Algebra I sections of the test will be held to gain the proper experience and improve upon necessary skills.
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ABA Program Expands in Third Year with More on Horizon
The ABA Program has experienced many improvements and expansions this year. With new classrooms and more opportunities, the students are able to gain more experience. This year, the program and PV have scheduled their Annual Autism Walk for Sunday, April 15.
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Papasavas and Kania Earn Valedictorian and Salutatorian
Most of the grades are in and the GPAs tabulated. The Valedictorian and Salutatorian of the Class of 2018 are Andre Papasavas and Matt Kania, respectively. Congratulations to both men on such a prestigious achievement.
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Mr. Sanders Holds Sumo Bot Competition for STEM Explorations Classes
Mr. Randall Sanders recently spearheaded a novel project in his STEM Exploration classes: Students were split into groups and instructed to build robots using specialized kits. Once the robots were built, they duked it out in a "Sumo Bot" competition in the Wrestling Gym.
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Physics Students Race Off in Battle of the Balloon Cars
First-year physics students raced their home-made balloon cars, following their lessons in mechanics. Students were instructed to build a car out of everyday materials using the air of an inflated balloon as the only propelling force.
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Mr. Alfred Cappello Named Passaic Valley Governor's Educator of the Year
The Annual Passaic Valley High School Governor’s Educator of the Year Award for 2017-18 goes to Mr. Alfred Cappello. This is his 14th year teaching Physical Education and Health at Passaic Valley. Of course, he is also known for his coaching in several sports.
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New Program Uses Storytelling to Enhance Engagement
As a part of a new initiative, two storytellers come to Passaic Valley and draw in students with their on the spot recreations of fictional stories. The storytellers, Paula Davidoff and Gerald Fierst from Storytelling Arts Inc., tell stories related to the subject being taught in class at the time.
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Administration Puts Magnifying Glass on Criminal Justice
Students are enjoying a new slew criminology-focused classes this year. The intriguing courses come as a result of overwhelming interest in the subject over the past few years. The administration hopes that these fledgling classes serve as just the start in offering more diverse courses and electives.
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Media I Premieres First Projects of the Year
The rejuvenated Media I class has officially begun to create new short films, involving original subject created by students. For their first project, groups of students told a story utilizing nine distinct camera shots without any dialogue or narration.
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Vanderstreet Sings Her Way into PV
A new addition to Passaic Valley's staff, Miss Pia Vanderstreet, joined our ranks on Monday, October 23rd. As the new music teacher, she is excited for this endeavor. She has always had a love for music, like many of us do.
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PV Revamps Senior Curriculum with English Electives
In the first few weeks of its pilot year, the senior English electives are spurring excitement and discussion throughout the senior class. Replacing the standard fourth year of English, seniors can now choose two or more semester-length English courses to fulfill their Senior English requirements.
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Video Games, Horror Flicks and Animation Headline Rube Goldberg 2017
On Tuesday, June 13th, and Wednesday, June 14th, the AP Physics classes invited students and staff to room 241 to witness a demonstration of Rube Goldberg 2017. Students, staff, and even whole classes flocked to the physics room to witness this year's show.
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13 French Students Recieve Awards in National French Contest
Twenty five students from Ms. Hillary Bresson's French classes participated in the Grand Concours, also known as the National French Contest. The contest, sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French, assesses student listening, reading, and writing skills in the French language.
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AP Physics Putting Finishing Touches on Rube Goldberg Projects
As a reward of sorts for their hard work, AP Physics students participate in the Rube Goldberg Project as a culmination of their two years in the notoriously tough class.On June 13th, these students will unveil their finished Rube Goldberg machines to the PV public.
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Nikki Shah Named Salutatorian
On April 27th, Nikki Shah '17 was informed that she would be given the honor of Salutatorian at graduation on June 23rd. This wonderful honor is the culmination of a high school career spent in which Shah continuously strived for academic excellence, “This proves hard work does pay off.”
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Painting Provides Creativity for Mrs. Hall's Sophomore Classes
Teachers employ many different and unique ways to bring their subjects alive for their students. Sophomore British Lit teacher, Mrs. Darcy Hall, has her own methods for teaching her classes.
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Teacher Feature: Mrs. Miele Relates to Her Students
Mrs. Megan Miele, formally known as Ms.Ellis, has always been an uplifting spirit for students and teachers. Mrs. Miele is a devoted and hard-working teacher and is a role model for her students.
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Student Spotlight: Senior, Sarah Elkordy Gets a Full Ride to Princeton
After seven months of waiting, Sarah Elkordy ’17 received the good news of a fully paid acceptance into Princeton University. From honors and AP classes to volunteering and participating in sports, clubs, and activities in and outside of PV, Sarah's hard work finally paid off.
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Arts & Sciences in the Summer: Introducing the STEAM Into Summer Camp
The PV Education Foundation is introducing a new summer STEAM camp beginning July 3rd and running throughout the month. The camp will join the already well established Art, Culinary and Theater Arts camps that run during summer mornings.
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CAD Class Creates Houses, Cars, and More
A brand new class has been added this year: CAD, or Computer Aided Design. The class is a full year course taught by Mrs. Arianna Robeson. They use a 3D design program called Sketch Up that allows them to create cars, houses, furniture, buildings, etc.
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Makerspace Provides Outlet for Creators
With the new addition of STEM (Science, Technology, Engendering, and Mathematics) in Passaic Valley, we have introduced a Makerspace. Passaic Valley, and many other schools around the world, have taken part in the addition of Makerspaces to their libraries to better education in the field of technology.
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Introducing Co-Teaching: Two Teachers One Classroom
One of the biggest revolutions to the way PV serves its student body is the introduction of Co-Teaching. Co- Teaching is a method of instruction where two teachers in one work collaborated classroom help further educate students.
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2018-2019 Lab Interns Further Passion for Science Under Dr. Iobst
Senior lab interns Anna Hosri and Alyssa Minnella are spending their final year at Passaic Valley pursuing their passion for science. Under the guidance of Dr. Susanne Iobst, Hosri and Minnella spend their mornings assisting in lab preparation and preparing for their futures in the medical field.
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Annual On-Site Admission Day Allows Seniors to Receive a Decision from Desired Colleges/Universities
On Tuesday, December 4th, Passaic Valley hosted their annual On-Site Admission Day for seniors. Representatives from some New Jersey colleges/universities reviewed applications, interviewed students, and officially made admissions decisions.
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