2013-2014 FCCLA National Leadership Conference

      County Prep students traveled to San Antonio, Texas this past July to participate in the 2013-2014 FCCLA National Leadership conference. "Power Up with FCCLA" served as the theme for this year's event. The representatives from County Prep High School achieved various awards.
     In the category of "Hospitality, Tourism, and Recreation," Lissette Molina and Ahmed Sayedahmed won a Gold medal. In "Fashion Design," Natassha Rivera was awarded a Gold medal. Gold medals were also awarded to Hamiyyet Bilgi and Michael Tadros for "Entrepreneurship" and to Tanya Ponce for "Recycle and Redesign."  Students who earned Silver Medals include Aya Elamroussi for "Advocacy," Carmen Chen for "Recycle and Redesign," and Mia Malmad for "Career Investigation."
    FCCLA is a nonprofit national student leadership organization for young women and men in public and private schools through grade twelve.
     There are over 200,000 members in over 5,500 chapters. The chapters focus on many youth concerns and promote personal growth and development. For more information please visit www.fcclainc.org or www.njfccla.org

County Prep Interact Club Walkathon

The County Prep Interact Club, a high school chapter of the International Rotary Club, held a walkathon on Friday, September 26th at County Prep High School.  Over fifty students and several staff members participated. The event supported the Friends of Leonard Gordon Park (FoLGP), a Jersey City park (also known as Mosquito Park) located on Kennedy Boulevard and Manhattan Avenue.  Co-President Kayla Feathers was excited with the success of the club's first fundraiser: "The event turned out better than we had expected. I would like to thank everyone who participated. Without you, we would not be able to fulfill our goal." The Interact Club members will be working with the FoLGP on their next fundraiser, a pancake breakfast on November 22nd at Applebee’s. 

Jason Patel, Project Manager from NorthPoint Financial Services, Visits High Tech Business & Technology Club

High Tech's Business & Technology Club/Business Department recently hosted guest speaker Mr. Jason Patel, Project Manager from NorthPoint Financial Services, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.

NorthPoint Financial Services, based in New York City, offers a wide range of financial solutions in advisory and assessment, project planning and management, and software development outsourcing. The firm provides financial solutions investment management, hedge fund, credit fund, pension fund, endowment, and asset management. In short, NorthPoint provides clients with the most effective, industry-leading solutions and works closely with industry innovators and business partners.

As NorthPoint's representative, Mr. Patel offered business majors insight into the financial market of the 21st century. He discussed the factors at play in growing careers and opportunities in the business industry.

“The presentation was a great experience for students," said Business & Technology club moderator, Dr. Abbasi, "as it provided them a window into the workings of real businesses in the financial industry.”

Barry Cummings Receives Meritorious Service Award

On September 17, 2014, at the NJJDA Annual training conference, the Juvenile Justice Commission gave Barry Cummings a meritorious service award for his 35 years of service, teaching the youth of Hudson County.

High Tech Musical Theatre Students Set to Perform at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2015

(Edinburgh, SCT—September 24, 2014) The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the famous and largest theatre festival in the world, has once again invited High Tech Musical Theatre to tour and perform in Auld Reekie, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.
As part of the organizational forum known as the American High School Theatre Festival (AHSTF), which recently celebrated its twentieth anniversary, High Tech Musical Theatre joins only nineteen other secondary schools in the entire United States being represented at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Students will spend a fortnight in Great Britain next August, partaking in special workshops at London’s famous Globe Theatre, sightseeing in beautiful Scotland, and, finally, the pièces de résistance, putting on four performances of their adaptation of Rent—which premieres at High Tech next spring—at Church Hill Theatre in Edinburgh.

Celebrating its fifteenth year, High Tech Musical Theatre, under the direction of Alex Perez and support from Musical Director Rod Shepard, has been widely recognized state-wide, nationally, and internationally. Since 2000, the program has earned forty-five nominations and thirteen Papermill Playhouse Awards, including honors for Best Overall Production, Best Director, Best Costumes, Best Makeup, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Featured Performers, and Best Educational Impact. Other accomplishments include an Off-Off-Broadway, six-week run of the 2003 production Oz, A Twisted Musical, representing the country at the Oberhavel Germany Arts Festival in 2001, and recognition by the Metro-North Cappies Awards, which honors excellence in New Jersey Theatre, with fifteen nominations and six wins in a span of two years.
High Tech Musical Theatre offers master classes instructed by industry professionals, such as Broadway’s Kerry Butler, Rob McClure, Kenita Miller, Colin Hanlon, and James Rado, and partnerships with Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) and Papermill Playhouse. Many graduates continue in the arts and attend such prestigious institutions as Tisch School of the Arts, Carnegie Mellon, Stella Adler, Yale Drama, American Musical and Dramatic Academy, The Atlantic Theatre Company, and Rutgers Mason Gross School. Alumni have even appeared on Broadway, regional productions, national tours, and in films and television.
“Raising money is half the battle, the other half is staying committed to putting on a great production,” says Perez. “We’re up for the challenge, but we need support from our community to give these students the chance of a lifetime. It will forever be a moment in their lives that nothing else can replace.”
High Tech Musical Theatre needs to raise $130,000 to cover airline flights, room & board, rights, set & costume rentals, workshops, and travel needs. Please contribute at http://www.gofundme.com/elcavc.

Seven High Tech Students Qualify to Enter the 2015 National Merit® Scholarship Program

(Evanston, IL—September 23, 2014) High Tech High School seniors Tristan Ventura of Bayonne, Hoboken resident Gabriel Bond, Noah Dutton and Meichin Ong of Jersey City, Kearny resident SiTian Zhang, Karina Voronich of North Bergen, and Secaucus resident Luana Xu have met the qualifications for the National Merit® Scholarship Program this year, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech.
A Letter of Commendation from High Tech High School and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) will be presented by Dr. Giammarella to the seven outstanding scholars. NMSC has recognized approximately 34,000 Commended Students throughout the country, although they will not continue in the competition for National Merit® Scholarships in 2015. Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2015 competition by taking the PSAT/NMSQT® last year.
With a selection Index score of 203 or above, each student ranks among the 50,000 highest-scoring participants of those 1.5 million program entrants. Because they have demonstrated outstanding academic potential, they will be referred by the College Plans Reporting Service (CPRS) to two U.S. colleges or universities that interest them.
Of these 50,000 highest-scoring participants, about 16,000 will be recognized as National Merit Program semifinalists, representing the top scorers in each state, and approximately 34,000 other high scorers will be commended for their performances on the PSAT/NMSQT. Semifinalists will have the opportunity to continue in the competition for Merit Scholarship® awards.

High Tech Ping-Pong Club Donates New Table

(North Bergen, NJ—September 18, 2014) Merely two years after its inauguration, the High Tech High School Ping-Pong Club has donated a brand-new table to the school for club use, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.
Since its inception, the Ping-Pong Club has hosted four school-wide and district-wide tournaments, with overwhelming student participation, to become one of High Tech High’s most popular extracurricular activities.
"The Ping-Pong Club has grown tremendously in the past two years,” observes Club Moderator Dr. Syed Abbasi. “Our students at High Tech have shown great enthusiasm and interest in the sport, and this club has huge potential to grow in the near future.”
The High Tech High School Ping-Pong Club's earnings, garnered from its unanimously successful tournaments, fully funded the new table.