Wallkill coordinator of guidance retires

Wallkill Valley Regional High School’s coordinator of guidance services, Jim Watson, retired in December, Superintendent David Carr announced on April 27.

“This left a crater here and a lot of people had a lot of anxiety when Jim left,” Carr said. “The administrators that really stepped up and absorbed Jim’s responsibilities were Vito Morgese, Assistant Principal, who runs the day to day procedures of the guidance scheduling.”

Carr said Kevin Lukich, Assistant Principal who is in charge of math, has been working the master schedule “which is a real challenge when you’re trying to schedule all the classes the school offers to 650 students. We can really say they have been really successful. The Guidance Counselors and secretaries have done a really great job stepping up.”

Carr said all the students, including the incoming freshman, have already been scheduled for the upcoming school year. Carr said some of the schedules are still being worked out but the registration for students is up to 90 percent.

“That is a milestone because the school usually does not reach 90% enrollment until August,” he said.

Carr said Watson has been wonderful, , and district officials are still in regular communication with him.

“We try not to bother him as much as possible but he is more than happy to help us along the way to help us find new things out that we didn’t know before,” he said.

Social Studies

Carr discussed Mr. Schels, a new Social Studies teacher, and said Schels really brings some unique speakers and perspectives into his class. Schels recently invited a Morris County Detective into his class as a guest speaker. The detective shared various experiences on his job, the people he comes in contact with in the community, and shared what duties his job entails.

English Department

The National Honor Society induction ceremony was April 13 and 14, and new members were recognized. Carr explained that one of the nice things about attending the ceremony is that they get to hear the students discuss what plans they have for their future. Many 'students are getting full scholarships.

Pass it Along

Ms. Karen Carter’s class has collected donations for one month to help with the humanitarian disaster going on in the Ukraine. The students collected necessities such as first aid kits, diapers, baby wipes, hygiene products. They packed the supplies and were shipped out and sent to them. The Ukrainian American Cultural Center in Whippany helped coordinate the collections and the shipping of the donations. Carr said “kudos to the students who stepped up and helped people in need.”

Sports

Carr said “this year’s golf team is on fire with a 4-0 record. This year’s golf team is one of the best teams we’ve had throughout the years.” Carr said the golf team’s home course is at Wallkill Golf course and in spite of how difficult the course is they still do great.

The boys and girls track teams are undefeated.

The baseball team is 3-0 in their division. The boys tennis team has three wins and one loss.

In other news, Wallkill Valley High School graduation is set for June 16.