The Girls Soccer Team captured the sectional title against Arlington on Sunday, November 2. The Patriots won 4 - 3 coming down to the final kick, and entering two overtime sessions. The Boys Soccer Team beat Scarsdale 2 - 1. The Boys soccer team captured the sectional title and will play Newburgh at Arlington on Tuesday, November 4 at 5:30 for the opening of Regionals.
Students and parents may access Algebra & Geometry textbooks online through the Wappingers CSD website in PDF format. Students with home Internet access will no longer have to transport books to and from school.
Festival of the Arts is held every year at Mesier Park. Every school from Wappingers Central School District attends. The students from each school showcased artwork for their family and friends as well as members from the community to see. A variety of activities such as: coloring t-shirts, throwing clay, and making paper hats kept guest entertained for hours. Local school bands provide the music and live entertainment for people to enjoy.
On Saturday, May 10th and Sunday, May 11th the Wappingers Crew Club traveled to Saratoga, NY for the New York State Championships. Over 50 students between John Jay and Roy C. Ketcham High School participated in this event. Congratulations on an awesome weekend.
On Friday, May 16th, the John Jay Senior class celebrated their 2008 senior prom. Seniors and their guest gathered at Eisenhower Hall in West Point. The event started at 7 o'clock and ended at midnight. Participants enjoyed a night of food, dancing, and socializing.
John Jay High School is running a preschool through it's Child Development classes taught by Mrs. Kneifel. Children between the ages of 3-4 can come to the John Jay preschool for 2 hours a day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Children take part in multiple activities including: circle time, recess, reading time, outside activities, and other playful activities. This is a great opportunity for parents to see how their children react with other children their age. This preschool gives children the chance to learn how to interact and communicate with others.
On May 1st 2008, the Red Cross Club at John Jay organized a blood drive in honor of Mrs. Arquette, a teacher at Van Wyck. The blood drive, which took place in the John Jay cafeteria was run by a team of 11 workers from the American Red Cross. The event took place throughout the entire day. Over 60 students arrived to give blood donations. Overall the event was a great success, and the staff would like to thank all who participated.
John Jay High School has a Computer Club. The Computer Club uses Visual Basic to make mini games and HTML codes in notepad to create Websites. It is a fun action packed activity to keep you occupied after school. The Computer Club usually meets in room 147 every other week. If anybody is interested in joining, or has questions talk to Mr. Feely or our Computer Club President, Brendon Zee.
On Tuesday, May 20th the Wappingers Central School District voters will be asked to vote on bus replacements, district building repairs and the highly sought after turf athletic fields. The bus replacements include 16 brand new 72-passenger buses and one new 7 passenger suburban. The proposed athletic turf fields would cost a combined $3.7 million dollars for both high schools in the district. Repairs to the high schools and other district schools would also be on the voting ballot. All of the above propositions would be put up and if passed, would be included in the 2008-2009 school budget.
The John Jay Science Olympiad team competed on Saturday March 15, 2008. The team participated in all 25 events that ranged from robotics to geology. The team ranked 38 out of 48. This is the second time in the last three years we achieved state level. Everyone did their best to take home multiple metals, but at the end of the day we ended up with three events in the top ten.
On Tuesday, March 11th, 2008, John Jay sent two teams to compete at the Math Sectionals at Vassar College. The Math Sectionals included teams from Duchess, Ulster, Sullivan, and Orange counties. Each county sent their best teams to compete. The sectionals consisted of 6 difficult math questions followed by a relay question. After the competition students learned about Desargues Theorem from a math professor. This event was rewarding for all students.
The John Jay Environmental club has setup 3 designated barrels for cans and bottles in the cafeteria. It is estimated that over 7,000 bottles are thrown away into the trash cans each week. If all these bottles were recycled, over 300 gallons of gasoline would be saved each week. Please think twice before you throw your can or bottle into the trash, SAVE FOSSIL FUELS and RECYCLE!
The John Jay Astronomy Club took advantage of the Total Lunar Eclipse on the evening of Feb 20th to host a lecture on eclipses and then view the event as it happened. About 30 earth science students, teachers, and parents showed up for the event. The lecture was given in the cafeteria by John Jay teacher, Tad Herman. Fortunately after the lecture, clouds gave way to clear skies as the people viewed the Moon, and also Saturn, through some telescopes that were in the parking lot right by the cafeteria. Even though it was about 25F out, everyone seemed to have a good time.
The John Jay Science Olympiad team placed 2nd out of 28 local teams at the regional Science Olypiad competition on Feb 9th at Ulster Community College. This qualified them to go to the state competition at West Point on March 14-15. Two members of the team won 3 medals each, John Zhuang and Mike Cross.
John Jay Ice Hockey had a perfect 26-0 season this year. They clinched the Hudson Valley High School Ice Hockey League Championship by defeating Washingtonville Saturday, February 23rd at Ice Time in Newburgh. We wish them good luck as they head to Buffalo to participate in States this weekend.
John Jay School Administration needs your help. There is limited parking. The lot is FULL and students without parking permits are pulling into the lot by the dozens. This is creating unsafe conditions. Students are parking on the grass, in aisles, along fire lanes and are blocking exits. All Students have been told that permits will be denied next year if they insist on parking without permission. Please understand the administrations predicament. If you do not have a VALID school parking permit, DO NOT PARK!
In May of 2007 the voters of the Wappingers Central School District approved a referendum to perform work under what is known as EXCEL (Expanding our Children’s Education and Learning). This initiative was approved as part of the New York State Budget. State wide $2.6 billion dollars is being made available to school districts on a one time only basis. The amount of EXCEL funding each district receives is based on the number of students it serves and the aid can be combined with building aid. To see how EXCEL Aid is being used at John Jay and for more information about this aid, please visit our John Jay "Construction" page.
Members of the John Jay High School Ninth Grade, Concert, and Symphonic Bands had the rare privilege of meeting world renowned composer Jan Van der Roost on Monday, December 17th, during his recent visit to the U.S. Mr. Van der Roost teaches at the Lemmensinstituut in Leuven, Belgium, and is guest professor at the Shobi Institute of Music in Tokyo, Japan, and at the Nagoya University of Art, also in Japan. Besides being a prolific composer, he is very much in demand as an adjudicator, a lecturer, a clinician, and a guest conductor. His compositions are being performed and recorded in more than 50 nations worldwide.
The John Jay students prepared three of Mr. Van der Roost’s pieces under the guidance of music teachers Ryan Banda and Lisa Esposito. They performed those pieces, Four Old Dances, Christmas Time, and Rikudim, under the direction of
Mr. Van der Roost at their winter concert on December 17th.
Hundreds of John Jay students participated in this year’s 4th annual Career Day. Students had an opportunity to speak and interview with businesses, colleges, and organizations. Some of this year’s participants include: Great American Signs, All Sport Fishkill, Dutchess Community College, State University of New York at Oswego, Department of Civil Service, Central Hudson, Vassar Brothers Hospital, Cumulus Radio, US Air Force, State Farm Insurance, NYS Police, Krichhof Construction, and many more.
Giving for Thanksgiving
Mrs. Kneifel’s Sports Nutrition class baked pumpkin, apple, and cherry pies for the homeless in Poughkeepsie. The Sports Nutrition classes used their previous knowledge to make the pies healthy by substituting canola oil for hydrogenated oil, which cut trans fat by 100%. This is an example of how students learn to make delicious healthful foods.
Technology Departments Wins 2nd Place
The John Jay Department of Technology won 2nd place in this years Punkin Chunkin contest at Dutchess County Fairgrounds. Several schools competed in the competition including Dutchess Community College. John Jay students spent several hours after school building and designing a trebuchet that could launch pumpkins. This year’s trebuchet design included tracks and wheels, which launched pumpkins 168 feet. Judging was based on distance and accuracy. Students who participated include: S. Dunstan, B. Zee, R. Arif, M. Palomba, C. Taylor, K. Smith, D. Bassen, and J. Tietz.
Patriots Win League Championship
On Sunday, October 21, John Jay won 21-14 against rival Roy C. Ketcham. The Patriots made their first league championship in John Jay school history. The Patriots play Clarkstown South in the playoffs next weekend at home. Check the paper or call for the game time.
John Jay Community Show Their Support
Faculty, staff, and students show their support for Steven P. Steve is a student at John Jay and has been battling cancer. His artwork is displayed on the back of the t-shirt. Shirt order forms can be found in the main office, please order your shirt today to show your support.
Memory Garden
Students at John Jay had an opportunity to plant bulbs and participate in the landscaping process for the new Memory Garden, located in front of the main entrance walkway. The purpose of the garden is to remember the students and families who lost their lives over the past years. A special thanks goes to students, families, and local business who donated time and materials to make this happen. The garden will be a continued work in progress. If you would like donate time and resources toward the Memory Garden project, please feel free to contact Mrs. DiCioccio, Assistant Principal.
Engineering Day
Engineers from IBM recently spent the day at John Jay in an attempt to bring a greater awareness and understanding to students about the field of engineering. Science and technology students participated in hands-on activities developed by the visiting engineers.
An activity took place in the physic