No serious injuries were reported after a dinner cruise yacht with dozens of promgoers aboard bumped a smaller unoccupied boat from behind Thursday night at a Hudson River pier in Hoboken, according to officials and witnesses at the scene.
Weehawken Superintendent of Schools Robert Zywicki posted on Twitter that the high school's senior prom was taking place on the Cornucopia Destiny, a 111-foot yacht, which he says was still docked before the crash into the smaller yacht, the Cornucopia Sundancer, a 95-foot yacht.
He said staff and administrators were on board with the students, and they were being bused to the Weehawken Elks Lodge following the crash. All were checked by EMS and there were no injuries, he said.
No word on if their prom will be rescheduled.
A video posted on Twitter shows the larger yacht slamming into the back of the other yacht docked at the 14th Street Pier. The smaller yacht then slams into the pier, knocking down a lamppost.
The Hoboken Fire Department said on Twitter that no injuries were reported, but Hoboken police, Hoboken EMS, and New Jersey State Police were on the scene.
High school students perform classic Christmas play
Weehawken Township High School presented the stage version of the classic Frank Capra film “It’s a Wonderful Life” on Dec. 16 and 17 at the high school.
Released in 1946, the story is a Christmas fantasy based on the short story “The Greatest Gift,” which Philip Van Doren Stern wrote in 1939 and published in 1943.
The protagonist, a good-hearted banker named George Bailey, has given up his life’s dreams in order to help others. When an emergency loss of funds at his bank on Christmas Eve drives him to near-suicide and to wish he’d never been born, the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence, shows George all the lives he has touched for the better, and how different (and worse) life in his community of Bedford Falls would be had he never been born.
The film is among the most popular in American cinema and because of numerous television showings in the 1980s has become traditional viewing during the Christmas season.
Mayor Richard Turner and members of the Township Council were among those present for the local presentation. (Pictures by Angela and Robert de Zeeuw)
With its athletics program classified in Group 1 for decades now, Weehawken is consistently one of the smallest high schools in Hudson County.
However, the Indians have added two new sports to the card this year, and so far the results have been very promising.
Cross country and girls tennis — both offered in the past but later discontinued — are back this year and already in the midst of their respective seasons, with the girls tennis squad taking on a JV schedule in 2015.
In just one month, interest and numbers have tripled for Kyle Mahoney's cross country squad. Back in late August, the Indians had only four runners in the entire program.
"We are up to 13 kids in the program, and the breakdown is five girls and eight boys," Mahoney said. "Once school started and students realized that we actually had a team, there was an incredible amount of interest in the program. We are definitely gaining momentum."
While the Indians went 0-3 in its inaugural outing — a quad meet with Dwight-Englewood, Hasbrouck Heights and Paterson Charter — they received a strong performance from senior Michael Stepkovich, who finished in 20th place.
"Michael has been our fastest runner so far. He actually played football before, so he's a very athletic kid and has been very serious about improving his times," Mahoney said.
Weehawken's fast improvement was evident in its team scores at its second NJIC quad meet, when the team fell to North Arlington, 36-21, and St. Mary's of Rutherford, 38-19. The first victory for the program came via a forfeit over Paterson Charter.
On the girls side, Weehawken's fastest performance of the season came from Miriam Janssen, who ran a 29:06 on that first NJIC race day. Fellow runner Isabel Jeffoni's fastest time to this point is 48 seconds off that pace, which she accomplished in the Season Opener Invitiational in Mahwah on Sept. 12. Teammate Alexa Castellano finished close behind Jeffoni on the day.
Diane Clarke — an English teacher at Weehawken — is piloting the girls tennis side, and has already experienced some success. Weehawken is 1-2 on the JV circuit, with senior Nicole Primero sitting at 3-0 in first singles. The Indians' victory came against Secaucus' JV squad. The sides have split a pair of matches to this point.
"The team will play nine JV matches this season, and we plan to have a full varsity team for next year," Clarke said. "Right now, we have eight girls in the program, so we have a full lineup and an alternate player."
With only two seniors on the club, Clarke plans to add more depth to the squad moving forward.
"A lot of our players have younger siblings who will probably join the team, and kids who are interested in tennis and want to play, now can," she said.
On a sunny afternoon at Weehawken High School, several students were using math to figure out a balloon-powered car, while Tyler Williams and Angel Vives were waiting for their designs to be 3-D printed.
The two 14-year-old freshmen who hope for a future in technology – one as a computer programmer and the other as an engineer – decided to pass the time designing keychains.
“This is our first project ever, second day with [the technology] and it’s pretty easy to use,” said Tyler.
“Yeah, I like it. I’m making myself a key chain just because I can,” added Angel.
The highly-tech classroom is part of the high school’s new 1,500 square-foot STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) lab which was unveiled this past Wednesday, Sept. 16 for the new school year.
For those new to 3-D printing, also called additive manufacturing, it entails the process of making three dimensional objects out of metal or plastic from a digital file.
In addition to a total of three 3-D printers, the lab features four desktop computers, 16 laptops, and an interactive SmartBoard.
_____________
“This technology shows them how the concepts they learn in the math classrooms and science classrooms can be used to solve real world problems…” – Leigh Ann Murduca
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The new lab will offer four sections of STEAM education for students’ grades 9 through 12 and an introductory STEAM course for eighth graders – teaching students how to work collaboratively to solve problems using the latest cutting-edge technology.
“This technology shows them how the concepts they learn in the math classrooms and science classrooms can be used to solve real world problems or make real world designs,” said Leigh Ann Murduca, who is entering her fifth year as a math teacher at Weehawken High School.
How was it possible?
The Weehawken School District Educational Foundation received $80,000 in donated money from community members in the past year or so to fund the new STEAM lab. The Weehawken Board of Education President Richard Barsa also credited the milestone to Mayor Richard Turner, local parents and the Board of Education.
“We are starting out with a bang in the foundation’s first bequest of the STEAM Lab,” said Barsa, “but it’s just the first of many towards our goal of making the Weehawken school system the finest in the country.”
Barsa noted, during the unveiling ceremony, that Weehawken Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Fitzsimons was also a key player in the efforts to create the labs.
The district has also made some recent changes to the curriculum including re-designing the classrooms as interactive learning centers, adding Spanish language instruction at the elementary level, revising class duration to last 56 minutes versus 40, and re-purposing the education of disabled students.
The high school will also expand the Interscholastic Athletic Program to add cross-country, track & field, and tennis teams.
Ceramics, fashion, theatre and more
Exiting the high school’s new STEAM lab, one doesn’t need to look far to find the new art room which is directly next door.
“There’s a real synergism here between the science, technology, engineering, and the art because when you think about good engineering…there’s an aesthetic to it,” said Superintendent Fitzsimons. “Often they’re in competition [between] the hard academics and the art. This is a real nice blending of both.”
The new 3,200 square-foot art room will include a ceramic studio and student gallery – providing students with hands-on learning on pottery wheels and ceramic kilns.
“It’s been an amazing transformation, if you look around there’s before pictures on a lot of stuff. This room has been very underutilized and now I have so much more [like] costume design area where the kids can build,” Elizabeth McParland told The Weehawken Reporter during a tour on Wednesday.
McParland, who has been working at the high school for the past eight years, instructed students on achieving optical illusion on canvas during the tour using the classroom’s new SmartBoard.
The high school will also offer new courses such as Costume Design, Fashion Design, Arts and Crafts, and Theater Arts and Drama courses – with the chance to learn about production, playwriting and acting.
“We took a two-pronged approach to improving the already exceptional education that Weehawken students receive by making substantive upgrades in curriculum and facilities,” added Fitzsimons. “These improvements are just the beginning; we have a lot of other exciting plans in the works.”
The rules of investing are simple: Buy low, sell high. In a positive (“bull”) market, the prices of stocks are rising, which should encourage buying. In a bear market, prices are falling and downward spiraling encourages more selling.
With this in mind, several New Jersey high school students, abounding with solid business knowledge, recently competed in a simulated Wall Street stock market trading experience that mimicked what one would see at The New York Stock Exchange after the ringing of the opening bell at 9:30 a.m.
Teams of five from 20 top high schools – including Weehawken High and Hoboken High – had 90 minutes to decide which stocks they wanted to buy with virtual money. The objective was clear: make more profit with the million dollar portfolio than any other team while working inside the soundproof walls of Hanlon Financial Systems on the Stevens Institute of Technology campus.
Bronx Science placed first in the completion. Weehawken High School did not take home a trophy, but they did take home something they couldn’t carry – the ability to focus on a seemingly insurmountable goal without getting distracted. The Weehawken team, academically advanced juniors, brushed up on market trends prior to the competition.
They didn’t have a captain. Instead, each student held his or her own weight and was expected to contribute. Neidelyn Pina, Celeste Godoy, Dylan Henry Michaela Cruciani and Sebastian Solano participated in the event.
The students were selected by the school’s guidance counselor/anti-bullying specialist, Francesca Amato. She knows each of these students personally and was positive that they would rise to the occasion under pressure.
Teamwork!
Neidelyn Pina, focusing on business-related courses at Weehawken High School, was completely humbled by the experience and she hopes to come back next year to surpass this year’s end result.
“It gave us a lot of experience on how to work as a team and everyone got along well,” she explained.
“We trusted each other and we each had to use our strengths so that we could offer each other the best options possible,” said Celeste Godoy.
Elaborating on what they had learned, Dylan Henry, proud to be on the Weehawken team, admitted, “It is not easy picking a few good stocks. Let’s say if you like Google or Apple, it could fluctuate during our timeframe. In the beginning it could be moving well, but then it could fall at the end of our session.”
The head of Stevens’ Investment Club said, “Compiling, researching and entering data into an expensive modern, sophisticated computer system that cost thousands of dollars for each terminal is something everyone doesn’t get the opportunity to do. And when these teens get to the college level, there will be statewide and national competitions similar to this one where leadership skills are put to the test. If they are in Phi Beta Lambda, they will have support from like-minded peers who are thinking about career goals by now and how they are going to achieve them.”
A view of the future
One of the most helpful aspects of the day was a lecture on what students could expect if they plan to apply to Stevens. In order to alleviate the element of surprise that appears when college application time rolls around, students received an overview of Stevens’ basic college acceptance requirements, including GPA and SAT minimums.
“It’s hard to get into college these days, so this was a great experience for anyone thinking about going to a prestigious school like Stevens,” said Michaela Cruciani, a Weehawken team member.
Sharing his personal impressions of the competition, Charles Drake, a Stevens student from South Carolina who has been serving as Weehawken’s student ambassador, said, “The stock market is constantly moving, like water. The growth pattern of a favored company is hard to analyze and choosing stocks based on what is happening in the economy takes time to research. To get a handle on everything in 90 minutes is very challenging.”
Weehawken High School's basic technology teacher Laura Sciortino has been volunteering for the Special Olympics since she was a teenager, "all the way back in '89," she said.
So, to her, it was especially heartwarming to see her students receiving a $1,000 check on Wednesday from a Cablevision charity program - only to present it to a board member from the Special Olympics of New Jersey.
The students were all in the Weehawken High School Peer Leadership club that Sciortino has advised for 13 years.
The Special Olympics is "just something that I always felt close to. It was part of my church," she said. "There's this unity there."
The money comes through Cablevision's Optimum Community initiative Charity Champions, which "promotes volunteerism and encourages high schools to raise funds for a charity of their choice," according to a press release.
This is the second year that the students have won money from Cablevison's now six-year-old program, formerly called "Power to Learn," the release stated. Selected schools receive $500 "in seed money" to put towards future fundraising efforts, in addition to a $1,000 donation to their charity of choice.
Based on their annual fundraising efforts, which are submitted to Cablevision in April, a school will be chosen for a grand prize winner in each of the six tri-state regions to receive an additional $5,000 for their charity, according to Cablevision.
Besides independently raising $800 this year for the Special Olympics prior to receiving this check, Weehawken students in the peer leaders club are learning about learning about cooperation and teamwork, Sciortino said.
Weehawken Schools were closed on Thursday and Friday.
Thursday closing made sense because of the snowstorm. And lot of schools around NJ were closed on that day.
But Friday's closing did not make sense to many parents. For some reason, only Union City, Weehawken and West New York were closed on that day. Many parents preferred that school should have opted for delayed opening instead.
Sitting behind his new desk in the basement of Weehawken High School, Zach Naszimento speaks fervently about the leaps and bounds the school's once downtrodden football team is making.
Naszimento, who is entering his first season as the school's football coach and athletic director, has a plan for transforming the Indians football program into a successful one.
But the first-year head coach won't be going it alone. Across from him sits his best friend, his mentor and his new assistant coach -- his father Bruce.
"My father was the first person I contacted to come with me, because I couldn't do it without him," said Zach, adding that Bruce will serve as the team's offensive coordinator.
"On top of him being my father, he's my best friend. For us to be together doing something like this, it's exciting, it's fun."
The father-son tandem's top priority is reshaping the culture of a program that has won a combined four games over the last three seasons.
"He's just relentless. He's changing the climate and the culture of the team," said Bruce.
Naszimento, 33, graduated from Secaucus High School in 1996 and earned a scholarship to play defensive end at the University of Cincinnati, he graduated in 2000.
For the last three years, Naszimento has been at the right hand of former Hoboken High School coach Ed Stinson at Queen of Peace in North Arlington, from 2008 to 2009, and last season at Hackensack High School, where Stinson now serves as an assistant coach.
While Stinson has been one of his chief mentors, Naszimento said his father has brought credibility and stability to a program in transition.
"There's nothing out there that he hasn't seen," Naszimento said of his father, who spent the last 12 seasons coaching with Charlie Voorhees at Secaucus High School. "I constantly use him for guidance."
Structure and discipline are no doubt the bedrock of Naszimento's approach, from his regimented practices that are filmed each day to grueling workouts in the school's newly updated weight room.
"He has a plan and we all follow it," said Bruce Naszimento. "He's ready. There's no doubt about that. He's ready.
Make no mistake, as close as the father and son are, emotions often run high between this fiery duo.
"I definitely fired him a couple of times, but it's usually over dinner," the son joked. "I've fired you twice, but rehired you at least three times."
Despite the effort and time Naszimento has put into the football team, he's looking forward to his duties as the school's athletic director, as he replaces longtime administrator Richard Terpak.
He'll apply the same standards he has set for the football team to the rest of the school's athletic programs, Naszimento said.
"Everything that Weehawken was in the past has nothing to do with what we're going to do today.
"People looking at Weehawken as an (automatic) win, those days are done, those days are over," Naszimento said.
Among the nine returning starters on offense, the Indians welcome back 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior quarterback Oliver Molano, who threw for more than 1,100 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2013 and ran for 1,080 with eight scores on the ground. “It all starts with Oliver,” coach Zach Naszimento said.
Weehawken also returns senior fullback Javier Lopez, who rushed for almost 800 yards in 2013. On the offensive line, Naszimento looks to senior right tackle Mohammed Hussan and sophomore center Shane O’Rourke to lead the way in the ground game and keep Molano upright in the pocket.
With only two first-year starters, the Indians hope to pick up where they left off from a year ago when they won two of their last three games. “I think we can score and move the football as well as we have the last three years,” Naszimento said.
TYPE OF DEFENSE: 4-3
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK:
With nine returning starters from last year’s defense, Naszimento says his defensive players now have a better understanding of how he wants them to play.
Last year, Molano was steady at the strong safety position, which Naszimento is counting on once again. The defensive line will be a strength for the Indians this year with the return of 6-foot-1, 285-pound captain Patrick Higgins and the 6-foot, 220-pound Joan Andujar, both of whom are three-year starters. At linebacker, Naszimento sees potential in sophomore inside linebacker Brian Padron.
“I expect us to be more aggressive and more physical than last year,” Naszimento said. “They’ve all grown up mentally as well as in the weight room.”
COACH’S OUTLOOK:
While the Indians finished with a losing record last season, they remained close and competed in most games. “It was a learning curve for sure,” Naszimento said. “We’re excited about this year with the experience we gained from last year.”
The goal for 2014 is to compete for the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Patriot Division title as well as a state sectional championship. Naszimento wants to get back to the level of success from two seasons ago when his team finished 7-3 and made the playoffs. Their schedule will provide plenty of challenges, including matchups with Cresskill, St. Mary’s of Rutherford and Secaucus.
“The kids had to grow up last year,” he said. “ We’re trying to get back to being that playoff team.”
One of the most exciting events of the year in Weehawken is the Annual School Musical Theater Production, which this year is “Anything Goes.”
The show is sponsored by Mayor Richard Turner and the Weehawken Township Council, Weehawken Board of Education, and the Weehawken Municipal Alliance Against Drug and Alcohol Abuse. Students from grades seven to 12 work together to put on this artistic activity, whether on stage or behind the scenes.
"Anything Goes" takes place on an ocean liner headed from New York to London, and covers all of the happenings that go on during the voyage. It’s a classic musical that boasts famous Cole Porter songs such as “Friendship,” “You’re the Top,” and “I Get a Kick Out of You.”
The student produced theater production is a highly anticipated part of every school year for the students and for community as well. Aside from the high level of energy showcased on the stage with the singing, dancing, and acting, the production also has sets, lights, and direction with total student involvement.
Weehawken High School is partnered with Inside Broadway, Inc. of New York City and Moore Productions, Sound & Lighting of Franklin Lakes, who supply professional instruction to the students.
Director Braddon Mehrten, Sound Engineer Bo Moore, Woodshop Instructor Paul Simons, Art Instructor Elizabeth McParland, Music Instructor Michael Lichtenfeld and Music Accompanist Heather Edwards add their expertise to help the students through every aspect of the play process.
This year, the show is dance heavy with tap numbers involving the entire cast, and an impressive replica of an ocean liner, designed by the student stage crew.
“It’s a lot of work, but it will be spectacular,” said wood shop teacher Paul Simons.
“Anything Goes” will debut on Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Weehawken High School Auditorium.
Coach McNish earns his 300th victory with the Indians
The high school basketball season was slipping away from the Indians of Weehawken High School.
Veteran coach Jake McNish was stuck with a major dilemma, as his team faced the crossroads of the season with a 4-8 record.
“We just lost to McNair Academic, a team we beat by 30 earlier in the year,” said McNish, who is in his 20th year as the head boys’ basketball coach at Weehawken. “We were halfway through the season with a 4-8 record. At that time, I thought it was time to start looking at the younger kids. I was ready to go with the underclassmen to give them experience and look toward next year.”
McNish wasn’t disappointed with the team, just the results.
“The kids were playing hard, but they literally couldn’t throw it in the ocean,” McNish said. “We lost 40 points per game [from graduated players like last year’s Hudson Reporter Male Athlete of the Year Damian Corredor]. I knew it was going to be a struggle. The kids played hard and gave it everything they had. They just couldn’t make a shot.”
But in mid-January, a mysterious stranger walked into the Weehawken gym and turned the Indians’ collective fate all the way around.
The stranger is 6-foot-7 junior forward McKay LaDuke.
“It all happened so fast,” McNish said. “We got him sight unseen. His father called Zach [Naszimento, the program’s athletic director] and said that he just moved back to Weehawken and could the kid try out for the basketball team.”
Because they were struggling, McNish gave LeDuke a look. After all, what could McNish lose?
“He came to the first practice with his father and I saw he made a couple of shots,” McNish said. “He ran around a little and looked athletic.”
By the second practice, McNish knew he just secured a secret weapon. LeDuke had been a junior on the Marist junior varsity squad.
“The father said he wasn’t playing much there,” McNish said. “One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure. By the second time he was in the gym with us, I could tell he was a player. He knew what he was doing.”
LeDuke had to sit out the mandatory six practices when a new transfer comes in during the season. Since he didn’t have any varsity experience at Marist, he was able to play right away once he had those six workouts under his belt.
In his first game, LeDuke was nothing more than sensational. He came off the bench and scored 27 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and had six assists, as the Indians defeated Wood-Ridge.
It was just the start for LaDuke. He scored 25 and grabbed eight boards in a win over Saddle Brook, had 17 points in beating Wallington, had 11 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Ridgefield and had 17 points and 16 rebounds in a win over North Arlington.
Notice the trend. The Indians haven’t lost a game with LeDuke on the floor. He’s instantly become the Indians’ good luck charm, as the team has improved to 11-8 by winning seven straight.
Monday night, the Indians’ 58-54 win over Secaucus, gave McNish the 300th win of his coaching career at Weehawken. The Indians followed up that win with a 41-34 win over St. Mary’s, giving the Indians seven wins in a row since LeDuke arrived.
“They said I was coming up on a milestone,” McNish said. “I had no idea. I had some good years and bad ones. I’ve been able to weather the storm. It makes me think back to all the kids I’ve coached over the years. Those kids become part of your life. For me, it’s hard to comprehend I could reach 300 wins.”
Getting a kid like LeDuke is a blessing that never happens. A talented kid just doesn’t fall out of the sky and totally turn around a struggling program. But it sure looks as if LeDuke has.
“He’s such a terrific team player,” McNish said of LeDuke. “He draws two guys to him and then he makes the nice pass to his teammate for a score. He’s not a selfish player at all. It’s really the most amazing thing I’ve ever saw. He comes in and changes everything. He just fit in with everyone right away. I think he went out of his way to fit in. That’s the kind of kid he is. The kid has been a pleasure to be around. He makes everyone else so much better.”
Now junior Alain Ravelo can move into the role of a secondary scorer. Ravelo was the main guy when the Indians were struggling. Now, with LeDuke, he compliments LeDuke’s play well, averaging 14 points per game.
“Alain wasn’t struggling when we were struggling,” McNish said. “He was playing hard. He just had to work extremely hard to get his shots. Now, he would rather pass than shoot. I yelled at him recently to shoot.”
Junior Oliver Molano, the quarterback on the football team, is the instant energy off the bench. Freshman Bryan Pedron “is fitting in nicely, with his nice size near the basket,” McNish said.
Senior John Paul Restrepo is the point guard.
“He gives us everything he has,” McNish said. “He’s always flying around the floor.”
Seniors Alioune Diana, a 6-foot-6 forward, and senior Mike Abad, come off the bench.
“Abad has done a nice job rebounding,” McNish said.
So the Indians, courtesy of a talented newcomer and a new lease on their lives, are alive and well at 11-8.
“I love it,” McNish said. “I love being around the kids. They keep me young.”
So does the winning, and the talented newbie and the milestone. They all manage to keep McNish going and on his toes.
The Weehawken High School Marching Band won first place at the USBands “Group 1A” National Championships at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown, Pa. on Nov. 9. This is the first time in Weehawken’s history that the Marching Band placed first and won the “Group 1A” division title at the national competition, which featured bands from all over the USA.
After winning their second state championship title, the 40 students who make up Weehawken’s Marching Band were hungry for another win. This time they wanted a win on the national level. The students knew this would be a challenge and on Nov. 9 they went into competition against 19 of the best school bands in the nation.
To date, Weehawken’s scores from all competitions rank them first in the nation in the USBands “Group 1A” division.
The Band is instructed by Band Director Michael Lichtenfeld, Assistant Band Director Tim Galan, Color Guard Coach Michele McCormick, Drill/Visual Designer George LaVelle Jr., Percussion Instructor Thomas Mulvaney, Marching Instructor Michael Fatouros, Color Guard Instructor Karen Garcia, and Melodic Percussion Instructor Kaitlyn Turner. The staff worked hard to challenge the students with an exciting show entitled “Cirque du Soleil: La Nouba.”
