Volume 3 Issue 4 - Cresskill Public Schools

April 2005 Mr. Peter Eftychiou, Principal Volume 3: Issue 4
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SPRING HAS ARRIVED
It’s amazing how fast the school year
passes by. Spring brings a lot of activity
to our campus. As I am sitting here in
my office typing this newsletter, I can
see Mr. Hughes and his students
working on renovating the pond in the
courtyard. Warm weather seems to bring
out the best in us. On any given
afternoon, there is at least one athletic
event going on.
We have been blessed in Cresskill with
an active student body. Our students
continue to involve themselves with
many varied activities, succeeding both
in and out of the classroom.
NATIONAL MERIT
We were notified that four of our
students have qualified to be entered into
the 2006 National Merit Scholarship
Program. This is a high honor. The
scores of these students fall in the top
50,000 out of the nearly 1.3 million
juniors who took the PSAT in October.
Congratulations to Samantha Breslin,
Christina Grayson, Benjamin
Johnson, and Irene Tran for receiving
this honor.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY BEE
Congratulations to Daniel Merzel for
qualifying to represent our school at the
state level of the National Geographic
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Geography Bee. One winner from each
state will advance to the national
competition, which will be held in
Washington, D. C.
JR HIGH BRAIN BUSTERS
On Friday March 11, the Cresskill Brain
Buster teams placed first (Sophie
Heller, Sarah Lee, Jeanne Langan,
and Emily Yu) and second (David Lee,
William Derrenberger, Jacob
Grunberger, and Kevin Mu) in a
match against teams from Ridgewood,
Ho-Ho-Kus, and Waldwick. Ms. Joanne
Stein and Ms. Carol Whitney moderate
the Cresskill teams.
DEBATE TEAM NEWS
Congratulations to Mr. Metz and the
Cresskill High debate program for
another outstanding year. The varsity
program completed one of their best
performances by finishing first in the
league. The teams of Jordan
Rothman/Mihai Morar and Dan
Harpaz/Daniel Gorman were the top
teams in the league. Jordan, Mihai, and
Daniel finished in the top three in
individual speaker points.
Krystle Hernandez finished her senior
season with two individual speaker
awards. Adam Rothman, Laura Luzzi,
and Mike Kaplan all made valuable
contributions to the team this year.
The junior varsity enjoyed a fine year.
Amanda Malloy and Kara Jacobacci
won four tournaments. Nicole Nagin and

Jessica Johnson also contributed by
winning two tournaments.
Freshmen Ian Crooker and Stephanie
Zhang were brought up to the varsity
this year and did a fine job. Stephanie
finished fourth in individual speaker
points twice this year.
Next year’s team will be captained by
juniors Cristina Pabon and Ben
Johnson.
ACADEMIC DECATHLON NEWS
This year’s Academic Decathlon Team
was one of the most successful in our
school’s history. The team placed 5 th in
the Regional competition and 8 th overall
in the State competition. Cresskill
received the plaque for being the #1
small school in the Region and a plaque
for being the #1 small school in the
State. This is quite an honor.
TUTORING
The National Honor Society members
are available for tutoring any students in
grades 7-12. Tutoring hours are 7:20
AM – 7:45 AM on Tuesdays and
Thursdays, Wednesdays at 3 PM or by
appointment. Students seeking a tutor
should visit the Guidance Office at the
mentioned time.
WINTER SPORTS NEWS
Once again, our sports program excelled
during the winter season. Both the girls
and boys basketball teams won their
league championships. The wrestling
team came close to winning a league
championship, but still completed one of
the most successful wrestling seasons.
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Girls Basketball
With only one senior on the team, our
girls won the BSCL Olympic Division
Championship for the third year in a
row. They finished the season with a 20-
4 record. Amanda Pastre, Christine
Azelby, and Liz Zimick received 1 st
Team All League Honors. Jennifer
Sinisi received 2 nd Team Honors and
Chelsea Zerrenner received Honorable
Mention. Liz Zimick also received 2nd
Team All Bergen County Honors.
Boys Basketball
The boys’ team won the BCSL Olympic
Division Championship, finishing with
a 22-3 record. Coach Marty Rivard was
named the Olympic Division Coach of
the Year. It should be noted that Coach
Rivard won his 626 th game this year.
This total represents the second most in
Bergen County Boys Basketball history.
Artan Borova, Dennis Conrad, and
Chris Cowan were received 1 st Team
All League Honors. Dan Brody received
2 nd Team Honors and Dan Okin
received Honorable Mention.
Wrestling
The wrestling team completed one of its
most successful seasons in our school’s
history. Coach Don Bergamini was
selected BCSL Olympic Division Coach
of the Year. He was also voted the
District 8 Coach of the Year.
Max Ferreira, Eric Preefer, Rob
Fischer, and Brian Buccino earned 1 st
Team BCSL Olympic Division Honors.
Erald Mamo, Sean Wengerter, Mark
Chang, and Matt Vaccarino received
2 nd Team Honors. JP Russell, Jon
Lindstrom, and Brian Oliver received
Honorable Mention.

In the New Jersey state tournament,
Max Ferreira placed 1 st in the Districts
and 3 rd in the Regionals. He also
qualified to compete in the States. Sean
Wengerter also placed 1 st in the
Districts. Rob Fischer and Brian Oliver
placed 2 nd in the Districts. Mark Chang
and Eric Preefer placed 3 rd in the
Districts.
CONGRATULATIONS MR. METZ!
The nice thing about the way we select
the Governor’s Teacher Recognition
Award is that you get to hear colleagues
and parents speak highly about members
of our staff. Over the years, Mr. Metz
has represented all those teachers who
go out of their way to make their classes
interesting, educational, and especially
in Mr. Metz’ case, quite entertaining.
Mr. Metz has also contributed to our
extra and co curricular program. The
Debate Team finished 1 st in the league
and the Academic Decathlon Team won
the Division III Regional and State
Championship. As of today, the Golf
team was enjoying another successful
season.
I am certain that all the students who
have passed through one of his classes
have been touched by his ability to make
the classroom come alive.
COACHING HONORS
On April 10, 2005, two of our coaches
were honored at a luncheon held at the
Pines Manor in Edison, NJ. Coach Bob
Valli was inducted into the New Jersey
State Coaches Association’s Hall of
Fame for both the success of our football
program as well as his contribution and
work throughout the state. Coach John
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Von Glahn was honored for his success
and work with our volleyball program.
Both coaches have a passion for their
programs and have played an important
role in the growth of those programs.
It should be noted that Coach Valli joins
three other Cresskill coaches in the Hall
of Fame. Ron Banta (Boys Tennis),
Marty Rivard (Boys Basketball), and
Barbara Muller (Girls Tennis) were
inducted in previous years.
STUDENT PARKING
As our enrollment grows, so does our
staff. As a result, there are less available
parking spaces to be assigned to our
senior students. The administration has
been working with the town officials and
police department to develop a plan that
will help in this situation. The town has
offered to allow our students to park on
the right side of Lincoln Drive as you
exit our campus on the other side of the
bridge.
Unfortunately, once construction begins,
we will be losing parking spaces in the
back of the school. This will make a bad
situation worse. We appreciate the
concerns that members of the
community have regarding students
parking on their streets. As school
officials, we have no control over nor
can we monitor students parking outside
of our campus.
It is my hope that we will be able to add
additional parking to our campus once
all the renovation is completed.
SECURING ONE’S BELONGINGS
Although it is not widespread, theft does
occur in our building. Most of the times,

a student carelessly leaves an item out in
the open or leaves a locker (gym or hall)
unlocked. Students need to be vigilant
and reminded to please secure their
belongings
CRESSKILL BASKET BALL CAMP
Anyone interested in information
regarding this basketball camp should
contact Mr. Marty Rivard at 201-567-
5479 x 336. The camp will be held
during the weeks of June 20, June 27,
July 11, and July 18.
IMPORTANT DATES
Wednesday, May 18 – Friday, May 20
8 th Grade Trip to Philadelphia, Amish
Country, and Hershey
Tuesday, May 24 – 8 PM
Junior High School Spring Concert in
the Auditorium
Wednesday, May 25
Last day of classes for seniors
participating in Senior Service
Wednesday, May 25 – 7 PM
Senior Athletic Awards Banquet at
the Colonial Inn, Norwood.
Thursday, May 26 – Monday, May 30 –
Memorial Weekend Recess
Tuesday, May 31
First day of the Senior Culminating
Experience
Wednesday, June 1 – 7 PM –
Senior Scholastic Awards and
National Honor Society Induction at
the Colonial Inn, Norwood
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Thursday, June 2 – 8 AM
Senior Class Breakfast in the High
School Cafeteria
Thursday, June 2 – 9:15 AM
Scholarship Assembly – High School
Auditorium
Thursday, June 2 – 7 PM
Underclass Athletic Awards in the
High School Cafeteria
Friday, June 3 – 7 PM
Cabaret Night in the Courtyard
Friday, June 6 – 8 PM
High School Spring Concert and Art
Show – Auditorium
Wednesday, June 8 – Monday, June 13
Four-Hour Sessions
Senior High School Final Exams
(Order of exams to be announced)
Junior High School End-of-the-Year
Activities
Friday, June 10 – 7 PM
Senior Prom at the Hyatt in Jersey
City
Wednesday, June 15 – 6 PM
High School Graduation
Thursday, June 16
Last day of school for teachers and
underclassmen.
ENJOY YOUR RECESS!