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100 years and still counting! See News and Views and learn how the Board of Education acknowledged the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America.

As the result of a win in Pennsylvania, WM Mendham High School now has a 2nd team going to the 2010 VEX Robotics World Championship
Competition in Dallas! See Media for a copy of the original release.

In the event of a major storm affecting most of New Jersey, the Honeywell Instant Alert System may be temporarily overwhelmed. If you do not receive an alert, or weather conditions have changed since you received your last alert, please check your school's web site. All web masters make every attempt to post the most current information on school delays and closings.

The Report on Results of Standardized Testing of Students During 2008 - 2009 School Year has been posted on the Curriculum page. See Assessments and Testing Schedules.

The agenda for the BOE meeting on Monday, February 8, has been posted.

The 2010 New Jersey Business Idea Competition is now accepting entries seeking New Jersey’s best, commercially feasible business ideas from high school students. The application deadline is Feb. 19. Winners will be announced and honored on March 26 at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Each region will recognize four finalists and eight semi-finalists who will be awarded $250 and $100, respectively. In addition, a winner will be chosen from each region and receive an additional $150 each plus a special prize from the New York Jets. For more information visit www.fdu.edu/businessidea or call (973) 443-8842.

The 2010 New Jersey Business Idea Competition is now accepting entries seeking New Jersey’s best, commercially feasible business ideas.

Now in its seventh year, the program is open to all high school students. The deadline for applications is Feb. 19. Winners will be announced and honored on the evening of March 26 at Fairleigh Dickinson University's College at Florham, Madison.

Each region will recognize four finalists and eight semi-finalists who will be awarded $250 and $100, respectively. In addition, a winner will be chosen from each region and receive an additional $150 each plus a special prize from the New York Jets. All winners will also receive plaques or certificates at the awards ceremony.

For more information please visit the Rothman Institute web site at www.fdu.edu/businessidea or call (973) 443-8842.

Weather pattern shifting? Check district and school web sites for school delays and closings.

During the 1/25/10 Board of Education meeting, the Board approved the 2010-11 Program of Studies. The document is now available for viewing on the district site (with links from the high schools). See Curriculum. To conserve costs, incoming Freshman only will receive one hard copy from their guidance counselor. All other students will refer to the online version when making course selections, etc.

Congratulations to all four Robotics' Teams who participated in the Summit High School Competition. WMM walked away with 2 of 4 Judges awards. Occam Engineers -- good luck in the world championship. See Media Release under media.

Want to learn more about the school budget planning process? Finance Committee meeting dates and locations are posted on the Board meeting calendar (see Board of Education left)

Best wishes and good luck to West Morris Central and West Morris Mendham students competing in the Science Olympiad at NJIT on January 14. We are routing for you!

Making a college list, filing applications, and marshaling the resources to afford an education can be intimidating. But it need not be. Join Jacques Steinberg, New York Times education writer and author of “The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College,’’ as he and his colleagues examine all facets of the college admissions process. See "The Choice" at www.nytimes.com.

When the weather outside is frightful, and you did not get a Honeywell Instant Alert, check the district web site / your high school web site. If possible, web masters will post information about delayed openings and closings.

The results of the November 17 test of the Honeywell Instant Alert system showed that more than 150 messages were not completed (excludes those going into voice mail). If you did NOT receive a message please go to your school site and review your profile.

NASA and the U.S. Dept. of Ed. are co-hosting a live Q & A between Washington DC science students and astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The event is part of the 10th annual celebration of International Education Week. Students will ask crew members questions in English, French,
German and Russian. Veteran astronauts will also participate in the multi-language event.

The downlink is one in a series with educational organizations in the U.S. and abroad to improve teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

NASA Television will air a Video File from the downlink event. For NASA TV
downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

Morris County Health Officer issues October 30th letter on H1N1 flu and vaccine to parents / guardians.

NJ State issues October 20th update on the H1N1 influenza virus.

The NJ Dept. of Education is asking for public feedback on draft "Common Core
Standards," an initiative to develop national standards for graduation. Document can be viewed at http://www.corestandards.org/. Direct comments to commoncore@doe.state.nj.us

IB? AP? Recommendation letters? Extracurricular Activities? Essays? William R. Fitzsimmons, the dean of
admissions and financial aid at
Harvard, answers reader questions
about the undergraduate admissions
process generally, and at Harvard in
particular. The answers appear in a special, four-part series in the Choice section of the online edition of the New York Times. For more
information see
http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/harvarddean/?ref=education

Superintendent issues new letter on H1N1 for the start of the new school year.

Have you recently moved or changed your phone number? Please check with Honeywell Instant Alert to confirm that your contact information is current.

Honeywell tip: If you are registered with Honeywell Instant Alert and do not receive a message when the weather appears questionable, it could be due to a technical problem with Honeywell. As a back up, we will make every effort to post school closing and delayed opening announcements on the district and school web sites. Keep in mind that there may be situations where one school is closed and the other is not.

Honeywell tip: If you have trouble locating your child's name, try searching by the first name only.

We invite parents and guardians to explore this site to learn more about our schools and the programs and services we provide our students.

NJ "Rocket Man" twitters from space. Former Edison resident Mark Polansky is an astronaut on NASA's Endeavor. His twitter updates can be seen on http://twitter.com/astro127. West Morris continues to use the book "Rocket Boys" to teach students lessons on language, writing, science, math and history.

We wish all a safe and enjoyable summer. The Board of Education office remains open daily on weekdays from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, with the exception of Friday, when it closes at noon. Normal business hours will resume with the start of school.

The June issue of Newsweek Magazine includes a list of the top 1,500 high schools in the U.S. It is unique among school ranking systems in that it is one of the only national ranking measures that takes into account both AP and IB exams, thereby allowing an “apples to apples” comparison of schools that do and do not offer AP and IB programs. WM Mendham ranks 11th in the state and 1st in Morris County, with WMC ranking 21st in NJ and 3rd in Morris County.
Link to article

Let the Sunshine In! West Morris Central may get solar roof panels. See release under Media.

Morris County issues 06/02 update on H1N1 Influenza A (aka "swine flu").

The district’s “One Book, One District” literacy program is featured in the May issue of PRINCIPAL Leadership magazine as an example of how school administrators, teachers and community leaders can co-develop a project that challenges the entire district and its surrounding towns to join in reading and responding to the same book. The article was authored by Director of Curriculum Alyce Hunter.

What does the entire WMRHSD community have in common with NASA? The WMRHSD has read Rocket Boys -- the true, inspirational account of boys from a poor coal mining town determined to go to college. See Media for more information on our One Book One District - West Morris program and stay tuned for an announcement about next year's book selection.

Ever wonder what teachers do during Professional Development Day? See media release posted under Media.

PROJECT CHILD FIND. The WMRHSD provides specialized programs and services for students who may be experiencing a disability and need assistance to be successful in school. Please contact your child study team office for information or to make a referral.

A New York Times panel of admissions deans from Yale University, Pomona College, Lawrence University and the University of Texas at Austin answer reader questions on IB, AP, high school reputation and ranking, test scores, SAT and application essays and other factors related to college acceptance. Click icon right for article (pdf).

Parents / Guardians / Staff must register with Honeywell Instant Alert to receive alerts about school delays and closings. See icon at right for instructions. Additional information on the Honeywell Instant Alert System is available under the menu at left.