Monday, April 29, 2013
West Orange High School said no indication April 24 threat on bathroom wall is credible, but officials taking it seriously — school to go on with increased police presence Tuesday.
The West Orange School District announced Monday the recent graffiti found in a West Orange High School lavatory warning of a bomb threat has been taken seriously but it believes the threat is a prank and school will go on as planned Tuesday. "We believe this is a prank bomb threat which does not directly indicate the high school is the target," Interim Superintendent Jim O'Neill said. "Nevertheless, we take this and any threat of this kind very seriously." The graffiti was found on a bathroom wall of West Orange High School on April 24 and warned of a bomb threat by the end of the month, police said. At that time, the district said threat was an "adolescent prank." The administration reassured parents the high school is safe and secure …
40.80623
-74.257622
West Orange High School
51 Conforti Ave, West Orange, NJ
/articles/district-despite-threat-high-school-safe-and-secure
1264058
/locations/9328762
Former West Orange High School teacher, Erica DePalo, 33, of Montclair, was sentenced to a three-year suspended sentence of parole with no jail time Monday afternoon, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said.
The 33-year-old former West Orange High School teacher who admitted to having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student was sentenced Monday and will serve no jail time, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said. Erica DePalo, of Montclair, an Essex County Teacher of the Year, was sentenced on Monday, April 29 in Newark Superior Court to a three-year suspended sentence of parole with no jail time. She will also forfeit of her teaching license and be on lifetime supervision under Megan's Law, a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office said. When DePalo acccepted the plea deal in February the interim superintendent of the West Orange School District, James O'Neill, told Patch he was “personally disappointed” and felt the parents and …
High school group took time to showcase their talents for students.
The West Orange Winter Color Guard, a nationally ranked team in its 10th year performing along with the performing percussion band, visited Liberty Middle School April 19 to entertain the eighth grade students. Each year the Marching Band, Step Teams, Jubilee Choir and Winter Color Guard visit the middle school to provide a preview of activities available as the students transition to the high school. Liberty Middle School Principal Robert Klemt welcomed West Orange High School Band Director Erin McClure and the performers. Klemt acknowledged Liberty alumni and encouraged the students to get involved in sports, clubs or the range of music experiences. "Not only are the West Orange High School groups providing an extremely entertaining …
40.793191
-74.283497
Liberty Middle School
1 Kelly Dr, West Orange, NJ
/articles/west-orange-color-guard-performs-for-liberty-students
1779856
/locations/9327992
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
West Orange police are investigating incident at the high school Wednesday.
Graffiti found on a bathroom wall of West Orange High School Wednesday warned of a bomb threat by the end of the month, West Orange police said. According to officials, the writing was found above a urinal in the bathroom saying there would be a bomb scare by April 30. "We believe this is an adolescent prank and the threat is not serious," the district said in an email to parents. "Nonetheless we are treating it with the utmost seriousness." In response, police presence will increase at the high school thoughout the next week. Parents in the district also received a reverse-911 call about the incident Wednesday afternoon. West Orange police are investigating the threat. The district's full response to parents below: We write to inform …
40.80623
-74.257622
West Orange High School
51 Conforti Ave, West Orange, NJ
/articles/police-bathroom-graffiti-makes-bombing-threat-at-high-school
1264058
/locations/9304944
Liberty and Roosevelt students will join young students throughout the state as they take the New Jersey ASK tests starting on Monday.
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Wednesday, April 24
For many middle school students throughout the state, it's time to sharpen their pencils. And minds. Next week, the 7th and 8th grade students in the district will be taking New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) standardized tests. The seventh graders will be assessed on language arts, reading and mathematics, while the eighth grade tests will focus on language arts, reading, mathematics and science. The students are concentrating on strategies that will help them come to the test prepared. In their Liberty Middle School advisory classes, students have been brainstorming and creating banners and foam fingers that highlight approaches to help them become successful. The student creations are posted around the building as…
40.793191
-74.283497
Liberty Middle School
1 Kelly Dr, West Orange, NJ
/articles/liberty-preparing-for-state-tests
1779856
/locations/9296913
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Measure will improve safety, traffic flow near Pleasantdale Elementary School in West Orange.
The West Orange Township Council proposed a new ordinance on first reading Tuesday night, which would prohibit U-turns on Stanford Avenue. The ordinance would prohibit the turns on Stanford Avenue from Pleasant Valley Way to the second intersection with Crestwood Drive adjacent to Pleasantdale Elementary School. Prohibiting U-turns will make it safer for both motorists and pedestrians and lead to the more efficient flow of traffic, according to the ordinance.
40.807146
-74.261754
Pleasantdale School
555 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ
/articles/council-approves-ordinance-prohibit-u-turns-on-stanford-ave
163299
/locations/9299035
Monday, April 22, 2013
All the district's elementary schools achieved 100 percent of targets on the 2013 NJ School Performance Reports, except for Washington and Pleasantdale schools n the college and career readiness performance area.
West Orange School District's elementary schools were recently ranked high in academic achievement among its peers and average throughout New Jersey, according to the recent school performance reports issued by the Christie administration. Redwood Elementary School topped the group with test scores in the 97th percentile among peers and in 84th statewide while Pleasantdale Elementary School 'lagged in comparison. The elementary tested the lowest in the district placing only in the 20th percentile among peers and statewide. Gregory, Hazel, Mount Pleasant and St. Cloud elementary schools all tested high as well in academic achievement.' Washington Elementary School placed in the 79th percentile among peers and 34th statewide. Summary of …
Thursday, April 18, 2013
West Orange resident Louis Yontef, a physics teacher at New Providence High School, was arrested on April 11 in Florida for possession of cocaine.
A West Orange resident and a physics teacher at New Providence High School was arrested for alleged possession of cocaine this past weekend while on Spring break in West Palm Beach, Fla. Louis Yontef, 28, was charged on April 11 in Boca Raton with bail set at $5,000, according to nj.com. Attempts to view Yontef’s page on the New Providence School District website, a message said, “this page has moved.” New Providence High School Principal Paul Casarico responded to the alleged incident with an email to the district. "Over the spring break there was an incident involving a high school staff member. Their absence is a confidential personnel matter that is being reviewed by the administration and the Board of Education. I want to assure all …
Baseball squad tops West Orange 15-5 Wednesday.
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Thursday, April 18
The Millburn varsity baseball team beat West Orange in a five-inning mercy rule on Wednesday. Millburn juniors Conor Murray and Matt Gula each had two hits and scored two runs, while Nick Meo and Bradley Bean each drove in two runs as the Millburn baseball team dropped West Orange, 15-5, in Millburn. The victory improved Millburn’s record this season to 7-2, including a 6-1 mark within the American Division of the Super Essex Conference. Currently, Millburn is alone in second place in the SEC, trailing first-place Seton Hall Prep by only one game.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Nicholas Galante, former president of the West Orange Education Association's Teacher's Union and a district employee, withdrew complaint against board members Laura Lab and Megan Brill.
The former president of the West Orange Education Association's Teacher's Union and a district employee has withdrawn his ethics complaint filed against two school board members last year. "My decision to file ethics charges against Ms. Lab and Ms. Brill was informed by issues between the Board and its Superintendent," Nicholas Galante said in a statement earlier this week [Full statement attached in PDF]. "The West Orange School District is now in a very different place." Galante filed the complaint with the state School Ethics Commission in February 2012 against Lab, the board president at that time and Brill, another board member. The complaint charged Lab allegedly demanded Galante be transferred from his current work assignment and …
Vicki Russo
7:10 pm on Tuesday, April 30, 2013
I spoke with the principle after school was dismissed and today occurred without incident. The threat never stated there would be a bomb at the school only that there is a bomb. Also the writings on the wall had been wiped down looking as if the words were trying to be erased. Maybe the perpetrator tried to erase after writing this stupid remark on the wall. Well whatever happened was a wakeup of… more ›