“We are extremely thankful for this unexpected funding resource and are honored to have been selected by the Department of Education for this grant.  We plan to review current and incoming student needs to best determine how we will use the funds to enhance and/or expand services to our students with disabilities.  We are grateful for this opportunity to better serve our student population,” said Ann Marie Rose, Interim Director of Special Services.

The 12 districts receiving funds did not know that they were eligible for an award until the announcement on February 17th.  To read the full announcement from the Department of Education, including the selection process and the full list of districts selected, please visit:  http://www.state.nj.us/education/news/2012/0217se.htm.

On January 17, 2012, Governor Chris Christie signed into law a bill that allows Boards of Education to move their School Elections from April to November to coincide with the general election.  The law stipulates that if a Board of Education chooses to move its School Elections to November:

• Board of Education members would be selected by voters on the November ballot, and
• A vote will not be required on the district’s budget tax levy, which would continue to be held to the state mandated 2% cap on increases.  The district’s budget must receive final approval from the Executive County Superintendent and Executive County Business Administrator.  If additional funds are needed for a specific project or program that would exceed a 2% tax levy increase, a separate question would be presented for voter approval on the November ballot.

Conversely, if a Board of Education chooses to leave its School Elections in April, Board members and the budget tax levy will be voted on by the public, the same as has been done in the past.

As the North Hunterdon-Voorhees Board of Education has approved the movement of School Elections to November, Board members whose terms were expiring in April 2012 will now serve until the Reorganization meeting that will take place the first week in January 2013 (unless they are re-elected for another term in the November elections).

This new law is part of Governor Christie’s education reform agenda.  Moving School Elections to November will save school districts money on election costs as the majority of the general election costs will be covered by the state or county.  In addition, November elections attract a far greater number of voters than School Elections in April.  For instance, approximately 19% of Hunterdon County voters participated in the last School Elections whereas about 80% voted in the last presidential election (typically around 50% vote in a non-presidential election year).

As in years past, information regarding the North Hunterdon-Voorhees District’s budget will be posted on the district website when it is available.  The district’s public budget hearing will be held on March 27, 2012 at 7:00pm in the North Hunterdon High School library.  The North Hunterdon-Voorhees District remains committed to providing a high quality education for all of its students while remaining truly fiscally responsible.

Open Board of Education seats will be posted around May for the November 6, 2012 election.  Nominating petitions will be due by the date of the June primary election.

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions that were released by the NJ Department of Education: http://www.state.nj.us/education/finance/fp/dwb/PL2011c202FAQ.pdf

1. The North Hunterdon High School Theatre Organization will be performing Gypsy on March 1, 2 and 3 at 7:00pm in the high school’s theatre.  Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students.  For tickets, please call Perry Andrews at 908-713-4160 or email him at pandrews@nhvweb.net.
2. Voorhees High School’s Drama Club will be performing How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on March 29, 30, 31 at 7:00pm and April 1 at 2:00pm in the theatre.  Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students.  For ticket information, please visit http://www.nhvweb.net/vhs/theatre/ or call 908-638-6116 ext.7444.

The Voorhees High School Spanish Club and Interact & Able Club will be hosting their 2^nd Annual Chili for Chile, an event to raise money to help re-build workshops for the Mapuche women weavers who lost everything in the 8.8 earthquake which hit the country of Chile in February 2010.  Chili, all the fixings and beverages will be served from 5:30pm-8:30pm on January 20 (new date!) in the Voorhees New Cafeteria.  Tickets are $7.  Event is open to everyone who loves chili or Chile! 

This fundraising effort is a three-year commitment the two clubs have made with a group called “Communities 8.8”, which is directing the re-building project.  “Communities 8.8” is a nonprofit organization that was formed in direct response to the devastating 8.8 earthquake that struck Chile on February 27, 2010.

For more information on the Chili for Chile event, please contact the Spanish Club faculty advisor, Diana Liscinski, at dliscinski@nhvweb.net.

From North Hunterdon High School:

Region II Wind Ensemble:  Tommy Vacca, Trumpet and Nate Stevens, Timpani

Region II Symphonic Band: Emily Chen, Flute and Tim Gallagher, Trumpet

Region II Women’s Choir: Vic Coletti, Nicki Bataille, Jenna Meisner

Region II Mixed Choir:  Heather Birmingham, Morgan Evans, Caitlin Mangan, Ketaki Datar

From Voorhees High School:

Region II Mixed Choir: Louise Gallagher, Liz Maszczak, Brandon Simanski, John Westlake and Paul Winch

Region II Symphonic Band:  percussionists Taylor Newman and Sean Francis, as well as Zack Hann on clarinet and Cory Nunn on trumpet

Auditions for the Central NJ Region  II Choir and Band were held at JP Stevens on December 10.  The accepted students will rehearse with their respective ensembles and then perform concerts in January: Orchestra on January 8, Symphonic Band on January 14 and Choir on January 29.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q. How does opening a credit card with UMB benefit North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District?
A. North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District receives $50 for each approved application that is activated and used within 90 days of approval. Additionally, a percentage of every retail purchase made using the card will be donated to North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District.

Q. Who is UMB?
UMB is a multi-bank, multi-billion dollar holding company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. They were ranked by Smart Money as “the highest-scoring traditional bank among our favorites and by Forbes as the #2 “best” bank in the U.S.” As a leading card issuer with nearly 40 years of credit card experience, UMB offers a wide range of consumer and commercial Visa and private label products. For more information, visit www.umb.com.

Q. Is there an annual fee?
A. No, there is no annual fee.*

Q. What is the annual percentage rate (APR) on the card? *
A. 0% introductory APR for six months. After the introductory period, the interest rate will be the Wall Street Prime rate + 9.74%, currently 12.99%.

Q. Can I apply over the phone?
A. Unfortunately, not at this time.

Q. How can I get an application by mail?
A. Paper applications will be available at certain North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District events or by contacting msmagala@nhvweb.net. We encourage you to apply securely online to help us reduce marketing and processing costs.

Q. When I apply for the card, will my transaction be secure?
A. Yes. Your application will be transmitted to UMB through an encrypted security page.

Q. Do I have to activate and use the card within a certain time period for the North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District to receive the $50?
A. Yes. But you only need to use the card once within the first 90 days for us to receive the $50 bounty. Of course, we encourage you to make it your primary card because North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District receives a percentage of every retail purchase at no additional cost to you.

Q. How does the rewards program work?
A. Simply use your card at the participating retailers listed on rewards.umb.com:

• To earn Bonus Rewards points shopping in-store, make sure you use your card for all your purchases. An up-to-date and complete list of participating retailers can always be located on the Bonus Rewards Web site.
• To earn Bonus Rewards points for online purchases, you must access participating retailers through the Bonus Rewards Web site and use the link provided to make your purchases. If you do not use the link to shop, you will not earn Bonus Rewards points on your transactions.

Your earned Bonus Rewards points will automatically be credited to your Bonus Rewards Activity account and can be found on your monthly statement.

Q. What can I redeem for with my points earned?
A. You can redeem your points for name-brand merchandise, gift cards, travel, event tickets and activities. For more information about redemptions options, please visit rewards.umb.com for more details.

Q. Do my points expire?
A. Points expire after 5 years. For more information on Program Rules, please see the Rewards Program Rules disclosure that will accompany your card.

Q. How do I redeem my points?
A. Simply go to online redemptions site at rewards.umb.com to redeem your points.

Q. If I have another question about Bonus Rewards not listed above, who can I contact?
A. Please contact customer service at 800-821-4115.

* 0% APR only on purchases and balance transfers initiated during the first six months. No balance transfer fee will be imposed for balance transfers initiated during the introductory rate period. Thereafter, rates will vary. Rate and fee information is accurate as of August 1, 2010.

When you apply for and use your new North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District Visa® Platinum Rewards Card, the bank will donate $50 and a percentage of all your future purchases on the card to North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District!

The more of us who participate, the bigger the impact we can make.

All the benefits of a Platinum Visa® Rewards Card will be yours, along with the satisfaction of showing your support of North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District’s mission every time you use your card.

Apply now and earn points at hundreds of online retailers. Redeem your points for name-brand merchandise, event tickets, gift cards, travel rewards options, and more!*

P.S. Request your North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District Visa® Platinum Rewards Card today and start earning points asap.

*For more information about the Rewards program please visit www.cardpartner.com/affinity/rewards

For a paper mail-in application, please click here.

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions

During the morning of each school’s respective day for Rachel’s Challenge, all students and staff members will attend a one-hour presentation (two assemblies will be held to accommodate everyone) that includes powerful audio/video footage of Rachel’s life and the Columbine tragedy, which is designed to motivate students to effect positive change in the way they treat others.  After the morning presentation, 100 students and fifteen staff members at each high school will be selected to attend a 90-minute training session.  The morning presentation creates the “want to” or desire for positive change. The training session teaches the “how to” and ensures that the positive impact will continue.

In addition, Rachel’s Challenge includes an evening program for parents and community members.  This session will be similar to the morning presentation and will end with a specific challenge to parents and community members, showing them how they can reinforce the decisions their youth are making.  Parents of elementary and high school students, and interested community members, are invited to attend the evening program, which will be at Voorhees on November 29 starting at 7:00pm in the auditorium and at North Hunterdon on December 1 at 6:30pm in the theater.

This program has been seen by over 11 million people.  Please visit www.rachelschallenge.org for more information on Rachel Scott and the program.

The North Hunterdon-Voorhees School District is seeking discounts on the following telecommunications services as per the Eligible services list provided by the SLD.

• Basic Telephone Service and long distance services for approximately 65 lines
  

• Cellular phone service
  

Internet Access

The North Hunterdon-Voorhees School District is seeking discounts on the following Internet Access services as per the Eligible services list provided by the SLD.

• Bundled Internet Access that will provide at least 50 Mbps of bandwidth, DNS hosting for 4 registered domain names, and a minimum of 255 IP addresses.
  

Wide Area Network Services

• Telecommunication services to provide Wide Area Network connections between North Hunterdon & Voorhees High Schools with a minimum of 10 Gbps network speeds that will include on premise equipment.
  

Contact Information

North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District

1445 State Route 31

Annandale, NJ 08801

Contact: Guillermo Vargas-Dellacasa

Phone: (908) 713-4118

Fax: (908) 735-6914

Email: gvargas-dellacasa@nhvweb.net

Download RFP Document (in PDF): E-Rate RFP 2012-2013