ACADEMIC DECATHALON
You’ve heard of sport athletes, but what about decathletes! Judging from the extreme dedication, determination, stability, and endurance required in the annual Academic Decathlon competition, those who survive the intense full-day competition should be given as much recognition as an accomplished athlete.
Don’t be fooled. The Academic Decathlon is much more than a club that studies its heart out for ten subjects; it is also the gateway to success including 7 academic subjects; the Academic Decathlon also allows for those who excel in speech, interview, and essay skills to shine. Though one may not realize it, this club can drastically improve one’s test-taking skills and prepare the member for standardized tests, job and college interviews, and a bright future.
But of course, "AcDec" is also an unforgettable experience of fun and excitement. If you choose to join this club, it will be only a matter of time that you form a close family with your fellow decathletes. This year, the Academic Decathlon Team placed first in the regional competition in addition to bringing home many medals. Meetings are held Wednesdays in Room 706
Advisor: Mrs. Lennon
PHS AMBASSADORS
The Parsippany High School Ambassadors is an organization dedicated to helping meet the needs of incoming freshmen and transfer students. The PHS Ambassadors is made up of volunteer students who are interested in helping new students make the transition to life at PHS just a little bit easier. On a new student’s first day, an ambassador gives the new student a tour of the building, pointing out such vital offices as the attendance office, the nurse’s office, guidance, etc., and helps the new student become acquainted with Parsippany High School’s policies and procedures. The ambassador is there to serve as the “friendly face” at lunch and in the hallways. Applications for PHS Ambassadors are accepted in the spring every year.
AFGHAN AMERICAN CLUB
The Afghan-American club is made up of a diverse group of students. These members come together to learn about the heritage of the Middle East and discuss current issues, both socially and academically. The students work hard to inform others about the culture and values of Afghan-Americans. Our purpose is to raise money to donate to those in need in the Middle East. Some of our fundraisers in the past have been though selling popular Afghan dishes and ribbons. This year, we hope to put together a dance competition to raise money and awareness of all cultures.
Advisor: Miss Fedo (601)
AFRICAN AMERICAN CLUB
The African American Club is a club for students who wish to learn about black heritage. It teaches the school about countries where predominately people of black ethnicity reside and the conditions that they live in. It raises awareness about different cultures and holidays such as Kwanza, Martin Luther King Jr. day and Black History month. In addition, the African American Club works to help countries in need through fundraising. We also do community service to help out the community and black residents in need. Last year, together with the Latin American Club, we raised $1,500 for Darfur and PHS was featured as the school of the month by the Save Darfur organization.
Advisor: Susana Plotquin
ASIAN AMERICAN CLUB
The AAC is a social networking club intended for our school's Asian populace, although all ethnicities are welcome. Our purpose is to develop connections with the Asians in our school and those in our neighboring schools by having fun in a host of activities and projects. Some of our major activities are egg roll sales, t-shirt sales, dances, and game nights. Meetings are held on Fridays in Room 510.
LATIN AMERICAN CLUB
The Latin American Club is a diverse group of Hispanic students. Our members come from different parts of the world: Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Puerto Rico and more. However, some of our members do not have a Hispanic background. We invite every one to help out with our numerous events throughout the year. Our goal is to give each other support and encouragement both academically and socially. Together we hope to break stereotypes and come together to share our cultures. We have many events during the year, we are involved in community service, raise money for our club as well as lend a hand to those in need. Last year, together with the African American Club, we raised $1,500 for Darfur and PHS was featured as the school of the month by the Save Darfur organization.
Advisor: Susana Plotquin
STEERING COMMITTEES
The Junior Class Steering Committee consists of dedicated and enthusiastic juniors who spend the year raising money for their class and planning class events such as the Junior Dinner. From wrapping paper to sweat pant sales, the money they earn goes toward making their Junior Dinner a success and ensuring that their senior year will be one to remember. All juniors are welcome to join!
Adivisors: Aimee Letsch and Ellen Belarmino.
THE CHALLENGE
The Challenge is a televised academic high school competition. Four students ( plus one alternate) will be tested on their knowledge of science, math, history, and arts and literature. Family, friends, and other students from PHS will be in the audience cheering the team on. The show will be aired in MSG Varsity, Channel 14.
Co-advisors: Nancy Lennon, Florence Barna
CHESS CLUB
The Parsippany High School chess club will be a club that people can go to if they want to learn how to play chess, learn how to play it better, or just play chess. The club will meet about once a week in Mr. Sabella’s room after school and its meeting dates will be decided depending on when the most of its members are free.
CONCERT BANDS
The concert bands at PHS meet daily as a regularly scheduled class. The bands learn to perform music from a variety of genres and time periods. The bands perform at three concerts during the school year and at the PHS Graduation ceremony. There is also a Solo & Small Ensemble concert in the spring which features these students in a more personal setting. The band directors are Joe Stella & Greg Dalakian.
In addition to the concert band experience, many students at PHS enjoy performing in additional instrumental ensembles throughout the school year. The Marching Band (a Fall Varsity Sport) performs at all PHS Varsity Football games and at several Marching Band Competitions throughout the fall season. The Jazz Band (members selected by audition) is an after school ensemble which meets 1-2 times per week from November to June. Students in the Jazz Band perform at numerous school functions as well as several performances outside PHS. The Jazz Band at PHS consists of the standard "Big Band" instrumentation and musical selections include swing, blues, samba, funk, rock, bossa-nova, dixieland, fusion, and more. Instrumentalists are also invited to perform in the Pit Orchestra for the PHS Spring Musical.
For information about any of the bands at PHS,
log onto
www.PHSbands.com
Advisors- Mr. Stella, Mr. Dalakian (101)
DANCE TEAM
The dance team is a club that performs dance routines to hip hop music at pep rallies, basketball games, and dance competitions. We practice weekly during the winter and spring seasons.
DECA
DECA is an international association of high school and college students studying marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality and marketing sales and service. Parsippany High School's local chapter is open to any Junior or Senior enrolled in the Marketing, Advertising and Sales Promotion class
Advisor: Chrissy Russell
DRAMA
The drama department puts on two performances: a fall drama and a spring musical. Students who want to act, sing, dance or work behind the scenes with Mr. Gilgur and Mr. Lazzari and the stage craft can get involved. Each show consists of 3 or 4 performances and always get a great turn out.
Fall Drama Director- Mrs. Musili (Central MS)
Spring Musical Directors: Mr. Caulfield and Mrs. Musili (Central MS)
ENVIRONMENTAL CLUB
The Environmental Club has many dedicated and energetic members. The projects that they are currently involved in are: cleaning, planting and decorating the courtyards, maintaining the greenhouse, recycling papers, and collecting donated pet supplies for the Parsippany Animal Shelter. Meetings are held on Thursdays in Room 312
Advisor: Mrs. Lennon
ERASE (Ending Racism and Sexism Everywhere)
The ERASE Club is committed to ending racism and sexism. We want to make the community a better place for people being discriminated against. We do many fundraisers and drives for people in need of a helping hand. All of our hard work is displayed in our annual Cultural Awareness Show, which allows the whole school to take part in celebrating diversity. Meetings are held every other Thursday in Mr. Glass’s room (407).
FBLA
Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) education association of students preparing for careers in business and business-related fields. The FBLA-PBL Mission is to bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and career development programs.
Advisor: Dr. Garcia
FRENCH CLUB
The French club meets to celebrate Francophone (French-speaking) culture through film, art, food, literature and music. The club also raises money for good causes and participates in community service. They often have delicious crêpe sales after school as well as other events. You do not have to speak French or be taking French class to participate- all you need is a genuine interest is the subject.
Advisor: Mr. Cassu (806)
GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE
The Gay-Straight Alliance promotes acceptance and awareness of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) community, not only within the walls of PHS but everywhere. The goals of the club are to identify stereotypes in society which allow for the progression of discrimination and terminate them, as well as to foster ideas of acceptance and awareness within the school and encourage their growth to include the outside world. For the past five years, the club has sponsored a student-run symposium in the media center consisting of an all-student panel which commences in discussion of current events, with a specific interest in social affairs and civil rights. The "GSA" is also responsible for the popular rainbow wristbands distributed during lunch periods every year, intended to keep students conscious of their GLBT peers. The club hopes to sponsor many interesting and eye-opening events this coming year.
Meetings occur on Fridays at 2:20 PM in Rm. 602
Advisor: Mrs. Coolbaugh
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
Habitat for Humanity or Youth United focuses on youths ages 5-25 and educate, advocate, fundraise for, and organize construction projects. Students organize various fundraising activities like car washes or food sales to raise moneys for houses that are to be built. The students also help out on the construction site.
Advisor- Mr. Groome (312)
INDIAN CULTURAL CLUB (ICC)
The Indian Culture Club (ICC) of Parsippany High School consists of students from grades 9-12 and meets every other Wednesday in room 510. We work hard to keep a sense of culture, tradition and heritage alive in the students of PHS. We also have many fundraisers and exciting activities ranging from dances to our annual culture show. Everything we do reflects the Indian-American culture of our members, however, being of Indian heritage is not mandatory to join our club. Everybody is welcome to come share their traditions and ideas with the ICC.
Advisors- Mr. Sabella (510)
INTERACT
Interact is the high school branch of Rotary International, a worldwide service organization. PHS is a dedicated club that supports many charities as well as the PHS community. Our club motto is “Service Above Self” and we practice that by doing fundraisers, walkathons, food drives, collecting needed items for charity, ushering school events, hosting the annual 4 Hours 4 Change Club Service Night, and hosting a booth at Redstock.
We kick off the year by helping the Parsippany Rotary Club at the Parsippany Fall Festival. Members volunteer to sit in a dunk tank and sell sand art to raise money for the many projects that Rotary supports. How’s that for selfless service!
Club members use their creativity and talents to raise money for causes such as Light the Night for Leukemia and Lymphoma, Making Strides for Breast Cancer, Walk for Hunger, JBWS Safe Dating Challenge, March of Dimes, Pennies for Patients, and Walk for the World, just to name a few.
Other service projects involve collecting needed items for food pantries and homeless shelters. Our annual Fall food drive is a homeroom competition which supplies a food pantry servicing the local community. The incentive of a free breakfast and a unique trophy inspires the PHS community to be generous.
In the Winter, we get the whole school turned on to community service by inviting all clubs to bring their service project to work on at the annual 4 Hours 4 Change Club Service night. Clubs can see what others are doing and help out for the first 2 hours then we have pizza while watching a movie. It’s a little work and lots of fun for everyone!
This year our two new goals are to do an international project and start an Interact Club at Central Middle School.
Interact is a great way for PHS students to earn community service and pursue scholarship opportunities. We are always open to new ideas and new members! New members are always welcome!!!
The more members we have the more service we can do!
Meetings are usually held on Wednesdays after school in room 605.
Advisors: Nicole Colello and Aimee Doyle
ITALIAN CLUB
The Italian Club is an Italian Cultural organization. All students are welcomed and encouraged to join the Italian Club regardless of language studied. Its many objectives include the embracing of cultural differences and to promote tolerance with both the academic community and the community at large.
Members of this club share Italian history, language, and music within an environment that fosters mutual understanding. Members and non members are encouraged to attend community events/performances that celebrate the Italian Culture.
The Italian Club hosts a variety of events at PHS and off campus. In collaboration with the Italian Honor Society, members work together to fundraise and donate to many great causes. The club holds many family fun events at the school to bring the community together.
ITALIAN HONORS SOCIETY
The Italian Honor Society encourages high school students to acquire a greater interest in, and a deeper understanding of Italian culture, art and history. It promotes an understanding and appreciation of the Italian culture and civilization. Members graduate with an honor cord that marks achievement in the study of the Italian language.
One of the Society’s objectives is to provide tutoring services for struggling students, and to collaborate with the Italian Club in organizing and managing various activities.
KEY CLUB
Key Club is a community service organization recognized not only across the nation but also internationally. The Key Club at Parsippany High School works to give back to all sectors of the community from kids to senior citizens. In addition, we work with acclaimed organizations such as March of Dimes, UNICEF, and Big Brother Big Sister. A sample of events we host include a Halloween Fun Night for elementary school children, a pasta dinner for Baldwin Oaks residents, and a car wash fund raiser. This year all the money we fund raise will be donated to the Children's Specialized Hospital, the largest pediatric rehabilitation center in the nation. Key Club is a great place to meet new friends and do good things for the community. Meetings are every other Tuesday in Cafe 1. Any questions, e-mail parsippanykc@gmail.com.
Advisor- Mrs. McNall (405), Ms. Kelly (409)
LITERARY MAGAZINE- TOTEM
TOTEM is Parsippany High's own literary and art magazine. Each student is encouraged to send in their own pieces of poetry, prose, or short story, as well as their paintings, drawings, and photographs. TOTEM is a way for the artisticially inclined to show off their talents, though submissions are allowed to be published anonymously or under a pseudonym. The club also embarks on field trips to culturally-stimulating places, such as the Guggenheim Museum of Art, in the hopes of inspiring budding artists and writers. Literary submissions should be delivered to Mr. Reidinger in Room 612. Artistic submissions should be delivered to Ms. Pero in Room 311B. Submissions are open to EVERYONE, not just club members! Meetings will be when announced, in room 612.
Advisor- Mr. Reidinger (612), Mrs. Pero (311B)
MODEL CONGRESS
Model Congress is an extra-curricular club that gives students a chance to analyze and discuss the many challenges, both international and domestic, that face the United States and the world. This includes issues affecting the lives of all Americans, ranging from threats as imposing as nuclear terrorism to the reconsideration of affirmative action in education and the workplace. Our forum allows students to discuss controversial topics, such as the current issue of the Jena Six. Through Model Congress, students bolster their research skills and learn how our nation works as well as the intricacies of parliamentary procedure. The club also participates in regional Model Congress conventions, such as the annual Rutgers Model Congress. These conventions test every student's ability to utilize the tools of representative democracy by setting up a 'mock government,' with students working in House and Senate committees, the Press Corps, Supreme Court, and various Lobbying Groups.
The Model Congress club meets 2-3 times a month, usually for about an hour (but debates have been known to go longer). Our membership varies based on topic (and other clubs/sports).
Advisor: Mr. Kyle (401)
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY (NHS)
In order to be eligible for consideration, a student must:
GRADUATING CLASS OF 2009: Maintain a minimum weighted grade point average of 3.5 ( calculated after the second marking period of 11th grade and after the first marking period of 12th grade)
GRADUATING CLASS OF 2010 & 2011: Maintain a minimum weighted grade point average of 3.5 ( calculated after the second marking period of 11th grade and after the fourth marking period of 11th grade)
*GRADUATING CLASS OF 2012: Maintain a minimum weighted grade point average of 3.75 ( calculated after the second marking period of 11th grade and after the fourth marking period of 11th grade)
* Note GPA change commencing with graduating class of 2012.
The following guidelines will be considered:
LEADERSHIP- The student who exercises leadership:
• Organizes a project or activity in which they are responsible for guiding and leading others.
• Successfully holds school offices or positions of responsibility, conducting business efficiently and effectively, and demonstrates reliability and dependability.
• Is resourceful in proposing new problems, applying principles, and making suggestions.
• Promotes school activities.
• Exercises positive influence on peers in upholding school ideas.
• Contributes ideas that improve the civic life of the school.
• Delegates responsibility.
• Exemplifies positive attitudes.
• Inspires positive behavior in others.
• Demonstrates academic initiative.
• Is thoroughly dependable in any responsibility accepted.
• Is a leader in the classroom, at work, and in other school or community activities.
SERVICE- The student who serves:
• Demonstrates consistent commitment to school and community service. ( 100 documented hours) Examples of service activities include Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Church
groups, Fire or Ambulance Squad, volunteering at a hospital or with other community service organizations.
• Upholds scholarship and maintains a loyal school attitude.
• Volunteers and is willing to sacrifice to offer assistance.
• Works well with others and is willing to take on difficult or inconspicuous responsibilities.
• Enthusiastically renders service to the school.
• Represents class or school in academic competitions.
• Does committee and staff work without complaint.
• Shows courtesy to visitors, teachers, and other students. NOTE: One qualifying activity may count as either service or leadership, but not both.
CHARACTER- The student of character:
• Takes criticism willingly and accepts recommendations graciously.
• Consistently exemplifies desirable qualities of behavior.
• Upholds principles of morality and ethics.
• Adheres to the highest standards of honesty and reliability.
• Observes instructions, rules, punctuality, and faithfulness.
• Cooperates by complying with all school regulations.
• Shows perseverance and application to studies.
• Manifests truthfulness and does not cheat.
• Actively helps to rid the school of bad influences.
The selection process will involve faculty evaluation after the candidate submits verification of qualifications. Pupils not selected in their junior year may be reevaluated in their senior year.
( see GPA eligibility for specific graduating class)
NATIONAL ART HONOR SOCIETY
The National Art Honor Society is an organization devoted to students (sophomores - seniors), who excel in the Fine Arts, and one day hope to pursue a career in them. Students participate in various activities, fundraisers, and charitable events throughout the year, all along showcasing their talents and art work.
Advisor: Jennifer Young
NETAID
NetAid is a nonprofit organization that empowers high school student leaders to involve their peers in efforts dealing with global issues such as world poverty, hunger, Aids, and to help better education. NETAid organzies Global Action Days. NetAid held a Stand Up event where local bands donated their time to perform. All entrance fees were donated to Aids, hunger, education, and genocide charities. Meetings are held bi-weekly in room 605.
Advisor- Ms. Colello
ORIGAMI CLUB
The purpose of club is to share origami, the art of paperfolding, a creative, enjoyable, challenging, beautiful, educational, and magical activity. Everyone is invited to come and learn how to fold ordinary paper into detailed figures and shapes. Learning origami will give you the opportunity to amaze yourself, your family, and your friends. Learning origami will help to increase your confidence in yourself and increase your self-esteem. Origami can be used on cards and gifts or even as a gift. Mrs. Kwan is faculty advisor (room 302) and would love to say "Come, join the fold !! And find Peace with Paper !!" Meetings could be twice per month after school. But currently there are no students willing to run the meetings. If you are interested in running the meetings, please see Mrs. Kwan. Running the meetings would include finding models to teach and actually teaching models.
PEER BUDDIES
Peer Buddies began at Parsippany High School in 2005 with four members. Our goal was to help a newly formed class of of multiply disabled students integrate into the high school setting.We currently have 35 members from the general education and multiply disabled population who range in age from fourteen to twenty.As club members, these students hold regualr meeting and fundraisers. Peer Buddies aslo assist multiply disabled students in academic activities such as preparing for the DECA Regional Competition and using computer programs in health class.Peer Buddies participate in job exploration activities which include filling out applications, mock interviews, and simulated job skills.
PHS PEP CLUB
The Pep Club is a school organization dedicated to building and maintaining school spirit. Members paint spirit signs for PHS sporting events, pep rallies, and the annual motorcade. The club meets every Wednesday at 2:24 PM in room 804.
Advisors: Ms. Cabezas (804) / Mrs. Roche (gym) and Mr. Foreso (502).
SAVE DARFUR
The Save Darfur Committee at Parsippany High School raises thousand of dollars a year to aide children in desperate need in third world countries, such as Darfur. We work extremely hard to also bring in at least one guest speaker a year to aware children of the serious matters going on around the world. We hope we can save Darfur together as a whole. This is a very rewarding and great club to be in because after all the hard work, time, and effort put into raising money, you feel good about yourself at the end of the day for saving so many children who's lives laid in your hands. We try to meet once every month in Mr. Glass’ room (404)
SCIENCE OLYMPIAD
The Science Olympiad is an academic competition where teams are created to compete against other high schools in all categories of science - Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Competitions include laboratory based experimentation or constructing a device to meet certain criteria.
Meetings are held in room 501 on Thursdays after school.
Advisor: Mr. Gilgur
STUDENTS AGAINST DESTRUCTIVE DECISIONS (SADD)
Our mission is to help young people to say no to drinking and driving, prevent destructive decisions, particularly underage drinking, drug use, impaired driving, teen violence and teen depression.
We also like to act as role models for underclassmen, so they can make the right decisions.
Every year we try to do one major event, a guest speaker, and a mock car crash during prom season. In addition we may do several different fund raisers throughout the course of the year for good causes.
Listen for meetings on the morning announcements and in the daily bulletin.
Advisors- Ms. Doyle in Guidance x2312 & Ms. Brittle in Gym x2310
SKI CLUB
The PHS Ski Club is all about snow! That’s right our dream is everyone else’s nightmare. The club makes 6 trips to Mountain Creek Resort in Vernon, NJ beginning in mid January.
A bus leaves the school at 3pm and returns by 10pm. Students have a great time skiing or snowboarding as well as socializing on the bus.
Several teachers also join the club as chaperones on the various trips. Sign ups for Ski Club will begin on Oct 10 and all paperwork must be in by Oct 30.
A member of the Mountain Creek Ski Patrol will present at a mandatory meeting before the first trip to discuss safety practices as well as the new configuration of the mountain.
Meeting times and locations will be posted and mentioned on the morning announcements. A display of information will be available at Back to School night for parents to investigate.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL INFORMATION
Advisor: Aimee Doyle x3012
SPANISH CLUB
The Spanish Club offers numerous activities for students to want to experience hands on the culture of Spanish Speaking countries. The Club targets students that are currently studying Spanish but it is open to the entire school body. We do a lot of great and fun activities throughout the year such as hands on cooking lessons, celebration of the Day of the Dead, bake sales or others sales that relate to culture, cinco de Mayo hallway decorations, international Dinner, Carnival and others. The club is for students that are interested in learning the language culture and language. The meetings are conducted in English with a bit of "Español" in room 704. We hope to see you there, nos vemos!
Advisor: Mrs. Damaris Delgado (704)
SPANISH HONOR SOCIETY
The Spanish Honor Society is a prestigious nation-wide student community service organization. Each year, new members of SHH (Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica in Spanish) are selected from third-year Spanish students who have maintained a B+ or higher average in a Spanish honors course, a GPA of B or higher, are enrolled in Spanish for the following year and receive teacher recommendation. The Spanish Honor Society offers tutoring in Spanish for PHS Spanish students and also assist with teaching Spanish classes in Northvail Elementary School. Each year, a Toy Drive during the holiday season is also sponsored by the Spanish Honor Society. SHH meets the first Friday of each month in Room 802.
STUDENT COUNCIL
The PHS Student Council is comprised of selected officers from each grade level: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. These students are leaders of their respective class steering committees. In addition, there is an executive board composed of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Publicist, and Board Liaison. Although the student body voted for these officers in the Spring of last year, there is still the potential for much involvement in this club. The Student Council relies heavily upon the Members at Large. These are students from any grade level who would like to get involved in school activities. Joining requires only a signed pledge of commitment. Through this organization, you can get involved in such projects as Frosh Night, Homecoming, Winter Semi-Formal, Dodge Ball, and Powder Puff. This club also serves as a gateway to school spirit, community service, and leadership conferences. This is a club for the well-rounded student with school spirit and a desire to become involved in the activities at PHS and within the community.
Size: Generally, the Student Council is comprised of nearly 200 members!
Meetings: Our meetings are held during school hours in the auditorium, approximately 12 times per year.
Requirements: In order to remain an active member, all students must earn points for their participation and fundraising throughout the year.
Advisors- Mrs. Van (602) and Ms. Colello (605)
VARSITY CLUB
All varsity letter winners & members of varsity-level sports & activities are eligible to be members of the Varsity Club. The club's purpose is to foster closer relations between the many sports & activities at PHS as well as to provide a forum for open dialogue among our athletes & promote good sportsmanship. The Varsity Club sponsors the PHS Hall of Fame. Meetings are held every third Thursday in room 502 at 7:15 am.
Advisors: Mrs. Lilianthal (Gym) & Mr. Foreso (502)
YEARBOOK
The yearbook is an activity that starts in September and ends in June. Members are needed to make almost all of the creative decisions for the yearbook. Members take pictures, write captions, choose layouts, deign the cover and make the yearbook as great and memorable as possible. This club offers opportunities for both creative-minded and business-minded students!
Business Advisors: Mrs. Castillo (610) and Ms. Bush (guidance)
Creative Advisors: Mrs. Van (602) and Mrs. Stack (604)
