Three Columbia High School Students were recently named as semifinalist in the 65th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Congratulations to Ryanne Barrett, Alexander Glynn, and Zubin Kremer Guha. Click here to view the Tap Into SOMA article regarding the National Merit Scholarship Program.
District News
Top 99 NJ High School Coaches Of All Time!
The School District of South Orange and Maplewood is happy to announce that 3 Columbia High School alumni staff are part of NJ.com’s list of top 99 coaches of all time.Please join us in celebrating Daryl White (Fencing), Gene Chyzowych (Boys Soccer), and Johanna Wright (Girls Basketball).
Welcome Letter By Dr. Ronald G. Taylor
SOMSD Parent Portal Announcement
To Parents / Guardians,
The South Orange Maplewood School District is happy to announce the launch of two new enhancements to the PowerSchool parent portal.
- Back To School / Welcome Forms: Each school year, families must fill out a variety of forms and permission slips for their children. Some of these forms include: emergency contact information, parent contact information, acceptable use policy acknowledgements, & consent for publicity. This year, the forms will be made available through the PowerSchool parent portal. To ensure your child’s records are up to date, all families are encouraged to fill out these forms online. Additional information and instructions will be sent to all families during the week of August 26th.
- Elementary School Parent Portal: During the 2019 – 2020 school year, elementary school parents will have the ability to view attendance, demographic information, schedule information, and complete back to school / welcome forms through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. During the week of August 26th, elementary parents will be mailed their PowerSchool parent portal login credentials and instructions. Email support will be available to parents who need assistance.
More information will be available during the week of August 26th.
Summer Meal Program At Maplecrest Park
Attached you will find information for the Summer Meals Program at Maplecrest Park. The program starts on July 15th and ends on August 9th. During the program, breakfast and lunch will be served five days a week.
This is particularly applicable to students who are taking summer classes and may benefit from a meal.
All meals are free and open to all students.
New Jersey’s State Teen Arts Festival recognizes Columbia High School Art Students
This was the third consecutive year Columbia High School participated in the New Jersey State Teen Arts Festival on May 30th, 2019 at Ocean County College.
South Orange Maplewood Schools was the only district from Essex County participating in the New Jersey Teen Arts Festival for the 3 year in a row. Sixteen CHS Visual Art and Photography students had work on display at the festival from May 29th to May 31st. These students are, Christopher Lopez, Desiree Hume, Elliot Dix, Freya Zaccerelli, Iman Zubieta, Jesser Pilato, Jorden Fastov, Laura Rafolo, Lucia Garritano, Miriam Sorkin, Naomi McMechen, Rowan Slater, Shakeelah Gilkes, Tayor Goodson.
In addition, Iman Zubieta, Josie Lally, Eliot Dix and Rowan Slater were selected to be part of the 2019- 2020 NJ State Teen Arts Touring Exhibition.
District involvement in the annual New Jersey Teen Arts Festival was initiated and led by Fine Arts Supervisor James A. Manno who secured participation by coordinating efforts with festival director and by providing student product entries via a digital adjudication process.
Special thanks to this year’s participating teachers Jon Fisher (Photography), Karen Murphy (Visual Art), Nicole Thomas (Visual Art), Alexandra Cappucci (Visual Art).