PARSIPPANY-TROY HILLS — The National Merit® Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

Three Parsippany students were Karan S. Chauhan,  Rakshay Z.  Kanthadai, both from Parsippany Hills High School and Ellen Xu, from Parsippany High School.

The program does not measure the quality or effectiveness of education within a school, system, or state. For more information about the competition, please visit NMSC’s website by clicking here. Semifinalists in the 2018 National Merit® Scholarship Program (Evanston, Illinois) Today officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 63rd annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered next spring.

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title. NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 420 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.

PARSIPPANY-TROY HILLS — On the last day of the 2016-2017 school year Northvail students were given a journal to encourage them to write. A letter was sent home accompanying the journals outlining guidelines, topic suggestions, and explanations of different types of writing and literary devices to use in their journal based on lessons from the school year. The students returned their completed journals in the first few days of school. Jeff Martens, principal at Northvail, periodically reached out to parents and students via the school messenger service to inspire them to write.

A summer journal is one of the best ways for teachers to get to know students very early in September because they provide an important source of information about skills and writing strategies. This allows teachers to personalize each child’s educational experience by incorporating material learned from the journals into various lessons. Students also benefit by writing in a journal because it enhances self-reflection, facilitates critical thought, helps to express feelings, and may provide an opportunity to focus on presenting clear persuasive arguments. In addition, journal writing not only reinforces creativity, but also increases vocabulary and sentence usage.

Northvail is very happy to report that about two-thirds of our entire student population returned their summer journals. Some students even returned more than one! On behalf of Principal Martens and the entire teaching staff we would like to thank our parents for supporting both writing and reading as necessary and fun summer activities. Northvail is looking forward to a very dynamic writing school year!

PARSIPPANY-TROY HILLS — On Saturday, August 19, Hannah Shoshan, a 2017 graduate of Parsippany High School, along with over 250 first-year University of Vermont students, were led by 80 upper class peers as they began their UVM experience as part of the UVM TREK program, a unique, seven-day first year enrichment program sponsored by the University’s Department of Student Life.

Hannah Shoshan participated in Hiking TREK. A part of the Wilderness TREK program which provides students the opportunity to build lasting friendships, initiate self-discovery, and explore the people and landscapes that are Vermont, Hiking TREK provides incoming students an opportunity to visit and explore some of highest, most remote and oldest footpaths in the country – all along the long trail and in the Adirondacks. Hiking on average eight miles per day, traversed through hardwood, trickling streams and learned of the North Country’s rich, natural history along the way.

For 38 years, UVM’s TREK program has sent new students all over the state of Vermont to explore the region’s wilderness, develop leadership skills, and work on community service projects. TREK is one of the biggest and most diverse new-student, collegiate, community building programs in the north east region.

The UVM TREK program offers first-year students diverse experiences and self-directed opportunities to learn about themselves, future classmates and student life at the University of Vermont. Working in small, cooperative groups with upper class leaders, TREK gives students with similar co-curricular interest an opportunity to develop teamwork skills, meet new friends, build community and make transition to life at UVM. This year consisted of twelve different trips in the areas of community service, leadership development (Animal Rescue, Better Burlington, Catamount Trail, Farm & Food, Habitat for Humanity, and State Park) and wilderness exploration (Hiking, Canoeing, Rock Climbing, Sea Kayaking, Whitewater Kayaking, and ALANA Trek for students of color interested in the outdoors).

For more information on the TREK program click here or contact TREK directors: John Abbott (Wilderness) jdabbott@uvm.edu or Laura Megivern (Service TREK) lmegivern@uvm.edu in the Department of Student Life at (802) 656-2060.

The University of Vermont Department of Student Life provides students with extracurricular experiential learning, involvement, and leadership opportunities. With a variety of program areas spanning Outdoor Programs, Student Media, Leadership & Civic Engagement, Fraternity & Sorority Life, and Campus Programs – Student Life aims to connect students with communities and experiences that will suppliment their academic career.

Since 1791, the University of Vermont has worked to move humankind forward. Committed to both research and teaching, UVM professors — world-class researchers, scholars, and artists — bring their discoveries into the classroom and their students into the field. Located in Burlington, Vermont, one of the nation’s most vibrant small cities and top college towns, UVM is a Public Ivy and top 100 national research university educating 10,267 undergraduate students, 1,462 graduate students, 915 certificate and non-degree students, and 461 M.D. students in the Larner College of Medicine.