Wall High School Knightly News

Dear Wall High School students, families, and staff,

As we approach the end of the school year please take a moment to read these important reminders about final exams, graduation, fall sports registration, and 26-27 student schedules:

Final Exams

Please take a moment to review the Final Exam letter regarding the schedule and expectations for final exams. Exams will be administered from Thursday, June 11th through Thursday, June 18th.

Class of 2026 Important Information and Dates

Senior parents please make sure to read the Graduation Information letter sent home a few week ago for important information, dates, and times regrading the Class of 2026 Graduation Ceremony. Please click here to pre-register and order pictures of your graduate from the Graduation Ceremony.

2026 Fall Sports Registration

Registration for 2026 Fall Sports will begin on June 1st. If your child plans to participate in a fall sport please click here to view a letter from Ms. Henry, our Athletic Director, which explains the registration process. All sports physicals must be received by July 31st to guarantee that your child will be cleared in time to participate in the start of fall sports.

26-27 Schedule

Scheduling for the 2026-2027 school year is complete! All students have met with their school counselor and finalized courses for next year. Any student who needs to make a change can do so by emailing their school counselor. All changes must be made by Wednesday, June 10, 2026.

- Mr. Davis

Congratulations to Mr. Ryan on earning the 2026 Count Basie Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical for Wall High School’s production of Into the Woods. Mr. Ryan’s creativity, vision, and commitment to excellence were evident throughout the entire production and helped provide our students with an unforgettable experience. This recognition is a tremendous accomplishment and a reflection of the outstanding work happening in the Wall High School performing arts program.

Pictured below: Mr. Ryan receiving the Count Basie Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical.

Congratulations to Mr. Montalto on receiving the 2026 Count Basie Award for Outstanding All Student Orchestra for Wall High School’s production of Into the Woods. Mr. Montalto’s leadership, talent, and dedication helped create an exceptional musical experience for both our students and audiences. We are incredibly proud of this well-deserved recognition and grateful for the time and passion he brings to our performing arts program each year.

Pictured below: Mr. Montalto receiving the Count Basie Award for Outstanding All Student Orchestra

Congratulations to Mr. Ryan and all the students and staff involved in the production of the fall drama, Eurydice, and the spring musical, Into the Woods, for the eleven nominations received for the Basie Awards on May 19th. Special congratulations to all of our nominated students and staff:

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY

The 4th District Congressional Art Competition 2026 was held at the Community Medical Center in Toms River and Wall High School students earned 8 out of the 11 awards presented.

The Wall High School Military Wall of Honor was unveiled in a ceremony on Wednesday, March 4th. Thank you to everyone who joined us that evening, and a special thank you to all those who played a role in creating the Wall of Honor.

If you know a Wall High School graduate who served or is currently serving in the military, they may use the button below to submit a form to be added to the Wall of Honor.

Yearbook is now $125

Link to order: Buy Your Yearbook

The Wall High School Parent-Teacher Organization plays an important role in building a strong school community and supporting programs for both students and staff. PTO funds help provide classroom resources, student events, teacher appreciation activities, and more. We encourage every family to join the PTO for the 2025–26 school year and pay annual dues—your participation directly benefits our school. Membership information and payment options can be found through the link below. Thank you for helping us make this year exceptional for our students.

• September 17, 2025
• November 12, 2025
• January 14, 2026
• March 11, 2026
• May 13, 2026

Thank you to Broad Street Dough Co., Broadway Hot & Honey, Chefs International, Inc, FoodTown and Target for donating gift cards to support the Wall High School PTO Teacher Appreciation Program. Your support helps us celebrate our incredible teachers and is truly appreciated by our entire school community. Each month we honor two staff members who go above and beyond for our students, and we reward them with one of the gift cards that has been donated to the PTO.

Tristan San Filippo - 9th Grade

Amanda Regan - 10th Grade

Sophia Hone - 11th Grade

Clarisa Herrera - 12th Grade

Sean Ayers, William Hague, Stephanie Sarmiento and Jackson Wilkowski

Two English 9 Honors students make the second round of the New York Times 2025-26 Tiny (100-Word) Memoirs Contest. They placed in the top 17% out of 14,232 total entrants. Congratulations to James O'Hara who wrote, "The Emboldened Retriever" and Matthew Newman who wrote, "When Our Worlds Met."

Five student artworks from our Digital Illustration class were selected for the Monmouth Teen Arts Festival Cover Design Contest, an exciting achievement for our program. Although the pieces were named runner-ups, all five works will be featured in the official festival program distributed to students and educators from across Monmouth County who attend this year’s event. This is the first time our school has had five artworks selected by the judging panel to be included in the program, a milestone we are incredibly proud of!

Congratulations to these talented artists (pictured left to right): Katie Doran (Grade12), Emma Grant (Grade 12), Maddox Mizelle (Grade 12), Mallory Fitzpatrick (Grade 2), and Aubrie Hickey (Grade10).

Two Wall High School art students have been selected for a prestigious state-level recognition through the Art Educators of New Jersey (AENJ). Melody Kusters (Grade 10), a Drawing and Painting 1 student, and Erin McBarron (Grade 11), a Drawing and Painting 2 student, were chosen by a panel of AENJ judges as the only two high school students from Monmouth County to be recognized at the state level for their outstanding artwork.

Each year, AENJ selects just two works of art to represent Monmouth County, and both honors were awarded to Wall High School students this year. Melody and Erin will be recognized at the Youth Art Month State Reception on March 28 at Grounds For Sculpture.

Congratulations to these talented artists on this exceptional achievement!

As Wall Township celebrates its 175th anniversary, eight members of the school’s National Art Honor Society were recognized for creating commemorative poster designs for the milestone celebration. Students submitted artwork in two categories, Digital Paintings and Traditional Renderings, showcasing their creativity and artistic skill. The students were formally honored during a recent Wall Township Committee meeting for their contributions to the township’s celebration.

Traditional Renderings: Best in Show: Brooke Roland, 1st Place: Chiara Byrnes, 2nd Place: Quinn Butler and 3rd Place: Devin Gottschalk

Digital Paintings: Best in Show: Clarisa Herrera, 1st Place: Rory Dunfee, 2nd Place: Avery Feely (not pictured) and 3rd Place: Katherine Doran

Congratulations to these talented students for helping commemorate this important milestone in Wall Township’s history!

Congratulations to the following students who successfully auditioned into the All-Shore Symphonic Band. The band is comprised of students from Monmouth and Ocean counties. We are very proud of your musical achievements!

Avery Rausch - Flute

Avonlea McInnes - Clarinet

Octavio Esquivel - Trombone

Joshua Clark - Euphonium

Karina Cherrington - Oboe

Christian Girardy - Trumpet

Nathaniel Shuman - Trumpet

Ella Dowd - Clarinet

Colin Harris - Percussion

Eamon Nelson - Percussion

Isabella Nieves - Oboe

Rebecca Girardy - Clarinet

Abigail Kowsaluk - Percussion

We've started something new this year to recognize and celebrate our staff at WHS. The Knight of the Month award recognizes Wall High School staff members who go above and beyond in serving our students, colleagues, and community. One is nominated by colleagues and another is chosen by the Senior Student of the Month. Congrats to our two staff members recognized for February!

Monmouth County Vocational School District offers numerous shared time programs for juniors and seniors at Wall High School. Shared-time programs provide an opportunity for students to enroll in a career and technical education course while attending their home high school. The shared-time classes are a half-day in length and the student continues with their regular course of study at their home high school the other half of the day. Most programs consist of two years of study in which the student learns skills that will qualify them for entry-level jobs or prepare them for further education in their chosen career and technical education field.

Please click the button below for more details including links to the MCVSD website, links to the application and more. If you have any questions, please reach out to your school counselor.

Scoir is a solution for students, supporters, counselors, and colleges focused on finding the right fit through a unified college search and planning network. This platform connects students to a powerful set of tools to help them identify their talents, search for their college fit, plan with their supporters, and apply when ready. As a parent/guardian, you play an integral role on Scoir by providing your student(s) with college suggestions, financial information, and general guidance.

On October 22nd, our 9th graders completed the YouScience aptitude assessment, a series of engaging brain games that highlight students’ natural strengths and learning styles.

On November 14th and 18th, students revisited their results during a 7 Mindsets lesson focused on “Passion First.” They learned how to access their one-page summary and full aptitude report, completed a reflection sheet, and discussed how their strengths can guide future academic, college, and career planning. Reflection sheets were sent home.

Families can view results by logging into their student’s YouScience account. Select Aptitude & Career Discovery → Discover Aptitudes → Download Results to access the one-page summary and other reports. Additional tools—career matches, college and major exploration, and conversation prompts—are also available. We are excited to use these results to help guide future conversations about coursework, career exploration and post-secondary planning!

For more information, visit the YouScience parent page.

Please reach out to Mr. Tarantin if you have any questions or would like support reviewing your student’s results.

Everyone should try to join at least one club!

Take a look at the club and activities website and email the clubs advisor if you have any questions.

The World Language club members celebrated our successful year with a party including foods from other countries. Hungry, Italy, Mexico, Spain, The Philippines, Cuba and Japan. A special shout out to Erin Robinson who spearheaded this amazing event. Gavyn Lynch played guitar creating a festive atmosphere.

(Pictured: Erin Robinson, Colin Fell, Riley Irvine, Bryson Jarosz, Michael Bersalona, Andrew Szegeski, Gavyn Lynch, Robert Pratt and our club members.)

WHS Peer Leaders spread kindness while visiting the residents at Care One in Wall. The residents look forward to our visits and our students love running games of Bingo and going room to room to ensure the residents have visitors.

WHS Dance Club hosted a dance class for WIS students to celebrate the end of the school year! The Dance Club Presidents led the younger students in a warmup and taught them a fun jazz routine. We were so impressed by their talent and quick learning! Thanks for having us, WIS!

Computer Science grant funded field trip. Students took part in a hands-on workshop where they programmed Sphero robots to navigate creative obstacles. The experience strengthened problem-solving, collaboration, and coding skills in a fun, interactive way. Students also visited exhibits and the Center’s largest dome planetarium in the Western Hemisphere.

Did You Know?

Right here in Wall Township, history reached the Moon before astronauts ever did! In 1946, scientists at the Diana Site at Camp Evans successfully bounced the first radio signal off the Moon and received an echo back just 2.5 seconds later. Known as Project Diana, this groundbreaking experiment proved that communication through space was possible and helped launch the age of radar astronomy and space exploration. Amazing to think this world-changing moment happened right here in our own district!

Wall High School students discovered this fascinating local history and more today at the InfoAge Science & History Museum, an incredible technology-rich resource right here in Wall, made possible through a State Grant for Computer Science.

The High School Unified Sports Kickball Game brings together students with and without disabilities to compete on the same team in a fun, inclusive, and supportive environment. Through teamwork, communication, and sportsmanship, students build friendships while developing athletic and social skills. Participants engage in organized kickball games that promote cooperation, school spirit, leadership, and mutual respect. The program emphasizes inclusion and provides all students with opportunities to contribute, compete, and celebrate success together as one unified team.

In an effort to spread out school spirit throughout the year, the Wall High School Student Council is sponsoring a Battle of the Classes. Students can earn points for their class at the Pep Rally, Volleyball Night, Hall Decorating, and by attending various school events each marking period. For more details or to stay up to date with Battle of the Classes events, check out @WallStuCo on Instagram.

Join us in celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary with events and activities all year. This section will share district celebrations, announcements, and ways our school community can honor this historic milestone.

As you are aware, Dr. Handerhan announced back in the fall that she will be retiring at the end of this school year. Since then, the Wall Township Board of Education has been actively engaged in the search for a new Superintendent of Schools. At last night’s Board of Education Meeting, the Board of Education appointed Dr. David Bleakley as the next WTPS Superintendent of Schools, effective July 1, 2026. Dr. Bleakley brings with him over 20 years of educational experience, and the Board of Education is thrilled to welcome him to the District.

To learn more about Dr. Bleakley, click here. To learn more about the Superintendent Search, click here.

If your family is experiencing economic challenges or homelessness, visit the McKinney Vento webpage for essential information and guidance on available resources.

District Homeless Education Liaison

Tiffany Steiner
tsteiner@wallpublicschools.org
732.556.2647

Head boys golf coach, Matt Stefanski, earned his 400th career win for the Crimson Knights. Check out the article here.

Congratulations to Cali Buxbaum and Luke Van Benthuysen for making it to the NJSIAA Indoor Track & Field Meet of Champions! Cali placed 7th in the 3200M (10:31.86) and Luke placed 10th (51-6.00) in shot put. We are looking forward to a great spring season!

Congrats to Evan Penn who was named one the NJ Devils January High School players of the month!

Please be advised, WHS will not accept food deliveries from services such as DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats, etc. for students in our school. While we understand the convenience these services provide, they create significant disruptions within our main office. More importantly, allowing outside food/lunch deliveries raises concerns about the safety and security of our students and staff.

Please note: Parents and guardians are still permitted to drop off lunch for students who may have forgotten their meals. However, we ask that you coordinate these drop-offs directly through our main office to ensure a smooth process.

Thank you for your understanding and support as we prioritize the well-being and security of our school community.

Mr. Davis