Panther News

Welcome back, I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving break. It's incredible how quickly the school year is flying by. With the much-deserved winter break approaching, I want to remind our students to stay focused and finish the first half of the year strong. We've noticed a few students beginning to creep in later, so please remember our crucial morning deadline: all students must be in their first-block class by 8:10 AM.

We must take a moment to celebrate our incredible Fall Athletes! Congratulations to all the teams and their coaches on a truly successful and memorable season. Your dedication and hard work made us all proud. Now, we turn our attention to the ice, the court, and the mat—we wish all of our Winter Athletes and their coaches a fantastic, safe, and successful season ahead!

A special round of applause goes out to the CGHS Football Team and Cheerleading Squad, along with their dedicated coaches, for a truly tremendous showing at Rutgers last Sunday. You represented our school with pride and outstanding sportsmanship! 📣🏈

Finally, we have a massive shout-out for the CGHS Robotics Team and their advisor, Mr. Coster! The team has earned a huge and well-deserved honor: they will be featured on Sunday on CBS during the 8AM hour with John Elliott! Please tune in and check them out; this is a monumental achievement and recognition of their hard work and innovation.

The Cedar Grove High School robotics team won a prestigious regional robotics competition held in Cleveland. With the victory, Cedar Grove qualified for the 2026 VEX Robotics World Championship held in St. Louis from April 21 - 24. At this event, more than 2,400 of the world’s top teams will compete. “We are over the moon,” said teacher David Coster, who advises the program with Mirna Halawani. “The students were ecstatic. They worked so hard and so well together. I can’t say enough about their professionalism and teamwork.”

The annual VEX competition challenges middle and high schools students to design, build, code, and operate robots that can compete in fast-paced, athletic-style tournaments. The program, one of the largest in the world with more than 20,000 teams from 60 countries, helps students develop advanced skills in engineering, coding, and problem-solving through real-world, hands-on challenges.

More than 50 high school teams from across the country competed at the Cleveland VEX tournament held November 14–15. The objective of the game was to place blocks into four goal areas within a 15-second autonomous period and 1:45 driver-controlled period. In the finals, Cedar Grove partnered with a team from Ohio and outscored an alliance of two highly ranked California teams to secure the championship.

The tournament-winning group, one of three robotics teams fielded by Cedar Grove High School, consists of seniors:

• Vraj Paghdal – lead designer, programmer, and driver

• John Mize – lead strategist and team scout

• Daryl Lacuesta – lead pit manager and match loader

The Cleveland competition was held at the North American headquarters of Eaton, a global power-management company that partners with NASA and organizations in aerospace, data, healthcare, and other high-technology sectors.

Prior to heading off to the World Championship next spring, the Cedar Grove High School robotics team will host its second annual VEX robotics competition on January 18, beginning at 9 a.m. in the main gymnasium. More than 45 teams, composed of 200 student engineers, are expected to compete. The event is free to attend and a wonderful chance to see the amazing opportunities available to the students of Cedar Grove High School. If you, or your local business would like to help support the work of these young engineers, please reach out to David Coster at coster.david@cgschools.org.

CGHS is proud to announce Sophia Fazal as the Student of the Month for November, an honor recognizing her demonstration of "Gratitude." Sophia was nominated for her outstanding ability to overcome obstacles and her consistent appreciation for her opportunities within the organization and community. As a dedicated peer leader, she is noted for going out of her way to support others, constantly working to build meaningful connections, and bringing positive energy every day, making her commitment to fostering a positive and inclusive environment truly deserving of this honor.

• 12/11- Winter Arts Showcase

• 12/23- Pep Rally - Early Dismissal

• 12/24-1/4- Winter Break

English III H students just completed their personal Epic Boasts—containing their lineage, past accomplishments, and intentions for the future—after reading Beowulf

Max Kapiloff earned acceptance into the prestigious Morgan Stanley Finance Academy, a six-month program where he is learning directly from industry professionals across multiple areas of finance. Throughout the program, he collaborates with Morgan Stanley associates and analysts on a capstone project for a real Morgan Stanley client, gaining hands-on experience in high-level financial work. His selection reflects both his academic dedication and his commitment to exploring finance beyond the classroom. This week, Max was also named a semifinalist for the highly selective Gates Scholarship, a full-ride award funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Out of more than 50,000 applicants, he distinguished himself as one of only 2,000 students to advance to the next round.

CGHS Teacher Mike Valenzano got the call to work the High School Football Non-Public A State Final! The contest between the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the State brought a crowd of over 10,000 people to MetLife Stadium on Friday night 11/28. St Joe's of Montvale beat Don Bosco Prep 24-21. Mr. V jokes that he feels more pressure and gets yelled at more making close calls in gym class Volleyball games.

HOSA is looking for individuals to share their story with students as they migrated into a health career field. Please reach out to Mrs. Gioia Degenaars (degenaars.gioia@cgschools.org) if you would be interested in speaking to our students!

Need a Tutor? The National Honor Society Cedar Grove High School offers Peer Tutoring for all

high-school students (you do not need to be a member of NHS to request a peer tutor).If you

would like to request a peer tutor, please follow the procedure below and check out the peer

tutoring catalog in the attachments for the students name, availability, and subjects they are

offering to teach. We have an amazing group of Senior NHS tutors who are eager to tutor your

student/child.

Procedures:

● Students should contact their teacher for additional assistance.

● Teachers/Counselors may recommend students try the National Honors Society peer

tutoring program.

● Teachers may share this catalog with students in need of tutoring, and the student may

select a tutor that they believe will be a good fit for them. Please keep in mind that many

students tutor in multiple subjects (and many students tutor in the same subject), so try

to find who you feel will be the best fit for your needs.

● Contact Ms.Halawani by email to notify her of your tutor preference BEFORE contacting

the tutor. If a teacher/counselor is contacting Ms. Halawani on behalf of a student,

please include the student in the email.

● After confirming tutor availability with Ms.Halawani copy down your tutor’s contact

information from the catalog.

● Contact your tutor to schedule your sessions.

● Report back to Ms. Halawani informing her of when you are holding tutoring sessions.

Note: Any conflicts/issues should be reported to Ms Halawani: halawani.mirna@cgshools.org

Please Click here to view the November Office of School Counseling Newsletter.

College Visits December 8th - 12th

Wednesday 12/10

County College of Morris 10:30-11:00

Girls Cross Country

Morgan Ickes – 1st Team

Amani Gibril – Honorable Mention

Sydney Weiner – Honorable Mention

Football (Super Football Conference)

Xavier Andujar – 1st Team Offense

Pierce Asfalg – 1st Team Offense

Thomas Cannataro – 1st Team Defense

Jake Catanzarite – 1st Team Defense

Sebastian Kovacs – 1st Team Kicker

Michael Leno – 1st Team Defense

Jake Saraiva – 1st Team Offense

Jerry Targia – 1st Team Defense

Michael Cantarelli – 2nd Team Defense

Michael Ruggiano – 2nd Team Offense

Evan Skabich – 2nd Team Offense

Jack Velonas – 2nd Team Defense

Chris Ferrera – Honorable Mention

Boys Soccer

Hudson Iurato – 1st Team

John Reer – 1st Team

Jermaine Russell – 1st Team

Jay Hagedorn – 2nd Team

Michael Palmieri – 2nd Team

Zachary Turken – 2nd Team

William Taggart – Honorable Mention

Girls Soccer

Olivia Cruz – 1st Team

Sophia Bobrowsky – 2nd Team

Nina Caputo – 2nd Team

Gabriella Ballinger – Honorable Mention

Ava Bratchenko – Honorable Mention

Girls Tennis

Cathlea Heyer – 1st Team

Viviana Sanchez – 1st Team

Sophia Suppa – 1st Team

Lia Perdikis – 2nd Team

Gabriella Spezzacatena – 2nd Team

Sienna Birney – Honorable Mention

Girls Volleyball

Alyssa D’Angelo – 1st Team

Alyssa Salen – 2nd Team

Laila Vega – Honorable Mention

All up-to-date Cedar Grove High School Athletic schedules, event locations, and live streams can always be found at: CGHS Athletic Schedules

Live streams of home athletic events on our CGHS Stadium Field and inside our CGHS Gymnasium can always be found at: CGHS Live Stream Link