Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • June 6, 2012
FLOW Area
Superintendent issues report on violence, vandalism
by Frank J. McMahon The latest report on violence, vandalism, weapons offenses, and substance abuse in the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District indicates there has been a decrease in three of the four categories required to be tracked by the state each year. Superintendent Lauren Schoen recently presented a verbal report to the school board concerning the number of incidents that occurred during the first two marking periods of the 2011-12 school year. In her report, Schoen advised there were 13 incidents of violence in the district during the first two periods of the 2011-12 school year versus 21 the previous year and 40 in 2009-10. Those incidents of violence included fights and simple assaults. A fight is defined as a mutual engagement in a physical confrontation that may result in bodily injury to either party. It does not include a verbal confrontation or a minor confrontation, such as a shoving match, and each participant must be classified as an offender. A simple assault is
Relay for Life comes to FLOW Area
to begin at 7 p.m. on June 8. Cancer survivors walk the track to celebrate their victory over cancer. At nightfall, participants will light hundreds of luminaria around the track as part of a ceremony that honors cancer survivors and remembers those lost to the disease. The Relay for Life represents hope in that those lost to cancer will not be forgotten, those who face cancer will be supported, and that, one day, cancer will be eliminated. Registration for the event will be held at 5 p.m. on June 8, the opening ceremony and Survivor Lap will begin at 7 p.m., and the Luminaria Ceremony will be held at 10 p.m. On Saturday at 1 a.m. the Fight Back ceremony will be held. Relay for Life is held in more than 5,000 communities across the country. The event gives people a chance to remember loved ones lost as they fight against the disease.
defined as when a person attempts to cause, or purposely, knowingly, or recklessly causes, bodily injury to another person. Schoen advised there were three incidents of vandalism (theft) in 2011-12 versus six the previous school year and two in 2009-10. There were two weapons offenses with a knife or chain during the first two periods of the 2011-12 school year versus none in the previous year and two in 2009-10, while there were eight substance abuse incidents, either possession or distribution, in this school year’s time period versus 20 in 2010-11 time period and 24 in 200910. As a result of these acts of violence, vandalism, and substance abuse cases, there were 29 out-of-school suspensions and 15 in-school suspensions during the first and second periods of the 2011-12 school year. In a new category being tracked, Schoen reported that there were eight incidents of harassment, intimidation, or bullying during this period, following the investigation of 50 incidents reported during that time. The annual report on violence and vandalism is required under the 1982 Public School Safety Law, which was enacted by the New Jersey Legislature in response to the problem of violence and vandalism in the state’s public schools. All school districts must submit the report to the commissioner of education, who must submit a report to the education committees of the Senate and General Assembly detailing the extent of violence and vandalism in the public schools and making recommendations to alleviate those problems.
A volunteer places a Relay For Life Banner.
The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life in Franklin Lakes, Oakland, and Wyckoff will take place June 8 and 9 at Indian Hills High School, 97 Yawpo Avenue in Oakland. Relay for Life is an overnight community celebration where individuals and teams camp out, listen to bands, take part in activities and games, and take turns walking or running around a track “relay” style to raise funds to fight cancer. The opening ceremony and Survivor Lap are scheduled