New members of the National Honor Society will be inducted and 26 awards and college scholarships will be distributed to students of the high school in several different categories from science and language arts to peer leadership and journalism.
Kate Kitzie, who is the advisor for the National Honor Society, has coordinated the ceremony since 2004.
"I teach the upper grades," said Kitzie. "I have had [the graduating students] for three years [in the society], so you become very attached to these kids, so it's all bittersweet. [However], we are all thankful to see them achieve and move on with their lives."
Participating in her last awards dinner and ceremony is current president of the Honor Society Richa Goel, who will be graduating this year.
"I am really proud of all the work we have done this year," said Goel, 18. "We have worked well with the teachers, had group discussions and discussed [new] ideas, and [provided] a plan of action."
Goel is also this year's valedictorian and will be attending New York University in the fall. A recipient of the academic awards through her high school career, Richa attended the prestigious Governor's School of New Jersey summer program, and will graduate with six completed Advanced Placement (AP) courses and perfect attendance.
A night of high society
Attending the ceremony will be members of the Board of Education, the Weehawken Town Council, alumni, as well as family and friends. The ceremony annually gets about 250 guests in attendance.
In addition to recognizing fellow peers, the National Honor Society also inducts a distinguished alumnus into the Weehawken High School Hall of Fame. This year the school is recognizing Ronald J. Doerfler as this year's distinguished alumni. Doerfler was a graduate of the class of 1959, and is a CFO of the Hearst Corporation.
According to Kitzie, she believes the academic awards dinner was organized since the early 1980s, but the National Honor Society inductions even way before then.
"It started with the National Honor Society inductions and then it was opened up for students to be recognized in subject areas," said Kitzie.
The National Honor Society at Weehawken High School is broken up into two groups: the Junior Honor Society, which is for grades 7th through 9th, and the Senior Honor Society, which is for grades 10th through 12th.
Currently there are eight members in the Junior National Honor Society, and 25 members in the Senior National Honor Society.
"It's growing exponentially, and it's certainly a very prestigious thing to be able to say [you were a part of the National Honor Society]," said Kitzie.
New inductees
Junior Joseph Annese will be inducted into the Senior Honor Society. He has been working towards becoming a member of the organization for some time, and has participated in the group's community service projects.
"I want to do [good] work in the community and show that I can be a part of something big, and help out as much as I can," said Joseph, 16. "It's a big accomplishment for me this year, and shows that I have worked hard and it's been all worth it."
Joseph has worked with the National Honor Society in their tutoring and babysitting services. He is also taking a number of AP courses, and is currently the captain of the junior varsity football team.
Following in big sister Richa's footsteps is Nidhi Goel, who is currently president of the Junior Honor Society and will also be inducted into the Senior Society this Friday.
"It's a great honor," said Nidhi, 14. "I'm really excited for next year and hope to help out as much as I can."
Nidhi, who is currently a freshman, currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer for peer leadership, plays in the high school band, and is part of the gap club and debate team.
Also moving on to the Senior Honor Society is Nicole Bautista, who was indicted into the organization last year.
"It's really nice because you get to share experiences with people, who have interests like yours," said Nicole, 14.
Nicole's older brother Victor was also a member of the National Honor Society before graduating last year.
"He said it was the best step, and I have to go for it," said Nicole, who is also a peer leadership officer, a member of the choir, and was the recipient of the Citizenship and Scholar Award in the 7th grade.
Victor Bautista currently attends Cornell University, and according to Kitzie, swept the academic awards ceremony last year.
A call to community
According to Kitzie, the students of the National Honor Society are called upon whenever the school needs extra help such as serving as ushers for school theater productions, and providing babysitting services at PTO meetings. The groups also do a number of community service projects throughout the school year.
"You get to work with other people, who are very intellectual and sociable, and you get a sense of community as well [in the National Honor Society]," said Goel.
Among some of the community service projects the National Honor Society completed this year as a whole were 'New Eyes for the Needy,' which is a national organization that purchases new eye glasses for poor children and adults in the United States.
The students collected glasses to be recycled, and then redistributed them to patients who otherwise can't afford them. They also sent along additional contributions.
Some annual community projects include: providing tutoring services for at-risk students, writing Santa Letters for the kids at Webster Hall, and delivering candy grams for the residents of the Fritz Reuter Retirement home, the senior living facility attached to Schuetzen Park.
"Every Christmas we go [to the facility] and bring bags of candy [for the residents]," said Kitzie.
The candy grams is a project the National Honor Society has been doing for over 30 years much to the delight of the senior citizens, including former resident Helene Thompson Ramsaye, who left $1.8 million to the school in her will upon her passing in 2001.
The money was invested and used to create the Ramsaye College Scholarship Trust for the students of Weehawken High School. To date, the high school has awarded about $600,000 in college scholarships to their students.
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