NEWS FROM THE BERKELEY HEIGHTS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

MARY KAY MC MILLIN EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER

Grade 1 students at the Early Childhood Center were recently treated to a PTO-sponsored program titled Dancin’ with the Honeybees. The much-anticipated assembly was conducted by Cliff Wright-Sunflower, a master beekeeper and environmental educator. The presentation focused on honeybees with specific emphasis on honeybee biology and hive

operations. The audience moved their bodies and danced throughout the program playacting hive operations. After the assembly, students worked in small groups exploring honeybee learning stations. Our First Grade honeybee experts even made a beeswax candle to bring home. Please visit www.cliffsunflower.com for additional information about the program.

MOUNTAIN PARK SCHOOL

Mountain Park School students recently enjoyed sharing in a group reading activity with Ms. Giangrande’s class.

Above, Fourth Graders read aloud to their reading buddies. And at right, Second Graders read together!

Peer programs - such as the shared reading experiences - are in place at Mountain Park School to assist all students with social skills. At left, a student from Ms. Hanselman's Grade 2 class is sharing an iPad with a student from Ms. Giangrande's class.

THOMAS P. HUGHES SCHOOL

The Hughes School Student Council has taken on several charitable causes this year! Most recently, members initiated a “Pennies for Patients” collection to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. There are over 1,000 schools in New Jersey participating in this program this year in an effort to find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s Disease, and myeloma while helping to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. From April 15th through April 26th, students collected change in their donation boxes. Thank you to all who supported this cause. Totals will be available soon!

WILLIAM WOODRUFF SCHOOL

Read Across America Month was celebrated with birthday announcements for Dr. Seuss, PTO sponsored Read-athons and Book Fairs, buddy reads, guest readers, and school-wide read-ins. A special part of the month-long celebration was having Lauren Tarshis, the author of the I Survive series, spend the day with the students. Ms. Tarshis shared her story topics, the amount of research she does, and how she develops the characters for her stories. She invited the students to share possible themes for upcoming books.

An unexpected treat was hearing her read the first chapter of her new book, to be released in September. Ms. Tarshis inquired whether the setting and introduction of the characters worked for the reader. The students were thrilled to provide their ideas. The funding for the program was through a grant received by Mrs. Merrill from the PTO.  

 

WILLIAM WOODRUFF SCHOOL (continued)

The concern that Woodruff School’s students have for others is a dominant and recurring theme throughout the school year. The fourth graders wanted to ensure that the Easter celebration for the homeless was a memorable one. The students received funding from the Student Council to purchase cake mixes, ingredients, and icing to bake and decorate 65 cakes for the Hillside Starfish Food Pantry. Pictured holding some cakes are (L to R) Sarah Hagen, Calvin Campos, and Caroline Mondelli

COLUMBIA MIDDLE SCHOOL

Amanda Johnson Chosen to Speak at Eighth Grade Dialog Each year, teachers are asked to select a representative from the Eighth Grade class to represent Columbia Middle School in the the Union County School Boards Association’s “Eighth Grade Dialog.” During this event, students from each of Union County’s middle schools are asked about their plans for the future and their experiences in middle school. Amanda attended the meeting with over twenty other students who reflected overall that each of their school experiences had made them well-prepared for high school and beyond. The event was attended by Amanda’s parents in addition to Board of Education members Helen Kirsch, Denis Smalley and Mary Ann Walsh, Superintendent Judith Rattner, and Principal Frank Geiger. Amanda’s former Seventh Grade Science Teacher, Pamela Wilczynski, was also in attendance. Congratulations to Amanda for being such a fine representative of Columbia Middle School.

COLUMBIA MIDDLE SCHOOL (continued)

Building Virtual Homes

During a vocabulary lesson that was clearly “home based,” Ms. Ashlee Smith’s French class used iPads to design and decorate virtual houses.

After the “build,” students presented to the class in the target language (French). During the presentation, students were able to take a virtual walking tour of all the rooms in the house.

Paint by the Numbers Students in Ms. Hess’ class created color charts showing various hues by percentage of dilution. Starting with a full strength of an assigned color, students used their math skills to determine various ratios and percentages in order to produce a color chart.

As colors were diluted, and shown side-by-side, students were able to reflect on the changes and shared their work. By the time they were done, the pigments on the pages clearly showed good understanding of the lesson objective.

GOVERNOR LIVINGSTON HIGH SCHOOL

Governor Livingston is proud to announce that seventy-one high school juniors were recently inducted into the school’s chapter of the National Honor Society. At right, Mrs. April Burke (left), Faculty Advisor, presides over the induction ceremony with the NHS officers. These students earned admission into this prestigious national organization by virtue of qualifying with at least a 3.75 GPA through their fifth semester. The qualifiers were then evaluated for their record of scholarship, leadership, character and service through an application process that was reviewed by a committee of Governor Livingston faculty members. The selected students have separated themselves from their peers through their efforts in each of these areas through their achievements and willingness to help others. This year’s inductees include: Nicole Attanasio, Alyssa Bobcheck, Joseph Bucci, Juliette Busby, Nicholas Cahill, Nicole Calegari, Victor Candeloro, Rachel Cantor, Ipsita Chatterjee, Mayna Chen, Monica Chien, Ariana Chuba, Haley Clark, Karime Diaz, Lauryn DiStaso, Edward Dryer, Samantha Ellis, Kimberly Evans, Kevin Ewald, Ian Fan, Ally Feinsot, Carolynne Goldbeck, Lauren Gonnelli, Christina Gray, Jacelyn Greenwald, Teagan Haddad, Kyle Hall, Thomas Haydanek, Camelia Hegarty, Alessandra Henry, Kaitlin Hoffman, John Hughes, Shalini Kandula, Julianne Kingsley, Cayla LaCosta, Steven LaMaita, Alexander Lipnick, Andrew Lipnick, Uday Manchanda, Noah Marcus, Lindsey Mathis, Amanda Matrone, Markos Mavrostomos, Ryan McElroy*, Richard Monroy, Christine Moon, Kathryn Morrison, David Nessenson, Dylan Nessenson, Alexa Pantina, Mukta Phatak, Victoria Piatnochka, Jennifer Pires, Zachary Pollins*, Kira Prabhu, William Radin, Katelyn Rielly, Alexandra Silverman, Ryan Stahlin, Ian St Clair, St Christopher Onge, Erin Trella, Jake Tyler, Ryan Vargo, Abigail Warde, Michael Watson, Daniel Wolfish, Yili Wu, Laura Young, Helena Zhang, Rachel Zhu. *Denotes Honorary Member.

GOVERNOR LIVINGSTON HIGH SCHOOL (continued)

The Berkeley Heights Education Foundation recently hosted a presentation by motivational speaker and comedian Dr. Matt Bellace at Governor Livingston High School. Dr. Bellace, whose studies focus on the brain and

behavior, presented to staff, students and parents, in three different programs through the day. Although the format of each program was different, the main message was the same: Dr. Bellace educates about natural highs and making healthy choices. Members of the GLHS TREND Executive Board (pictured above) had the opportunity to have lunch and speak with Dr. Bellace (center) about the variety of natural high programs that we offer here at GL. Thank you to the BHEF and Dr. Bellace!  

 

 

DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL SERVICES

April is Autism Awareness Month! Autism affects 1 in 49 children in the state of New Jersey and 1 in 88 children nationwide. To call attention to this fact, students and staff members in the Berkeley Heights elementary schools recently participated in the Blow Bubbles for Autism World Record attempt.

Dr. Elizabeth Doerrbecker, School Psychologist and District Behaviorist, organized the event and is working with Elementary Counselor Laraine Reedy to provide teachers with a general lesson about Autism

to share with their classes. Look for a report on the world record in next month’s e-mail blast! For more information on Autism, go to www.njautism.org. The next meeting of the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee will be Wednesday, May 22nd at 6:30 pm in the second floor conference room of the Clausen Administration Building. As always, up-to-date information for the Department of Special Services can be found on the district website under “Services.”