GOODNEWSThe Ewing Public SchoolsJune 2005

Due to budget restraintsNO Summer School Programs

will be offered by the Ewing Public Schools

during the Summer of 2005.

Safety TownJune 30 - July 11

Contact: Jean Conrad609-538-9800 x1302

for application

On April 18, 2005 Ms. Chiavuzzo, Mrs. Walker and 30 Ewing High School freshmen joined several Mercer County high school and college students, and politicians to hear a presentation given by Mikhail Gorbachev at the Sovereign Bank Arena. Gorbachev was the last communist leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. During his term he instituted various policies including his political policy of Glasnost and economic policy

Ewing High Students Attend Gorbachev PresentationWhitney Lewis, EHS Freshman

Have a Happy Summer!!GoodNews will resume

with the September issue of the Observer

The recipients of the 2005 Teacher of the Year Awards were honored at a luncheon on April 29th. Jan Fay, 2004 Mercer County Teacher of the Year, was a guest speaker. 1st row (L to R): Joan Zuckerman, Principal Antheil; Sharon Solomon, Lore; Jan Fay, 2004 Mercer County Teacher of the Year; Inetta Emery, Principal Parkway; Danielle Miller, EHS; Superintendent Ray Broach. 2nd row: Darrell Jackson, Principal FMS; Donna Andreas, Antheil; Don Barnett, FMS; Betsy Turgeon, Parkway; Rodney Logan, Principal EHS.

Nearly sixty years since Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps, the now elderly survivors of the Holocaust are turning to a new generation to preserve their testimony about their wartime experiences for future generations. Holocaust survivors are steadily dwindling in number. Many have made it their mission to educate the world that anti-Semitism and racism easily lead to murder, and to speak about the horrors they and their families suffered. With the passing of time, it has become urgent to find a new generation to continue the survivors’ mission and tell their stories after the survivors can no longer do so. On April 12, the Adopt-a-Survivor (AAS) program was introduced to the Trenton area at Ewing High School. Six Holocaust survivors were adopted by twelve Ewing High sophomores. The adopted survivors—Moshe Gimlan, Vera Goodkin, Marion Lewin, Ruth Lubitz, Charles Rojer and Jack Zaifman—were originally from Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Belgium. The AAS program pairs a survivor with one or more students. The students embark on a joint journey with the survivor through discussions about life before, during and after the Holocaust. Participating students will be able to represent the survivor and tell the survivor’s story with accuracy and feeling in the years to come. In addition, each student makes a commitment to tell the survivor’s story in a public venue in the year 2045, a hundred years after the liberation of Auschwitz. The twelve student adopters are Dave Angebranndt, Tyler Barnes, Annie Cook, Liz Dunham, Emily Everett, Curtis Fornarotto, Vildana Hajric, Devon Jones, Jen Meade, Billy O’Callaghan, Nikyta Sharma and Melysa Wilson.

Adopt-a-Survivor Program Begins at Ewing High School

Teacher of the Year Recipients are Honored

of Perestroika. His policies reopened churches, released political prisoners, and lifted bans on previously censored books. The 20th anniversary of Perestroika was one of the essential themes of Gorbachev’s presentation. The policy’s main goal was to make the Soviet economic system more efficient. Perestroika involved the transfer of control from the government to the business owners. This policy

continued on page A2continued on page A2

The Ewing Public SchoolsMay 2011

In May 1997, the National Education Association’s Reading Task Force decided to create a day to celebrate reading. According to the Task Force, “We hold pep rallies to get kids excited about football. We assemble to remember that Character Counts. Why don’t we do some-thing to get kids excited about reading?” And so was born NEA’s Read Across America Day, an annual reading mo-tivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2nd. “Motivating children to read is an important factor in stu-dent achievement and creating lifelong successful readers. Research has shown that children who are motivated and spend more time reading do better in school” (www.nea.org/grants/13003.htm). The district started participating in Read Across America Day when it was first introduced in March 1998, and this year was as exciting as ever!

Festivities at the Parkway Elementary School began in the morning on Wednesday, March 2nd. During the school day, students listened to stories shared by Media Specialist Mrs. Chianese while enjoying snacks in the Cat in the Hat Café. That evening, staff members welcomed hundreds of students and families to the annual Pajama Reading Night. While there, students visited the Scholastic Book Fair and participated in interactive read-alouds with guest readers. To conclude the festivities, students enjoyed a performance that combined storytelling and music led by 5th grade teacher and performer, Mr. Thomas.

During the week of March 2nd, Parkway students were challenged to read enough pages to help them travel from Ewing, NJ, to San Francisco, CA. Each page a student read represented one mile of travel, and class totals were calculated and reported daily. In five days, the students in Parkway School read over 70,000 pages, and when pages were converted to miles, they were able to travel from Ewing to San Francisco and back more than twelve times!

The Antheil Elementary School Literary Festival was celebrated on March 3rd. Hundreds of Antheil students and their families enjoyed an evening of fun and excite-ment as they witnessed the First Grade Living Museum, participated in a Hop on Pop Celebration with bubble-popping and families reading together, and spent time at the Antheil School Book Fair. Every Antheil student selected one piece of writing to display at the Festival, and all classroom doors were decorated to represent literary favorites of students and staff members.

Students in Mrs. Wojciechowski and Mrs. Smith’s kindergarten classes enjoyed the Dr. Seuss classics, Green Eggs and Ham and Bartholomew and the Ooblek, and they actually made green eggs and ham and ooblek in class!

Fifth grade students in Ms. Kellerman’s class read poems to their kindergarten buddies in Mrs. Washing-ton’s class.

Students in Ms. Andreas’ class read several different Dr. Seuss books and participated in different related art activities, and students in Ms. Bomba’s class created a PowerPoint alphabet book which was inspired by the book I Am Utterly Unique: Celebrating the Strengths of Children with Asperger Syndrome and High-Function-ing Autism by Elaine Marie Larson.

At the Lore Elementary School, students in all kinder-garten classes welcomed guest readers. Students created their own ABC books after reading Dr. Seuss’ ABC Book, and they created word family rhyming foxes inspired by the Seuss classic Fox in Socks. After reading One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, some students had fun creating silly stories, while others used the book to start a graphing activity.

To top it off, all first grade students in Lore School were greeted by the Cat in the Hat himself! The Cat vis-ited classrooms and shared some of his favorite stories with students. Lore’s first grade students also participat-ed in Readers in Socks, a one hour reading event where they wore silly socks (inspired by Fox in Socks) and a crazy hat (inspired by The Cat in the Hat) while reading stories independently or with a buddy. (cont’d pg. 2)

Ewing Schools Participate in Read Across America Dayby Kelly Kawalek, Language Arts Supervisor

The Ewing Public Schools

In these tough economic times, it takes the support of friends in the community to keep many of The Ewing Public Schools most innovative programs alive.

The school district is fortunate to have a generous benefactor in the Credit Union of New Jersey which, for the past several years, has sponsored a popular positive motivational program at Fisher Middle School.

The program, commonly referred to as “Smarty”, recognizes and honors students who soar above and beyond in their academic and behavioral accomplish-ments with gifts and tokens supported by the generos-ity of the Credit Union.

During end of the marking period assemblies, stu-dents recognized for academics are issued a certificate of achievement and the coveted and charming “Smarty the Eagle” doll, adorned in a Fisher T-shirt. Those students are also entered into a raffle, in which two male students and two female students are selected from each grade as the winners of a $50 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble.

Also during the event, Deans Bonner and Freeman acknowledge students who were nominated by their team teachers as “Good Citizens”. These students were noted for exercising excellent judgment and regularly showing courtesy, concern and respect for others. In essence, they created a positive atmosphere within the Fisher community. These students are presented with a certificate and a Good Citizen Gold Card, again thanks to the Credit Union, which entitles them to discounts at Fisher’s School Store.

This past marking period, Fisher recognized 252 students for their academic success and 561 students for their positive behavior.

“The assemblies are always a nice event,” Princi-pal Barbara Brower shared. “The program has really served as a positive influence and helped promote a culture of respect and achievement. We thank the Credit Union for supporting such a neat program.”

From the Credit Union’s perspective, they enjoy being part of a creative program that benefits kids. “Part of our mission is to support the community,” stated CUNJ Vice-President Valerie Metzker, “so it’s wonderful to know that the program has been success-ful in motivating students in a good way.”

The program will conclude with a special Parent Rec-ognition Assembly scheduled for June 6, 2011. This spe-cial event, sponsored by the Credit Union, is designed to honor families for their dedication, consistency and hard work. That evening will be filled with surprises for our parents, so please mark your calendars accordingly!

CUNJ Program Promotes Smart Kids!

Volunteers Support Learning at Lore School

For the past four years, Lore School has benefited from a large group of wonderful volunteers who support reading, writing, mathematics and science as well as special subject areas that include computer technology, art, physical education, music and Spanish.

There are two volunteer groups which make up a large part of Lore’s support system. The Seniors Teaching and Reinforcing Skills or STARS program was started by Mrs. Mary Lou Kramli, a retired Ewing High School Spanish teacher and former school board president. Nearly 20 STARS visit Lore throughout the course of one week. The other volunteer group is Parents as Partners. This group includes approximately ten Lore School parents who give up their time and volunteer in all subject areas.

Perhaps Lore’s most unique volunteer is a golden retriever named Baxter. Baxter is a therapy dog who visits local hospitals as well as our own Transition 1 and 2 classes. The students read to Baxter to improve fluency and build confidence in their ability to read. Mrs. Maggie Kramer, Baxter’s owner and a retired teacher, proudly brings him to Lore School each week.

Parkway Elementary School hosted the 2nd Annual District Think-A-Thon event on March 16th. Antheil had hosted the first Think-A-Thon event and Lore School will host the event next year.

The District Think-A-Thon event features our 3rd through 5th grade students from Antheil, Lore and Parkway who are participating in the AIM and ACE programs. The AIM (Achievement in Mathematics) pro-gram supports our elementary students who have been identified as having exceptional math ability and ACE (Academic Class Enrichment) supports students identi-fied with exceptional ability in reading and language arts. The district’s AIM/ACE teachers facilitated 150 students preparing 227 projects for the Think-A-Thon.

This year, students researched and developed individ-

(cont’d from pg. 1) They also took part in a Dr. Seuss rotation, where students participated in read-alouds of a few of Dr. Seuss’ most beloved texts. Some students were able to sample green eggs and ham, while others enjoyed a jell-o and Swedish fish snack inspired by One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

At Fisher Middle School, students in Ms. Webster’s sixth grade classes enjoyed Dr. Seuss stories presented by guest readers throughout the day on March 2nd. Sixth graders enjoyed a PowerPoint presentation about author Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) created by Media Specialist Ms. Hayden.

Sixth grade students in Ms. Myers’ classes also enjoyed several Seuss stories. First, they learned about Theodor Geisel’s early years; they were very interested to find out that his first career was in advertising and his first job was to create an ad for insecticide. They then learned that there are 44 Seuss stories still published and enjoyed today.

As you can see, Read Across America Day was a won-derful success in The Ewing Public Schools. Students enjoyed listening to stories, buddy reading, and even reading alone. Although students were sad when the fes-tivities ended, Dr. Seuss said it best when he said, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

ualized projects based on grade level curriculum themes. The AIM project themes were: designing probability games (third grade), algebraic patterns and geometry concepts found in nature (fourth grade), and stock mar-ket game, money and foreign currency (fifth grade).

ACE project themes were: Middle Ages (third grade), architecture, media and advertising campaigns (fourth grade), and astronomy through Greek mythology, law and government through literature, and character devel-opment (fifth grade). The event was well attended by our students’ families and district staff members.

The Think-A-Thon demonstrated the creativity of our students and their varied interests in a host of topics. Con-gratulations to the ACE/AIM teachers and their students who provided a great educational, family-centered event!

District Gifted and Talented Think-A-Thon Event

“Providing A Foundation For Life”

Ewing High School emerged as the champion of the Mercer County Consumer Bowl on March 15th.

It was the second straight year that Ewing High School has won the prestigious title.

The New Jersey High School Consumer Bowl is an educational competition for high school students across the state. It was established in 1997 to educate young adults on a variety of consumer issues.

The New Jersey High School Consumer Bowl is a statewide competition run by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs in cooperation with the Office of the Attorney General. The Consumer Bowl is conducted in a game-show format that tests the students' knowledge of consumer issues. It consists of three levels of competition – county, regional and state finals.

Ewing High School was triumphant over participants from Hightstown, Lawrence, Nottingham, Steinert, West Windsor-Plainsboro North and West Windsor-Plainsboro South High Schools on consumer-related questions such as the Consumer Fraud Act, lemon laws, weights and measures requirements, small claims court and alternative dispute resolution requirements, buying and leasing cars, identity theft, as well as a number of additional consumer issues. Under the coaching of advisor Joanne Ludwig, this year's participants are Courtney Rufh (Captain), Chelsea Sandmeyer, Alexis Stephen, Jacqueline Paz and Matthew Bearden.

The Ewing Public Schools competed at the NJ Odys-sey of the Mind Lighthouse Regional Tournament on March 19th in Woodstown, NJ. Ewing High, Antheil and Parkway Elementary Schools each placed 1st in their division/problem and Lore Elementary School placed 2nd. Antheil’s Primary Teams also participated.

These teams then competed at the NJ State Tourna-ment on April 9th at EHS. Antheil again took 1st place and will compete at the World Finals at the University of Maryland in May.

Thanks to a generous gift from the Mount Vernon Ladies Association, Parkway Elementary School is now proudly displaying a portrait of George Washington, as well as an American flag that flew over Mount Vernon. The Association hopes to bring George Washington back to the focus of history lessons. Superintendent of Schools Michael Nitti, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Danita Ishibashi and District Supervisor of Social Stud-ies Dave Hurley joined Principal Harris and Parkway students for the event. Don Cornelius presented the portrait on behalf of the New Jersey State Archivists.

EHS Athletics Freeze-FramedNext time you visit the Ewing High School gymna-

sium, you will have the chance to see the latest beauti-fication project which is also a showcase of Blue Devil student athletes.

The hallways around the gym are now adorned with 36 pictures of different athletes demonstrating their tal-ents in all the different sports offered at the school. The display was a brainchild of physical education teacher Dave Sheffel, and was done largely with donated photos, time and materials. Other members of the physical education department also chipped in their time to assist with the project.

“We’ve really made a lot of aesthetic improvements to our gym area over the past several years,” stated Principal Dr. Rodney Logan. “This really adds to it, and presents a great image of our outstanding athletic program to visitors and our school community.”

Ewing High School hosted its first annual Career and Job Fair on April 7, 2011. Approximately 350 students had an opportunity to apply for after-school, weekend and summer employment. Restaurants, swim clubs, a health club, grocery stores, a pharmacy and an amuse-ment park were among the employers who participated. Representatives of career opportunities in education, law enforcement, engineering, TCNJ, nursing, cosmetology, hair styling, law, publishing and volunteer fire and first aid were present to answer questions from students.

We wish to personally thank each and every one of the participants for taking time out of their busy schedules to come out and support this event.

The Career and Job Fair was arranged and developed by the Ewing High School Guidance Office under the direction of Assistant Principal, Betty Jo Prince.

EHS senior, Emily Lawson, recently painted a mural depicting the high school musical Anything Goes in the Ryan Administration Building conference room.

Emily, an AP Art student, is a professional muralist who paints the backdrops for the school plays. She has been the lead in past school plays and played Hope Har-court in the recent production of Anything Goes. She is Co-President of Drama Club, a Mastersinger, Handbell Ringer, and a member of National Honor Society.

EHS Wins Mercer County Consumer Bowl

We look forward to the second annual Career and Job Fair which promises to provide even more career and job opportunities. Thanks to all the EHS students and parents who came out and supported this event.

Parkway Celebrates George Washington

?Superintendent’s Office609-538-9800 ext. 1102

Fax: 609-538-0041E-mail: cpankiewicz@ewingboe.org

Website: www.ewing.k12.nj.us

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GoodNews is an official publication of The Ewing Public Schools

©2011 GoodNews

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The Ewing Public SchoolsMay 2011 Schedule in Ewing SchoolsMay 2 EHS - 2012 Parent Group Meeting BOE Meeting @ RyanMay 3-6 NJ ASK - Grades 6-8May 3 EPEF Reception May 5-6 Lore - Flower SaleMay 6-7 Antheil - Flower SaleMay 7 SAT @ EHSMay 9-12 NJ ASK - Grades 3-5May 9-13 NJ ASK Makeup - Grades 6-8May 13 NJ ASK - Grade 4May 14 Lore - Spring Sale @ 8am-2pmMay 16-19 NJ ASK Makeup - Grades 3-5May 16 EHS - Spring Instrumental Concert @ 7pmMay 17-18 Delayed Opening EHS Only EHS - End of Course Biology Test May 17 Family Math Night Grades K-2 @ 6pmMay 18-19 EHS - End of Course Biology Test MakeupMay 18 Lore - Vocal Music Concert @ 9:30am & 7pmMay 19 National Honor Society Induction @ 7pmMay 20 EHS - Class of 2012 Fish Fry @ 3:30-9pm Parkway - Science CelebrationMay 23 Delayed Opening EHS Only EHS - End of Course Algebra I Test EHS - Fine Arts Festival, Art Show, & Vocal Concert @ 7pm Antheil - Spirit and Sports Day Grades K-2May 24 Parkway - Vocal & Instrumental Concert @ 9:30am & 6:30pm Antheil - Spirit and Sports Day Grades 3-5May 25 Lore - Instrumental Concert @ 9:30am & 7pm Parkway - Field Day Grades K-2May 26 FMS - Instrumental Concert @ EHS - 7pm Parkway - Field Day Grades 3-5 EHS - End of Course Algebra I Test MakeupMay 27 Parkway - School StoreMay 30 Schools Closed - Memorial DayMay 31 FMS - Book Fair

Please visit our website daily for up-to-the minute information.

Instant AlertPlease be sure to update your IA profile! An Instant Alert link is

available on our website under Site Shortcuts/School Closings/Instant Alert at www.ewing.k12.nj.us. Categories, updates and logon information are also listed. If you are receiving alerts and are not a member of The Ewing Public Schools, please notify us by calling 538-9800 X1102 (leave your name and the phone number where you are receiving the alerts).

Virtual BackpackPlease visit our Virtual Backpacks and Headlines pages daily for up-

to-the minute information! We continue to use the VBP as part of our “paperless” initiative! If you do not have computer access, notify your child’s principal. As a courtesy to our Ewing/Mercer County neighbors, the VBP Community Information page contains information for Ewing Township Recreation as well as surrounding communities.

Residency Investigation Hotline 538-9800 x8999 Anonymous Tip Hotline 538-9800 x1199

Policies and RegulationsAll current policies and regulations for The Ewing Public Schools are

available on our website under the Board of Education/Board Policy/Regulation tab. Documents under review by the Board of Education are also listed.

Free Computer Repair Serviceby Christina Harrison, EHS

Do you have a slow running computer, a printer that won’t print, or a sound card that just stopped working? Perhaps you just need a spring cleaning of your computer, virus removal, or some help installing some new software. If so, then you should attend the free computer repair workshop being hosted by the Ewing High School Cisco IT Essential stu-dents. A workshop will be held on Saturday, June 11th, 2011 from 9am - 2pm at Ewing High School. Students currently taking the course will be on hand to perform free services of hard drive maintenance, virus/spyware/malware removal, software and operating system installations, and much more.

The Cisco IT Essentials class is a hands-on, career-orient-ed e-learning course with an emphasis on practical experience to help students develop fundamental computer skills and essential career skills. The course en-compasses fundamental and advanced chapters about topics such as operating systems, networking, printers, security and more. Once a student successfully completes and passes the class, they are then Cisco IT Essential certified. The purpose of this course is to prepare students for a career in information technol-ogy and to ready them for the Comp/TIA A+ exams. This course, provided to enrolled students of Ewing High School, is free of charge.

Do you have a son, daughter or grandchild going into high school who likes computers or dreams of a career in the information technology field? If you do, this is the class for them. Please stop by our workshop and you can hear first hand from actual students what this class is all about.

This workshop is for Ewing residents only, identification required. No software or operating systems will be provided. You must bring all required software. We will not be supplying replacement parts. Please do not bring your computer monitor, keyboard or mouse, as they will be provided.