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 SchoolsFebruary 2014

This year, Ewing High School is proud to be presenting Little

Shop of Horrors, Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman, and Music by Alan Menken. This musical is based on the film by

Roger Corman with screenplay by Charles Griffith. If you haven’t seen the entertaining and campy

film directed by Frank Oz and starring Rick Mora-nis, you might not know about this fantastical show containing “A Singing Plant, A Daring Hero, A Sweet Girl, and A Demented Dentist”. Due to its content, this production is PG-13 for 'comic horror violence.'

“On the twenty-third day of the month of Septem-ber, in an early year of a decade not too long before our own, the human race suddenly encountered a deadly threat to its very existence. And this terrify-ing enemy surfaced, as such enemies often do, in the seemingly most innocent and unlikely of places...” [Prologue to Little Shop]

In urban Skid Row, at Mushnik’s Flower Shop, we find Seymour Krelborn (played by Donte Wilder), a nerdy orphan who enjoys studying rare and un-usual plants. During an eclipse of the sun, Seymour happens upon a mysterious and unidentifiable plant which he names Audrey II (sung by Robert Reeg) after his crush, co-worker Audrey Fulquard (played by Maddy Stoner). There is definitely some chemis-try between Seymour and Audrey but, unfortunately, Audrey already has a boyfriend, Dr. Orin Scrivello, DDS – an abusive, leather jacket wearing, motor-cycle riding dentist (played by Steven Ikegwu).

At first, the plant is wilting and dying until Sey-mour finally figures out what Audrey II needs to be healthy… BLOOD! Seymour habitually jabs his own

fingers to “feed the plant” which grows in intel-ligence as well as size to the point where Audrey II sings and schemes to get its way via naïve Seymour. As this 'strange and unusual plant' increases in size, customers gain interest in Seymour and begin to flock to Mushnik’s Flower Shop. Mr. Mushnik, the old man who owns the shop (played by Marshall Mc-Guire), adopts Seymour as his son to keep Seymour from branching out into the world away from Skid Row. Mushnik failed to realize Seymour would never leave his love, Audrey. When Audrey II gets hungry, the plant manipulates Seymour into killing Audrey’s abusive boyfriend to protect her from his abuse…. to feed the plant. Mushnik finds evidence condemn-ing Seymour in the death of Dr. Scrivello, so Audrey II convinces Seymour to kill him too… by feeding Mushnik to the plant! Audrey II becomes supersized and super out of control. Seymour gains fame and attention, even adoration from his crush, Audrey, but will it ever be enough? See how this wild story ends by coming to the Ewing High School Production of Little Shop of Horrors!

Performances start with a free Senior Citizen Pre-view show on Tuesday, March 25, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. Tickets will be available at the Ewing Senior Citizen Center in March.

The general public is welcome to attend any of the shows listed below:

Thursday, March 27, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. ($5)Friday, March 28, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. ($8)Saturday, March 29, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. ($8)Sunday, March 30, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. ($8)

For advance tickets/reserved seating, please call (609) 538-9800 ext. 8595.

Ewing High School Presents Little Shop of Horrors Ewing High OrchestraAt the Ewing High School Winter Concert on Monday,

January 13th, a milestone for the orchestra was an-nounced by orchestra director Mr. Blair Olson. Mr. Olson told the packed auditorium that this was the largest string orchestra in the history of his 21 years of working in the Ewing Township Public Schools. Mr. Olson continued to say that when he first started at the high school, the string program had 7 members and has steadily grown to the group of 65 members currently on the stage.

Mr. Olson gave thanks to the other instrumental music teachers at the elementary and middle schools in the district for their hard work in producing young musicians to feed the instrumental groups at the high school. In addition, this would not be possible without the support of Ewing Township Board of Education, Central and Ewing High School Administration and the parents of Ewing Township students.

On Thursday, January 9th, Ewing High School Boys Basketball Coach Shelley Dearden earned her 400th career victory. Dearden was recently honored by Sports Illustrated in their 'Faces in the Crowd' sec-tion for her notable accomplishment of winning NJ State Championships in both Boys and Girls Basket-ball, as well as an additional State championship in Girls Soccer with the Blue Devils. As 'Good News' went to print, Dearden’s squad was 10-1, a record shared by their counterparts on the Girls Varsity.

EHS Art Students Participate in Phillips’ Mill Art Show

Several Ewing High School students, under the direc-tion of Ms. Egan and Ms. Daidone, participated in the 2014 Phillips' Mill Community Association Youth Art Exhibition. High school artists from New Jersey and Pennsylvania high schools are featured in the exhibi-tion which was open for three weekends in January. Many of the participating Ewing artists are using their exhibition pieces as part of their portfolios as they pursue admission to a post-secondary art school. Amit Shah won second prize for his self-portrait. Congratula-tions to our art teachers for their work with our artists!

Coach Dearden Earns her 400th Victory

The Ewing Public Schools

Trout in the ClassroomThe entire seventh grade at Fisher Middle School is participat-ing in the Trout in the Classroom Program this school year. Trout in the Classroom is a science-based program that allows students to explore the importance of cold water conserva-tion through a hands-on approach to learning.

The students received over 200 eyed eggs which they will raise to fingerlings and release in early June.

This is a cross-curricular program and will engage the students in math, art, language arts, reading, technology and science lessons throughout the school year. The stu-dents are using the program to enhance their lessons on water conservation, genetics, ecology and physiology.

The children at Lore Elementary School received the best holiday present! Over 1,000 books were donated

Antheil audiences delighted in the sounds of the season as the following selections were artistically performed by Antheil’s chorus: "Jubilate Deo", "Hevenu Shalom Aleichem", "Old Man Winter", "Hanukkah Dance", various themes on "Fa-La-La", and

"Ragtime Holiday". A special thanks to Mr. Jamison Barrett our Student Director, and Mr. Timothy Brown, our accompanist. Mrs. Davidson and Antheil’s Chorus are hard at work preparing for our Spring Concert.

Antheil's 5th grade Band and Orchestra had their first chance to perform in the Winter Concert as well. After working hard and practicing both at home and in school since September, the 5th graders

Fisher Middle School Spreading the Spirit

Students on the Mercury Team took part in the Holiday Mail for Heroes Program organized by the Red Cross. Cards were donated by staff and filled with grateful messages written by students. The cards helped brighten the holidays of veterans, military families, and active-duty service members at hospitals and installations around the world.

It Was Raining Pawprints for the Holidays!

Parkway School’s Character Education/PBS Committee meets to discuss, fine-tune and implement new ideas. Committee members discussed creating a Holiday Shop where the students could personally purchase gifts for their family members.

To ensure that every child would be able to participate, it was decided that ‘pawprints’ would be used as cur-rency. Throughout the months of November and De-cember, teachers and staff members awarded individual students, whole classes and entire grade levels pawprints for demonstrating 4R behaviors. Pawprints were given a value of $ .50 and each student needed to earn $10 worth for shopping purposes. Parents were able to make cash donations up to $10 to increase their child’s total amount.

The Parkway School PTA partnered with the PES Character Education/PBS Committee to assist with bringing this project to financial and logistical fruition. The students enjoyed the shopping experience!

finally had their chance to step into the spotlight. First, the orchestra played its selections, "Two Winter Sketches", which is a medley of two popular winter-themed pieces, and a challenging work titled "Snowflakes". A few select orchestra members joined to make up Antheil's String Ensemble and showed their talents with a rendition of "Jingle Bells". These students truly showed their skill and confidence by playing so well in front of such a large audience!

Not to be outdone, the band also had a wonderful showing. Following the String Ensemble, the full band began with "Jingle Bell Tones", an accented piece that showed off the band’s ability to play an intense, fast-moving work. They then ended the instrumental portion of the concert with the holiday favorite, "The Nutcracker". This again was a very difficult work, though the students made it look effortless with their focus and dedication. Mr. Trader could not have been more proud of his band and orchestra students.

Audiences Delighted at Antheil Winter Concert

Paperback Swap Donates Over 1,000 Books to Lore Schoolby Paperback Swap to the K-5 classrooms at Lore Elementary School. "The book selections were won-derful!" said Reading Specialist Diana Mocarski who leveled and distributed the books to the classrooms. "As I went around the next few days, I saw the children excitedly browsing through all of the new selections. In Mr. Dorris’ second grade classroom, many of the boys were excited to get new nonfiction materials. In Mrs. Price's classroom, all of the new books were spread out on her main reading table. Students could be found around the room reading the new books. The teachers were so thankful to have so many high quality books to choose from. I can't thank Paperback Swap enough for providing our school with such great materials!"

BOE Honors Departing Member Tony Mack

The December Board of Education meeting was the final meeting for two-term BOE member An-thony Mack, who decided not to run for a return to his seat this past election. Mr. Mack was honored by the Board and administration for his service to the students and the community during the session.

During his time on the Board, Mr. Mack was a staunch advocate for the students of the district. He helped galvanize the Board’s vision of a knowledge-able, dedicated staff working to help students achieve in academics, the arts, and athletics. Working with the administration, he always brought an intelligent, articulate voice to many new district initiatives, including the O’Brien Academy, the budget building process, and curriculum and instruction endeavors.

“The Board is deeply appreciative of the service of Mr. Mack,” stated Superintendent Mike Nitti. “He al-ways carried himself with class and integrity and had the best interests of children in mind. We wish him the best in his professional and personal life.”

“Providing A Foundation For Life”

Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office recognized Na-tional Bullying Prevention Month in October 2013 by sponsoring its 2nd Annual Anti-Bullying Awareness Art Contest. Over 900 entries were received this year, which doubled last year’s participation. Detective Na-tischa Clark organized the contest and winners were recognized at a ceremony held on December 13th at the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.

At Parkway Elementary School, students worked diligently in art class, with the guidance of Mrs. Divya Attri. All submissions went through the schools Anti-Bullying Specialist Mr. Callea and were then submit-ted to the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office. Parkway staff were pleasantly surprised to find out 5th grade student Simiyah Kelly had won an award with her poster titled “Let’s Join Hands to Stop Bullying”.

Prior to its December meeting, the Board of Educa-tion hosted an open house and ribbon cutting for the revitalized and expanded Ryan Building, home of the school district’s O’Brien Academy.

The O’Brien Academy is an innovative alternative educational program designed to promote success for students who may be struggling in a regular educa-tional setting.

“The new Ryan Building is now a beautiful home for what we believe is an exceptional program,” stated Di-rector of Special Education/Projects Harry Louth, who founded the O’Brien Academy in 2011. “We have an excellent staff here, and now have a modern, updated facility for them to work with their students.”

The O’Brien Academy is named after former long-time district Director of Special Education Frank O’Brien, who dedicated his career to working to make sure every child had a chance to succeed.

The renovation improved the instructional capacity of the existing space, enhanced educational

Meet Micah Bergstrom, standout swimmer on the Ewing High School Swim Team. Micah holds the Ewing High School Men’s Swim Team records for the follow-ing events: 50 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle, 100 Butterfly, 100 Breaststroke, 100 Backstroke, 200 Freestyle, 200 Individual Medley, 500 Freestyle, as well as a spot in the three relay record teams for the 200 Individual Medley Relay, 200 Freestyle Relay, and the 400 Freestyle Relay.

What do you like best about Ewing High School? The wealth of activities that are available for every-one and the amazing teachers that run these activities.

Who is your favorite teacher(s) and why? My favorite teacher is Mr. Woidill who is now the Social Studies District Supervisor. Mr. Woidill has helped me enjoy History as a subject of questioning and under-standing our past. He also was one of the multiple teachers that helped me grow significantly as a person.

In which activities (clubs, teams, sports, arts, etc.) do you participate? I participate in the Swim Team, Peer Leadership class, School Choir, and the new Film Club that has begun recently which is run by one of the teachers I also greatly admire, Mrs. Ginsburg.

What is your favorite memory of high school? My favorite memory is when I saw the kids that I help coach on the swim team get personal best times. This has happened a handful of times over the course of my high school career, but the first time during my freshmen year was the best memory.

What do you do outside of school? My pastimes include more swimming on my club team, Eastern Ex-press, as well as enjoying movies, and spending time with my family. My favorite memory from my Eastern Express Swim Team is my first Junior Olympics meet cut when I was 12 years old. To this day, it is one of my greatest accomplishments.

What are your plans after you graduate? I will at-tend college and continue my education. My top three choices are Merchant Marine Academy, Montclair State University, and Gustavus Adolphus College. I wish to swim on one of their swim teams.

Where do you see yourself in five years? I see myself as a college graduate, having a new career and begin-ning my life in the work force. It could be business, communications or engineering, but my options are open to new ideas as I continue my educational journey.

Senior SpotlightParkway’s Simiyah Kelly Wins Award for Anti-Bullying Awareness Poster

Ewing High School students will be taking an on-line college course through Mercer County Community College this spring semester. The course will be taken at Ewing High School during a scheduled block of time and the students will also be able to log on anytime to

BOE Opens New Home for O’Brien Academy

technology, improved the infrastructure, and added four classrooms to the Ryan Building.

“The Board has supported the development of the O’Brien Academy since its inception, because we believe it is for good for kids and the school district,” stated Board President Carl Benedetti. “We appreciate the hard work of the staff that helped the project come to fruition. It certainly is an impressive home for the kids and teachers of the program.”

Ewing High School Dual Enrollment with MCCCwork on the course. The selected course for this pilot program will be Mass Media, selected after students had the opportunity to review the variety of courses offered. This on-line course will be provided under a dual enrollment agreement with Ewing High School and Mercer County Community College where students will receive both high school and college credits for satisfac-tory course completion. Historically, qualified senior students at Ewing High School have had the opportunity to take college courses on the campuses of area colleges and they still do. In the future, Ewing High School plans to offer on-line courses which will be available to quali-fied juniors and seniors and will take place on-site. The students pictured met at Ewing High School with Chris Freihaut, the MCCC Admissions Recruiter to complete the admissions process for dual enrollment.

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

E-mail: thullings@ewingboe.orgWebsite: www.ewing.k12.nj.us

For questions or information,please contact:

GoodNews is an official publication of The Ewing Public Schools

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The Ewing Public Schools

February 2014 Schedule in Ewing SchoolsFeb 1 Odyssey of the Mind Officials TrainingFeb 3 Single Session Grades 9-12 Only - ExamsFeb 4 Single Session Grades K-8 Only | EHS - NO STUDENTSFeb 5 FMS - FPA Meeting @ 6pmFeb 8 Parkway - Pancake Breakfast 8am-12pmFeb 12 Single Session Grades K-8 Only - ConferencesFeb 13 Antheil - PTO Meeting @ 6:45pmFeb 17 Schools Closed - Presidents' DayFeb 19 EHS - Back-to-School Night @ 6:30pmFeb 24 BOE Meeting - 8pm @ FMS

Emergency School ClosingsAn Instant Alert will be sent out and a message will be posted on the district

phone system (609-538-9800), the district homepage, Comcast Channel 19 and Verizon Channel 31.

Should there be a delayed opening, all students are to report to school 1 hour and 30 minutes later than normal. Do not drop your child off at school at the usual time as there may not be sufficient staff for supervision.

Delayed Opening Hours: Early Dismissal Hours:Ewing High 9:15am Ewing High 12:15pmFisher Middle 9:55am Fisher Middle 12:55pmElementary 10:30am Elementary 1:40pm

Board of Education Mr. Carl Benedetti, Jr., Mr. Anthony F. Messina, President Vice President Ms. Maria Benedetti Mr. Kenneth J. Bradley Mr. Kevin J. Ewell Mr. Scott Franks, Sr. Mrs. Karen A. McKeon Mrs. Stephanie Staub

Mr. Bruce J. White

A Quality Transition Is Key to Student SuccessOur 2nd Annual Ready Freddy Kindergarten Club for eligible kindergartners will

occur again this summer. This program offers those qualifying students entering kindergarten a variety of early literacy activities and a way to acclimate our new students and their parents to the district and what it has to offer. This program will assist eligible students in making the move into kindergarten based on all five domains of development: adaptive, personal-social, communication, motor and cognitive, with more of a focus on early literacy skills.

Students will be identified for eligibility in our program during a screening at Kindergarten Round-Up. Eligibility will be considered based on multiple measures. Residency requirements must also be met.

Please do not wait to register your child! If your child is turning 5 by October 1, 2014, please begin the process and register. Call Diane Sholes at (609) 538-9800 ext. 7181 or Julie Miner at (609) 538-9800 ext. 7175.

Time to Register for Kindergarten Round-UpThe Ewing Public Schools is planning the annual kindergarten registration for residents known as the 'Kindergarten Round-Up' which takes place every March and April. You can pre-register your child (by appointment only) by contacting: Mrs. Diane Sholes at 609-538-9800 ext. 7181 or Mrs. Julie Miner at 609-538-9800 ext. 7175.

You may also register on-line at http://www.ewing.k12.nj.us/Page/132. The link will guide you to our registration forms and procedures.

Ewing Township Board of Education Reorganization Meeting Notes

On Monday, January 6th, the Ewing Township Board of Education held its annual reorganization meeting at the Fisher Middle School Media Center. During the meeting, the Board welcomed new member Mr. Scott D. Franks, Sr. and welcomed back returning board members Mrs. Stephanie F. Staub and Mr. Bruce J. White. All three members were sworn in for three-year terms of service by Board Attorney Joseph Roselle. Mr. Carl Benedetti, Jr. was elected as Board President for 2014. Mr. Anthony F. Messina will serve as Vice-President. The Board also conducted its annual review and approval of the Code of Ethics and approved its meeting dates for the next year.

The dates listed below are the approved Board of Education meeting dates and locations for 2014. All meetings are regular business meetings unless otherwise noted. Board Meetings commence at 7:00 PM at which time the Board may convene in Closed Session for one hour and return to Public Session at 8:00 PM.

January 27, 2014 - Lore Elementary School

February 24, 2014 - Antheil Elementary School (Preliminary Budget Presentation)

March 24, 2014 - Fisher Middle School (Public Budget Hearing)

April 28, 2014 - Fisher Middle School (Organization Meeting)

May 19, 2014 - Ewing High School

June 23, 2014 - Fisher Middle School

July 28, 2014 - Fisher Middle School

August 25, 2014 - Fisher Middle School

September 29, 2014 - Fisher Middle School

October 27, 2014 - Fisher Middle School

November 24, 2014 - Parkway Elementary School

December 22, 2014 - Fisher Middle School

January 5, 2015 - Fisher Middle School (Board Reorganization Meeting)