Local Robots at Columbia

The future is now in Maplewood and South Orange schools.

Columbia High School hosted a district wide meeting this week for students of all ages to promote robotics in the area. "Its one of those futuristic technologies that's happening now," high school science teacher, Allan Tumolillio said at Thursday night's meeting.  The event, at 7 p.m., consisted of Jr. First Lego League, ages six to nine-years olds, First Lego League, ages nine to 14-years old, and the First Technology Challenege and Competition at the high school level.  The high school's Robotics Team showed off its competition robot, Jack the Gripper, as well as Cougar Woods and Stu.  The team has only been in existence for a couple of years, but it has already earned state championship titles from both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  …

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Columbia Inducts Two to Hall of Fame

The Maplewood and South Orange high school honors two past graduates.

Columbia High School inducted its two newest members, Mark Blum and Julie Brill, to its Hall of Fame. Two separate ceremonies took place Friday morning to accommodate all the high school students to honor the past graduates. In order to be selected for this honor, the nominees had to have been role models for other students while they were at Columbia. They also must be distinguished in their field of endeavor, be leaders in their professions and be dedicated to the betterment of society. Blum, a 1968 graduate, is an Obie award-winning actor who has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, on television and in films. He currently teaches at the HB Studio in New York and in the graduate training program at Brooklyn College.  Thirty-five years …

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CHS Freshman Landed Summer Acting Job in Kansas City

Austin Bommer, 14, portrayed Liesl in "The Sound of Music" opposite her father as Captain Von Trapp.

Austin Bommer is adjusting to life as a freshman at Columbia High School. However, she pulled off a far bigger transition this August, when she moved to the Kansas City area for a month to play Liesl in a production of "The Sound of a Music." "It was almost like a culture shock, because everyone was so nice there. They made me feel welcome," said Austin, who turned 14 this month and successfully auditioned to replace an 18-year-old actress who was headed to college and had to leave the show at the New Theatre in Overland Park, Kan., early. Austin had spent the beginning of her summer participating in the Paper Mill's Summer Musical Theater Conservatory, and then opportunity knocked. Her father Ron Bommer was portraying Captain Von Trapp in…

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109 CHS Students Were AP Scholars Last Year

2009 graduate Jonathan Hall-Eastman was named one of two State AP Scholars in New Jersey.

The National College Board has announced that 109 current Columbia High School students and 2009 graduates have received Advanced Placement Scholar Awards for the number of AP courses taken and the high scores received on AP exams at the end of the course. This year, a record number of Columbia students received special recognition, including one student who was named a State AP Scholar, one of only two in the state. Jonathan Hall-Eastman, class of 2009, was named a State AP Scholar after scoring a 4 or 5 on 19 AP exams. Included in the 19 exams were four in subjects not even offered at Columbia this past year. A State AP Scholar award is granted to the one male and one female student in each U.S. state and the District of Columbia with …

Adult School's Night Out Features Fall Film Preview

Film aficionado Chuck Rose will discuss his predictions for films that will be under consideration during awards season.

Film aficionado Chuck Rose will run through the crop of upcoming film releases as the Adult School previews its own schedule of fall classes at Night Out at the Adult School on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 7:30 p.m. at CHS’s Black Box Theatre. Rose is collaborating with the Adult School to offer film screenings and discussions with the creators of major films and festival-winning gems this year. Next week, he'll be offering his picks for the fall's best films and contenders for major awards. The Adult School is also registering students at a discounted rate for his Filmmakers Symposium series at AMC Loews in Mountainside. Here's a sampling of Adult School courses being previewed at the event: Wednesday, Oct. 7 - Organizational Skills for Middle…

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Work Wrapping Up at CHS

Major projects at Columbia High School this summer include roof repairs and renovation of third-floor bathrooms.

In the two-month window provided by the absence of students, and with summer school moved to Jefferson and the Adult School temporarily relocated to South Orange Middle, it's been a busy summer for contractors at Columbia High School. "Time is our biggest problem," said Bill Kyle, the district's property services manager, who noted that work began the day after school let out at CHS, which is large enough to employ 23 custodians who do the equivalent of cleaning and maintaining 120 homes. "We bite off the biggest piece we can chew over the summer." Extensive roof repairs—scheduled to be completed by next week, when students return—have been made to the sections determined to be in the direst need, and four third-floor bathrooms in the A-…

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CHS Freshman Orientation Announced

Despite the heat, school is around the corner.

The school district has announced the date for Freshman orientation at Columbia High School. On Thursday, September 3, 2009, incoming Freshmen are invited to Columbia's campus. The daytime event is for students only, and offers a chance to meet the teachers and staff, and become familiar with the campus. That evening, parents and guardians are invited to join the incoming class at a 7 p.m. information session at the school. The full release is here as PDF. The text from the release is below. School District of South Orange and Maplewood COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOL 17 Parker Avenue • Maplewood, New Jersey 07040 973-762-5600 extension 1016 mhealy@somsd.k12.nj.us   2009 Freshman Orientation   Dear Parents/Guardians and Students of the Class of 2013…

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Summer Reading Required for Local Teens

Some pages need to be turned by September.

Summer reading is a ritual of the season for local teens. Columbia High School’s “Summer Reading Initiative” asks rising ninth and tenth graders to read two books this summer in preparation for September Language Arts classes. According to the district Web site, which lists book titles and descriptions, “students will be required to read two engaging books and then discuss key concepts about each book with classmates when they return in the fall.” In addition, “Students are encouraged to complete a “Bookmark” and/or graphic organizer to assist in their reading comprehension as they read their books. In September, class time will be spent discussing the key concepts in the non-fiction texts.” One book must be chosen from a district list, …

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PHOTOS: Peanuts Gang Performs at Summer Camp's Finale

Participants in the Adult School's Musical Theater Camp present musical scenes from "Snoopy!!!" on the final day of camp.

When Charlie Brown sings “Happiness is anyone and anything that's loved by you,” he just may be referring to the young actors at the Adult School summer program's Musical Theater Camp. All summer, it's been clear how much the performers enjoyed portraying the Peanuts Gang. The camp will present musical scenes today from Snoopy!!! based on the comic strip "Peanuts" by Charles Schulz. The performers learned all aspects of theater production during the program at South Orange Middle School. The musical was directed by Maria Magliaro Politano and Kevin Hagen. The musical director was Karina Bruk with choreography by Lesley Nigro. Alex Thompson, a “Yellow Shirt” counselor and Columbia High School student who performed as the Scarecrow in The …

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