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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Sound of Music on a Warm Spring Night

Tuscan School Spring Concert a big success at Maplewood Middle School.

A very warm spring night made for a lovely evening for the Tuscan Spring Concert on Tuesday, May 24. With 30 orchestral students, 46 band members and a chorus numbering 170, the move from Tuscan Elementary School's auditorium to that of Maplewood Middle School was a necessity. Students arrived early dressed in black and white, as Tuscan music teacher Claire Van Tine called out directions. “Everyone has worked extremely hard,” said Van Tine during a momentary lull. “It shows just how strong and supported the arts are in this town.” Parents milled around as students found their places, their sheet music and maybe a missing mouth piece to a trombone that had fallen off and rolled under a seat. After everyone was settled in, Malikah Majeed, …

In this Article:

Village Ice Cream Parlour

Joy Yagid

9:16 am on Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Thanks Laura! The show was just perfect! The hard work everyone did really came through.   more ›

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Homeschoolers Meet in South Orange

A group for homeschooling families, which includes a Maplewood mom, convenes monthly at the library.

While the reasons that parents homeschool their children often encompass religion and nutrition, Karen Mitchell simply thought she could do a better job of teaching. "I think the biggest difference is I don't have to be re-teaching the manners and beliefs of our household," said Mitchell, an East Orange resident who coordinates a group of homeschooling families that meets monthly at the South Orange Public Library. A former New York City math teacher in the public school system, she's been homeschooling her daughter Mayeesa, 14, and son Shawn, 13, for the past seven years, and she intends to teach her 3-year-old twins when they get old enough. For Mitchell, the last straw came when her daughter was in third grade and had three hours of …

In this Article:

South Orange Public Library (in South Orange Patch) and Columbia High School (in South Orange Patch)

Comment_arrow

Genus

12:52 am on Monday, February 27, 2012

Hello I understand that your post is about a year old, however, I would love to meet Ms. Mitchell and you as well. I live in East Orange 4 blocks at the S. Orange border and have been desparately seeking homeschoolers in the area too. Genus genus2011@live.com   more ›

Friday, August 14, 2009

New Principal for Jefferson School

Supt. Osborne recommends Susan Grierson, a former Jersey City school principal, for the job.

On Thursday, Aug. 13, the school district sent a letter to parents of students at Jefferson School announcing that Schools Supt. Brian Osborne will recommend that the Board of Education appoint Susan Grierson as the new Principal of Jefferson Elementary School. Grierson has been the principal of the K-8 Learning Community Charter School in Jersey City for the last eight years. The appointment is not official until the school board votes on it at their Monday, Aug. 17, meeting. The full letter is below. To the Jefferson Elementary School Community,  The search for a new principal for Jefferson Elementary School is reaching a conclusion.  This Monday, August 17, 2009, I will recommend to the Board of Education that it appoint Ms. Susan …

In this Article:

Jefferson School and South Orange Maplewood Board of Education

Monday, August 3, 2009

Registration Begins Today For Fall Adult School Classes

Subjects range from dance and film to languages, computers and science.

With more than 150 classes, this fall's South Orange-Maplewood Adult School offers help with computers, languages and cooking, a chance to discuss film, or German Romantic Poetry or just go dancing with your significant other. Registration begins Monday, Aug. 3. A number of classes in the Active Mind, Computers and Technology, and Languages sections offer an early bird discount for those who register by Sept. 18. As always, the offerings are varied, and include the popular “College for a Day,” when locals can study Geology, German Romantic Poetry, Sociology/Anthropology, and Greek Comedy, all on Saturday, November 21.  The twentieth annual Repath Lecture, on Wednesday, Nov. 18, will feature esteemed educator Everett Kline on what we should…

In this Article:

The South Orange-Maplewood Adult School and Columbia High School

Friday, July 31, 2009

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, …

In this Article:

Columbia High School, South Orange Public Library (in South Orange Patch), and Maplewood Memorial Library

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Physical Education Grant Focuses on Technology

The PEP grant from the Department of Education will let the district replace the equipment in CHS's fitness room this coming school year.

This coming year, thanks to a federal grant award, CHS students will have access to industrial treadmills, elliptical machines and an automatic bicycle that monitors blood pressure and heart rate to adjust resistance instead of the 25-year-old equipment they'd been using. "We needed to bring physical education into the 21st century," said Judy LoBianco, supervisor of Health, Physical Education and Nursing Services for the district. She solicited input from teachers to gauge what was most desirable and mapped out how the funds she requested would be used over three years. The grant has a heavy focus on professional development and provides for more teachers attending regional and national conferences, but it also extends to replacing …

In this Article:

School District Awarded $1.4M Grant for Physical Education Program (in South Orange Patch), SOMS Gym Classes Get Virtual Experience (in South Orange Patch), and Jefferson School

FlyerzFan

11:21 pm on Friday, July 24, 2009

Camcorders, pedometers, treadmills ... this sounds like another service that's a bit over the top. It's great to get a grant rather then asking residents for more money, but what happens after the grant money is finished and equipment needs to be maintained? Do you want to pay additional taxes for this or academics?   more ›

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Cohens Have Left their Mark on Community Summer Program

Rich and Treasure Cohen have been involved with the Adult School's community summer program since the '80s, first as teachers and then as coordinators.

  • VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS
  • Cotton Delo
  • Thursday, July 16, 2009

While Rich Cohen's May and June are consumed with hiring staffers, and doing scheduling and logistics for the Adult School's community summer program, the process always seems to justify itself by the first day of camp, and he compares it to the feeling of having a baby. "By the time we get to the first day, it feels good, it works," said Cohen, 65, a former Columbia High School biology teacher, who retired from the district in 2002 after 23 years and now works at Liberty Science Center as a science educator. "You feel you're doing something that makes Maplewood and South Orange a good place to be." Cohen and his wife, Treasure, are 32-year residents of Maplewood and were already involved with the community summer program in 1987, when he …

In this Article:

South Orange Maplewood Adult School (in South Orange Patch), Columbia High School (in South Orange Patch), South Orange Middle School, and 1 more ›

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Invention Convention 2009: Move Over, Rube Goldberg

Jefferson students presented inventions on Tuesday.

Tired of cleaning up your pet parakeet’s poop? Soaking with sweat after a few rounds of Two Square at recess? Maybe you have a big sister who’s forgotten your name since she got that new cell phone. Third graders at Jefferson Elementary School found solutions to these and a hundred other everyday nuisances and presented them at their annual Invention Convention on Tuesday, June 16.  Invention Convention is a district-wide program in South Orange/Maplewood that dates back to the '70s. Each spring, every third grader is asked to come up with a list of practical problems in his or her life, and then winnow it down to one they’re really itching to solve—on a budget of $10 or less. We’re not talking Intel Science Fair here; think more Rube …

In this Article:

Jefferson School

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