November School Highlights

Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences

Ms. Yeye’s English classes created Thanksgiving gift baskets to honor and appreciate groups of individuals who make a difference in their community.  Each class had its own unique basket filled with snacks and other goods that would put a smile on the faces of those who give back to their community. The baskets contained a poem thanking these important people that used the literacy devices learned in class. The following organizations received care packages:  the Woodbridge Police Department, the Veteran’s Home and the Wood-bridge Fire Department.

 

The Woodbridge Police Department was so appreciative of their baskets that Director Hubner and Captain Hoppock visited the Academy to personally thank the senior class that created the thank you baskets.  They commented that the baskets helped raise the spirits of their officers and let the officers know that at a time when the media often portrays police in different lights, that the students showed the police how much they cared. 

 

The New Jersey Institute of Technology conducted on-site admissions interviews on November 28^th. Sixteen seniors were interviewed by Lois Chipepo, Assistant Dean for Enrollment.

 

The Interact and HOSA clubs organized a school-wide food collection. The Woodbridge Campus collected over 900 pounds of food for the St. James Food Pantry located in Woodbridge. 

 

Juniors in Ms. Veilleux’s Advanced Placement History class conducted Gilded Age dinners.  Students were required to study leading figures from the Gilded Age and portray them inter-acting with others. This research required the students to not only know their accomplishments in business, industry and politics but to also know their views on Native-Americans, suffrage and the growth of cities.  

 

To begin the month of November, the Class of 2018 held the Fall/Halloween Dance. Over 80 students danced the night away under the lights and decorations that made the gymnasium appear to be a dance hall.  A good time was had by all. 

 

The winter sports season arrived with the start of the basketball season.  Students turned in their forms and looked forward to meeting Mr. Modzelewski, the new varsity coach. Students tried out and are now practicing to be prepared for the first game of the season which will be at home on December 16^th.

 

Students from Woodbridge Campus participated in the Model United Nations Conference hosted by Princeton University.  Students participated in workshops and conferences with other students from around Middlesex County learning about the countries and issues facing the United Nations. 

 

Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies

The varsity and junior varsity soccer teams gathered to celebrate team and individual achievements for the 2016 season on November 17^th.

 

Senior Aaron Maskaranas and junior Matthew Chou were named to the Greater Middlesex Conference All-Gold Division Soccer Team for the 2016 season.

 

NJIT Assistant Dean of Admissions Ms. Lois Chipeppo visited the Academy to interview students for instant decision admissions on November 16^th.  Sixteen students were inter-viewed and admitted to the Honors College.

 

More than 50 Academy students participated in the annual AMC Interstellar Competition.   After competing in their League, the Academy team was placed into the National League and successfully competed there against the best high schools in the country. 

 

Eight Academy students competed in the annual Princeton University Math Competition (PUMAC) on November 19^th. They competed against the best private and public schools in the country and beyond. The Academy team scored 8^th in the Power Round Competition and placed in the best 10 overall in their division. The following students contributed to this success: sophomore Glenn Sun, juniors Poojit Hegde, Kunal Adhia and seniors Akshat Gokhale, Mohammed Mannan, Amrut Nagir, Rohan Agarwal and Kush Singh.

 

The Academy math team placed first out of twenty-seven in the November CJML Meet  held at Union County Vocational and Technical schools. The following students contributed to this success: freshman Pamod Mikitiri, sophomores Kevin Tang and Glenn Sun, juniors, Kunal Adhia, Poojit Hegde, Lucent Fong, and Jonathan Wong and seniors, Amrut Nagir, Akshat Gokhale, and Mohammed Mannan.

 

At the Junior State of America Fall State Conference held in Woodbridge on November 25^th-26^th, the Edison Academy delegation won two Best Speaker Awards.  Freshman Ria Vora won the Best Speaker gavel by taking the “pro” position on the resolution that the federal government should prosecute Wells Fargo.  Junior Bartosz Skiba won the Best Speaker gavel by taking the “con” position on the resolution that the United States prioritize the United Kingdom over the European Union in trade policy.

 

Electrical/Computer Engineering juniors Malavika Vivek and Anjali Gupta were selected as Finalists in the 2016-2017 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology.

 

Junior Julie Pirro was selected to represent the New Jersey 4-H Program at the National 4-H Congress, November 25^th-29^th in Atlanta, Georgia. Julie was one of thirteen delegates select-ed to attend from New Jersey. 

 

Edison Academy seniors cleaned up a section of the Mill Brook stream in Heller Industrial Park, Edison as part of their Advanced Placement Environmental Science class. The classes under-took preliminary tests to kick-off their APES project to monitor the health of this stream through biological and chemical testing over the course of the school year.  Supporting the cleanup was the Edison Town Council, Dr. Heather Fenyk of the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership and Katee Meckeler, Americorps Watershed Ambassador.

 

The Academy Red Cross Club held a Zumba Dance Event on November 14^th, with proceeds going to Toys for Tots. They also sponsored a luncheon on November 18^th raising $400 for Elijah’s Promise.

 

 

East Brunswick Campus  

School of the Arts Theater students Ashley Kiser of Perth Amboy and Michael Villanueva of Woodbridge were among the playwrights who were featured November 4^th by the Cross- roads Theatre Company presentation of an evening of short plays about issues surrounding social justice. “Social Justice: Genesis,” featured stage readings of plays written by “Repairing a Nation” playwright Nikkole Salters, Edith Oliver Award winner Rick Sordelet, and producing artistic director of Crossroads Marshall Jones III. The two student plays were Michael Villan-ueva’s “Packing,” which explores childhood friendships and experiences between Latino and black males, and Ashley Kiser’s “Another Hashtag,” about a couple going to the doctor to try to have a baby. The reading was followed by a town hall style discussion with community leaders.

 

East Brunswick Campus hosted an open house on November 19^th. Approximately 120 pro-spective students attended the open house. A large majority of the career major instructors were in their rooms showcasing their programs.

 

The Agriscience Technology program hosted a Thanksgiving celebration for all students in the program and for the staff on November 22^nd. Students prepared the meal and invited family members to the celebration. After lunch the students hosted an official FFA meeting that was witnessed by the visiting staff and parents.

 

Freshman Kayla Arce and junior Cassandra Carr were named All Blue Division at the GMC Cross Country Championship. This is the first time we have had two female athletes selected in the same season.

 

EB Tech’s School of the Arts hosted the annual senior showcase November 17^th and 18^th. All six art programs participated in the showcase. Each senior in the Dance Department choreo-graphed their own piece; Digital Film students previewed their documentary and public service announcements; Theatre seniors wrote, directed and produced their own works; Graphic Design Commercial Art and Illustration and Multimedia Art and Design showcased artwork by their seniors ranging from oil on canvas to a flip book. The newest program, Arts Technology, managed the entire event.

 

The Green Ambassadors and members of DECA, NTHS, Principles of Sustainability class and School of the Arts have been cleaning out the four courtyards in the building.  The students are working together to create educational spaces that focus on sustainability.

 

Students in Mr. Mercadante’s Pre-Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing program complet-ed the prototype phase of Project Delbert. Project Delbert is a hands-on learning experience where the students designed and built a ball-throwing device for Javier Robles, who is wheel-chair bound, and his service dog Delbert. The students demonstrated the prototype unit to Javier and Delbert on November 18^th and it was a huge success. The Pre-Engineering students designed the product and used a 3D printer to print parts for the device. This was an interdis-ciplinary project including Machine Tool Technology (bracket), Building Services (housing), and Digital Film (making documentary). Javier and Delbert were extremely pleased with the proto-type and the students enjoyed watching Delbert play with the device. Three floor units will be manufactured for the Service Dog Institute where they will be used to exercise service dogs.

 

East Brunswick Campus

Ms. Sobolewski’s Graphic Design: Commercial Art and Illustration juniors and seniors are working with The Memory Project to create portraits for youth around the world who have faced challenges, such as neglect, abuse, loss of parents, violence, and extreme poverty. The students want the portraits to help the children feel valued and important, to know  that many people care about their well-being, and to act as meaningful pieces of personal history in the future.  Ms. Sobolewski wants this to be an opportunity for her students to creatively practice kindness as well as having an understanding of global awareness. The classes received photos of children and teens from Ukraine, and are taking this opportunity to learn about the currency, politics and other interesting facts about the area. 

 

Mrs. Fitzgerald’s baking students took part in “Mall-O-Ween” held at the Brunswick Square Mall on October 31^st as part of our Community Outreach initiative. The baking students baked and decorated over 250 cupcakes with children throughout the community who were “trick-or-treating” in the mall. Our students are planning on attending the “Storytime and Cookie” event for preschoolers in December. The students will decorate cookies and assist in reading stories to preschoolers.

 

The bake shop was also busy for the Thanksgiving season. They made and sold over 130 pies for the Thanksgiving season.

 

Mr. Libitz and Ms. Paprota are working with seniors on their entries into the C-Span 2017 Video Documentary Contest “Your Message to Washington." This cross-curricular activity between academics and career majors is a great lesson on how learning acquired in the career major and academic classes work together.

 

The new EB Tech Technology Student Association (TSA) participated in leadership training and design competitions while attending their first meeting at The College of New Jersey on November 22^nd. The students are excited and eager to grow the TSA program.

 

East Brunswick School of Career Development

Ms. Moir, Ms. Rodgers, and Mr. Sagar traveled with their students to the Perth Amboy Campus via NJ Transit bus On November 30^th.  This trip was a part of our Travel Training Program which teaches students how to navigate through public transportation.  Once they arrived at Perth Amboy, the students and staff were treated to lunch and a lesson on proper etiquette in a restaurant as well as dividing up a bill and tipping.

 

SkillsUSA students participated in SkillsUSA Day on November 18^th. This is an all day work-shop student members led by the New Jersey SkillsUSA state officers. The state officers taught members about the mission and framework of SkillsUSA and shared their personal experiences with the organization. Our students participated in various public speaking activities concluding with an elevator speech contest. This annual event serves as the first major SkillsUSA activity for the East Brunswick chapter and provides an opportunity for both new and returning members to meet each other and learn about the organization.

 

The East Brunswick SkillsUSA chapter concluded the Rutgers Football Concession fundraiser, earning a grand total of $4,200. A total of 20 returning, new, and alumni SkillsUSA members participated in this fundraiser during each of the seven games, putting in an average of eight hours per game. Returning members were asked to work a minimum of three games to distribute the work evenly, but many students went above and beyond and worked far more than the requested three games. The students managed all aspects of the concession stand during the games and did so with a high level of enthusiasm and professionalism. In fact, they did so well that for the last two games, the SkillsUSA group was asked to move to a bigger and more crowded consession stand. Due to its excellence, the chapter earned a $700 bonus for their hard work. The management was so happy with the students' work that they have requested that the group helps with some games during the indoor winter season, which the students are looking forward to.

 

Mr. Canning and his carpentry students removed the entire house that was built on the tennis court.  Demolition began just after the start of the school year in September.  The students hope to begin a new house in the spring.  They started demolition from the roof and worked down through the second floor until they reached the floor joists at the bottom of the house.  Ninety percent of the material from the house (windows, sliding door, vinyl siding, floor and ceiling joists and wall studs) will be recycled and reused for the new house and upcoming projects.

 

Perth Amboy Campus

The Culinary Arts career major hosted an American Culinary Federation Practical Exam with several prospective chefs attempting to become ACF certified. Students were able to watch the process from beginning to end and observe how professional chefs organize, prepare and execute various dishes during the practical phase of ACF Certification. 

 

Our Culinary Arts students cooked 24 turkeys and all sides for the annual Thanksgiving Day feast sponsored by the City of Perth Amboy. This annual tradition helped to feed more than 300 people.

 

The Perth Amboy Campus hosted a speaker from Johnson and Wales University who spoke with our students about their program and prospective career opportunities. There are currently 4 Perth Amboy Campus alumni attending the university.

 

A representative from Wells Darby, Inc. trained the Perth Amboy Campus HVAC students in the installation and maintenance of new age TracPipe CounterStrike flexible gas hoses. All students who participated in the training received their certification.

 

The Perth Amboy Campus Interact Club volunteered their time at the Salvation Army in Perth Amboy to stock the food pantry and serve meals to the homeless.

Piscataway Campus/Piscataway School of Career Development

The Piscataway Campus’ high school cosmetology class participated in an autumn manne-quin project.  This project allowed students to be creative and work independently.  Students used makeup techniques to create both frightening and beautiful fall princesses.  Students were awarded prizes based on votes by administration.

 

The Piscataway Campus’ high school cosmetology class had the following presentations with guest speakers to educate the class in various techniques and products:

 

A guest educator from Chi/Farouk presented a product knowledge class to teach how to work with chi products and tools.

 

A guest educator from Paul Mitchell presented a color with confidence class. Students were  able to work hands-on with the representative gaining more confidence in using Paul Mitchell's professional hair color line. Students worked on formulation and client consultation.

 

One Hundred Piscataway Career Development students received an introduction to the New Jersey Independent Travel Program.  This program teaches students how to use the New Jersey transportation systems.  Louis Hoffman from Rutgers University provided the training to the students.

 

Mrs. Ricciardi’s adult cosmetology class attended their monthly seminar at Greggs Beauty Supply. Mr. Dave Steiner demonstrated two hair styles on three different students; two styles with long layers, and one with short layers.  The styles included instruction on point cutting and thinning shears which are techniques platform artists use.  These techniques helped advance students’ skill sets which will be required by upscale salons.