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November School Highlights

Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences

Family, Career and Community Leaders of America Leadership Conference. The Seniors Simran Shamith and Katie Leung took home the gold medal at the students competed in the “banner” category.

 

Morning session Students of the Month in the Career Choices Program are: Andres Luna in Construction Technology, Angelizue Antolelli in Digital Media, and Avinn Jimenez in Food and Health Technology. Afternoon session Students of the Month are: Thomas Hayes in Construction Technology, Cameron Barry in Digital Media, and Laila Wilson in Food and Health Technology.

 

The Raritan Bay Medical Center selected 18 of the Woodbridge Academy 10th and 11th graders to participate in the new Medical Explorers program. This six-month program will allow our students to participate in interactive learning with healthcare professionals, conduct experiments, and attend hospital tours. Students will explore a variety of careers in the healthcare field during the course of the program.

 

The Interact and Key Clubs sponsored a Thanksgiving food drive to assist the St. James Catholic Church food pantry in Woodbridge Township. Students collected over 1,600 pounds of non-perishable food items - setting a new Woodbridge Academy record and was the single largest donation to the food pantry by any school this year! The food pantry distributed Thanksgiving-themed baskets to families and home-bound individuals in need during the holiday season.

 

The UNICEF Club received a certificate of appreciation for collecting and donating coins to help less fortunate children in the United States. The club ran a Spirit Day at the Academy to recognize Universal Children’s Day on November 20th. The United Nations Universal Children’s Day was established in 1954 and promotes international together-ness, awareness among students worldwide, and improving children’s welfare. This year’s theme was: Stop Violence Against Children. Each grade dressed in the class colors and posted pictures with special hashtags to educate others about UNICEF and Universal Children’s Day.

 

The Middlesex County Center for Empowerment presented a healthy relationships and preventing dating violence assembly to our 11th and 12th graders on November 2nd.

 

The students in our Career Choices Program visited Piscataway and Perth Amboy Campuses to discover the programs and possibilities of attending MCVTS for high school next year.   

 

To celebrate National HOSA Week, the club held HOSA officer elections and educated the school about HOSA and its mission.

 

The Academy received 375 applications for the 2018-2019 school year. Letters were sent to all applicants explaining the process for admissions testing and information sessions. The academy hopes to enroll 75 students for the next school year.

 

The second “Coffee with the Principal” was held on November 30th. The evening event was scheduled to accommodate working parents who don’t have a flexible daytime schedule.

 

Woodbridge police came to the school on November 28th to assist with the active shooter/ lockdown drill.

 

Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies

The varsity and junior varsity soccer teams gathered to celebrate team and individual achievements for the 2017 season on November 16th.

 

Seniors Jeffrey Bandara, Zarir Hamza and Abhishek Patel were named to the Greater Middle-sex Conference All-Gold Division Soccer Team for the 2017 season.

 

NJIT Assistant Dean of Admissions Ms. Lois Chipeppo visited the Academy to interview students for instant decision admissions on November 28th.  Eleven students were inter-viewed and admitted to the Honors College.

 

Electrical/Computer Engineering senior Malavika Vivek was selected as a Finalist in the 2017-2018 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology.

 

Civil/Mechanical Engineering juniors Ariana Novo and Sudheshna Vemula had a very successful meeting at the United Nations with Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake, the Secre-tary General’s Envoy on Youth on November 17th. The purpose of the meeting was to obtain the UN’s support for the initiative begun by them along with Kaileann Villanueva, Nicole Salazar and Rameen Farooq for an International Read-a-thon scheduled for March to improve children’s education in developing countries.

 

Representatives from Sysco visited with the senior engineering students to discuss their company and possible internships on November 17th.

 

An Advisory Committee meeting took place on November 29th to discuss the new intern-ship initiative in our senior engineering classes.

 

The Academy Math Team placed third in the November CJML Meet held at the Union County Vocational and Technical School.  The following students contributed to this success: Freshmen Aditya Akshate and Gil Shteyman, sophomore Pamod Mikitiri; juniors Parth Savla, Spencer Ng, and Glenn Sun; and seniors Kunal Adhia, Poojit Hegde, Lucent Fong, and Jonathan Wong. Twenty seven Central Jersey high schools participated.

 

East Brunswick Campus

The East Brunswick campus hosted an Open House on November 18th. Approximately 130 prospective students attended the event. A large majority of the career major instructors were in their classrooms showcasing their respective career majors.

 

The agriscience technology program hosted a Thanksgiving celebration for all students and staff in the program on November 21st. The students prepared the meal and invited family members to the celebration. After the lunch, the students hosted an official FFA meeting that was witnessed by the staff and parents.

 

The School of the Arts hosted the annual senior showcase November 15th and 16th. All six art programs participated in the showcase. Each senior in the dance department choreographed their own piece; digital film students previewed their documentary and various public service announcements; theatre seniors wrote, directed and produced their own work, graphic design commercial art and illustration and multimedia art and design show-cased artwork by their seniors ranging from oil on canvas to a flip book designed by a senior. Our newest program, arts technology, managed the entire event.

 

The Interact Club and National Technical Honor Society collected food for various families in our school community. The food drive was so successful that they are continuing the food drive through the winter holiday season. Over 20 families received food donations for the Thanksgiving holiday and we are looking to match that for the remaining holiday season.

 

The ManufactureNJ Talent Network hosted its Central Region Targeted Industry Partner-ship (TIP) in our pre-engineering advanced manufacturing career major classroom on November 30th. Students in the program gave a tour of their shop and met with individuals from the Central Jersey manufacturing region. The guests were extremely impressed with the career major and even more impressed with the student’s ability to articulate the manufacturing program and their desire to enter the field after graduation.

 

East Brunswick School of Career Development

Culinary Arts students prepared the side dishes (mashed potatoes, corn, string beans, and stuffing) for a Thanksgiving feast for the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey, Center for Life Long Learning.

 

Dr. Menell and Ms. Lipari’s junior classes collaborated to create a catapult capable of launching pumpkins across the school’s baseball field. Dr. Menell used the experience to teach students about the design and history of war weapons while Ms. Lapari focused on the geometry and physics concepts related to the catapult and projectile motion.

 

HOSA members visited the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia to explore the anatomy and function of the human body. Students participated in a variety of interactive exhibits and activities while at the museum.

 

Coats for the annual coat drive are being collected for cleaning and distribution to those in need in the East Brunswick area.  Drop-off points in East Brunswick, South River, and Spotswood are accepting donated coats.  Our efforts have been combined this year with the Township of East Brunswick and was the subject of television coverage on EBTV and News 12 NJ.

 

Perth Amboy Campus

Junior carpentry student Jacob Perry was honored as a New York Jets “Upstander of the Week.” This is a collaboration between the Jets and STOMP out Bullying to honor a student who stands up to bullying and helps those in need who are either bullied or cyber-bullied. Jacob was given 3 tickets to the Jets-Kansas City Chiefs game on December 3rd.

 

Perth Amboy Campus hosted a luncheon on November 30th to strengthen the relation-ship between Raritan Bay Medical Center and our campus. Our students assist in the hospital community gardens and help provide our Culinary Arts shop with fresh locally grown produce.

 

All Perth Amboy Campus junior and senior students were treated to a presentation by the local Army recruiters educating our students on career opportunities and tuition reimbursement programs that the Army offers.

 

Culinary arts students participated in the annual Thanksgiving Day dinner in the City of Perth Amboy by cooking turkeys and hams for the festivities.

 

Mr. Rand’s HVAC/R 10th grade students participated in the Electrical Employment Readi-ness Test given by ESSCO Institute. The class had a 100% passing rate on the exam.

 

Piscataway Campus/Piscataway School of Career Development

Ninth grade English class students visited the Museum of Jewish Heritage on November 21st.  The classes have been studying the tragedy of the Holocaust. The museum experience emphasized the mass migration of Holocaust survivors to other countries. Students traveled via the Staten Island Ferry en route to the museum. Instructors used this opportunity to highlight the symbolism of the Statue of Liberty and the importance of Ellis Island for immigrants. The journey was a perfect complement to the museum visit.

 

The students were well received at the museum by their hosts and proactively expanded their knowledge. Freshman Mariah Van Ishem stated: “The museum exceeded my expectations. I saw many sad but interesting artifacts.” After learning that each volunteer tour guide was connected directly to the Holocaust, Catherine Matamoros commented: “My tour guide was very understanding and accurate with his information.” Soccer player Jose Dolores perhaps summed up the experience best.  In his reflection, he lamented that the trip, “…makes me thankful for my family and everything I have in my life.”

 

Culinary arts students participated in the annual Eat, Drink, and Share Fundraiser at the Pines Manor in Edison on November 13th.  The event raised funds for blind and deaf children in State Of New Jersey through the Rotary Club.

 

Piscataway Campus culinary arts program became the second public school in the nation to receive a ‘Level 1’ status with the Green Restaurant Association on November 24th.