December School Highlights

Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences

Senior Maria Volski traveled to Europe for the Paris World Dance Council Amateur League World Championships (WDCAL) at Disneyland Paris. Maria and her partner finished 15^th in the world! According to Maria, the Paris World Dance Championships “is one of the more important ballroom dancing events hosted around the world. This was my third consecutive year attending the event. We competed in two styles: Latin and Standard. Each style consists of five dances; Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Jive and Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, and Quickstep.”

 

The ninth grade students presented their Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare projects in Mr. Turner’s classes and the average score was almost five points higher than their summer reading project grades. They went from just below 90 percent to above 94 percent largely because their public speaking has improved dramatically (pun intended)!

 

The varsity girls’ basketball team, coached by Scott Modzelewski, won its season opener 49-18 against Wardlaw-Hartridge.

 

The Junior Class and the HOSA Chapter hosted a holiday movie night and Toys for Tots Drive on December 9^th. There was plenty of pizza, popcorn, and cookies for all and holiday trivia games kept the crowd on its toes. A wonderful time was had by the 100 students who participated.

 

The Student Council planned and implemented Spirit Week from 12/11-12/15, which culmi-nated with a pep rally. Monday was hat day, Tuesday was pajama day, Wednesday was we wear pink day, Thursday was ugly sweater day and Friday students were resplendent in their class colors. While the seniors won the week with the most points, the students collec-tively had a lot of fun.

 

Students in the Career Explorations Program participated in Spirit Week that was designed to promote teamwork, respect, and hard work. The students in each shop decorated their doors with themes related to the curriculum and positive character traits. Two Woodbridge police officers visited and judged the projects.  Mr. McGowan's class was the winner from the morning session and Mrs. Rozner's class was the winner from the afternoon session. All the students enjoyed the activities and did a great job.    

 

The Interact Club held a bake sale after school on December 1^st to raise funds and aware-ness for World AIDS Day. The money was donated to help fight HIV/AIDS.

 

The Red Cross Club collected letters from students throughout the month of December to be sent to those serving in the military during the holidays or veterans in hospitals, rehabil-itation centers or in our local community. The Holidays for Heroes campaign generated close to 500 letters, which were sent through the Red Cross to recognize and thank our veterans.

 

We held a Red Cross blood drive on December 12^th and collected more blood units than ever before.

 

The Academy held a Gingerbread House building contest between the homeroom classes on December 22^nd. Great fun was had by all as students spread some holiday cheer in the building.

 

Child Study Team members from the Piscataway and East Brunswick Campus met with the Eighth Grade Career Choices students and families to discuss potential placement in one of our district high schools.

 

We held our first Industry Advisory Board meeting for the 2017-2018 school year. The meeting was attended by seven industry professionals, two teachers (Dr. Schrader and Ms. Bowen), Sean McDonald from MCVTS and the building principal.

 

Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies

The Edison Rotary recognized seniors Maya Pandurangan and Poojit Hedge as the Academy Students of the Month for December.

 

The Spanish Honor Society sponsored the 14^th Annual “Culture Day” on December 15^th.  Students and staff prepared and shared ethnic foods representing the cultural diversity of the Academy community.

 

The Interact Club hosted a student talent show after school on December 15^th.  The acts showcased the amazing musical and dancing performance abilities of Academy students.  The club donated $650 to the USMC “Toys for Tots” program.  Following the talent show, the Academy Foundation hosted a buffet dinner for Academy staff, students and parents.

 

The Red Cross Club hosted a blood drive on December 4^th sponsored by Community Blood Services of North Jersey.

 

Information sessions for students and parents interested in becoming members of the Class of 2022 were held this month.  Four hundred ten students submitted applications for admissions.

The annual door decorating contest was a big hit again this year.  Prizes were awarded for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place winners.

 

Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) held its regional competitions the week of December 5^th.  The following students qualify for the state competition as indicated:

Accounting II

Maya Pandurangan (1^st place)

Advertising

Jessica Hernandez

Eesha Sharma

Mark Byrnes

Agribusiness

Anjali Bothra

Janice Seo

Business Calculations

Sayak Bagchi

Business Communication

Jay Rao

Poojit Hegde

Shankar Kohli

Business Law

Sharanya Pogaku

Ankit Patel

Computer Applications

Matthew Mariner

Computer Problem Solving:

Jason Li

Parth Savla

Cyber Security

Swathi Parthibha

Archi Parekh

Manas Harbola

Vineeth Vajipay

Database Design & Application

Kunal Adhia

 

The Academy’s Girl Up Club raised $1,700 for Girl Up’s School Cycle Campaign. The program provides bicycles to girls in Malawi so that they can go to school safely.

 

The annual Winter Extravaganza took place on December 22^nd.  Students participated in a host of activities, some of which included:  Board games, arts & crafts, cookie decorating, karaoke and ping pong.  A great time was had by all as they prepared for the winter break.

 

East Brunswick Campus

Students, staff and family members attended the annual Big Chill 5K at Rutgers University on December 2^nd. The entrance fee for the race was an unwrapped toy that will go directly to the Rutgers University Toys for Tots Program. The East Brunswick Campus raced as a team called EB Tech Tigers.

 

The East Brunswick Campus had spirit week from December 14^th thru December 21^st. Each day had a different theme and the homeroom with the most school spirit received a prize. In culmination of Spirit Week, East Brunswick Campus hosted a pep rally for our cheerleaders and boys and girls basketball teams on December 21^st. The pep rally was a huge success and EB Tech pride was on display throughout the school.

 

MCVTS School of the Arts Dance Department proudly presented their full-length production of The Rite of Spring which occurred during the evenings on December 14^th and 15^th.  This show brought together pivotal and climatic dancing that left all mystified and excited. The Rite of Spring is a ballet composed by Igor Stravinsky and originally choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky in 1913. Historic and unprecedented for its time, this piece explores pagan ritual, sacrifice and barbarism. It is set in an apocalyptic tribe, where members come together and watch a young woman chosen by elders to dance to her death. This sacrifice, though shocking and alarming, is thought to bring newfound prosperity back to the tribe. Since its revolutionary premiere, Stravinsky’s composition and Nijinsky’s choreography have been influential to many dancers and audience members, with original productions being produced internationally.

The Interact Club and NTHS continued their holiday season giving by giving out over 15 food baskets and over $250 in gift cards to families in need in our school community.

Media Specialist Ms. Jackie Treadwell participated in Hour of Code with four different career majors as follows: Multimedia Art and Design, Graphic Design: Commercial Art and Illustra-tion, Pre-Engineering and Advance Manufacturing, and Basic Business Technology then had her students complete the Hour of Code. The students were very interested and engaged and our school will continue to implement this in the future.

 

East Brunswick School of Career Development

HOSA sponsored a blood drive to benefit patients in the Central New Jersey area on December 8^th. Health Services Career Major senior Jasmine Jarvis was the student organizer for the event. Thirty-two pints of blood were collected. 

The East Brunswick School of Career Development coat drive was a huge success with the collection of over 200 coats and other garments.  Coats have been distributed to those in need all over Middlesex County.

Mr. Sagar, Ms. Moir, Ms. Gillis and their students navigated two NJ transit buses to Perth Amboy Tech for lunch on December 21^st.  Students were able to use the bus schedule and their phones to look up real time bus information.  They practiced counting money and deter-mined the correct fare needed for each bus.  Students had to be aware of the upcoming stop to alert the bus driver when to let them off.  They had a great experience interacting with the bus driver and other riders.  Once in Perth Amboy Tech, students were given a menu to choose what they would like for lunch.  The teachers familiarized the menu with the students and encouraged them to speak up if they had any questions and/or special requests. Students were given a brief lesson on the table setting. They learned the proper use of silverware. They practiced good etiquette and manners while dining. They practiced paying for lunch by receiv-ing individual checks and collecting money at the table.  Students had a great experience while dining and traveling that they will be able to use in their future.

Mr. Levine’s English students have seen an increased use of technology in the classroom and have been typing essays with computers and Chromebooks. Sometimes when this technology is not an option, the students will revert back to using a simple pen or pencil. In Mr. Levine's U.S. History class, students went back even further than that, as they utilized a feathered quill and ink to sign a class “Bill of Rights.” For this project, the students reviewed the class rules, which were treated as the class Constitution. Each student then offered an amendment to the rules, with the amendments treated as the class Bill of Rights. After completing the Bill of Rights, the students then took turns dipping the quill into a bottle of ink, and they signed their names on the document in a similar method to that of our founding fathers. The students learned the proper method to write with the quill and enjoyed this project. This lesson was also a unique Project Based Learning activity. All students in this class have Mrs. Bertram as an English teacher. They worked on their writing skills in her class, along with making sure they understood proper grammar usage. They then learnt about how amendments were created in Mr. Levine's history class. After the activity, Mr. Levine and Mrs. Bertram sat together and graded the students on a combination of their knowledge of the constitution, along with their writing ability. Therefore, along with the enjoyment of this activity through the use of a quill and ink, the students also learned a great deal about both English and history and were graded in a cross-curricular manner.

Dr. Menell's U.S. History I classes recreated historical events central to the American Revolu-tion era. Students reenacted the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere and the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Students dressed in period costumes and built props for each reenactment. 

Dr. Menell's Principles of Democracy class simulated a mock presidential election over the course of the last several weeks. Students worked in teams to build a campaign from the ground up. The teams designed creative campaign materials; prepared their "candidate" for debates, rallies and interviews; built a campaign website; maintained a mock Twitter account; and much more. To add authenticity, students were presented with unannounced challenges throughout the project. 

 

Perth Amboy Campus

The culinary arts students held the annual Gingerbread House Contest. Every entry was well done. The winners were: Isabelle Acevedo 1^st, David Diez 2^nd, and Deury Marte 3^rd.

Perth Amboy Campus hosted a parent talk with Mr. George Scott as the guest speaker who spoke to the parents about how to handle depression in teenagers and what signs to look for to see if your child is in distress.

Perth Amboy Campus collected more than 35 gifts for the Salvation Army Christmas Angel toy collection program which collects toys and other gifts for needy families in Perth Amboy.

 

Piscataway Campus/Piscataway School of Career Development

Cosmetology instructor Ms. Ciesielski and several high school cosmetology students volunteered at our FAFSA pancake breakfast on December 16^th as a community service project.

Cosmetology students held their winter mannequin project/competition on December 15^th.  Winners will be announced in our January highlights!

Cosmetology students also participated in our annual door decorating contest on December 15^th. The students were very creative and used mostly items that are part of the curriculum; such as: hair color samples, a dye mixing bowl, combs, and a large color wheel.

 Ms. Morrison's basic business technology shop donated coloring books to The Children's Hospital at Saint Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ and decorated holiday cards with ribbon and candy canes for the JFK Hartwyck Nursing and Rehabilitation Center    in Edison, NJ.

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Luzzalino visited Mrs. Ricciardi’s adult cosmetology class to introduce their new waxing company called Waxing the City. The students loved the new concept of their waxing system!  Employment applications were made available for the students.