May School Highlights

Academy of Allied Health & Biomedical Sciences

Woodbridge Academy celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week and Nurse Appreciation Week from May 6^th to May 10^th. The administrative team provided breakfast on Tuesday, May 7^th, certificates of appreciation were distributed to all staff with lifesavers on Wednesday, May 8^th, and the PTSO served a spectacular luncheon on Thursday, May 9^th. The students were given certificates to fill out for teachers, which were collected and covered as a special booklet. The nurse received appreciation banners from each grade level 8-12 and signed by all students in that grade.

 

The Whole School, Whole Child, Whole Community Wellness Grant final monthly wellness and stress relief day for 2018-2019 was held on Friday, May 24^th. The students were offered 10 choices this month: yoga, meditation and mindfulness, movie viewing and discussion, creative writing, walking in the park, aromatherapy and essential oils, coloring, and two amazing workshops. The first workshop was hosted by Middlesex County Center for Empowerment and was about Identity, Oppression, and Empowerment. Approximately 45 students participated with Guidance Counselor Lisa Ferrier on hand to participate as well. The second workshop was presented by Special Strides and students learned about therapy utilizing horses and horses trained for use with special education students.

 

On Tuesday, May 28^th, more than 150 students were training in CPR under the Community of Lifesavers Program. Training was provided by Hackensack Meridian Medical Center trainers.

 

The last week of May was “Shadow a Student” Day for incoming freshmen. We were joined from between 15 and 20 students each day and had current 9^th and 10^th graders hosted these new students in their classes and at lunch.

 

Woodbridge Academy completed its NJSLA Science testing on May 29^th and 30^th and all juniors were tested. Part-time guidance counselor Katie Elko served as testing coordinator.

 

The softball teams concluded very successful seasons under the director of Varsity Coach Geri Cuesta-Aviles and JV Coach Jennifer Frank. The Varsity team placed 2nd in the GMC Gold Division.

 

We are very proud of two teams of freshmen who competed in the National Project Lead the Way Innovation Design contest and not only made it to the finals, but actually emerged victorious. Pratham Bhatt and Dixit Endal won the contest with a plan and model for artificial photosynthesis.

 

Placing third was a team comprised of Yash Dixit, Sujoy Menon, Soham Shashikumar, and Rohan Vivek. The students PLTW teacher is Kathy Wilhelmy.

 

PLTW, Chevron, and John Deere invited high school students in grades 9 -11 to participate in the 2019 PLTW Design Competition. The competition gives students the opportunity to address a problem relating to portable, renewable, and affordable energy, and is designed to recognize and reward outstanding student projects and highlight the importance of engineering design that solves real-world problems. Students built portfolios and then submitted them on the Innovation Portal, and a panel of judges reviewed the portfolios. The top 5 teams were invited to virtually present their portfolios to a panel of judges, which will determine the winning team. PLTW awarded the top five teams prizes and recognized them for their achievements. In addition, the school receives $5,000 for 1st place and $1000 for third place to enhance the students’ learning.

 

On Wednesday, May 8^th, students and teachers Rafael Nava and Geri Cuesta attended the Middlesex County Don’t Drive Distracted PSA event and awards. The students won in two categories. In video, Kavya Srinivasan, Kavya Thakkar, Stephany Bolanos, Britney Guzman, and Oluchi Nwankwo took 3rd place and received $500 for the school. In Audio, Namya Vemula, Divya Konduru, Diana Koszelnick, and Vaathsalya Achanta took 1st place and also won $500 for the school.

 

Freshman Shruti Tyagi read her original poems at the State Theater of New Jersey’s Community Poetry Reading on Thursday, May 23^rd. Shruti was invited by Poet Glenis Redmond, who had performed and lead workshops at the Academy earlier this year.

 

The 25 students who were accepted into the Raritan Bay Medical Center’s Medical Explorers program were honored in a ceremony on May 22^nd. These students completed information sessions at the hospital and had the opportunity to shadow medical professionals in various departments during the spring.

 

The seniors had a wonderful time at the MCVTS Prom, a masquerade, on Friday, May 17^th from 6:00-10:30 pm at The Grand Marquis in Old Bridge.

 

Academy for Science, Mathematics, & Engineering Technologies

Andrew Chen & Ryan Shah won Dare to be Great Challenge with their project "The Global Water Network".  Thanks Bill Graham Rotary District 7510 for organizing the event at Middlesex County College Judges Tony Staynings, President of Edison Rotary, Fillemon Shikomba of the United Nations & Senior Ariana Novo for hosting.

 

Senior Mentorship Final Presentations. Every senior student presented to their peers on their site experiences, accomplishments, and challenges. They gave a reflection on skills learned, how this experience connects to their potential future careers and gave feedback on the location and the process.

 

According to US News and School Reports rankings, The Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies ranked 3^rd in New Jersey, 61^st in the United States and is the 8^th ranked STEM school in the country.

 

Approximately 275 students, parents, teachers, peer mentors & freshmen volunteers attended. The orientation of new freshmen class (2023) was the primary focus, but 7^th graders from schools in Middlesex County came to hear about & tour the Edison Academy.

 

Dongsin Science High School from South Korea visited the Academy.  About 100 students and chaperones learned about our school, spoke with students and had an opportunity to tour our Engineering classrooms, a Science classroom and Media center.

 

The new Middlesex County Ad Campaign featuring our engineering instructor Dr. Weinstein, current students Ariana Novo, Mehraaj Tawa, Thomas Weatherbee, Varsini Dhinakaran & former valedictorian Anjali Gupta.

 

Safety Ambassadors Recognition Luncheon. Students took their post-assessments, heard from several speakers, recited their pledge to promote safety and were recognized for their service to our local elementary schools.

 

ACSL (American Computer Science League) All Star Contest. Elementary, Middle & High School from China, Croatia, Romania and the United States competing. Several students won individual awards. Tenth graders Raj Joshi, Aditya Agashe, Mihir Rastogi, Maxim Grebinskiy, & Aditya Chandaliya compete at American Computer Science League All-Star Contest for first time in school history. Thanks to Ms. Gomes for serving as adviser.

 

Memorial Day Assembly outside in the Peace Garden. Honoring those who served & gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Big thanks to Mr. Price for coordinating the event.

 

Big thanks to Navy Recruiters EMN1 Adam Glover and GSM2 Bernard Edoh for their presentation on Careers in The Navy. EMN1 Glover is/was a Nuclear Engineer who worked on Submarines and GSM2 Edoh is/was a Gas Turbine Systems Engineer. Lots of great opportunities were presented.

 

East Brunswick Campus

Nidhi Patel and Maria Martinez, students in Mr. Libitz’s Digital Film program, won 1^st place at the Film Now Festival in the Experimental category.  Amanda Clark, a student in Mr. Libitz’s Digital Film program, won 3^rd place at the Film Now Festival in the Narrative category.  All students received monetary prizes as well.

 

Out of 175 submissions, 3 of our student shorts from Digital Film Program, were among the 37 selected works at the prestigious 13^th Ocean County Library Student Film Festival.  The students involved were Nidhi Patel, Maria Martinez, Devyn Arroyo, and Aviel Bolesa. 

 

Melia Velez, a student in Mr. Libitz’s Digital Film program, received 3^rd place in the 2019 Jostens Photo Contest in the Landscape Category.  This competition is part of the All American High School Film Festival.

 

Mr. Libitz and students from his Digital Film program successfully hosted and executed the School of the Arts 5^th Annual Reel Film Festival here at the East Brunswick Campus. 

 

Ms. Mack and students from her Dance program successfully hosted and executed their annual Spring Dance performance on May 9-10 at the East Brunswick campus auditorium. 

 

The East Brunswick campus annual CVE luncheon took place on May 14^th outside of the East Brunswick campus auditorium.  Employers of all of our CVE students were invited to the luncheon to thank them for their support, participation, and collaboration with our students and staff.  Mr. Roth’s culinary students and Ms. Genco’s baking students provided and served the food and desserts. 

 

Francheska Rodriguez, a senior in Digital Film program, was presented with the East Brunswick’s chapter of AARP Community Service Award.  She was presented with a plaque and letter as well as a monetary prize.

 

Samantha Oliveira, Yasmine Khanna, and Dasan Kelton, students in Mr. Tiedemann’s Multimedia, Art, and Design program, were selected as winners of Congressman Frank Pallone Jr.’s Sixth Congressional District Spring Awards.

 

Dariel Angeles, a student in Ms. Aladren’s Theatre program, has been accepted into the prestigious Cherubs program at Northwestern University with a $4,000 scholarship that will cover all costs associated with this summer pre-college program.

 

Nine of eleven senior students in Mr. Mercadante’s Pre-Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing program have completed their paid internships at Sysco.

 

Mr. Mercadante and his Pre-Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing students delivered the MC Green Robot to the Middlesex County Improvement Authority ahead of schedule.  They presented the robot at the June Freeholder’s meeting. 

 

East Brunswick School of Career Development

Congratulations to Mr. Gent’s sophomores and juniors who have become EPA 608 Type I Certified and are currently studying for the Type II certification (which will allow them to work on residential and commercial HVAC equipment).  We are very proud of these young men and women.

 

This year, Mr. Canning’s Carpentry students and Mr. Wiseman’s Building Services students were given the opportunity to work with the Carpenter’s Union in Kennilworth, NJ.  This opportunity exposed these students to the field of carpentry and will hopefully open the door for them for careers in the field upon graduation.  On May 30, 2019, the two teachers escorted their students to a Carpentry Expo held at Raritan Center in Edison, NJ.  This expo exposed students to, not only careers in carpentry, but to new technologies available that are used in the field.

 

The Perth Amboy Campus Driver’s Education students participated in the creation of an art piece which is now on display in our school.  During the process students were educated on the dangers of Distracted Driving from the founder of the Non-Profit Nikhil Badlani Foundation and sponsored by State Farm Insurance.

 

Perth Amboy Campus

The Perth Amboy Campus Patriots Varsity Baseball Team won the Silver Division Championship with an unbeaten record within the division. Congratulations to players and coaches for all the hard work and dedication which went into this successful season!

 

The Perth Amboy Campus Tech Lady Patriots Varsity Softball team won the Gold Division Championship for the second year in a row! Congratulations to the players and coaches for all the hard work and dedication which went into this successful season!

 

Senior Softball Shortstop Daisy Arocho collected the 125^th hit of her career on May 11. Daisy ended her career as the all-time hits leader for the Lady Patriots.

 

The Perth Amboy Campus hosted the Annual Employer Appreciation Banquet on May 2. Students from the Perth Amboy Campus, Woodbridge Academy, and Edison Academy and their employers/mentors were recognized for their efforts to create a real world work experience for our students.

 

Piscataway Campus

Ms. Rastelii’s culinary student, Brian Reyes Bendito competed in The Walnut Hill Restaurant School competition. Out of 32 competitors, Brian took 1st place for his chocolate cake winning a $6,000 scholarship! 

 

Congratulations to Yarelis Cruz for being chosen to receive the Middlesex County School Counselor Association scholarship! The scholarship celebration was held on May 23^rd at Middlesex County College.

 

On May 8^th Coach Gardella escorted Eumani Hollins and Sergio Rodriguez to the Greater Middlesex County Sportsmanship banquet luncheon to honor their basketball achievements.

 

On May 19^th Coach Gardella escorted Ydelkis Puntiel to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Scholar Athlete awards luncheon to honor her varsity softball achievements and she was selected for 1^st team All Division.

 

The Career and Technical Education Association of New Jersey has selected Katheryn Cardenas as one of the recipients for the 2019 William C. Devonald Scholarship award.  Katheryn is a student in the Computerized Drafting and Design program and will be attending Middlesex County College in the Fall as an NJSTAR

 

Mrs. Ricciardi’s adult cosmetology students visited the Wolves Den Barber Shop in Westfield.  The owner was a graduate of our program 6 years ago.  He now owns three barber shops! This is the second shop we visited and we will be going to the third shop soon. 

 

Ms. Rogers, Health Technology students visited Robert Wood Johnson hospital to participate in the CHAT Program, Careers and Health Awareness for Teen Students.  They were given a tour of the hospital and spent time in different departments enabling them to experience various disciplines of the healthcare industry. They also experienced a tour of the morgue along with actually touching organs and learning from the pathologist about the history of each illness associated with the organs.

 

Ms. Lucas, Health Career students visited Roosevelt Care Center in Old Bridge continuing their clinical experience and preparing for their state testing.  During the visit they helped patients by taking their vital signs and feeding them. They also prepared a 98^th birthday celebration for Ms. Theresa.