June School Highlights

Academy of Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences

We held two more Shadow a Student Days on June 4 and 5 and hosted 16 students each day. Incoming and current students all reported having a wonderful experience.

 

All senior students presented the results of their Biomedical Innovations Capstone Project to evaluators on June 11, 12, 17 and 8. The Capstone Research projects are the culmination of 50 hours of shadowing an allied health professional and conducting research with 100 participants. The teacher/advisor is Dr. Schrader.

 

Rutgers testing for Dynamics of Healthcare in Society, Medical Terminology, Anatomy and Physiology II, Nutrition, and Introduction to Clinical Research. Every student passed every test. We are so proud of their effort and achievement this year. Forty seniors attended the Rutgers recognition ceremony on June 13. Seniors Stephany Bolanos and Shreya Peshori were awarded Rutgers School of Health Related Professions Academic Excellence Awards.

 

The Middlesex County Freeholders honored the award-winning students from the Middlesex County “Don’t Drive Distracted” PSA contest. Students from the Academy were recognized for their first-place audio submission and their third-place video submission.

 

Twelve students and two chaperones attended the 2019 International HOSA Conference and Competition in Orlando, Fla. The students attended workshops, opening and closing ceremonies, trainings, and their competitive events. Our HOSA Bowl team, comprising all juniors -- Sukruthi Thunga, Chanpreet Toor, Akul Umamageswaran, and Soumya Vavilala -- placed in the Top 10, and Nitin Nazeer, a junior competing in Researched Persuasive Speaking and Writing, also placed in the Top 10. All had a memorable experience and thank the Superintendent and the members of the Board for their support.

 

Sports Awards Night was held on June 13. Awards were given to all sports teams: JV and varsity soccer, JV and varsity basketball, JV and varsity softball, and club tennis. Approximately 160 people attended, and coffee and cake were served.

 

On June 9, U.S. News and World Report released a new set of rankings. The Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences was ranked 15th in the New York Metro Area.

 

Senior Shreya Peshori received the 2019 Wayne Holiday MCASBO Scholarship of $1,000. She was one of seven students to receive this honor for academics, leadership, and service.

 

On June 25, the juniors made and served the seniors breakfast. Following the breakfast the seniors had graduation practice and yearbook signing time. At 7 p.m. we held graduation, attended by Board President Eugene Mullins, Freeholder Charles Kenny, Freeholder Leslie Kopple, and MCVTS director of curriculum and instruction, Dr. Deborah Krause.

 

The student council flexed their leadership muscles the last days of school. Field day was scheduled for June 20, Warren Park was reserved and special lunches were arranged with Aramark. Due to the inclement weather, field day was moved to June 21. Again, the weather did not cooperate, but the student leaders executed a flawless indoor Field Day and fun was had by all. The spirit standings for the year were as follows: juniors in first, seniors in second, freshmen in third, and sophomores in fourth.

 

Spirit Week was held June 17-21. Monday was Neon Day, Tuesday was Hawaiian Day, Wednesday was Denim Day, Thursday was Rainy Day Blues, and Friday was Class Colors Day.

 

Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Technologies

The Memorial Day assembly was held outside in the Peace Garden, honoring those who served and gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Great speeches were given by Yash and Varsini.  Big thanks to Mr. Price for coordinating the event.

 

The American Computer Science League All-Star Contest was held May 25, with elementary, middle and high school students from China, Croatia, Romania and the United States competing. Several of our students won individual awards. This was our first year competing.

 

Edison Academy ranked No. 1 in New Jersey in SAT scores for the third year in a row. Congrats to our students for all their hard work and our staff for continuing to set the bar high for our students.

 

Our Academic (Quiz Bowl) Team competed in the NAQT National Championship in Atlanta. The team of Jatin, Rocco, Sean, Avinash and Prathit went 5-5 in their competition rounds and ranked 191 out of 336 overall. Great job competing on the national stage.

 

Edison Academy students competed at the American Regions Math League at Penn State as part of a team representing Central Jersey. The team placed third nationally in Division B and 21st overall.

 

Field Day 2019 included football, capture the flag, volleyball, Frisbee, Ping Pong and the gauntlet. Then BBQ at the school. Big Thanks to Mr. Fernandez, Ms. Lane-Cruz, Sanjna, Archi, Catherine and Janice for their hard work. Thanks to our teachers for supervising and 2018 alumni Zarir, Matt and Jeff for helping us out.

 

A Celebrate Middlesex County 2019, three shifts of 29 Academy students from Civil/Mechanical and Electrical/Computer Engineering volunteered their time to help showcase our school with projects and engineering design challenges. Beautiful day, great event.

 

Mr. Price’s US I class had a guest speaker on the topic of practicing law in New Jersey as a defense attorney. Attorney Ron Brandmyer spoke about his experiences and expertise on how the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments applied to his clients and to defendants in general.

 

The Class of 2023 welcome picnic was held by the Academy Education Foundation. Big thanks to the Peer Mentors, our DJ Aditya V., Mike, Mr. Mosaad, Ms. Simmons and all the foundation volunteers. Fun day getting to know the new class and their parents.

 

Candy Bar Project Presentations were graded on design process, profitability, packaging, promotion of the school and, of course, taste. Great job ninth-grade CMET.

 

The MCA E-Sports Team got their jerseys. Great job this year, team, and big thanks to Coach Smith for helping make this a reality.

 

 Congrats to the Class of 2019! Great speeches, Kevin and Spencer. Big thanks to Ms. McNulty for making the graduation memorable. Thank you to the Academy Education Foundation for a wonderful reception. Grads, we are so proud of all of you. Good luck next year and have a great summer.

 

East Brunswick Campus

On June 25, the East Brunswick campus graduated 98 seniors.

 

On June 21, the East Brunswick campus unveiled and initiated their new electronic display screen on Rues Lane.

 

On June 8, students and teachers from Pre-Engineering, Baking, Dance, and Multimedia Art, and Design participated in Celebrate Middlesex Day at Roosevelt Park in Edison.

 

On June 5, approximately 100 incoming freshmen took part in our Freshmen Fun Fest organized by our counseling departments and administration. 

 

Students in Ms. Aladren’s theater program completed a three-day run of “Julius Caesar 2.0” for their mainstage performance June 6-8.  This year’s production was complete with an interactive and immersive theater experience for audience members. 

 

Students in Mr. Mercadante’s Pre-Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing program were heralded at the Middlesex County Board of Freeholders meeting for their work to create a new MC Green that involved everything from actuated arms to the creation of e-content. This project was a collaboration between our campus, Edison Academy and the Middlesex County Improvement Authority. 

 

SkillsUSA advisors Sarah Rubin and Thomas Leibering chaperoned students in Louisville, Ky., at the National Conference June 24-29.  The students involved were Lexie Enzana, Emily Soden, Valerie Urbaez, and Joseph Temenski.

 

East Brunswick School of Career Development

The Skills USA advisors and a few students competed in Louisville, Ky., during the week of June 24.  Lexi Enzana competed for East Brunswick Tech to be named one of the top model chapters in the country. Lexi worked extremely hard on this task but, in the end, she was not considered as a finalist.

 

East Brunswick Tech and Career Development hosted the annual Senior Award Ceremony on June 20.  Many seniors received awards, some of which were of a monetary value.  From Career Development, Cheyenne Spangler won the Office Personnel Award worth $75 and Lexi Enzana won the Aramark Award worth $500. These two awards were presented at graduation on June 25.

 

The East Brunswick Career Development students, along with the East Brunswick Vocational and Technical students, graduated on June 25. The ceremony was beautiful and, as each student’s name was called, the class clapped and cheered.

 

Perth Amboy Campus

10^th-Grade Computer Systems Technology student Krzystof Grochal took third place at the Microsoft Office Specialist National Championships Competition in Orlando, Fla.

 

The Class of 2019 enjoyed their senior class trip to Pocono Valley Resort on June 5. Students were exposed to a variety of activities such as team-building exercises and obstacle courses while enjoying the beautiful lakeside setting.

 

The Perth Amboy Campus graduated 55 seniors on June 25. We were honored to have Freeholder Shanti Narra give a very poignant commencement address to our graduating class. 

 

Piscataway Campus

On June 7, Ms. Ciesielski’s cosmetology shop volunteered their time to host a
“day of beauty” for Piscataway Regional Day School Students. The day involved

hair-styling, makeup and nails to prepare the students who were attending their

prom that evening.

 

Ms. Lucas’ Health Careers shop celebrated their 100 percent passing rate on the Certified Nursing Assistant Exam. First graduating class for Piscataway Tech. We are so proud.

 

Mr. Wiater’s carpentry students recently made and donated scent boxes to the West Windsor, Lawrence Township and Robbinsville Police Departments’ K9 division. The K9 officers will use the boxes to train their dogs for narcotics and explosive detection. K9 Mackey and his partner Officer Doug Montgomery of the West Windsor Police Department and Officer Ron Buchanan and his K9 partner TY of the Lawrence Township Police Department stopped by to personally thank the students for the donation. The students did a great job building quality scent boxes that will be used for training for a very long time. (A video report aired on News12 June 19 and is available on News12.com.)

 

One hundred percent of Mrs. Ciesielski’s cosmetology students passed their state board testing and will receive their licenses. We are very proud of their success.

 

On June 4, the seniors visited Camelback Mountain Adventures in the Pocono Mountains. While there. they conquered the tree-top ropes challenge which includes obstacles such as rope bridges, swings, tight ropes, and zip lines, all while suspended in the air.  They also enjoyed a scenic chairlift ride and exhilarating rides on the Appalachian Mountain Coaster and the Pocono Pipeline Mountain Slide. A fun-filled day was had by all, as students encouraged one another to overcome fears and meet the challenges of the course.

 

On June 6, the fifth annual Career Day Job Fair was held at the Piscataway Campus from 10:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. More than 300 students were able to meet and talk with 30-plus employers and post-secondary educators. It was a very successful event and continues to grow each year.