October School Highlights

Academy of Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences 

 

The first Wellness Day of the school year was held on October 11th. Students signed up for flag football, yoga, walking, games, outdoor giant Jenga and Connect 4, meditation, art projects, and guest speakers. Dr. Djeng, a pediatric dental surgeon spoke to a packed house about the dayto-day activities associated with his career, and Dr. Mehta, director of residents at St. Peter’s Hospital, spoke to a standing-room-only crowd of students about medical school and beyond. The workshops and activities were all a success.  

 

Fifteen students and Ms. Wilhelmy, Project Lead the Way ninth- and 10th grade teacher, attended a women in STEM day at Johnson and Johnson on October 7th.

 

Senior portrait day was October 28th. Ms. Wilhelmy, yearbook advisor, organized and supervised the proceedings in the new Collaboration Space.

 

The first Club Day for 2019-2020 was held on October 25th. This year the students have proposed and found an advisor for the following clubs: Drama, Art, Videogaming, Sports, Environmental Protection, Science for Fun, Crafts, Knitting and Crocheting, Photography, Mental Health Awareness, LGBTQ/GSA, Dance, Chess, Movie Critic, and Literature Circles. 

 

Total Registration was set up to register students for AP exams and RegiSmart for the registration and fee collection for the Rutgers courses.

 

Six Woodbridge Academy seniors received acceptance letters for the Questbridge Scholarship. In 2019, out of 14,926 applications, 5,842 students were selected as National College Match Finalists. Finalists exhibit high academic achievement and qualify financially. 

 

Students enjoyed our RESPECT paper chain linking activities and discovering we are more alike than different during team time on October 10th. The first spirit points of the year went to the seniors for winning the Respect Week door-decorating contest. The doors were judged by members of the Woodbridge Township Police Department and Mr. Bilal. Also, the Woodbridge police judged the Career Choices Respect Week posters.

 

The junior varsity soccer team is undefeated.

 

Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Technologies

 

Great turnout for Parents’ Night 2019. Thanks to teachers, support staff, the Academy Foundation and peer mentors for making the night great.

 

Academy senior Urmi Jani participated in the Girl Up WiSci STEAM Camp in Pristina, Kosovo, for two weeks this past summer. Urmi coded drones with Python, controlling autonomous vehicles and using NASA's program to view the unpredictability of forecasts due to climate change.

 

Safety Ambassador training was held for students who will be teaching safety lessons this spring to first graders in Edison. Thank you to Robert Wood Johnson for maintaining this valuable program, and thanks, Ms. Simmons, for advising this excellent group.

 

Student pairs wore matching outfits for Twin Up Against Bullying, one of our Week of Respect events at the Middlesex County Academy.

 

Seniors wrote out words of encouragement on post-its to place on the lockers of freshmen. Thank you, Mr. Fernandez, for coordinating this activity.

 

Senior Students of the Month for October were Roshan Patel, Serena Zeng and Ryan Shah. Huge thank you to the Edison Rotary Club for holding these monthly breakfasts. Thank you to Ms. Simmons for coordinating the nomination and selection process.

 

Congratulations to Paranjai Patil for being accepted into the prestigious New York Academy of Sciences Junior Academy. As a member of The Junior Academy, Paranjai will have the opportunity to collaborate with nearly 3,000 students from 94 countries on virtual challenges sponsored by industry-leading companies and hosted on the innovation platform Launchpad. 

 

Academy sophomores, currently studying revolutionary times with Mr. Price in U.S. History I, visited the Cornelius Low House and the East Jersey Old Town Village, where they learned about life in the mid-to-late 1700s. Students also learned about Middlesex County trades, products and farming. 

 

Nineteen school administrators from Zhejiang Province, China, visited the Middlesex County Academy through a Kean University 2019 China-U.S. STEM education program hosted by the New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics (NJCSTM) to observe the planning and execution of a collaborative learning Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) lesson. Special thanks to Ms. McNulty for coordinating the entire visit and Ms. Macdonald for hosting our guests in her classroom as they experienced POGIL firsthand and were able to observe the lesson strategy performed with our students. In the afternoon, the educational leaders had tea with the principal and were able to ask more about the school and education systems in the U.S. 

 

Congratulations to members of the Computer Science Club who worked on the invention of the FRAT Device, which authenticates the frame rate of traffic cameras. This group competed in the STEAM Tank Finals at the New Jersey School Boards Association's Workshop Conference. Our ECET teacher, Mr. Enzo Paterno, led the group and Detective Brandon Epstein of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, who contacted us initially to develop the device for use in court cases involving traffic issues, were also in attendance. 

 

Academy seniors toured Rutgers Honors College to learn about programs, facilities and their separate housing. They saw a few rooms and even ran into some 2018 and 2019 alumni.

 

East Brunswick Campus

Leanna Pede, grade 12, was selected as a News12 New Jersey’s Scholar Athlete.  She was interviewed and video recorded at the East Brunswick campus by a New12 reporter.     Tije Velez, a special FX makeup artist, visited our Digital Film program to deliver a workshop on makeup related to Halloween.

 

On October 17th, a delegation of industry representatives from China toured the East Brunswick Campus.  They visited the classrooms of six career majors and heard presentations by instructors, students, and members of the school’s administration.  

 

 

Discover Middlesex County released a commercial spot and website showcasing the arts education we deliver at the East Brunswick Campus.  This was in conjunction with their ad campaign “Where Arts and Culture Become Reality”.

 

Mr. Libitz, Digital Film instructor, and his former students Isaiah Gomez and Amanda Clark were invited to participate in this year’s New Jersey School Boards Association conference.  Their films were showcased and the students and teacher were invited to take part in a question-andanswer panel.  

 

Mr. Mercadante, instructor for the Pre-Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing program, Mr. Greatorex, instructor for the Music Performance and Technology program, and their students participated in a field trip to the Martin Guitar Factory in Pennsylvania.  Hands-on workshops and manufacturing trends were presented to the students and teachers.  

 

Ms. Sobolewski, instructor for the Graphic Design program, and her students participated in a field trip to the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York City.  Students explored collections of historical and contemporary design.  

 

On October 7th, a financial aid and college loans workshop was presented to parents and students in the East Brunswick Campus auditorium.  Ms. Cipperly, Ms. Canning, and Ms. Lalevee, our school counselors, made this night a huge success.  

 

East Brunswick School of Career Development 

 

Dr. Menell and Ms. Thomas-Floyd coordinated a trip for 40 students to the Philadelphia historical sites. Along with the chaperoning assistance of Mr. Yurkiw, they gave their students an incredible expeditionary learning experience. 

 

The East Brunswick Career Development dry cleaning class and the South River Board of Health are teaming up to run a winter coat drive. There will be drop-off points for coats in different areas of East Brunswick and South River. The coats will be delivered to Mr. Grimaldi in the drycleaning shop; they will be cleaned and picked up once again by Shari Mannano from the South River Board of Health.  We have been working with Ms. Mannano on this project for the past six years.  Anyone with old or unwanted coats are more than welcome to contribute.

 

David Flood, a motivational speaker, spoke to our ninth and tenth grade students during the Week of Respect.  His message was to try to understand what other people might be going through and to have compassion for others. Part of his message was to say thank you to an adult in the building and to never let anyone eat lunch alone.  

 

Mr. Wiseman’s Building Services classes have been working diligently on the beautification of one of our courtyards on the East Brunswick Campus.  The courtyard has been mostly completed, but there are finishing touches and maintenance still to be done.

 

Freshman Cross Country runner Isabella Marques was a top-25 medalist in the NJTAC crosscountry race at Branch Brook Park on October 21st.

 

Perth Amboy Campus 

The Perth Amboy Campus had inspirational speaker Gabe Hurley, who was severely disabled in a car accident from a distracted driver, speak to our students about the dangers of distracted driving and how he has persevered through this difficult time in his life. He also spoke to the students about treating disabled people with respect.  

 

 

The Perth Amboy Campus had an informational speaker, Nikki Francis from Wellspring, talk with our students about drug and alcohol awareness and the dangers of vaping. 

 

The Interact Club created a Respect Tree, which is on display in our hallway. Students wrote their interpretation of “respect” on each leaf. 

 

The Perth Amboy Campus sent 15 students to the Woman and Girls STEM Career Success Workshop sponsored by Johnson and Johnson in New Brunswick. Students attended various workshops during the day and heard from several speakers about how to become successful in a STEM work environment. 

 

The Perth Amboy Campus had a 2019 graduate, Rafael Miranda, featured in a Council of County Vocational Schools promotional video highlighting our Automotive Technology program and its connections with local car dealer Ray Catena Jaguar and Land Rover. 

 

Assistant Middlesex County Prosecutor Linda Estremera talked with Perth Amboy Campus students about violence and vandalism and their impact on the community. 

 

Piscataway Campus 

 

 Ms. Lucas’s Health Career students successfully completed their CPR certification with a 100% pass rate.

 

Mr. Leahy’s Building Maintenance students have been busy learning how to install patio pavers, a new skill, thanks to their new instructional area outside. 

 

Jonathan Applewhite, a student in Mr. Araujo’s Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management class, was recognized by the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance. Jonathan has been volunteering at the Raritan Bay YMCA, working in various programs and services.  His motto is “wake up and be awesome. I am always providing service with a smile.” He has led many campaigns collecting for kids and families in need. A few events he has led are: Summer Cereal Campaign for Kids on summer break, and Teens for Jeans, where 431 pairs of jeans were collected for teens in shelters.

 

On October 3rd, Ms. Goldstein and the Safety Ambassadors attended the welcome safety summit at The Imperia in Somerset. The students received an introduction to the safety program and discussed the plans for the year ahead.

 

On October 7-11, Ms. Goldstein coordinated events/tasks for the Week of Respect. Students wrote on cards about who they respect and why. The cards are displayed on the windows outside of her office for all to see and read.  Ms. Roy’s Graphic Design shop made posters about respect, which are also displayed in the hallway.  During the daily announcements, the antibullying pledge and quotes on respect were read over the loud speaker.

 

On October 21-25, Ms. Goldstein coordinated Violence Awareness Week. During daily announcements, quotes against violence were read over the loudspeaker. Spirit days were done by coordinating a specific color, team, and favorite superhero shirt to be worn by students and staff. Two presentations were held during this week: Gabe Hurley provided a presentation on motivation and never giving up, and the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department presented on cyber-bullying and social media.