November School Highlights

Academy of Allied Health & Biomedical Sciences

The Junior Class hosted the Annual Fall Dance, A Night in the City, which was a huge success. Approximately 150 students attended, the largest turnout in many years. The gym featured backgrounds against which students took pictures, a student served as the DJ and master of ceremonies, and there was food, soft drinks and desserts.

 

Interact Club held its annual Thanksgiving food drive. This year, over 2,000 pounds of food were collected for the Woodbridge-based St. James Parish Food Bank.

 

We successfully completed the new process of fall registration for AP exams and Rutgers exams by using Total Registration and RegiSmart.  Congratulations for implementing the systems go out to Ms. Lisa Ferrier and Ms. Katie Elko, guidance counselors. In all, 390 Rutgers University School of Health Professions exams will be administered. For AP Exams, 227 students registered for 399 exams.

 

Detective McGovern from Woodbridge Police conducted an active shooter training and security briefing during our Faculty Meeting on November 19^th.

 

Model U.N. team members represented the school in grand style on November 16^th at a local Model United Nations one-day conference. We earned Best Delegate Awards, two Outstanding Delegate Awards, Best Position Paper, and Most Improved Delegate. 

 

Our Junior Statesmen of America chapter attended the Fall State Conference on November 16^th and 17^th in Iselin.

 

On November 19^th and 22^nd, the morning and afternoon Career Choices students, teachers, and Mr. Michael Sullivan, assistant principal, toured the Career Development programs at East Brunswick and Piscataway, respectively.  On November 20^th, the Child Study Team members from Piscataway visited the Academy Career Choices classes to discuss their programs with the students.

 

The Scientific Principles of Nutrition class completed some authentic learning by preparing and tasting casseroles on November 26^th. The students presented their casseroles to the morning and afternoon Career Choices students in Food and Health Technology and their teacher, Ms. Rozner.  

 

On November 19^th, the eleventh grade ventured on a field trip to Ellis Island and participated in a “hard-hat tour” of the former medical facilities and processing systems for immigrants coming to America.  The trip was the culmination of an interdisciplinary unit written and implemented by APUSH teacher Melanie Veilleux and Medical Terminology teacher Marie Bowen.

 

Academy for Science, Mathematics, & Engineering Technologies

JSA attended Fall One Day at The College of New Jersey.  Kaitlyn Ferreras, Rithvik Mattipalli and Lavanya Jasra won best speaker awards.

 

The Academy's Interact Club participated in the 2019 Breast Cancer Walk in Johnson Park. Thanks to all who came out and braved the weather to support this worthy cause.

 

Andrew Silvestri took part in a Youth Exchange Program to Japan sponsored by Rotary District 7475 and partially funded by the Edison Rotary Club and donors from a Go Fund Me campaign. Andrew presented on his experiences to several Rotary members, his parents and Ms. Simmons during a dinner held at Bellini’s in Avenel.

 

Students working on the MC Green Robot presented several design aspects to Rachel Cohen and Paul Matacera of the Middlesex County Improvement Authority. The deliverable for the completed robot is this June. Great job students!

 

STEAM Tank State Finals at the NJEA Convention in Atlantic City. Member of our Computer Science club that represent the FRAT team took third place in the state! Great job! We got to meet Dr. Lamont Repollet, NJ Commissioner of Education. Big thanks, Mr. Paterno and Det. Epstein for advising the team and thanks, Ms. Vidyadharan and parents who transported our team to AC.

 

Newsweek's Top 500 STEM school in the United States! The Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies ranked 40th in the U.S., 15th among all Magnet Schools and third in New Jersey.

 

Middlesex County Academy's Math League at PUMAC (Princeton University Mathematics Competition). Gil Shteyman made it to the individual round and tied for first place in Combinatorics for Individual Competition -- a huge accomplishment!

 

MCA's Junior State of America attended Fall State this past weekend at the Renaissance Hotel in Woodbridge. Congrats to Arihant Gupta, William Yu, Meha Patel, Parth Harish and Yugal Gautam for being awarded Best Speaker Gavels!

 

Freshman Adrija Kundu placed third for Northern NJ on the regional test for the U.S. Geography Championships, qualifying for the National Championships with the sixth highest score in the U.S. National Championships will be in April 2020 in Arlington, VA.

 

Prathm Juneja, 2015 graduate of the Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies was recently recognized as a Rhodes Scholar!

 

Students and staff prepared food for culture day representing their heritage, students dressed in traditional garb, perform dances, sang culturally relevant songs and played a variety of instruments.

 

East Brunswick Campus

The East Brunswick Campus Student Council, under the direction and leadership of their advisor, Ms. Christie Alston, held a successful Veterans Lunch on November 19^th.  Veterans from our school community, staff members who are veterans, and their family members attended our first annual Veteran’s Luncheon. 

 

The East Brunswick Campus School of the Arts held their annual Senior Showcase on November 21-22.  Seniors in all seven of the Arts programs displayed their own independent and collaborative works.

 

The American Culinary Federation, the organization that certifies our Baking and Culinary programs, completed a successful site visit on November 18^th to review our curriculum and instruction.

 

Students from NJIT, with alumni from Mr. Malave’s Architecture Technology program, visited on November 14^th to initiate the Bridge Challenge Project. Students, in collaborative groups, designed and built bridges to then be tested for load. 

 

Tracey Maiello, an officer from the County Prosecutor’s Office, delivered an engaging CyberBullying Presentation on November 1^st in our auditorium. 

 

Students in the Interact and Student Alliance clubs, along with their advisors, Mrs. Dana Gordon and Mrs. Jackie Treadwell, organized a food drive to support students in need as well as the county food bank.

 

Students in Mr. Libitz’s Digital Film Program in collaboration with students from Mr. Homer’s Theater Program created an inspiring new video in collaboration with the Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival to help support and celebrate the global event #GivingTuesday. 

 

Members of the National Technical Honor Society, under the direction of their advisor, Mrs. Ursula VanWart, participated in Operation Defender. Students wrote cards and contributed items, which will be sent to U.S. soldiers deployed overseas. 

 

East Brunswick School of Career Development

Veterans Day was celebrated on November 19^th this year by celebrating our local veterans with a luncheon delivered by the EBCD Culinary class and the EB Baking class.  Veterans were welcomed with speeches from our Board of Education president, Mr. Keith Jones II, and by our Board of Education member and County Superintendent, Mr. Kyle Anderson.  Students also read speeches they wrote to honor our guests as well as reading speeches and poems given during various wars in our nation.  Ms. Christy Alston, Science teacher and Student Council advisor, arranged for this event. 

 

Mr. Levine’s sophomore English class read “Moby Dick.” For the project at the end of their unit, they had the opportunity to craft “Moby Dick” sequels. Two students wrote “Whalassic Park.” Two other students wrote “Twhalight.”  Two other students a very creative sequel called "The Dark Whale Rises," which was a Batman recreation with a whale instead of Bruce Wayne.

 

Coats for the annual coat drive are currently being collected for cleaning and distribution to those in need in the East Brunswick area.  There are drop-off points in different areas, including East Brunswick, South River, and Spotswood.  Coats can also be dropped at the East Brunswick Campus.

 

Mr. Wiseman’s Building Services continue to work diligently in the courtyard, installing walkways and bridges, enhancing its décor.  They are also in the beginning stages of building a “Hobbit House.”  This will be used as a storage place for tools that will replicate the house the “Hobbits” lived in from “Lord of the Rings.”

 

Two Career Development students will be receiving their Eagle Scout Honor: Neil Piscopo and Dylan Vollmann-Betancourt. Neil composed, built, and led his crew to completion of Lock Boxes that he built for the Dunellen Recreation for equipment storage. Neil was also awarded “The Order of Arrow,” where he was elected by his peers and attended a weekend camping trip to endure how to survive in the wilderness, making shelter, and finding food to survive.  Dylan is in the planning stages of coordinating and executing a drive to collect donations for the animals at St. Hubert’s Animal Shelter in Madison.  Dylan’s love for animals gives him a very personal connection to this project and wishes to support homeless, abused, sick, and neglected animals. 

 

Perth Amboy Campus

The Perth Amboy Campus Culinary Arts students cooked 22 turkeys donated by the City of Perth Amboy for the Perth Amboy Senior Citizens Center. The students made all the sides for the Thanksgiving dinner.  This is our students’ 13^th year participating in this wonderful event which helps everyone in the community enjoy the holiday.

 

The Perth Amboy Culinary Arts students went on a trip to tour the Institute of Culinary Education and International Culinary Center in New York City.

 

The Perth Amboy Campus Computer Assisted Drafting and Design and Culinary Arts students attended a talk given by renowned restaurant design consultant Mr. Ken Schimpf who spoke with students about the restaurant design process.

 

Perth Amboy Campus construction trades students attended a tour of the Port Authority facilities in Newark while learning about an exciting new grant program that will involve training for career technical education students.

 

The Perth Amboy Campus HVAC students met with Mr. Gerald Marshall representing the Local 9 HVAC Union about job opportunities and working conditions in the HVAC trade. Mr. Marshall was a graduate from our East Brunswick Campus in 1994.

 

Piscataway Campus

On October 31^st, Ms. Grieco, Ms. Mastrella and Mr. Roth’s Culinary Arts students and Baking students had an opportunity to celebrate Halloween by participating in a pumpkin carving contest.  There were three top gift card prizes and five honorable participation candy baskets awarded to the top eight contenders.   After carving their creations, the students enjoyed a Halloween feast hosted by Ms. Mastrella’s culinary shop, and Ms. Grieco’s baking shop contributed delicious desserts!  All students did a fantastic job and showed great team effort collaborating together.  Thanks to everyone in our hospitality family for making this a fun filled event.

 

In the latter part of October, Piscataway Vo-Tech seniors participated in the SAT School Day administration and all juniors took the PSAT/NMSQT. 

 

On November 20^th, 18 students from assorted shops attended a field trip to the Carpenters Union. The students got to hear from members of the Carpenters Union and the myriad trade specialties that fall under their umbrella. Students then toured to state of the art facility and learned about the current fusion of technology and trades that is shaping the future of this industry.

 

On November 22^nd, Piscataway Campus hosted eighth grade students from the Woodbridge Campus to tour our career major programs. We are proud to report that our students from the Interact Club facilitated the event and represented Piscataway as confident, well-spoken leaders. They organized school spirit bags with open house flyers, school brochures, applications, and accessories. They demonstrated friendly interaction with the incoming students and answered questions.  During the tour, many of the students noted the positive atmosphere of our school.

 

On November 22nd Felician University visited our school for Instant Decision Day. Nine students were interviewed, all were accepted and offered a