NEWS FROM THE BERKELEY HEIGHTS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

MARY KAY MC MILLIN EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER

The "Sandy Castles

Collection" held at Mary Kay

McMillin Early Childhood

Center was a huge success!

Students donated items during the

month of December for victims of

Hurricane Sandy at the

Jersey Shore. Each class was in

charge of an item or two, which

ranged from diapers and wipes to

shampoo and soap. Every class in

the school talked about the needs

of this community, and in an effort

for the children to relate to the

devastation at the Shore, each collection box was decorated with hand drawn

pictures of sand castles and the children's memories of the beach. It was a

great motivator!

In addition to each

class' contribution,

each grade level

brought in items to

meet even bigger

needs. Preschoolers

collected nutritious

snacks, kindergartners

donated school

supplies, and first

graders provided new

clothes for children.

MARY KAY MC MILLIN EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER (continued)

At the end of the Sandy Castles Collection, the students in Ms. Bocian's first

grade class helped sort and package the items into boxes. Our school collected

over 40 boxes filled with items! Thank you so much for your incredible

generosity!

On Friday afternoon at the

start of our Winter Break,

Mr. Prupis and Ms. Bocian

drove the items down to an

elementary school in Long

Branch, New Jersey. Met by

the principal and school nurse

(Mrs. Reedy's cousin), the

school was overwhelmed by

the number of items that we

were able to donate!

Many of the families in their

school not only suffered

damage to their houses, but

many also lost jobs that are no longer available along the shoreline. These

items will provide a tremendous amount of support to them in the coming

months. A big thank you to all of the MKM families for your help with this

project. It was a wonderful lesson to our littlest learners about giving back!

MOUNTAIN PARK SCHOOL

The Governor Livingston High School Choir and Orchestra recently

presented a musical program to the students of Mountain Park School.

The orchestra, directed by Mrs. Kate Connolly, played two selections - one of

which, "Orion and the Scorpion" - featured a viola solo by Abigail Warde, an

alumna of Mountain Park. The orchestra then played a piece called

"Christmas Eve Sarajevo," which combined “Carol of the Bells” with other

well-known holiday songs.

Marissa Rosen, who

also teaches two

third grade classes at

Mountain Park,

directed the GLHS

Choir. They sang

two pieces, “Grown

up Christmas List”

and "Give Us

Hope." Stephanie

Spano, Mt. Park’s

Vocal/General Music

teacher accompanied

the choir on piano.

The two GL teachers

and Mr. Morisseau

acknowledged the nine former Mountain Park students on stage and made a

close connection with the students in the audience, identifying those current

Mountain Park students who are studying music and inspiring them to

continue practicing in order to achieve the level of proficiency that the high

school musicians demonstrated.

MOUNTAIN PARK SCHOOL (continued)

Students in Mrs. Carla

Pastore’s class engage in

Writer’s Workshop through

the use of laptops.

Incorporating technology

into writing helps students to

stay organized and more

efficient throughout the

process.

As one child explained,

“It helps keep me more

organized so I don’t have so

many papers to worry about

losing or keeping in order. It

makes it so much easier to

revise my draft.”

Additionally, many students

use personal flash drives for

saving their pieces to be

continued at home.

THOMAS P. HUGHES SCHOOL

The generosity of the

Hughes students and

families is truly shining

through this winter

season.

In December, we

collected over 400 gifts

to donate to one of our

favorite charities,

Cherished Creations.

Hughes families kindly

donated stacks of

clothes, toys, games,

backpacks, and art

supplies, which will be

given to sick and needy children in our area.

Additionally, this year students once again created handmade holiday cards

for local veterans. The Hughes Student Council supports this initiative every

year, and students create beautiful heartfelt messages for our local heroes.

More recently, our students

created hundreds of beautiful

snowflakes for the

“Snowflakes for Sandy

Hook” initiative, and our

staff made a generous

financial donation to the

Sandy Hook School Support

Fund.

Through these projects and

others still to come, students

at Hughes are learning what

it means to truly be a part of

a caring community.

WILLIAM WOODRUFF SCHOOL

William Woodruff School students are always looking for ways to reach out

and demonstrate their care, concern and support for others.

The Student Council,

staff, and individual

students recently

participated in an

array of charity

events to support

others in need.

Concern for the

victims of Sandy was

still on everyone’s

minds. Donations for

the victims continued

to be collected as part

of the Hands Across

New Jersey

fundraiser. The

students and families collected

seven large bags filled with toys

for St. Joseph’s in Elizabeth and

Bridges out of Summit. Students

donated over 70 pairs of pajamas

to Foster children in Paterson.

The students’ hearts also went

out to the victims and families of

Sandy Hook Elementary School

in Connecticut. The students

shared their artistic talents by

decorating snowflakes for the

Sandy Hook students’ new

school.

Concern for the troops overseas at holiday time was also on the students’

minds as they made snowflake cards and wrote letters to soldiers supporting,

thanking, and wishing them a happy holiday season.

WILLIAM WOODRUFF SCHOOL (continued)

In addition to all of this great charity work, individual students have asked to

open a business and sell hand-made items and donate all of the proceeds to a

specific charity. The students let their creative juices flow as they fashioned

and created duct tape wallets, origami objects, cartoon pictures, and tab

bracelets. The students have raised close to $200.00 for Cancer Stinks and

ASPCA of Morristown.

COLUMBIA MIDDLE SCHOOL

Recognizing that Columbia Middle school

offers a number of after-school clubs and

activities, those offerings have been

augmented once again this year through a

partnership with the local YMCA and the

Wharton Music Center located here in

Berkeley Heights.

The afterschool activities require a

separate tuition and are run in conjunction with the present schedule of

district offerings.

Here are some scenes from a recent

meeting of the International Food Club,

which meets once a week during the

second of three anticipated “semesters.”

On this occasion, students prepared Sweet

Potato Cookies, a favorite recipe of

children from Zimbabwe.

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Health Education

classes in Grade 6

include a personal

and colorful

rendition of “Grey’s

Anatomy,” in which

students create a

full size outline of

their own body

filling, in the blank

space with the

various organs and

systems learned

during the cycle

class.

GOVERNOR LIVINGSTON HIGH SCHOOL

In a display of sportsmanship of which the entire school community can be

proud, the Governor Livingston Girls Fencing team and coaches recently

received accolades for their actions following the Santelli Tournament held

earlier this season.

Based upon a series of unforeseen circumstances surrounding the meet,

including computer errors and miscalculations - which made for a very long

day for all of the athletes at this meet - the Highlander Girls foil squad

(pictured L to R,

Alison Yang, Vivian

Chu and Kara Fan)

was awarded third

place in this

prestigious

tournament.

After a closer

examination of the

scoring and the

performances at this

meet, it was

determined that

Columbia High

School had actually

outscored the GL

girls in foil. Based

upon this information, the Highlander foil squad and coaches decided to

voluntarily present their third place medals from the Santelli Tournament to

perhaps their fiercest rivals, Columbia High School, before the regular-season

match between the two schools.

These GL athletes and their coaches are to be commended for representing

the Fencing program, our school, and our school community in such a positive

manner! Click here to read the entire story as reported by NJ.com.

GOVERNOR LIVINGSTON HIGH SCHOOL (continued)

Governor Livingston and the entire Berkeley Heights School District

welcomes Ms. Ann Clifton, the new Director of Health, Physical Education

and Athletics, who begins her assignment in the district on Monday, January

28th.

Ms. Clifton brings an extensive teaching and

coaching background at the high school and college

level with her to Governor Livingston. Ms. Clifton

earned her undergraduate degree, master’s degree

and teaching certification as a student-athlete at

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. At

East Stroudsburg, she starred in lacrosse, serving as

team captain and upon her graduation was the

school record-holder for goals scored in a season

and in a career. Ann is a member of the East Stroudsburg University Athletic

Hall of Fame.

Following her college experiences, Ms. Clifton became a Physical Education

and Health teacher at Randolph High School, where she also took over the

girls’ varsity soccer program. During her time as the head soccer coach at

Randolph, Ms. Clifton’s team was ranked the best team in the country by the

National Soccer Coaches Association in 1992 and she earned recognition as a

state and/or national coach of the year in 1992, 1993, and 1994.

In 1997, Ms. Clifton became the head women’s soccer coach at Villanova

University. Over her 11 years leading a Division 1 women’s soccer program,

Ms. Clifton’s team won a Big East Conference Championship, was nationally

ranked five times and maintained a team academic grade-point average of

over 3.0. While at Villanova, Ann also served for three years as president of

the Big East Women’s Soccer Coaches association and as a member of the

NCAA National Women’s Soccer Committee.

She returned to New Jersey as a Physical Education and Health teacher and

head girls soccer coach at Dover High School in 2008, where she led the

school’s soccer program to its most wins ever this past season.

DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL SERVICES

Mrs. Michele Gardner and Ms. Mary Ann McAdam recently met with Grade

8 parents from both Mountainside and Berkeley Heights to discuss the high

school programs for students with special needs.

Aside from the continuum of supports and services provided to students with

Individualized Education Plans, the Special Services Department also offers a

course titled Academic Strategies. This course is provided to students with

disabilities, based on recommendation from the Child Study Team, during the

four years that they attend Governor Livingston High School. Student

proficiencies for this course include organization, note-taking, study skills,

and post-secondary preparations such as resume writing and college

application development. During their senior year, students are supported in

completing their senior project. Special Education Teachers not only provide

students with mini-lessons on these topics, but also support students through

collaboration with staff members teaching the students in other courses.

The next meeting of the Special Education Parent

Advisory Committee will be Wednesday,

February 27th at 2:30 pm in the second floor

conference room of the Clausen Administration

Building, 345 Plainfield Avenue, Berkeley

Heights. Parents are encouraged to attend and

RSVP their plans to Mrs. Gardner at

mgardner@bhpsnj.org. As always, up-to-date

information for the Department of Special

Services can be found on the district website

under “Services.”

Board of Education Meeting Highlights from January 24, 2013:

-The Berkeley Heights Board of Education welcomed Jeane Parker as the new

Representative from the Mountainside Board of Education.

-Ms. Joyce Hayes, District Director of Guidance, made an informative

presentation focused on assisting Governor Livingston students with college

and career readiness. Please click here for details.

-The Board accepted a donation of $750 from the 2012 Berkeley Heights 5K

Charity Road Race and Fitness Walk. These funds will go toward covering

the expense of the ImPACT Concussion

Testing Program for athletes at Governor

Livingston High School. At left, Dr.

Patrick Smith (center), Race Director of

the Berkeley Heights 5K Charity Road

Race and Fitness Walk, presents the

donation check to (L to R)

Superintendent of Schools Judith

Rattner, GL student-athletes Erin

Ferguson and Ryan Jennings, and

Principal Scott McKinney.

Please join us at the February 7th Board of Education Meeting, where…

-Mrs. Michele Gardner will present an overview of Special Education

programs in our school district.

-Ms. Mary Ann McAdam will present the district’s Harassment, Intimidation

and Bullying (HIB) data for the period of September 1 through December 31,

2012.

-Mr. Mike D. Skara will provide an overview for improving the district’s

technological infrastructure, internet connection, and access to additional

learning tools.