Tuesday, September 6, 2011
No damage from Irene, New hires top list
Wednesday Sept. 7, the morning bell will ring marking the official back to school start of the 2011-2012 school year. In separate mailings last month parents received correspondence regarding student class assignments and bus transportation from their enrolled schools and the department of transportation respectively. In conjunction with the already disseminated information, here are five things to help keep you informed as the school year starts. 1. Hurricane Irene will not affect school opening on its planned first day. According to Robert Csigi, Director of Buildings and Grounds, "We lucked out very well. There was some water in Pleasantdale and some other small leaks in other schools but we responded to it very quickly." He further …
Friday, September 2, 2011
Couple returns from L.A. to find basement flooded
As Hurricane Irene wreaked havoc in our area last Sunday, Gila and Jules Zalon were in Los Angeles for a reading of Gila’s new film, “The Rife Machine.” Knowing a hurricane was a possibility during their trip, the empty nest parents of three adult children prepared as best they could. “We made sure the sump pump was working and pulled out plugs,” said Gila. Then she said they “crossed their fingers and hoped for the best.” The large basement, which was completed after the couple purchased their West Orange home in November of 2005, spans the entire length of the house. There are five rooms in the wall-to-wall carpeted area. It functioned as their home office space, with each having their own office, plus a conference room, storage room …
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
More water will be given from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the high school today
Last night residents flowed through the West Orange High School parking lot to receive free gallons of water distributed by New Jersey American Water (NJAW). As a result of Hurricane Irene, many residents are either without or have low water pressure, while NJAW continues testing our water supply. The company is assessing possible contamination issues and has in the meantime issued a boil water advisory for the township. The distribution was run by volunteers from the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). The volunteers efficiently directed cars through the Conforti Street entrance of the West Orange High School Parking Lot. Once at the front of the line, helpers distributed two gallon of water, placing them in resident’s cars. While …
Monday, August 29, 2011
New Walkways, Boilers, Roof Top List
Come September 7, students at Hazel and Gregory Elementary Schools will notice some physical improvements greeting them on their first day. Among those improvements: new paving in the faculty parking lot at Gregory and new walkways at Hazel. Robert Csigi, Director of Building and Grounds with the West Orange Board of Education, said the improvements were needed because of "deterioration and age." Hazel students will see brick paths to the school’s main entrance — the area was previously unpaved. The school’s outdoor classroom area also received new steps and a pathway. Meredith Mitchell commented on Hazel Elementary school’s PTA website, "That is awesome! We are making such wonderful strides for our children’s future with these small steps…
Thursday, August 18, 2011
State mandated law follows bullying incident at Rutgers, provides policy framework
In accordance with state law, the West Orange Board of Education passed a Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying policy at Tuesday night's meeting. In the wake of Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi's suicide, Governor Chris Christie rallied support for the anti-bullying measure, expediting its passage into law in 2010. Clementi killed himself after his roommate streamed a video of him with another man over the Internet. Board of education vice president Paul Petigrow said that the policy passed by the board, "mirrors the legislation as required by law." "Everybody on the board supports the idea," he added. Though he maintained that the board does not endorse bullying, he said that when the legislature gets involved in school district policy…
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Cavanna explains replacement process to community
Following the resignation of St. Cloud Elementary School principal Adam Geher earlier this month, school officials explained the process for a selecting new principal at last night’s board of education meeting. Addressing a room packed with more than 50 residents, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Anthony Cavanna assured parents that Geher will be greeting St. Cloud students on the first day of school. In accordance with his West Orange contract, Geher will remain with St. Cloud for 60 days following his resignation date. He is slated to work through the month of September, said Cavanna. Geher, though, could be released sooner should a replacement be found during that time, Cavanna explained. The position will be advertised said Cavanna, and …
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Elementary Students Complete Inaugural Session in West Orange
At West Orange's Camp Invention, 100 West Orange elementary students are learning how to make inventions of their own. Last Thursday and Friday, the students were building their own Rube Goldberg machines — complicated machines that perform the simplest tasks. Theresa Galati, a teacher at Mt. Pleasant Elementary School worked with first grade students to create a machine that can shoot a ball into a cup, during the week long camp held at Mt. Pleasant Elementary School. She led the Edison workshop that was one of five modules of the week long camp that ended last Friday. The camp, under the tutelage of Camp Director Ali Fazzio, Mt. Pleasant 4th grade teacher, and Assistant Director Wendy Japaz, Mt. Pleasant 5th grade teacher, just …
Thursday, July 28, 2011
A prescription for quiet time
Free time. It's the stuff of which day dreams are made. No matter what your day job is, the idea of free non-accountable time can be a rare treat. In my wild and crazy day dreams, I'll often fantasize about being left alone for the day in my house. No responsibilities, no chores, no requests, no Cartoon Network. A day to live life on the edge and enjoy a drink with a tiny umbrella that wasn't recently an accessory of the toy du jour. Sadly, fate had something different in store for me as I learned to be careful for what I wished. Recently I had been feeling a little sluggish. I attributed it to the normal daily grind. I have three young kids, of course I am tired. The shortness of breath I attributed to the heat and let's face it, not the…
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Following up on the early intervention process
Four months ago we started the early intervention process with my 2-year-old because he wasn’t speaking. It took about two months from making the initial call, to being accepted into the program, to starting the actual speech therapy. Now two months into the therapy process I can reflect on the start of the journey. Therapy sessions last for one hour in our home once a week. During that time, his therapist plays with him coaxing out language. Her initial assessment was that his comprehension and engagement were high. The strikes against him were that he didn’t previously hear well, which was rectified by ear tubes. Since he is a boy, the gender is generally slower to develop verbal skills and since he is the third child, his brothers speak…
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Talking with your children about a loved one's hospitalization
Be honest. Listen to their questions. Answer in terms they understand. That was the mantra I repeated to myself to prepare for one of my most dreaded conversations ever. Last week I got the sudden call my father had a stroke. I rushed up to be with him. A few days later we had the very optimistic news he was on the road to recovery. I then headed home to tell my kids what happened and get them ready to visit grandpa. My boys are 6, 4 and 2. My 6-year-old is very perceptive. My 4-year-old does whatever his older brother does. Telling them both together, I was framing a conversation for a 6-year-old while making sure I catered to the difference in the emotional maturity of my 4-year-old. I was also anxious. For their benefit, I had to be …
CJ
11:49 am on Tuesday, September 6, 2011
In addition to this great list, I would like to steer St. Cloud School families to the St. Cloud PTA website, which is highly informative, robust, and updated constantly. Visit the website at http://www.stcloudpta.org more ›