SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT PISCATAWAY TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS May 20, 2010

PHS STUDENT SELECTED RENSSELAER 2010 MEDALIST Lekshmi Sivakumar, PHS Class of 2011, has been named the recipient of the 1st Rensselaer Medal Award at PHS. This prestigious award, presented to promising high school juniors who have distinguished themselves in mathematics and science, comes with the guarantee of a $15,000 per year merit scholarship should Lekshmi choose to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Lekshmi holds a 97.95 GPA, scored 2280 on the SAT, and participates in Math League, Science League, Mock Trial, Key Club Marching Band and serves as a Student Ambassador. He plans to study Mechanical or Aeronautical Engineering. Mr. Andrew Mui, Math Chairperson, implemented the award process to encourage students to study math, science, engineering or technology-related fields in college.

ARBOR SCHOOL JOURNALISTS SELECTED “BEST OF THE BEST” Students in the Arbor School’s 4th grade Writer’s Workshop were chosen “Best of the Best” in the Class Project Category by Celebrate , an organization made up of 25 New Jersey community groups “to promote the best of New Jersey for generations to come”. While learning about the 5 W’s for newspaper writing, students selected a topic based on historical figures in NJ history, researched it, then wrote and edited an article of 150-200 words. The articles were then pasted into a template for the “Arbor News”. The Class was recognized at an awards ceremony at Raritan Valley Community College and has been invited to attend a Somerset Patriots baseball game on June 1st.

RANDOLPHVILLE STUDENT WINS HONORABLE MENTION AWARD Britney, a 3rd Grade student at Randolphville School, received an Honorable Mention Award from the NJ Coalition for Inclusive Education for her entry in the “Inclusive Schools, Inclusive Lives” poster contest. Britney’s poster, selected from among over 200 entries, will be displayed at NJCIE’s Summer Inclusion Conference at Georgian Court University on June 30 and July 1. We’re proud of Britney and her creative way of showing that Piscataway schools blend all students in an enriching environment.

PHS STUDENTS RECEIVE NAACP ACT-SO MEDALS Hundreds of New Jersey students gathered at Central High School in Newark in April to compete in the 21st annual NAACP ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics) Youth Olympics in academic disciplines including Humanities, Visual and Performing Arts, Science and Business. Among students receiving medals were PHS students Angelique Chandler, Bronze Medal in Vocal and Silver Medal in Dance, and Dante Laughlin, Silver Medal in Drama and Silver Medal in Oratory. Both students performed in “A Parade of Stars” tribute to Michael Jackson at Crossroads Theater in New Brunswick on May 16th.

ARTS AWARDS ABOUND! Visual and performing arts students throughout the district have been recognized for their creative excellence by numerous professional organizations. Angela Lo, junior at Piscataway HS placed as a Finalist in the 29th Annual College Photographer Contest sponsored by Photographer’s Forum magazine. There were over 13,000 entries and Angela’s selected photo will be published in a hardcover book. The PHS “Festival Choir” performed at for the NJ American Choral Directors Association Festival on April 28th. The students scored an “Outstanding” for their performance and brought home two new plaques to add to their display case at the high school. The Quibbletown Advanced Band and Orchestra participated in the Central Jersey Music Educators Association State Band Festival in April, where both groups received a “Superior” rating. Several of our visual arts students at PHS received Honorable Mention Awards in the 2010 Congressional Arts Competition. Congratulations to Lena Kim, Andrew Ward, Nicole Pivinski and Isabella Fernandez!

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CHILDREN’S CORNER PRE-SCHOOL HOSTS “MOVIE NIGHT” OPEN HOUSE A special “Movie Night” Open House was held at Children’s Corner Pre-School with prospective students enjoying popcorn and movies in the classrooms while parents learned about the exciting curriculum offered at Children’s Corner. Applications are still being accepted for fall 2010 registration. For additional information, visit the Children’s Corner website at www.ccprek.com.

QUIBBLETOWN MUSICIANS ENTERTAIN TOWNSHIP SENIORS Piscataway’s Senior Citizens were treated to a concert as the Quibbletown Jazz Band and Chamber Ensembles took the show on the road. They visited the Senior Center and Sterling Village, much to the delight of those in attendance. Selections included “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, “Tequila”, and “Rock Around the Clock”. The great music was met with hearty applause, a standing ovation and even singing and dancing!

NFL DRAFTS TWO ALUMNI IN FIRST ROUND PHS alumni Anthony Davis and Kyle Wilson were both first-round draft picks in last month’s National Football League Draft. Davis, selected 11th overall by the San Francisco 49er’s, attended and played for Rutgers University’s Scarlet Knights. Wilson, graduate of Boise State, was selected as the 29th pick by the New York Jets. This marks the first time in NFL history that two first-round draft picks in the same draft were from the same high school.

WVPH BROADCAST STUDENTS WIN FIRST PLACE IN “DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE” CONTEST Piscataway High School came in First Place in the Middlesex County "Don't Drink and Drive" contest for their audio Public Service Announcement "Final Destination". Their creative and original ideas for a 30 second PSA turned out to be a humorous, yet effective message that lingers with listeners. You can listen to the public service announcement via a link on the high school home page. Congratulations to LeRon Lee, the station manager and the five students that worked on the PSA: Jessica Eroglu (11th), Scarlet Hernandez (10th), Jaquetta Hudson (10th), Yery Ysabel (11th) and Phil Giannino (11th).

EISENHOWER STUDENTS OFFER ADVICE TO PRESIDENT OBAMA Students in Leilani Malig’s 1st Grade class had some suggestions for President Obama; they prepared a booklet with their letters of advice, which included thoughts on helping Haiti, teaching people to respect each other, taking care of presidential pooch “Bo” and making good laws. They embellished their booklet with photos and hand-drawn pictures. President Obama responded with a photo and letter to the class and a postcard from Bo.

ARBOR STUDENTS HOST LUNCH Arbor Intermediate School held its spring “Have Lunch With Your Child Week” from April 19th – 23rd, with family members enjoying a special lunchtime with their children. A grand total of 265 adults came to school during this week to enjoy lunch, and share a hug and a smile with their students.

KNOLLWOOD SCHEDULES CAREER DAY Students at Knollwood School will learn about career and volunteer opportunities from parents and community members on May 21st. They will learn about different work environments, personal characteristics needed for certain jobs, and how academics relate to the world of work. The children will be dressing in career attire and will bring in donations for a food bank and animal shelter.

FLAG DAY OBSERVATIONS Schools throughout the district will mark Flag Day, Monday, June 14th with songs, ceremonies and flag raisings. New flags have been donated to our schools through the generous efforts of the Boy and Girl Scouts of Piscataway. The flags have been certified by NJ Senator Frank Lautenberg as having been flown over the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. A commemorative flag will be presented to district Superintendent, Robert L. Copeland to fly at the Administration Building on special occasions.

HIGH SCHOOL CELEBRATES WITH SENIOR AWARDS NIGHT Mark your calendar! Senior Awards Night is scheduled at PHS for Wednesday, June 2nd at 6 p.m.