School Highlights May 2019

In This Issue Spring Youth Summits 2019 Arthur L. Johnson High School...... 17 Four SONJ Berkeley Township...... 6 Spring Youth Summits were Burlington Township High School...... 9 held this year: Burnet Middle School...... 11 North I Clayton High School...... 15 Friday, May 17 - Delaware Valley Regional High School...... 4 The College of St. Elizabeth, Delsea Regional High School...... 10 Morristown East Hanover Middle School...... 5 South Frank J. Smith Elementary School...... 15 Tuesday, May 21 - Riverwinds Community Center, Deptford

Freehold Township High School...... 18 North II High Bridge Middle School...... 5 Wednesday, May 22 - Randolph High School, J. P. Stevens High School...... 16 Randolph Lanoka Harbor Elementary School...... 11 Central Lyndhurst...... 2 Friday, June 7 - SONJ Sports ...... 3 Complex, Lawrenceville Monroe Township High School...... 14 In attendance were over 400 UCS youth leaders, representing Morristown High School...... 12 32 schools: Burnet MS Lincoln MS Roosevelt MS Mount Olive High School...... 18 Chatham/ECLC HS Metuchen HS Rutherford HS Delsea HS Mt. Olive HS Sayreville MS ...... 8 Delsea MS New Brunswick HS Steinert HS Overbrook High School...... 5 Florence HS Old Bridge HS Union Avenue MS Franklin HS Overbrook HS Union City HS Parsippany Hills High School...... 12 Hamilton HS West Parsippany HS Washington Twp HS Hillsborough HS Parsippany Hills HS Woodlynne ES Pond Road Middle School...... 17 Jefferson School Pond Road MS Woodrow Wilson MS Randolph High School...... 8 Kawameeh MS Randolph HS (Clifton) Kingsway Regional HS Robbinsville HS Woodrow Wilson (NB) ...... 11 The students intermingled on the playing field, presented on Sayreville War Memorial High School...... 19 the highlights of their 2018-19 activities, celebrated one anoth- Spring Youth Summits 2019...... 1, 20 er’s accomplishments and shared ideas to plan for next year.

Union City High School...... 12 See page 20 ...... 13 for more West Morris Regional High School District...... 16 photos and click here to Woodrow Wilson Middle School (Clifton)...... 17 see the rest Woodrow Wilson (New Brunswick)...... 7 on Flickr.

Office of Special Education Programs Page 1 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Lyndhurst May was another exciting month members in sixth, seventh, and students who were honored for the Lyndhurst Unified Club. eighth grades participated in a presented the Lyndhurst Unified At the beginning of the month, Faculty vs. Unified Club kickball Club 2019 video to the board. Unified Club participated in the game. Students enjoyed compet- Color Run, and they had their ing against their teachers. Also in May, Lyndhurst eighth first fundraiser bake sale dur- grade students attended the ing this event. It was a great day On May 20th, 15 students were SONJ Spring Youth Summit filled with color, laughter and honored at the Lyndhurst Board at Randolph High School. The fun. Tuesday, May 14th was the of Education meeting for exhibit- students enjoyed sharing their last Unified Club meeting of the ing outstanding leadership abili- experiences, and meeting new school year. To end the year, club ties, as well as teamwork during friends as they participated in Play Unified Club meetings. The outdoor activities.

Click here to watch the Lyndhurst Unified Club 2018-2019 video.

Office of Special Education Programs Page 2 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Metuchen High School Metuchen High School was busy during May. They participated in “Project Adventure,” played kickball and backyard games, and had a therapy dog visit with them. Some students volunteered at Armed forces Appreciation Day at a local school to honor servicemen and women.

In addition, they had a social to pass the torch to new the students, who will be involved in the Unified PE class next year, and spoke to their parents and guardians about their Unified pro- gram. Pizza and dessert were served.

Office of Special Education Programs Page 3 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Delaware Valley Regional High School Delaware Valley Regional High School held Disabilities Aware- ness Week in May. They had two fundraising events: cookie tast- ing and foul shot contest. Stu- dents signed up and paid $2 to be a cookie taster judge and to take foul shots. They raised $78 and the students had a great time during the lunch hour for this event. They also required the students to read informa- tion about disabilities and sign the inclusion poster.

In addition, they celebrated yet another successful Unified Buddies Club year by taking field trips. Freshmen and sopho- mores went to Sky Zone and enjoyed pizza at lunch. Juniors and seniors went to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. A great time was had by all.

The Delaware Valley Unified Track and Field team had a fabu- lous year and finished out their season in May.

Office of Special Education Programs Page 4 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Overbrook High School East Hanover Middle School The Overbrook The East Hanover Middle School Play Unified High School Club met once during the month of May 2019. This was their last meeting. Attendance was Unified Club slightly down due to numerous sports games made books and events both at school and in town lead- for their senior ing up to the end of the year. As a result, the members. number of students with special needs attend- ing and those without approached a 1:1 ratio. Attendance at the May 2019 meeting was open to all members who attended any other meet- ing this year. Play Unified Club members have continued to wear their club t-shirts during the school day on days when they have a meeting, which has helped spread their message of re- spect and inclusion. For their final meeting, they started in the Media Center with a guided meditation around the topic of growth and new experiences. After being verbally guided through relaxation tech- niques and an exercise to cultivate presence, students were encouraged to focus on how they feel they have changed or what lesson they have learned over the course of their participation in Play Unified this year. After the meditation, students were invited to share one takeaway from their Play Unified experience this year. Many shared favorite memories with students who were new friends they made through Play Unified and thoughts about the importance of being open to meeting people who are different from them. The adviser thanked the students High Bridge Middle School and let them know that she was proud of them and honored to share this experience with them. The High Bridge Middle School’s last The second half of the meeting provided stu- meeting date was May 9. They had an dents the opportunity to engage in interactive end of the year party where students ate play activities in the cafeteria and outside in Rita’s ice. They played yard games with the main courtyard of the school. Activities partners and in groups. They also dis- included four squares, Connect Four, conver- cussed what they liked about the club and sation starter cards, Battleship, puzzles, and drawing/coloring. what they would like to see next year.

Office of Special Education Programs Page 5 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Berkeley Township Students had fun on their Strider bikes in Unified PE! Here are some pics of them cruising in the gymnasium. Students are loving these!!!

Office of Special Education Programs Page 6 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Woodrow Wilson (New Brunswick) Here are some pictures of the Woodrow Wilson (New Brunswick) Play Unified May events: Unified Game Day at Rutgers, Unified Fun Run (with their amazing fans) and their Unified Rec Night- Masquerade Prom!

Office of Special Education Programs Page 7 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Randolph High School Click here to watch news coverage of the May 22nd Youth Summit that News 12 has on their website: Education Matters – Randolph High School hosts ‘Project Unify Youth Summit.’

Old Bridge High School Old Bridge High School takes a quick little photoshoot with their purple “Inclusion Revolution” shirts.

Office of Special Education Programs Page 8 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Burlington Township High School May 10 was “Black and Gold Night” at Burlington Township High School. The Unified Club played bucketball (but had so much fun that they didn’t get a picture) and they cheered on their teams with the rest of the school! One of their presidents was a team captain :)

At their May 16 meeting, they made decorations, glitter calm down bottles and wrote to pen pals from Nevada.

Office of Special Education Programs Page 9 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Delsea Regional High School May was a good month for Delsea Regional High proves how successful their Unified programs School, even though the year is slowing down. have been throughout this school year! The students in their specialized program per- formed a play for the entire student body. This They also had their final Unified Track and Field was optional for students to attend during lunch meet. At this meet, they honored their seniors. and the attendance and support for their stu- The students were emotional and hugging and did dents with disabilities was overwhelming. This not want the season to end. Their Unified Sports programs have been very effective this year :)

Office of Special Education Programs Page 10 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Lanoka Harbor Elementary School What a busy month at Lanoka Harbor! They hosted their first ever Unified Track event. The turnout of students interested in participating was amazing! They had nine staff members volunteer with the program and 10 older students participate as coaches. On their last day to show their skill development, it rained, but they rose to the challenge and modified. They set up the gym for their fans and ro- tated through warm ups, stretches, an agility course, a shot put competition and hurdles. The smiles on the students faces and watching them come together was worth It!

Their Young Athletes program is growing..and growing..and growing! They had 70 students age 4-7 participate this year. They rotated through six stations working on kicking, jumping, throwing, running, hopping, balance beam and an egg and spoon race to work on coordination. Next year, they are planning to include an additional session for students that are typically overwhelmed by the extra stimulus.

Burnet Middle School Ridge High School Burnet Middle School kicked off May was filled with track practices for the Ridge High Respect Week with a huge assembly School Unified Team. In addition, the Unified team and pep rally showing their video. attended weekly practices with their HS Track team. They created signs to cheer on their Practices during the week consisted of the field events, athletes for Special Olympics. The with Sundays dedicated to the running events. Township of Union held their annual Unified Track & Field Day. They had They had biweekly Club outings. During the week, after over 150 students from Jefferson, school, they cooked, did karaoke, and played games. KMS and BMS. Burnet students at- Friday events consisted of the movies and a dinner out. tended the Youth Summit and Rut- Ridge High School made a presentation to the Board of gers Field Day, as well. Burnet also Education to help fund the Unified program. The com- had an after school end of year party. pliments and feedback of their program are endless. They continued their buddy lunches, after school sports and to spread the Moving into June, they are sending out information for message of inclusion. soccer and getting games on the schedule.

Office of Special Education Programs Page 11 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Union City High School Parsippany Hills High May was possibly the only month where Union City High School School didn’t have any Unified Competitions taking place. The Parsippany Hills High School They switched gears away from sports and focused on the Unified Sports Team participated Fashion Show. For the third year in a row the Unified Club in their first Track Meet this May will be featured in the Fashion Show as runway models. This in Morristown. All their practicing year they will have six students from the club participating. really paid off. They had such an One of their club members has designed the clothes that excellent experience competing in they will wear. track and field events. The coaches On May 22nd Union City High School traveled to Randolph got great joy in seeing the smiles on High School for a Youth Summit. During their weekly meetings their teammates faces and the ex- in May, the club worked hard on an iMovie and presentation citement of the parents cheering on to show the other schools all of the things they’ve been up their kids. They also had a great day to this year. They also learned a lot about other clubs and got at the Youth Summit in Randolph. some great ideas on how to improve their club. Their group They were able to meet and hang had an amazing time at the Youth Summit. It was awesome out with other schools and see the to see familiar faces and to be able to brainstorm with other activities that they’ve done through- clubs for the day. out the school year. As the season comes to an end they are excited to They finished up the month with a classic Wii Party with about see what the future of Unified Bud- 30 students after school to play some games and have dinner dies and Sports will be in Parsippany together. This is something they hope to expand on next year. Troy Hills School District.

Morristown High School

Office of Special Education Programs Page 12 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Voorhees High School The Voorhees High School (VHS) Unified Track and The Voorhees Unified Club won the Hunterdon Field team had a great season. They competed in County nomination for the NJ State Board of Educa- a several dual meets, both home and away. They tion Student Recognition Program and on Wednes- also hosted a Unified Track Invitational where eight day, May 15th, 2019 they attended the NJ State teams came to compete. Board Meeting at Mercer County. Unified members were invited along with staff to attend the meet- On May 2, they hosted a Unified Game Day. There ing to receive this award and have the opportunity were 71 students in total that participated. The day to spread Unified’s message of ‘Choose to Include’ started with everyone forming teams. Then they outside of the school community. joined together for Zumba to warm up. Next, they split up and went to stations. There were three This year the VHS Unified banquet was held in their stations and six teams that rotated. The stations main cafeteria on May 16th. They recognized all as- included basketball, soccer, and volleyball. They pects of their Unified program. The room was filled ended the day with a giant relay race. Everyone had with members of the VHS Unified as well as their a fun time and the students were able to get to families and friends. know each other. At VHS they combined the Drama Club with the Uni- VHS took a couple of field trips. On May 8th they fied Club to establish the Unified Theatre Club. The went to Six Flags in Jackson, NJ for a sensory-friend- club worked endlessly after school and on week- ly day when Six Flags hosted an Autism day. The park ends running lines, singing songs, and practicing was only open to individuals on the autism spectrum, dance choreography to perform the play, “Seussical their educators, friends, and families. On May 22nd Jr.” They got such a great response that they had the students and peer leaders enjoyed a day at the an encore performance. VHS is looking forward to Somerset Patriots baseball game and enjoyed ball- another show next year! park food for lunch.

Office of Special Education Programs Page 13 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Monroe Township High School May was a busy month for Monroe Township High School (MTHS) Uni- fied. Their Unified Partnership leaders visited Barclay Brook on Tues- day May 7th, Mill Lake on Tuesday May 14th and Brookside Elementary School on May 21st where they hosted fun partner based skill chal- lenge stations at each school.

On the 13th, they hosted Team Brookside Elementary Unified and Team Woodland Elementary Unified to a Falcon’s Palette parent/child social paint night. Their MTHS UP leaders led their guests through a beach scene painting experience. The evening presented a great op- portunity for their students to share experiences with their younger Unified counterparts.

On Friday, May 31st, MTHS conducted their first Unified Field day, hosting over 210 Unified students from schools across their district. Their objectives were to provide Monroe Township School district “Unified Partnership” students with and without intellectual disabili- ties the opportunity to compete, have fun and foster new friendships in a safe, non-judgmental environment, to afford their 18-21 year old population of students with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to facilitate activities while nurturing leadership skills, and to provide their high school partners the opportunity to create, facilitate and lead activities that embody sportsmanship and teamwork while devel- oping physical skill sets.

Leading up to the event, staff/students were assigned teams, t-shirts were distributed and junior/senior Unified Partner leaders planned the activities. On the day of, the football field was divided into two sec- tions to accommodate two separate groups: Team Falcons (high school and middle school students) and Team Peeps (elementary students). The two groups rotated through their own side of stadium with the exception of Zumba and snack/rest station where the groups were combined. Groups rotated stations every 15 minutes. Stations in- cluded zumba, relay races, obstacle course, arts and crafts, and snacks/ bubbles. Click here for more photos.

Office of Special Education Programs Page 14 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Frank J. Smith Elementary School This May, the Frank J. Smith Elementary School Be A Pals were super busy! As second graders, the Pal mentors had a lot going on: the second grade play, end of year projects and celebrations, and move-up day for next year’s transi- tion, but they still found time to meet for their Be A Pal Unified Phys Ed class! A fun activity they did this month was paint Kindness Rocks together. The Pal mentors, who have knowledge of the activity from their classroom lessons, helped the younger ones decorate each of their rocks with kindness quotes and pictures. They also spent time preparing for Unified Game Day, which will take place on June 14th. The Be A Pals helped the younger students navigate to their Spirit Team group, where they watched a short video about empa- thy and the importance of working together. Their Uni- fied Game Day shirts arrived and students are excited to wear them on the big day.

Clayton High School The Clayton Unified School district hosted a Unified track meet. Delsea Unified club participated in the track meet bringing about 17 athletes to compete.

The Clayton Unified PE classes continue to be a success in both the HS Unified class and the MS Unified class. They have collaborated with the Craft club to make port pillow for cancer patients. They meet once a week to trace and cut patterns and sew the project with sewing machines. The collaboration has instilled a sense of pride and accomplishment with the students who have never sewn with a sewing machine before.

Lastly, the Unified PE classes are working with the MS and HS Student council, JROTC and the Alliance to have a “Choose to Include” week starting on June 3rd.

Office of Special Education Programs Page 15 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

West Morris Regional High School District May was a very successful ner. At the conclusion of this they hosted a game of Mat month for Unified Sports at event, the banner was full of Ball (a modified kickball game) Mendham. Due to an August signatures from students who during a school-wide lunch the start date for their district, had been active in the club, next day, exposing current high May serves as the final week participated in a few events, schoolers to the idea of inclu- of classes before final exams were curious, and those who sive athletics, as well. begin. With this in mind, they were hesitant to learn more felt that it was the perfect earlier in the year! This served Finally, they concluded their opportunity to launch their as a great way to get the mes- Week of Inclusion with a Mix it Week of Inclusion at the end sage out about Unified as well Up Breakfast in order to send of May in order to celebrate as educate some students who off the seniors who would those students who would be may be interested in partici- be graduating soon. This was graduating, as well as welcome pating in the future. bittersweet, but showed some of the students who will just how much the relation- The next event was a Field Day be joining them next year. ships formed through Unified hosted with the local middle Sports matter. The Mendham The Week of Inclusion opened school students. This awesome with a school-wide “Pledge event exposed the rising ninth Week of Inclusion successfully and Banner Signing” event. graders and students who will fostered and championed Club members recruited stu- be joining the high school soon, the principles of meaningful dents from all over the school to Unified Sports, and solidified involvement and served as a to take the pledge to “Choose future involvement within the celebration of all the progress to Include” and sign the ban- Club. Coupled with this event, they made this year!

J. P. Stevens High School

Office of Special Education Programs Page 16 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Woodrow Wilson Middle School (Clifton) On Friday, May 17th, the Woodrow Wilson Middle School Play Unified Club hosted an after school paint night. Several club members and students with disabilities partnered up to paint a very adorable hedgehog to bring in the sum- mer season. Water, chips, munchkins and cookies were served and fun was had by all. The Wood- row Wilson art teacher donated her time to lead them in this painting event. Several teachers joined in on the fun as well :)

Arthur L. Johnson High School Pond Road Middle School For the month of May, the Arthur L. Johnson High Pond Road Middle School had a puppet School Unified Sports teams had meetings to dis- show created by one of the special needs cussed some of the strategies that they learned this student along with some of the Play year in basketball and soccer, and discussed being Unified students for the first graders at teammates and social interaction. They also made the elementary school. The Play Unified students practiced and practiced and it plans for next season focusing on how they can was amazing. The play was about bullying improve. This was a great time for all the teammates and the first graders listened so well. to really get to know each other and stay connected even during off-season. The general education stu- They had a bowling trip. All three schools dents acted as peer leaders for the special education participated. They had a fun competitive students and are building a rapport both inside and time. There was inclusion among of the outside of the club. students.

Office of Special Education Programs Page 17 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Mount Olive High School Morristown Track Meet 5/8/19

Ability Awareness Week for NJ Special Education Week - Wear Your Shirts Youth Summit 5/17/19

Freehold Township High School This year, during the Play Unified may not necessarily like running. with students they may not Track program, Freehold Town- The athletes got along so well get the chance to interact with ship High School worked hard to and loved being together! One otherwise. This was a great ensure that every student felt of the student athletes actually experience for the Freehold welcomed and included! They said that they look forward to Township High School students, held a club meeting, in addition the club every year and they feel their school community, and to track practice, for those who it brings them closer together their advisors!

Office of Special Education Programs Page 18 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

Sayreville War Memorial High School The final event of the school year for Sayreville ways to run better practices. Regardless, they all War Memorial High School took place on Thurs- ran very well. The students made improvements day the 23rd. The track meet was a huge success! behind the scenes that worked. They had the voice of all school events doing the play-by-play in the press both over the P.A. system Overall, they had an amazing year that touched and the school’s cheerleaders came, as always, so many students and teachers! The gen ed and and added a lot of life to the meet. The students special ed students worked together as a team to really enjoyed all of the events, but probably the achieve their goals! They communicated with each long jump into the sand pit the most! other and got to know each other better every day! It was an experience that anyone involved Sayreville War Memorial High School had lessons will not forget! to learn this year: like how to best run events and

Office of Special Education Programs Page 19 U.S. Department of Education School Highlights May 2019

More Photos from Spring Youth Summits 2019 Click here to check for even more on Flickr.

Office of Special Education Programs Page 20 U.S. Department of Education