Clinton Township Newsletter

1 3 A p r i l 2 0 1 4 p a T r i C k m C g a h e r a n s C h o o l S I N O U R S C H O O L S : Two CTMS Law Adventure teams have won placement at the State level and have been invited to perform their cases in front of a judge at the NJ State Bar Foundation. The 7th grade team, Spaniel vs. Starr, wrote an animal cruelty case about a boy who beat a dog that frightened him. The 8th grade winners, Hoops vs. Fair Lane High School, wrote a case about a boy who was discriminated against by the basketball coach due to his hearing impairment. Congratulations to our winners! Thank you to our community partners from ExxonMobil who visited CTMS for the Annual Introduce a Girl to Science and Engineering Day Workshop. Twenty-five girls were treated to some fun and educational science experience designed by the ExxonMobil scientists. The workshop is designed to get more girls into the sciences. The CTMS Drama Club filled the halls of the middle school with the sounds of laughter and music on March 6, 7 and 8 during the performances of Disney's High School Musical Jr. The audience was amazed and delighted by the singing, acting, dancing, cheering and gymnastics in the show. Our students enthralled the audience as they told the story of a group of teenagers struggling to discover their true identities while building relationships, exploring new interests and dealing with other's expectations of them. C l i n T o n T o W n s h i p m i d d l e s C h o o l E a r t h D a y i s T u e s d a y , A p r il 22 ! C e l e b r a t e ! A p r i l i s N a t i o n a l A u t i s m Awareness Month! In order to highlight the growing need for awareness about autism, the United States recognizes April as a special opportunity to educate the public about autism and issues within the autism community. During the month of April at SRS we will be celebrating National Autism Awareness Month. This celebration shines a bright light on autism and helps to increase and develop knowledge of autism and share information regarding the importance of early diagnosis and early intervention. Additionally, we celebrate the unique talents and skills of persons with autism! At Spruce Run School, we celebrate our teachers who are dedicated to supporting our programs for individuals with autism. A special thank you to our special educators, Ms. Jennie Kahl, Ms. Danielle Nugent and Ms. Julie Tepper for all that they do in our classrooms and also share information with our school community about autism. Please join Spruce Run School in our effort to inspire compassion, empowerment and hope by recognizing National Autism Awareness Month. Thank you, PTA! Last month, kindergarten and first grade students had the opportunity to learn more about science in a fun and exciting way through assemblies funded by the Clinton Township PTA. Special visitors from The Franklin Institute presented the Traveling Science Show with a discussion of "Weather" in first grade and "Hot and Cold" in Kindergarten. Did you know that the Franklin Institute is planning a new exhibit to open this summer about the human brain? s p r u C e r u n s C h o o l Ducks Rule at PMG School! In April, second grade classrooms will begin their month long duckling project. The eggs will be carefully placed in incubators purchased by the Clinton Township Foundation for Educational Excellence. All second grade classes will handle their eggs with an EZ Scope, which enables the students to see the development of the ducklings inside the eggs without disturbing the eggs themselves. The students will use their journals to record the progression of growth in each egg. Each student will take a special book-bag containing a writing notebook and a stuffed animal duckling home for a night and write about the ducklings adventures. The ducklings are expected to hatch during the second week of May. Ducks rule at PMG School! Earth Day Door Decorating at PMG: PMG's guiding rules are "Take care of ourselves, take care of others and take care of our environment." To support this, students will be looking at the 3 Rs of recycling; Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Each class in the school will be decorating their classroom doors in celebration of Earth Day, April 22. Students will discuss the 3Rs and brainstorm ideas to promote taking care of our environment. They will then decorate their classroom doors reusing items that otherwise would be discarded. Certificates will be presented for "Best Message", "Best use of Materials", and more! Happy Earth Day! Read Across America: Did we ever have fun with The Cat In The Hat on March 3 as we celebrated the works of Dr. Seuss! Each classroom decorated their doors and there were winners from each grade level. In 4th grade the winner: Mrs. Marinelli ~ Mrs. Topping's class; 5th grade: Mrs. Major ~ Ms. Braun's class; 6th grade: Mr. Rudolph's home- room and in Unified Arts: Phys Ed/Health classes: Ms. Bills, Mr. Shanklin, and Mr. Waldron. Thank you all for such a great day! Field Trip: 4th graders had a fabulous time at the Liberty Sci- ence Center. It was a day filled with fun learning activities. If you get a chance take a trip, to LSC. You probably won't be able to see all the exhibits in one day. The IMAX Dome is now presenting three shows: 'The Hubble', 'Great White Shark' and 'Titan of the Ice Age.' Science Night: Oh what a night! March 19 was the annual Sci- ence Night at Round Valley School. This night had so many different hands-on science activities available for students to participate in. A big thank you to our PTA and all the parents who volunteered their time to add science fun to the lives of Round Valley Students. Congratulations to Caira Blake! Caira has moved on as a finalist in the Scripps National Spelling Bee regional competition. The competition will take place on March 27. We wish you the best of luck, Caira! r o u n d V a l l e y s C h o o l "Earth laughs in flowers." –Ralph Waldo Emerson Happy Earth Day!

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