Clinton Township Newsletter

1 7 A p r i l 2 0 1 7 I N O U R S C H O O L S : The Hunterdon County Librarians Association gives out reading awards every year to students in Hunterdon County who exhibit an enthusiasm for reading, sharing books and using libraries. This year Spruce Run School's Arben Husenaj won that award! Arben is always very excited to come to the library to choose books. He especially likes dinosaur books, both nonfiction and fiction. Arben's mothers says he loves to share his books at home, too! Arben and all the award winners will be honored at a reception at the Hunterdon County Library in Flemington in May. Congratulations to all of our readers - keep on reading! Celebrate! April is National Autism Awareness Month! In order to highlight 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 and staff will be wearing blue or puzzle piece t-shirts every Wednesday. 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 staff who are dedicated to supporting our programs for individuals with autism. Please join Spruce Run School in our effort to inspire compassion, empowerment and hope by recognizing National Autism Awareness Month. Art Teachers in the Clinton Township School District have spent time engaging their students in all types of artistic media from watercolor to clay, in order to get ready for the many extracurricular art shows open to the public this year. March was Youth Art Month (YAM) to celebrate the talents of our young artists. SRS, PMG and RVS participated in this year's YAM festivities. Elementary, middle and high schools from all over Hunterdon and Warren County sent select works of art to be showcased in the lobby of the Hunterdon Health and Wellness Center in Clinton. The artwork was exhibited from March 11- March 18, with a reception and awards ceremony held on Saturday, March 18. The YAM celebration was sponsored by the Art Educators of NJ and coordinated by Art Educators, Jennifer Stafford of East Amwell School and Barbara Weinstein of Warren County. Each year, the Hunterdon County Library North Branch in Clinton offers our district a special opportunity to have our work shown for an entire month! Art from Spruce Run was on display for the month of November, Patrick McGaheran was exhibited in February, Round Valley was exhibited during the month of December and CTMS will be showcased in May. Round Valley will host their annual Diversity Night and Art Show on April 27. The school-wide event will celebrate our districts varying cultures with different ethnic foods, performances, games and student art work. Our talented artists also have a fabulous opportunity hosted by The Hunterdon Art Museum called the Young Artist Showcase. Select students in Clinton Township School District are invited to visit their artwork hung in a real art museum from April 18 - 30 with an opening reception on Saturday, April 22 from 2:00 -3:00 pm. – Coming Up! – PMG Arts Fest - All PMG students and their families will be invited to share a night in the arts at the Patrick McGaheran Arts Fest on Wednesday, April 26 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. There will be dance performances and poetry readings along with digital slide shows and of course tons of ART! SRS Arts Fest - Join us on Tuesday, May 23 from 4:00 - 6:00 pm for hands- on art activities, singing, dancing and live poetry readings! Fabulous student artwork will decorate the halls – don't miss the gallery of framed art! This year, PMG and SRS will be featuring one framed piece of artwork from each child at their respective Arts Fests. The framed work will be available for sale and monies will be donated to charity. Sixth graders at Round Valley School have a special opportunity called Art Line 1 & 2 where students get a chance to work with peers from around the county creating art and using problem-solving skills. These skills are challenged when the students are posed with the task of constructing an immense plastic tube to showcase their artwork! Our students love to share their passion for the arts, please come out and support our Clinton Township artists! School Library Month is the American Association of School Librarians' celebration of school librarians and their programs. This year's theme is:"Because School Libraries Empower Students!" Students were asked what "empower" meant and they weren't sure. The next question that was posed was, "How could you find out?" Matt said you could look it up in a dictionary. Brooks and Uriel said you could do a Google search. We did both. We found out that empower means to make someone stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their own life. So, how did the library empower these third grade students? Uriel: "Libraries encouraged me to read and got me into it. They gave me the feeling that I liked it." Angelina: "I learned about new series of books that I enjoyed." Brooks: "Libraries encouraged me to read more challenging books, and to read better." Elias: "Ever since I started school I loved to read, I think the library helped." Matt: "Basically, I started at the easiest level and libraries made me get better and better. I learned harder words." E v e r y y e a r a t t h e H u n t e r d o n C o u n t y Librarians Annual Winter Workshop the County librarians choose one student per grade, K-12 for the Enthusiastic Reader Award. Librarians and teachers from Hunterdon County nominate students who they feel exhibit the following characteristics: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for reading and sharing books, uses books for a variety of purposes, reads independently on a volunteer basis, uses school and/or public libraries, and selects books at appropriate interest levels.We are so pleased to say that this year our 4th grade student, Rachel Bielenberg, is the 4th grade winner from Hunterdon County! A ceremony will be held at the Hunterdon County Library in Flemington to celebrate this honor. Congratulations to Round Valley's Block 5 Law Fair Team! They won second place in the New Jersey State Bar Foundation Law Fair competition. Their winning case is called, "Slot Slip-Up Winn v. Lucky Casino." The students created a fictional mock trial law case featuring an underage minor getting lost from a casino daycare center. The child accidentally went into the adult area and played the "Wheel of Fortune" slot machine and won the jackpot. The students researched law and how it would and could apply in their case. The purpose of Law Fair is to promote understanding of the law and our justice system, and to educate students about their rights and responsibilities under the law. The students will perform their case in front of a judge, and students from all across NJ will be the jurors on May 24 at the Law Center in New Brunswick. Our 7th Annual Relay for Life was held on February 24 at CTMS! It was an inspirational family fundraiser, planned and organized by middle school students, and featured a dance trio, student poetry and personal stories. Our school community raised over $52,000 in the fight against cancer. This brings our seven year total to: $261,118! Thank you to all our supporters! And thank you to our dancers: Samantha Thompson, Katie Zappetti and Samantha Fronio! Colors of Hope - Melanie Lloyd and Tara Sangal Su R Scho Rd V Scho t Tohip Midd Scho Spotlit on Art: t Tohip Art Exhibiʦ 2017 I See A Rainbow In Red, I try not to see the sadness of bleeding hearts. And Love that is too scared to reach out its caring arms. In Red, I choose to see an atmosphere of unbreakable love, passion and excitement. In Orange, I try not to see the fire of pain The tears from your eyes flow as a river Dry from a drought only comes after a flood In Orange, I choose to see perseverance, having to fight through the world's hardships; yet making through stronger than before. In Yellow, I try not to see the hope in your eyes fade away Your scared soul frightened by the shadows of doubt. In Yellow, I choose to see the sunshine, creating brightness and joy that radiates around the Earth, and settles happily in your smile. In Green, I try hard not to see the grass that was once a playground of life Trodden on by the angels of despair In Green, I choose to see nature, touching each and every flower; the leaves on the trees being blown by a gentle breeze. In Blue, I can't help but see eyes filled with cold jealous regrets My heart yearns to understand the power of hope. In Blue, I see calming waves – peaceful, as you look up at a sky that holds endless possibilities. In Violet, I try not to see the ending of a life too tired to keep on, I am sorry, I am sorry I couldn't do anything more for you. In Violet, I see a better life for you and so many others, who have been through the unimaginable. We see a rainbow I try not to see the colors of hurt And I choose to see the colors of hope.

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