Dig Pink fund-raiser focuses on breast cancer awareness at Mother Seton
Mother Seton's Volleyball Team participated in its second annual Dig Pink initiative on Friday, Oct.12.
This event, sponsored by The Side-Out Foundation, is a nationwide movement involving hundreds of teams across the country. It brings athletes together through volleyball to raise funds in support of the stage IV breast cancer community. Patients with stage IV breast cancer are stricken with the most advanced form of the disease which is also the least funded area of research.
According to a school news release, Mother Seton Junior Varsity and Varsity players joined Wardlaw-Hartridge athletes in competition in support of Dig Pink. A basket raffle and 50/50 were conducted, along with food sales to help contribute to funds raised.
As part of the event, the Clark-based Mother Seton presented the Edison-based Wardlaw-Hartridge players with Breast Cancer pins to remind them of the importance of breast cancer awareness and regular screening. Cancer survivors from the Rahway Cancer Center, as well as alumnae and current student survivors were honored at the end of the game.
According to the news release, this event was organized by creative and dedicated school volunteers and parents who give tirelessly to support the school and all it charitable ventures. Lynn Mikolay, the mother of senior and Varsity Volleyball player Jenna Mikolay, was at the forefront of organizing and leading this charge against cancer.
Last yea. Mother Seton raised more than $1,600 for Dig Pink, and the goal this year was to surpass that contribution — a goal that organizers are sure they will make as donations continue to pour in.
Since Mother Seton is an all-girls’ school, the issue of early detection and preventative screening are of utmost importance to the school community, according to the news release.
Elmira College
Corinne Hyland of Fords was inducted into Phi Eta Sigma, the international honor society at .Elmira College in Elmira, New York
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Linden Public Schools
While students were enjoying a day off on Oct. 8, staff members at Linden Public Schools were engaged in professional development sessions to learn and refine new classroom strategies.
Harvey Silver, president of Silver Strong & Associates and author of several articles and books on instructional tools and strategies, spent the day with Linden High School faculty. He discussed “Reading for Meaning,” a classroom tool that develops and assesses a student’s ability to understand and interpret what they have read as well as their ability to support a position with evidence.
“By teaching students to support their positions with evidence and examples, ‘Reading for Meaning’ prepares them to be better writers as well as better readers,” said Linden instructional coach Reina Irizarry-Clark. “Dr. Silver showed specific examples of how this strategy can be applied across content areas and provided opportunities for teachers to practice the strategy and collaborate on what they had learned during the workshop.”
Thomas Dewing, a senior consultant at Silver Strong & Associates, demonstrated the “Compare and Contrast” strategy for faculty at McManus and Soehl middle schools. Dewing walked participants through all four phases, including description, comparison, conclusion, and application. Research has shown the technique has a significant impact on learning when students engage in all four phases of descriptive analysis.
“The strategies introduced by both Dr. Silver and Dr. Dewing are part of the district initiative to incorporate instructional strategies across content areas,” said Irizarry-Clark. “When students are exposed to the same strategy in reading, science, math, physical education, music, social studies, connections are formed that make learning more concrete for students. The ultimate goal of an instructional strategy is for it to become a learning strategy where a student can now use it themselves across content to make sense of what they are learning.”
Both sessions were designed to give teachers an opportunity to work through the strategies. They were provided examples of lessons where the strategies were used across different subjects and disciplines.
Elementary teachers were exposed to these strategies as well as others last year when Dewing presented “Tools for Thoughtful Assessment.” On Oct. 8, elementary teachers reviewed the strategies they learned last year as they will continue to incorporate them into their instruction this year.
“The next steps in teachers’ professional development include ‘Teacher Rounds’ at the middle school and high school,” Irizarry-Clark said. “Teacher leaders will work with Dr. Silver and Dr. Dewing to plan a lesson using the new strategy, perform the lesson, and analyze the success of the lesson.”
Middlesex County College
Eighty students were recently inducted into the Middlesex County College chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges. They are:
Avenel: Valeria Orihuela; Carteret: Ashley Guzman, Sarah Hetmanski, Zill Huma, Tuminder Kaur, Kyrah Maduro, Bright Nwanze, Aissa Oliva; Colonia: Emil Hathaway, Anthony Ottaviano; Cranford: Shannon Macmenamie; Dunellen: Gloria Magriz-Mcnamara, Leah Piscopo; East Brunswick: Nicola Laurie, Deitric Murphy, Jean Reger, Theresa Sawicki; Edison: Hadir Abdelaal, George Alencherry, Kimberly Brenton, Brianna Daly, John Fragasso, Miranda Gido, Jabra Houdali, Emily Karlowski, Manleen Kaur, Julia Nordhausen, Christina Pascucci, Amanda Rodriguez, Madiha Saeed, Giselle Salazar, Adam Samet, Paolo Antonio Sering, Roopjeet Singh, Christian Therrien, Yin Zhang; Fords: Matthew Mejia-Martinez; Hopelawn: Lisette Morales; Iselin: Vikas Matta; Metuchen: Haley Sklans, Alexandria Wonski; Monroe Township: Nhu Thuy Huynh, Simran Kaur; New Brunswick: Lizseth Daza, Isabelle Gunn, Misael Martinez, Jocelyn Pelaez, Jeffrey Reyes, Luisa Reyes; North Brunswick: Kimberly Feggulis, Emilio Melendez, Tracy Ruvolo; Old Bridge: Elana Bain, Mark; Hanna, Sai Prashanthi Thoutam, Mark Volosov; Parlin: Oksana Bagrii, Jacqueline Christo, Rachel Holzer, Logan Park, Kimberly Stratton; Perth Amboy: Estefany Caceres, Chaz Chamberlain, Cesarin Garcia; Piscataway: Angelimani Bateman, Anthony Bellonio, Neel Patel; Sayreville: Brandon Chinchilla, Paul Gonzalez, Nancy Rutledge, Mustafa Sadiq; South Amboy: Donald Delgandio, Hubert Maslowski, Victoria Reilly; South Plainfield: Leslie Del Salto, Lauren Yanick; South River; Ahmad Elrefahy, Simone Outlaw, Leslie Pelaez; Woodbridge: Edmundo Leiva
Randolph-Macon Academy
Caelan Johnson of Metuchen, was appointed to the student leadership organization of cadre within the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) at Randolph-Macon Academy in Front Royal, Virginia. He received the position of Assistant Delta Flight Commander as a cadet.
Raritan Valley Community College
Raritan Valley Community College’s Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Department will present a Music Students Recital, Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m., in the Welpe Theatre at the college’s Branchburg campus. The program is being coordinated by Tony Strong, RVCC Associate Professor of Music.
The program will feature performances by music majors in the Department’s Associate of Fine Arts and Associate of Arts (Music Option) degree programs, as well as music students from studio and ensemble classes. The recital’s program will include solo, accompanied and ensemble pieces, featuring an exceptional variety of musical styles and traditions. Original student compositions and arrangements also will be presented.
Featured performers will include Evan Acocella of Annandale, Rafael Alvarez of Flemington, Joy Auerbach of Belle Mead, Lua Bleah of Piscataway, Stella Campbell of Basking Ridge, Stephen Comanda of Somerville, Christopher Compton of Stirling, Sebastian Friedermann of Ringoes, Patrick Gardner of Bridgewater, Rimsha Jalal of Edison, Michael Krupinski of Somerset, Mathew Rooney of Somerville, Kristine Sauerborn of Whitehouse Station, Christopher Shaffer of Branchburg, and Matthew Zacek of Flemington.
General admission tickets cost $12 each, $8 for students and seniors. Contact the RVCC Theatre Box Office at 908-725-3420. For additional information, call the VAPA office at 908-218-8876
In addition, Raritan Valley Community College’s Visual and Performing Arts Department will present the 15th Annual RVCC Art Students Juried Exhibition, Nov. 2 to 27, in the Art Gallery at the college’s Branchburg campus. The exhibition is being coordinated by RVCC faculty member and Art Gallery Coordinator Darren McManus.
An opening reception and awards ceremony will be held at the RVCC Art Gallery on Friday, Nov. 2, from 5 to 7 p.m. Refreshments will be served.
Artwork completed by students in the College’s Visual and Performing Arts Department during the past year — since the Fall 2017 semester — will be featured in the juried show. The artwork will include a variety of media including ceramics, painting, drawing, sculpture, graphic design, multimedia, photography, illustration, interior design, video and printmaking.
Ranked by BestColleges.com, WalletHub.com, and Niche.com as the #1 community college in New Jersey, Raritan Valley Community College has been serving as an academic and cultural center for residents of Somerset and Hunterdon counties for 50 years.
For more information, visit https://www.raritanval.edu/.
Rutgers University
Tactile maps became the newest amenity recently for blind and visually impaired visitors to Rutgers University-New Brunswick’s Alexander Library.
The maps, created through 3D printing, are hard plastic 8-inch squares bearing raised rectangles, lines and arrows along with braille text. The maps of the library’s first floor were created by students in the School of Engineering and the 3D Printing Club (RU3D) led by Howon Lee, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
Lee explores the possibilities of 3D printing to create new problem-solving materials. He previously led a team that used 3D printing to create tactile maps of the Joseph Kohn Training Center, a state-funded facility for the blind and visually impaired in New Brunswick. Lee said the Alexander Library project was largely executed with the help of RU3D club president Michael Levine.
“I recruited students to apply creativity and engineering knowledge in a way that would make our campus community more accessible,” Lee said. “They embraced the challenge of considering the perspective of those who are blind and developing a 3D printed solution.”
The maps, available as handouts at the library’s front desk, feature a legend that uses braille to translate its symbols – squares represent elevators, rectangles are bookshelves, and circles and triangles denote restrooms.
Seton Hall
MSN Money reported Seton Hall University in South Orange at number six in the nation with 139.7 percent growth among educational institutions experiencing the largest five-year percentage increase in college applications. The results come from a 24/7 Wall Street study analyzing National Center for Education statistics for nearly 600 colleges and universities.
“We’ve received the largest number of applications in Seton Hall’s history in the last three years, and at the same time these students are coming to us with higher SAT averages and many impressive distinctions. This confirms why top students from New Jersey and around the country are attracted to this University. Seton Hall remains committed to our mission and our Catholic values and we are attracting an academically strong and diverse student body,” said Alyssa McCloud, vice president of Enrollment Management, in a news release.
This measurement reflects Seton Hall’s growing national reputation as this year’s freshman class again shattered the record for student applications with more than 19,200 would-be Pirates completing applications for the Class of 2022. More than 1,500 freshmen were welcomed to this year’s class, making for the largest undergraduate class in University history.
The class also has the highest average SAT score at 1230, up 15 points from the previous year, and an impressive 110-point increase since 2009. Embracing its diversity, 26 percent of incoming students are Pell eligible, 45 percent identify as students of color, 26 percent are the first generation of their families to attend college, and 39 percent come from out of state. The latest U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best College guide ranked the University at 119, up 17 places since 2011. This year, Seton Hall tied for 11th place among national top-tier Catholic colleges. And the university is the third most diverse national Catholic university in the nation.
During the past five years, the university has invested more than $165 million in new campus buildings and renovations. In 2015, Seton Hall launched a School of Medicine as well as a College of Communication and the Arts. The University’s Interprofessional Health Sciences (IHS) campus in Clifton and Nutley, opened in the summer of 2018. The IHS campus houses the University’s College of Nursing, School of Health and Medical Sciences and the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University.
Visit https://www.shu.edu/ for more information.
Stockton University
Stockton University is now accepting applications for a new Master of Arts in Counseling program that will begin in Sept. 2019.
The 60-credit two-year program includes a 100-hour practicum and a 600-hour internship, including 120 hours of direct client contact and 180 hours of indirect client services.
Classes will be held at Stockton’s Kramer Hall, 320 Front St. in Hammonton, and some courses may be offered as hybrid classes with both online and in-class components.
Graduates of the program will be qualified to take the National Counselor Exam (NCE), which is administered by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC). Passing the NCE exam qualifies graduates as a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC).
Graduates who have passed the NCE will also be qualified to apply for licensure in the State of New Jersey as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) after an additional 4,500 hours of supervised experience. This license allows them to work as counselors in non-profit organizations, for profit organizations, or in private practice in New Jersey. Graduates will also be eligible to apply for a specialty designation in any of the following: clinical mental health, addictions, career, school counselor or gerontology.
Courses will educate students about the best practices in mental health and human services and train students to work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, social service agencies and residential treatment centers. Graduates will be prepared to enter the workforce in entry-level positions in counseling and social services.
Applicants must have prerequisite skills and knowledge in statistics and experimental psychology and have taken at least one course in either child development or personality psychology and earned a grade of B or better. A minimum grade-point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scales is required.
The deadline for applications for the fall 2019 semester is Feb. 1, 2019.
The program is directed by Professor of Psychology Sara Martino.
More information is online at https://www.stockton.edu/graduate/counseling.html or by calling the Stockton Office of Graduate Studies at 609 626-3640 or email: http://www.gradschool@stockton.edu
The Wardlaw+Hartridge School
The Class of 2024 at The Wardlaw+Hartridge School in Edison enjoyed a four-day trip to Frost Valley in Claryville, New York recently. The sixth-graders, who were accompanied by chaperones Tanda Tucker of Bernardsville, Andrea Barnett of Morganville, Dina Congregane of Scotch Plains and Elizabeth Martin of South Plainfield, experienced many adventures and took advantage of opportunities for growth while connecting with nature, according to a news release.
Trip highlights included hiking to a cable bridge, investigating the pond ecosystem, learning about apples, picking them from an orchard and taking turns putting apples into a traditional cider press and turning the crank. The students and chaperones also completed a service project in the garden, which needed harvesting and weeding. They also learned about maps and orienteering. Last, but not least, they gathered around a campfire to sing songs, tell stories and, of course, make and eat S'mores!
ALSO: Noah Apter of Springfield, a sophomore at The Wardlaw+Hartridge School in Edison, continues to acquire and master more classical knowledge than your average high school student.
Apter has been inspired by his participation in a classics program called the Paideia Institute, a wide-ranging international program devoted to the study of classics. He has developed an interest in learning ancient Greek and last summer traveled abroad in the institute’s Living Latin in Rome program, where he spent two weeks immersed in Rome learning Latin and experiencing the city with a group of high school students.
“Some of the many highlights of my summer trip to Rome were visiting the baths of Diocletian, taking strolls up the many hills and roads of Rome, and most importantly, building camaraderie with my friends over the course of two weeks. Exploring the dozens of sights on your own is certainly great, but nothing tops observing them with friends,” he said.
Next summer, Apter will participate in the Living Greek in Greece program, which includes learning Greek and exploring Athens. Noah is also the first student at Wardlaw+Hartridge to be doing an independent study in Homeric Greek with Upper School Latin teacher Nick Pelullo this year, where he will be translating Homer’s Iliad.
Based on these accomplishments, Apter has been invited to sit in on some classics classes at Notre Dame, University of Pittsburgh, Haverford and Boston College in the next few months.
“I find translating ancient texts to be the most fascinating thing about classics,” he said. “I feel like translation leaves so much room for interpretation by the translator, and it really is satisfying to translate passages of a language most people think is completely dead. In my opinion, it is not dead, but alive in our minds as we contemplate what the writer or speaker was trying to convey.
Apter also has broadened his classics-oriented horizons with summer trips to Croatia, where he has family. He became a Croatian citizen in the past year, and it was after exploring some archeological artifacts in Croatia that he decided to write his first paper, “The Stele of Asteris: A Brief Encounter in Dalmatia.” He is also learning Russian through the Berlitz School in Summit.
“Only being a sophomore in high school, I'm keeping my options open, but this field of study leads to and connects with so many other topics that I'm definitely considering delving more into classics as a whole over time,” said Apter, who is currently in the midst of translating Plato’s Apology from Greek into English with his Greek tutor, William Theiss, from Princeton University.
Apter recently published an article on classical archeology in a classics journal, In Medias Res. See link: https://medium.com/in-medias-res/the-stele-of-asteris-a-brief-encounter-in-dalmatia-b52ab13c3d20
Student and School news appears on Fridays. Email:hntmetro@mycentraljersey.com