Superintendent's Corner
Bernard F. Bragen Jr. February 2016
Mid Year Reflections
Another highlighted success can be found in our 1:1 Chromebook initiative at Raritan High School, where each teacher and student was provided a Chromebook to use as a learning platform. This has directly impacted how our high school students learn and has allowed for the learning to not be tied to the bounds of our school day. We are so proud of how the high school staff has embraced this paradigm instructional shift and leveraged the learning to meet our students' needs.
These are only two examples of successes thus far, more to come...
School Happenings
Middle School Students Visit RHS
On Monday, February 1st, 31 students from Hazlet Middle School attended Advanced Placement classes at Raritan High School as a means of inspiring them to take advantage of the rigorous courses offered at the high school. Students were greeted as a group by Mr. Smith, Mr. Annibale, and Dr. Grosshandler, during which time they learned about the Brookdale Early College Program, AP Capstone, and Rocket University. In the same gathering, Ms. Gardner (Psychology, AP Human Geography, History) shared a presentation with students on the value of AP and the benefits of taking AP Human Geography in their 9th grade year. From there, students divided into four groups and attended 20 minute lessons in 2 of 4 classes (AP Calculus, AP World History, AP Environmental Science, or AP Psychology). Finally, students gathered together for a final lesson on the election and caucuses, taught by Mr. Cohen (AP U.S. Government and Politics). Students remained in his class to watch the Rocket News before departing for HMS. Hazlet Middle School parents and students are invited to learn more about these and other exciting programs during an informational session in the HMS Media Center on February 11th at 6:30 PM.
Cove Road School Updates
Mrs. Grazioli– Grade 5/6
During February, 5th and 6th Grade classes will have the opportunity to begin collaborating with students, overseas, to create culture-based projects. The students will be learning about each other, and their similarities and differences in culture. Together, the students will be completing projects using email, and sound recordings and/or video. The 5th and 6th grade students are excited about the opportunity to make new friends, work with students abroad, and learn about other cultures.
As a new endeavor this year, the sixth grade class has taken what they learned from the novel Stargirl and came up with the idea to launch a student-lead morning show. A rotating team of five students will research and record their show, which will be displayed on the flat screen television in the lobby that was generously donated by our PTO. Every week the news anchors will be reporting the daily weather, Hazlet happenings, school functions, important reminders, and current events. Good Morning CRS is sure to be a hit!
Mrs. Mazzucchelli – Grade 5
Recently our 5th & 6th grade scientists have begun some new investigations in Science. Starting in January, classes had been focused on designing, setting up, and carrying out a scientific experiment. Students thought of many great wonderings, but had to narrow down their list to decide on a common class theme. From there, groups of scientists then set up their experiment, formulated a hypothesis and are still currently making observations of the variable they had change. The groups in Mrs. Mazzucchelli's class have been using their Chromebooks to keep track of changes and observations using their Google Drive. All of our students will be sharing what they learned during our Science Fair scheduled in February. We are all looking forward to learning from our peers in the other 5th and 6th grade Science classes.
Beers Street Odessey of the Mind
The Beers Street School Odyssey of the Mind team is preparing for the upcoming Lighthouse Regional Tournament to be held on Saturday, March 12, 2016 in Woodstown, NJ. This year, our school will have two distinguished teams representing students in both the 5th and 6th grades. Mr. Kevin DiMaulo and Ms. Dena Orfanitopoulos will supervise the students and help them in all aspects of preparing for the competition. Earning a spot on the team this year was no easy task. Interested students had to audition for a spot by being very creative and demonstrating the skills necessary to think outside the box during the tryouts. A panel of teacher judges was assembled and gave each student a score which was then utilized to determine the final roster. Our 5th grade team is happy to have Vincent Perno, Kayla Marques, Mareyah Khan, Amanda Simeone and Timothy Linker. The members of the 6th grade team consist of Medha Dabral, James Grebenstein, Joei Tarrazi, Thomas Singer, Heather Rothman and Casey Gelabert. The 6th grade team brings experience and some new faces which could provide some balance for a somewhat veteran squad. The theme of this year’s creative problem is “Furs, Fins, and Feathers.” Both teams will need to devise a plan for presenting a musical comedy which must include all of the necessary elements of the Odyssey of the Mind program.
HAZLET TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Email: bbragen@hazlet.org
Website: www.hazlet.org
Location: 421 Middle Road, Hazlet, NJ, United States
Phone: 732-264-8401 1101
Twitter: @hazletsupt