Lawrence Township Public School News Roundup

The following news was recently reported by the Lawrence Township public school district:

Board of Education Reorganization

The Lawrence Township Board of Education will hold its annual reorganization at its next business meeting, which will be held tonight, Monday, May 9, at 7 p.m. in the library at Lawrence High School, 2525 Princeton Pike.

School Calendar

The school district wants to remind parents and students that all three of the “emergency closing days” allotted for the 2010-2011 school year were used as a result of snow storms this past winter. As such, township schools will be in session on May 25, 26 and 27.

Community Conversation III Postponed

The school district’s third “Community Conversation” to discuss the Lawrence Township Public Schools’ 2010-2015 Strategic Plan has been postponed. It was originally slated to be held on Tuesday, May 10.

The district offered this explanation: “May is typically a very busy month with things such as end-of-school year concerts and programs, religious celebrations, and sporting events. This year is proving to be no different. Thus, Superintendent Phil Meara has postponed the May 10 Community Conversation III until the fall.  Please watch for a rescheduled date after the 2011-2012 school year begins in September.”

National Honor Society

On April 28, 59 Lawrence High School students were inducted into the National Honor Society. To be eligible, the students needed to have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.75 or higher calculated at the mid-point of their junior year. Students were also required to have demonstrated community service, leadership and good character. Each junior who was academically eligible was invited to submit documentation of their involvement in school and community activities, along with recommendations from teachers, advisors and/or coaches. Submitted materials were then reviewed by a council of faculty members. Social studies teacher Ann Hertzog is the program advisor.

The newly-inducted members are: Samantha Adamczyk, Katherine Adamy, Sebastian Aksamit, Sahil Arora, Sreya Basuroy, David Budzinski, Luke Buschman, Amy Campbell, Zachary Cartun, Anthony Cerone, Shannon DeFillipo, Jaggar DeMarco, Allison Drury, Jesse Dubin, Krista Edwards, Lydia Falk, Emma Freedman, Rachel Friedman, Danielle Funari, Gavin Gronenthal, Elizabeth Hernandez, Tristan Jordan, Rachel Joyce, Molly Klimak, Gregory Korngut, Nikunj Lathia, Caitlin Lavery, Daniel Lee, Christopher Lin, Sydney Lipskind, Catherin MacDuff, Vanessa Manso, Elizabeth Marsh, Salwa Marzouk, Caitlyn McBride, Abel McDaniels, Taylor Metelus, Michal Mus, Kiara Ott, Prarthi Patel, Sean Purcell, Kaitlyn Quis, Kimberly Ragazzo, Colin Rodgers, Michael Russ, Henry Sayen, Sam Sciarra, Justin Scott, Sebastian Siwik, Shruthi Srinivas, Brennavan Surendran, Alison Titus, Giovanna Tomat-Kelly, Phuoc Truong, Lauren Turkowski, Laura Walker, Ethan Whitener, Dominic Wirkijowski, and Edward Zeng.

Theater Awards

Lawrence High School Theater Director Lorie Baldwin and 30 of her students on April 27 traveled to West Chester, Pa., to attend West Chester University's High School Theater Competition. This was the first time Lawrence Township students attended the event, during which students perform, observe other student actors perform and obtain feedback from university theater professors. Students also participate in several university theater workshops covering topics like auditioning, make up, improvisation, costuming, and dance.

Lawrence students competed against students from six other school districts performing one act plays, monologues and scenes. The entire cast of “How to Succeed in High School Without Really Trying” was honored as the overall best ensemble of the competition. Brian Hamilton served as student director, and the cast included: Sammie Adamczyk, Keith Costa, Allie DeLeon, Chris DiTullio, Michelle Dzieminski, Marissa Edwards, Tim Fitzgerald, Rachel Friedman, Gavin Gronenthal, Ashley Holloway, Nestor Pacheco, Lauren Szolomayer, and Vance Wallace.

The follow Lawrence students also came away with awards:

• Marissa Edwards – Honorable Mention for Best Audition Monologues
• Emma Stevenson – Best Costume Design
• Gavin Gronenthal and Rachel Friedman – Honorable Mention for Best Scene Work

Lawrence Middle School Model United Nations

The Model United Nations Club from Lawrence Middle School on April 8 and 9 competed in the Sixth Annual Middle School Model U.N. Conference held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. Members of the Eighth-Grade Model U.N. Club represented the countries of Turkey and Djibouti in the General Assembly, World Health Organization and other United Nations committees.

Students succeeded in public speaking, debating, negotiating, and writing resolutions to help tackle many of the issues facing today’s global society. Topics covered included multinational terrorist groups, environmental refugees, women and development, and global epidemic outbreak alert and response.

The Lawrence Middle School Club competed with over 60 schools and 1,400 students. Maciej Leleniewski and Jake Verga took home a best position paper award on “Religious Intolerance” for the Human Rights Council and Sujay Shetty and Matthew Asir won an honorable mention for best delegation on “Multilingual and Heritage Education” for the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

Accompanying the students on the two-day conference were Lawrence Middle School Social Studies teachers Kristine Benson, Brendan Cartlidge and Dan Christel (the Model U.N. Club advisor), and librarian Eileen Cramer.

Peace Crane Donation

Students from Slackwood Elementary School and Lawrence Middle School raised a total of more than $800 for disaster relief efforts in earthquake-ravaged Japan. Slackwood students collected $412.58 by folding and decorating paper cranes as a symbol of sympathy and support for the people of Japan. Students in grades 2 and 3 worked on the cranes in art class, while Slackwood kindergartners and first-graders completed simpler paper crane coloring sheets. Art students at Lawrence Middle School, meanwhile, had been making paper cranes since November as part of an effort to make 1,000 of the peace symbols. After the earthquake struck Japan on March 11, Lawrence Middle School students decided to donate $400 by sending 200 of the cranes they had made to Students Rebuild Japan.

DonorsChoose.org Award

Thanks to several donors who pledged money in response to an application submitted to DonorsChoose.org by art teacher Lara Darpino, the Lawrence Middle School art room is now equipped with a brand-new Canon PowerShot 12.1-megapixel digital camera worth $179.99.

American Heart Association Fundraisers

About 165 fourth- and fifth-grade students at Lawrence Intermediate School took part in the annual Jump Rope for Heart event on March 8 and raised $11,190 that the American Heart Association will use for education and research. “These students had a blast promoting an active lifestyle by jumping in teams of six to fun music,” the district reported.

Then on March 11, about 70 sixth-grade students from Lawrence Intermediate School held their own version of March Madness by participating in the annual Hoops for Heart event. The students fielded six teams to compete in a basketball tournament that raised an additional $4,300 for the American Heart Association.

In total, $15,490 was raised by LIS students through the events, which were led by teachers Dave Boggs, Cindy Westhead, Jonathan Chichilitti, and Jaime Land.

Mercer County Professional Counselors Association Honors

Lawrence High School student Virginia Vinch and Rachel Rivera, a student at Lawrence Intermediate School, were among several students from throughout Mercer County who were honored during recent events of the Mercer County Professional Counselors Association. The students were recognized for their acts of kindness, caring, respect, and service to others. For his “outstanding level of competence and achievement,” Mark McGrath, a guidance counselor at Lawrence High School for the last 10 years, was also named “Counselor of the County” for 2011 by the MCPCA.

One Simple Wish

Students from the Eagles program at Slackwood Elementary School, , raised a total of $150 for One Simple Wish by collecting spare change and recycling empty potato chip bags (which generated 2 cents each). The money was used to grant two wishes for families in need: musical instruments for the art therapy program for traumatized youth at a children’s home in New Jersey, and a new diaper bag for an impoverished expectant mother.

LHS Teen Job Fair 2011

The guidance department of Lawrence High School sponsored a “Teen Job Fair 2011” at high school on April 15 to inform students of full-time, part-time, or internship positions that are available, as well as offer them advice about seeking employment and speaking with employers.

The Link - April 2011

The April 2011 edition of “The Link,” the Lawrence Township school district’s newsletter, can be downloaded directly from the district website by clicking here.

Slackwood PTO Family Science Night

Slackwood Elementary School PTO, in conjunction with Mad Science, will host a Family Science Night from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, May 13. Tickets are $5 per child, and adults are free with the purchase of a child’s ticket. Food will be available for purchase throughout the event. For more details, see the flyer in the PDF box above.

Ben Franklin PTO Annual Spring Sale

On Saturday, May 14, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. dozens of yard sale sellers, crafters, and professional vendors will fill the circular driveway in front of Ben Franklin Elementary School, 3929 Princeton Pike, for the Ben Franklin PTO’s second annual Spring Sale. There also will be moon bounce rides and face painting for children and raffles and a cash 50/50 drawing for adults. Lawrence High School cheerleaders will perform and interact with kids. The PTO will sell donated flea market items in an area called “Let’s Make a Deal” and Ben Franklin third-grade students will sell refreshments. Last year, close to 100 sellers participated. View the flyer in the PDF box above for more details or visit the BF PTO Spring Sale page of Facebook. Limited space for sellers is still available. Anyone interested should contact Amy Davis at afdavis814@verizon.net or (609) 883-8808.

2011 Lawrence Township Relay for Life

The district wants to remind the Lawrence Township community that the 2011 Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society will be held on the Lawrence High School campus on Friday, May 20, from 4:30 to 9 p.m. Click here to register for the event. Anyone with questions should contact Jenn Polakowski at (609) 671-5431 or jpolakowski@ltps.org.

National Alliance on Mental Illness Walk

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Mercer, in conjunction with Lawrenceville Main Street, will participate in the fourth state-wide NAMI Walk to combat the stigma of mental illness and improve the lives of families affected by it.

The 5K walk will be held on Saturday, May 21 at Rider University, 2083 Lawrence Rd. (Route 206). Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., followed by the walk at 10 a.m. There will be community activities until 3 p.m., including a complimentary picnic lunch, music by local bands, games on the field, and a mini-marketplace. Anyone wishing to register for the walk, form a team, become a sponsor or make a donation should visit the website www.namimercer.org or call (609) 799-8994. NAMI Mercer is an affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Slackwood PTO Fundraiser

A fundraiser benefiting the PTO of Slackwood Elementary School will be held on Monday, May 16, at the Rita’s ice cream stand at 2070 Brunswick Pike, near Whitehead Road. Anyone who presents a special flyer (which can also be downloaded from the PDF box above) between noon and 6 p.m. will see 20 percent of their total purchase donated to the school.   

Project Graduation Volunteers Needed

Project Graduation – a series of events designed to provide Lawrence High School seniors with safe, drug- and alcohol-free ways to celebrate their graduation – is still looking for parent volunteers. Parents of all grade levels are welcome. Volunteers are particularly needed to chair/co-chair the corporate fundraising and Mr. LHS committees.  Anyone interested in volunteering for Project Graduation is asked to contact Mary Ann O’Brien at Merryanno2@aol.com.

Balloons for Graduates

Project Graduation is selling personalized balloons for graduates which they will receive at Project Graduation. Click here or view the flyer in the PDF box above for more details. The deadline for ordering is June 7.

Library Volunteers Needed

The Lawrence Township headquarters branch of the Mercer County Library, located at 2751 Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) at Darrah Lane East, is looking for students entering grades 7 through 10 in the Fall who are willing to volunteer for the library’s Summer Reading Program. For more details, view the flyer in the PDF box above. June 3 is the deadline to apply.