Friday, March 12, 2010
Dads' Night 2010 opens tonight at BF.
Pausing from his day job, Jim Gibney shoots an e-mail to 240 of his closest friends and fellow dads, enlisting help for bag stuffing. By the time he arrives at Hawes Elementary School later that nigh, "boom" an assembly line has formed. For the co-chairman of the 66th annual Dads' Night—a variety show written, produced and staring Somerville and Hawes Elementary Schools dads—this camaraderie is key to the event's success. "It's hard to articulate why this works, but I think the community element really brings us together," Gibney said. "When you move into Hawes and Somerville, there's some satisfaction to be involved with something so important." With Somerville dad Jay Baney, the pair have prepped for the annual fundraiser that runs …
40.98585
-74.101273
Benjamin Franklin Middle School
335 N Van Dien Ave
/articles/all-dads-on-deck
55013
/locations/306537
Thursday, March 11, 2010
District could cut an additional $898,000 given scenarios.
Speaking before a collection of students, residents and faculty, Ridgewood's superintendent fielded budget questions and detailed further cost-cutting situations. For the most part, Superintendent Daniel Fishbein explained the previously disclosed budget featuring flat state aid, which calls for personnel and supply cuts to fill a $3.35 million gap. Yesterday at Ridgewood High School, Fishbein said another $898,000 in cuts could be worst-case scenario. "I don't have a crystal ball, but I can tell you we're going to get cut," Fishbein said. If state aid were cut 15 percent from last year's $2.99 million allotment—an increasingly likely option—Ridgewood schools would scramble for another $448,000. The current budget reflects a projected 25 …
40.976804
-74.106071
Ridgewood High School
627 E Ridgewood Ave
/articles/fishbein-talks-budget-cuts-with-students-staff-residents
12751
/locations/305778
A sample of the Super Science Saturday exhibits.
A sample of the Super Science Saturday students and community service organizations' exhibits—the second installment of our two-part video series.
40.976804
-74.106071
Ridgewood High School
627 E Ridgewood Ave
/articles/a-trip-through-super-science-saturday-exhibits
12751
/locations/305111
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
BOE elects more conservative, tax-exempt bonds for referendum projects.
Bucking the potentially risky, but lucrative, Build America bonds, the Board of Education went a more traditional route March 8. Electing to bond the $38 million referendum project through more conservative tax-exempt bonds, Ridgewood schools opted against subjecting bonds to the whims of the government and free market. "I wonder if we hadn't gone down the road we've had with the state, if we would chose this," Superintendent Dan Fishbein said on the school district's state aid funding. Financial advisers Anthony Solimine—from McManimon & Scotland—and Anthony Inverso, of Phoenix Advisors, presented the board with two bonding options: all tax-exempt bonds or $30 million Build America bond with $8 million through traditional bonds. With the …
40.979645
-74.114804
Education Center at Beech School
49 Cottage Pl
/articles/build-america-bonds-rejected-by-school-board
59994
/locations/304984
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Flat state aid options laid out at Board of Education meeting.
Offsetting a flat increase in state aid, district officials laid out proposed staffing and purchasing cuts for the 2010-11 budget. Superintendent Daniel Fishbein described cuts to close a potential $3.35 million budget gap given zero increase or decline in the state's allocation. "None of these cuts are good cuts," board member Sheila Brogan said. "The bottom line here is $3.3 million is a tremendous amount to find in a budget... This is not something we're choosing to do." An estimated $2.14 million would be in salary cuts with the remaining $1.4 million stemming from supply reductions. In total—with flat state aide—the district projects about $87.8 million in revenue. With a 25 percent increase in health care benefits and other costs, …
40.979645
-74.114804
Education Center at Beech School
49 Cottage Pl
/articles/boe-335m-personnel-purchasing-cuts-projected
59994
/locations/304091
Over 300 students participate in annual science event.
Super Science Saturday's co-coordinator, MichaelAaron Flicker, details the popular science fair highlights. Part 1 of 2 in our series on the science spectacle.
40.976804
-74.106071
Ridgewood High School
627 E Ridgewood Ave
/articles/a-spectacular-super-science-saturday
12751
/locations/303488
Friday, March 5, 2010
Annual science fun day at high school Saturday.
The fact that this year's Super Science Saturday boasts its largest high school roster isn't exactly an accident. Between Ridgewood and other area high schools 90 students, plus 150 to 200 elementary and middle school students, will flex their science muscles this Saturday. Event organizers for the 22nd annual science spectacle at Ridgewood High School can attribute numerous factors. For the third year, organizers offered prep workshops in the three weeks leading up to the event. In the three weeks, students learn about experiments, conduct them, and construct presentations to present on Super Science Saturday. "This really helps kids learn that doing science is fun outside the classroom, but is educational, as well," organizer …
40.976804
-74.106071
Ridgewood High School
627 E Ridgewood Ave
/articles/a-saturday-for-science
12751
/locations/302068
Thursday, March 4, 2010
New education commissioner discusses possible state aid reductions.
SUMMIT—A contingent of concerned Ridgewood administrators, Board of Education members and parents traveled down the Garden State Parkway March 1 to hear out the state's new commissioner on education. Bret Schundler, newly sworn in to his state role, defended the cuts in school aid already enacted by the Christie administration and warned educators Monday that more are on the way. Schundler spoke at the Garden State Coalition of Schools meeting at Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School with a group of state education officials and legislators. From Ridgewood, Superintendent Daniel Fishbein traveled with Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Regina Botsford, and Board of Education members Robert Hutton, Michele Lenhard, Sheila Brogan and …
40.71252
-74.35654
234 Morris Ave, Summit, NJ
/articles/schundler-defends-cuts-to-ridgewood-other-districts
/locations/303052
Freshman school board member discusses presumed reelection.
With only two candidates up for the two available Board of Education seats, Board member Michele Lenhard is essentially assured a second term. Former member Charles Reilly and Lenhard will appear on the April 20 ballot alongside the budget vote. She released the following statement to Ridgewood Patch following the district's candidacy announcement: The approximately 5,600 students enrolled in the school system each year benefit from an educational experience containing strong instructional goals, and an opportunity for individual growth and leadership. Our continued success is a result of the partnership developed over the years between the School District, the Board of Education and the community. My individual focus is to foster this …
40.979645
-74.114804
Education Center at Beech School
49 Cottage Pl
/articles/lenhard-comments-on-election
59994
/locations/301731
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
High school parents preview film with suicide scene before freshmen do.
In anticipation of Ridgewood High School freshmen viewing an educational video that depicts suicide, parents got a chance to evaluate the film's suitability themselves. Produced in conjunction by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office and Chase Wilson Productions, Sticks and Stones is a drama that touches on teen issues such as suicide, bullying, peer pressure and modern issues like "sexting" and Web-based communication. The Freshmen FOCUS group will view and discuss the movie in the presence of peer counselors and mental health professionals in the coming week. Ridgewood High School Principal Jack Lorenz alerted parents to the video's suicide scene in a letter March 1 and offered "an appropriate alternate experience" if parents deem the …
40.976804
-74.106071
Ridgewood High School
627 E Ridgewood Ave
/articles/parents-judge-sticks-and-stones-for-themselves
12751
/locations/300665
