The Westfield Leader Newspaper
The Times of Scotch Plains-Fanwood

CYAN YELLOW MAGENTA BLACK

Concepts &Thought

The Learning Curve

MOCK CONGRESSPERSONS… The Junior Statesmen of America Club (JSA) of Scotch PlainsFanwood High School presented a mock congressional session to the Terrill Middle School seventh graders in Rita Selesner and Judy Lasher’s classes. The pupils roleplayed Senate and House of Representative committee members, and they had to debate and decide the fate of bills. Pictured, left to right, are: first row, Terrill students Gavin Ford, Sophia Riordan, Rebecca Koransky and Michael Leighton; second row, high school students, Dan Nelson, Brian Kaplun, Kevin Grinberg and Susannah Grossman.

Philhower Award Deadline Announced By Rotarians

WESTFIELD — William Bonsall, President of the Westfield Rotary Club has announced that Friday, March 3, is the deadline for nominations for the eighth annual Charles Philhower Fellowship award.

Mr. Bonsall stated, “We believe the Philhower Fellowship is a fitting memorial to an educator who gave so much to the children of Westfield and to education in general.”

Superintendent of Schools Dr. William J. Foley added, “We are grateful for the recognition the Rotary continues to give the teaching profession. Our elementary teachers lay the foundation of learning for Westfield students by supporting, inspiring and instructing them during those important first steps in formalized education.”

Letters of nomination are invited from interested citizens and Westfield public school staff members and

should be addressed to: Charles Philhower Fellowship Committee of the Westfield Rotary Club, c/ o Office of the Superintendent of Schools, 302 Elm Street, Westfield, 07090.

Nominations should specify ways in which the teacher has demonstrated outstanding teaching, interest in children and continued pursuit of professional growth. The instructor must be a fulltime faculty member in Westfield for a minimum of five years.

The Fellowship recipient will be honored at a Rotary luncheon and will receive a grant to further professional growth or to enhance classroom activities for students.

The award was instituted in 1993 by the Westfield Rotary Club to recognize the importance of teaching in the elementary grades and to honor Westfield Rotarian and School Superintendent Charles Philhower.

Mr. Philhower, who died in 1962, was Supervising Principal (Superintendent) of Westfield Public Schools for 30 years from 1917 to 1947 and was President of the Westfield Rotary Club in 19291930. As Rotary President, Mr. Philhower instituted the club’s annual scholarship awards to graduating Westfield students.

Members of the Selection Committee will include two Rotarians, two elementary school principals and the immediate past Philhower fellow, Eva Morton, third grade teacher at Washington Elementary School.

College Financial Information Event Slated at Magnet School

SCOTCH PLAINS – The Union County Magnet High School in Scotch Plains has rescheduled its first annual “College Financial Info Night” to Thursday, February 17, at 7: 30 p. m. The event, which was canceled due to weather, will be held in Mancuso Hall.

Leah Fletcher, Assistant Director of Client Services for the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Department, will present general information on financial aid, assist in completing financial aid forms, and review the financial aid process. A question and answer period will follow.

Ms. Fletcher’s agency administers the state’s grants, scholarships and loan programs.

The Magnet School is located at 1776 Raritan Road in Scotch Plains.

For more information, please call the Magnet High School at (908) 8893800.

Strong Schools Guide Today’s Pupils To Higher Levels of Intelligence By REVEREND LUKE L. TRAVERS

Why, when we talk about our schools, do we often use the phrase “making our schools stronger” rather then “making our schools smarter?”

I have spent some time recently considering an article about education that had as its headline, “Strengthening our Schools.” Obviously we want our schools to be smart, full of intelligent teachers leading kids into their subjects with enthusiasm. But we are also aware that our schools have agendas other than the intellectual growth of their students.

We, as parents, citizens, and concerned adults, impose those agendas on our schools, and we expect them to produce not only bright people, but also good citizens who are ready to make ethical decisions at work and at home.

To do this, we expect our schools to have a culture, one that nurtures our young people in the best possible manner. And we expect that culture to be strong, attractive and compelling to the students who go through that school. This is an expectation we have of both public and private education.

In our nation’s public schools there has always been a concern that we make our young people good citizens, ready to respond to their civic duty and their role in a republic. In private education, each school has been established with a specific mission in mind, whether to provide education with a religious component or to broaden methods of student evaluation and give each student more individual attention in small classes.

I would argue that we are in the midst of a renewal of school culture. To allow our prevalent consumerist, media culture to be the only influence on our children is to, as it were, abandon them to forces far from their own homes and communities.

We are more and more aware that our local school system, or nearby independent school, offers us a choice as to the kind of culture we wish to nurture our children. Today’s parents seek to discern what that culture is in order to make the right choice for their children, so that they grow in the most appropriate environment, one that is personal and brings out the best in them and the other young people they will have as friends.

What are some of the important signs that parents should pay attention to in trying to discern a school’s culture during a brief visit? More than observing the students, I would recommend that they observe the educators.

Are they giving glib answers to complex questions? For example, are the school’s leaders saying that the school does not have any learning disabled students or that the student body does not have a drinking problem? Are the teachers professional in manner, and are they observed regularly by administrators? Is the school clear and eloquent in expressing its mission, or do school leaders use “marketing” terms and phrases when talking about themselves? If they are clear on their mission, are you comfortable with that culture?

Our young people are far too valuable to leave to television and movies and the Internet. There are strong schools out there, ones that will work with you in nurturing your sons and daughters in the best possible culture and in their home away from home.

* * * * *

The Reverend Luke L. Travers is currently headmaster of Delbarton School in Morristown. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Columbia College, a Master of Arts in Theology from Catholic University of America, and an Ed. M. from Harvard University.

Bloomsburg Univ. Reveals Dean’s List

Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, Pa. has announced the names of students from Westfield and Scotch Plains who were named to the Dean’s List for the first semester of the 19992000 academic year.

Kimberlee D. Robinson of Westfield, Elizabeth B. Kylish, Jason M. Lilly and Sara L. Kylish, all of Scotch Plains have been named to the list.

Joanna Kreil Receives Highest Honors At Skidmore College

WESTFIELD – Joanna Kreil, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Kreil of Westfield and a member of the Class of 2002, has earned highest honors during the fall semester at Skidmore College in Sarasota Springs, N. Y.

Kathleen Loughrey Named to Dean’s List At Keene State College

WESTFIELD – Kathleen W. Loughrey of Westfield has been named to the Dean’s List for the fall semester at Keene State College in Keene, N. H.

Local Pupils Earn Honor Roll Status At Oak Knoll School

Francine Chow Named To Fall Dean’s List At Univ. of Rochester

WESTFIELD – Francine Chow of Westfield, a freshman majoring in psychology at the University of Rochester in Rochester, N. Y., has earned Dean’s List status for the fall 1999 semester.

Francine is a graduate of Westfield High School.

Fairfield University Announces Dean’s List

WESTFIELD – Steven J. Kapuscinski of Westfield, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Kapuscinski, has been named to the Dean’s List at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn.

ROLLERBLADING PARTY… AnnMarie Granstrand, left, and Sarah Zukowsky enjoy an afternoon of skating as Holy Trinity Interparochial School in Westfield wrapped up its celebration of Catholic Schools Week with a family rollerblading party on February 4. To celebrate this year’s theme, “Lighting the Way to a New Century,” the students also participated in a Student Retreat Day and made ice cream sundaes.

Please send all Education and University

Press Releases to: michelle@ goleader. com!

SUMMIT – Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child in Summit has posted its list of honor roll students for the first trimester. Students earning first honors receive no grade lower than an “A.” Students on the honor roll receive no grade lower than a “B.”

Westfield

First Honors: Larissa Curlik, ninth grade; Sara Pankratz, 10th grade, and Tracy Evans, 12th grade. Honor Roll: Caitlin Farrell, eighth grade and Kathryn Wade, ninth grade.

Scotch Plains

First Honors: Elena Goetz, 10th grade. Honor Roll: Alicia Mazzucca, eighth grade, Katherine Abramson, 10th grade, Laura Mazzucca, 11th grade, and Birgit Unfried, 12th grade.

Mountainside

First Honors: Domenica Paparatto, seventh grade.

Honor Roll: Stephanie DeVos, ninth grade, Cynthia Fisher, 12th grade and Nicole Kress, 12th grade.

BOOK COLLECTING BROWNIES… During the holiday season, third grade Brownie Tro School in Scotch Plains gathered and donated gentlyused books to the Scotch Plains Library. Pictured, left to right, are: standing, Valerie Eaton, Jamie Pietrucha, Jazel Sheppard, Ashling Coffey, Samantha Schuster, Erin O’Brien, Kelly Henderson, Valerie Luby, Kristina Kalkstein; sitting: Erika Kuck, MaryKate O’Connell, Sara Stanton, Christie Ruggieri, Whitney Adams and Alison Acevedo.

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