School News: Recognition, Awards and Special Events in the District

AWARDS

• Jason Bing, Superintendent of Schools and all district administrators are pleased to announce that the Bloomfield School District Teacher of the Year for the 2011-2012 school year is Linda Vecchione.  Ms. Vecchione was the Demarest School candidate for the Governor’s Teacher Recognition Program.  Ms. Vecchione has been employed as an educator for 25 years, with 20 years of service in the Bloomfield School District.

• John Shanager was selected as the Bloomfield Middle School Teacher of the Year and is a candidate for the Governor’s Teacher’s Recognition Award.  

• In addition, Shanager’s eighth grade class took first place in the New Jersey Mock Trials Competition.  For the first time 7^th Grade enrichment students participated as well, and took second place.

• The Bloomfield Educational Foundation will host a “Second Century of Excellence” gala dinner the Forest Hill Field Club on April 21^st to honor Bloomfield High School Class of 1949 graduate, Patricia Gibson Carter.  Additional awardees include Mark Sceurman ‘ 75, Alumnus of the Year; BHS Principal, Christopher Jennings, Educator of the Year; and the St. Valentine’s Athletic Club, which will receive the "Friends of Bloomfield Schools" award.

• Bloomfield High School Indoor Percussion Ensemble won second place in their first competition of the season in the US Scholastic Band Championship.  Under the direction of George Agens and Kristin Leone, the ensemble has been practicing for a round of competitions that will take place over the next few weeks. 

• The Major Joseph Bloomfield Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will have an award ceremony on March 28 for students in grades 5-8 who won an essay-writing contest on the theme of, “Young America Takes A Stand: The War of 1812.”  The 2011-2012 D.A.R. Essay Contest Winners are:

Fifth Grade:

1^st place: Callie Natiello --Brookdale

2^nd place: John Josephsen --Demarest

3^rd place: Brianna Trigueros-Pericone --Fairview

Honorable Mention: Claudia Cantillo --Demarest

Sixth Grade:

1^st place: Joseph Toscano --Oak View

2^nd place: Grace Eileen Perrotta --Brookdale

3^rd place: Kevin Bretz --Demarest

Honorable Mention: Jean Carlos Pereyra --Carteret

David Rumph --Demarest

Anthony Beaty-Di Palma --Brookdale

Bloomfield Middle School -7^th Grade:

1^st place: Grace-Anna Douglas

Bloomfield Middle School - 8^th Grade:

1^st place: Sara Stambolian

New Educational Initiatives

• All district staff have begun to use the electronic gradebook feature of the new Bloomfield School District interactive website. This includes sending grade and student progress reports to the parent portal.  For more information on this program click HERE.

•   Naviance Family Connection is a web-based service that allows students and their parents to research, track and plan for careers and for the college admissions process. Parents of sophomores through seniors can call their student’s guidance counselor to obtain a parent password and register at: http://connection.naviance.com/bloomfield

Recent School District Highlights

• February 27-March 2 was “Read Across America” Week.  Students and staff from all Bloomfield schools celebrated by engaging in special literacy activities.  Special guests from the community, including Mayor Raymond McCarthy, township officials, members of the police and fire departments and representatives from the BOE and the public library were among the guest readers.

• Bloomfield High School parents, students, and faculty attended the 2012 College and Career Fair on March 1.  Presenters discussed college career options for Bloomfield High School students after graduation. Representatives from over 200 colleges were on hand to inform parents about the application process, financial aid, choosing and paying for college, and more.

• , a holiday commemorating the mathematical constant "pi", was celebrated at schools within the district on March 14, or 3/14 in month/day date format, since 3, 1, and 4 are the three most significant digits of pi in the decimal form.

• On February 29, Brookdale School students in grades 3-5 participated in Jump Rope For the Heart, 2012, an American Heart Association event to raise money for kids with heart problems. 

• On February 23-26,

• On February 29, .