From Livingston Public Schools

Dear Livingston,

In this edition:

• Livingston Board of Education
• Important Dates
• District News
• Green Notes
• Community Opportunities
• Livingston Education Foundation

Livingston Board of Education

The Livingston Board of Education will hold a Workshop/Special Voting meeting on June 20 at 7 p.m. in the Livingston High School auditorium.

Important Dates

• June 21, 22 and 23  – Partial days for elementary school students
• June 23 -  Last day of school for all students; LHS graduation at 3:30 p.m.

District News

• The Livingston Board of Education has revised its school calendar for the 2011-2012 school year. The last day of school has been changed to a partial day on June 20, 2012 and the Livingston Education Week visitation dates have been added for your information. Click here for the revised 2011-2012 LPS School Calendar.

• Three new administrators will take office July 1, 2011. LHS Assistant Principal Mark Stern will become LHS Principal July 1 replacing Pam Clause McGroarty who retires June 30 after 40 years. Bronawyn O’Leary, a health and physical education in Keansberg,  will replace Stern as Assistant Principal July 1. Debra Ostrowski, the district’s Supervisor of Business Education, will become Principal at Mount Pleasant Middle School July 1, replacing Pamela Slevin. Cara Szeles, principal of Mendham Township Elementary School, will become Hillside Elementary School Principal  September 1, replacing retiring Principal Bernadette Pilchman.

• LHS 1980 graduate Governor Chris Christie returned to his alma mater to film an interview on CNN Piers Morgan Tonight, which was broadcast Tuesday night on CNN at 9 p.m.

• Livingston Public Schools has added a new Press Release section to its website at  www.Livingston.org. Make sure you visit the site regularly and check out the new section for up-to-date news and information.

• Livingston Public Schools has opened the Subscription Busing Lottery for the 2011-2012 school year. If you are a resident whose child will be attending Livingston Public Schools in the fall and are interested in subscription busing, please go to the website at www.Livingston.org and click on the link for the busing lottery. Please note that if your child currently has subscription busing, you must reapply for the new school year. Students in grades K-8 who live more than 2 miles from their respective school and students in grades 9-12 who live more than two-and-a-half miles from the high school qualify for mandated busing. Students who live in lesser distances from their schools may participate in the busing lottery.

Green Notes

• The Livingston Recycling and Reclamation Committee and Livingston Public Schools PTOs (Parent Teacher Organization) are appealing to parents to turn their engines off while waiting to pick up or drop off students at school. The committee and PTOs are working together to increase environmental awareness in the schools, according to Sue Fershing, chair of the Recycling and Reclamation Committee. “State law prohibits idling for more than three minutes,” Fershing said. “An idling vehicle emits 20 times more pollution than one traveling at 30 mph, 15 minutes of idling emits almost 1 pound of carbon dioxide and 10 seconds of idling uses more fuel than turning the engine on and off.”

Anti-Idling signs have been installed  throughout the District, she said. Fershing said that parents need to be aware that children are especially vulnerable to air pollution. “Children breathe faster than adults, inhale more air per pound of body weight than adults and stand closer to tailpipe height,” Fershing said. For more information, email Fershing at sfersh@juno.com.

Community Opportunities

• Livingston Youth and Community Services (LYCS) program is now accepting registration for LYCS Leaders for the 2011-2012 school year. Registration is ongoing throughout the school year, and classes start in October through May, with end of year parties in June. New for 2012 will be LYCS Young Leaders (grade 2) which will teach age-appropriate social and leadership skills. Classes include Leaders (grades 3-5) after-school program at the Elementary schools, and evening programs (5:30-7 pm) at Monmouth Court Community Center for Grade 5 Leaders, Peer Leaders (grades 6-8), and Peer to Peer (grades 9-12). Registration is through the Township of Livingston: Senior, Youth, and Leisure Services. For more information visit www.livingstonlycs.org or email: lycs@livingston.org.

• Livingston High School junior Alyssa Pepper has organized a Livingston Water Summit June 22 from 7-9 p.m. at the Livingston Senior/Community Center, 204 Hillside Ave. The summit, which is Alyssa’s Girl Scout Group Project for Troop 20743, will educate residents  about water, our most important natural resource. Experts from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Rutgers University, the New Jersey Environmental Federation, the Passaic River Coalition, the Livingston Water Pollution Control Facility and the State Climatologist will speak about water. Topics include the watershed, water conservation, how climate change will affect the water supply, how fertilizer is related to water quality, recycled water and is our water supply endangered. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Visit http://www.livingstonnj.org/lec.htm.

• The West Essex YMCA will offer a Teen Leader’s Club Fridays from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Y. Activities include sports, fundraising and community volunteer activities. For information, contact John Kane, Youth  and Teen Director, at jkane@metroymcas.org or (973) 992-7500. The West Essex YMCA will also offer a Young Leaders Trip for teens and preteens, which will promote global awareness, team building and leadership growth, Aug. 14-18 at Overlook Farms in Rutland, MA. The cost is $375 per child and includes transportation, lodging and most meals. Registration and payment is required by June 14. Call (973) 992-7500.

• The Livingston Police Department is inviting township children to create a slogan for this year’s National Night Out, Aug. 2. The slogan will appear on T-shirts that will be distributed at the event. The winner will receive a T-shirt autographed by the chief of police and mayor as well as other prizes. The contest is open to children who live in Livingston and are currently in kindergarten through grade 12. For information, visit www.livingstonnj.org/commpolice-dare.html

• A new “Shining Star” Sports League: A League for Exceptional Children, offered by the new Senior, Youth and Leisure Services League for children with special needs, is accepting registration for its fall soccer program. The program is open to residents and non-residents and will run from Sept. 17 to Nov. 6, 9:30-10:30 a.m. for the junior league for ages 5-9 and 11 a.m. to noon for the senior league for ages 10-16 at the Monmouth Court Community Center. Other programs to be offered include basketball, floor hockey and t-ball/baseball . The cost is $75 per sport. To register, visit http://livingstonsyls.org or enroll at the SYLS office at the Livingston Senior/Community Center on Hillside Avenue, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, including program qualifications, and volunteer signup (training will be provided), contact SYLS Adaptive Recreation Coordinator Mark Silance at (973) 535-7925 or email msilance@livingstonnj.org.

• The LHS National Honor Society is having a book drive and will be collecting used SAT, ACT and AP study guides and later sell them at a reduced price to benefit a local charity. Books may be brought to LHS A116, world language teacher Barbara Kaplan’s classroom (also the NHS adviser) or at the high school main office with Kaplan’s name. For information, email bkaplan@livingston.org.

•  Cub Scout Pack 16 is accepting registration for new scouts for the 2011-2012 scouting year. All boys currently in kindergarten through 4th grade are eligible to join. For information, e-mail committeechair@livingstonpak16.org.

• Global Friendships is seeking host families for 15 junior high school and high school students from the northern region of Spain for a cultural exchange program June 30 through July 27. The students have knowledge of the English language and will attend ESL classes week days from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the day at Anthony Franco’s Pizzeria. They will also be taking special day trips to New York City, the beach, Six Flags Great Adventure, etc. Host families will be asked to provide a bed, three meals a day and transportation and make the student feel like they are part of the family. For information, call Yvette A. Borondy at (973) 992-5177 or e-mail nyuci@aol.com.

Livingston Education Foundation

• The Livingston Education Foundation, a non-profit umbrella organization providing school-community partnerships and shared resources to enhance educational opportunities for the Livingston Public Schools, has announced the five alumni it will induct into the Livingston High School Hall of Fame during the Second Annual Homecoming Weekend 2011 scheduled for Oct. 14-16. This year’s honorees are: Robert E. Grady, class of 1975; Charles “Chuck” Jaffe, class of 1980; Alan B. Krueger, class of 1979; Alfred Savia, class of 1971; and Joanne Silberner, class of 1973.

• Shop for a graduation party or any other kind of celebration at Party City and give back to our schools! Shoppers get 10 percent off of their entire purchase price and Party City will give 10 percent from the same purchase to the Livingston Education Foundation in support of Livingston Public Schools District-wide initiatives. You can download a coupon from the foundation. http://www.livingston.org/lef/site/default.asp.

Until the next edition of e-News

Allison Freeman

Interim Manager, Communications and Community Outreach

(973) 535-8000 ext. 8036

(973) 535-1254 - Fax

AFreeman@Livingston.org