Category Archives: Schools Scene

Find out what’s going on in the RFH Regional High School and Rumson and Fair Haven school districts.

Insight into Fair Haven Schools’ ‘Expectations for the Future’

Nearly 100 community members shared their visions for the future of the Fair Haven School District at a recent workshop.

Expectations for the Future, held on Nov. 11, was the second in a series of four workshops open to the public designed to help drive the district’s current strategic planning initiative dubbed FAIR HAVEN VISION 2020. The first workshop, held on Oct. 7, focused on “points of pride” in the present-day school district.

At the second workshop, facilitators Dr. Charles Ivory and Dr. Gerald Woehr, of the non-profit Education Information & Resource Center (EIRC), asked attendees to peer into the future.

“Envision a highly successful Fair Haven School District about three years from now,” Ivory told the group. “Then consider what factors are making make it great, and what steps had to be taken to get there.

“This your opportunity to ‘future think’ what you would like to happen for the children of this community.”

Continue reading Insight into Fair Haven Schools’ ‘Expectations for the Future’

RFH Athletes Sign Letters of Intent

National Signing Day was Wednesday; and, surrounded by coaches, family and friends, 14 Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) athletes signed letters of intent.

The students and their college commitments are:

• Reid Bedell, Golf at Lafayette College;
• Butch Clark, Lacrosse at Pace University;
• Ian Clarke, Lacrosse at Pace University;
• Robbie Garavante, Lacrosse at Lafayette College;
• Maggie Jennings, Lacrosse at Villanova University;
• Stephanie Lesko, Basketball at Bryant University;
• Jacqueline Littleson, Lacrosse at Vanderbilt University;
• Madison Maguire, Field Hockey at University of Maryland;
• Nicole Morris, Basketball at Holy Cross College;
• Sydney Sabino, Basketball at Wagner College;
• Teddy Smith, Swimming at University of Denver;
• Morgan Steinhacker, Lacrosse at Bucknell University;
• Shoshanna Swell, Swimming at Cornell University;
• Matt Waters, Lacrosse at University of Delaware.

The National Letter of Intent serves as a binding agreement between student-athletes and Division I and II programs at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities.

— Edited press release from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School.

Sickles Halloween Flash Mob Flashback

It was another year, another Halloween parade at Fair Haven’s Viola L. Sickles School.

In case you didn’t get a glimpse into the Oct. 30 event, the school district is giving a look back at the new flash mob dance in the park now.

Students in kindergarten through third grades danced to  Monster Mash and Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) in a performance led and choreographed by Vanessa Berry of Kick Dance Studios in Fair Haven and Rumson. Music was provided by John Angelucci of Monmouth Stereo on Broad Street in Shrewsbury.

“So that’s how we roll around here,” Sickles School Principal Cheryl Cuddihy told the audience. Cuddihy and the Sickles staff members dressed as minions, based on characters from the animated movie of the same name, in support of this year’s school theme, “A Minion Reasons to Love Sickles.”

— Edited press release from the Fair Haven School District

The BOE Votes: Mancuso Loses FH Bid for Third Term

By Elaine Van Develde

Fair Haven Board of Education President Mark Mancuso has lost his bid for re-election, leaving contenders Bennett Coleman, Michelle Buckley and Charlie Jakub filling the three seats up for grabs on the nine-member board.

Mancuso first came to the board by filling an unexpired term five years ago. He will be finishing the end of his second full term on the dais by the year’s end.

The highest vote-getter in the election, which brought out 3,299 voters, was Coleman, with 847. Buckley garnered 655 votes and Jakub 632, according to the unofficial tallies of the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office.

Five vied for the three seats. In addition to Mancuso, Marisa Coar did not win her bid for election. She won 615 votes, or roughly 19 percent, while Mancuso had the least amount of votes cast on his ballot — 540, or about 16 percent.

There were 10 write-ins.

Rumson

The race for three board seats in the Rumson School District was uncontested.

Three ran for three seats.

With a total of 1,595 votes cast, John Connors got the highest number of votes, 533, or more than 33 percent. Charles ”Chuck” Jones III won 532, or just more than 33 percent. And Margaret Simons got 514 votes, or 32 percent, the vote tallies of the Clerk’s Office said.

There were 16 write-ins.

Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School

With three seats up for grabs, only two incumbent candidates ran uncontested to fill them.

Lourdes Lucas and Sarah Maris (both representing Fair Haven) won new terms with 874 and 869 votes, respectively.

Teresa Liccardi, M.D., Rumson representative, did not seeking re-election.

So, there will be an empty seat to be filled.

There were 55 write-ins for that seat.

 

Rumson Students Get Awareness Check on School Violence

In an effort to commemorate the state-designated School Violence Awareness Week, the Rumson School District recently hosted some special events to educate students on how to avoid violence.

Deane-Porter students participated in what was dubbed Peace Week, from Oct. 19 to 23, during which they engaged in activities design to promote peace, kindness and compassion within the school community.

Continue reading Rumson Students Get Awareness Check on School Violence

A Halloween Celebration Between Forrestdale Students & Rumson Seniors

Fun, food, and camaraderie were the orders of the day as grade school students joined in the festivities at the Rumson Senior Citizens Club’s Halloween Luncheon recently.

Sixteen sixth- and seventh-grade Forrestdale School students, chaperoned by school counselor Jenn Crow, walked to the First Presbyterian Church and entertained the seniors with some Halloween fun.

Continue reading A Halloween Celebration Between Forrestdale Students & Rumson Seniors

Getting Set for RFH’s ‘Faerie King’s Daughter’ Showtime

Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School’s (RFH) production of The Faerie King’s Daughter has taken flight and will soon be making its onstage landfall Nov. 20 to 22.

The Faerie King’s Daughter is about what happens when four groups of residents — fairies, trolls, humans, and elves — interact in an unexpected way that changes life in the Fairy Glen forever.

Continue reading Getting Set for RFH’s ‘Faerie King’s Daughter’ Showtime

Learning About Achievement ‘Beyond Measure’ at RFH

It’s all about America’s achievement culture. Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) officials are showing another documentary at the school in an attempt to give parents and students some insight.

The feature-length documentary film Beyond Measure — a follow-up to the Race to Nowhere: the Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture — will be presented in the high school’s auditorium on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. The screening is hosted by the RFH, Rumson and Fair Haven school districts.

Admission is free, but seats must be reserved in advance by visiting the RFH website at www.rumsonfairhaven.org, and clicking the the Home Page link.

Six years after 2010’s award-winning Race to Nowhere rose to national prominence, Reel Link Films has released Beyond Measure, which is intended to shine a light on tenacious and cutting-edge alternatives to the stifling, high-pressure education system presented in Race to Nowhere.

Beyond Measure follows public schools across the country as they take matters into their own hands and innovate from the inside.

Subverting a high-stakes education culture, even when it means putting their jobs at risk, the film’s featured educators are the “advance guard” in a burgeoning national movement to reinvent schooling.

Via spotlighting success stories, Beyond Measure shows that it is possible to rise above America’s toxic achievement fixation and build a richer, deeper, more empowering, student-centered education culture from the ground-up.

“… Beyond Measure is a road map for communities looking to put true learning at the forefront of their school experience,” said Timothy Quinn, former president of the Princeton Board of Education. “It demonstrates what students, educators, and parents can achieve when they look beyond merely improving an updated model of instruction to creating a dynamic learning environment where every student can thrive.”

Notable figures featured in the film include Sir Ken Robinson (international education expert and presenter of the most-watched TED talk of all time), Linda Darling-Hammond (education advisor for President Obama’s 2008 campaign), and bestselling author Daniel Pink (Drive and A Whole New Mind).

The upcoming screening at RFH is part of a nationwide campaign to bring the film to schools, theaters, and festivals across the country.

As part of Reel Link Films’ commitment to grassroots change, Beyond Measure is partnering with educational institutions and community organizations to host intimate special-event screenings that double as forums for constructive community dialogue.

Director Vicki Abeles’ new book, also entitled Beyond Measure, will be available for purchase at the RFH screening courtesy of River Road Books.

Abeles’ book examines cultural and educational symptoms of the academic rat race and suggests steps — big and small — that readers can take to reclaim their schools and their children’s lives.

It has been described as “America’s wake-up call” by Maria Shriver and praised by New York Times bestselling author Brigid Schulte as “one of the most important books of the early 21st century.”

— Edited press release from the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional School District

Getting Google App-Educated in Fair Haven Schools

Knollwood School fifth-grader Andon Milouchev and Fair Haven School District EdTech Coach Chris Aviles prepare to make Google presentations to parents. Photo/Fair Haven School District
Knollwood School fifth-grader Andon Milouchev and Fair Haven School District EdTech Coach Chris Aviles prepare to make Google presentations to parents.
Photo/Fair Haven School District

Parents of Fair Haven students recently discovered How Google Apps for Education Is Improving Schools.

A series of events, hosted by Fair Haven School District EdTech Coach Chris Aviles on Oct. 5, featured a video presentation by Knollwood School fifth-grader Andon Milouchev.

Continue reading Getting Google App-Educated in Fair Haven Schools

RFH Students ‘Bag a Lunch and Help a Bunch’

RFH team captains displaying a flyer created for the Bag a Lunch fundraising initiative are Victoria Hempstead and Willis Manelski. Photo/RFH
RFH team captains displaying a flyer created for the Bag a Lunch fundraising initiative are Victoria Hempstead and Willis Manelski.
Photo/RFH

Bag it.

That’s what members of the  Chinese, French and Spanish National Honor societies at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) recently asked students to do — to “bag a lunch and help a bunch,” as the slogan for the Table to Table charitable initiative goes.

Table to Table provides meals to New Jersey families in need. RFH put $430 in its coffers when students on Oct. 14 brought home brown paper lunch bags and returned them to Bag a Lunch team captains at school filled with the amount of cash they would typically spend on a single lunch.

“I am very pleased with the participation of the RFH students, and the work of our team captains,” RFH French Teacher Christine Berg said. “And I am happy that the money raised will be used to help our fellow New Jersey residents.”

— Edited press release from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional School District

An RFH Look at the College Admissions Process

Tim Lee, Director of Undergraduate Admission at University at Albany, SUNY, discusses the admission process with parents during the Interactive College Admissions Committee Workshop at RFH. Photo/RFH
Tim Lee, Director of Undergraduate Admission at University at Albany, SUNY, discusses the admission process with parents during the Interactive College Admissions Committee Workshop at RFH.
Photo/RFH

Roughy 100 Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) students recently participated in a forum dubbed Interactive College Admissions Committee Workshop.

The Oct. 8 presentation offered an insider’s view into the college admission process.

Continue reading An RFH Look at the College Admissions Process