“It is wonderful to see the musicians and performers at the concert and listen to their selections,” Fair Haven’s Knollwood School Principal Amy Romano said recently about the school’s annual Chamber Music Recital.
Tag Archives: Knollwood School
Knollwood’s ‘Peter Panic’ an Original Tale of Athletes and Actors
They called it Peter Panic.
The sixth, seventh and eighth grade Performing Arts Troupe of Knollwood School in Fair Haven recently presented a production story of an age-old struggle — athletics versus performing arts — about a fictional drama club and the football program vying for the limited space provided by their high school dubbed Peter Panic.
The 26-member cast acted, sang and danced its way through the Feb. 25 production.
The story: The Drama Club, led by Pam (Nora Doonan), is in desperate need of funds and performers. The Drama Club members (Aaron Bernstein, Sarah Dolan, Sabrina Marshall, Ceci Newman, and Nora Phillips) turn to the school’s two members of the Economics Club (Hannah Bates and Marie Mohen) for help. They decide that they can sell more tickets to the upcoming production of Peter Pan if popular athletes agree to perform.
Two star football players, Lefty (Jacob Gerbman) and Tinkerman (Caitlin Carr), audition and are given key roles as Captain Hook and Tinkerbell. The cheerleaders (Brett Cetnar-Garrett, Addie Cope, Avery Fratto, Elizabeth Harby, Clancy McCann, and Bea Zaleski) are cast as mermaids.
Everyone is doing their best to work together. Even the Detention Girls (Kira Fleischer, Sarah Neczesny, and Grace Tambaro) accept roles as the lost girls. But when conniving football coach Rook (Michael Mazzucca) gets wind of what’s happening, he plots to halt production and bring down the drama club.
Musical numbers in the show included: “All the World’s a Stage,” “Here in Neverland,” “Audition,” “Dreams Don’t Die Hard,” and “The Show Must Go On.”
The production was directed by seventh grade social studies teacher Alison Dooley and eighth grade literary teacher Gabrielle Illiano, with choreography by Sickles School third grade teacher Morgan Bufano. Art teacher Jessica Data was the set designer, and computer tech support provider Brian Ericson directed sound and lighting. Music teacher Karen Hauge was music/choral director.
— Edited press release from the Fair Haven School District
Playing Hoops for Hearts at Knollwood
It was a heartfelt game played in the name of healthy hearts.
Knollwood School Grad Anthony Sciametta’s Wall of Honor Induction
Anthony Sciametta, a 2011 graduate of Knollwood School in Fair Haven, has joined the special ranks of those commemorated with a photo on the Wall of Honor.
Commissioned and designed in 2011 to honor graduates serving their country in the armed forces, the Wall of Honor is featured in a main hallway at Knollwood School. Anthony’s photo was unveiled at a ceremony held on the afternoon of Dec. 16.
Continue reading Knollwood School Grad Anthony Sciametta’s Wall of Honor Induction
Rumson Assistant Principal Called to the Office at Knollwood
Someone from the Rumson School District has been called to the principal’s office at Knollwood School in Fair Haven.
Continue reading Rumson Assistant Principal Called to the Office at Knollwood
Knollwood Students Get Tech Savvy
Fair Haven students are getting more tech savvy every day.
And they’re doing so in different venues. The latest tech adventure: EdTech Coach Chris Aviles and eight Knollwood School students recently participated in the Maker Faire technology event at Barnes and Noble Booksellers in Eatontown.
Maker Faire attendees experienced the latest technologies in 3D printings, robotics, coding and more Nov. 6 to 8.
Barnes and Noble had asked Aviles and his fifth- and sixth-grade Innovation Lab students to participate. The eight students who took part in Maker Faire also attended and helped facilitate two hands-on workshops on Nov. 7. The workshops — Little Makers, for ages 5 and up, and Junior Makers for ages 8 and up — allowed youngsters to explore the creation of structures using Lego brand building materials.
“I really enjoy my time in Innovation Lab, because there are so many different options for what we can work on,” said RJ McCormack, one of the students on hand at the event. “It’s really fun because you get to choose your curriculum.
“For example, we can disassemble iPhones, tablets, or cameras as well as work with Minecraft or on coding .— we’ve even taken bicycles apart and reassembled them to make ‘new’ bicycles for people who need them.”
Also on Nov. 7, Aviles made a solo presentation as part of Meet the Maker, where presentations were held daily to allow local “makers” — thought leaders and educators — to inform attendees about the latest trends in designing, building and creating. Aviles spoke about the importance of “making” and student-centered learning.
One of only about a dozen individuals worldwide with Google Lead Learner credentials, Aviles is also a Google-certified trainer and innovator. As the Fair Haven School District’s EdTech coach, his responsibilities include training staff and teaching students at Viola L. Sickles and Knollwood Schools in the use of technology.
Getting Google App-Educated in Fair Haven Schools
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
Retro Father of Fair Haven Schools
Photo/courtesy of Michael Chartier
By Elaine Van Develde
He was known as the patriarch, and perhaps patron saint, of schools in Fair Haven.
He was steadying, calm, encouraging influence — never pushed by politics, never mired by mass red tape, always out for the students’ benefit.
A perpetually sage, serene smile set on his face, Robert Chartier, for many years, stood in front of Knollwood School welcoming his village full of students every single day, watching them learn and grow — fixated on seeing to it that they flourish.
He was always present, always available, always receptive. Under his leadership, students, always seen as unique individuals, soared to hit their full potential. They were all his kids. That’s simply how he saw it.
You could say that, over the years, Robert Chartier was proud papa to thousands. It was that simple to him. As principal for a stint at Willow Street School (now Sickles), then longtime principal of Knollwood and finally superintendent of Fair Haven schools, he retired many years ago, but he is still around. And the lessons learned from this iconic administrator are not forgotten.
Friends of the former top schools administrator’s son, Michael, were thrilled to see the above Father’s Day throwback photo of a young Mr. Chartier and his son.
And, since he is still so fondly recalled as that father figure by former Fair Haven students, many of whom are now parents in the borough, the photo is our Retro Pic of the Day.
Thank you, Mr. Chartier, for being a great dad of education to so many!
Share your memories of Mr. Chartier with us.
Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect will feature an interview with the iconic leader of Fair Haven schools in the future.
Retro Principal: RFH Alum School Daze
Photo/RFH yearbook
It’s the principal of the pic — literally.
With the school year coming to a close, it seemed like a good time to take Rumson-Fair Haven area people back to days at RFH in the early 70s when the teen pictured was a student at the high school.
Take a close look. Many from the area, especially those who grew up with him, will recognize this now Rumson resident who was principal at Fair Haven’s Knollwood School for 11 years, interim principal at Sickles School and interim superintendent for a stint not all that long ago.
Yes, it’s Tom Famulary, who grew up in Fair Haven.
Here are a couple of fun retro facts about Tom:
His mom, Millie, was piano teacher to many in the area, and quite talented herself.
His father, John, was publisher of an area weekly newspaper in his retirement years (well, sorta). That paper was the Courier.
Tom was also known to be quite the piano player.
Knollwood Stock Market Club Soars
Call them stock market savvy.
Knollwood School students George Clough, Patrick Malpass, and Charles Newbury of Fair Haven finished first place in the Southern Region of New Jersey Spring Stock Market Game.
The three fifth-graders, members of the Knollwood School Stock Market Club, competed against more than 100 other teams in the game, which ran for 10 weeks, ending in May. With a virtual $100,000 to invest, they made a profit of $6,977.56.
As winners of the top prize, the three attended an awards ceremony on May 26 at Stockton College where they gave a speech about their experience.
“Each of us had different ideas for choosing companies to invest in,” said George. “I chose General Electric during the week that it was number one on the Dow Jones, Charles chose Ford because the price of the stock was low and it was a solid company that had performed well in the past, and Patrick chose Sony because he loves gaming PS4.”
“I learned that it’s not hard to turn one amount of money into a lot more money when you invest carefully and have a little bit of luck. And I also learned that you never know what’s going to happen next, so you need to be prepared” said Patrick. “When we earned money, we then found more good companies to invest in.”
“You need to work together to make good decisions about your stocks, so we didn’t buy anything without informing our team members,” said Charles. “We put Pat in charge, and he wanted to buy Sony, and that became our winning stock,”
The three were also among Knollwood students honored by Superintendent Nelson Ribon, Principal Kevin Davis, and members of the Fair Haven Board of Education at a pizza party celebration on the evening of June 9.
“Having worked in finance, I know that it was not easy to achieve what you did,” Fair Haven Board of Education President Mark Mancuso said in his presentation. “Thank you for doing such a fine job of representing our school district.”
The Knollwood School Stock Market Club is comprised of fourth and fifth graders and approximately 30 students participate each year. The Club meets once a week at lunchtime and recess from February through May to learn about the stock market and to participate in online investing simulation and stockmarketgame.org.
“I am very impressed with how much these boys learned about investing,” Club Advisor and Knollwood Fifth Grade Teacher Jessica Dougherty said. “They were very motivated throughout this entire game, and their hard work paid off in the end.”
— Fair Haven School District press release
Fair Haven Students’ Earth Day Contribution
Reduce, reuse, and recycle.
They’re standard procedures at Viola L. Sickles and Knollwood schools in Fair Haven, but especially so when the students and staff are commemorating Earth Day — the day earmarked to honor the environment.
Fair Haven students were asked to reuse and recycle by donating their used books to the Book Recycling Project at Sickles School and the Student Council Book Drive at Knollwood School.
Continue reading Fair Haven Students’ Earth Day Contribution
Fair Haven Schools Students Make Their Mark with Art
The following is an edited press release from the Fair Haven School District:
Make Your Mark was the theme of the Fair Haven School District Art Show, featuring more than 1,000 pieces of original art.
“The art show is a great way to celebrate student talents and diverse ideas,” Knollwood School Art Teacher Kelly Fogas said. “The displayed works and items created throughout the year show the growth of artistic ability, conceptualization, and eagerness in our students.”
Students in Kindergarten through third grade at Viola L. Sickles School and in fourth through eighth grade at Knollwood School each contributed at least one project for display at the show on April 14.
This year’s show represented the district’s implementation of new standards in the Visual Arts program.
Those standards focus on essential questions to help develop both critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Fair Haven Visual Arts students are encouraged to create, present, respond, and connect their artwork to ideas that have personal meaning. This was reflected in the context of each of the displayed pieces.
Featured at the Art Show this year was a ceramics wheel and the Knollwood students’ creations from its use. The wheel was acquired as the result of a grant requested by and awarded to the Knollwood School Art Teachers by the Fair Haven Parent Teacher Association.
Also on display at the show was a variety of drawings and paintings as well as paper, wood and ceramic sculptures.
Fair Haven School District Art Teachers are: RoseAnn LaBrocca K-3, Viola L. Sickles School; Kelly Fogas grades 4 to 8, Knollwood School; and Chris Dudick, 5th and 8th grades, Knollwood School.
Art Show coordinators were Stephanie Bates and Marisa Coar.
You must be logged in to post a comment.