Tag Archives: Knollwood School

Fair Haven Schools Students Make Their Mark with Art

May 11, 2015 Elaine Van Develde Leave a comment

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.

News

A Knollwood Elementary Flashback

Image April 30, 2015 Elaine Van Develde Leave a comment

First grade with Mrs. Kamin at Knollwood in 1966 Photo/School picture — First grade with Mrs. Kamin at Knollwood in 1966
Photo/School picture

It all just seemed so simple then. Going to school and living in Fair Haven.

We were neighbors and friends. We walked and rode our bikes to school. And we couldn’t wait to find out who our teacher would be. We always found out in time to talk about it at the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair.

So, back in 1966, a class of familiar community faces found out that they had Mrs. Kamin for first grade at Knollwood School.

That year was the beginning of a lot of longstanding friendships and neighborhood bonds. Treasured time.

Treasured time that warrants a look back in our Retro Pic of the Day and an anecdote about remembrance and gratitude. Remember where and how it all started and how lucky we all were to have had one another in our lives, many for a long time.

Mrs. Kamin still lives in Fair Haven. Some of these kids are grownups still living in town. Some have, sadly, passed. Some still have family here. Some are running businesses here and live one or a few towns away.

Recognize anyone? What did you learn from them or your time in that first grade class in Rumson or Fair Haven? What stuck with you most?

Schools Scene

A Little Knollwood Chamber Music

April 28, 2015 Elaine Van Develde Leave a comment

The following is an edited press release from the Fair Haven School District:

Did you make it to the Knollwood School Chamber Music Recital?

If not, here’s a look back at the March 23 evening:

The performances were based on the definition of the original 18th century chamber music — music played by a small ensemble, with one player to a part.

Continue reading A Little Knollwood Chamber Music →

Schools Scene

Looking Back at Fair Haven Schools’ Celebration of Dr. Seuss

March 25, 2015 Elaine Van Develde Leave a comment

The following is an edited press release from the Fair Haven School District:

Even a cranky Grinch would have been smiling at the Fair Haven School District’s birthday celebration for beloved author Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss.

The extravaganza at Sickles School kicked off on March 2 – Suess’ birthday and Read Across America Day — with what was dubbed a Birthday Celebration assembly.

Continue reading Looking Back at Fair Haven Schools’ Celebration of Dr. Seuss →

Schools Scene

Knollwood Fifth Grader a Spelling Champ

February 23, 2015 Elaine Van Develde Leave a comment

Can you spell champion?

Knollwood School fifth grader Addie Cope probably can. The 10-year-old Fair Haven resident has just been declared the winner of the school’s second annual spelling bee, according to a Fair Haven School District press release.

Cope won the final round and title on Feb. 2 by spelling the word jocularity correctly, the release said.

The win qualified her to go on to participate in the 31st annual Asbury Park Press/Home News Tribune Spelldown to be held at Monmouth University in West Long Branch on March 16 and 17.

Spelldown will feature 8- through 14-year-olds declared champions at their school levels in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties. The winner will move on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

“We are so proud of Addie and all of the students who participated in the grade level spelling bees at Knollwood,” Knollwood School Principal Kevin Davis said in the release. “We wish Addie the best of luck at the Spelldown and we hope to see her at the National Spelling Bee.”

Preliminary spelling bees were held in all Knollwood grades (fourth through eighth) to determine grade-level participants prior to the school-wide event.

Competing along with Addie in the Knollwood School Spelling Bee were: fourth grader Annie Kersten, sixth grader Abby Tuorto, seventh grader Aaron Bernstein and eighth grader Bridgette Simpson.

Police and Fire, Schools Scene

A Winning Hoops for Hearts at Knollwood

February 18, 2015 Elaine Van Develde Leave a comment

A slam dunk success is how Fair Haven’s Knollwood School sixth graders, borough police and firefighters described the recent Hoops for Hearts basketball game at the school to benefit the American Heart Association.

“The entire school was full of energy, camaraderie was high, and everyone put their heart into this effort,” Knollwood Physical Education/Health teacher and event organizer Kim Lagrotteria said in a release. “Hoops for Hearts is an event that you will see again at Knollwood School.”

The Feb. 6 basketball tournament, comprising several games, pitted the “celebrity” police officers and firefighters against two teams of sixth graders on the court in what was dubbed a “fast-paced Championship Basketball Game,” Celebrity Kock-Out, and Half-Court Challenge, the release added.

The “celebrities” garnered the top score in the Championship game. The sixth graders won the Celebrity Knock-Out Game, which left a sixth grader as the last player left standing. And the Half-Court Challenge was one which involved the students making donations to the American Heart Association getting chances to sink basketballs.

The participants took their best shots as Lagrotteria, Andrea Mrusek of the American Heart Association, “celebrities,” and classmates cheered them on. Prizes were awarded to those who made baskets.

The “celebrities” ended up with the top score in the Championship Game, but the $7,560 netted in event proceeds, which was more than double the $3,500 donation goal, was the bigger win, Lagrotteria said.

With roughly 119 students participating, they “helped motivate one another to reach their personal fundraising and physical education participation goals,” said Lagrotteria in the release. “Students in other grades were asking how they could become a part of the event in the future, and donated money to help achieve our school’s goal.

“This event not only brought great attention to a great cause, it also brought the school together.”

Hoops for Hearts activities took place during the month of February, designated American Heart Month by the American Heart Association.

There were incentives put in place by Lagrotteria for students to meet the original $3,500 fundraising goal.

Students were awarded small rubber ducks, which they donned during the school day, in recognition of their efforts. And Lagrotteria, herself, promised to wear a duck costume if the school’s goal was met. That promise was kept (the photo above shows).

In addition to the main fundraiser, Hoops for Hearts featured activities throughout the month that were designed to promote physical fitness. Another basketball tournament featuring all of the sixth graders was held during regular Physical Education classes.

Players in the Championship Basketball Game and cheerleaders were all members of the sixth-grade Physical Education class that raised the largest amount of funds for the American Heart Association.

Cheerleaders were: Brett-Cetnar Garrett, Caroline Danaher, Bridget Mikolajczyk, Charlotte Stant, Emma Walker, Maia Werner and Kitty White.

Basketball players were: John Baker, Jack Costello, Wyatt Kemler, Aidan Kilfeather, David Livingston, Michael Strulowitz, Robby Sypeck, Jack Theodore, Spencer Torine and Drew Venancio.

Local Life, News, Schools Scene

R-FH Schools Blizzard Prep: Early Dismissals

January 26, 2015 Elaine Van Develde Leave a comment

The impending blizzard brings with it closings and cancelled/postponed meetings and events within the next few days.

So far, in Rumson:

• There will be a 1 p.m. dismissal on Monday at Forrestdale and Deane Porter schools, according to the district website.

All activities are cancelled.

• The school district’s PARCC Parent Workshop set for Monday at 7 p.m. will be rescheduled. Check the district website for updates.

So far, in Fair Haven:

• There will be early dismissals on Monday at both Sickles and Knollwood schools, according to the latest post on the Fair Haven Schools website.

Sickles will dismiss at 12:10 p.m. and Knollwood at 12:30.

“For the safety and well-being of our students and staff, FH schools we will have an early dismissal today,” Superintendent Nelson Ribon post on the district website. “Overnight forecast models show a potential for extremely windy conditions (blizzard warnings) during the early afternoon along with snow.”night:

So far, for Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School:

• There will be an early dismissal at 11:45 a.m. on Monday.

All after-school activities have been cancelled.

Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect will update this article as information becomes available. Please check back for updates.

Local Life

A Look at Knollwood’s Past

Image November 14, 2014 Elaine Van Develde

Know any of these people? You’d be surprised at how many you may be able to identify.

Yes, this is Mrs. Kamin’s first grade class at Knollwood School in 1967. There are lots of Fair Havenites here. Some are still in the area.

Can you figure out who they are? Sometimes a smile never changes.

News

Knollwood Students Experience Municipal Government at Work

November 11, 2014 Elaine Van Develde Leave a comment

By Elaine Van Develde

Fair Haven students had a lesson in civics on Monday.

As part of a now annual tradition, the Fair Haven Borough Council conducted one of its meetings at Knollwood School. And the kids learned some things about local government policy that they did not necessarily understand.

For one, members of the governing body told the group that if you want to be heard, you need to speak up and go to meetings.

And, said Council President Jonathan Peters, “It’s always best to approach us first … ask us your question. Don’t yell at us right away. Just ask us what you need an answer to and if you don’t get the answer, then you can yell at us.”

Councilman Rowland Wilhelm called attention to the fact that two women who have lived in the borough for decades, Ruth Blaser and Susan O’Brien, are at every meeting “holding us accountable.”

Like it or not, he said, the two exemplify what residents’ rights are all about. They are usually at every single meeting, “keeping us in check,” he said. Blaser asked council, among other things, if they’d consider having an open public meeting, agenda-free, to get people in town together when more are available, perhaps on a Saturday.

Mayor Ben Lucarelli explained something that he acknowledged many people don’t understand — what type of government their town is working under.

In Fair Haven, for example, the form of government, he said, is that of Borough Council. “It’s a form of municipal government that has a strong council and weak mayor,” he said. “What that means is that the council members are the ones who vote on all the local laws.”

The mayor, if necessary, breaks ties only. He does not customarily vote. He, on the other hand, sets agendas and has veto power.

Council took questions from the student body, many of whom took the opportunity to ask questions.

Some questions included those about pot holes around town, the pending lights at Fair Haven Fields, recycling and open space acquisitions.

Council also recognized its newly-elected member, Aimee Humphreys, and invited her to join them for a first time in executive session.

Check out our photos from the meeting.