NJ students: Ray raises breast cancer awareness

Battling breast cancer has a prominent place in the heart of Short Hills teenager, Auyona Ray. When her relative was diagnosed, but fought the disease after early detection, the freshman at Mount Saint Mary Academy in Watchung decided to take on the cause and raise awareness.

“On Oct. 9, I marched in Livingston with “Let’s Save Ma (LSM),” a non-profit organization which provides women with breast cancer screenings more accessible to those who are less fortunate,” said Ray, whose family has been a longtime member of Sanskriti, a NJ group which partnered with LSM for the event.

“When I heard about this event, my attention was immediately caught,” she said. “Breast cancer can be found in all women, regardless of age and some men as well, it is the most common type of cancer we know of, claiming over 42,000 lives yearly. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death for people in our world today and I believe we should do everything we can to stop more people from falling victim to it.”

Remembering her relative who fought off cancer, Ray said, “Others, though, especially those who are less fortunate and do not have access to breast cancer screenings do not have this opportunity. It means a lot to me to be able to have a voice and spread awareness about this issue. By raising awareness, more people will become educated on this, which will hopefully lead them to know the signs and help in earlier detection.”

Ray encourages her classmates to become involved by attending rallies, marches, volunteering at Let’s Save Ma's fundraising events and donating to the organization. For more information about LSM, visit www.letssavema.org.

Also: Members of the junior class at Mount Saint Mary Academy in Watchung gathered on Tuesday, Nov. 1, in Immaculate Conception Chapel to receive their class rings during a liturgy led by Reverend Monsignor William Benwell. In her reflection, Sister Lisa D. Gambacorto, directress, said, “The ring that you will wear stands for respect, justice, integrity, compassion, and service. Throughout the world, Mount graduates wear the ring you will wear, representing 114 years of Mercy education.” The juniors also received a special gift from members of the Alumnae Association before attending a reception with their families.

Also: Mount Saint Mary Academy students will stage their fall production, "Beowulf: User Friendly," on Friday, Nov. 18, and Saturday, Nov.19, at 7 p.m. in the Sister Lisa Gambacorto Theater on campus.

The cast includes Kailey Fahy of New Providence, Ana Farrell of New Providence, Marina DeNezza of Clark, Marina Cialdella of Branchburg, Brenna Watkins of Basking Ridge , Natalia Colon of Spotswood , Sofia Salerno of Frenchtown and many freshmen and sophomores such as Evangeline Stewart-Dale of Perth Amboy and Katelin Rosenbaum of Colonia.

Mia Pafumi, music department chair, shared the summary of the fall play: "After an entire class fails the exam on Beowulf, their stern teacher issues a challenge ― tell her the famous story. If they can include the characters, action, themes, and history, they might just pass. The students concoct a retelling of the tale in a way that is relevant, accurate, and absurdly hilarious, producing a special newscast like CNN, complete with reporters, video images, and interviews." To purchase tickets, visit www.mountsaintmary.org and follow the button on the homepage.

Also: The Thanksgiving season will be brighter for the clients served by Project PAUL food pantry in Keansburg thanks to the generosity of the Mount Saint Mary Academy community in Watchung. A Thanksgiving Food Drive, sponsored by the school’s Peer Ministers, was held throughout the month of October.

Also: The Heisman Trophy Trust announced that Jordyn Collie of Fords, a senior at Mount Saint Mary Academy in Watchung, has been named a 2022 School Winner for the Heisman High School Scholarship. She was selected from an applicant pool of thousands of high school scholar-athletes graduating with the Class of 2023.

“Receiving this scholarship will help to offset some of the cost associated with attending a top-ranked institution as I pursue my goal of becoming involved in the health services medical field,” said Collie. “As a student-athlete, I wanted to be associated with a program that recognizes exceptional ability and encourages integrity and community responsibility.”

“Maybe it stems from my Christian upbringing, but I can’t think of a better way to serve but through helping those in need,” Collie said. “I have always found classes like biology and human anatomy fascinating because there is still a vast amount that is still unknown to us. The search for the causes of diseases and their cures is at the forefront of medical research. I gravitate to science because it is grounded in the search for truth, plain and simple.”

At Mount Saint Mary Academy, Collie is a Team Leader in Varsity Cross Country and Varsity Winter & Spring Track. She is a member of the National English Honor Society, Future Medical Professions Club, Society of Women Engineers Club, and she serves as a New Jersey Regional Leadership Council Officer for Operation Smile. Collie also volunteers at the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home, and she is a state-licensed CPR AED technician.

Andre Bridgett, Cross Country/Winter and Spring Track Coach at Mount Saint Mary Academy, said, “Jordyn has fully embraced the attitude that you are what you believe. She wanted to know what she could do to get better with the sport. I expressed to her that what you perceive and believe is what you will achieve. Jordyn has trusted the process and is enjoying the fruits of her labor.”

When Collie reflected on her accomplishments at Mount Saint Mary since her freshman year, she cited:

• First Place Oratorical Declamation Grand Tournament for Public Speaking (Paterson Diocesan Forensic League) - * qualified for the Grand National Tournament.• NJ Regional Leadership Council Officer for Operation Smile• International Student Leadership Conference with Operation Smile• Senior Summer Scholar recipient• Certificate of Award in Recognition of Honorable Achievement in Conceptual Physics• Certificate of Award in Recognition of Honorable Achievement in Biology• Scholarship Award Certificate in Recognition of Outstanding Achievement in Music Fundamentals• Outdoor Track Coaches 2022 Recipient• 2022 Skyland All-Conference Division Team athlete (400m)• First Place at the Six Flags Wild Safari JV 5K Invitational• Volunteer at Community Food Bank during the COVID-19 pandemic• Attendee at the Mercy Girl Effect Leadership Training Conference

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Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District

There is must-be a reason why the choral program for the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District has been such a huge attraction to its students.

Well, if you listen to the voices of the school’s choral directors, there are various answers to that question.

“Singing music is a wonderful and joyful activity,’’ Lauren Smith, the Eisenhower Intermediate School choral program co-director, said. “It is hard to be mad because when you sing you have such a positive attitude. You are having fun and it is so joyful.”

Tony Sgro, the Hillside Intermediate School choral program director, felt that being a member of a choir can result in a positive attitude.

“There is a lot of energy to sing and learn music,” Sgro said. “I see clearly that singing can help kids in their everyday lives.”

Gabriele Hingelberg, who is the Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School choral program director, shared her thoughts about what she said that it is “unique to be in a choir.”

“The choir forms a community among the students. The choir is bigger than just being students,” Hingelberg said. “Singing is different from being on a sports team or in a club. Our students are creating music together. At this age, they are finding their voice and they are singing together and that empowers them.”

Dr. John Wilson, who is the vocal music director for Bridgewater-Raritan High School, can see how the results can be so uplifting to his students.

“I love the moments in rehearsals when students are aware of the progress that they are making. You can feel the energy of the room change,” he said.

To further explore the extreme popularity of the school district’s choral program, the convenience of participating is a strong recruiting tool.

Chorus is part of the school district’s curricular programs under the Fine and Performing Arts Department in Bridgewater-Raritan, said Dr. Laura Bassett, the supervisor for fine and performing arts.

Bassett said all students have their exposure to chorus in fourth grade, when students participate in a full-grade level chorus program. Fourth grade students across the school district have begun receiving chorus instruction, which culminates with concerts that are held throughout the spring at the seven Bridgewater-Raritan primary schools.

“The music teachers at each primary school building lay the foundation for all of our successful school district music programs, as students develop their musical skills through weekly general music classes beginning in preschool and kindergarten,” Bassett said. “When chorus begins in fourth grade, our primary music teachers make sure all students have an exciting and positive experience with singing as part of a chorus. Performances for classmates, teachers, family and friends help add to the excitement of participating in chorus in fourth grade and beyond.”

Bassett further explained the process. “As students move to the intermediate, middle and high schools, the sheer energy, talent and dedication of our choral teachers ensure that chorus is an integral part of our curricular programs. Chorus provides such an unique opportunity for our students to develop as musicians while they are building collaborative relationships with their peers and developing their own sense of self as a communicator and artist.:”

“At the intermediate level, chorus is built into their schedules and that helps remove the barriers,’ said Lisa Rotondi, who is the Eisenhower Intermediate choral program co-director. “The chorus is conducive to their schedules and they do not have to miss other extra-curricular activities.”

“We practice during the school day at the middle school but we do have a select choir that sings after school,” Hingelberg said. “And anyone can enroll and join.”

Wilson explained the set up for his high school students. “Choir, like band and orchestra, occupy a special place on a students’ schedule. These classes often entail trips and performances that happen outside of the school day,” Wilson said. “They are simultaneously a class and a club. If by club, then we mean a group that meets outside of the school day.”

The numbers are mind boggling, to say the least. The total amount of students who participate in the choir for the four schools combined ― BR High School, BR Middle School, Eisenhower Intermediate and Hillside Intermediate ― is 1,178.

Another attraction is that these skilled and gifted voices can now be heard loud and clear — in front of their family, friends and schoolmates.

“There were times over the past two years we were not able to have performances of any kind. And when we were learning more about Covid, we were not even able to be together in rehearsals,” said Wilson. “Here now in the fall of 2022, it feels like we’ve started a new chapter as restrictions have eased. The return to relative normalcy was most welcome among our choir parents and students. I think the combination of eased restrictions and our relatively normal start to the school year has made it easier for everyone who has an interest to be a part of choir, be that as a student or an audience member.”

Winter concerts are also on tap at the Middle School, Hillside and Eisenhower.

Hillside will hold its performances for the fifth grade chorus on Tuesday, Dec. 6, and for the sixth grade chorus on Wednesday, Dec. 8. The chorus will also sing the National Anthem before the Faculty Basketball Game on Wednesday, Nov. 16.

Eisenhower’s fifth grade choir will perform on Monday, Dec. 12 and the school’s sixth grader will sing on Tuesday, Dec.13.

The Middle School choir concert is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 20. But Middle School students will also be treated to the chorus strolling through the hallways and caroling during the holiday season.

“Everyone can succeed in chorus,” said Rotondi, who, along with Smith, receive assistance in their chorus room from Maddy Kaminsky, a student teacher from The College of New Jersey. Rotondi said. “We all sing before we talk.”

Piscataway Township Schools

A group of science scholars at Piscataway High School (PHS) are putting their design skills to the test in a real-world battle that everyone can relate to: spotted lantern flies.

Students in the Science National Honor Society (SNHS) have designed and built traps to target the destructive invasive species. They hung a half-dozen of the traps on some of the lantern flies’ favorite trees around PHS in an attempt to put a dent in their growing numbers.

“We were just trying to think of ways we can do community service this year, because we were a mostly academic organization last year,” said SNHS Treasurer Arya Patel, a senior. “So we were looking for a way to use science to solve a real pressing issue right now.”

The students, under the Guidance of Advisor Dr. Janet Mrotek, sought assistance from an outside expert to get started. Danielle Puglisi, an instructional coach from Branchburg Public Schools, is involved in a design challenge through Rutgers University aimed at the lantern fly problem. She visited PHS to give students direction and some of the materials they would need to build their traps.

She also taught them about the bugs themselves, including how they lay their eggs, their favorite trees, and how destructive they can be to trees and crops.

“We simply saw the lantern-fly overpopulation as a nuisance,” said Secretary Sarathy Selvam, a junior. “But when analyzing the situation a little more, we discovered that the devastation to agriculture was far more profound than we ever imagined.”

The students used materials including plastic mesh, twine, wire, tape, one-gallon jugs, Ziploc bags, and glue to come up with creative designs for their traps. They used no pesticides or other chemicals.“I felt like I saw many students open up about what they thought was right, because we had many designs,” said SNHS President Ananya Guntur, a senior. “The designs are different but still try to accomplish the same goal. I think it shows you can be different but still succeed. Even if we don’t catch bugs, it encouraged students to participate in the effort.”

Four of the SNHS officers went out with Mrotek on Friday, Oct. 28, to hang the traps near PHS. They had already pinpointed six trees known as Trees of Heaven, one of the lantern flies’ favorite hangouts. When the students arrived, the bugs proved them right. There were hundreds of them on the first tree.

The students used tacks and twine to attach the traps. The concept is simple: The bugs are known to crawl up the trees, so the mesh is placed in a way that directs them into the water jugs, where they become trapped.

The results remain to be seen, but Mrotek said this is just the first attempt for the students, and learning the design process is the important part. Lantern fly season ends around December, so students will see how their designs work, make modifications, and continue their efforts in the spring.

“We want to hang them for about a month and see how many we actually catch,” she said.

Patel said the project can be a success whether they catch a lot of bugs or just a few.

“There was definitely a lot of trial and error involved,” he said, “but it’s a fulfilling experience to just put yourself out there to try to get something done. Even if they do catch a lot of bugs that’s not going to end the problem.

“But it just shows what a small club at a high school is able to accomplish.”

Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School

Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School’s Repertory Theatre will present this year's fall play, "She Kills Monsters." Performances will be held on Friday, Nov. 18, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 19, at 2 and 7:30 p.m. All performances will take place in the auditorium at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, at 667 Westfield Road, Scotch Plains.

"She Kills Monsters" is a dramatic comedy by Qui Nguyen. It tells the story of a young woman's quest to reconnect with a lost loved one and find redemption. “She Kills Monsters is a high-energy girl-powered adventure told through a world of fantasy,” said Director Morgan Knight. “This dramatic comedy follows one grieving girl's quest to reconnect with her late sister by playing a game of Dungeons and Dragons… and the game comes to life on stage before us! The play features homicidal fairies, elven supermodels, demonic cheerleaders, evil Jell-O molds, and an epic quest of redemption culminating in a climactic battle against a fearsome foe. 'She Kills Monsters' involves intricate stage combat, and every scene has action-packed moments of theatrical swordplay and magic! This is not one to miss!"

The entire community is invited to share in this drama-comedy. The cast of "She Kills Monsters" had to learn stage combat for this play and the fight scenes, creating a dramatic and impressive performance.

“This is my first time working on the fall play, after being on staff for the musical for many years,” said Producer Courtney Nemec. “I have enjoyed watching the cast and crew work together to create the very special world of 'She Kills Monsters.' As this program continues to grow, it is very encouraging as an educator to see the students learn and grow their creative and technical skills. Anyone who grew up in the '90s will love all the music and nostalgia!”

"She Kills Monsters" involves more than 60 students from the Scotch Plains-Fanwood community. They are all participating in a variety of different ways to make the play a success. From actors to stylists to production crew, they have all worked hard. The cast and crew are under the direction of Morgan Knight, director; Courtney Nemec, producer; Evan Perrotta, tech director and crew supervisor; Peter Avagliano, set designer/construction, lighting designer, and Joanne Sprague, costume designer.

Tickets are $15; $13 for students and senior citizens. All seating is general admission. Visit spfrep.com for ticketing information. The auditorium is wheelchair accessible. Audience members in need of wheelchair accessible seating, along with any senior citizens who would like to use their “Gold Card,” may contact Tamara Mullarkey at mullark66@gmail.com or call 908-405-1143 to make arrangements. All tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable, except in the event of a show cancellation.

Parents are advised "She Kills Monsters" contains theatrical violence and some mild language.

Westfield Public Schools

On Saturday, Oct. 29, the Westfield High School Marching Blue Devils placed seventh at the Bands of America (BOA) Regional Championship held at Rutgers University, competing against bands from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Massachusetts. This marks the fifth time the band has been named a BOA Regional Finalist since 2018 and is the second most Regional Finals appearances by a NJ band in state history. On Sunday, Oct. 30, the Marching Blue Devils capped off their 2022 season at The College of New Jersey placing second in the AAAA State Championships. The band is led by drum majors Jessica Strauss and Sarah Lincoln.

Also: One in 13 children have food allergies and cannot enjoy most of the candy they collect on Halloween, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With that in mind, Westfield High School (WHS) students in Laura Doyle’s Makerspace class recently were challenged to design and build an interactive Halloween display, game, or activity for children ages 5 to 11, as an alternative to the sweets-driven holiday.

“Students documented their ongoing work for this project in a shared team slideshow, ensuring they had all the necessary information for each of the steps of the design thinking process: empathy, define, ideate, prototype, test, implement,” said Doyle about the half-year elective for students in grades 9 to 12. “The students took photos of their early prototypes, wrote about early ideas that didn't work, and recorded their final decisions for each component.”

Needing an appropriate audience to test the designs, Doyle and her students walked from the high school to nearby McKinley Elementary School on Saturday, Oct. 29, where delighted third graders tried their hands, literally, at approximately 12 activity stations. Among the engaging experiences were “Pin the Heart on the Zombie,” a light-up, Halloween-themed version of “Plinko,” the “Cauldron Cafe” with students plunging their hands into such concoctions as “pumpkin guts,” “skull stew,” and “zombie eyes,” a haunted house with spooky sounds, and a pumpkin-related version of the popular children’s game “Operation.”

Using Makey Makey invention tools including alligator clips, small circuit boards, and USB cables, each design sent electrical signals to connected computer laptops to create the special and spooky effects. Following the visit, Doyle said the McKinley students wrote thank-you notes with hand-drawn pictures of their favorite display.

“It was awesome and my students loved reading what they wrote,” Doyle said. “I don’t think my students knew how much fun their displays were until they saw the energy of the third graders and read their notes.”

Doyle said she wants her students to “learn how to identify real user needs, how to manage their time for an unchanging deadline, and how to be resilient when things don’t go according to plan.”

“I enjoyed watching the interaction between our high school students and third graders. There were smiles all around,” said Superintendent Dr. Raymond González. “The WHS Makey Makey assignment recognizing children with food allergies was thoughtful and the designs were impressive, while the opportunity to ignite intellectual curiosity in our future inventors, engineers, and scientists was invaluable.”

Student and School news appears on Saturdays. Email: cnmetro@mycentraljersey.com

Carolyn Sampson is Executive Office Assistant for the Courier News, The Home News Tribune and MyCentralJersey.com, and handles the weekly Student News page.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ students: Ray raises breast cancer awareness