Princeton NJ, an autopsy performed on a Princeton student whose body was discovered on campus has ruled her death was a suicide. Misrach Ewunetie’s body was discovered behind the university’s tennis courts on Oct. 20 after being missing for a few days. Misrach Ewunetie was 20 years old.
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Fine & Applied Arts Department and Ridgewood Friends of Music once again collaborated on the Ridgewood 7th & 8th Grade District Honor Band. After only a few rehearsals, this group of middle school students, alongside advanced student mentors in the RHS Band Program, put on a fantastic performance on December 21st.
Ridgewood NJ, once upon a time, in a Village not very far away, a community came together in an annual Jamboree to make dreams come true to send Ridgewood High School Seniors to college and change lives for generations to come. Through joyful song and spirited dance, the Jamboree parent volunteers, sponsors, & supporters show us that fairy tales do indeed come true.
150+ Avatars of Jamboree will be busy practicing and preparing for JamboTales next month. Meaning of Avatar (in Hindusim) A manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; an incarnate divine teacher.
Ridgewood NJ, Band Directors Jeff Haas and John Luckenbill provided an overview at the Ridgewood Board of Education meeting on Monday night of the 100-year history of the Ridgewood High School Band Program. Highlights included various milestones: the first known band member, Dorothy Zimmerman, (Class of 1925), the first band performance at graduation (1935), the first performance of the Willow Club – the present-day Jazz Ensemble(1936), the first Tunes in June performance (1951), and the first Marching Band Championship (1980). In addition to many co-curricular opportunities available to students, educational travel opportunities are an integral component of the band program. RHS Senior Vera Witte spoke about the band program from the student’s perspective and the role it has played in her high school experience. Upcoming 100th Anniversary Events include the Spring Concert, Jazz in the Wood, and Tunes in June.
Ridgewood NJ, 10 students from the RHS Band Program who auditioned were accepted to perform as a member of the 2023 NJ All-Bergen County Band. It’s the highest number of students selected from any one school to participate in the ensemble. The All County Band will perform their concert on Sunday, January 15 at Bergenfield High School. Once again, this is the highest number of students selected from any one school to participate in the 87-piece ensemble.
Ridgewood NJ, Senior Cammi Quirk was named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Honorable Mention ALL-AMERICAN. The University of Scranton commit recently capped her Ridgewood Volleyball season with the career record for assists, amassing a total of 1267.
Ridgewood NJ, on November 19th, Ridgewood High School hosted the First Tech Challenge League Meet, a competitive robotics competition. The RHS team played welcomed 24 teams from across the region. Each team consisting of up to 15 students must design, build and operate a robot.
Ridgewood NJ, on December 7th, Robin Ha, author of the graphic memoir Almost American Girl, visited Ridgewood High School and shared her time and talents with students and staff. Ms. Ha presented two hands-on Memoir Comics Workshops, each attended by over 250 students! She joined members of the Asian Festival Club to give a more intimate lunchtime talk. Ms. Ha offered strategies for improving one’s writing and drawing skills, engaged the audience with amusing and poignant stories from her past, and brought out the inner artist in all who attended. When asked how we become writers, Ms. Ha responded, “You have to write a lot!” Many thanks to the RHS Home and School Association for their generous sponsorship of this event.
Ridgewood NJ, Dr. Leonard Fitts, Interim Superintendent, and Ms. Hyunju Kwak, President of the Board of Education, will be holding coffee and conversation events throughout the year. The events will take place on the third floor of the Education Center. All stakeholders are invited to attend and engage in open discussions.
What is a good education in 2023 and beyond? We may find the answer through a process of reverse engineering. If the end goal is to live a good life, then the education of the child today will look little like the education of the parent. This is to say that none of the avenues known and available are ideal—not government schooling, private schooling, homeschooling or unschooling.
Ridgewood NJ, the State Board of Education and Murphy’s Department of Education continue to obscure crucial data about the impact of learning loss connected to New Jersey’s school COVID policies, and Senator Kristin Corrado today called the stall tactics “embarrassing, politically motivated, and an insult to the parents of children who may never fully recover from the educational failings.”
Trenton NJ, Senate Republican Leader Steven Oroho and Senator Jean Stanfield blasted the State Board of Education for continuing to deny the public direct access to its meetings under the guise of “ongoing public health concerns.”