Ridgewood NJ, the big local question for Ridgewood voters on November 8th will be to expand to a full-day kindergarten .
Detractors of the idea feel it’s nothing more than socialized babysitting at taxpayers expense , with little or no long-term benefit for students ,particularly in a town like Ridgewood where there are so many activities for young people and what many perceive as a need for more family time .
Proponents feel the current half day Kindergarten is more like a 1/4 of a day , and it is far too short to accomplish much of anything and even the proposed full-day kindergarten is still a short day leaving plenty of time for family activities . Proponents also feel a change in the current inconvenient hours
The reality seems to be somewhere in the middle ,with a change in current inconvenient hours lessening the financial pressure on families , balanced by a healthy skepticism over the idea of children spending far too much time with one point of view and not nurturing them with a diversity of experiences .
Full-Day Kindergarten: Public Vote is Election Day, November 8
Click here for a PDF of the public presentation.
Click here for Frequently Asked Questions. Click here to view all full-day Kindergarten documents.
Funny because a neighbor to habernickel has emailed over and over again about a dead tree that needs to be removed before someone is seriously hurt and the date she was given was 12/27. Crazy yet our children play fall ball there and marroons soccer. But 12/27 is acceptable???
Yet the village managed to add commercial lighting to the parking lot within a month of a private non profit sharing business start date to allow this business to hold late night restaurant style living but cannot remove a dead tree that may injure a child until 4 months after tha fact. Crazy!!! Why can an excess of village tax payers dollars be used to assist a private business , but cannot be allocated until December to remove a tree that could seriously hurt someone?
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood PD Patrol Officers Anthony Mormino and John Ward, Jr. ensured the safety of participants and distributed goody bags with glow sticks at the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce’s annual “Haunted Harvest,” held in Van Neste Memorial Park, on Saturday, 10/29.
The Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce’ s Haunted Harvest, Memorial Park at Van Neste Square, was Saturday, October 29 from 1 – 4pm.
Guests could walk through the haunted grave yard, hide in the hay maze, jump through the pumpkin patch. There was also a Halloween parade and contest , for adults, children and pets.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Emergency Services Volunteers will be out in the Village starting at 530 PM on Halloween distributing 600 Glow Sticks to Village Ghosts and Goblins.
Ridgewood NJ, there will be limited seating available for the Davidoff Yamasa Tasting at the Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood.The event is November 2nd in the Davidoff Lounge so call today to reserve your spot – $20.
The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood was established in 1979 as a full line tobacco shop. They carry over 700 pipes, the finest cigars, and a wide selection of humidors and accessories.
The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood is located on 10 Chestnut St ,Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450, phone number 201-447-2204 .|
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Maroons savor a sweet victory over Passaic Tech to remain undefeated this season . Ridgewood ranked is No. 16 in the NJ.com Top 20, and the Maroons got at least some small measure of revenge on Friday night, as they topped Passaic Tech, 14-7, in a rematch of last year’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 5 final.
Last year they beat the Passaic Tech Bulldogs in the regular season,only to lose to them in the sectional final, 27-0, a few weeks later.
Ridgewood’s win puts their regular season record to 8-0 and almost guarantees a spot as the top seed heading into this year’s playoffs.
The win leaves Ridgewood with just one game left at home against Paterson Eastside next week and one win shy of a perfect regular season.
Location: Train Station Parking Lot, Godwin Ave & W Ridgewood Ave
OPEN UNTIL THANKSGIVING
Sundays June 26, 2016 – November 20, 2016
9:00am – 3:00pm
People have been requesting that the Ridgewood Farmers Market stay open until the Sunday before Thanksgiving – the answer is YES – UNTIL NOVEMBER 20, 2016, westside of NJ Transit Train station every Sunday, 9-3pm.
FARM to table-FRESH – visit and put your orders in to the new fruit farmer…
you will love the variety.
Fresh vegetables galore,
mozzarella made on the spot,
bakes goods-pies,
B&B Jams-great gifts,
pickles for the holidays and kids,
pumpkin patch for everyone.
NEW…fresh hot apple cider every Sunday!
Bergen Country’s real Farmers Market-
FARM to table FRESH!
FOR MORE INFO 201-445-2600 [email protected]
see you there!
Enjoy “Farm to Table”
Ridgewood Train Station
Parking Lot West Side
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, a nonprofit performing ensemble based in Ridgewood, New Jersey, has presented full productions of the works of Gilbert and Sullivan every fall and spring since its founding in 1937 by Kay and Jack Edson. For over 75 years, we have delighted audiences with the timeless jollity of The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, and H.M.S. Pinafore. As one of the oldest continuing musical theatre groups in the country, we also mount comic operas by Gilbert & Sullivan that are seldom seen elsewhere: Iolanthe, The Yeomen of the Guard, The Gondoliers, The Sorcerer, and several others.
We give full performances in Ridgewood, plus we perform elsewhere in Northern and Central Jersey (Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Ocean counties), Rockland County, New York City, and Connecticut. In addition, we take pride in making opera more accessible to the community by performing several free shows and staged concerts a year at facilities that cater to senior residents, patients, and veterans. We have also donated a series of musical scores, recordings, and books on Gilbert and Sullivan to the Ridgewood Public Library.
Although we are considered a community theatre group, our performers are given a more professional experience due to having a two-month performing schedule and having to learn heavy amounts of vocally challenging repertoire found in virtually all G&S comic operas. Our company members consist of both highly trained music professionals and serious amateurs.
Our talented workers (singers, orchestra, scenery and costume designers, etc.) have made it possible to give productions of professional quality. Young and old G&S fans have thanked us for helping keep alive the great musical entertainment of Gilbert and Sullivan.
Ridgewood Gilbert and Sullivan is proud to perform the musical production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Sorcerer (not to be mistaken with Walt Disney’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice). This musical tells the timeless story of a man who refuses to believe that men and women should marry only those of the same social class. He hires a sorcerer to make each man in the village fall in love with the first eligible woman he sees —and chaos ensues.https://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?titlelink=ridgewood-gilbert-and-sullivan-presents-the-sorcerer
Fall 2016: The Sorcerer! Tickets available soon!
Stage Director: Milly Gonzalez
Music Director: Paul Geidel
We will be doing both concerts and full performances!
Concert Schedule
Sat. October 22, 2 p.m., Fort Lee Public Library, Fort Lee, NJ
Sun. October 23, 2 p.m., Franklin Lakes Public Library, Franklin Lakes, NJ
Sun. October 30, 2 p.m., Finkelstein Memorial Library, Spring Valley, NY
Sun. November 6, possible concert performance – TBD.
Thurs., November 17, 8 p.m., Five Star Premier Residence, Teaneck, NJ
Performance Schedule
Sun., November 13, 3 p.m., Heritage Village, Southbury, CT
Sat., November 19, 7:30 p.m., Ridgewood United Methodist Church
Sun., November 20, 3 p.m., Ridgewood United Methodist Church
Sun., November 27, 3 p.m., Fair Lawn Community Center (might be canceled)
The bike lane benefits few. There are a handful of hardy souls who bike to the train. No one is biking to town to shop or for dinner. When do you see kids bike into town? I doubt the bike path is for them and I would not want to see teens trying to navigate the mean streets of Ridgewood.
A bike lane through the town is a crazy pipe dream. If anything a bike lane should skirt the town not go through it.
Downtown Ridgewood is a dangerous place for pedestrians. Add in bike lanes and you have a recipe for disaster.
I am writing this tonight because the gravity of what happened today seems to have been lost in the shuffle of the weekend l, and impending Halloween festivities.
A massive, tree-sized, tree branch fell across part of the playing field, the entire sidewalk and half of Bogert Ave at about 11:35 or so this morning. The entire 3rd grade was playing outside- 2 of whom are my children.
I am the Travell safety chair, and while this may seem frivolous, or decorative, it is in fact, a role I take VERY seriously. Twice in the last month, thanks to my persistent pressing of the safety issues brought to me by my fellow Travell parents, Travell safety has been on the agenda for the village council. I’ve attended the Citizen Safety Advisory Committee meetings to address them. I am the only parent in attendance to address the issues. I am the only person at all to represent our school and it’s safety issues.
I take this role very seriously, evidenced by the fact that in my own free time I have walked the streets surrounding the school, and I look for safety issues within the neighborhoods. Broken sidewalks, overgrown shrubs, parking issues, speeding concerns, sight triangles issues, property maintenance issues. These are just some of the issues I have seen. I bring them some times repeatedly- to the attention of the code enforcement officer. Sometimes she sends them on to a more appropriate party. Many, many violations have been addressed in the last few weeks thanks to our combined efforts.
I have mentioned several concerning trees to her. Many that are dead and overhang designated safe walking routes, or heavily traveled walking routes to Travell.
I walked all of the streets surrounding Travell with the assistant village engineer last spring. I mentioned several of the trees including the one which fell today. I was told trees really aren’t their department. A huge part of this tree fell in the early fall across the exact same area!! A Travell parent roped off the area until it could be addressed. This was on the walk to the school in the morning. Prime drop off time for hundreds of students. Another near miss. What else is it going to take?
Do we need a child to actually be struck and hurt- or worse, by a dead tree limb ON actual school grounds in order to take a very serious look at where there needs to be some work done?
We can have forum after forum about full day kindergarten. Spending God only knows how much money, just to spend more money, and then say we don’t have any money??
We can send newsletters and we can print signs and yet we can’t find it in the budget to hire a tree expert, an actual arborist, for the day, to ensure that the school grounds and the sidewalks surrounding them are safe? Or hire a safety expert to do a study of the area and see where we need some change? Often it’s small changes, signage or enforcement, that make ALL the difference. It doesn’t always have to be large ticket answers. It just requires some attention and concern.
I’m actually incensed at how close MY daughter was to this tree falling today.
Feet. She was feet from this. I happen to pass down this street EVERY day between 11:35- 11:45 on the way home from another school pick up. Many many days my daughter and her best friend see me and come run to the fence to yell hello to me as I pass. Today, I was running a touch late. I very literally went to turn left down Bogert and instead went the other way. It is absolutely chilling to know, unequivocally, that they would have been standing IN this exact spot saying hello to me had I made a left turn and not a right.
We need to stop addressing every other issue as if it is life and death and pay closer attention to the ones that actually are.
I heard from parents over the last weeks, as we begged parents to walk their children to school for walk to school month, a myriad of safety complaints. Several times I was informed that they no longer have crossing guards to cross their elementary school children (ages 5-11 as a reference) at Van Dien and Glen because the BF one now leaves too early due to new changes with the outsourcing.
I am on record for EIGHT years at CSAC meetings requesting advice and help about the repeated parking on the Bogert/Cambridge ave curves which force dozens of students to walk in to the center of the street on a blind curve to walk to their school. Eight years and I’ve been brushed off and given every answer or response you can possibly imagine. Not one has made the situation safer. Not one suggestion stopped my daughter from being thrown from her stroller in an attempt to get out of the way of a speeding, texting driver last year with no where to go due to cars parked in the long documented, dangerous spots along the curve.
We are year after year refused even the conversation of a crossing guard at Bogert and Glen where no less than 65 school children LIVE, and dozens more use as a pass through-it’s too expensive! It’s $8k! We can’t even get simple pedestrian crossing signs at that crossing or another along Glen (Northern Parkway) because the town refuses to pay for them (they’re about $400 each!!!imagine!) so the Generous Travell HSA, at my request, will pay for them. So to actually break that down, these parents will pay some of the highest taxes in NJ, we have one of the highest per student spending budgets in NJ, and then we are going to pay EXTRA, out of pocket, for the signage that allows for our kids to have a way to cross the street safely to access their school.
What is next? What will it take before all of YOU put the safety of these students ahead of an agenda, or just the belief that “it’s not really our department”??
Today, any number of children were FEET from this massive tree branch falling, and a complete tragedy. What will you do to ensure that this doesn’t happen again? What will you do now that a documented issue has now presented itself so many times? I guess we could give them hard hats, or we could solve the actual problem.
I know we can’t solve every safety problem at every school without which a miracle occurs, but we have repeated, documented safety issues that are being ignored or shuffled off to someone else to deal with. There are hundreds of children in YOUR care and we expect that that is something you take seriously enough to ensure their safety.
I am sure you’re all familiar with the areas in question, but I implore you to come and walk these streets with me, and any other interested parent.
In fact, at this point, I can’t see why you wouldn’t.
Thank you for your sincere attention to this matter.
Ridgewood NJ, It’s that time of year again when beleaguered parents constantly remind disobedient children that it’s more important than ever to do the right thing.
Otherwise, they could end up on Santa’s notorious naughty list – the one specially reserved for kids who fight with siblings, refuse to do their homework, throw temper tantrums and don’t eat their vegetables.
While banishment to the naughty list has long been a handy tool in the disciplinary arsenal, any responsible parent wants their children to be good the rest of the year, too, when the threat of empty stockings holds less sway over those impressionable minds.
“I suspect most children deep down want to do the right thing, but they struggle with temptation,” says K.J. Hales, author of It’s Hard to Be Good, the first volume in the Ellie the Wienerdog (www.elliethewienerdog.com) series of educational picture books for children.
“A lot of it comes down to self-control – being able to control both your emotions and your actions when things don’t go your way or you don’t get what you want.”
Hales, who creates teachers’ guides and educational activities to go along with the lessons in her books, says the earlier parents start teaching children to do the right thing, the better.
She says some of the ways they can reinforce good behavior and discourage bad behavior include:
• Be generous with praise. Don’t underestimate the importance of your words. It’s easy to notice when children do the wrong thing and to chastise them about it. But take note when they do the right thing, too, and praise their good choices or good behavior. “Everyone loves words of approval and children will want to please you as a result,” Hales says. • Make good choices a fun activity. One way to encourage good decisions could be to set aside one week in which each day you ask your children to write or draw about a good decision they made or they saw someone else make. Hales says this is an activity she suggests for classroom teachers, but it can work in the home as well. Be sure to discuss those good decisions with the children. • Reward them. Discipline so often focuses on punishments for bad behavior, but children should also be rewarded for good behavior. This doesn’t have to be anything elaborate or expensive. A reward could be a picnic in the park or a favorite dessert after dinner.
“I’m sure every parent wants their child to gain independence, grow emotionally and learn to make good decisions about their own behavior,” Hales says. “And this is important 365 days a year, not just in the weeks before Santa Claus comes to town.”
About K.J. Hales
K.J. Hales (www.ellietheweinerdog.com) is author of the Ellie the Wienerdog series of educational children’s books for children. The first volume in the series is It’s Hard to Be Good. The Ellie character is based on Hales’ own dachshund also named Ellie.
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Crew team competed in their first regatta on October 8, the Tail of the Passaic. The team garnered two first-place finishes, including the Men’s Varsity 1x; and the Women’s Varsity 4x Ridgewood Crew also took home five-second place finishes.
In addition to the four semifinalists, 25 students have been identified as Commended Students in the most recent competition.
Ridgewood NJ, The Nation’s Report Card: 2015 Science shows scores have improved overall, and higher percentages of the nation’s fourth- and eighth-grade students demonstrated mastery of science on the 2015 assessment compared with the 2009 assessment. The results also show score gaps narrowing by race/ethnicity. The average score of 12th-grade students did not change between 2009 and 2015.
In 2015, 22 percent of 12th-graders performed at or above the Proficient achievement level, which denotes competency over challenging subject matter. Additionally, 38 percent of fourth-graders and 34 percent of eighth-graders performed at or aboveProficient — an increase of 4 percentage points at both grades compared with 2009.
“Seeing these gains in science from our fourth- and eighth-graders makes me hopeful about the future of our nation’s students,” said former Wyoming Gov. James Geringer, director of policy and public sector strategies at the Environmental Systems Research Institute and member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for NAEP. “But that progress needs to continue since only about one-third of students, or even fewer, have the science skills they need.”
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) — known as The Nation’s Report Card — is the largest nationally representative, continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subjects. The 2015 science assessment measured students’ knowledge of physical science, life science, and Earth and space sciences. The assessment also measured how well students implement science practices, like using scientific principles and engaging in scientific inquiry.
National science results are available for students at grades four, eight, and 12; state-level results are available at grades four and eight.
National highlights include:
Performance Improves at Grades Four and Eight
At grades four and eight, students scored higher in 2015 than in 2009 in all three science content areas: physical science, life science, and Earth and space sciences.
From 2009 to 2015, the percentage of students performing below the Basic achievement level decreased by 4 percentage points at grades four and eight.
Score Gaps Narrow by Race and Gender at Grades Four and Eight
The score gaps between black and white students and between Hispanic and white students at both grades four and eight have narrowed since 2009.
In 2015, fourth-grade male students scored about the same as fourth-grade female students, eliminating the gender difference.
At grade eight, male students scored higher than female students, but the difference between their scores in 2015 was smaller than the difference between their scores in 2011 (3 points versus 5 points).
At grade 12, male students outperformed female students by 5 points. The gap between their scores in 2015 was not statistically different from the 2009 gap.
State highlights include:
Some Sizable Gains Made at Grades Four and Eight
Between 2009 and 2015, scores at both grades rose in 15 states and jurisdictions: Arizona, Arkansas, Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina,Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. Of these, DoDEA schools, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming had a percentage of students performing at or above Proficient that was greater than the average percentage for national public schools in 2015.
From 2009 to 2015, four states and jurisdictions showed score gains at grade four that were larger than the national average score gain: Arizona, DoDEA schools, Georgia and Tennessee. At grade eight, three states had this distinction: Nevada, Tennesseeand Utah.
Score Gaps Narrow and Close by Race and Gender
The following states saw a statistically significant narrowing of average score gaps between black and white students from 2009 to 2015: Arkansas (a decline of 10 points), Oklahoma (8.9) and Tennessee (8.6) at grade four; and Illinois (7.8) at grade eight.
The following states saw a statistically significant narrowing of the average score gap between Hispanic and white students from 2009 to 2015: Massachusetts (a decline of 8.7 points), Connecticut (8.2), Illinois (6.7) and Nevada (5.9) at grade four; and New York (8.9), Illinois (7.4), Connecticut (7.1), Wyoming (6.9) and Arizona (5.6) at grade eight.
For fourth grade, several states closed the average score gap by gender — meaning statistically significant score differences between female and male students were found in 2009 but not in 2015 — specifically, Hawaii (a decline of 4.2 points), Maine(3.5), North Carolina (2.4), South Dakota (2.4) and Ohio (1.8).
The gender score gap closed at grade 8 in Wyoming (a decline of 6.5 points), Rhode Island (6.4), New Mexico (4.8), Georgia (4.6), and Montana (4.0), and in 13 other states.
Tennessee stands out as a state that showed large score gains at grades four and eight and narrowed score gaps between black and white fourth-graders from 2009 to 2015, and its students are outperforming the nation (public schools) at grades four and eight.
“We’ve set high expectations across the board for our students in Tennessee, and our NAEP performance continues to reflect the hard work and progress our students and teachers are making,” said Candice McQueen, Tennessee commissioner of education. “To me, the most encouraging part of today’s science results is that all of Tennessee’s students are showing what is possible. We’ve narrowed or eliminated gaps between groups of students, and we are continuing to make huge strides in where we have been historically to build a new future for our children.”
Emphasizing science in and outside of the classroom is tied to student performance in the subject, as shown in data collected through NAEP student and teacher questionnaires about educational experiences. Overall, students with more exposure to science scored better on the 2015 science assessment than students with less exposure:
Eighth-graders who participate in hands-on activities or investigations in science class every day or almost every day, as reported by their teachers, scored 12 points higher than students who never or hardly ever engage in these activities.
Eighth-grade students who self-reported that they have visited a museum, zoo or aquarium to learn about science outside of a school trip scored 7 points higher than students who have not participated in those activities outside of school.
Students who have teachers with access to school-provided scientific tools for teaching science — such as telescopes, microscopes and thermometers — also scored higher. Eighth-graders whose teachers reported the highest level of access to these tools scored 16 points higher than eighth-graders whose teachers reported no access. Twelfth-graders who reported having access to such tools scored 37 points higher than 12th-graders without access.
“Students who have more opportunities to dig in deep and fully engage do better in science,” said Missouri science teacher Susan German, a panelist at the Oct. 27 event announcing the NAEP results. “They should be spending less time buried in a textbook and more time doing hands-on activities, such as investigating which insulator works best in keeping soda cold or how height and mass influence the size of impact craters. Parents should do as much as they can to expose their children to science outside of the classroom too — even if it’s as simple as taking them on a walk through a park.”
About the Assessment
The 2015 science assessment was conducted in grades four, eight and 12 and reported at the national level for each. State-level results for grades four and eight are available for 46 states and U.S. Department of Defense schools that voluntarily participated in the assessment. (Alaska, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Louisiana and Pennsylvania did not have the necessary sample size in 2015 for state-level results to be reported.) For grades four and eight, national results reflect the scores of both public and private school students, while state-level results reflect the scores of public school students only.
NAEP performance results are presented as average scale scores and as achievement levels, reported as the percentages of students performing at or above Basic, Proficient and Advanced. Basic denotes partial mastery of the subject, Proficient denotes competency over challenging subject matter and Advanced represents superior work. Scale scores range from 0 to 300. Because NAEP scores and achievement levels are developed independently for each subject, results cannot be compared across subjects. Performance results also cannot be compared with data from before 2009, when the new science framework was introduced. The last assessment for fourth- and 12th-graders took place in 2009, and the last assessment for eighth-graders was administered in 2011.
Check out this video illustrating NAEP data to see how science education can translate into a related career path.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress is the largest nationally representative, continuing evaluation of the condition of education in the United States. It has served as a national yardstick of student achievement since 1969. Through The Nation’s Report Card, NAEP informs the public about what American students know and can do in various subject areas and compares achievement among states, large urban districts and various student demographic groups. The National Assessment Governing Board oversees and sets policy for NAEP. Follow NAEP on Facebook and Twitter.
NAEP is a congressionally authorized project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The National Center for Education Statistics, within the Institute of Education Sciences, administers NAEP. The commissioner of education statistics is responsible by law for carrying out the NAEP project.
The National Assessment Governing Board is an independent, nonpartisan board whose members include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives and members of the general public. Congress created the 26-member Governing Board in 1988 to oversee and set policy for NAEP. Follow the Governing Board on Facebook and Twitter.
Readers say , “No one missed Rurik. No one. And we had plenty of insanity without him being there. Chris Rutishauser (he of the ghetto palms) and Jeanne Johnson (she of the ridiculous bike lanes) provided ample idiocy for one evening.
The dynamic duo of Chris and Jeanne should take their show on the road showing people how to accomplish nothing while antagonizing everyone. Also, the Bike Lane To No Where is hazardous to bikers as well as drivers. In stead of calming traffic, it makes us all annoyed and irritated!
Miss Jeanne actually said that the bike lanes would only be for experienced bikers (ie dangerous). Oh hell yes, this makes sense. Let’s put bike lanes that are dangerous for all but the most experienced bikers. Ummmm what happens when an inexperienced driver comes alongside an experienced biker. This whole thing is a disaster waiting to happen. Thank God it probably will not happen.
Jeanne Johnson was out of control ridiculous. And Rutishauser too. Who the hell do they think they are trying to pressure the council to sign off on a grant application when they have not seen the plans. Memo to Ruishauser: Aronsohn and Sonenfeld sent out grant applications that were filled with lies. This council does not play that way.”
Ridgewood NJ, A voluminous spill of hydraulic fluid at 205 East Glen Avenue, Ridgewood (Village of Ridgewood Recycling Center) required the response of trained personnel from Ridgewood FD and the Bergen County Department of Health Services Hazmat team on Thursday afternoon, 10/27. No injuries were reported in the mishap. Ridgewood PD also responded.
