Tag: Ridgewood Schools

>Dear Friends,

We owe no greater gratitude than that belonging to our nation’s veterans. These service members have sacrificed their lives, comfort, and safety to fight for the continued security of our democracy. From World War II through Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and the current War on Terror, our veterans deserve the best that we can give to them.

As President Calvin Coolidge said, ‘The nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten.’ We must take pause more often to thank those who sacrificed their time and in some instances, their lives, so that we may live in freedom. We are fortunate to have these brave men and women share their histories and memories, which are really pieces of themselves. While we can never repay their heroism, we can learn from their experience and thank them for their sacrifice.

I am so very proud of the Members of our Armed Services, and I am very proud to have the privilege of representing them in Congress. I salute our veterans, their families that stand with them, and those who currently serve our great nation. They have fought on the behalf of our country and now it’s time for us to fight for them. Rest assured that I will continue to work to protect and provide them with the security and support they need.
Sincerely,

Scott Garrett
Member of Congress

>Please post the following information ASAP (taken from the above link) for your readers to consider.

A Pro Se New Jersey litigant has brought suit against sue the Secretary of State of New Jersey Nina Mitchell Wells to essentially force her to “do her job” under the law (i.e., deny illegitimate candidates access to the ballot). Attorney Leo Donofrio is now pressing his case before the U.S. Supreme Court, on direct appeal from the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Attorney Donofrio is challenging the “natural born citizen” qualifications of McCain (claimed ineligible because born in Panama), Obama (presumed born in U.S. but claimed ineligible because one parent was an alien, thus begetting divided loyalty), and Socialist Workers Party candidate Roger Calero (claimed ineligible because born in Nicaragua, and was in fact bounced from the ballots of four other states for this reason).

This case is far stronger than any other cases still pending or that have been dismissed to date because it does not appear that the pro se litigant can be denied his day in court on the basis of a purported absence of Article III standing to bring the lawsuit. But get this–for purposes of demonstrating his standing to sue in this case, Attorney Donofrio is invoking the authority of Ridgewood Educational Association v. Ridgewood Board of Education, 284 N.J. Super. 427 (App. Div. (1995)), in which the court stated “We see no reason why this State’s historic liberal approaches to the issue of standing in general … should not apply to taxpayer suits challenging the quasi-legislative actions of local boards of education.” Silverman v. Board of Ed., Tp. of Millburn, 134 N.J. Super 253, 257-58 (Law Div.), aff’d o.b. 131 N.J. Super. 435 (App. Div. 1975).

I can’t emphasize how important this point is in presenting a challenge to president-elect Obama, who may have no choice but to present his credentials directly to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Significantly, Attorney Donofrio has not submitted a full Petition for Writ of Certiorari, but rather initially applied for an Emergency Stay on the last Monday before the election. Though the initial application was denied with prejudice by Justice Souter late last week (tardily–after the election), Attorney Donofrio is now apparently entitled to resubmit the Application For An Emergency Stay of the national election results and Electoral College meeting to the Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, which entitles him to all due haste from the Supreme Court Justice to whom the application is made.

Please do what you can to get this case the notorieity it needs to attract the necessary attention and action from the U.S. Supreme Court. An Emergency Stay is needed before the December 15th vote of the Electoral College.

https://www.prlog.org/10139161-obama-presidency-challenged-by-new-jersey-voter-renatural-born-citizen-before-us-supreme-court.html

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OVERVIEW OF VETERANS DAY

Veterans Day, formerly Armistice Day, is the anniversary of the ending of World War I. In the United States it is celebrated as a federal holiday on November 11. Veterans Day has been observed annually on this date since 1978, except for a brief period when it was celebrated on the fourth Monday of October.

HISTORY OF VETERANS DAY

Following World War II, the name of the holiday was changed (enacted June 1, 1954) to Veterans Day to honor those who died in all American wars. The day has since evolved to primarily be a time of honoring living veterans who have served in the military during wartime or peacetime, partially due to competition with Memorial Day, which primarily honors the dead.

>RIDGEWOOD, N.J., Nov. 10 NJ-TheWumblerPatch

The First Wumblers Retail Store will open its doors on November 14th

RIDGEWOOD, N.J., Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ — Right on the heels of announcing their exclusive publishing deal with Mackinac Island Press, The Wumblers’ children’s brand has yet more exciting new to share. The Giddy Gander Company is launching a unique, new retail store called THE WUMBLER PATCH. The store will officially open its doors in Ridgewood, New Jersey, on November 14, 2008, just in time for the holiday season.

Designed to resemble a watermelon patch as inspired by The Wumblers’ brand concept that all baby Wumblers are born from watermelon, this store will sell all Wumbler merchandise and mark the beginning of the rollout of Wumbler merchandise within larger retail stores across the country.

The innovative concept behind the launching of The Wumbler Patch store is one, which provides the opportunity for The Wumblers to create a physical manifestation of the original goal of this brand (www.wumblers.com) — to help teach children how to make the world a better place to live and grow.

Every in-store, retail program The Wumbler Patch store is implementing has been specifically designed to effectively reinforce this original goal while being fun and engaging for children to participate in and enjoy. Yet, it is these same kids (and parents) who will directly determine the extent of positive social and financial support The Wumbler Patch store provides to its coinciding community as well as our world community.

“Nothing like this has ever been done before,” states creator and CEO of The Wumblers children’s brand, Laura J. Wellington. “But, now more than ever, we need to teach our children a better way. The Wumbler Patch is a means of doing so. It provides a fun place for children (and parents) to go in which to share an experience that positively impacts their community. This store goes beyond just selling merchandise. The store concept is very innovative and remains consistent with the grassroots emergence and initiative that founded the entire Wumbler brand. Positive change means getting at “the roots.” Those “roots” are our children!”

SOURCE The Giddy Gander Company

>Hi, my name is Amy Flax. I am a concerned math parent in New Jersey. Our local curriculums are driven by our state standards. Our current state math standards are currently being reviewed. This is our opportunity to make a difference. I believe that we need world class state math standards which in turn will drive the implementation of world class curriculums. A friend of mine received a copy of the state standards from the NJDOE and it is public. Input is welcome. I would like you to take the opportunity to comment. I would like to tell you that the language still looks very “fuzzy” with words like “Explore” and does not mention the Standard Algorithm.

If you are interested in commenting, please email me at [email protected], and I will send you the draft standards. Please send your comments back to me.

>Teachers ponder meaning of Obama victory for N.J. schools

by John Mooney /The Star-Ledger

Thursday November 06, 2008, 7:17 PM

It’s the largest teachers convention in the country, a decidedly blue-tinged gathering in one of the nation’s bluest states.

But for all the exultant support of Barack Obama’s victory at the opening of the New Jersey Education’s convention Thursday, teachers on the floor of the vast Atlantic City center also worried about what happens next.

Vincent Blasse, a Trenton middle school teacher, said Obama will inspire teachers and especially students.

But asked how the new president might fix the No Child Left Behind act, Blasse wasn’t so sure. And when it came to Obama’s support of merit pay for teachers, he was downright troubled.

“It can breed greed and individualism,” Blasse said. “They will no longer see themselves as team players.”

Thus is the fragile line Obama will need to tread with education, carrying strong union support but also a few positions that would clearly roil the status quo.

On one side, Obama has pledged greater federal support for public schools with additional funding and programs like preschool and after-school services.

He has said he would make changes to the federal No Child Left Behind act, a chief villain to many teachers and their unions.

Yet Obama also has bucked the traditional labor line. In addition to championing merit pay for teachers, he espouses extra incentives for those working in high-need schools, and strongly supports innovations like charter schools.

Joyce Powell, president of the NJEA, praised Obama as “pro-public education” but quickly conceded some tensions.

“We may have our differences of opinion on some things,” she said.

Much will rest on whom Obama picks as his education secretary, with a short list of names being bandied about including Colin Powell and New York City Chancellor Joel Klein.

Obama’s general support for merit pay — providing teachers extra money based on their performance — is the one topic already raising eyebrows. He has yet to unveil any concrete proposal, but considers the idea important enough to mention publicly.

He has said it’s a concept best handled at the local bargaining table, and NJEA President Powell said she has already seen it start to creep into negotiations — if not embraced — by a handful of New Jersey districts.

She argues it should come as a give-and-take with teachers.

“If they are going to broach that, why not let us also negotiate class sizes or textbook selection?” she said. “They have to understand that when we put an idea like that on the table, other things come with it.”

A sampling of her members — nearly 35,000 of whom attended the first day of the convention — indicated similar sentiments. The younger teachers were more likely to support merit pay than the veterans, but not exclusively.

Sean Spiller, a 33-year-old science teacher at Wayne Valley High School, said Obama’s election and that of a Democratic majority to Congress is good news for teachers who want a softening in No Child Left Behind and more money behind it.

But he said the idea of merit pay for teachers was something he couldn’t support.

“You can’t have two teachers working next to each other and comparing their test scores,” he said. “It doesn’t work.”

Angela Yelverton, sporting an Obama button, described the spring in her students’ steps at Camden’s Creative Arts High School on Wednesday; the school’s band is vying to get in on the Inaugural festivities.

But she wondered how much will happen to No Child Left Behind, with all the competing points of view. “Hopefully he’ll at least listen to us in the trenches,” she said.

Yelverton, 36, said while merit pay may benefit her as a teacher, it’s a lot trickier than it sounds.

“I’m one of those who go above and beyond,” she said, “so in one way I’m for it. But what is the measuring tool? Is just staying late or working on Saturdays going to tell you that?”

>Wednesday, November 5, 2008
by: James Ward and Christine Yzaguirre

https://www.shu.edu/news/article/111753

Would you like to gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of the Holy Mass?

The STEPS program of Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology’s Institute for Christian Spirituality is hosting “Our Catholic Treasures: Discovering the Liturgy,” on Saturday, November 15, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Ridgewood, N.J. The conference, held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with Mass celebrated at 2 p.m., will feature Reverend Antonio I. Bico, S.T.L., S.T.D., professor of Systematic Theology at Seton Hall University. The registration fee is $20, which includes lunch. To R.S.V.P. or for more information, please call Jo-Anne Lieder at (973) 313- 6331 or e-mail [email protected].

Father Bico earned an S.T.L. from the Pontifical Teresianum University in Rome, and an S.T.D. in Sacramental Theology from the Liturgical Institute at Saint Mary of the Lake University in Mundelein, Illinois. Ordained to the priesthood in 1993, Father Bico worked in drug rehabilitation ministry and prison ministry. He titled his doctoral dissertation “The Sacrament of Penance: Journey Towards Conversion and Recovery from Addictions.”

The Seminary’s Theological Education for Parish Services Program (STEPS) is a graduate level certificate program for adult Catholics who desire a deeper understanding of their faith. STEPS provides expanded lay graduate education through its classes at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Ridgewood. The curriculum involves an integrated program of theological course work, praxis, and spiritual formation that fashion students with a new enthusiasm and understanding of their faith.

For more information please contact:
Jo-Anne Lieder
(973) 313-6331
[email protected]

https://www.shu.edu/news/article/111753

>A Holiday tree but everyone should enjoy
9 (4%)

A Christmas Tree but everyone should enjoy
157 (83%)

Makes no difference as long as a good time is had by all
21 (11%)