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>You can’t follow The Valley Hospital action unless you know the players . . .

>And you can’t tell the players without a program.

Here are the Planning Board players:
Members:Morgan Hurley – Chairman (Ethelbert Place)David Nicholson – Vice-Chairman (Liberty Street)David Pfund – Mayor (Hillcrest Road)Kim Ringler Shagin – Councilwoman (Walthery Avenue)James Bombace (Midwood Road)Richard Fricke (Woodland Avenue)Anne Ward (Melrose Place)Albert Pucciarelli (Cottage Place)Nick Tsapatsaris (North Murray Avenue)Charles Nalbantian – Alternate 1 (Bellair Road)Richard Barclay – Alternate 2 (Brookside Avenue)

Staff:Gail L. Price, Esq., Board AttorneyBlais L. Brancheau, PP, PlannerChristopher J. Rutishauser, PE, Village EngineerBarbara K. Carlton, Board Secretary

And also for the record, Valley Hospital President, Ms. Audrey D. Meyers, lives on Highland Avenue. The Valley’s attorney, Charles (Chuck) Collins, owns property on Bellair Road and on Prospect Street.

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>TERC – WHEN IT FAILS, IT’S BECA– USE OF THE TEACHERS, not our Mishugona* curriculum

>TERC – WHEN IT FAILS, IT’S BECA– USE OF THE TEACHERS, not our Mishugona* curriculum

An excerpt from “Changing the Elementary Mathematics Curriculum: Obstacles and Challenges”, Susan Jo Russell

TERC , 2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140

Curriculum as teacher development

We see our curriculum as a vehicle for teacher development. The actual curriculum is not what we envision and write down, but what happens between students and teachers in the moment of teaching and learning. So while part of our responsibility is to provide the material, the actual investigations, in which students will participate-and this in itself is no easy matter-the other, equally critical part of our responsibility is to open up that material to teachers, to invite them in both to the mathematics and to children’s mathematical thinking.

The audience, therefore, for our materials, is teachers, not students. Our units are written to the teachers with many digressions about mathematics and about children’s learning of mathematics. The responsibility is absolutely on the teachers to make this material work. If they fail, the material fails. On the other hand, by not making teachers partners in the past, we have made a grievous error. By not inviting teachers in to mathematics, by attempting to make materials “teacher proof” because educators or mathematicians believed that classroom teachers were not smart enough about mathematics to teach it, not only have we denied the students a good mathematical education, but we have denied generations of elementary teachers-largely women-access to mathematics.

It could be me, but if I were a teacher, I’d be insulted.

*”Mishugona” is Yiddish for crazy, the fly is trying to appeal to a more ethnic audience

show?id=mjvuF8ceKoQ&bids=97526

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The Now Infamous Letter ?

>This is NOT PJ’s comment, but MY comment, which you can see posted under the headline “Pro BOE reader…”I DID NOT address the comment as “Hello Everyone” – this intro was inserted by PJ.MY intro was “Hey, bbwool,” responding to bbwool’s accusation. So my “basically” pokes fun at his use of the word “basically.” And, of course,the “lie” refers to what bbwool claimed and the liar is, of course, bbwool.thanks a bunch, pj, for making it look like i was calling “everyone” a liar.

*My mistake PJ

Hello Everybody .

I found that letter from Frances to Brooks and she DID NOT tell him not to come. so what YOU said was…ummm…”basically” a lie. which makes you “basically” a liar.

in fact, she gave him a heads up on the math discussion in our district. furthermore, her polite communication enabled Brooks to respond in kind. it gave him a chance to publicly explain his position and i must say, he did it well and graciously.

bbwool, why did you say the Ridgewood Blog “proudly” posted her letter but not tell us the whole truth, that it also posted Brooks’ response??

but hey, everyone, you don’t have to take MY word for it because here is the parent’s letter and Brooks’ response from the May 9, 2007 blog:

“Dr. Mr. Brooks,

I am a Ridgewood parent of three children in our public schools and I, like many others here, have been made aware of your pending position as our new superintendent. Our Board may not have advised you of this, but you should be aware of the present climate in our district with regard to the “Investigation” math curriculum. Several articles and ‘letters to the editor’ have appeared in our local paper over recent weeks. If the Board kept you in the dark with regard to this protracted circumstance, there may be little left for you to do but to give it your deepest contemplation. The link below is but a sample of the present discussion underway.

Respectfully,
Frances”

https://www.lindamoran.net/blog_teen/2007/04/the_disaster_at_plainview_old.html

“Dear Ms. Edwards:

Thanks for this note. I’d like to make a few comments about the link you attached. The math wars, like the whole language wars of the past decade, are based on a false dichotomy: traditional education v. progressive education. Good instruction focuses on the needs of the child – every child, one by one – and no one approach meets the needs of all children.

The math issue is interesting in that the battle seems to be pitched around algorithmic fluency v. conceptual understanding. They are not mutually exclusive. Both are essential for mathematically literacy. Students who learn algorithms procedurally without conceptual understanding aren’t truly fluent because although they are able to answer questions correctly on tests (when the questions are posed in the precise format the students are used to seeing), they often have difficulty knowing whether to (and how to) apply that algorithm to new and different situations. Teaching for conceptual understanding helps children develop efficient strategies for computing. Understanding the concept that underlies the algorithm helps students know how and when to apply it, helping them to become more proficient in solving new, differently presented problems and/or more complex problems.

Programs don’t teach children, teachers do. Good teachers vary their instruction – and their materials – based on student response.

Respectfully,
Marty Brooks”

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>Pro BOE Reader resonds to call for apology

>”Bombace posted in that “obscure blog” at the request of one of the math moms. She evidently felt that posting on your blog was not cool.You did not have to dig too far, the comment is also posted on the VOR math website.So your feelings are hurt that your blog did not get the scoop, it looks like Grandpa Nizzo outdone you! No apology needed, the comments by the Board were true and validated by facts. Many of the parents involved in this controversy have chosen to distance themselves from those who chose those tactics.I can only hope they chose to distance themselves from this blog. Choosing to post on another blog looks like a start. “

*BUT this blogger wants to know ,what are these “tactics” everyone is taking about ?

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>Man About Town

>The Office, 32 Chestnut Street Ridgewood, NJ 07450, a great place to unwind and catch a game with much improved service coupled with great drink specials, and decent pub food at reasonable prices make the office a local favorite, not a place for a romantic interlude more a beer with the boy’s kind of place.

*And as a special note I hope everything is ok at Smith Brothers

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>BOE Meeting Tonight!

>7:30 p.m. – Meeting

AGENDA
* * * * *
MEETING REGULATIONS

At all regular meetings, two opportunities are provided for citizens to make comments.� The public comment periods will be scheduled at approximately 7:30 p.m. and approximately 9:00 p.m. or just prior to the end of the meeting, whichever occurs first. The first opportunity may be limited by the presiding officer to conclude at about 8:00 p.m. in order for the Board to continue with its scheduled agenda.� The second opportunity will occur at about 9:00 p.m. at the discretion of the presiding officer taking into consideration a break point in the agenda.

At every opportunity for public comment, citizens are invited to comment on subjects on the agenda or general topics.

At the discretion of the presiding officer, public comments may be permitted at other times.

Persons wishing to speak must, upon being recognized, rise and state their name and address.� Each speaker shall be limited to four minutes.� The Board Recorder will note the time.� A speaker who has not finished in the allotted time will be directed by the Presiding Officer to summarize quickly and relinquish the floor within 30 seconds.

Comments shall be limited to issues.� If personal remarks or discourteous statements are made, the presiding officer shall require the speaker to stop.� No person will be recognized for a second time until all others asking to speak have been heard.

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>General Alarm Fire Closes Smith Brothers Dining Saloon

>smithbrothers

A general alarm fire raced through the Smith Brothers Dining Saloon at 51 Broad Street this morning.

All career and volunteer Ridgewood Fire Department personnel were called to the scene. Volunteer firefighters from the Glen Rock, Ho-Ho-Kus, Midland Park, and Wyckoff fire departments assisted in bringing the fire under control.
The dining saloon is closed indefinitely.

photos by artchickphotos.com
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>Events Around the Village

>flagpole

Graydon Pool
Hours of Operation
Pool Hours – June 2 – 24 Weekends 10am to 7:30pm, Weekdays Noon – 7:30pm; June 25 – August 12 Daily 10am – 7:30pm; July 4th Holiday – 10am to 4pm; august 13 – Sept 3 – Weekends – Noon to 7:30pm, Weekdays 10am to 7:30pm Graydon Pool Phones – Badge Office 201/670-5566 or Manager Office 201/670-3376.

Greg Calarone – Popular & Italian Standards 6/19
Sponsors:AM Rotary & Boiling Springs Savings Bank
On Veteran’s Field at 8:30pm this free concert will be performed. Bring a blanket or chair to enjoy the music under the stars! Information: 201/444-1776

Kasschau Shell Performance 6/21
Sponsored by Commerce Bank
Bobby Byrne will sing Broadway Show tunes at the Kasschau Shell on Veternan’s Field at 8:30pm. Bring a blanket or chair and enjoy this free entertainment under the stars!

Farmer’s Market 6/24-10/28
Jersey Fresh Produce
Every Sunday from 9am to 3pm find the freshest produce at the Ridgewood Train Station. In addition, there are local vendors with fresh mozzarella, bread, pickles, olives, and baked goods. Sponsored by the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce.

Pro Arte Choral 6/26
Sponsored by Valley Hospital
Concert begins at 8:30pm at the Kasschau Shell located on Veternan’s Field behind the Library. Bring a blanket or chair and enjoy this free concert under the stars!

Ridgewood 4th of July Celebration
Fireworks Tickets Available 6/4
“Parade of Heros”, Ridgewood’s 97th Annual Celebration, will start with a Flag Raising at 9am at Wilsey Square. Parade begins at 10am. Fireworks Tickets fund this All-Volunteer Committee’s work. Tickets are $5 in advance or $10 at the gate (children 5 and under are free). Tickets are avialable at Alice, Alice, Alice; Town & Country Appothecary; Backyard Living; Artventure Gallery; Citizens Community Bank; Daily Treat Restaurant; Goffle Brook Farm; Hillmann Electric; Hoskins Propane; Irish Eyes Imports; Ridgewood Cycle Shop; Wine Seller.

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>Blog Readers look for Answers on Downtown Parking

>parking

From my understanding Ridgewood has some parking issues. Well I propose instead of placing ugly parking meters on residential blocks close to downtown that we place a ticket machine
at the ends of each block.
Why build a parking deck when you have space already?
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2007 – The year of embattled Superintendents

>It’s only June and four public school superintendents in our area have already gone down for the count. What’s the rest of 2007 likely to bring?

Here’s the scorecard thus far:

Brooks, Marty – Ridgewood; parental dissatisfaction with TERC – declined to accept position

Calabro, Joanne – Fort Lee; plagiarized speech to National Honor Society students – contract not renewed

Dime, Janis – Paramus; tainted soil cover up – out on paid administrative leave

Nuccetelli, Maria – Wayne; clash over management style with BOE – contract not renewed

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>Manhunt in Ridgewood

>Burglars beat, tie up man in his apartment
Friday, June 15, 2007

Manhunt in Ridgewood

RIDGEWOOD — Police were searching Thursday for two men who beat and bound a 60-year-old man after he found them rifling through his village apartment.

The tenant told police he was punched in the face after he found the men burglarizing his first-floor Oak Street apartment around 3 p.m.

“They then used a computer mouse cord to tie him up and ran out,” Police Chief William Corcoran said.

The robbers fled with an undetermined amount of cash, he said.

The man soon freed himself and called 911, Corcoran said. He declined medical treatment for minor facial injuries, the chief said.

Nearby NJ Transit rail service was stopped for about 30 minutes as the Bergen County K-9 unit searched for the robbers.

Both are described as short, white, in their 30s and wearing dark clothing.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call village police at 201-652-3900.

— Jason Tsai