Student news: Holocaust survivor speaks about hope at Oak Knoll School
Renée Kann Silver, a Holocaust survivor, was only 11 years old – about the same age as the Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child students she addressed the morning of May 22 – when she and her sister Edith were protected from certain death by the people of a small, isolated village in France.
Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, whose pastor, André Trocmé, called upon his parishioners to resist the Nazis whenever doing otherwise would contradict Gospel teachings, saved 3,500 Jews in the midst of World War II. The village even garnered collective recognition by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Institute in Jerusalem as Righteous Among the Nations in 1990.
Silver, 86, spoke to fifth- and sixth-grade students at the Summit-based school about her experiences before and after Le Chambon, as well as the resiliency and decency of the human spirit amid one the worst atrocities in history.
“I would not be here if not for the Righteous Gentiles. These were people who did not hesitate for one second about what would happen to them if they were discovered hiding Jewish children,” Silver said. “Nobody had to tell them what to do, they were just human beings doing the right thing.”
It wasn’t until she saw the 1989 documentary “Weapons of the Spirit,” by Pierre Sauvage, about Le Chambon, which Oak Knoll students also viewed in advance of her talk, did she begin to fully realize the sacrifice of her saviors and her own self-worth.
Silver was born in Saarland in 1931, when the land was an independent state situated between France and Germany that was created as a result of the Treaty of Versailles that formally ended the hostilities of World War I. During her childhood, a nationwide referendum resulted in the new country rejoining Germany.
READ: Photo leads to reunion of Holocaust survivors
As a result, her family moved to France. They were later arrested and sent to the Gurs internment camp in southwest France as fears and discrimination against foreign-born residents grew. Ultimately, the family was released and they went into hiding in Villeurbanne outside of Lyon.
One day, Silver was told that she and her sister would be traveling to Le Chambon. She assumed the trip was akin to a vacation, as then she did not fully understand what was happening. Upon being hidden with a family, posing as their niece, she slowly began to hear more about what happening back home and began to fear for her parents.
The sisters returned to Le Chambon before later being reunited with their parents, who by then had obtained false papers identifying themselves as Christians. Reunited, the family ultimately fled to Switzerland.
Each year, students in Oak Knoll’s coed elementary school learn about the Holocaust through its anti-bias unit. This year, students in the all-girls Upper School were also addressed by Silver in the afternoon, a natural tie-in with the AP French curriculum and the newly-announced foreign exchange program with several schools, including one in France located approximately 13 miles from Le Chambon.
For more information about Oak Knoll, visit www.oakknoll.org or call 908-522-8109.
Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School
Inspired by a presentation on the Travis Manion Foundation (TMF) during Career Day at Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School, eighth-graders Anna deCone, Tina Compagnino and Janet Beshai took to heart the words he (Travis) spoke before leaving for his final deployment, “IF NOT ME, THEN WHO…”
The Travis Manion Foundation works to empowers veterans and the families of fallen heroes to develop character in future generations. In 2007, Ist Lt. Travis Manion (USMC) was killed in Iraq while saving his wounded teammates.
The three students decided to fund their own lemonade stand and sell at BRMS sporting events to raise money for school families that need financial assistance for field trips. In their first outing, they raised $100, according to a school news release.
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Champlain College
The following Central Jersey residents at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, were named to the spring dean's list: Harold Hodges of Westfield; Anthony Vultaggio of Cranford; Kevin Blum of Bridgewater; Alex Sabatell of North Plainfield, Charlotte Williams of Plainfield, Andrew Rimpici of Scotch Plains. Students must have a grade-point average of 3.5. In addition, Melissa Line of Annandale was named to the spring president's list for achieving a grade-point average of 4.0.
Also: The following Central Jersey students at the college received their degrees: Alyssa Lynn Held of Hillsborough, bachelor's degree in criminal justice; John Mailhot of Bridgewater, bachelor's degree in managing creative media; Christopher Romeo of Pittstown, bachelor's degree in communication; Ian Roos of Three Bridges, bachelor's degree in comp.network and cybersecurity.
Connecticut College
The following Central Jersey residents at Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut, received their degrees: Leah Jeannine Salituro of Fanwood, ACS certified in chemistry;Charles James Overton, bachelor's degree in history.
Curry College
The following Central Jersey residents at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts, received their degrees on May 21: John Conca of Basking Ridge, bachelor's degree of arts; Michael Scordino of Scotch Plains, bachelor's degress of arts.
Delaware Valley Regional High School
Dunellen Public Schools/Faber
Faber School, showed how hard work pays off in the Spring Band Concert and Art Show.
The concert featured students in fourth- and fifth-grade band playing several different arrangements. There were also three small ensembles which featured fourth- and fifth-grade students. The bands were lead by music teacher Terri Anastasi. According to Anastasi: “the students have shown amazing growth and talent. I am very proud of their success.”
The art show featured work from every student in the school. The work was created under the direction of art teacher Kelly Vetter. The artwork is based on various artists and types of art including cave dwellings, scenery and animals. According to Vetter: “the art show is a great way to showcase what our children are creating in class and to have the entire school community see how talented they are."
EMS Council of New Jersey
Hunterdon County Polytech
Cousins Todd and Jeffrey Gruchacz, of Flemington and Stockton respectively, recently represented the Hunterdon County Polytech Career and Technical School at the 25th annual National Automotive Technology Competition, where they placed fourth. The duo was selected by NJ CAR to represent the state of New Jersey on this national stage after Jeffrey placed first and Todd third in the Automotive Service Technology division of the SkillsUSA Championship.
The National Automotive Competition, conducted in conjunction with the New York International Auto Show, brought together the top teams from 30 states for two days of contests. On day one, contestants took on the Workstation Challenge, moving through 10 stations that tested their knowledge of tools, measuring instruments, specific vehicle components, in addition to job interview skills. On day two, the teams worked together in an allotted amount of time to diagnose and repair problems under their car’s hood.
“Todd and Jeff have played and worked together since they were two, and their familiarity with one another is a strength in competition,” said Christopher Scheuerman, automotive technology instructor at Polytech. “They work well together as they know each other’s strong and weak points. But, they also succeed because they put in the work and remain open-minded about learning new things.”
To prepare for the competition, the duo began meeting with Scheuerman in December. All three met on their own time, after school hours, and increased the number of times they met leading up to the competition. Todd and Jeffrey also trained for 14 days with service manager Chris Squarcia and foreman Pete Thibault of Mercedes-Benz of Flemington. The two volunteered to help train Todd and Jeffrey on a Mercedes, which was the students’ pre-assigned brand for competition.
This was the fourth competition this year in which the two placed at the top. In addition to SkillsUSA, they previously competed against 124 teams at the United Technical Institute, where they placed fourth, and at a competition organized by the Greater Lehigh Valley Auto Dealers Association, where they placed third.
Following their performance at the National Automotive Competition, Todd and Jeffrey received job offers from Mercedes-Benz of Flemington and Mercedes-Benz of North America. They are graduating from Polytech’s two-year Automotive Technology Program this month. The program allows students to study all eight areas of the automobile and offers seniors an internship with the Flemington Car and Truck Family.
Hunterdon County Polytech Career and Technical School is part of the Hunterdon County Vocational School District. As a public school district, HCVSD serves students from middle school to adults in a variety of career programs. Visit http://www.hcvsd.org/.
ALSO: Hunterdon Polytech has inducted 19 students into the National Technical Honor Society, an organization that honors the top achievements of Career-Technical Education students.
Inducted members have met rigorous criteria including grade point averages of at least 3.0 in a career-technical program. Additionally, they presented evidence of solid attendance, instructor nominations, disciplinary records, and membership in career-related organizations. Beyond recognition in high school, NTHS members are considered for scholarship and career opportunities in one of the 100-plus fields the organization monitors.
Students inducted in 2017 are: Michele Motta, Virginia Karmond, Emily Brigham, Destiny Thorne-Kovacs, Enzo Brancato, Alexandra DeStefano, Kaitlyn Tyms, Aiyana Rivera-O’Daniels, Samantha Downey, Alexis Maurer, Jillian Melick, Madison Miller, Amanda Murray, Mia Spivey, Danielle Tostevin, Angela Zarra, Brittany Hill, Angelica Ocasio, and Skylar Yasenchak.
Ithaca College
Berkeley Heights resident Amanda Chin, a student at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, received an award from the Syracuse Press Club. Chin placed second in the Best Radio news story category for "Ithaca community responds to national election results."
Kean University
Kean University hosted Union County’s Teachers of the Year on May 24 with a breakfast and award ceremony at the New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics. Sponsored by the Union County Superintendents’ Roundtable, the Union County Teacher Recognition Program honors one outstanding teacher from each school within the county. Nearly 60 of the honored teachers are Kean University alumni.
“There is no doubt that your impact will be realized beyond the scope of this state, this nation, and indeed this world,” Anthony A. Pittman, Ph.D., acting dean of Kean’s College of Education, told the teachers. “You educate and empower our next generation of leaders.”
The featured speaker at the event, 2016-2017 New Jersey Teacher of the Year Argine Safari, recalled a high school teacher who pushed her and encouraged her to reach for more.
“Think for a moment how incredible that power is that we have in our classrooms. Think of the influence that we all have,” Safari said. “Every child deserves to have a champion. I had my champion, and I’m sure that you can name teachers who influenced you. We have to continue to work and advocate for our students.”
Also speaking at the event were Interim Executive County Superintendent for Union County Juan Torres, Superintendent of Springfield Public Schools Michael A. Davino, and Union County Freeholder Bruce H. Bergen. Each praised the honored teachers for their dedication to the students of the county.
Lehigh University
The following Central Jersey residents at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, were honored with the University's Contribution to Student Life Award, which recognizes students who have significantly contributed to improving the quality of student life during their time at Lehigh: Alyssa Riporti and Emma Strong of Scotch Plains.
Merrimack College
Catherine Tenore-Nortrup of Pittstown, received a bachelor's degree in English from Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts on May 21.
Moravian College
Branchburg resident Josie Novak, a former pitcher on the Immaculata softball team, has become an NFCA All-American at Moravian College in Oklahoma City.
Mount Saint Mary Academy
Lauren Clouser, a junior from Bound Brook, and Elizabeth (Ellie) Dekker, a sophomore from Chatham, earned grants to study in Italy this July for 12 days from IACE (Italian American Committee on Education).
The students were recommended by their Italian teachers, Teresa Sengel and Giuseppina Lane, and each submitted a multimedia project on Italian cinema and its ties to Umbria and Narni, Italy.
Every year, only 20 students are selected to study in Umbria and they are given the opportunity to spend two weeks in Narni, where they take full immersion language classes in the morning and participate in local cultural and recreational activities such as pasta-making and pottery-decorating in the afternoon. Students also participate in full-day excursions to the most beautiful Italian cities.
Plainfield public schools
Students from Plainfield public elementary schools won the Tri-School Spelling Bee on June 6. Brittany Lubintus and Danny Ayala, fourth-graders at Woodland Elementary School, tied for first place. Jocelyn Pico, a fifth-grader at Woodland, took second place and Joriah Williams, a fifth-grader at Frederic W. Cook School, was third. The competition lasted a hour with more than 100 hundred words spelled.
“The children were fast,” said Cook School Principal Dr. Caryn Cooper. “This year the spelling bee went fast because the children were spelling as fast as they could, this was all them.”
Jocelyn Pico said she felt "amazing" after winning third place in the competition.
More than 100 fourth- and fifth-graders competed in their own schools' spelling bees and then met at the final Tri-School Spelling Bee conducted at Frederic W. Cook School.
The two determined spellers Brittany and Danny went back and forth until the judges declared a tie.
The students all received back pack with books, pencils, and coloring pencils.
Raritan Valley Community College
Valley Community College has joined The Democracy Commitment, a national organization dedicated to advancing democracy in America’s community colleges.
As part of its membership, the Branchburg-based college commits to ensuring that all of its graduates have the opportunity to receive an education in civic responsibility and democracy, and pledges to continue its role as a national leader with these efforts, according to a news release.
The Democracy Commitment (TDC) works with colleges and their communities to make democratic skills more available to all students who desire a voice and a seat at the table of local, state, and national discourse and action.
RVCC’s TDC membership is part of its ongoing efforts to encourage students to participate in civic engagement through its nationally recognized Service Learning Program. As part of their course curriculum and co-curricular work, students participate in service to the community through student clubs, athletics, student government, honor societies, internships and workforce development practicums. Students address many critical issues of public concern including hunger, homelessness, literacy, the environment, disabilities, English as a Second Language, domestic violence, substance abuse, child care, health, animal welfare, and legal aid.
TDC’s consortium of members currently includes 75 institutions, with 130 campuses serving over 1 million community college students in 23 states. Visit www.thedemocracycommitment.org.
Rock Brook School
On May 19, the Rock Brook School in the Skillman section of Montgomery hosted its third Annual Family Night/Community Open House. This event offers the opportunity to the community to visit the school and meet the students, staff and families of Rock Brook.
For more than 40 years, Rock Brook School has provided education and assistance and support for children with special needs, their families and professionals. It serves children from 3 to 21 years old.
Mark Caliguire, a Somerset County freeholder and a former mayor of Montgomery, attended the festivities. He thanked RBS Director Mary Caterson for her 30 years of service and spoke of the impact she and the school has had upon thousands of children. RBS’ event took place at the conclusion of Special Education Week. A chain link Connections Project was unveiled which demonstrated how each student, staff and family is connected.
This year’s Open House festivities also included several food trucks, arts & crafts, a DJ and pony rides by Dustin, courtesy of Unicorn Therapeutic Riding. For more information about Rock Brook School, visit www.rock-brook.org, call 908-431-9500 or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
St. Lawrence University
The following Central Jersey residents received their degrees from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, on May 21: Jenna E.W. Buckleitner of Flemington, bachelor's degree in biology, cum laude; Lisa J. Grohn of Branchburg, bachelor's degree in geology and chemistry, cum laude; George B. Kusserow of Princeton, bachelor's degree in environmental studies-economics; Matthew C. Stevenson of Bedminster, bachelor's degree in economics, cum laude.
Susquehanna University
Anthony Santulli of Bridgewater received a bachelor's degrees in creative writing and in Italian from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania on May 17.
The College of New Jersey
Tara Manz of Flemington received a bachelor's degree in history, cum laude from The College of New Jersey in Ewing.
The Wardlaw-Hartridge School
Seventh-graders at The Wardlaw-Hartridge School in Edison had the opportunity recently to interact with some members of the PO Paraguay team to ask them questions about their design process.
PO Paraguay is a non-profit organization in the South American country dedicated to the design, development and manufacturing of low cost, high quality 3D printed prosthetics bursting with individuality and attitude.
Through the week, seventh-grade math students explored design thinking processes with Middle School science and math teacher Noreen Jafri. They collaborated to develop a concept chair for different users and practiced quick prototype techniques to iterate their ideas. They formulated questions to Upper School science teacher Justine Borzumato about how one of the school's 3-D printers worked before the videoconference, and then to the Paraguayan team about the process that involves creating a prosthetic hand.
Mateo Acosta, a 3-D printing expert, Mariela Benitez, a prosthetic designer, and Annia Povigna, PO Paraguay marketing specialist, shared their experiences and answered questions showing students elements they used in different stages of the process.
According to a school news release, the plan is for W-H Upper School students to work on the design of a hand using PO Paraguay's designs and under their virtual supervision. Wardlaw-Hartridge hopes to sponsor one prosthetic hand for a person in need.
ALSO: The Lower School Art Show at The Wardlaw-Hartridge School delighted the many parents, teachers and friends who visited with their children and students throughout the day on May 19.
Visitors enjoyed the various paintings, samplers, ceramics and self-portraits that adorned the art room, hallways and library. Susan Howard's young students beamed with pride as they showed off their artwork, which included almost 500 two-dimensional work and 150 clay pieces.
ALSO: The Wardlaw-Hartridge School conducted its annual World Language Honor Societies induction ceremony on May 18.
Twenty-one Upper School students were inducted into three honor societies - Chinese, Latin and Spanish. Jamie Segraves, World Language Department Chair, delivered the welcome, which was followed by the Introduction to the Honor Societies, Candle Ceremony and Honor Society Oaths. Inductees included:
Chinese – Ray Huang of Edison, CJ Stueck of Scotch Plains, Audrey Vu of Colonia and Edward Zhang of Scotch Plains
Latin – Sreeja Arumilli of Edison, Amaan Bhojani of Avenel, Sarah Hoffman of Cranford, Kelly Lawrence of Scotch Plains, Tiffany Le of South Plainfield, Aubrey Mackay of Plainfield, Dylan Maier of Rahway, Aananadi Murlidharan of Edison, and Mrunali Patel, Sanjna Patel and Benjamin Song of Edison
Spanish – Danielle Bacalhau of Colonia, Antonella Doglio of Carteret, Katherine Hernandez of Elizabeth, Matangi Melpakkam of Piscataway, Pooja Nandhyala of Edison and Stephanie Trejo of Perth Amboy
ALSO: Middle School students at The Wardlaw-Hartridge School produced Shakespeare plays last month. Two seventh-grade sections performed "Macbeth" on May 18, and the eighth-graders staged "A Midsummer Night's Dream" on May 19.
University of Scranton
Nicholas Fabiano of Bridgewater was inducted into Lambda Pi Eta honor society at the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univesity
Aidan Thomas Hughes of Westfield received bachelor's degrees in international studies and creative writing, magna cum laude from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University on May 12. Hughes also graduated from the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, a four-years senior military academy within the University.
Westfield High School
Seventy-two Westfield students earned a variety of awards and recognitions at all four levels of the National Latin Exam. Sophomore Stephanie Xiao earned a perfect score on the level 2 exam; the distinction of a perfect score was attained by only 813 students out of more than 135,000 who took the exam across the world. On March 16, a total of 97 students from Westfield High School took the National Latin Exam, which is given annually in all 50 states and a number of countries worldwide.
The following students received awards: Level 1 Gold summa cum laude: Emma Jackler, Jessica Lisanti; Silver maxima cum laude: Aidan Kilbourn, Corinne Herz, Sophia Powell, Grace Hutchinson, Leah Sherman, Lydia Nisita, Samuel Ertman, Colm Slevin, Alexandra Spiezio, Anastasia Fowler; Magna cum laude: Sarah Simon, Alexandra Sica, Abigail Frontero, Caroline Dwyer, Alexandra Percival, Christopher Giglio, Julie Dannevig; Cum laude: Brooks Baker, Madeline Ripper, Daniel Carminio, Jonathan Givelber, Alison Lisanti, Bryan Raber, Theresa Lizzo, Henry Shapiro, Daniel Singh, Lauren Oligino, Anni Liu, Alexander Joseph, Daniel Jones; Level 2 Gold summa cum laude with perfect score: Stephanie Xiao; Gold summa cum laude: Tomas Taaffe, Rebecca Dunaief, Emma Downer, Samantha Stravach, Christopher Rule, Jake Lerie; Silver maxima cum laude: Julia Salvato, Brianna Hatch, Emily Wistner, Jackson Price, Vaughan Price, Luke Mizus, Felix Baur, Steven Zucker, Rachel Bowman, Julianne Aronson, Samantha Colucci, Timothy Miller, Andrew Caminiti; Magna cum laude: Jack Sharkey, John Sandstedt, Matthew McIntyre, Wyatt Miller, Matthew Pindilli, Keven Fuller; Cum laude: Natalie Nolan, James McCutcheon; Level 3- Prose Magna cum laude: Lucy Earl, Jonathan Silva, Anna Glueck, Emma Escaldi, Nicholas Wojno-Oranski; Cum laude: Lindsey Sharlow, Sean Riccardi, Alex Kingsley, Shea Elliott; Level 4- Poetry Silver maxima cum laude: Natalia Zeller MacLean; Magna cum laude: Mark Fico.
ALSO: Abigail Connolly, 11th grader at Westfield High School, received this year’s Foxy Award for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress. Connolly was chosen by the judges for her role as the nurse in Westfield High School’s fall drama, "Romeo and Juliet." She also was honored at the Westfield Board of Education’s public meeting on May 23, during which time she and other state and regional performing arts winners attending Westfield Public Schools, received certificates of congratulations from Board President Gretchan Ohlig.
ALSO: Westfield High School announced that 11 more students each achieved the highest score this spring on either the SAT or ACT standardized tests widely used for college admission and placement criteria. Earning perfect SAT scores in Math are Michael Canabarro (11th grade) and Austin Chen (10th grade), followed by 11th graders who earned a top score on the ACT: Yenteen Hu (Reading), Ana Maria Kobori (English), and Jason Little (Math), Tim McAuliffe (Science), Morgan Miovski (Science), William Rackear (English), Jonathan Silva (English), Sarah Ward (Math and English), and Daniel Shenker (English).
Student and School news appears Fridays. Email:cnmetro@mycentraljersey.com