Posted January 15, 2012

A Quadruple Win for MCJS Forensics!

                The Morris Catholic Junior School (MCJS) forensics team recently came home with not just one—but four—awards from the New Jersey Consortium of Middle Schools forensics competition!  The competition takes place annually with other local area public and private schools like Morris Plains Borough School, Kent Place School, Central Middle School, Newark Academy, Morristown-Beard Middle School, Ridgedale Middle School, and Oak Knoll School.  Team members compete in one of two areas.  The first is interpretive reading wherein participants prepare an interpretation of a 3 – 6 minute reading selection suitable for a public audience and appropriate for the junior high reader.  Poise and style are judged, as well as the reader’s enunciation and sincerity of purpose.  The second area is that of original oratory where students present, from memory, a 3 – 5 minute speech written entirely by the student on a topic of his/her choosing.

            This year, top scores from our interpretive reading team secured a team win in that category.  Additionally, two MCJS students won individual awards for interpretive reading, finishing in first and third place.  A second place trophy was also received by an MCJS seventh grader for her original oratory performance.  “I am so proud of the effort put forth by our entire team this year,” said team coordinator Nora Fischer.  “The children worked hard to prepare their selections and perfect their deliveries.  Their hard work paid off, four-fold!”

            At MCJS, the forensics team welcomes all students, starting at the fifth grade.  The team participates in at least three competitions a year and practices weekly during school hours.  “Having the opportunity to learn the techniques involved with public speaking at such an early age is truly invaluable,” explains Fischer.  In addition to the forensics competitions, MCJS students have the unique opportunity to read publicly at their daily morning-prayer sessions, at weekly mass and in-class for special projects.  By the time they leave for high school, the MCJS student has had numerous chances to perfect the art of public speaking—they’re the talk of the town!

Posted November 26, 2011 

From a Bat Cave to the Mayflower

St. Virgil Academy’s Montessori Approach has Young Imaginations Soaring

          They started out as just plain, ordinary boxes.  You know-- the kind that UPS delivers every day.  But, to the preschool students at St. Virgil Academy, they’re so much more…

          Beginning with this school year, St. Virgil Academy (SVA) in Morris Township has launched an innovative approach for their newly formed Early Childhood Center (ECC), which encompasses the three-year-old  pre-kindergarten program through first grade.  Based on the educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori, the “Montessori education” is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, respect for a child’s natural psychological development, as well as technological advancements in society.  “Our preschool teacher, Mrs. Patsy Dewey, is new to our school this year and has many years of experience with Montessori-based teaching,” explains Debbie Duane, the Academy’s principal.  “I feel very blessed to have her on our team, incorporating this philosophy with our youngest learners,” Duane adds.

          One of the key elements to a Montessori education is a “discovery” model, where students learn concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction.  Those boxes referred to earlier are an example of one such material.  Mrs. Dewey’s class has been hard at work learning from those once plain pieces of cardboard.  For instance, the children first went hands-on and discovered those boxes could become a cool bat cave.  The cave was decorated, crawled in and explored.  Next, just in time for fall, the boxes turned into a tree!  The children learned how the tree was a habitat for many of our outdoor friends.          They painted leaves in fall colors, did bark rubbings for the trunk, added squirrels, raccoons, and birds- - all from their own observations at home and at school.  The lesson even included a tree song, where the children sang about the roots, the trunk, the branches and the leaves.

          They did not stop there, however.  The children next discovered that the beautiful tree could become a bright, colorful canoe.  With seating for at least four and stocked with paddles and fishing poles, the children were soon off on an imaginary fishing trip.  “This kind of experiential learning is at the heart of our curriculum,” explains Duane.  “It combines science and social studies with art and music.  It also aligns with the science curriculum throughout the Academy, as our young learners start the year with an exploration of plant life followed by animals.”  The teachers, parents and children couldn’t be more pleased with the program.  An excited Debbie Duane adds, “our children are learning and discovering in ways that not even those of us who planned the program could have imagined.  It’s absolutely thrilling!”

          Next stop?  Thanksgiving, of course.  That colorful floating vessel will soon become the Mayflower, filled with Pilgrims ready to explore the New World.  Hopefully parents will do a lot of mail order shopping this holiday season—those boxes are going to be put to good use!

Posted November 25, 2011

Spaghetti and Sports, Perfect Together

          The sight of crisp lettuce being tossed, the aroma of succulent garlic, the sound of fresh bread being sliced—no, it’s not a trip to Little Italy, it’s the St. Virgil Academy/Morris Catholic Junior School (SVA/MCJS) pasta supper!  A beloved annual tradition, the pasta supper is great way for our wonderful community to socialize while raising funds to benefit the school’s sports program.  And, this year was no exception.  Families with children in our preschool through those in our eighth grade class gathered in the school cafeteria for some delicious salads, pastas, meatballs and tasty bread.  St. Virgil parishioners, as well as school alumni, also joined the crowd to take part in the festivities.  Of course, the meal wouldn’t be complete without an array of delicious homemade desserts and, we had those too!

          The evening proved to be a great success for the SVA/MCJS sports program.  The program includes organized, competitive sports such as cross country, basketball and softball, as well as clubs like soccer and track & field.  The school prides itself in getting students involved in these extra-curricular activities at a very young age and giving them a chance to exercise, stay fit, learn about teamwork and have fun outside the classroom.  As our Athletic Director John McNamara explains, “The St. Virgil sports experience is like no other around.  We have graduates going on to high school, and even college, coming back to us and saying their fondest memories are from their St. Virgil basketball team or their championship softball season.  We offer programs that have a lasting impact.”

          With Thanksgiving upon us, that clearly means the start of probably the most popular season in SVA/MCJS sports—basketball.  While the National Basketball League (NBA) is still hashing out salary caps and contracts, our fifth through eighth graders are hard at work honing their skills on the hardwood.  Games begin right after the holiday and will run through the “March Madness” playoffs and championship games.  “Last year our school was the only one in the league with three teams heading to the championships,” McNamara explains.  “We’re hoping to see that same kind of success this year.”

          For those looking for a little entertainment, we encourage you to stop by our gym and root for the home team!  The complete basketball schedule and standings can be found on the league website at: www.morriscountycatholicbasketball.com.  The SVA/MCJS Vikings loaded up on their carbs at the pasta supper and are ready to go—we hope you are too!

Posted November 8, 2011

MCJS TEACHER WINS GRANT

        Morris Catholic Junior School (MCJS) science teacher, Mrs. Anne Gualtieri, is the recipient of a $2,000 ING Unsung Heroes® grant.  ING Unsung Heroes® began in 1995 as a way for ING to demonstrate its commitment to the education community.  Grants are given to K – 12 educators utilizing new teaching methods and techniques that improve learning.  Each year, educators submit applications for an ING Unsung Heroes grant by describing projects they have initiated or would like to pursue. Each project is judged on its innovative method, creativity and ability to positively influence the students.  The winners are selected by Scholarship America, a national non-profit educational support and student aid service organization.

        “I wanted to submit something that would contribute to our commitment to the S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) initiative here at Morris Catholic Junior School,” explains Gualtieri.  “We had posted many current events about robots in the science classroom, so I developed a robotics project that would allow our students to connect their classroom experience to that of professionals,” she continues.  “These young scientists will work in pairs during lab periods to build robots from non-soldering kits.”  While Gualtieri makes it sound simple enough, the project is quite comprehensive.  It entails a sequence of steps and ample opportunity to document what has been learned.  Literacy and problem-solving skills are also exercised through this cross-curricular program.

        “The students will take digital photos, make measurements, calculate logical scale, graph their results and create a three-dimensional model as the framework for the project,” Gualtieri goes on to explain.  “After they are all done, the students will get to present their data and discoveries.  For me, that’s always the most exciting part,” exclaims Gualtieri, who knows that this holistic learning experience will capture the imagination of all her students.  Receiving this grant was simply the icing on the cake for the teacher who is a key architect in the design and implementation of S.T.E.M. at the co-educational junior school.  “We will now be able to make further investments in this wonderful initiative, which will payout in the form of curious and creative young minds,” states Gualtieri.  “Personally, I can’t think of a better reward!”

Posted November 8, 2011

FROM PLAY YARD TO FARM YARD

St. Virgil Academy Playground Sees Some Fall Festival Fun     

          Chicks, ducklings, goats, rabbits and even a pony recently paid a visit to the St. Virgil Academy (SVA) playground.  Their mission?  To help the Early Childhood Center (ECC) students have some real “down on the farm” fall fun!  The pre-kindergarten three-year-olds through first graders participated in a fall festival complete with farm animals provided by Farmer Swift from Swift Farm in Milford, NJ.  The children squealed with excitement when they were allowed to pet and hold the cuddly, furry visitors. The students were kept very busy finding just the right leaves to feed the goats and hopping into the saddle on the beautiful brown pony Farmer Swift brought along to give the children rides.

          And, the fun didn’t stop there.  The festival had several arts and crafts stations to round out the morning.  Everything from decorating cookies and picture frames to face painting and tattoos.  Parents were there to help with games like “pin the nose on the pumpkin” and musical chairs.  Of course, fall at St. Virgil Academy would not be complete without the annual tradition of painting pumpkins with the junior high school “buddies.”  The ECC students were joined by their eighth grade “buddies” to decorate the pumpkins everyone received.  By 11:00 AM, the playground was filled with bright, colorful pumpkins and well-loved, well-fed farm animals. 

          Fall fun in the playground?  Mission accomplished!

Posted October 17, 2011

Reverse engineering on a sunflower?  Handmade Rovers soaring across the classroom?  Model suspension bridges constructed on desktops?  Toxic Popcorn?

All this and more is happening in the Morris Catholic Junior School (MCJS) classrooms this year.  As one of the few schools selected by the Diocese of Paterson to participate in the S.T.E.M. program, the MCJS students are learning science, technology, engineering and math by applying all four subjects to real-life applications.  And, not just the students are learning—our science teacher, Mrs. Anne Gualtieri, and our middle school math instructor, Mr. Steve Galgon, spent several weeks this summer learning the ins and outs of S.T.E.M. at Steven’s Institute of Technology.  In addition to the professors at Steven’s, the faculty has been partnering with subject matter experts at Picatinny in Dover, New Jersey.  Picatinny is the Army's principal research, development and engineering facility.  “The ideas that are being generated through our collaboration with Steven’s and Picatinny are just incredible,” states Anne Gualtieri.  “I can very honestly say that I have never seen students so energized about learning as I am witnessing now with our S.T.E.M. program,” adds Gualtieri.

“The excitement doesn’t end in the science classroom,” adds math instructor Galgon.  “Science, math, engineering and technology are interwoven in every project we’ve worked on this year.”  Galgon goes on to explain, “I recently challenged my students to redesign our classroom.  Without even realizing it, they measured, did mathematic calculations, drew schematics and became junior engineers.  It was great to see it all come together.”

To top it all off, this summer’s impressive upgrade to the school’s technology platform has provided the students with state-of-the-art learning tools to assist in their S.T.E.M. endeavors.  Devices such as iPads, Apple Notebooks, Dell laptops, desktop personal computers and Smart Board technology are all being used in the learning process.  So, while other schools are making plans for such a robust program, the MCJS children are actually doing it—and loving every moment! 

Posted October 13, 2011

ACADEMY GIRL GIVES BACK

A fourth grade student at St. Virgil Academy (SVA) in Morris Plains knows the importance of helping others.  “I heard them speak in church two weeks ago and I was pretty interested,” she explains.  The speaker she is referring to was a representative from Food for the Poor, Inc.  This organization serves countless poverty-stricken families throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.  They not only feed the poor, they build houses for the homeless, provide water wells for parched villagers, supply medicine and medical equipment for the sick and elderly, raise orphans in a living Christian environment and support education for children.  The SVA student felt the speech from Food for the Poor was a call to action.  She quickly set a goal and reached it—within two days.  “I knew $90 would provide a goat to a family in need,” she recalls.  “So, I got the $40 I had saved from my piggy bank and then my father, my sister and my cousin each made a contribution.  We had enough for that goat.”

On her contribution envelope, the ten year- old asks the staff of Food for the Poor to pray for her mom and all in need.  I think it is very important to love and pray, she wrote.  Please, a starving family now has milk and that makes me very happy.  Thank you for helping the poor and giving this beautiful service.  Debbie Duane, Principal of St. Virgil Academy, couldn’t be more touched by the girl’s efforts.  “This is precisely the type values we try to instill in all our students,” says Duane.  “We do outreach projects as a school community very frequently.  It’s just nice to see a child embrace that behavior and take the initiative to do it on her own.  It’s what being a St. Virgil Academy student is all  about.”