We hope you all had wonderful holidays and wish you the happiest and healthiest 2019!
As we move into 2019, we want to pause to note some of the highlights of 2018!
Conwell kids Won top honors At National Performing arts festival
The Conwell Kidz, a musical theater group from PS #3, under the direction of Nicole Oliver and assisted by Alexandra Montanez, and choreographed by Emily Funicello, continue to charm audiences in Jersey City and around the nation. In 2018 they Orlando, Florida to compete against groups from all over the country and even a team from South Korea at the National Performing Arts Festival. The Conwell Kidz performed an original 20-minute rendition from the Little Mermaid, Jr. and took home the Showcase Award, the highest honor possible. They were also selected to perform on stage at Disney World.
JCArts students won Scholastic Gold Medals
The JCArts program continued its tradition of winning regional and national recognition. In 2018 JCArts students won over 60 awards in the Scholastic Arts competition, with 8 students qualifying for National competition and 3 of them winning gold!
PS 33 profiled as a success story by Renaissance Learning
PS #33 is recognized for its effective use of the MyOn Reading Library, which principal and staff credit with helping them close the achievement gap, and to outperform the state in literacy! See the whole item at Renaissance Learning.
Project reservoir continues to win National acclaim
In 2018, Project Reservoir, a program at PS #28 that engages students in original research aimed at protecting reservoirs and our environment, continued its tradition of award winning research. Two teams of students, the Styro-Terminators and the Plastic Elastics won top honors at the Lexus-Eco Grand Challenge, winning thousands of dollars in prizes and helping to protect the environment. Keeping the winning tradition going, we just learned that Snail Samurai, another Project Reservoir team, has won its division in this year's Lexus Eco Challenge and will compete in the Grand Challenge in the spring. Project Reservoir teams have also been successful in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition. This year, team Zancudo Attack was a state finalist in that competition. Way to go PS #28 Challengers!
McNair has an amazing 2018
McNair Academic HS has always made JCPS proud, but 2018 was a standout year for this stand out school. Not only was the school ranked #1 in New Jersey by the NJDOE and featured in NJMonthly, it was also recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School. And while its students were racking up academic honors and college acceptances, they also had some fun. For example, The Today Show featured the McNair's class of 2018 enjoying an amazing Promposal on national television.
STudents raised their voices as part of the national movement for sane gun policy
Students at all of Jersey City’s High Schools joined millions of young people across the nation in the National School Walkout on March 14 to protest Congress’ refusal to take action on the gun violence epidemic plaguing our schools, neighborhoods and nation. Students walked out of their schools at 9:45 and observed 17 minutes of thoughtful activities to honor the 17 victims of the mass shooting in Parkland Florida, as well as to advocate for an end to gun violence. Students also organized the March for Our Lives in Jersey City, showing us their amazing capacity to lead.
Ten students, with at least one representative from each district high school, took the trip of a lifetime during their Spring Break! They spent the week in China learning about its culture and society. Though it was Spring Break and the program was called the 2018 Summer Camp, this was not a typical vacation. Students spent their days visiting some of the great sites of China as well as schools meeting with students and educators. While the students learned about China, the Chinese learned about them as well fostering a real cultural exchange. The Confucius Society at New Jersey City University sponsored the trip, arranged the itinerary, provided guides and ensured a rich learning experience. This was the first trip of its kind for district students but we hope to continue providing such opportunities in the years ahead.
On October 25, 2018, the Jersey City Public Schools were returned to Local Control. 30 years ago, Jersey City was the first district in New Jersey to be taken over by the state for low performance and mismanagement. State control meant that final decisions over fiscal matters, personnel, operations, instruction and governance were not made by the local school board, but by a State appointed Superintendent. Over the last ten years, aspects of local control have been returned to the district, with an elected school board selecting Dr. Lyles as the district's Superintendent in 2012. As the district made progress in each of these areas, the Board was given control over different aspects of District management bit by bit. With close to 80% of our students graduating in 4 years, gains on PARCC, increases in Advanced Placement courses and innovative programs across our schools, the District regained control of Instruction and Programs, the last step to regaining full local control. Members of the Board and Dr. Lyles acknowledged the instrumental role of the teachers, staff, administrators and parents who worked together to make this achievement possible.
This holiday season PATH riders are enjoying warm wishes from beautiful posters designed by three students in our schools. Every year PATH holds a poster contest inviting students to design the holiday posters that will hang in PATH trains and stations. This year they received over 500 entries from which they selected one winner in each of three categories: Grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8 and from these selected a Grand Prize winner. This year, all three winners hail from Jersey City Public Schools--with PS 25 5th grader Kholey Lam taking the Grand Prize. The winners pictured here are, from left to right, Nathalia Acosta of PS 27 (K-2 winner), Natalie Spiska, from PS 37 (6-8 winner) and Khloey Lam, (3-5 and Grand prize winner). Khloey's winning poster is behind them. The students were honored at a ceremony earlier this month and in addition to the unveiling of their posters, they each received
Upcoming events
UPCOMING EVENTS
January 7-11-- Hello/Hola High School Week, High Schools are hosting open houses for prospective students and families (info above)
January 21-- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, District closed
January 29--JCBOE Board Caucus, 346 CLaremont room 1R, 6 PM
January 31--JCBOE Board Meeting, PS #26, 164 Laidlaw Ave, 6 PM
January 31--Professional Development for Teachers, half day session for students
Visit our website: www.jcboe.org
Credits:
Created with images by Leonard von Bibra - "2017 - here we go!" • Vijayanarasimha - "rear view mirror rear view" • ParentRap - "statue of liberty turmoil political"