The Ewing Public Schools

February 2023 Schedule in Ewing Schools

Feb 1 EHS - Athletic Office: DI & DII Athletic Signing Event @ 3pm

EHS - Counseling Department Event: EHS Naviance Night @ 6:30pm

Feb 2 Antheil PTO Meeting @ 6:30pm

FMS - Winter Orchestra Concert @ 7pm

Feb 7 ESL Family Night @ 6pm - Lore School Cafeteria

Feb 9 EHS - Back to School Night - Second Semester @ 6:30pm

Feb 10 Antheil - PTO Panera Fundraiser (TCNJ) 4-8pm – flyer on website

Antheil - PTO Beary Special Someone Dance @ 6-8pm

Feb 11 Parkway - PTA Pancake Breakfast @ 9am-11pm

Feb 14 Happy Valentine’s Day

FMS - Parent Association Meeting @ 6:45pm

Antheil @ PTO King’s Pizzarama Fundraiser – flyer on website

Feb 16 Parkway - PTA Virtual Meeting @ 7pm

Feb 17 Random Acts of Kindness Day

Feb 20 SCHOOL CLOSED – Presidents’ Day

Feb 21 SCHOOL CLOSED – Staff Development Day

Feb 27 BOE Meeting @ 6pm (Public Session @ 7pm) - Parkway

Feb 27-

Mar 3 Antheil - PTO Book Fair

Feb 28 EHS - Afro Fest @ 6:30pm

Parkway's Annual Pancake Breakfast is BACK: February 11th from 9AM to 11AM at Parkway Elementary School. Tickets cost $7 per person and must be purchased in advance — no tickets will be sold at the door. For questions, please contact ParkwayPTA@ yahoo.com. We hope to see you there!

Calling all EHS Seniors!

The EPEF Scholarship applications are now available at the EHS Guidance Office. Please stop by and pick one up! Deadline is May 5th, 2023. Please visit us at www.epef.org for information on how to make a donation so we can continue our mission in supporting our students in the Ewing Public Schools.

2023 Ewing Township Board of Education

Mrs. Deborah A. Delutis, Mr. Michael S. Miller, President Vice President

Mr. Daniel L. Angebranndt Ms. Lisa A. McConnell

Dr. Channing C. Conway Mr. Anthony F. Messina

Mrs. Nicole NW Harris Mrs. Jennifer L. Miller

Ms. Sandra L. Herrington

Notice of Board of Education Meetings

The Ewing Township Board of Education has scheduled the following Board Meetings. All meetings are regular business meetings unless otherwise noted. The Board will meet at 6:00PM and at that time, there will be a brief opening and the Board will move into Closed Session for one hour and return to the public at 7:00PM.

DATES:

January 23, 2023 @ Antheil

February 27, 2023 @ Parkway

March 20, 2023 @ FMS

(Preliminary Budget Presentation/ Tentative Approval)

April 24, 2023 @ EHS

(Public Hearing on Budget/ Approval of Final Budget)

May 22, 2023 @ EHS

June 26, 2023 @ EHS

July 24, 2023 @ EHS

August 28, 2023 @ EHS

September 18, 2023 @ EHS

October 23, 2023 @ EHS

November 27, 2023 @ Lore

December 18, 2023 @ EHS

January 4, 2024 @ EHS

(Board Organization Meeting)

NOTE: There will be NO Closed Session unless otherwise specified

For questions or information, please contact the Superintendent's Office:

609-538-9800 ext. 1102 thullings@ewingboe.org www.ewing.k12.nj.us

Design and Layout by Daniella Crescente

GoodNews is an official publication of The Ewing Public Schools. ©2023 GoodNews its first board president.

The library board purchased the property that had housed the street’s namesake, the Trenton Academy, since 1782, and hired architect Spencer Roberts.

Roberts (1873-1958) was a Philadelphia-based architect who had attended Spring Garden Institute and worked for prominent architect Frank Miles Day.

The Trenton library building is an example of the popular Beaux-Arts design popular during the period that has also been dubbed the American Renaissance.

As “Public Art in New Jersey” author Thomas C. Folk notes, the style, “which dominated much of American artistic and intellectual life from the 1870s to the 1920s, existed as both a reality and a mental construct. Not specifically a style or a movement in the commonly accepted art historical sense of those terms, the American Renaissance was more a mood, or a spirit, or a state of mind.”

In addition to encompassing “many diverse idioms of painting, architecture, and sculpture,” the style also “had a broad base of support with many politicians, financiers, businessmen, academics, and men and women of the American middle class. As an idea or mental concept, the American Renaissance held both nationalistic and cosmopolitan ide- als and looked to the past and the future.”

The building also hits another historic note for what it is not. As a library history reports, “Contrary to popular belief, the new library was not a Carnegie Library.

Between 1883 and 1929, businessman Andrew Carnegie donated funds to construct over 2,500 libraries, but certain cities like Trenton and Newark felt that accepting this money would show that they were unable to provide for themselves.” * * *

Ewing Township was the home of the first dedicated library buildings in Mercer County. Previously, communities were served by bookmobile stations that were limited to about 1,000 books each.

The Ewing Township Branch opened on Sept. 15, 1958 in the Ewing Shopping Center on Parkway Avenue, said the Mercer County Library System website. It was typical at the time to locate libraries in shopping centers and malls, as many were springing up in the suburbs across the county.

The Ewing Branch moved to a new location on Scotch Road when a brand new building was constructed as the headquarters branch of the Mercer County Library System, opening on October 16, 1961. A second branch was added shortly after, with the Lawrence Branch opening in the Lawrence Shopping Center on Brunswick Pike on December 14, 1961. The Ewing Branch moved again in 1970, opening a new branch on July 25 in the Suburban Square Shopping Center.

Ewing hosted both a horse shoeing event and dog show in 1974. The branch also gave away prizes of baloney and soap as part of a 1974 Liar’s Contest.

The new Ewing Branch building on Scotch Road opened on Oct. 29, 1983, around the same time the Lawrence Headquarters branch opened on Route 1.

The Ewing Branch has the largest collection of large print books in the county system and offers free classes on using computers and eReaders. For more information on programs offered by the Ewing Branch, see the library’s February calendar of events on page 14.

1974 was also the year the system sponsored Saturday outdoor exploration trips, including cycling Washington Crossing State Park and hiking the newly opened Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park. Since the turn of the century, under the leadership of Ellen Brown, who took over as director upon Martin Winar’s retirement in 2001, the system has seen an expansion into the virtual world, with the system adding new formats such as eBooks, streaming video and music, online magazines, live tutoring databases, and a host of other services available in person or online.

The current Lawrence Library is located in a building that was formerly a massive trucking terminal, but its history goes back to 1960, when a group of township residents gathered more than 1,600 signatures on a petition demanding a branch library.

According to Lawrence historian Dennis Waters, the residents’ request was finally approved in 1961, and that year, the Lawrence branch opened in a small 1,600-square-foot space at the rear of Dunham’s department store in the newlyopened Lawrence Shopping Center. It was an awkward location because it was not accessible from the main parking lot in front.

For the next 20 years, the Lawrence branch remained at the shopping center location, though it moved several times and gradually increased in size.

As time wore on, Lawrence residents grew increasingly unhappy with the size and services offered by the library.

In 1978 the Lawrence Township Library Committee commissioned a report to study the feasibility of leaving the county system and establishing a township-operated municipal library, as

See LIBRARIES, Page 12

Hopewell Township had recently done. The report advised against leaving the county system, and the Library Committee accepted its recommendation.

LIBRARIES continued from Page 11 catalog in 1804 and that it was incorporated twice in 1806, first as the Hopewell Library Company, then as the Hopewell Columbian Library Company a week later. The name change was to indicate the library’s location in the Columbian section of the township, now Hopewell Borough.

However, the Mercer County Library System recognized that it needed a major upgrade, so during the period from 1979 to 1982 it began planning an expansion that would bring new library buildings to all of its member municipalities.

In particular, it planned a facility in Lawrence that would serve as the system’s headquarters and include a muchenlarged reference department. Financing was provided by the Mercer County Improvement Authority through a $10 million bond issue.

The site chosen for the Lawrence Headquarters Branch was 12 acres at the corner of Darrah Lane and Brunswick Pike.

The site contained an abandoned trucking terminal that was originally built in 1953 for Riss Brothers, at that time one of the largest trucking companies in the eastern United States. The property was subdivided, with Lawrence Township receiving the western section, where the Senior Center now stands.

The trucking terminal was very well constructed, so it was decided to renovate it rather than tear it down and start over. Renovation began in the spring of 1983 and on April 7 of the following year it opened.

At more than 40,000 square feet, the branch was five times the size of the branch in the shopping center that it replaced, although some of that space was used by the county system for its headquarters, which moved from Ewing.

In 1994 the MCIA borrowed $15 million to fund another upgrade of the library system, including a 17,000-square -foot expansion at the rear and the west end of the existing building, providing an expanded reference section, additional community meeting rooms, and new offices for the headquarters staff, whose former offices became the fiction department “downstairs.”

The Hopewell Public Library at 13 East Broad Street is housed in the red brick building that once upon a time had been the Hopewell National Bank.

While the current Hopewell library company was founded in 1914, there had been some sort of book or material lending system established as far back as 1802. According to a history compiled by the Hopewell Library, that was when Pennington resident Archilles Wilson ran a library that provided books for Hopewell residents.

While it is unclear what happened to that company, it is clear that other efforts continued to supply residents with books and information. That included the Mrs. M. A. Carter, Library and Fancy Goods company, operating in 1887 on the corner of East Broad Street and Seminary Avenue, and circulating and traveling libraries organized by the Grange.

Today’s Hopewell Public Library was established by members of the socially minded Roundabout Club and opened in a former harness shop on West Broad Street. A few years later it moved to the Fireman’s Hall. A public referendum turned it into a municipal and publicly funded library.

According its own documents, “The library was extraordinarily popular: As of October 1916, with a Borough population of 1,200, the library had 680 active patrons and owned more than 1,300 books, and had circulated 10,127 books over the past year. The library quickly outgrew its new space and moved to 28 East Broad Street in 1924 and shared this new space with the Hopewell Museum.”

In 1964 the library moved across the street to the former National Bank building.

Opened in 1890, it is a simple, solid, yet homey two-floor structure — nothing like the American Renaissance-inspired banks that look like Greek temples.

Here one gets the old-fashioned type of library experience of being greeted by librarians at a desk in front of a wall lined with volumes that chronicle the community.

Although there are sections that show that it was a bank — it has a vault, for example — the building’s small rooms make visiting the library feel like taking a step back in time. The New Jersey State Library in the capitol complex in Trenton has a long and fascinating history and a facility shaped by an important design movement.

The library began with a collection of documents used by legislators when New Jersey was an English colony and before Trenton became the state’s capital in 1790.

An actual library started in 1796 when the State of New Jersey assigned the house clerk with the responsibility of maintaining the documents, pamphlets, newspapers, and books used by both the senate and assembly.

The report indicates that a Hopewell Library Company had an organized See LIBRARIES, Page 14

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As the collection grew, so did the effort to maintain it, and a fulltime librarian was appointed in 1822.

By 1883 the library had more than 30,000 volumes and occupied the southern wing of the capitol building — designed originally by Philadelphiabased architect Jonathan Doane, whose colonial and federal design had American Renaissance-flavored modifications and expansions by John Notman (1845), Samuel Sloan (1871), and Lewis Broome, 1889.

The library moved in 1929 to a new art deco-influenced New Jersey State House Annex building, which also housed the State Museum.

The library got its own building when the State of New Jersey created the Capitol Complex during the post-war boom in late 1950s and early 1960s.

The building was designed by Frank Grad & Sons, a Newark-based company noted as one of the leaders in modernist government and corporate architecture.

The antithesis of American Renaissance or embellishments that connected to a particular nation or era, Grad’s approach was influenced by the international style’s emphasis on no-frills simplicity and clean lines — as demonstrated by the open spaces, windows, and sleek furniture.

While this modern style is no longer seen as modern, it — like all the buildings noted — offers both the opportunity to find a book as well as walk into history.

February adult programs at the Ewing Branch

Register for the below programs by calling at 609-882-3130 or emailing ewprogs@mcl.org. The Ewing Branch of the Mercer County Library is located at 61 Scotch Road, Ewing. 609-882-3148.

SATuRdAyS, FEBRuARy 4

Black History Month Movie Series. 2:30 p.m. A Soldier’s Story (PG, 1984) with Howard E. Rollins Jr., Adolph Caesar, and Art Evans.

SuNdAy, FEBRuARy 5

Sunday Movie Series. 2 p.m. Nope (2002, R). With Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Steven Yeun. The residents of a lonely gulch in inland California bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery. Runtime: 130 min.

MONdAy, FEBRuARy 6

Chess Club. 6 p.m. Also Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2:30 p.m. Join us for a game of chess. No experience necessary and all skill levels welcome. For ages 14+. A limited number of chess boards will be provided. Sponsored by the Friends of the Ewing Branch Library. Registration is required.

THuRSdAyS, FEBRuARy 9

Knitting Club. Also Feb. 23, 9:30 a.m. Bring a knitting, crochet or cross stitch project you are working on. A small amount of yarn and knitting needles will be available for those who need to borrow some. Suggested for participants, ages 16 and up. Hollowbrook Branch, 320 Hollowbrook Drive, Ewing. 609-883-5914.

SATuRdAy, FEBRuARy 11

Black History Month Movie Series. 2:30 p.m. Loving (PG-13, 2016) with Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, and Will Dalton.

SuNdAy, FEBRuARy 12

Sunday Movie Series. 2 p.m. The Banshees of Inisherin (2022, R), with Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Kerry Condon. Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them. Runtime: 114 min.

MONdAy, FEBRuARy 13

Adult Craft: Paper Heart Flowers. 2 p.m. Join us to make flowers out of paper hearts to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Registration is required.

Adult Craft: DIY Canvas Bags. 7 p.m. Use acrylic paints to decorate a canvas bag. All supplies and guidance will be provided. Suggested for participants, ages 16 and up. Registration is required. Hollowbrook Branch, 320 Hollowbrook Drive, Ewing. 609-883-5914.

SATuRdAy, FEBRuARy 18

Black History Month Movie Series. 2:30 p.m. A Raisin in the Sun (PG, 1961) with Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, and Ruby Dee.

SuNdAy, FEBRuARy 19

Sunday Movie Series. 2 p.m. Ticket to Paradise (2022, PG-13) with George Clooney, Sean Lynch, and Julia Roberts. A divorced couple teams up and travels to Bali to stop their daughter from making the same mistake they think they made 25 years ago. Runtime: 104 min.

WEdNESdAy, FEBRuARy 22

Non-Fiction Book Group: All That She Carried. 7 p.m. Join us to discuss All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles. Learn about the history and impact of Ashley’s sack, which begins in 1850s South Carolina, just before nine-year-old Ashley was sold, when her mother, Rose, gave her the sack with a few things as a token of her love. Decades later, Ashley’s granddaughter, Ruth, embroidered this history on the bag--including Rose’s message that “It be filled with my Love always.” Feel free to attend even if you have not read or finished the book.

SATuRdAy, FEBRuARy 25

Black History Month Movie Series. 2:30 p.m. Just Mercy (PG-13, 2019) with Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, and Brie Larson.

TuESdAy, FEBRuARy 28

Book discussion. 7 p.m. Join us to discuss The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.

February youth programs at the Ewing Branch

Register for the below programs by calling at 609-882-3130 or emailing ewprogs@mcl.org.

WEdNESdAy, FEBRuARy 1

Music and Movement. 11 a.m. Also Feb. 8, 15 & 22. Join Miss Susan for Music and Movement action rhymes program.

Special Groundhog Storytime. 2 p.m. Join Ms. Chetna for special groundhog storytime, rhymes, and craft, for ages 2-5, with adults.

THuRSdAy, FEBRuARy 2

Drop-In Groundhog Headband craft. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Stop by the Youth Services desk for a drop-in Ground hog Headband Craft.

Babytime. 10:30 a.m. Also Feb. 9, 16 & 23. Join Miss Chetna in rhymes and songs for children ages birth to 18 months.

Groundhog day STEM Activity. 4 p.m. Join us for a Groundhog STEM activity for ages 2-8, with adults.

FRIdAy, FEBRuARy 3

Preschool Storytime. 10:30 a.m. Also Feb. 10, 17 & 24. Learn songs and rhymes! Stories and take-home crafts! Suggested for children, ages 2-5.

Playdough Creation. 11 a.m. Also Feb. 9, 10, 16, 17, 23 & 24. Playdough creations based on storytime theme for children, ages 2-5, with adults.

MONdAy, FEBRuARy 6

STEM Activity: Hidden Message Valentine.

10 a.m. Ages 2-5 with adults. Each child will be given a white crayon and watercolor paints to make a secret Valentine’s message.

Painting Station. 10:30 a.m. Also Feb. 13 & 27. Indoor painting station for children ages 2 and up. Each group will be assigned a station with craft supplies!

TuESdAyS, FEBRuARy 7

Toddler Storytime. 10:30 a.m. Also Feb. 14, 21 & 28. Learn songs and rhymes! Stories and craft! Suggested for children, ages 5 and under.

SuNdAy, FEBRuARy 12

Drop-in Valentine Craft. Noon. Easy Valentine Craft and Sewing Activity for Kids!

Chess Club. 3 p.m. Also Feb. 19 & 26. Program for school-age kids ages 5-12.

MONdAy, FEBRuARy 13

STEM Activity: Sensory Valentine Painting.

10:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Ages 2-5. Stem activity for preschoolers.

TuESdAy, FEBRuARy 14

Special Program: Valentine Storytime.

11:15 p.m. Stories and craft! Suggested for children, ages 5 and under.

Black Lives Matter Painted Rocks. 4 p.m. Also Feb. 16. For school-age children, ages 6-14. Each child will be given paint and a rock. Use your rock to name an important person or an event that depicts AfricanAmericans. All rocks will be placed in our garden!

WEdNESdAy, FEBRuARy 15

Bird Feeder Ornaments. 2 p.m. For ages

3-10. Join Ms. Chetna for fruit loop heartshaped bird food for birds.

THuRSdAy FEBRuARy 16

Make a Motivational Wall Tapestry. 4 p.m. Ages 13 and up. Join Polly in making your own motivational wall tapestry to liven up your favorite room.

SuNdAy, FEBRuARy 19

Painted Rocks Craft. 2 p.m. For ages 8-14. Join Ms. Chetna for Black Lives Matter Painted Rocks Craft.

TuESdAy, FEBRuARy 21

Drop-In Craft: Mardi Grass Mask. 11 a.m. Join us to make Mardi Grass Mask. For all ages with adult supervision.

Messy Crafts. 2:10 p.m. Also Feb. 28. For children ages 2 and up. Join us for Messy crafts, with different projects each week. Please dress down for messy play.

From Garbage to Garden: Presented by Americorp Watershed Ambassadors. 4 p.m. Learn how you can turn everyday kitchen scraps, like egg shells and coffee grounds, into valuable soil that benefits your garden. Suggested for school-age children, ages 6-11.

WEdNESdAy, FEBRuARy 22

Piggie and Elephant Special Storytime. 2 p.m. Join us for a special storytime, rhymes, and craft about Piggie and Elephant.

MONdAy, FEBRuARy 27

STEM Marshmallow and Toothpick Structure. 11:15 p.m. Join us for STEM activities for making a toothpick and marshmallow structure.