The Ewing Public Schools

Adopt-a-Survivor Program BeginsatEwing HighSchool Teacher of the Year Recipients are Honored

Music’s in the air ... spring concert season here ... come enjoy the sounds ... so pleasant to the ears! Please join us for a wonderful season of music and art!

Nearlysixty years since Alliedforcesliberated the Naziconcentration camps,the now elderly survivors ofthe Holocaust are turning toa new generation topreservetheir testimony about their wartime experiences for futuregenerations.

To kick-off the spring concert season, this year for the first time, Mr. Peter Silipino, Fisher Middle School Stage Band director, and Mr. Jason Price, Ewing High School Stage Band director, collaborated to bring an extra concert to the Ewing Public Schools concert schedule in April, to honor Jazz Appreciation Month. The JAZZ THROUGH THE DECADES concert was held on April 18th, and the bands performed to a “packed house.” Toes were tapping and fingers were snapping!

Holocaust survivors are steadilydwindling in number. Manyhavemadeittheir mission toeducate the world thatanti-Semitism and racismeasilylead tomurder, and tospeak about the horrors theyand their familiessuffered. Withthe passing oftime, ithas becomeurgenttofind a new generationtocontinue the survivors’mission and telltheir stories after the survivors can nolongerdoso.

Both bands selected repertoire to represent the evolution of jazz in America from the New Orleans sound of the 1910s through the sounds of rock-inspired jazz fusion of the 1970s. The music performed was by jazz legends like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Cannonball Adderly.

OnApril 12, the Adopt-a-Survivor(AAS) program was introducedtothe Trenton areaatEwing HighSchool. Six Holocaust survivors wereadopted bytwelveEwing Highsophomores. The adopted survivors—Moshe Gimlan, VeraGoodkin,Marion Lewin,RuthLubitz, Charles Rojer and JackZaifman— wereoriginallyfromGermany, Czechoslovakia, Polandand Belgium.

As we continue our musical journey this spring, the EHS Spring Instrumental Music Concert was held on April 25th. EHS Concert Band Director, Jason Price, selected a theme for his spring concert program focused around the theme of "Earth". Each piece was inspired by musical depictions of a different geographical feature found on Earth: mountains, deserts, forests, and oceans. While Mrs. Colleen Trast, EHS Orchestra Director, selected a combination of newer and classical pieces performed by both the orchestra and the combined Symphony orchestra.

The AAS program pairs a survivorwithone or morestudents. The studentsembarkona joint journey withthe survivorthrough discussions about life before, duringand after the Holocaust.Participating studentswillbeabletorepresent the survivorand tellthe survivor’sstory withaccuracyand feeling in the years tocome. Inaddition, eachstudent makes a commitmenttotellthe survivor’sstory ina public venue inthe year2045, a hundred years after the liberationofAuschwitz.

Mr. Alex Minter, EHS vocal teacher, extraordinaire, has had an extremely successful year. As Mr. Brock Mislan, Supervisor of Humanities jokingly stated, “Mr. Minter needs his own assistant just to handle his calendar for requests for community performances and special events!”

The twelvestudent adoptersare DaveAngebranndt, Tyler Barnes, Annie Cook, Liz Dunham, Emily Everett, CurtisFornarotto, Vildana Hajric, Devon Jones, Jen Meade,Billy O’Callaghan,NikytaSharmaand MelysaWilson.

One of the highlights for Mr. Minter this year was he was thrilled to share that out of nine students who auditioned for the Central Jersey Music Educators Association (CJMEA) Honors Choir, eight students were selected. Ewing High School also had the best scoring singer out of 381 students who auditioned and three EHS students were each ranked in the top 10 for their voice parts!

Ewing Public Schools

2023 Spring Concert and Art Show Schedule

Fisher Middle School Vocal Concert

Thursday, May 18th @ 7:00PM

Parkway 4th & 5th Grade Vocal, Band & Orchestra Concert

Tuesday, May 23rd @ 6:30PM

Ewing High School Art Show

Wednesday, May 24th @ 6:00–8:00PM

Featuring 100 Student Artworks!

Ewing High School Spring Vocal Concert

Wednesday, May 24th @ 6:30PM

EHS Auditorium

6:30PM - Handbell Choir & Mastersingers

7:00PM - Intermission: Visit the Art Show the EHS Spring Vocal Concert featuring the EHS Handbell Choir, Mastersingers, Concert Choir and Bella Voce. This night not only features our talented EHS vocal students but also features EHS’ creative and outstanding artists! You are welcome to stroll through the Art Show in the Senior cafeteria where over 100 pieces of student artwork will be featured.

Mrs. Jennifer Dinan, Fisher Middle School vocal music teacher announced, “At FMS, the choir will be performing repertoire that touches on the concepts of rebirth, new life, and the changing of seasons. We have implemented the performance of an annual 8th grade "farewell" song for those choristers who are moving on to participate in the choirs at EHS. It is our hope that we may be able to perform this song at their 8th grade promotion ceremony too.”

Ewing High Students Attend Gorbachev Presentation

7:30PM - Concert Choir & Bella Voce

Fisher Middle School Band Concert

Whitney Lewis, EHS Freshman

Over at Antheil Elementary School, Instrumental Music Teacher, Melanie Mayerson invited guest artists from the New Jersey Symphony to do a clinic with her advanced 5th grade band and orchestra musicians on April 13th to inspire her students to reach new heights. She also stated that 12 5th grade students were nominated to participate in the CJMEA Honors Band/Orchestra and nine students were accepted. The CJMEA concert was held on Saturday, April 22nd, and was made up of outstanding instrumental music students nominated by their band and orchestra teachers in Central Jersey.

If you missed the Ewing High School Ring & Sing on April 26th, you will have another opportunity to be impressed on Wednesday, May 24th at

Thursday, May 25th @ 7:00PM

Fisher Middle School Orchestra Concert

Wednesday, May 31st @ 7:00PM

Antheil 4th Grade Vocal, Band & Orchestra Concert

Thursday, June 1st @ 7:00PM

On April 18, 2005 Ms. Chiavuzzo, Mrs. Walker and 30 Ewing High School freshmen joined several Mercer County high school and college students, and politicians to hear a presentation given by Mikhail Gorbachev at the Sovereign Bank Arena. Gorbachev was the last communist leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. During his term he instituted various policies including his political policy of Glasnost and economic policy of Perestroika. His policies reopened churches, released political prisoners, and lifted bans on previously censored books.

Ms. Mayerson shared her students are looking forward to their spring concerts in June. Some of the musical pieces selected for the concerts are Bohemian Stomp-Sandra Dackow, Gentle WindsTimothy Loest, Popcorn-Katheryn Griesinger and Danza Africana-Victor Lopez, to name a few.

Lore 4th & 5th Grade Vocal Music Concert

Monday, June 5th @ 7:00PM

The 20th anniversary of Perestroika was one of the essential themes of Gorbachev’s presentation. The policy’smain goal was to make the Soviet economic system more efficient. Perestroika involved the transfer of control from the government to the business owners. This policy continued on page A2 continued on page A2

Ewing High School Auditorium

Antheil 5th Grade Vocal, Band & Orchestra Concert

Monday, June 12th @ 7:00PM

Lore 4th & 5th Grade Band & Orchestra Concert

Tuesday, June 13th @ 7:00PM

Excellent Parkway vocal music teacher, Ms. Laura Hall, and instrumental music teacher, Ms. Marissa Wright are currently preparing Parkway´s PAW-sitive Panthers for performance. Parkway music makers are excited to share their musical talents with their family and friends. The choirs invite you to travel with them to Australia, Nigeria, France and back to the beauty of West Virginia. The 5th grade band and orchestra will take you on an epic journey through the art of storytelling! Selections include Fable, Dragonslayer, Enchantment, Mythos and Ancient Hunters.

Credit Union of New Jersey Visits Parkway Second Grade

The Credit Union of New Jersey visited Parkway School’s second grade classrooms to present a lesson on economics to support the second grade social studies curriculum. The Credit Union of New Jersey presenters taught students the important concept of “needs versus wants” through various interactive activities. Students listened intently to two podcasts starring beloved cartoon characters; Cash, Dr. Spendit and Violet and had the opportunity to enter a coloring contest sponsored by the credit union. Students also played a “Needs versus Wants” game, which was very enlightening for students. Who would have thought that buying a snack or ice cream in the cafeteria at lunch was a “want” and not a need?

Every second grade student was thrilled to bring home an awesome swag bag filled with goodies which included a piggy bank and a calculator. Thank you to the Credit Union of New Jersey for visiting and helping our students learn more about economics in such a fun and engaging way! Always remember every penny counts!

Lore Hosts First Multicultural Literacy Night

Lore School hosted the first Multicultural Literacy Night, on Tuesday, April 18th. Mrs. Christine Meekins, Dean of Students and Mrs. Kimberly Ritter-Mack, kindergarten teacher, are members of the NJEA Members-of-Color Network and were excited to bring this first event to Lore School. This year's event provided the opportunity for shared reading and read-alouds for students and families, where literature from across cultures were shared with guests. Students were given time to peruse and select books from across cultures to bring home for their home libraries as well.

On the Exit Survey, one parent truly captured the purpose of the evening. "This was such a great event! The turnout was really good, too. I'm glad that you are providing 'windows and mirrors' to our young learners (and their grown-ups) and celebrating diversity."

The NJEA Members-of-Color Network (MOC) is an inten-

Parkway Students Kamryn Hunt and Samuel Hofmann Took 1st and 2nd Place in Mercer County’s New Jersey Conservation Poster Contest

This spring, several members of Parkway's Environmental STEM Club participated in Mercer County's New Jersey Conservation Poster Contest. We are pleased to announce that two of our members won! Samuel Hofmann, a third-grade student at Parkway, won 2nd place in the 2nd3rd grade category and Kamryn Hunt, a second-grade student at Parkway, won 1st place! Parkway's STEM Club leaders are very proud of all their members for participating and congratulate Sam and Kamryn for their winning entries! Way to go Parkway!

Courtyard Restoration at Antheil School

tional organizing effort to connect and engage with an underrepresented affinity group within our association.

Our goal is to elevate the advocacy, engagement, and ownership that all members have in their union. Through targeted conversations and continual advocacy and educational opportunities, we believe we will grow a stronger association reflecting our rich diversity of membership.

On April 17th, Ewing High School Drama competed at the Bucks County Playhouse's Student Theatre Festival. Actors and crew attended workshops in the morning and in the afternoon competed with 20 minutes of Judas, A Murder Mystery. Students from high schools all over New Jersey and Pennsylvania competed, Ewing students, Emilia Carbajal and Maddie Marsola co-wrote Judas. The show was directed by Emilia Carbajal, with Maureen Lepold as the technical director. The cast and crew won the Innovation in Collaboration Award after the adjudication!

During the first few days of spring break, many individuals came together to restore the Garden Courtyard at Antheil School. It had fallen into a state of disrepair and became less functional for our students. Through a partnership with staff from the Antheil School, the PTO, and community volunteers from Amazon and the Boys and Girls Club, eight raised beds were rebuilt and the pond area was revitalized. Roe Bonomo, Ewing Schools BCBA, and Lisa DiMemmo of the PTO spear headed this exciting project. None of this would have been possible without the fundraising efforts of the PTO and a very generous donation from the Rocha family. Also, Amazon donated several vegetable plants and seeds for our students to plant. Happy gardening to all at Antheil School!

ASYSST’s Shakita Johnson Awarded 2023 NJAMHAA Leading Edge Direct Care Provider Award

Ewing High School’s ASYSST program would like to announce to the EHS community that our very own Shakita Johnson, has been selected to be awarded the 2023 New Jersey Association of Mental Health & Addiction Agencies, Inc. (NJAMHAA) Leading Edge Direct Care Provider Award. Please help us congratulate Shakita Johnson for this recognition of her service, courage, and compassion within Ewing High School's ASYSST and Mercer Council!

Mercer Council, Executive Director, Margarita Leahy and EHS ASYSST, Program Director, Dayron Proctor shared, “We are so happy and equally blessed to have Shakita on our team. Shakita has a long history of reliably serving the students at EHS with compassion, creativity, and care. We are excited that she is getting the recognition she so deserves!” The award ceremony reception was held on Sunday, April 25th, 2023.

Ehs Senior Basketball Player Receives Jim Davis Scholarship

Senior Spotlight: Meet Matthew Munroe

Columbia University Bound!

It is May of senior year, time goes by quickly. What are you most looking forward to these last two months at Ewing High School? With the end of my senior year fast approaching, I look forward to finishing out my classes, performing in my last high school concerts, and prom.

What do you want people to know about Ewing High School that they might not know? Ewing High School is a really fun, social, and diverse school with many great educational and social opportunities. Being a smaller school, the high school is a close-knit community where, at the end of four years, you could leave knowing practically everyone. It’s a place that supports its students towards their endeavors, that cultivates inspiration and thought, and is an experience all to itself.

What was or is your favorite class at Ewing High School and why? The Concert/Marching band was my favorite class at Ewing High School not just because of the great opportunities that it offered for me both musically and socially, but also because of the love, passion, and joy that is found there. For me, there is nothing like a high school band, from the grind of working towards a concert to the conversations made between friends. It’s a family of great people all working towards a common goal and having fun while doing it. Something I love.

You are participating in the Senior Experience. Can you share what you are doing? Having this opportunity to not only get a job, but be a part of a work study program like Senior Experience is amazing. Currently, I am working my first ever job at Marazzo’s Market as a baker, and enjoying every bit of it. From having great coworkers to learning how to make pastries, especially banana pudding, I’ve loved work. Leaving school early and being paid for the work I do is the best and definitely something I recommend to all seniors in the future.

What activities do you participate in outside of school? Outside of school, I am involved in my church youth group, I work, and I am also an honoree for the 40th Annual Gentlemen’s Ball this year. What awards or acknowledgements have you received in school or outside of school? Peer Leadership and Student of the Month

What accomplishments are you most proud of? I am proud of being selected Student of the Month, getting my first job, getting accepted into Columbia University.

What are your plans after you graduate from Ewing High School? After I graduate, I plan to attend Columbia University, studying biological sciences on the pre-med track to becoming an orthopedic surgeon. What is your favorite quote or book? “It doesn’t get easier, you just get stronger” – Greg Lemond

What do you want people to remember about you after you graduate from high school? I hope people remember my kindness and genuine love for them. I want people to remember my manners and my character. Finally, to remember all the fun we had and all that has come and is yet to come in my and their lives.

EHS Senior Basketball Player, Grady Griffin, received the Jim Davis Scholarship at the Mercer County Basketball Hall of Fame Ceremony on Sunday, April 16th, 2023! Congratulations!

Confidence, hard work and a positive demeanor have been what has made Griffin the player and person he has become.

“I am very grateful to be receiving this scholarship,’’ said Griffin. “I have always strived to be a team player. That in itself, sometimes puts me in the background. So, to be recognized for my efforts throughout this season makes me feel appreciated and I am very thankful.’’