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inside this issue: Larwence Township Public School Back-to-School Bulletin

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SEPTEMBER 2020 FREE

Schools to start remote

Deadline latest hurdle to Census accuracy

District commits to provide technology, childcare to those who need it

By MICHele AlPeRIn

As we approach the finish line for the 2020 Census, enumerators in New Jersey are facing serious obstacles to achieving a fair and complete count. A shortened deadline, fewer enumerators (formerly known as census takers) than planned due to the pandemic and fears of completing the census—particularly in the Latino community—sparked by actions and words of the Trump administration, are just a few of the hurdles in the way of an accurate count. The U.S. Census, completed every 10 years, “is designed to count every resident,” to determine apportionment of seats in U.S. House of Representatives and to distribute hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds to local communities, according to census.gov. “There’s a concern from many, especially in the immigrant population, about privacy and security, especially when our current administration had, in many of our minds, been undermining the process: first, by trying to include the citizenship question, and lately by shortening the deadline,” says Princeton councilwoman Leticia Fraga, who is handling census activities in the town. The Trump administration, Fraga continues, is “also assertSee CENSUS, Page 6

By RoB AnTHeS

Lawrence High School junior Talia Schenck stands with a sculpture on the campus of Cornell University, where Schenck—one of the best players in the state—has committed to continue her academic and athletic career. She has set school scoring records each of her first two seasons at LHS.

On to Ithaca LHS ﬁeld hockey’s Talia Schenck has two years left to leave her legacy By RoB AnTHeS

Talia Schenck had always figured to be a popular person among college field hockey coaches. A rising junior at Lawrence High School, Schenck set school single season and career scoring records as a freshman and a sophomore. She ranks as one of the 50 best

players in her class nationwide. In 2019, she finished 15th in the nation in goals scored. She is a member of the national team’s U16 Futures program. She has won Mercer County player of the year, along with every other individual honor at the local level. Coming into the final half of her high school career, Schenck surely expected to receive some attention from college coaches wanting her to continue her athletic and academic career at their schools. But what happened on June 15 even took Schenck by surprise. The NCAA—the govern-

ing body for most college athletics programs—-imposes restrictions for when and how its coaches can recruit high school students. In 2020, for the first time, coaches could not contact potential recruits until after June 15 of the student’s sophomore year. For Schenck, that was June 15 of this year, and not even a minute had expired before the first email arrived. Ultimately, 30 schools contacted Schenck, a remarkable number especially when considering only 78 colleges have Division I field hockey teams. See SCHENCK, Page 14

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Lawrence Township Public Schools students will begin the school year fully remote, after the township Board of Education approved the district’s reopening plan Aug. 12. The district broke reopening into five phases, numbered zero through five. LTPS will begin the 202021 academic year Sept. 8 in Phase One, an entirely remote instructional approach. Students will follow a set class schedule remotely, while teachers will provide virtual instruction to their assigned homerooms and courses following a similar schedule. School buildings will be open for staff, but teachers are not required to use the school or their classrooms to provide instruction. The district also said childcare with access to instruction will be offered via learning centers within school buildings. The Capital Area YMCA will provide the childcare, which students may attend daily from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. LTPS was the first school district in Mercer County to announce a switch to allremote. In its “Restart and Reopening Plan,” the district justified the decision by saying that the Department of See SCHOOLS, Page 13

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A garden that we tend together ROB ANTHES FROM THE EDiTOR

Hello, Lawrence! Although my face is new to this space, it isn’t new to some of you. For me, Lawrence Township is home— it’s a place where people I call family and friends live, where I take my daily walks around the block, where in recent weeks my neighbor has brought me brown bags full of delicious tomatoes fresh from his garden. I don’t think my neighbor knows this, but a garden-fresh tomato is one of my favorite things. It’s actually one of the first things my in-laws—serious gardeners—learned about me, and they’ve dutifully shared a portion of their harvest with my wife and

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me ever since. We were swimming in tomatoes for much of August—a very nice problem to have. My in-laws’ garden is the largest one I’ve seen, a plot of land that could feed half of Lawrence with produce of all kinds—lettuce, beans, peas, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, raspberries. I’m sure I’m missing something, but the point is that it’s big. The garden is a labor of love for my in-laws, and I’ve long enjoyed watching how everything works together. I’ve seen how the garden needs a variety of plants to succeed, and even the seemingly unpleasant stuff—like bees and rain and manure—has a important role to play in ensuring its vitality. The thought came to me standing there one day that a community like ours is a lot like my in-laws’s garden. We have a wonderful diversity that is vital

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to our community’s success, even if we aren’t immune from having to deal with a pile of manure from time to time. The key is to not turn our noses up at the manure, but instead to use it to grow. And, so if Lawrence Township is our shared garden, then I am only one plant, with one vantage point. I can’t capture the essence of our entire garden alone, and I can’t do this job without all of you. Your experiences here are undoubtedly different from mine, and I want to hear from the community to ensure that every Lawrence resident sees themselves reﬂected in this newspaper and the stories it covers. I don’t think this is a controversial conviction, but the idea reaffirmed itself after I recently finished author Eula Biss’s fascinating 2014 book, “On Immunity: An Inoculation.” At the book’s conclusion, Biss compares human bodies to gardens seeking balance between the good and bad inside of us. Achieving balance seems like a personal effort, but it isn’t.

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we are a newsroom of your neighbors. The Lawrence Gazette is for local people, by local people. As part of the community, the Gazette does more than just report the news—it connects businesses with their customers, organizations with their members and neighbors with one another. As such, our staff sets out to make our town a closer place by giving readers a reliable source to turn to when they want to know what’s going on in their neighborhood. EDITOR Rob Anthes (Ext. 124) CONTRIBUTING WRITER Michele Alperin CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST Kevin Nerwinski ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Mark Nebbia (Ext. 115)

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Contact editor ROB ANTHES: ranthes@ communitynews.org, (609) 396-1511, ext. 124, facebook.com/RobAnthes, twitter.com/ RobAnthes.

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We do not exist in a vacuum, but rather are part of larger society, a community—gardens within a garden. This larger garden has an outsized effect on who we are and how happy and healthy we are. “However we choose to think of the social body, we are each other’s environment,” Biss wrote. “Immunity is a shared space—a garden we tend together.” Biss’s point expands beyond immunity and illness, though. What you do affects me, what I do affects you. No action exists on its own. Some might call this “empathy,” others “courtesy,” but however you look at it, it’s clear that our personal gardens ﬂourish when we ensure our community gets the collective care it deserves. With this in mind, I look forward to tending this garden with you.

CO-PUBLISHER Jamie Griswold

CO-PUBLISHER Tom Valeri

MANAGING EDITOR, COMMUNITY DIVISION Rob Anthes

PRODUCTION MANAGER Stacey Micallef

MANAGING EDITOR, METRO DIVISION Sara Hastings ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Thomas Fritts

DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL INITIATIVES Joe Emanski

Community News Service 15 Princess Road, Suite K Lawrence, NJ 08648 Phone: (609) 396-1511 News: news@communitynews.org Events: events@communitynews.org Sports: sports@communitynews.org Letters: ranthes@communitynews.org Website: lawrencegazette.com Facebook: facebook.com/lawrencegazette Twitter: twitter.com/mercerspace 15,000 copies of the Lawrence Gazette are mailed or bulk-distributed to the residences and businesses of Lawrence 12 times a year.

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Around town

FAMILY DENTISTRY • IMPLANTS • ORTHODONTICS

Scouts receive Silver Award

Alex Murphy, Natasha Kuliecza, Eldridge Park Elementary School teacher Lisa Adams, Lila Siano and Coco Lutolf stand at the start of a new sensory path at Eldridge Park Elementary School in March 2020. Kuliecza, Lutolf, Murphy and Siano are all students at Lawrence Middle School and members of Girl Scout Troop 70642 in Lawrence. They received the Girl Scout Silver Award—the highest award offered to cadet level Girl Scouts—earlier in 2020 for building a sensory path at EPES. They picked the project because some of the girls had siblings with learning disorders, and felt it was important to give students with learning disorders a “brain break.”

Court grants townships’ motion to join Trenton Water Works lawsuit Judge Robert Lougy granted a motion by three suburban municipalities served by Trenton Water Works to join a lawsuit against the water utility. Ewing, Hamilton and Lawrence townships learned Aug. 14 that their request to become parties to a state suit against the City of Trenton and Trenton Water Works had been accepted by the court. “This means that we will be able to fully participate in the case, advocate on behalf of our resident customers of TWW, and to be involved in any settlement discussions which may take place,” Lawrence Township manager Kevin Nerwinski wrote on Facebook. “Obviously, this is a good thing for us.” The towns filed a motion to intervene in Mercer Superior Court July 8, allegeding that for years Trenton has moved money paid by suburban ratepayers away from the water utility into other areas of the city budget— with suburban residents essentially subsidizing the Trenton tax base. TWW serves 225,000 people in Trenton, Ewing and parts of Hamilton, Hopewell Township and Lawrence.

The four suburban municipalities do not own any part of the water system. The governments of Ewing, Hamilton and Lawrence demanded in their motion that the City of Trenton no longer control the water utility, proposing that Trenton either sell all of its water infrastructure to a private entity, submit to oversight by the state Board of Public Utilities or provide the four suburbs ownership and proportional control over TWW. “The right to clean water is a human and constitutional right,” Hamilton Township director of law Elissa Grodd Schragger wrote in a July 8 letter to Lougy. “This is nonnegotiable. It is also clear that Trenton and TWW have repeatedly and egregiously missed benchmarks in fulfilling their obligation to provide safe and clean drinking water for the customers of TWW.” The City of Trenton had disputed the claims, and pointed to efforts undertaken by Mayor Reed Gusciora’s administration, such as reducing the utility’s vacancy rate to 5%, launching a program to replace lead service lines in the system, making repairs and improvements at TWW’s water filtration plant and embarking on a $405-million, six-year capital improvement plan. But the administration and the city council have been at loggerheads See AROUND TOWN, Page 4

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AROUND TOWN continued from Page 3 regarding spending at TWW for months now, and it was council’s decision to reject $83 million in improvement projects at TWW in May that spurred the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Attorney General’s Office to file suit against TWW and the City of Trenton June 15. DEP, in a statement announcing the suit, cited “a pattern of inaction” in city government. –Rob Anthes

Boy Scouts bag lunches for TASK

Lawrence Police help break up organized ATM scheme Law enforcement agencies across Mercer County worked together to arrest and charge 58 people with conspiracy to commit theft by deception in an organized scheme that used prepaid debit cards to steal from Santander Bank ATMs across the county. Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri announced the Scouts from Boy Scout Troop 27 participated in a service project to create arrests Aug. 19. bag lunches. The lunches were prepared in their homes and then brought Police said similar incidents were to St. Ann’s Church June 14, 2020 for delivery to TASK (Trenton Area Soup reported in multiple other jurisdic- Kitchen). The troop donated 84 lunches. Pictured are Sean Geherty, assistant tions throughout the state, and the scoutmaster John Lambdin, Joey DeLauretis, Ryan Fobare, Bobby Lambdin, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office assistant scoutmaster Jim Langford, Michael Grieco and Aiden Verga. said the investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be pending. Authorities are still executing search ship, 20 in Robbinsville Township and warrants and working with Santander County was more than $250,000. Police arrested 20 people in Ham- seven in West Windsor Aug. 18. Of the Bank to determine exactly how much money was stolen. As of Aug. 20, the ilton Township, seven in Hopewell 58 people charged, 41 are from New total across municipalities in Mercer Township, four in Lawrence Town- York, one from Delaware and 16 from

New Jersey. During the investigation, bank cards, debit cards, credit cards, cash, marijuana, and a handgun were recovered. Additionally, more than a dozen vehicles were seized throughout the county. Robbinsville K-9 Quori sniffed out cocaine totaling 150 grams in the trunk of one of the suspect vehicles in Robbinsville. On Aug. 18, at approximately 8 a.m., Robbinsville Township police officers responded to the Santander Bank on Route 33 after receiving information that multiple individuals were gathering around the ATM using stacks of cards to withdraw money and attempting to avoid the camera on the ATM. The prosecutor’s office said that, as officers approached, the group took notice and began to hurriedly move away from the ATM. Ultimately, 20 people were taken into custody by police, each allegedly had multiple debit/credit cards and money in their possession. Robbinsville police reached out to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office for assistance and investigators from both agencies quickly began collaborating with authorities in nearby towns like Hamilton, Hopewell, Lawrence, Princeton and West Windsor, as well as Santander Bank. During the course of the investigation, officers learned that Camden County Prosecutor’s Office reported that multiple thefts occurred at Santander ATMs in its jurisdiction by individuals to fraudulently obtain money. Camden County Prosecutor’s Office advised that the suspects in

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those thefts came from New York to commit the fraud in New Jersey. Officers also received information from multiple law enforcement sources that instructions were being shared on social media on how to defraud Santander ATM machines. At about 9:40 a.m., West Windsor dispatch relayed the information that Robbinsville had a number of individuals in custody. Dispatch also advised that Princeton reported a large sum of money fraudulently obtained from a Santander ATM in its jurisdiction. Information also came in relating that the FBI and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office were actively investigating these cases. As a result, heightened awareness was given to the activity at Santander locations in West Windsor, and West Windsor officers and detectives from MCPO were able to detain and investigate five separate crews of suspects at different times throughout the day at the Santander Bank on PrincetonHightstown Road, resulting in many arrests. In Lawrence Township, police were also alerted to the ATM scam perpetrated against the Princeton Santander, and a description was provided of the suspects and the vehicles used in commission of that crime. Lawrence was further made aware of the countywide scam that was occurring and heightened attention was given to the Santander banks in their town. Shortly thereafter, at about 9:45 a.m., a vehicle matching the descrip-

tion of the vehicle used in the Princeton scam was spotted in the area of the Santander bank on Franklin Corner Road. The occupants from the vehicle were stopped and investigated, and ultimately charged with the conspiracy. The Lawrence bank reported abnormally high ATM usage and a shortage of approximately $40,000. In Hamilton Township, at approximately 10 a.m., Hamilton police were detailed to the Santander Bank located on South Broad Street on the report of two suspicious vehicles in the parking lot of the bank. It was reported that other Santander Banks in neighboring jurisdictions were reporting suspicious activities at the ATMs so units were detailed to Santander Bank ATM locations throughout Hamilton. Additional vehicles and suspects were located throughout the day at the ATMs found at 1700 Nottingham Way, 1700 Kuser Road and 2730 Nottingham Way. During the investigations, bank cards, cash, marijuana and a handgun were recovered, according to the MCPO. Hopewell Township had three separate incidents involving separate crews that started around 11:30 a.m. at the Santander Bank on Pennington Road. Several foot chases ensued, and all subjects were apprehended.

WHAT DID WE MISS? What are you noticing in your community? What stories do you think we should tell? Do you have news to share? We want to hear from you. Send your news or tips to news@communitynews.org.

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Stefanie: 609.954.5206 Office: Members of the League of Women Voters, including some from Lawrence, participated Aug. 23, 2020 in passing the Suffrage Torch at the LumbervilleRaven Rock pedestrian bridge to celebrate women’s suffrage movement and mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s ratification. The event was an ode to the original torch passing in the summer of 1915, when a delegation from New York and another from New Jersey rode out on the Hudson River to hand-off a torch that was then paraded throughout New Jersey. This time, New Jersey members passed the torch across the Delaware River to women in Pennsylvania after a ceremony that involved the sharing of stories and poems. Once the torch was passed, all in attendance read the 19th Amendment together. Local people pictured above are Ellen Maak (far left), Fatima Munshi, Carol Simon Levin (kneeling) and Sharleen Leahey.

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CENSUS continued from Page 1 ing that members who do not have legal residency shouldn’t be counted. Many in our community will hear that and will think, what’s the point?” Manuel Hernandez, president and a founder of the Latino Merchants Association and the owner of a construction and HVAC company in Trenton’s Chambersburg, who has been helping with the census since last year, says, “It’s been tough because a lot of people are afraid something is going to happen to them, that the government is going to come after them because they are not legally here. We have convinced a bunch of people, but some, after long conversations, we haven’t been able to convince.” “Especially because of what the president is saying, they think somebody is going to show up at the door and take them and deport them. Also a lot don’t understand the importance of the census,” Hernandez says. To respond to the immigrants’ fears, says Eduardo Gittens, chief of staff for Assemblywoman Verlina ReynoldsJackson and co-chair of the Trenton Complete Count Committee, “We enlisted the assistance of trusted partners; one being the Latino Merchants Association—different businesses and business owners that have a great relationship with the Latino community. They’ve worked closely with us passing out information, putting out a positive message in how the census will be able to assist them; and assuring them that their information will not be

shared and they don’t have to fear any repercussions.” Recently the Census Bureau, at the behest of the Trump administration, shortened the deadline for counting U.S. residents from Oct. 31 to Sept. 30. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, at a virtual “census rally” on Aug. 13, said, “Because of the federal government’s decision to shorten the window, census workers will have less time to do their work. We were undercounted in 2010, and it cost us untold billions of dollars in the decade since.” As a result, he added, “we must redouble our efforts.” As of Aug. 18, most towns in Mercer County had percentage response rates in the 70s; outliers were West Windsor at 81.6%, Ewing at 67.4%, and Trenton at 44.3%. Percentages in Princeton, Lawrence, West Windsor, and Bordentown were higher than the final 2010 self-response rate; in Hopewell, Hamilton, and Robbinsville they were close; but three areas were more significantly behind: Pennington by 6.9%, Ewing by 4.8 %, and Trenton by 9.3%. Patricia Williamson, the New Jersey Counts Project Director at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, who is focused on the 11 hard-to-count cities in New Jersey, of which Trenton is one, says, “We needed those extra four weeks to get those people [Latinos]. It takes a 20-minute conversation to help them understand what’s going on.” Hard-to-count areas are those with housing units that are vacant, multifamily, and renter-occupied housing units, student housing, and residents

with low incomes, and student housing, according to Michael Ruger, deputy mayor of Hopewell Township. Regarding the shortened deadline, Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes issued a statement to Community News Service: “Mercer County opposes this shortsighted decision by the federal government.” One reason that completion rates are not higher, Ewing councilwoman Jennifer Keyes-Maloney says, is that “people don’t necessarily understand why they have to fill out the census.” Someone close to her, for example, thought she didn’t have to complete the census because she didn’t have children. Another person told Fraga she didn’t realize the census applied to her because she rents. And where multiple families live in one household, “they think because they are not on the lease, they don’t count,” Fraga said. Williamson says that immigrants and people of color “tend to not report children under five out of safety.” Sometimes children are not supposed to be living where they actually are. Or there are too many people in a home, and residents are afraid that if their landlord finds out, they will have to be separated. Some parents are not documented and afraid to mention their children. Other people don’t understand the value of counting their children—even in suburban areas, Williamson says. “They don’t realize when they start having overcrowded schools and don’t know why that was happening, that’s

because lots of kids who were not accounted for when they were one or two are now in schools and in sports.” Even legal immigrants are sometimes afraid to complete the census, Williamson continues, because “they are concerned they are in a mixed family or that their paperwork won’t hold up.” Of course, the census is mandated to count all residents of the United States. As of Aug. 18 response rates for households in the state was at 65.8%. But the response rates in suburban communities has been substanially higher than in urban ones. Williams highlights the differences between the urban communities where she has been focusing and the suburban towns that have far better census completion numbers. “Suburban communities tend to understand the value of taking the census and the importance; the outreach isn’t as necessary.” In these communities, most people complete the census because they know it is a constitutional requirement and that a proper count is the basis of representation and of funding for federal programs. In urban communities, where many people don’t realize how the services they use are funded, education is the first step in promoting census. But, Williamson says, “even after that, there’s the issue of the fear and distrust of the government.” Whether from hearsay or by observation, they believe “that if they take the census and they do something the government wants them to do they are going

It’s not too late!

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to be adversely impacted.” Although this has always been an issue, Williamson says, in the current decade “certain people in the current leadership have made people such as immigrants in particular and people of color feel that they are not valued, and with immigrants, that they are not welcome and if they are giving their information to the same government, that government might deport them. It is very hard to separate the Census Bureau from ICE and from the IRS.” “What I do is try to debunk certain myths about the census so people can understand it is not about other parts of the government; it is purely statistical and confidential—your information remains within the Census Bureau and statistics are provided to ensure you get proper services,” Williamson says. When she reaches out to people in these communities, she tells them that any issues they may have with the Internal Revenue Service or Immigration and Customs Enforcement are “separate from being counted, from letting the census know you exist. Because you exist, regardless of your standing or status, you are eating, using services, sending your children to our schools, going to hospitals, and going to stores.” With so much left to do, the census faces yet another big problem: the coronavirus has reduced the number of enumerators available to go door to door to households that have not completed the census. According to Hughes, the original 500 enumerators hired for the county dwindled to 300 due to the virus and its effects: retirees were concerned about contracting the virus and spreading it to their significant others; other people sought other employment because of the delay in going door-todoor; and even young and middle-aged individuals were nervous about virus exposure and the potential to spread it to their households, many of which included elderly family members. “Although the bureau continues to hire replacement workers, time is running out for extensive training, so the reduced workforce seems to be what we have to work with until Sept. 30,” Hughes wrote. As a consequence of the reduction in time and number of enumerators, they will be making only two visits to a household before moving on rather than the original projected five visits. Today, making sure the census is completed involves a broad community effort, in tandem with the Census Bureau and centered on complete count committees, which the Census Bureau website describes as “a broad spectrum of government and community leaders from advocacy, education, business, healthcare, and elected officials” who “develop and implement a 2020 Census awareness campaign based upon their knowledge of the local community.” The efforts in the Trenton area are illustrative of the communal effort to obtain as large a census count as possible. A group of nonprofit partners have been working together to promote the census, including Arm in Arm, Children’s Futures, the Latino Merchants Association, A Better Way, the YMCA of Greater Mercer County,

Shiloh Baptist Church, Isles, and the United Way. “It’s been wonderful working with all of the other nonprofits—it’s a collaboration of nonprofits all trying to achieve the same thing,” says Terry West, community development specialist for the Office of the Executive in Mercer County. They have also gotten houses of worship to share census messaging during their virtual services. The complete count committees have been promoting self-response, via telephone, hard copy, or online, and then enumeration is supposed to help fill in the gaps. “Our efforts are big blanket educational and information efforts, to explain why the census is important and educate people to participate,” West says. Then in midAugust the census bureau’s enumeration teams, who know exactly which addresses haven’t responded, took over with door-to-door efforts. Mercer County has 21 hard-to-count census tracts, with 19 in Trenton and two in Hamilton on the border of Trenton. Early on, West and his community helpers were using lists of registered voters from the superintendent of elections to knock on doors in Chambersburg, now a predominantly Spanish-speaking community with many undocumented immigrants from Central America. “As we were out there we noticed dozens of houses in Chambersburg [not on their list] where there were families and started to focus on those on the second wave in early March,” West says. In an effort to reach the occupants of these residences, the complete count committee also did an ad campaign based on community stakeholders widely familiar to different parts of the Trenton community: for example, a board member for Trent House and for Mercer Cemetery from the Polish community and the coordinator of Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market to reach a younger generation. “The hope was you could identify,” West says. Similarly, they designed door hangers with a Trenton resident and her son on one side and the director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mercer County with his son. “We spent time thinking about the best way, in the shortest amount of time, to grab attention, promote the census, and let people know that it’s necessary and safe,” West says. They also initiated a bilingual postcard campaign where they hand-wrote messages to those hardest to count. Helping them out were the League of Women Voters; A Better Way, whose executive director, Perry Shaw, was instrumental in getting the cards completed, labeled, and mailed; and the Latino Merchants Association, which covered the Spanish-speaking community. They successfully sent out 30,000 postcards during the pandemic. The Trenton committee has also been very active on social media, particularly in Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, where they are currently doing a countdown noting the number of days until the end of the census. Each day they feature a differ-

ent area where census data translates to money for community services: healthcare, public education, community block grants, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. As restrictions have started to lighten, census officials and volunteers in Trenton, armed with tablets to enable immediate completion of the census and census literature, have met with people outdoors, near senior centers, low-income apartment complexes, and food banks. “Our best efforts have been going to food distribution sites, where we bring gift bags and talk about the importance of the census,” West says. Using this approach, they can usually convince 30 to 50 individuals and on occasion 100 to participate in the census. “Sometimes giving people something helps them realize we are with you on this and they would at least listen to us and have a conversation,”

Williamson says. Among senior communities understanding where the dollars go, whether for food programs, Medicaid, or highways, is a motivator to complete the census, Gittens says. For West, a very effective technique has involved explaining the amount of money that comes back to the community per person who is counted in the census. approximately $1,800 per year per person for 10 years. For a family of five, that comes to $90,000. Although officials from the Census Bureau have expressed confidence that they have enough employees to complete their job by Sept. 30, Williamson does not agree. “At this point the people who have not responded did not intend to respond—now we’re back to the people who are not doing it either because of misunderstanding of the importance of the census or fear or distrust of the government,” Williamson says.

September 2020 | Lawrence Gazette7

Call for a free 15 minute consult

8  Lawrence Gazette | September 2020

Social Distancing  Mask & Gloves  Clean Environment 

Lawrence Township Public Schools

september 2020

Back-to-School Bulletin

C O V I D -19 E D I T I O N Focus sharpens on equity work District recommits to fight injustices, inequities, and racism

consultants to help us grow and work toward our equity goals. We sought funding and planned for work to start in the Spring of 2020. But the COVID-19 pandemic had other plans, and the start of our professional development (PD) was delayed until August. Brown is currently the PD manager and facilitator for Teaching Tolerance. Her role primarily includes designing, facilitating, and evaluating anti-bias PD for educators around the country. In 2016, she founded #ClearTheAir – an online community focused on professional learning for educators around issues of racial and social justice.

he summer months and pandemic have not blurred the district’s focus on its equity goals or weakened its commitment to address inequities, injustices, and racism. Late in 2019, the district began a relationship with Val Brown and Dr. Rebekah Cordova and solicited a proposal from the nationally-recognized

Dr. Cordova is currently an instructor at the University of Florida, where she teaches cultural and historical foundations courses to pre- and inservice educators. She is also the Director of the All Y’all Social Justice Collective, an organization which provides racial justice PD experiences for teachers in the Southern region of the United States.

District to open with all remote instruction Will move to next phase when can do so safely

nd the survey says… Hybrid/Blended Model: 60%. Remote Model: 40%. That’s the feedback we received and the choices parents made when considering the two learning options outlined in the Registration Questionnaire sent to parents July 23, 2020. At one point this summer, NJ Governor Phil Murphy announced that all schools must offer at least some in-person instruction when they reopen. Using the above data from parents and the state’s instruction and safety mandates including social distancing, masks and other personal protective equipment and protocols, we began finalizing our hybrid plans. As the September 8th opening of school inched closer, parents daily contacted our offices and schools to change their choice from the hybrid to the remote model. (continued page 4)

(continued page 3)

New supervisors complete Student Services team Meet Rebecca Guenther and Nicole Dombrowski Sasse, our new Student Services Supervisors, PreKGrade 6 and Grade 7-Graduation respectively. Rebecca is no stranger to Lawrence as she served as a school psychologist at Lawrence Middle School for seven years prior to the May 2020 appointment to her new position. She received her BS in psychology and philosophy from University of Scranton and her MS and school psychologist and supervisor certifications at the New Jersey City University. Prior to coming to Lawrence, Rebecca worked

in Sussex-Wantage and Washington as a school psychologist within elementary schools. Nicole started her Lawrence tenure in July 2020. Her background includes teaching elementary, self-contained classes and high school students on the autism spectrum, focusing on vocational and life skills programming. Nicole previously was a special services supervisor in the Tinton Falls School District. She received her MS in special education at Rutgers University and her supervisor certification from Montclair State University. Nicole is also a board-certified behavior analyst.

Rebecca Guenther

Nicole Dombrowski Sasse

Lawrence Public Schools | September 2020 | Lawrence Gazette 9

7. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

This federal law protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to schools that receive funds under a U.S. Department of Education applicable program. FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records. FERPA permits schools to disclose, without parental consent, “directory” information such as a student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. Generally, we may use your child’s name when sharing information about a notable achievement or success. Learn more at www. ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco.

1. School Calendars

The 2020-2021 calendar is on our website (www.ltps.org) via the Calendar tab.

2. Childcare During Remote Instruction

The Capital Area YMCA will provide childcare within the district during the day while the district provides totally remote instruction. Get details about the program and registration information at https://capitalymca.org/ltps/.

3. Free or Reduced Meal Forms

A new free or reduced lunch application must be filled out each year. The application can be filed online by using the Genesis Parent Portal.

Log into the Genesis Parent Portal at https:// parents.ltps.org/ to see if you qualify for the program. Paper applications are also available from your school’s main office or at the Board of Education administration building.

Parents may opt out of permitting us to use their child’s name by indicating so on the media permission form referenced on page 3.

10. NJ FamilyCare

New Jersey law mandates all children ages 18 and under have health insurance. In conjunction, the state established NJ FamilyCare. This is a federal- and state-funded health insurance program created to help New Jersey’s uninsured children and certain low-income parents and guardians to have affordable health coverage. It is not a welfare program. NJ FamilyCare is for families who do not have available or affordable employer insurance, and cannot afford to pay for private health insurance. The NJ Department of Education requires school districts to obtain health insurance information from their families as well as permission to share the information with NJ FamilyCare. Parents/ guardians can provide this information in the student information/emergency contact update online system mentioned on page 3 of this bulletin. Additionally, this information is requested from families when they register with the district.

8. Pupil Conduct and Discipline Policy and Regulations

This information is posted on the district website (www.ltps.org) under QuickLinks. All parents/guardians and students should review this publication.

9. Medical Examinations

A note from the School Nurse: Upon enrollment into school, the school nurse shall notify parent(s) or legal guardian(s) of the importance of obtaining subsequent medical examinations of the pupil at least once during each developmental stage: at early childhood (pre-school through grade 3), preadolescence (grades 4 through 6) and adolescence (grades 7 through 12).

Questions? Contact Jill Posluszny at 609-6715435 or via email at hposluszny@ltps.org.

4. Security Cameras

For safety measures, electronic surveillance... security cameras...are located in and around our school buildings and on school grounds throughout the district.

5. HIB—what is this?

Visit the district website to learn more about our Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) policy as well as our award-winning character education programs and anti-bullying programs and services. Questions? Contact the District Anti-Bullying Coordinator Melanie Fillmyer at mfillmyer@ltps.org or (609) 671-5458.

6. Child Find

Are you concerned about your child’s development, school achievement, or social skills? The LTPS Student Services Department can answer your questions. To make an inquiry, call (609) 671-5430.

10 Lawrence Gazette | September 2020 | Lawrence Public Schools

11. Back-to-School Nights

Of course, Back-to-School Nights will look differently this year. All are virtual meetings and will use the Zoom platform. The school principal will send their parents the link to the virtual meeting shortly before the meeting date. The four elementary school Back-to-School Nights this year are by grade level, not by school. Elementary Sept. 14 - Kindergarten (including PreK) 6 PM Sept. 15 - First Grade 6 PM Sept. 16 - Second Grade 6 PM Sept. 17 - Third Grade 6 PM Intermediate Sept. 14 - Grade 4 7 PM Sept. 15 - Grade 5 7 PM Sept. 10 - Grade 6 6 PM Middle School Sept. 23 - Grades 7-8 7PM High School Sept. 24 - Grades 9-12 7 PM

12. Board of Education Policies and Regulations

All district policies and regulations are available for review on the district website (www.ltps. org) under the Board tab.

Parents, can we reach you in an emergency? Do we have your correct contact info? Parents...we need your help! Picture this. Your daughter is having a good morning at school and excitedly goes out for recess. Playing a running game, she bumps heads with another student. They fall to the ground, both with bleeding head wounds and stunned expressions. We need to reach you. Can we? At some point, students will be back in our school buildings during the day. Thus, we need your current contact information for emergencies and to reach you with important school and district communications. Each year, parents should update student information and emergency contacts in our online system. It’s easy...no more piles of forms at the beginning of school! Having correct information is critical.

Within the same online student information update program, parents can give permission for the district to use their child(ren)’s photo, and possibly name, in our publications, on our website and/or social media, and/or with the media. Additionally we are making more and more videos of the wonderful happenings in our classrooms. We hope you will give careful consideration to giving us media permission for your child so we can include him or her as we proudly share and celebrate the accomplishments of students, staff, and district programs. Details about how to update your information will be sent home with students at the beginning of school. Anyone with an address change must schedule an appointment with the district registrar to verify residency. Email registration@ltps.org or call (609) 671-5354 to schedule an appointment.

We are proud to announce that all seven of our schools achieved Bronze Certification status (for the second time!) as awarded by the Sustainable Jersey for Schools organization! Schools maintain this status for three years. Our district has a Green Team and each school has a Green Team leader. Cari Gallagher, Lawrenceville Elementary third grade teacher, leads the district Green Team. Certified schools and their district receive priority consideration in the Sustainable Jersey for Schools Grant Program. Our district has applied for and received multiple grants from this program for our environmental efforts.

(continued from page 1) Equity . . . At their August 12, 2020 meeting, the Board of Education appointed 17 existing staff members as Equity Warriors. The district created these stipend positions to assist in reaching its equity goals. Equity Warriors serve as equity leaders in their buildings to support the planning and PD delivery to staff, and serve as liaisons to the Equity, Climate, and Culture Teams within each school building. (View list of Equity Warriors and their respective schools on the Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism page on our website.) The district’s equity goals include: • creating a safe environment where stakeholders can feel comfortable discussing differences and issues as they arise by embracing multiculturalism, social justice, and culturally responsive teaching; • increasing access and opportunity for all students; and

Food Service During the beginning phases of reopening our schools, we will offer breakfast and lunch to students. Until we return to unrestricted operations, our Transportation Department will distribute meal bags for the week (Wednesday - Tuesday) to homes on Wednesdays via contactless delivery. Food will not be provided for days that school is not in session.

How do I order meals?

If you want meals, you must request service via email: lunch@ltps.org and/or breakfast@ltps.org. Requests for breakfast and lunch must be made separately. Meals will only be delivered to students who have contacted us through these email addresses. You only need to email us once unless you want to make changes. Only students who are enrolled in Lawrence Township Public Schools are eligible for this program.

What information should I include in the email? What’s included in the meal?

When ordering, include the ID number for each student that wants a meal and the school he or she attends. Also, verify your current address in the email. Each meal will include a low-fat milk serving as well as storage and preparation instructions. The meal will comply with all Department of Agriculture regulations for child nutrition. We will offer vegetarian and non-vegetarian weekly meal bags. If you wish to receive vegetarian meals, please specify this in your email when ordering.

How do I pay for meals and what are the prices?

Students who normally pay for meals will have their accounts debited for the appropriate price for their grade level. To minimize contact, we will not accept payments at the school buildings. Account deposits must be made through the website at www. myschoolbucks.com. This year, reduced meals will not be charged at the usual $0.40 per meal fee. • recruiting and retaining teachers of color. (Update: After first auditing our personnel practices, Dr. Kenneth King, a noted New Jersey consultant on personnel and hiring protocols, conducted a virtual training on August 17th with administrators on recruiting and hiring considerations.) Brown and Cordova led multiple, virtual training sessions with administrators and the Equity Warriors this summer. Training will be ongoing. Additionally, the consultants will advise us in creating personalized learning guides and in modifying our existing curriculum and creating new. The guides and activities will be vital tools to help staff, students, and the community engage in ongoing conversations and equity considerations around topics including race, gender, poverty, sexuality, bias, and injustices, working to solve tough problems with honest talk. Stay tuned. Join us.

Lunch prices: • • • •

Lawrence High School…………..….$3.45 Lawrence Middle School……….…..$3.35 Lawrence Intermediate and all Elementary Schools (Grades PK-6)……………..$3.10 Breakfast all grades……………..…..$1.95

What if I was on free or reduced lunch last year? Do I need to reapply?

Students who are currently approved for free or reduced lunch will remain on the program through October 20, 2020. On October 21, 2020, the status of students who have not reapplied will be changed to the paid category and students will be charged for their meals. Students will be responsible for any charges incurred while awaiting approval. Please allow several days for processing. Charges will be made for 5 meals unless the application is approved prior to Wednesday delivery days. For faster processing, log into the Genesis Parent Portal at (continued on page 3)

Lawrence Public Schools | September 2020 | Lawrence Gazette 11

(continued from page 1)

Board of Education Kevin Van Hise, Esq., Pres. Dana Drake, Vice Pres. Michele Bowes Jonathan Dauber, Ed.D. Patricia “Pepper” Evans Jo Ann Groeger Michelle King, Ph.D. Cathy LeCompte Joyce Scott

District Mission The mission of the Lawrence Township Public Schools is to foster a community that: • values academic excellence, critical thinking skills, and lifelong learning; • challenges each student to become a responsible citizen of a global society; and • respects different learning styles and adapts instruction accordingly.

Check us out on the Web! www.ltps.org Follow us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/LTPS1/ lists/ltps Online Backpack

As part of the district’s green initiatives, we continue to successfully promote the use of the Online Backpack on the district website. Information from non-profit entities is entered as it is received. Check the site often!

Remote opening . . . On August 12, 2020, Governor Murphy announced he would allow districts to open with a totally remote instruction model if all safety guidelines could not be met to provide in-person instruction. The district once again quickly shifted gears and began finalizing our remote instruction model. At the August 12th Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Ross Kasun presented our Restart and Reopening Plan. Dr. Kasun’s presentation and the plan are on our website at https://tinyurl. com/RestartReopeningPlan. Dr. Kasun recommended that we start school on September 8, 2020 in Phase One, the second level of the plan’s five phases. Phase One provides for remote/virtual learning for students, open school buildings that are accessible to staff, and childcare availability for students in learning centers within our buildings. The Phase One model provides the safest option for students, staff, and the community in reducing exposure to COVID-19. We understand the importance of a full reopening of schools for students and the benefits of face-to-face, in-person instruction.

(continued from page 3)

Food service . . .

https://parents.ltps.org/ to reapply for free or reduced lunch or to see if you qualify. Paper applications can also be obtained from your school’s main office or at the Board of Education building. PLEASE NOTE: On the first week of school, meal bags

Ross Kasun, Ed.D. Superintendent

Andrew Zuckerman, Ed.D. Director of Instructional Services

Thomas Eldridge Business Administrator/Board Secretary

Sean M. Fry

Director of Personnel & Administrative Services

Linda Mithaug

Director of Student Services

Eh . . . I don’t think so.

Lana Mueller Editor

lmueller@ltps.org 609-671-5405 2565 Princeton Pike Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648 Phone: 609-671-5500

12 Lawrence Gazette | September 2020 | Lawrence Public Schools

Yet, the continued national resurgence of infection and the likelihood for exposure due to the entire student population, professional staff, and community interacting at a level not seen since before schools closed in March 2020, leads us to propose this model as we begin the school year. As conditions become safe and appropriate, we will grow our capacity to move to the other phases. In Phase One, teachers will provide virtual education, meetings, check-ins, and conferences with the entire class via Zoom or other tools. Delivery models include whole group direct instruction, focused small group settings, and individual consultations with students. When teachers are not meeting with the whole class, they will meet with small groups as well as with individual students. While teachers are meeting with various students individually and in small groups, other students will focus on anchor activities, cooperative learning tasks, and differentiated independent practice. We continuously will monitor COVID-19 conditions and will reassess our instructional phase every 30 days. As conditions improve and as we feel we can safely bring some students and staff into the buildings, we will move to Phase 2.

will be delivered on Tuesday, September 8 and will contain 6 breakfasts and/or lunches. In the future, you will be notified on your instruction sheets if we plan to deviate from the usual Wednesday delivery day the following week. Please contact Dining Supervisor Marybeth DiLorenzo at mdilorenzo@ltps.org with questions.

The 2020-21 school year will start Sept. 8 in Phase One, with students learning remotely and school buildings open for staff. SCHOOLS continued from Page 1 Homeland Security has identified Mercer County as an emerging hotspot for COVID-19, and that current health information for the area reveals the infection in the last week has increased to its highest level in months. “Based on the data, feedback from the subcommittees, staff, families, the Board of Education, the Lawrence Health Department, and guidelines from the NJDOE, LTPS will start on September 8, 2020, in Phase One… The Phase One model provides the safest option for all students, staff, and the community in reducing exposure to COVID-19. LTPS understands the importance of a full reopening of schools for students and the benefits of face-to-face in-person instruction. Yet, the continued national resurgence of infection and the likelihood for exposure due to the entire student population, professional staff, and community interacting at a level not seen since before schools closed in March 2020, lead us to propose this model as we begin the school year,” the LTPS reopening plan said, also adding that the district will continue monitoring conditions to determine when to advance to the next phase. The plan was widely well-received by school staff and parents alike. A survey of parents conducted by LTPS in July found that 60% intended to send their children to school in September. But a substantial number of parents had a change of heart in the weeks following the survey, opting to switch their children to remote, the district said. In Phase One, teachers provide virtual education, meetings, checkins, and conferences with the entire class via Zoom or another conferencing tool. Teachers will conduct whole group direct instruction, focused small group settings and individual consultations with students. When teachers are not meeting with the whole class, the district said they will meet with different small groups,

as well as with individual students. While teachers are meeting with various students individually and in small groups, other students will focus on anchor activities, cooperative learning tasks, and differentiated independent practice. With technology a must for remote instruction, the district said it will strive to ensure that every student has access to a device and internet connectivity. Those that do not have a device or access to the internet will receive priority to receive them from the district. LTPS said it will conduct a needs assessment to determine the number of students that will require district-provided devices and/or internet access. The district also mentioned the possibility of providing in-person instruction just to the students without technology. An executive order signed by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy Aug. 12 just hours before the school board meeting allowed the Lawrence plan to happen. Murphy’s order cleared schools to reopen, but permitted districts that cannot meet state health and safety standards for in-person instruction to begin their school year remotely. Districts that opt for an all-remote start must spell out their plans for satisfying unmet standards, and provide the state a date by which the district anticipates the ability to resume in-person instruction. Schools elsewhere in the United States opened in early August, giving a small sample of what might be expected should districts in New Jersey choose to do in-person instruction. In the most prominent example, the Cherokee County School District, in Georgia, had 1,200 students, teachers and staff members quarantined after finding COVID-19 cases there during the first week of school. Contact editor ROB ANTHES: ranthes@ communitynews.org, (609) 396-1511, ext. 124, facebook.com/RobAnthes, twitter.com/ RobAnthes.

September 2020 | Lawrence Gazette13

SCHENCK continued from Page 1 “One coach, when I was a little overwhelmed, she said to me, ‘Take this as a compliment because someone wanting you to join their family is the biggest compliment they could give you.’” Schenck said. “So, it was just really, really, really exciting.” Two months later, on Aug. 19, Schenck closed her recruitment by committing to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Schenck loved the campus and the coaching staff at Cornell, as well as the fact the university has one of the best animal science programs in the country. She intends to major in animal science/pre-veterinary. She picked Cornell from a final list that also included Top 30 teams Princeton, UConn, Syracuse, St. Joseph’s, Penn State, Rutgers and Monmouth. Some college-bound high school students won’t make a decision on where they’ll go to school until March or April of their senior year, after months of deliberation. But to Schenck, the nine weeks between opening and closing the recruitment process was long enough. She’s glad she’ll be able to spend the last two years of high school focusing on what she loves: field hockey. “Being able to use something that I love doing as a way to help my future beyond field hockey is just a blessing,” Schenck said. “And being able to see how far I’ve come just makes me love it even more.” *** The one thing you should know about Talia Schenck is that she isn’t lying

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14  Lawrence Gazette | September 2020

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An elementary-school-aged Talia Schenck (left) learns the game of field hockey from Cris Maloney during an introductory clinic May 3, 2014. Schenck learned so quickly that Maloney “pretty much had to kick her out.”

when she says she loves field hockey. Schenck plays organized field hockey year round, and even during her lightest season, she’s playing with her club four days a week. But the time spent training with the Lawrence High field hockey team and the Princeton Field Hockey Club often isn’t enough for her. Schenck concedes that field hockey is her “source of entertainment.” So, she’ll spend nights watching field hockey highlights, old international games and instructional videos, trying to find inspiration from the best forwards and midfielders in the game. To further perfect her skills, she somehow convinced her parents Gary and Janice to install a strip of turf and a regulation field hockey goal—12 feet wide and 7 feet tall—in their backyard after hearing that former US National Team player Kat Sharkey had a goal in her backyard as a child. “I was like, ‘I would absolutely love to have this.’ And it was just an unrealistic thing,” Schenck said. “Like, we would never get a goal in our backyard. I never even asked for it because it was so unrealistic. Then one Christmas, my parents walked me outside.” There stood the goal where Schenck has spent most of her time since. “Sometimes people ask her what her hobbies are; her hobby is field hockey,” Lawrence High School field hockey head coach Megan Errico said. “That is it for her. She loves it. It’s not only a sport, it’s her outlet.” Schenck found the game of field hockey at 8, after her brother’s girlfriend at the time—then an athlete at LHS—recommended she try it. Schenck signed up for a township recreation program held in a school gym that winter. Only five girls showed up. It was an inauspicious start to her field hockey career. Even though Schenck didn’t love her first field hockey experience, she returned to the sport the next year to attend clinics at Princeton Day School, run by Cris Maloney. Schenck remembers mostly wanting to run around and have fun, but her potential still caught Maloney’s eye. “I remember working with Talia when she came to an introductory field hockey program I ran in Princ-

eton,” Maloney said. “She was such a fast learner that I pretty much had to kick her out and send her over to Princeton Field Hockey Club, which I knew would provide her with a more challenging environment.” Schenck did as Maloney suggested, moving on to the Princeton Field Hockey Club in sixth grade, even if the decision wasn’t entirely hers. At PFHC, under the supervision of the Princeton University field hockey coaching staff, something clicked for Schenck. “My parents, they didn’t really ask me,” Schenck said. “They just signed me up. I’m glad that happened.” Schenck then spent several years turning heads with the Princeton Field Hockey Club and the Lawrence Middle School team. Errico heard the buzz, but the coach wasn’t sure what to expect—middle school field hockey is a lot different than high school varsity level. Then, she saw Schenck play. “I’ve never seen a player as skilled,” Errico said. “She’s absolutely incredible. She’s just something that the school has never seen before.” By now, pretty much no one is surprised by Schenck’s talent. Teams focus their defensive game plans around her. Errico has all the Cardinals wear pennies over their uniforms before games, so opponents can’t identify players by their jersey numbers and pick out Schenck. It doesn’t matter; they find her anyway. But even if they put two or three defenders on Schenck, opposing teams haven’t been able to slow her down much. She’s often one step ahead of the defense, eyeing the goalie at midfield, planning her attack. With this calculating approach, Schenck has scored 80 goals in her first two seasons. Team success has come, too. In 2018, Schenck’s freshman year, Lawrence finished above .500 for the first time in a decade. Last year, Lawrence won its division, and went undefeated in conference play. The Cardinals beat every team in the CVC except Princeton, which they tied. Schenck is quick to point out it has been a total team effort. She isn’t in goal. She isn’t in the midfield, taking

ended. She wants to win counties. She Advertising feature wants this LHS team to leave a legacy. “I’m proud of what I’ve done indiVIRTUAL COMPASSION vidually but I’m now seeing the bigger picture and what’s important as a CAMP team,” Schenck said. As we look around the world, *** what becomes clearer each day Lawrence, like most of Mercer is our deep need for compassion. County, can’t be counted as a field “We have been reflecting on hockey hotbed. But there’s a chance that could be changing. concerns about racism and Covid, Crowds larger than any Errico can and how we can address those remember started coming to Lawin a range of ages,” says Rev. rence High field hockey games last Jenny Smith Walz, lead pastor at season. The Cardinal Crazies—the Princeton United Methodist Church LHS student section—showed up to (PrincetonUMC). the away game at Notre Dame last With its ‘bricks and mortar” year, cheering the team to a win. During the state tournament, teachers location on Nassau Street, opposite the Garden Theatre, Princeton Talia Schenck, now entering her junior brought their classes out to watch the UMC is a diverse congregation whose members come from many year at Lawrence High School, set field hockey team, even though the surrounding communities, backgrounds, and faith histories. All are info below could go in the school white box, and the logo could go elsewhere, bigger. The happened during hours. scoring records her first two seasons. Thegame invited to virtual worship services on Sundays at 10 a.m. teams—often greyOther shouldsports be black, as attached.viewed as All families with children ages 2 through 5th grade are invited higher on the athletic pecking order— th to a 10-week Compassion Camp, aiming to help children cultivate started making comments about how advantage of the defensive attentionFamilies with children ages 2 to 5 grade compassion for each other, themselves, and the world. “We must Schenck draws. Her teammates know good the field hockey team was. Schenck had been somewhat aware how to give Schenck space, but also put compassion into action at home and in our communities,” says about theathype building within the anticipate her movement so they areRegister Evangeline Burgers, director of children’s ministry. school, but it didn’t hit her fully until in perfect position to receive a pass.https://princetonumc.breezechms.com/form/compassioncamp. Register at https://princetonumc.breezechms.com/form/ The Lawrence High defense has been the middle school field hockey team compassioncamp or go to PrincetonUMC.org for information. Middle sturdy, with Errico saying its play has started attending the LHS games. The or LMS email evangeline@PrincetonUMC.org+ schoolers have their own Sunday morning program, and youth in team was larger—much larger— been “amazing” the last few years. middle school and high school meet on Sunday evenings. Kits with If that defensive prowess has some- than Schenck had ever seen it. necessary supplies will be delivered to each Compassion Camper’s “Last year, it was crazy to see how many thing to do with having to play against one of the best field hockey athletes girls came out to play,” Schenck said. home. Focusing on the scripture passage for each week, activities will Errico has an idea why. in the country every day in practice, include: music, games, collaborative art, yoga positions to act out the “She’s helped change Lawrence’s Schenck won’t take credit for it. story & family Compassion-in-Action activities. “She’s humble in the sense that program,” the head coach said. “LawResearch shows families are the most essential component to she doesn’t want anyone to think rence was really good in the early spiritual development, says Burgers. Faith formation “can’t just be she thinks she’s better,” Errico said. 2000s, and then we struggled for a happening on Sunday morning. We can help families find ways to sit while, especially because a lot of girls “She’s very humble about her skill.” around the dinner table and have conversations about compassion, The Cardinals know they can play go to private schools. And just in her without Schenck. They have experi- two seasons, she’s changed the proabout how we can take action to lift up those who are oppressed. “ ence, after she hurt her ankle in the gram. I can’t say it’s just her, but the Princeton United Methodist Church, 7 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton tie and wound up missing girls want to be better because she Princeton, NJ 08542. 609-924-2613. www.PrincetonUMC.org. Rev. the entire postseason. The Cardinals brings that. They want to rise to her Jenny Smith Walz, lead pastor; Rev. Erik ‘Skitch’ Matson, discipleship lost to eventual champion Stuart Day level. It’s pretty cool.” pastor; Evangeline Burgers, director of children’s ministry; Rebekah Schenck, for her part, can relate. School in the Mercer County TournaAnderson, pastoral care; Hyosang Park, music director; Tom Shelton, ment quarterfinals. They later earned She remembers looking at the Lawdirectory of youth choirs. the first seed in the Central Jersey rence High record board as a middle Group II sectional tournament, win- school student, idolizing the names ning a couple games before losing in displayed. Now, her name appears on the semifinals to powerhouse Sen- the board, and she takes seriously the eca, which went on to win the whole position she finds herself in as a role model and a building block. tournament. “It’s just really cool to think beyond It was the first time Schenck had to watch a team play without her. It drove myself and my high school years to what younger players see,” she said. her nuts. But it also fueled her. But Schenck isn’t ready to ease up “It taught me to look from an outside lens,” Schenck said. “People always say or go fully retrospective yet. She still when you’re going through recruit- has two years left with the Lawrence ing, ‘Look at the school without field team and her career at Cornell ahead hockey.’ So, that was me looking at my of her. While she doesn’t imagine life without field hockey for a few weeks. she’ll advance much further beyond When I came back, I was a better player college field hockey, Schenck knows for it. My work rate increased, seeing the game will always be part of her. what I missed out on. I mean, it wasn’t She said she’ll keep playing the way a good thing but the best came out of it.” she has for as long as she enjoys it. “I don’t think my motivation and This year’s Lawrence team will Fetch! Pet Care is available be without six seniors from the 2019 planning and the reason why I went for your dog walking and team, but also return a ton of upper- out there and worked my hardest was interactive pet play needs classmen with experience. Now in her to be able to get to a school,” Schenck so you can focus on your 8th season as head coach, Errico said said. “I worked so hard because I meetings and important the Cardinals have the potential to be love doing it...The reason I do it isn’t tasks during the work day. to achieve all these things. I do it as good, if not better, than last year. Schenck wants to score her 100th because that’s what I love to do.” career goal, which she should accomLocally Owned & Operated plish this year if she stays healthy and Contact editor ROB ANTHES: ranthes@ 609.643.0843 the Cardinals play a full season. communitynews.org, (609) 396-1511, ext. wtn@fetchpetcare.com But mostly, she’s focused on team 124, facebook.com/RobAnthes, twitter.com/ goals. She wants to rectify how last year RobAnthes.

September 2020 | Lawrence Gazette15

SPORTS

DeAngelo: Seniors focus on what we can control By Joelle DeAngelo

Editor’s note: Joelle DeAngelo is a three-sport standout at Lawrence High School. Entering her senior year, DeAngelo wrote down her thoughts on how the pandemic has affected her athletic career and how she has chosen to respond. The spring shutdown was uncomfortable for everyone. We were disappointed, upset, confused, pissed off, and so much more. The most frustrating part wasn’t just losing the season, the frustrating part was realizing all the hours spent training during the off-season wouldn’t be given an outlet. This past winter, I joined our school’s wrestling team. I often get asked, “How did that happen?” Well, I had a goal for my lacrosse season: I wanted to be stronger and faster than everyone on the field. Joining the wrestling team provided that opportunity, through hard work and dedication. When school would end, I’d rush to the weight room to work on lifting and strength. After the lift, I would rush to wrestling practice, where I was constantly pushing my limits. Not once did it cross my mind to stop, or quit, because the reason I started was for a lacrosse season to

Lawrence High School girls’ soccer standout Joelle DeAngelo enters her senior season determined to leave a legacy even if games are not played this autumn.

thrive in. It was hard to accept that all this offseason work would be going towards nothing. In an athlete’s eyes, the off-season is a game changer—it’s blood, sweat

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and tears. It’s what shapes the athlete to be the best they can be on a real field on game day. The off-season is raw, breaking down your weak spots, working on them so by the time the season comes around it’s a skill to use in your favor instead of a weakness against you. As athletes, we are trained to separate the things we cannot control from the things we can control. For example, you’d be able to control your attitude, how you handle your reaction, your skill on the field. Things out of your control are the weather, referees making bad calls, injuries, and in our case, a pandemic. The problem we faced wasn’t lack of care for a season, the problem was that no matter what we could have done, it was out of our control, and that lack of control left us feeling helpless. After months of accepting the destiny of no spring 2020 season, it woke me up to realize that if there is any way I can get my girls on a soccer field during the upcoming fall sea-

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son, I will. The difference between the spring season and the fall season is that the world is not shut down anymore. With the proper attention and leaders, there can be ways to ensure the outcome of a season and much more. There’s still so much uncertainty but there are just as many solutions we haven’t figured out yet. As a rising senior and an aspiring soccer player, my final season with my high school is this fall. Early on in the summer, the seniors held many meetings together, we decided that not being able to compete in a season would be unimaginable. So, we started working on solutions for summer practices and creative ideas of different ways to workout so the girls still had a set schedule. We created a training log, so you could log what type of workout you did on a shared document with the team. This would introduce the seniors’ competitive mindset to the underclassmen. Encouraging each girl to work hard and consistently give it their all, that’s what we as seniors want. It was important to us for the incoming freshman to get an idea of what we as seniors are about. Since they’ve never experienced a high school season, they don’t know what it’s like to not have summer lifts, followed by soccer practice in early mornings. By creating our log, we’re able to still give them that hope and feeling of a season. In the big picture, if our season is cancelled, our girls’ soccer program will remember us differently than any other senior class. We’ll be remembered as problem solvers for not taking no as an answer. We’ll be remembered as fighters, that even though the times are tough, you have to push through because giving up is not an option. As unfortunate as it would be to not participate in a final senior season, I would know it wasn’t because we didn’t want one. We have to accept the things we cannot control, but the class of 2021 is not done here yet. I have the most faith in our class and soccer program, because if there’s a will there’s a way.

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September 2020 | Lawrence Gazette17

Concussions: what you need to know JONATHAN RASKOW ASK THE DOCTOR

Concerned about your health? Experts from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton are reday to answer readers’ questions. Send your questions to askthedoc@rwjbh.org. What is a concussion? A concussion is defined as a “trauma-induced alteration in mental status that may or may not involve loss of consciousness.” This can be caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move quickly back and forth. A concussion can also occur without a direct hit to the head, such as with whiplash. Concussion signs and symptoms can appear immediately or not be noticed until days or even weeks after the injury. What are common symptoms of concussion? Symptoms vary by individual, and someone may have any combination of the following - confusion, headache, vision disturbances (double or blurry vision), dizziness or imbalance, nausea or vomiting, memory loss, ringing ears, difficulty concentrating, sensitivity to light, loss of smell or taste, trouble falling asleep, increase of symptoms with mental and/or physical activity after hitting one’s head.

What are some ways to reduce the risk of concussions? General tips: Wear a seatbelt when driving or riding in a vehicle, remove hazards around the home that contribute to falls, and use handrails and safety gates around stairs. Never use outdated or damaged protective equipment, avoid uneven or unpaved surfaces when cycling, and do not dive in water less than nine feet deep or in above ground swimming pools. Sports tips: Use protective head gear and helmets appropriate to the sport, be sure your headgear is ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) approved and fits properly, and always use proper form when participating in collision/contact sports. Management if a concussion occurs: Anyone who suspects they have a concussion, or, if you suspect someone of having a concussion, removal from the activity immediately is most important. It’s important to allot time to heal. Another concussion sustained while the brain is healing can result in long-term problems or even death in rare cases. Only a health care professional experienced with concussion management, such as an athletic trainer or physician, can tell if a concussion has occurred and assist with a safe return to play/work. Every concussion is different for each individual, thus no two plans are exactly

the same and emphasis should be placed on treating each person’s/athlete’s unique set of symptoms. Treatment/recovery: Your licensed healthcare professional will guide you. At RWJBarnabas Health, we follow our Concussion Pillars for Recovery! In general, here’s how to address common concerns: Low level exercise to tolerance, such as a walking program (when cleared for starting activity), avoiding any increase in symptoms. Restore vision and ocular-motor control if deficits arise. Cervical and spinal physical therapy if it is determined that symptoms are stemming from the neck. Seek behavioral/cognitive help from a professional when needed. Complete health-care professional guided graduated return to activity before full clearance. Get treatment early! Lost time equals Longer Recovery. Have further questions about concussions or in need support? Email us at AthleticTraining@rwjbh.org. Jonathan Raskow, LAT, ATC, is the athletic trainer at RWJUH Hamilton.

Coming up this month at RWJUH-Hamilton Thursday, Sept. 10

Coronavirus in the U.S.–Considerations for Travelers. (609) 584-5900. According to the CDC, travel increases your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19. Learn how to protect yourself.Virtual class format. Call to register. 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Community News

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Monday, Sept. 14

Plant Based Diets for Wellness: Beginners. (609) 584-5900. Explore how a more plant-forward feast can save money, support the environment, mind body, and soul. Virtual Class Format. Call to register. 6:30 to 7:15 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 16

Mindfulness Meditation for Beginners. (609) 584-5900. Learn to relax and unwind. No experience necessary. Virtual Class Format. Free. 1 to 1:30 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 17

Vertigo? Understanding Why Many Adults Develop Dizziness. (609) 584-5900. Dizziness and imbalance are common complaints in older adults. A virtual lecture to understand more about the causes and treatments of dizziness. Virtual Class Format. 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Friday, Sept. 18

The Lunch Bunch: Virtual Cooking for the PreK Crowd. Also Friday, Sept. 25. (609) 584-5900. Encourage adventurous eating by pairing up with your preschooler in your kitchen. Simple recipes and helpful tips on creating positive mealtimes. Virtual Class Format. Noon to 1 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 21

Culinary Nutrition in the Kitchen. (609) 584-5900. Kick off your week with the most up-to-date, evidenced-based nutrition research, recipes, and interviews with MDs, allied health professionals and chefs. Virtual Class Format. 11:15 to 12:00 p.m.

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A brief description of our town’s aﬀordable housing obligations KEVIN NERWINSKI FROM THE MANAGER’S DESK

A long, long time ago, before our lives were changed by the coronavirus, a common event played out at the door to my office in the municipal building. A resident that I have known for years popped her head in and asked me whether it was true that affordable housing was going to be built at the Lawrence Shopping Center on the parking lot closest to Princeton Pike. You know, the one where we take our kids to learn how to parallel park before they take their driver’s test. I told her that there was some interest in that location by developers, but it turned out that due to environmental restrictions, nothing can be built there. She said, “Good, we don’t need any more affordable housing in our town anyway.” At that moment, I winced to myself (I think it wasn’t visible but I’m not sure) and pondered whether I should respond by telling her why her statement was profoundly...ummm.. wrong. I decided to simply smile, wish her a good day, and made a mental note that this was an important topic for an article. Well, here it is people!

First, I will tell you all that a topic as expansive as affordable housing obligations in the State of New Jersey is one where experts have written books that rival the length of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.” For me to condense the topic into something more manageable will require me to simply hit some of the highlights, which will most assuredly leave out much of the technical aspects on the subject matter. But my hope is you know more than you did before you decided to read further. Every community in New Jersey has a continuous obligation to provide affordable housing to meet its present and future needs. The New Jersey Supreme court concluded it was a constitutional obligation in its landmark 1975 decision now referred to as “Mount Laurel I.” It was further codified by the legislature in the Fair Housing Act of 1985 (known as “Mount Laurel II”). This requires each municipality to adopt a “Housing Element and Fair Share Plan” (more commonly known as our “Afford-

able Housing Plan”) for development and redevelopment of housing within the community. How a municipality determines its need is by using established criteria and guidelines which, in the business, is referred to as “methodology.” In 2015, the New Jersey Supreme Court established a judicial process for municipalities to gain approval of their housing plans. This means that in order for a municipality to be in compliance with our constitutional obligation to provide affordable housing, it must convince a judge and the designated Special Master that the needs of our community will be met with the plan as proposed. To be very clear, this is not a “wink-wink” situation where everybody doesn’t look too closely, and an approval is issued. Far from it, the proposed plans are closely scrutinized and often criticized as lacking. As residents of Lawrence Township, you can all feel a sense of pride to be a part of a community that has been

This is not a ‘wink-wink’ situation. Proposed plans are closely scrutinized.

essentially leading the way in meeting our obligations to provide affordable housing as compared to other communities in the state. We have addressed our constitutional affordable housing obligations in the First Round (19871993), Second Round (1993-1999), and most recently in the Third Round (1999-2018)—first in NJ to do so. In an oversimplification, our obligation and present need is 696 units (dwellings). Trust me when I tell you that the methodology used to determine our obligation is mind-numbing. But 696 units is the number to get you all in the right mindset. Our obligation is to create (through and by private developers) 696 dwellings (single family houses, town homes, condos, rental apartments, age restricted and/or homes for persons with disabilities). This is no easy task. Throw in the NIMBY effect, and it should become clear that the conﬂict and struggle to meet the needs of our community are real. But they are also important, honorable and socially responsible, and we will do it because it’s right. Kevin Nerwinski, a longtime resident of Lawrence, serves as Lawrence Township’s municipal manager.

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Introducing Capital Healthy Living A Program for Independent Seniors

From award-winning health care to reliable support services and referrals, Capital Healthy Living is a comprehensive program of on-demand care, developed to provide independent seniors throughout Mercer, Bucks and Burlington counties precisely the kind of customized, personalized assistance they want. When they want it, the way they want it. To learn more – and to find out how you can become a part of Capital Healthy Living – contact us at 609-537-7087 or HealthyLiving@CapitalHealth.org. Capital Healthy Living is currently being offered as a pilot program for just $50 a month.

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