TJ Opens Outdoor Classroom

After a two year "labor of love", Thomas Jefferson Middle School will open its outdoor classroom Friday afternoon.

Creation of the outdoor classroom was a collaborative effort of teachers Susan Goldstein, Laura Goldberg, the school's environmental club, the district, the borough and the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission.

Goldstein, a seventh and eighth grade science teacher at TJ, used two $1,000 Bergen County Utilities Authority grants to create an outdoor raised planting bed and now, an outdoor classroom for use by the entire middle school, according to a district release. She was assisted in the process by the school's administration and the district's building and grounds staff.

"I am so excited to have been able to add an outdoor classroom to the school for use by all teachers and students," Goldstein said in a statement. "I am imagining art, music, language, science classes and more, to be able to enjoy being outside, to teach and learn in a welcoming outdoor environment.”

The PVSC provided the wood chips and the Fair Lawn Recycling Center donated the composters for the outdoor classroom.

Goldstein said she's already planning a third phase of the project, which will be an extension of the classroom that will create a different feel and experience for the classes that use it.

Mayor John Cosgrove, Superintendent Bruce Watson, Recycling Coordinator Ron Lottermann and representatives from the PVSC and BCUA will attend Friday's dedication, which begins at 1:30 p.m. It comes just over two weeks after Lyncrest Elementary re-opened its outdoor classroom that sustained serious damage in Hurricane Sandy.

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