Thursday, May 23, 2013
All Saddle Brook public schools went into a brief lockdown Thursday morning after rumors surfaced of a possible school shooting at Elmwood Park's Memorial High School.
Saddle Brook public schools were locked down Thursday morning for about 15 minutes following rumors out of Elmwood Park that a school shooting had occurred at Memorial High School, Deputy Chief Robert White said. White said he was contacted by Saddle Brook High School principal Jim Sarto around 9:40 a.m. asking if he could substantiate rumors circulating about a possible school shooting in Elmwood Park that had locked down schools in that district. White had not heard anything, but as a precautionary measure, Saddle Brook went into a lockdown following their phone conversation. "It was precautionary on our end," White said. "I hated to do that...but in this day and age, you're better safe than sorry." After his phone conversation with …
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Lisa Sudol, whose daughters both played softball at Fair Lawn High School and who had been highly involved in Fair Lawn athletics, died in March after a brief battle with lung cancer.
Whenever Fair Lawn High School softball coach Sue Benjamin needed a hand with something team-related, she could count on Lisa Sudol for help. The dedicated softball supporter and mother of senior shortstop Ashley Sudol lost her battle with lung cancer in March, but a new scholarship fund that carries her name will continue Sudol's support of the Fair Lawn softball program and its players for years to come. "I had wanted to start a FLHS Softball scholarship since last year and this was an opportunity to do that and honor the memory of Lisa at the same time," said Benjamin, who will select the scholarship's annual recipients with the help of Sudol's husband, Bob. The softball program will dedicate one fundraiser each year to finance the …
Monday, May 20, 2013
Videographer Wayne Robbins stopped by the high school on Saturday to capture some of this year's Marathon festivities.
Wayne Robbins, a 1968 Fair Lawn High School Marathon participant, went back to school on Saturday to capture some of the highlights from this year's event, where members of the high school senior class plan an action-packed two days full of continuous games, music and entertainment with the goal of raising money for local organizations. Wayne filmed field games, kickball, volleyball, Jell-O Wars, a splash down at the dunk tank and a whole lot more. He also interviewed some of the people -- teachers, students and parents --who helped make this year's Marathon possible. Proceeds from this year's event will be distributed to the Fair Lawn Rescue Squad and the Fair Lawn ADA Committee for the creation of a barrier-free playground at Berdan …
Fair Lawn High School geometry students competed in the school's annual Pasta Bridge Competition on Friday.
The crunch of fettuccini noodles fracturing reverberated through the Fair Lawn High School auditorium Friday as geometry students put their wheaty feats of engineering to the test at the school's annual Pasta Bridge Competition. Now in its 15th year, the contest that tasks students with designing a 12-ounce bridge made of only Ronzoni fettuccini and Elmer's White Glue has become a student favorite. Qualifying bridges are judged on maximum weight supported and aesthetic value. This year's sturdiest bridge, built by Liana Sina, Daria Ortega and Denise Tarakjian, held a cool 385 pounds before its 11.05-ounce frame snapped under the growing weight of systematically stacked barbell plates. Student pasta bridges need hold only 25 pounds to …
Friday, May 17, 2013
The 2nd Annual Fun Run/Walk, a relatively new aspect of the historic Fair Lawn High School Marathon, will be held Saturday morning.
Marathon 2013 kicked off Friday afternoon at the high school, but it's not too late to register for Saturday morning's 2nd Annual Marathon Fun Run/Walk. The approximately 3-mile event begins at 9 a.m at the high school, with registration starting at 8:30 a.m. in the high school parking lot. The cost to participate is $10 for the general public and $5 for students, seniors and Board of Education employees. Marathon, one of the high school's longest running traditions, is a senior-class planned two-day extravaganza of games, music, food and fun that raises money for local charities and organizations. To see what Marathon is all about, check out the video filmed by Wayne Robbins at last year's event. -- Follow Fair Lawn-Saddle Brook Patch on …
Fair Lawn High School dropped a couple hundred spots, but still ranked 876th nationally in Newsweek's 2013 list of "America's Best High Schools."
Fair Lawn High School is among the most effective high schools in the country at preparing students for college, according to Newsweek's annual list of "America's Best High Schools." Despite dropping a couple hundreds spots in each of the past two years, Fair Lawn remains among the top 1,000 schools in the nation. The high school ranked 876th nationally, 66th in New Jersey and 14th in Bergen County in Newsweek's 2013 list, released earlier this month. The magazine ranked Fair Lawn 649th in the country and 52nd in the state among public high schools in 2012, and 400th in the country and 33rd in the state in 2011. Superintendent Bruce Watson said he was pleased with the rankings, and wasn't sweating slipping a couple hundred spots on the …
Monday, May 13, 2013
The Saddle Brook Board of Education Monday approved the hiring of Dr. Richard Katz as its new superintendent of schools.
The Saddle Brook Board of Education Monday introduced and approved a five-year contract for its new superintendent of schools. Richard Katz, the current superintendent, principal and director of special services for the Clinton-Glen Gardner School District in Hunterdon County will assume the reins of the district on July 1 at a salary of $157,500. He'll replace the retiring superintendent Kathryn Fedina, who returned to work this week after being out for the past 2.5 months on medical leave. Katz, who has held a dual superintendent/principal role in the one-school, 500-student Clinton-Glen Gardner district since 2009, said he chose Saddle Brook for its close-knit community and commitment to improvement. "I’m in a small community now and …
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Don Bosco pulled ahead and away from Bergen County in the third quarter to win their second consecutive county title.
The Don Bosco Ironmen outscored the Bergen Catholic Crusaders 5-1 in the third quarter of the finals in the Bergen County Lacrosse Tournament. That scoring outburst made all the difference and propelled the Ironmen to a 10-6 victory and their second straight Bergen County championship. The Ironmen had a rough go of it in the first half. Bergen Catholic goalie Matt Pedrick was on point early on and held the Ironmen to just three first-half goals. “They came out playing hard. We were struggling with our shots and their goalie played really well," said Don Bosco captain Teddy Sisco-Tolomeo. Don Bosco looked like a different team in the second half. They came out very aggressive, snatched control of the game and never looked back. "In the …
Friday, May 10, 2013
A two-year collaborative process culminated Friday afternoon when Thomas Jefferson Middle School opened its outdoor classroom to students and teachers.
Thomas Jefferson Middle School unveiled its brand new outdoor classrom Friday afternoon at a brief dedication ceremony attended by assistant superintendent Natalie Lacatena, Mayor John Cosgrove and Councilwoman Lisa Swain. The classroom is the second phase of science teacher and environmental club advisor Susan Goldstein's three-phase plan to "recycle" previously unused space behind the school using grant money. The project's first phase was the addition of a raised planting bed located near where the outdoor classroom now exists. "This project took two years to complete and will enable classrooms in the school to have the opportunity to work outside," Principal Sherrie Galofaro said during her opening remarks Friday. "If you know Mrs. …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Thomas Jefferson Middle School is dedicating its outdoor classroom Friday, a collaborative two-year effort that will give students a chance to learn outdoors.
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 …
Zak Koeske
1:54 pm on Thursday, May 23, 2013
@95Crash - Not my decision. Patch, as a company, has not yet decided to launch a site there, based on whatever criteria they use to determine those sorts of things. more ›