Creativity electrified Lawrence Middle School (LMS) on May 20 as the school held its second annual Arts Festival. Numerous workshops covering areas such as media and visual arts, music, drama and literacy filled the schedule. LMS appreciates the Lawrence Township Education Foundation again funding this special program.

 LMS teachers Melissa Clark leads the LMS orchestra and Ron Taglairino leads the LMS concert band.

 View Festival program. View video clips below and view slideshow of a few workshops . 

"Oh, I want to dance with somebody...!" Lawrence Township senior citizens did just that on the evening of May 15 as generations connected at a dance hosted by Lawrence High School's (LHS) Interact Club. The event brought everyone back to the '60s where there was "a whole lotta shakin' goin' on!"  A sixties cover band played in the LHS cafeteria, and LHS students mingled and danced with the seniors in our community. There is an old Irish proverb that says "Laughter is brightest in the place where the food is." - and that certainly was the case at this senior prom. Attendees enjoyed cheese and fruit platters, chips and dip, sparkling grape juice, and home-made deviled eggs prepared by our very own LHS Interact students. It was a perfect time for the event as May is Older Americans Month in recognition of older Americans and their contributions to the nation.

LHS English teacher Jill Vaughn advises the Interact Club.

Lawrence Intermediate School (LIS) special education teacher Sue Douglas presented to the Board of Ed at the May 13 meeting.  Sue related details of an LIS program in which 6th graders serve as mentors to and establish relationships with LIS students with special needs.

Mentors:

L to R back row: Gracie Monetti, Anna Hyson, Kerstyn Johnson, Katie Prikril
Front row: Katie Yonan, Sue Douglas, Molly Lutoff. Not present: Andrew Yuen

At an intense State competition at William Paterson University on May 2, five students from Lawrence Middle School (LMS) qualified to participate in the National and final round of the 2015 National History Day competition in June. This year's theme is "Leadership and Legacy in History."

Gabe Gutierrez, Izabella Mus, and Toby Webster, grade 8, qualified in the Junior Group Exhibit category for "Jacqueline Cochran and the WASP: Leading Women out of their Domestic Lifestyles and into the Air" and Grace Dismukes and Gill Woody, grade 8, qualified in the Junior Group Performance category for "The Dream King: Walt Disney's Legacy of Imagineering."

Over half a million students in grades 6-12 annually participate in National History Day by choosing a topic in history based on the annual theme and then presenting their findings in the form of an exhibit, documentary, website, paper or performance. Students who move on to the national level represent the top 5% of entries from United States territories and all 50 states. The National qualifiers will travel to the University of Maryland to participate in the week-long competition and events beginning on June 14.

Other LMS entries received special prizes during the State round of competition:

Princeton University Preparatory Program (PUPP) recently selected six Lawrence High School (LHS) students as members of its new class of scholars. More students were chosen from LHS than from 6 other county schools - our highest number ever!

Congratulations to Mariah Crawford, Efrain De Leon, Fernando Gaitan, Rodrigo Guerra, Adam Kosiba and Maria Monterrosso for being chosen for this highly selective program.

PUPP is a mentoring, academic and cultural enrichment program offered to selected students over a three-year period beginning in the summer of their rising sophomore year.  Out of over 200 applicants, only 24 students are chosen from 6 schools in Mercer County based on a variety of factors including academic and standard test performance and interviews.  All functions, tutoring, test prep, cultural enrichment trips and events are 100% free to all scholars. Learn more about PUPP here.

Angelika Gorecka, 3rd grader at Slackwood Elementary School, won 1st Place in the 3rd and 4th grade division of the Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association's (GMTMA) Safe Routes to School Bookmark Design Contest. In addition, Lawrence Intermediate School (LIS) 4th grader Samantha Gunton won an Honorable Mention for her entry. The contest was open to all Mercer County students in grades 3-5 and the theme was "My favorite place to walk/bike is...." Winning bookmarks will be printed and distributed at local libraries and schools.

Make sure you don't miss receiving information from your child's new school - Lawrence Intermediate School (LIS).  Click here to sign up for weekly e-newsletters so you are always up to date on the events and activities going on in school and around town. Like the LIS PTO on Facebook to get reminders about school events and forms that are due back to school by a certain date. Finally, visit the LIS PTO website often to find all the information you need that your child may have forgotten to tell you.

Rider University will host its 6th annual STEM Teacher Academy from July 13-24. Anyone who is 15-18 years old and in his/her sophomore, junior, or senior year in high school in fall 2015 and has an interest in teaching or learning more about the teaching profession and STEM disciplines is eligible to apply. 

See flyer and application.

Registration for the summer reading program at the Lawrence branch of the Mercer County Library begins Monday, June 22. See flyer for details.

Take this flyer to Captain Paul's Firehouse Dogs on Saturday, June 13 from 12-6PM and 20% of your purchase will help fund the July 4th fireworks display.

Support women's sports at Rider University by participating in the annual 5K Walk/Run on Saturday, June 13. Walkers/runners of all ages are welcome. Registration fee includes event t-shirt, reusable water bottle and post-race lunch. See flyer for registration information.