May / June 2010

Industrial Maintenance | Law & Public Safety | Little Shop of Horrors | Sports Recap
Student Council | Kudos! | Web Design

Mr. Zarra's class has been busy handling various school projects, such as building the sets used for Little Shop of Horrors, but they still found time to take some awards at the Craftsman Fair.

Congratulations go out to:

Shaneefah Smith — 1st place
Group Project — 1st place
Kevin Braswell — 2nd place

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Law & Public Safety Academy

The students of the Law & Public Safety Academy were personally invited by Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, Jr for the press conference honoring Supreme Court Justice William Brennan Jr with an official unveiling of the judge's statue at the Historic Courthouse in Newark on June 3, 2010. This historic event paid tribute to the Honorable Brennan's contributions to our judicial system for 35 years of service as a Supreme Court Judge, as well as his numerous years as a judge and attorney in New Jersey, and serving our country in the military during World War II. Judge Brennan's over 1300 Supreme Court opinions with regard to civil rights and constitutional law are some of the most significant interpretations still in standing today. The statue marks the Newark native's success and respect earned by his great work, and perseverance to uphold our Constitution.

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Little Shop of Horrors

On May 22, 2010 N. 13th Street presented the first musical in two decades, Little Shop of Horrors. With the combined talents of Jesus Benitez as Seymour, Yaritza Santiago as Audrey, Jeff Francois as Mushnik, Amanda Hinds, Frenisha Glasgow and Jennifer Francois as the Skidrow Girls and alumni Ariel Alvarez as the dentist it dazzled audiences and was a huge success. Gonzalo Valencia was the musical director and brought in a drummer to accompany him on keyboard. Brenda Pepper, the Visual and Performing Arts teacher at N 13th had the vision and with the collaborative efforts of Brittney Rhode who choreographed, Nick Zarra who built the set, Gail Riccardi who handled publicity the show was a hit! The show involved numerous shops throughout the N 13th; web design, woodworking, and the talents of Ms. Davis hair and make-up students.

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Sports Recap

Congratulations to the following students on their awards For All-league honors:

BASEBALL

1ST TEAM ALL-LEAGUE
Outfielder - Miguel Duran, Sophomore
Infielder - Juan Martinez, Senior

Honorable Mention
Michael Casiano - pitcher/catcher. Senior

SOFTBALL

1ST TEAM ALL-LEAGUE
Angelica Pacheco - Infielder, Senior

Honorable Mention
Samantha Guzman - Outfielder, Junior

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N. 13th Street Student Council - Rising Star Chapter

Quietly Working Behind the Scenes

The Student Council (SC) has been 'doing' since the 2009-2010 school year began by greeting all staff members with a variety of survival bags to help them start their year off. In mid-September thru mid-October, Student Council helped to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by celebrating a memorable person everyday and raised over $1,200 for UNICEF as a result of their Annual Halloween Dance and Costume Contest. This earned SC the 'Ribbon of Success' from UNICEF! Money and awareness was raised for AIDES Awareness Day, 1 December 2010 via a Jean-Day for Staff ($5) and $1.00 ribbon purchase for students. Money was given to the Hyacinthine Foundation. The Annual Christmas Dance raised money for various class level accounts based on the number of students in attendance to the dance. The members of Student Council learned a great deal about the need for a changed ticket process and improved security. Members vowed that this was the first and last time they would experience such difficulties. Students and Staff participated in Mix-It-Up Day. This is a day where all involved look to find and get to know those who are born in their same birth-anniversary month, sharing time at lunch, during walks to and from class, while on one's prep or during a lunch-break. Mix-It-Up Day is a national program that promotes unity through diversity.

Come January (2010) Student Council took a very short break in order to prepare for February, March and April. With Black History Month the Council again lifted up unsung and little-known individuals in history. Women's History Month found the Council receiving only a few completed notes regarding bio-poems so that female staff members of N. 13th Street could be celebrated. Instead, all the Great Women of N. 13th Street were celebrated with a 'rose of recognition.' While the Council was to conduct its annual "Meet and Greet," with the Board of Education, scheduling conflicts have moved us to June. Here the members will take time before the meeting to have a Q and A with Board Members, Supervisors and other Administrators. Members will also sit in on the meeting to better observe the democratic process and how to conduct a meeting using the process of "Robert's Rules of Order." It is the hope of the chapter that next year they will be able to participate with the Board Members in a program called, "Board Member for a Day."

April brought in Earth Day and the Annual Susan G. Koeman Walk for Breast Cancer in Branch Brook Park. This year, several Student Council Members and their advisor traveled to the West Ward (a change in original plan from being at 1st Avenue School) in order to assist with neighborhood cleanup of the West Ward. Unfortunately due to the rainy weather that caught us before we could finish, we were unable to meet with Councilman Ron Rice who has promised to meet with SC members before the end of the school year to show his appreciation for their efforts. April 25th dawned a cold and rainy day, but 21 students from N.13th Street traveled by school bus at 5:30 AM to Branch Brook Park in order to volunteer their time and energy for the Susan G. Koeman Race for the Cure. What kept us warm and the rain poured were the memories of the warm and sunny day we had last year and the scores of people who walked, ran and participated to raise money for this worth cause. We have already put this event on our calendar for next year. In April we celebrated our own Mr. Chetram Singh during National Vice-Principal's Week (along with the other Vice-Principal's of the District). We combined Mr. Singh's celebration of his leadership with his birthday, which he tried to sneak past many of us without recognition. Also celebrated during this month were the Administrative Assistants of N. 13th. Candies, flowers and large planter t-cups were delivered with a smile and a note of thanks to each.

May came and went without our annual flower sale, but we had a week of celebrating the teaching staff of N. 13th Street during National Teachers Appreciation Week. This included breakfast, various gifts, a roll-call of excellence and the like. In addition, we also celebrated National Nurses Day and Week. Unfortunately, the Council is not sure that they will be able to host their annual End-of-the-Year Awards and Appreciation Celebration for both staff and students. One new institution is that the council has been responsible for instituting 'Change Day.' This allows staff members to pay, in quarters, the amount due for that quarter. So at the end of the first quarter, the cost of wearing jeans on the last day of the 1st Marking Period was .25. In return for the 'change,' staff dressed in professional dress the first day of the new Marking Period and received a Continental Breakfast to start off the new marking period right!

Plans are already in the works for programs and projects for the 2010-2011 school year, including expanding Character Education. Members will once again plan at their end of the year meeting, hold elections for class level officers and prepare to meet during the early weeks of August in order to put activities and programs into action upon return in early September.

Have a great summer and THANK YOU so much for your support and involvement with the Student Council of N. 12th Street a, Rising Star Chapter of the New Jersey Student Councils.

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Kudos!!!

Congratulations Ms. Bauknight!

Ms. Bauknight will be attending the NEH Summer Institute on "Cotton Culture in the South, 1865-1965." The selection committee was impressed with her application and asked her to join them this summer!

Congratulations to our Teachers of the Year:

Mr. Weshnak
Mrs. Moura

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Web Design

Another creative year wraps up ... with this newsletter as well as with a website that showcases the students' projects.

Please feel free to take a look at the wonderful efforts of the Junior Intermediate Web Design Class: http://n13web/web_inter/home.html, I'm quite proud, not to mention impressed, with how far they've come!

Now it's time for me to wait for my new juniors to walk in the door in September, so that they can be the ones to wow me with their work!

Ms. Riccardi

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This newsletter was created by Ms. Riccardi's Web Design Intermediate class.