Students Arriving at School Early Forced to Wait Outside

Students have been arriving 10 minutes before extra help programs begin, although administrators have said not to do so.

Despite an e-blast sent out about exactly what time students should be dropped off at Eisenhower Intermediate for extra help before school, one parent is still finding students standing outside because they arrive too early. Parent Lisa Weinstock said at Tuesday’s board of education meeting that she drops her child off for early-morning help at the school, and has found students standing outside alone because they are not allowed in the building before a certain time. “I saw students standing outside unsupervised,” she said. “When I called parents to ask if they knew they were not supposed to do this, they were appalled their children were left standing outside.” Weinstock said the parents believed that because students are allowed in 10 …

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Special Olympics Tournament Teaches Social Skills

The program was held at Eisenhower Intermediate.

It was one of the only opportunities for students with severe disabilities to participate in an intramural sport, and that culminated in the Special Olympics Peer Basketball program at Eisenhower Intermediate School Thursday. Caroline Czysz, a teacher at Eisenhower, has been working with the PTO since December to bring this program, which already exists at one of the primary schools, to the intermediate building. “Both students with severe disabilities and their non-classified peers have been playing basketball every Tuesday after school since January,” she said. “We have worked on motor skills, sportsmanship, teamwork and acceptance.” The athletes, Czysz said, are volunteers, and peers were recommended by teachers. Then, she said, four …

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Eisenhower Students Host Senior Citizen Breakfast

It was part of work by the Character Education Committee.

On Feb. 11, the Character Education Committee at Eisenhower Intermediate School hosted the second annual Senior Citizen Breakfast.  Local senior citizens were welcomed to Eisenhower by students with hand-made programs for the festivities. Assistant Principal Cathleen Filippello kicked off the event with a warm welcome and directed the lineup.  The participants enjoyed snacks, including baked goods donated by the Eisenhower staff, coffee donated by the PTO, and fruit and cheese trays purchased from Wegmans with the funds from a PRIDE grant.  Students of Eisenhower Intermediate School showcased their many talents during the event. Some, selected by Principal Joseph Diskin Filippello read writing samples about random acts of kindness. Others…

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Fifth-Grader Wins Eisenhower Geography Bee

The next step is the state championships to qualify for the national competition.

After winning a school-level geographic bee at Eisenhower Intermediate School, a fifth-grader is one step closer to winning a $25,000 college scholarship, according to a release from the school. Siddarth Inta won the school-level competition of the National Geographic Bee Jan. 25, and will now move on to an April state championship before the nationals in Washington D.C. where the scholarship is up for grabs. According to the release, the school-level bee requires students to answer oral questions on georgraphy, and was the first round of the 25th Annual National Geographic Bee. The next step of the competition for Inta will be the state geographic bee, which will be held on April 5. From there, if Inta wins, the next step will be the …

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School Security Under Review After CT Shooting

It will be discussed in the board’s facilities committee.

All crisis management teams in the district met Monday morning to discuss current, and future, security measures in the wake of the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, according to Superintendent of Schools Michael Schilder. Schilder said Tuesday that the teams were looking at reviewing current security procedures, while also making recommendations for enhancement. “I compiled those into a format for the board facilities committee,” he said. “There are security issues, and suggestions are coming in that are very robust and detailed.” Schilder declined to give specifics on what is being discussed at this time. Board of education vice president Patrick Breslin said the facilities committee received the recommendations, and will be …

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Special K

1:59 pm on Wednesday, December 19, 2012

When moved by mindless tragedy to take action, there is a strong temptation to do something, even if it's wrong (or only a futile gesture)..So it has been in the wake of the theoretically unpredictable and/or unpreventable tragedy in Connecticut. Introducing TSA-type security procedures, surveillance and other costly and intrusive measures seems to have been relatively effective, to date, for …   more ›

5 Things

5 Reasons to Listen to Eisenhower Choir

Check out our list to help get your day started.

The Eisenhower Intermediate School choir is performing a special concert at the Bridgewater Township Library Thursday, complete with some of its favorite spring songs. The concert will be held at 7 p.m. at the library. And in honor of that performance, we present five reasons to check out the choir in person.

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Drama Returns to Intermediate Schools

Hillside continues its drama club, Eisenhower brings it back.

One school is having its first play a year after the program was eliminated in budget cuts, and one is proud to continue its tradition of a play a year—but for students and staff at both Eisenhower and Hillside intermediate schools, they are proud of the work they have accomplished. “The opportunity to have the play is missed when it is not there,” said Hillside teacher Katrina Macht, who works behind the scenes on the play. When the district was forced to deal with budget cuts several years ago, the drama program, and other extracurricular activities, at the intermediate schools were eliminated. At Hillside, Macht, her husband Timothy and others who worked on the play opted to go another route to ensure they could continue to offer the …

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Milltown Holds Special Basketball Tournament

Second through fourth graders play a championship at Eisenhower Intermediate School.

The teachers of Milltown Primary School presented a Special Olympics basketball championship at Eisenhower Intermediate School Tuesday, with teams made up of second through fourth graders who have worked for the last 10 weeks to develop skills and confidence. The program was developed by teachers Mona Hamby, Gina Quaglia and Ruth Denys, all of Milltown School. The program is not officially Special Olympics right now, but might be at some time in the future.  "We follow all the rules and hope we can make it official someday," Hamby said. "We are teaching the kids to play a team sport, which they do not get the opportunity to do because they can't always follow all the directions they would be required to play in a recreation league," she …

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Hair Today, Hope Tomorrow At St. Baldrick's Event

Over 100 community members volunteer and help raise money for children's cancer charity

Eisenhower Intermediate School played host to the 2012 St. Baldrick's event Thursday evening. The event is a culmination of a great deal of hard work by students and parents to raise awareness and money for children's cancer.  This year the event brought over 100 volunteers to the stage to get shaved in the name of fund raising. In last year's event, 42 volunteers were sheared on stage. Many other volunteers assisted with the basket auction, registrations and keeping the event running. Michael Schwartz was again the master of ceremonies and kept the room alerted and informed throughout the evening. At this year's event, there were two big groups that came to provide their support. The first, the scouts from Troop 96 lead by Scoutmaster …

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Students See Writing Improve in New Program

Eisenhower Intermediate has implemented a new literacy program.

It is all about writing, and writing a lot—and it is making students both develop the skill, while encouraging them to enjoy it even more. Joseph Diskin, principal at Eisenhower Intermediate School, presented his school’s new literacy program designed to improve student writing at the Feb. 28 board of education meeting. “Writing improves student performance, and the process of writing and revising improves students’ abilities to score well on state and local assessments,” he said. Basically, Diskin said, the program began as a vision to bring writing into all content areas, even special ones like physics, phys ed and others. “It was to develop a lot of writing by all students, develop competent writers and model good writing by all the …

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