INTERESTED IN JOINING THE NEWSPAPER? SEE MRS. DE VITO IN 325A!

Niya Barden Katelynn Bunsee Bryan Burnett Maria Coulson Tracy Datus Samuel Dorielan Kyrie Faulcon Bryanna Fleischmann

Atiya Jackson Jazmin Quinones Stacy Saint Paul

Sarah Singh Talia Sutera

Senior Editor: Keren Lebron

Arts & Music Editor: Meghan Flynn Photographer: Cecilia Puga

Advisor: Mrs. De Vito

Upcoming Important Dates at

Rahway Academy

3/2-3/6 - PARCC Grade 7

3/9-3/13 - PARCC Grade 8

3/15 - Central Jersey All-Region Percussion En-

semble Concert

3/18 - Band & Orchestra Field Trip to Lincoln

Center, NYC

3/20 - Band, Orchestra & Chorus performances

at the Union Cty. Teen Arts Festival

3/20, 3/21 (7pm) & 3/22 (2pm) - Hairspray Jr.

3/22 - Central Jersey All-Region Band Concert

3/26 - Academy Writing Night, Academy

Cafeteria 7pm

4/15 - Gang Awareness Presentation

4/16 - Rahway's Annual All District Band Con-

cert; 7pm; Academy Gym

Sat. 4/18 - Academy hosts the Annual Central

Jersey Elem. Honors Band Festival (all day event)

Spotlight on Student Poetry

Rumors spread like fire

The heat makes it hard not to perspire You want it to leave but it has no desire

You're trapped with no way out But now you hear something about

Someone to end the pain Someone to take it away

As the last ash is extinguished You try to forget the past

All those who laughed

It has finally ended You have won

Good job little soldier The pain is now gone

You may look back to this day Years and years away Then you may realize

What they say Shouldn't of mattered anyway

By: Lily Viteka

F r o m t h e P r i n c i p a l ’ s P e n

Our seventh grade students will be taking the PARCC assess-

ment March 2nd and the eighth grade students will be doing the

same on March 9th. We ask that you schedule all appointments

accordingly, as absences will upset the testing process. In or-

der to position your child/children for success we recommend

the following tips during testing week: Healthy and nutritious

breakfast every morning, ensure that your child is prompt and

present for testing, and plenty of rest and a goodnight’s sleep

Please be informed that the state is required to use an annual

test to identify student groups and schools needing intervention

or corrective action. Additionally, it is important to note that

districts must maintain at least 95% participation rate of every

student group – the waiver does not, (as rumored) change that

requirement. We ask that you help us meet those require-

ments and support the testing process.

The Academy Times Staff

R A H W A Y 7 T H A N D 8 T H G R A D E A C A D E M Y

The Academy Times February 2015 Volume 3 Issue 3

Celebrating Black History By: Atiya Jackson

February is the month in which we celebrate Black History. It is a very inspiring time of year. As an

African-American, I feel the drive to work harder in

school because my ancestors fought for what they

believed in and I need to make them proud. Harriet

Tubman, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks

helped their gener- ations therefore affect-

ing our generation today. I feel that I need

to pick up where they left off.

At Rahway Acade- my, we celebrate Black

History month by participating in projects

all over school through various classes.

Ms. Swisstack’s classes created stamps

for our heroes in Black History in the computer lab.

Mr. Celoski’s classes lis- tened to and read Dr. Martin

Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech and wrote their

own essays entitled I Have a Dream Too where students

wrote about any personal dreams that they have for themselves. Projects

were hung in a Gallery Walk in the gymnasium and daily announcements

were made. Rahway Academy also held a Black History Month Celebration. It was held on February

26th in the evening and February 27th during the school day. It was a beautiful celebration!

Famous Love

Quotes

“You’ve gotta dance like

there’s nobody watching,

Love like you’ll never be

hurt, Sing like there’s no-

body listening, And live like

it’s heaven on earth.” -

William W. Purkey

“A friend is someone who

knows all about you and

still loves you.” - Elbert

Hubbard

“Darkness cannot drive out

darkness: only light can do

that. Hate cannot drive out

hate: only love can do

that.” - Dr. Martin Luther

King, Jr.

“You know you’re in love

when you can’t fall asleep

because reality is finally

better than your dreams.” -

Dr. Seuss

“Love all, trust a few, do

wrong to none.” - William

Shakespeare

“Nobody has ever meas-

ured, not even poets, how

much the heart can hold.” -

Zelda Fitzgerald

By: Keren Lebron

Cumbia, Salsa, and Merengue were the top dances of the night on February 13th when Spanish Club held a Valentine’s Day Dance! The students that were able to come to the Valentine’s Day Dance had an opportunity to taste empanadas and Hispan-ic munchies with light refreshments. All students from the 7th and 8th Grade Academy were wel-comed. The money that was collected will support activities held for Spanish Club. Everyone starting from students to teachers were showing off their dance moves, including Ms. Rodriguez dancing an original Dominican Dance called Bachata. Will there be another upcoming spring dance? Keep your ears open to find out!

Valentine’s Day Dance

P a g e 2 T h e A c a d e m y T i m e s

MEMA-Making Education in Moshi Accessible We CAN change the world!

Since last year, the Rahway Academy Band Program, in collaboration with the Builders Club, has been globally involved with children’s education through Project MEMA. This organization pro-vides for children in Moshi, Tanzania with funding their continuing education, school supplies, shoes and uniforms, sports equipment, and school renovations. The Band Program has collected pencils and pens, stickers, and jump ropes for children who are in desperate need. Just this month the Academy Bands hosted our first Benefit Recital, specifically dedicated to this cause, which showcased students from our Band Program! We had a marvelous audience and the stu-dent performances were phenomenal! We raised $231 that night and will be sending a check in that amount along with the collected supplies to Project MEMA founder Amy Wendel this week! Thanks to Mrs. Spatz, Mrs. Van Wyk, Mr. Summers, Ms. Highsmith, Ms. Krivenko and all of the students and parents who stepped up, took on a task, donated, and got involved!

The Band

Bulletin

Representing Rahway across Central Jersey!

On the cold, snowy final Saturday of January, five of Rahway’s finest 8th graders auditioned to be accepted into the Central Jersey All-Region Bands. Among the brave were Kelly Emmer on flute, Christian Rivera on horn, Ad-am Greebel on alto saxophone, Summer Thompson on trumpet, and Alexis Carter on percussion. These students had to memorize countless scales and rhythms, master a two page classical solo, then, on the spot, sight read and perform a difficult musical excerpt. So they deserve a big congratulations for this life accomplishment! You represented Rah-way with the utmost pride and distinction! But an enormous congratulations goes to Summer Thompson for being accepted into the Central Jersey All Region Symphonic Band and Alexis Carter for being accepted for the third consecutive year into the Central Jersey All Region Percussion Ensemble! You have made everyone in this Band Program proud to say you are from Rahway!

A Secret Branch of Musical Government

You may not be aware of this but there is another branch of student leadership in the school. In the Rahway Academy 8th Grade Concert Band there is an elected hierarchy which includes a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Social Co-Chairs, and section leaders. These students have met in the allure of the band room during lunch study to plan the musical missions of the Band Program. We’ve compiled a list of song selections to perform at the All-District Band Concert in April and our 8th grade Promotion Ceremony in June. We began discussion on a 5-6 city-wide Jam Session here at the Academy. We even had discussion of fundraisers to travel to a nearby theme park and fund other musical adventures. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for another report of The Secret

Branch.

By: Meghan Flynn

Academy Winter Sports

P a g e 7

V o l u m e 3 , i s s u e 3

Boys Basketball

Wrestling By: Bryanna Fleischman

As the season ends, we like to reflect on our Rahway Acad-

emy’s fantastic wrestling team’s season! At the start of the

season, the team was nothing but a bunch of kids without

knowledge or skill in the sport. Coach O’Reilly changed all

of that for the better. With a lot of practice and determina-

tion, the team prospered into a whole family. It is a good

thing because the family finished the season with five wins

and two losses. The team’s captain, Antonio Dalmau,

helped the members get to where they are now. Samaad

Brown, Antonio Alfano, and Antonio Dalmau finished the

season undefeated. The teammates are excited to start up

again next year coming back better than ever!

Girls Basketball By: Keren Lebron

“Lets go Rahway!” is being cheered from the bleach-

ers. Hearing encouragement from their very own Coach

Spiess and their parents was the reason why the girls

basketball players never gave up on their team. They

understood that they had the potential of winning their

games and striving to be great. These girls also had a

great season winning 9-3. They were very dedicated in

their practices and showed off their capability in their

games. “The girls worked very hard and had a very suc-

cessful season,” said Coach Spiess. The girls’ confi-

dence took them successfully through their season.

By: Keren Lebron

“1, 2, 3, RAHWAY! 4, 5, 6, FAMILY!” These words were said by each

boy who is a part of Rahway Academy’s boys basketball team at

the start of every game. They started every single game with their

heads up and had one dream in mind: to win their game and be

undefeated. These boys had a very successful season winning 10-

2. They played well together and always knew how to work together

not only as a team but also as a family. Each and every boy on the

basketball team always had each other's backs and never betrayed

each other. They knew how to communicate with each other and

had great sportsmanship. Not only did being a part of a team help

the boys be better basketball players but it also taught them life

lessons including to always follow your dreams no matter what the

audience is yelling in your ear. When these boys become success-

ful they will know where they started: in Rahway.

P a g e 6 T h e A c a d e m y T i m e s

P a g e 3

V o l u m e 3 , i s s u e 3

Child Assault Prevention

Winter Wonderland Dance

By: Sam Dorielan

The Winter Wonderland Dance was held on Decem-

ber 19th at Rahway Academy. We raised a lot of

money, had some good dance moves going on, and

had awesome fun. There was a great DJ and there

were also snacks for sale. For the first time we had a

do it yourself photo booth!

I interviewed some people on what they thought

about the dance. A majority of students said, “I liked

the Masquerade Dance better.” However, a lot of

people said they liked the great songs, dancing, and

fun. We are looking forward to the next dance!

By: Katelynn Bunsee

Rahway 7th and 8th Grade Academy hosted its first Tricky Tray on February 21. For those of you

who do not know what a Tricky Tray is, it is a raffle where you could win big prizes! The event was

an adult only event which took place in the cafeteria. Even a snow storm could not keep people

away as 170 people were in attendance! Baskets filled with goods and prizes filled our cafeteria

as onlookers anxiously awaited the numbers on the tickets to be called to see if they won their

coveted prizes! Some of the prizes offered included televisions, mountain bicycles, ceramic art-

work, gift certificates, and over 100 gift baskets. It was a huge success and we are hoping that

more events will be held in the future. Thank you for all who attended!

Sweetheart Tricky Tray

By: Keren Lebron Eighth graders in Rahway Academy were able to have an oppor-tunity to participate in a two day workshop given by Child Assault Prevention (CAP). Students were able to understand that they have three rights. They have the right to be safe, strong, and free. They also covered what constitutes abuse. Eighth graders are now alert of the things occurring around them and know what they must do when they witness or have gone through sexual assault. Rahway Academy students have learned to trust an adult that they have confidence in and have also learned how to defend themselves as a victim. They also re-ceived a guide with information on where to get help and the key principals discussed during the workshop. Remember that “You have the right to say no!”

P a g e 4 T h e A c a d e m y T i m e s

Rahway Academy Goes to the Movies

By: Meghan Flynn

Last month students from Rahway 7th and 8th Grade Academy ventured to the Linden AMC Movie

Theater to witness the motion picture Selma. The movie showed the march from Montgomery to

Selma, Alabama, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to ensure equal voting rights for all people in

1965. This field trip kicked off Rahway Academy’s Black History month celebration and commemo-

rated Dr. King’s birthday. Students from both grades immensely enjoyed the movie. Eighth grader,

Bryanna Fleischman, said, “It was a great movie with riveting facts and made me feel like I was

there in that time period.” Selma was such an inspirational movie, to the point where some eyes

got pretty watery. There was also a Selma Movie Contest where if you wrote or acted out a review

of Selma you were able to win a $100, $50, or $25 pre-paid gift card!

By: Bryan Burnett

A new standardized test is coming to Rahway Academy. The

PARCC test is replacing the NJASK. It is a computerized test

taken twice a year in March and May during Language Arts and

Math classes.

In asking students at the Academy, they seem to be in favor of

the new test format. They feel it is helpful for students to use

computers because they don’t have to keep looking at a paper

and erasing. It is much easier to go back and check your work.

Ms. Pyne stated, “This is new for all of us. Teachers and stu-

dents will be going through this together for the first time. The

test should not be any easier or harder. It will just be different.”

Academy Prepares for PARCC

Matchmaking at the Academy

By: Jazmin Quinones

Who is your best match? Rahway Academy staff and students recently participated in a matchmaking fundraiser. The

fundraiser is done to offset the cost of the 7th grade field trip, which is being held in

the spring. Students filled out question- naires and then results were compiled.

The form matches you up with males and females in your same grade and the

most opposite in your same grade. Even staff members participated! The point of

the matching game is that it is supposed to show who you are the most compatible

and least compatible with in the school. There is also astrological information as

well as a biorhythm chart on the back of the form along with interesting facts about

your birth date. Students also received lolli- pops with their forms. If you still would

like to get your form, please see Mr. Feltmann in Room 320A. The cost is $2 for students and $3 for staff members.

Learning About the Holocaust

V o l u m e 3 , i s s u e 1

P a g e 5

Rahway Academy’s AED Team had a suc-

cessful Medical Drill! This was an unan-

nounced drill to test the response and

skills of our AED Team members. They

were awesome! We are in good hands.

News from the Nurse Art Club Corner

By: Laurie Kylie and Brianna Simoes

On Friday February 13, the Rahway 7th and 8th grade Academy had the honor of a special guest, Marsha Kreuzman,

a Holocaust survivor. Ms. Perrone, an 8th grade Language Arts teacher and The Holocaust Council of Greater Metrow-

est in Whippany, NJ, provided and sponsored the 8th grade class with this survivor. Along with Marsha, the moderator,

Barbara Wind, informed our students that this was the 70 year liberation of the death camp Auschwitz, the largest

death camp which was 19 square miles long.

The 8th grade Language Arts classes learned about the history of the Holocaust and read the memoir, Night, by Elie

Wiesel. Adolf Hitler along with the Nazi party tried to exterminate all Jews. During this period of time six million Jews

were killed. However, some survived like Marsha Kreuzman. Marsha Kreuzman is an extraordinary woman. She sur-

vived five concentration camps and is still alive to tell her story. Her entire family was killed during this horrific period

in history. Throughout this period in her life, Marsha faced hatred, death, survival, a loss of faith, all while being alone

with no family. She moved from camp to camp and made it through alive.

Marsha Kreuzman was very honest with the students explaining her story of survival through the Holocaust. Marsha

explained that a loaf of bread cut into ten pieces meant everything to them. She spent four days and five nights walk-

ing in a snowstorm with no food or water, surviving by eating snow off the ground. At the end of the Holocaust she

weighed only 68 pounds. Marsha Kreuzman did what many thought was impossible: surviving.

In conclusion, Rahway 7th and 8th grade Academy would like to thank Marsha Kreuzman, a survivor of the Holocaust

and moderator, Barbara Wind from The Holocaust Council of Greater Metrowest in Whippany, NJ for coming and

speaking to our 8th graders about her story of survival and heartache. Marsha is such an inspiration to many kids and

adults with her loving and caring personality. Her bravery to speak out about her near death experience should influ-

ence us all to be better human beings.

The Art Club has been busy sewing and making

their own shirts! After the shirts are made they

will be tie-dyed!