By Dana Drake
The temperature has dropped and though winter has not officially begun, the winter sports season has.
Be sure to come out and show your support for our boys’ and girls’ Lawrence Cardinals winter sports teams: basketball, cheerleading, ice hockey, swimming, track and wrestling.
The Cardinal Athletic Calendar for both LHS and LMS can be found at (colonialvalleyconference.org).
In previous years, the district’s Community Conversation has been held in the month of December.
However, as the district is in the process of developing our new 5-year strategic plan (based on the four goals I shared in last month’s column), the Community Conversation has been pushed back to Apr. 26. Stay tuned for more details in coming months.
As of the mid-month Gazette deadline, the NJ Department of Education has released state-level results of the PARCC test first given last spring.
The district scores will be released next, followed by a release of individual student scores.
The individual student report of PARCC test scores will look quite different than the NJASK student reports received in previous years.
To help interpret the new PARCC report format, Andrew Zuckerman, director of Instructional Services, has created a presentation to walk parents through a sample PARCC student report.
A link to this informative video presentation can be found on the district website (ltps.org); or the video can be accessed directly on the district’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/ltpsnews).
At the Nov. 11 board meeting the Lawrence Township Education Foundation (LTEF) presented LTPS with 12 grants totaling $46,065.
A big thank you to LTEF and the generous financial supporters with-in our community. Since its inception in 1992, LTEF has contributed over $2.9 million to fund over 620 grants supporting curricular enhancements outside the constraints of our budget.
Visit the LTEF website (ltefnj.org) for information on the grants awarded in the fall funding cycle and to learn about the many ways you can help support the efforts of LTEF.
An art exhibit opened in mid-November at the Mercer County Community College (MCCC) Gallery showcasing artists still in high school or recent graduates, along with the teachers who are inspiring them to pursue their artistic passions.
“Passing the Palette: Arts Educators and Their Students” includes more than 50 artists from eight local high schools displaying 67 pieces in a variety of media. Representing Lawrence are LHS art teachers — Khalilah Sabree, Sean Carney, and Cheryl Eng, as well as LHS students Andrew Baicker, James Boushell, Samantha Gardocki, Barbara Gruszka, Emily Herrera, Bryan Lemus, and Benjamin Reitz.
If you have not already, visit the MCCC Gallery to see the work of our talented staff and students; the exhibit will be on display through Tuesday, Dec. 8. Location and Gallery hours can be found online (mccc.edu/community_gallery).
Winter recess begins with an early dismissal on Wednesday, Dec. 23 with students returning Monday, Jan. 4.
On behalf of the Board, I’d like to wish the community and our LTPS administrators, staff and students a very safe and happy holidays.
Dana Drake is a member of the Lawrence Township Board of Education. Her email is ddrake@ltps.org.
