Every month, I receive a number of “good news” items from our township’s schools, often more news than there is space in the Hamilton Post.
We always try to get as many of these items as possible into the paper, and the ones that don’t make it in the paper, onto our website, Mercerspace.com. But the unfair reality is, sometimes good news gets left out.
The past few weeks in Hamilton have had its share of downers: a collapsing ceiling at Steinert High School, a death on the train tracks, a homicide on Estates Boulevard, news that the violent crime rate had risen slightly in 2015.
It had me wondering, “What’s good in Hamilton Township?” I know there’s plenty of potential responses to that question, but The Answer was right in front of me, in my inbox: our children.
I knew then that whatever was going on in our schools was probably more important than the stuff I usually say in this space. So, this month, I present a collection of Good Things happening, thanks to the youth of Hamilton Township.
(If you don’t see your school’s good news here, send it to news@mercerspace.com, and we’ll try to get it in a future paper.)
*On March 23, elementary school students across the township donated $3 each to wear pajamas to school. The money raised will go to assist families in Mercer County who need help. It’s all part of “Lala and Mimi’s Pajama Project,” an effort started by Morgan Elementary School students Lauren and Mackenzie Multari. Inspired by the statistic that 19 percent of children in New Jersey live in poverty, Lala and Mimi’s Pajama Project has a simple goal: give new pajamas (and a bit of comfort) to those kids. In the first year of their nonprofit, Lauren and Mackenzie donated 1,034 pairs of PJs. The twins want to donate 2,000 pairs this year.
*At Robinson Elementary, students donated 180 used books as part of the school’s Read Across America book drive. Read Across America is an annual nationwide reading motivation program that calls for every child to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of children’s author Dr. Seuss. In that spirit, Robinson students donated books they weren’t using so that other members of their community could.
* In February, students at Greenwood Elementary School in brought in a variety of travel-sized hygiene items. Those items were then placed into “Blessing Bags,” and donated to Homefront. In total, Greenwood students donated enough so that 30 bags could be given away, along with other items collected.
*Kisthardt Elementary students are putting their brains, as well as their legs, to work, through the Read and Ride program. The program encourages students to pedal on a stationary bike while they read, and has been found to improve reading test scores and proficiency in schools where it has been implemented previously.
Teachers at Kisthardt have incorporated Read and Ride time into their daily schedule. With the help of the PTA, the school now has three bikes, with two more on the way. It needs a few more bikes in order to put the program in place in Grades 2-5, and Kisthardt has asked for donations of gently used stationary bikes. For more information or to donate a bike, contact teacher Lynn Bowen at lbowen@hamilton.k12.nj.us.
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