Essay winners named
Rachael Song and Amilia Oh, fifth grade students at Millstone River School, were winners in the Middlesex County Jersey’s Art and Essay Contest (see photo at right). Song was the winner and Oh was runner up.
The theme of the contest was “Species on the Edge.” The winning essays and artwork were selected from more than 2,500 entries across the state. The girls’ essays will be posted on the Conserve Wildlife New Jersey web site starting in June.
WW-P grad named hospice medical director
Dr. Emily Looney, a 2003 graduate of the WW-P school district, has been named hospice medical director at Samartian Evergreen Hospice in Albany, Oregon.
Looney earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a medical degree from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. She completed training in family medicine at the Family Medicine Residency of Idaho and a hospice and palliative medicine fellowship at the University of Utah. While in medical school, she completed a rotation with Dr. Ira Byock, one of the early figures in palliative care.
“I find it deeply meaningful to have honest conversations with patients and families, help align their medical care with their values and walk with them through the last phase of life,” Looney said.
Looney has been with Samaritan Health Services since 2016, practicing at Samaritan Family Medicine-Geary Street and Samaritan Supportive Services at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. She is board certified in hospice and palliative medicine as well as family medicine.
In addition to serving as medical director for Samaritan Evergreen Hospice, Looney will continue a part time primary care practice at Samaritan Family Medicine–Geary Street.
Looney said that in her free time she enjoys playing classical saxophone and other woodwinds. This spring she will play in the pit orchestra for the Albany Community Theater’s production of Annie. She also enjoys pottery, exploring the outdoors, and spending time with her family and domesticated house bunny.
WW-P Educators of the Year named
The WW-P Regional School District has announced the Educators of the Year for 2018.
The teachers who were recognized are as follows: Lindsey Brooks, Town Center Elementary School; Holly Crochetiere, High School North; Sue DeForest, Millstone River School; Kim Hoeflinger, Grover Middle School; Maureen Mulhall, Maurice Hawk Elementary School; Laura Nash, Village School; Gerald Pinner, Wicoff Elementary School; Carol Reichmann, High School South; Gwen Rogala, Dutch Neck Elementary School; and David Serughetti, Community Middle School.
Plainsboro Public Library to feature works by tile artist
The Plainsboro Library will present a collection of hand-painted and fired ceramic tile art by artist Adrian Nicoara.
The exhibit will include original portraits, landscapes and still lifes, as well as interpretations of classical art. It will also include decorative tiles and plates.
Most of the work is created on six-inch tiles, arranged in groupings that measure 12 to 36 inches. They are edged in copper, and assembled in high quality hand-made wooden frames with inlaid fabrics or papers, which serve to enhance the tiles within.
The exhibition runs from May 26 to June 20. An art reception will be held on Sunday, June 3, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Nicoara is inspired by Chinese and Japanese ceramics, and heavily influenced by Van Gogh and Caravaggio. He has painted many reproductions by Master Artists; parts of these images can be seen in several of his ceramic tiles, such as a detail of a man condemned to hell in the Sistine Chapel’s “The Last Judgement” by Michelangelo.
One of his original landscapes shows the New York skyline from his home in Flushing; another is a still life of a vase of tulips—all painted with strong color glazes made more vibrant in the firing process. For more information, call the library at (609) 275-2897.
GMS Concert Choir excels in competition
The Grover Middle School Concert Choir for 7th and 8th grades won accolades during a choral competition at the University of Delaware between May 4 and 6.
Their experience included a choral clinic with Dr. Paul Head, professor of music at the University of Delaware. After singing for and working with Head, students continued on to the streets of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
The following day, students performed for two adjudicators, competing with students from schools from South Carolina to Delaware. At the awards ceremony that evening, the choir was awarded two trophies: first place in their division and best overall middle school choir at the festival. Both of these came with a superior rating. A special award was also presented to GMS 7th grader Kiko Yoshihira for outstanding piano accompanying.
“We’ve worked with many of these singers since the beginning of Grade 6, and this competition was a great reward for the tremendous effort they put into rehearsals and concerts all year long,” said directors Louise Haemmerle and Jodi Johnston, who are music teachers at GMS.
Nonprofit publishing house founded
Plainsboro resident Elizabeth Akin Stelling has announced the establishment of TheWrite2Change.org, a nonprofit publishing organization.
Stelling, who is also the founder and managing editor of Red Dashboard LLC Publications, says that the new publishing house offers a safe place for women and men to express themselves through workshops, writing about their experiences with domestic and sexual abuse, bullying and mental disorders, and through print anthologies.
“After 10 years of publishing at Red Dashboard, often working with writers who had suffered abuse, we saw the need to go further,” said Stelling. “I founded TheWrite2Change.org to foster healing through writing by bringing workshops and one-on-one mentoring to communities in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia. We offer individuals a creative outlet that helps them to be another step closer to healing by having the write2survive.”
She says the nonprofit will partner with other like-minded organizations and authors throughout the tri-state area and beyond to organize and facilitate events, conferences and readings that focus on healing.
Red Dashboard will be holding an event to introduce the new nonprofit at The Byron at 626 Plainsboro Road on June 9 from 3 to 6 p.m. The family-friendly event will have music, book readings, entertainment for kids and refreshments.
Authors with works included in two of its previously published abuse anthologies, Moving Beyond Mars: A Voice for Victims/Survivors of Abuse and dis*or*der, mental illness and its effects (influence) will be among the event speakers.
The cost is $25 per person. For more information, go to TheWrite2Change.org.
Rachael Song and Amilia Oh, pictured with Millstone River School Principal Roseann Citro and teacher Justin Goetzmann were the Middlesex County winner and runner up in the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey’s Art and Essay Contest.,
