#b#Eagle Scout#/b#
Saagar Chitale of West Windsor was recognized for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout during a ceremony at Windsor Chapel in West Windsor on June 29. A member of Boy Scout Troop 66 and a rising junior at High School South, his project involved designing and building six new benches along the trolley line trail that runs through West Windsor.
His late grandfather, Vishwanath Chitale, lived in Mumbai but often visited West Windsor during the summer. “I had the inspiration for this project from going on walks on the trail with my late grandfather,” he says. “I noticed he would get tired but he did not have a place to rest. I built these benches in his memory and hope they help other residents of the community who might benefit from having a place to rest.”
He worked with West Windsor landscape architect Dan Dobromilsky on the design and location of the benches. Chitale also received a plaque from West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh. His mentor was Frank Orsini of Troop 66.
At the age of 10 he joined Boy Scout Troop 66. A varsity swimmer at High School South, he has won the one-mile swim race at the scout summer camp at Rodney reservation in Maryland.
A saxophonist, Chitale played for three years in middle school and has played baritone saxophone in the band at South for two years.
He plans to pursue a career in biology. This summer Chitale is working in an Alzheimers’s research laboratory at NYU School of Medicine.
He is the son of Sadhana and Milind Chitale. The family has lived in West Windsor for 10 years.
#b#Dance Competition#/b#
Jeanette Smith of West Windsor earned a high gold award for her jazz solo, “Valerie,” choreographed by Debbie DeVries Wince, at the recent national Starbound competition in Atlantic City. A rising sixth grader at Grover Middle School, Smith is a member of the Dance Corner’s Elite Team.
The Dance Corner will hold auditions for its 2013-’14 Elite Team on Sunday, September 15, at its West Windsor studios. For information visit www.thedancecorner.org or call 609-799-9677.
Scholarships
June graduates from High South, Camila Pena, Carolina Charvet Pena, and Sean McQuown, received scholarships from Mercer County Professional Counselors Association at a breakfast reception held at Mercer County Community College on Friday, May 31.
#bGood Cause#/b#
Girl Scout Allison Camaratta of WW-P’s Troop 70600 helped collect supplies for Hurricane Sandy victims. To join girl scouts, E-mail girlscoutswwp@verizon.net.
#b#Dollars for Books/b#
The students at Maurice Hawk Elementary School were busy during the last few weeks of school. Grade one students held a used book sale and raised $1,000. The teachers purchased new books for an elementary school in Red Bank that suffered damage during Hurricane Sandy. The books purchased helped to restock classroom libraries and benefit students. Hawk teachers involved in the project included Lisa Rizziello, Tae Seo, Amanda Barclay, Krystal Russo, Linda Bugher, Christy Byrnes, Nancy Zeidonis, Christine Robinson, Kim Haines, and Marla Savage.
#b#Memorial Day#/b#
Seventh-grade students at Community Middle School honored fallen members of the armed forces through original song, dance, and spoken word at the annual Memorial Day assembly in May. Congressman Rush Holt served as the keynote speaker. The event began with the presentation of colors and ended with a student/teacher bugler duo blowing “Taps.”
According to Catherine Foley, the president of the PTSA, the event was hosted by seventh-grade members of the AMIGOS organization and was supported by the seventh grade faculty. Students submitted original songs, dances, and poems to the student group and the best entries were shared at the assembly. Additionally, the school recognized guests from American Legion Post 31 and military family members. The ceremony also recognized the school’s two favorite fallen heroes, Travis Manion and Ashley Henderson Huff.
Travis Manion was killed in action in 2007, and his family founded the Travis Manion Foundation. Manion’s sister, Ryan Manion Borek, visited CMS in 2011 as part of the Character Does Matter program. She assigned Huff as CMS students’ “adopted” fallen hero, and they completed 500 kind acts in her memory.
Huff, born in 1982, was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon. Killed by a suicide bomber on September 26, 2006, she is believed to be the first female soldier from New Jersey to die in the war in Iraq. After she died, she was awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, and the Combat Action Badge.
The students also celebrated a day of service, the culmination of a two-year character development program honoring the importance of being part of a community of caring people and serving others. Using the motto, “If Not Me, Then Who,” the students participated in a variety of service projects.
The students wrote letters to active service members; collected food items and self-care products for food4troops; and made blankets for a nursing home and an animal shelter. The students raised Bobwhite quail, an endangered species, that will be released in October at Collier Wildlife Management; cleaned the outdoor classroom used by students at Millstone River and Community Middle schools; raised money for memorial playgrounds to be constructed to honor the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, participated in food and toiletries collections for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, collected donations for the Plainsboro Food Pantry, raised awareness about world hunger, and created cards to place on the trays for individuals receiving Meals on Wheels.
They also participated in the Hurricane Sandy benefit concert in Ocean Grove, sang at Forrestal Pavilion Nursing Home, and worked to provide tuition, books, school fees, construction fees, and uniforms for 26 students in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
