Everything Elementary
Everything Elementary
The official newsletter of Mansfield Township School District, Columbus, NJ 08022
Visit: www.mansfieldschool.com for up-to-date news and our calendar of events
Mrs. Papero Hits Grand Slam
Mansfield Township
School District
Business Name
Joshua Moore is a 2nd grader at
JHES. He loves school and he loves
baseball. When he read about the
Phillies 12th Annual Teacher All-Star
team, he immediately wanted to nominate his teacher.
Volume 6, June 2012
The contest required that Josh enter
a 500 word essay about why his
teacher, Mrs. Papero, deserved to be
on the 10-member all-star team. Students were encouraged to nominate a
teacher who: allows every child to feel
safe and loved; is a mentor; is more
entertaining than watching TV;
(continued on page 3)

MTES Student is a REAL
Character
Special Interest:

Korey’s Keto Koin
Challenge

Welcome Ms. Green

The Linus Project 2012

Journeys… Common Core
Mrs. Kristina Papero & Joshua Moore
Mrs. Davis … Director of Food Service Extraordinaire
Mrs. Mary Davis served the Mansfield Township
School District for 30 years….she retired this past
January...but she isn’t stopping!
Mrs. Davis began her career serving the students of
Columbus Elementary School as a part time custodian
in 1982….Mrs. Davis realized she could use her love
for the culinary arts and her extra-ordinary organizational skills to serve the students and staff as
cafeteria manager. Later, she expanded her skills by
acquiring a degree in Food Service Management.
Congratulations, Mrs. Davis and
thank you!
The board recognized her talents and rewarded her
hard work and degree acquisition by promoting her to
Director of Food Services. She became responsible
for the entire food service enterprise in the elementary district! (continued on page 5)
Inside this issue:
Read Across America
4
Character Education
4
Altruism In Action
6
Community Consciousness 7
Community Calendar
8
Mansfield student is a real character
Fourth Grade Student, Robert Moran, recently submitted
an award winning essay that won him a character role in
future volumes of Nicky Fifth’s NJ book series.
The book series is written by local author, Lisa Funari
Willever (Mansfield resident and district Mom.)
Robert and his family were recently honored for his hard
work, writing skills and his research of the State of New
Jersey.
Joining Robert in the winner’s circle was the niece of
Buddy Valastro, A.K.A. The Cake Boss. The national television network picked up the story because of Buddy’s niece
and the entire celebration was ‘caught on camera’ for the
viewers of a Cake Boss episode to air on TLC sometime in
July.
Robert’s Award
Winning Essay:
My favorite place
in New Jersey is
The Howell Living
History Farm. It is
located in Lambertville, Mercer
County, and is part
of Mercer County
Park system. It is
not like any other
farm because they
do not use new technology. The Howell Living Farm uses
tools from 1890-1910 because they want to show us what
life was like back then. They use oxen and horses to pull
work machines. They don't have electricity or fuel.
What I like doing there is: making and eating ice cream,
making and drinking apple cider, building and racing small
wooden boats, walking and seeing animals, helping the farmers, and riding on hay wagons. When you make cider, you
get to pick fresh apples and put them in a wooden machine. Then, you turn a bar that smooshes them. The juice
goes in a barrel. When you want some, you turn a knob and
fill your cup.
If I could take Nicky Fifth to the Howell Living Farm, I
would be happy. We would stay all day and eat lunch by the
brook. We would learn all about life in 1890-1910. I wonder...could we sleep over?
THE END.
Welcome Ms. Green….School
Business Administrator/Board Secretary
The Mansfield Township School District welcomed a new member to our family in January
when Ms. Mindy Green joined our staff as School Business Administrator/Board Secretary.
Ms. Green comes to us from Piscataway School District where she served as Assistant Business Administrator and Village Charter School in Trenton where she served as Business Administrator.
Prior to attaining her Master of Arts Degree in Educational Administration from Rider University, Ms. Green utilized her NJ State Elementary Certifications to teach in Millstone Township
School District, Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District, and St. Joseph’s Elementary
School in Keyport. She also taught in the New York City Public School System.
In her capacity as School Business Administrator/Board Secretary, Ms. Green is responsible
for all financial planning and the daily fiscal responsibilities of the district as well as overseeing the facilities and transportation departments, the cafeteria enterprise, the MVP Program and
Kindergarten Connection.
Mindy Green
School Business Administrator/Board Secretary
Page 2
Ms. Green resides in Allentown, NJ. We welcome Ms. Green to the Mansfield Township
School District family.
Everything Elementary
Journeys builds a strong foundation for students
Making its debut this school year is a new comprehensive
Language Arts Literacy Program called Journeys. This new
program by Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt is aligned to the
Common Core State Standards which have been adopted by
New Jersey. In selecting these materials, during the spring
of the 2010-2011 school year, the curriculum committees and
administration analyzed many programs. In the end, the committee selected Journeys because it provides the best materials and activities to meet the needs of our students.
Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt has also provided high-quality
professional development for teachers, which is a key factor
in successful implementation of the program. It is also important to note that Journeys utilizes a research-based approach to teaching and learning.
In addition, the program incorporates the analysis of student
assessment data for the purpose of informing instruction.
For all these reasons, the district firmly believes that
Journeys will help the students of Mansfield Township build a
strong foundation in language arts and literacy.
Mrs. Papero honored May 11th at Citizens Bank Park…(continued from page 1)
believes there is no such thing as “I can’t” and; who
goes beyond the set curriculum. According to
Joshua, Mrs. Papero fits that bill perfectly and his
hand written essay was selected as one of 10 from
1500 contest entries!
As an all-star, Mrs. Papero and a
guest joined Joshua and a guest at
Citizens Bank Park on May 11th as all
10 award recipients were honored on
the field prior to the Phillies vs. San
Diego Padres game. In addition, the
honorees were treated to a pregame dinner in the Phillies Party
Tent, a dance with the Phillie
Phanatic, and press coverage in both
the Philadelphia Inquirer and the
Daily News!
Congratulations to Mrs. Papero and
Joshua! The entire district and
community is proud of you both!
Following is Josh’s award-winning essay:
My teacher Mrs. Papero is an amazing teacher. She teaches 2nd grade
at John Hydock Elementary School.
When she takes the class outside, we have a blast. We go outside to
see what the weather is like and also to play.
In addition, Mrs. Papero came up with a fantastic Shark Binder
(Students Here Are Responsible Kids.) The shark holds homework and
important papers. We also write our homework down in the
shark. We are the only second grade that does that!
Third, when the class is good for ten days, we get a prize.
Every morning we start at green. If somebody is bad they have
to change a card to yellow. A day without card change is a good
day. We have all sorts of prizes. My favorite are class lunch
with the teacher, movie with popcorn, and movie with pajamas.
One day Mrs. Papero told the class a boy named Logan was not
coming because he was getting a kidney transplant. So he was
out for 3 months so his kidney would get better and so he will
get used to it. Most of the time he was home. Mrs. Papero
called Logan on Skype. When we went to morning meeting, Mrs.
Papero’s computer was sitting on her desk. She would call
Logan on the computer, and then he would pop up on the
screen. We would Skype with him during morning meeting and
some subjects. It was great because Logan gets to learn and
we get to see him.
Also, Mrs. Papero gives fun homework. I think all of her homework is
fun. My favorite is math choice activities because you get to pick what
you get to do.
Finally, Mrs. Papero lets us have math every day because it helps us
learn. It is also fun because we do it on the Smart Board.
One day I asked Mrs. Papero if she liked the Phillies, and she said,
“yes!” Mrs. Papero is a fantastic teacher, and she deserves to be a
Phillies Teacher All-Star!”
Volume 6, June 2012
Page 3
DISTRICT …..
Character Education
At JHES, we believe that Character Education is
an essential part of a child’s learning. As such, we
have developed a monthly character education program for the students during which they sing
songs and learn about topics such as being a good
friend, responding to bullies, and using kind words
with others. We also have excellent assembly programs that are coordinated and funded by the
Columbus Home and School. During the most recent assembly, “Choices Count” by Primary Focus,
students learned about the pillars of character,
which are Trustworthiness, Responsibility, Respect, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship. The presenters sang songs and discussed important topics
related to developing good character and antibullying.
Read Across America 2012
In honor of Dr. Seuss’s Birthday, students and
staff members participated in a variety of activities related to literacy, e.g. Dr. Seuss trivia question each morning during the week, giving away
special prizes to students who answered the trivia
questions correctly (i.e. Barnes and Noble gift
cards to promote reading), the reading train in the
hallway, and door decorating. Classroom doors
were decorated based on a specific Dr. Seuss title.
We also had students bring in used books for a
book swap that took place one week later—after
all the books were organized, Kristina Papero
(Chair), Dawn Fortier, and Jill Rocco were the
committee members who organized the activities
and decorated. the JHES foyer with scenery from
Thing 1 and Thing 2 (above)
These are the two characters from The Cat in the Hat who
help the Cat to wreak havoc in the house at the protests of
their pet goldfish. Throughout the story, the fish emphasizes to the children that he (the Cat) “should not be here
while your mother is out.” So the Cat and the Things cause
chaos in the house and then everything gets cleaned up just
minutes before the mom arrives. That’s the entire plot of
the story.
The Cat in the Hat (right) was reading Being a Suc-
cessful Principal … perhaps he’s trying to take over someone’s job at JHES. During the reading train, he’s sitting
next to students in Mrs. Light’s class.
Page 4
Everything Elementary
Mansfield Art Students Featured @ YAM Exhibit
Art Educators of NJ (AENJ/South honored MTES students (l-r) Maddie Saltstein (3rd), Elena Harris (6th), Sara
Quinn (5th), Emily Song (4th) , Olivia Evans (1st), and Sean Donoher (2nd) by displaying their original art projects.
The Burlington County art show was held at the Lyceum Hall, Center for the Arts, Burlington City, NJ.
Mrs. Davis…..Enjoy Retirement…(continued from page 1)
The students will miss her awesome, ‘hip’ cafeteria
décor, music, and delicious student lunches. The staff
will miss her perfectly perked coffee and AMAZING
salads. The district will miss her finely honed organizational skills, her gift of hospitality and her punctuality!
Fortunately, we won’t have far to look to find her.
Mrs. Davis is enjoying her retirement by spending
more time with husband, Ken, her daughters, sons-inJHES
law and her two grandsons. No one will
be surprised
to learn that Mrs. Davis plans to stay busy—even in
retirement. She loves to give to others!
Congratulations, Mrs. Davis on a well deserved, wellearned retirement. Thank you for the many years of
caring, the thousands of lunches, the un-ending supply
of fresh salad, and the morning smile, coffee and
cookies! You will be missed, but we know we’ll see you
along Main Street as you work your way to your next
adventure...or on the sandy beaches of LBI!
Morning Laughs!
Smiley Fries!
MTES
..and the alternate today is…..
JHES
Kitchen
Perfect Portions!
Volume 6, June 2012
Page 5
Altruism in Action ….unselfish service
Sweet Socks Project 2011
Over 1200 pair of socks
filled with candy were donated and assembled by
MTES students and over
600 individual tubes of chap
stick were collected and donated by JHES students in
an effort to bring a touch of
Holiday cheer to residents
and homeless visits of the
Atlantic City Rescue Mission
on Christmas morning !
Harvest of Hope Food Pantry
2011 boasted a 61% increase over last year’s
collection of non perishables for the Harvest of
Hope Food pantry in Wrightstown. 487 items
were collected, organized, boxed and donated
for our community residents in need!
Page 6
Newsletter Title
Community Consciousness …. A helping hand
Project Linus 2012—Third annual event sponsored by the 4th grade classes and organized by Mrs.Tellefsen (center right) and
Project Linus representative, Marianne McCarthy (center left.) Joined by parents, community volunteers and staff members, 110
4th grade students worked diligently for two hours cutting and constructing fleece blankets to comfort children in need. Started
in 1995 by the parent of a cancer patient, Project Linus has expanded to include children who are seriously ill or traumatized in
many ways. The MTES 4th graders selected their own fleece fabric and, at the end of the day, donated 125 blankets and lots of
love to this worthy community project!
In one short week, Korey’s Keto Koin Challenge raised $8912.09 for the
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The fund raiser was organized by MTES student, Korey Walton, and his parents to boost Korey’s
Ketogenic Kitchen Krusade, an effort to spread awareness of Epilepsy
and raise money to build a ketogenic kitchen at CHOP. The kitchen will
be used to educate young epileptics, who are prescribed the ketogenic
diet, and to offer cooking classes to prepare the special meals.
Claudia Gomez, (above left) Fox Philly News reporter, interviews Korey
for a feature story of FOXNEWS.
(Left) 5th Graders plan their strategy for winning the Keto Challenge and
(above) Matt Wolverton, Korey Walton and brother, Adam add to the
success of the fund raising effort.
Volume 1, Issue 1
Page 7
Mansfield Township
School District
Mansfield Township School District
200 Mansfield Road East
Columbus, NJ 08022
Board of Education
Daniel Kane, President
Phone: 609.298.2037
Fax: 609.298.5812
Joseph Broski, Vice President
Editor: Marlene M. Walls
Human Resource Specialist &
Public Relations Officer
Extension 2510
[email protected]
Joseph Golowski
DeQuincy McRae
Marcial Mojena
Alison Perrone
Beverly Pencak
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Curtis Wyers, Jr
DISTRICT CALENDAR OF EVENTS
JUNE
September
13-15 EARLY DISMISSAL
3
Labor Day - schools closed
6th Grade Graduation Breakfast
4&5
Teachers Report: In-Service Days
End of the Year Classroom Parties
6
First Day of School for Students
Last Day of School
12
Back to School Night (MTES)
6th Grade Graduation
20
Back to School Night (JHES)
14
October
Have a safe, restful,
5
Staff In-Service Day:
no school for students
and fun-filled summer!
8
JULY 9—AUGUST 9
Extended School Year (ESY) Program
Monday-Thursday 9:00 a.m.—1:00 p.m.
Columbus Day — schools closed
November
8&9
NJEA Convention—schools closed
12
Veteran’s Day-school closed
21
EARLY DISMISSAL
22 & 23 Thanksgiving-schools closed
26
Regional In-Service Day:
no school for students
30
1st Marking Period Ends