2022-2023 District Goals

Goal 1: The Summit Public Schools will continue to foster an inclusive school community that values diversity, equity, and social-emotional growth within its climate, operations, curricula, and programs.

Goal 2: The Summit Public Schools will continue to improve its ability to utilize data to inform instructional programming and implement strategies that target areas of growth for all students.

Goal 3: The Summit Public Schools will continue to expand learning experiences for all students in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) to cultivate interest, encourage innovative thought processes, and prepare for future opportunities in a dynamic, global landscape.

District News

Board of Education Welcomes Student Rep

Summit High School sophomore Lena Kifnidis was elected by her peers in Student Council and Class Council to serve as the Student Board Representative. She is expected to attend all Board meetings, and present a report on behalf of the student body at the High School. In the event Lena cannot attend, Grace Epstein has been selected as an alternate. She is also a sophomore at Summit High School.

Summit Awarded NJSIAA ShopRite Cup

1. Winning group championships and;
2. Being disqualification-free all year in all NJSIAA sports

Staff Honored at September Board Meeting

At the September 8, 2022 Board of Education meeting, Summit honored newly tenured staff, as well as staff members who have reached the milestone of 25 years of service in Summit Public Schools. Lincoln-Hubbard Principal Matt Carlin delivered kind remarks to Deborah Yendrick who is celebrating 25 years in Summit. Additional 25 year recipients include Jennifer Mitterko at LCJSMS and Vincent Inzillo in our Maintenance Department. Our staff members who recently received tenure were also honored with certificates at the Board meeting.

John Ciferni Named Principal of LCJSMS

Administrators at Summit Public Schools selected Mr. John Ciferni to serve as the next Principal of Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School. “Upon evaluating feedback from both focus groups and survey responses, it was evident that the best candidate for this position was currently working in an administrative capacity at the Middle School. Therefore, a lengthy search process was not warranted,” said Scott Hough, Superintendent of Summit Public Schools. “I have the utmost confidence in Mr. Ciferni, and anticipate great success with him as the leader of Summit Middle School.”

Jenna Colineri Named Assistant Principal at LCJSMS

Administrators at Summit Public Schools have selected Ms. Jenna Colineri to serve as the next Assistant Principal of Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School, pending approval by the Summit Board of Education. "I am excited for Ms. Colineri to join our Middle School administrative team,” said Mr. John Ciferni, Principal of Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School. “Jenna is a respected member of the school community who continually advocates for the needs of our students. Additionally, she is a dedicated and hard-working educator who will make a significant impact in our school environment."

Around the Classroom

Full STEAM Ahead in SEF Innovation Labs

Summit elementary students are in the midst of creating, designing, and learning through hands-on activities in the SEF STEAM Innovation Labs. Every elementary school has its own Innovation Lab and designated STEAM teacher, thanks to the generosity of the Summit Educational Foundation. SEF approved grants last spring, totaling over $800,000, to support the creation of Innovation Labs and STEAM teachers.

Students Make Bracelets to Support French Club

After brainstorming in French class, 7th grade students decided to make bracelets with the colors of the French flag and the word FRANCE. They also came up with the idea of creating a trivia game during two periods for the students visiting the French Club stand during the LCJSMS Club Fair. The winners will get a French bracelet! They created five questions about France that require some knowledge about French culture. This activity reinforces the learning process of the target language and is highly motivating since they are in charge of the set up of the stand and its running.

Summit Students 'Stamp out the Stigma'

September is Suicide Prevention Month and Summit High School took on the challenge of Stamping out the Stigma by participating in the semicolon project. Mrs. Herber, Student Assistance Counselor, presented to all 9th grade Physical Education classes, and students wrote on sticky-notes why their story isn't over. The display reminds everyone that we all face challenges, but our story is not over and we can push through the challenge with support and understanding. The club at the High School, Students Helping Students, contributed to the powerful display.

Washington Students Celebrate International Dot Day

The students at Washington Elementary School celebrated International Dot Day the week of September 15, based on the book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. The story explores the themes of bravery, creativity and self-expression. After listening to the story in Mrs. Abramov’s library class, students chose to be creative in their own way!

Mystery in the Library Cave

In this lesson, 'Importance of Observation and the Investigative Process', 8th grade students in Mrs. McCormack's Whodunnit class put their novice detective skills to the test! Students analyzed the scene using skills they acquired thus far in the course, such as performing different types of analysis and distinguishing between types of evidence. Students worked both individually and together to try to arrive at an explanation for the mysterious scene and the missing teacher. The mock crime scene was created entirely by Mrs. McMcCormack's Film Studies students - a group of creative, clever, and ambitious 6th graders!

Lincoln-Hubbard Hosts Student/Staff Playdate

Lincoln-Hubbard hosted its first student/staff playdate of the school year! Principal Matt Carlin says this serves as a great opportunity for students and staff members to get outside, connect, and have fun!

Important reminder! School lunches are no longer free for all students. Please keep your child's lunch account up to date. If you believe you may be eligible for free or reduced lunch, please click here for more information available on the District website.

District News

The Summit High School Theatre Arts program will present the dramatic comedy, SHE KILLS MONSTERS, Young Adventurers Edition, for their fall play November 17, 18, and 19 at 7:30 pm in the SHS Auditorium. One of the most widely produced plays in colleges and high school, She Kills Monsters explores themes of grief and loss, bullying, friendship, female empowerment, and acceptance of others who are often marginalized. In this dramatic comedy, filled with creatures, sword fights, and pop culture, acclaimed playwright Qui Nguyen offers a heart-pounding journey that ignites the warrior within us all. Tickets are available at https://www.showtix4u.com/events/hilltopper and are $15 for adults and $13 for students and seniors.

October 3-7 was Week of Respect. Across the district, students discussed what respect looks like and how we can show respect to ourselves and others, this week and always. At Washington Elementary School, after learning about respect through daily lessons and participating in a respect focused THRIVE lesson, every student was given a paper heart and asked to draw or write about how they can show respect. These hearts were assembled into a larger heart that is on display in the school as a beautiful reminder of how we can work together to show respect. At Franklin Elementary School, students and staff were each given a heart to decorate by writing or drawing their response to the question “How do you show respect at school?” The answers ranged from sharing materials to listening to others when they are speaking, saying hello to including others at recess.

The New Jersey School Public Relations Association (NJSPRA) named Summit Public Schools a winner in the 2022 School Communication Awards Contest. Summit Public Schools received Third place in the Video category. Laurene Callander, Communications Officer of Summit Public Schools, filmed and edited the video submission, which highlighted Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School Art Teacher Mr. Brian Steger in the District’s Teacher Feature series. Scroll to the top of the Summit Scoop newsletter to watch the award-winning video!

Summit student-athlete Vivian Roberts was named Summit’s Union County Conference Girls Athlete of the Week for her outstanding performance in the classroom, as well as on the volleyball court. Hilltopper John Cho has also been chosen as Summit’s Union County Conference Boys Athlete of the Week for his academic and athletic success in cross country. To read more about this recognition, please click here. Congratulations to Vivian and John for this honor, as well as accomplishing record-setting seasons!

The Summit High School Drama Club attended the Broadway musical, Beetlejuice! The musical featured one of Summit's Drama graduates, Sean McManus, who starred in several SHS productions such as Mary Poppins and How to Succeed in Business. Sean won the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Tobias in the 2015 production of Sweeney Todd. Following the performance, Sean and three other Beetlejuice company members held a talk backstage for the theatre students. Sean is one of several Summit High School Theatre graduates who is pursuing a career in professional theatre.

At Summit High School, the theme this year is Stamping Out the Stigma. In keeping with our message, the Self-Care Fair is an initiative to promote health, and that our mental and physical health are interwoven and should be valued, nurtured, and cared for. The Self-Care Fair brought over 25 local organizations to our students so they can see and experience the full range of services available to them. The goal of this event was to raise awareness, provide community resources, and educate our students, faculty, and staff on ways to integrate mental health and wellness into our daily lives. 

Matt Lameo, Summit High School junior, is one of the winners of the National Speech and Debate Association's 2021-2022 Speaking and Service Award, which recognizes students who have reached the maximum number of service points in the student Honor Society! Matt was one of only 184 students from more than 140,000 members to receive this recognition. In addition to Matt's active participation on the SHS Speech team, he is also a STOKES counselor, the Class of 2024 Council school spirit activities chair, a Lector at St. Theresa of Avila Parish, Assistant Stage Manager for the Theatre Arts productions, Secretary of the SHS Speech and Debate team, and a student coach for the SHS speech team and the LCJSMS Ted X program.

At Summit High School, we commemorate Red Ribbon Week to show support for our family, friends, and community members who struggle with drug and alcohol misuse and to encourage open communication about the impact that drugs and alcohol have on our families and community. Check out the displays in the SHS Gallery where students created an informative visual on the dangers of Fentanyl and students from Art, Digital Art, and sculpture and Ceramics class created a mixed media showcase illustrating the themes of drug misuse. Over 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like Fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine, a dose the size of a grain of sand can kill, and goes undetected because it is often laced into other drugs.

The Summit High School Speech and Debate has successfully competed in three tournaments in the last month! The Speech and Debate Team won Third Overall Sweepstakes out 150 schools at the Yale Speech and Debate Tournament on September 30 through October 2. 19 events advanced to the elimination rounds, and 5 advanced to the Final Round. The team swept the Bronx Science High School Tournament October 15-16, winning First Place Overall. Several students are now qualified for the prestigious Tournament of Champions (TOC) at the University of Kentucky in April. Most recently, students competed in the Phillipsburg Fall Invitational!

Around the Classroom

Parents of students from Ms. Alfone's class came in to share their culture and celebrate their holiday of Diwali, the festival of joy and enlightenment! The Franklin students had tons of fun learning about special foods and memories they share with their families. The morning was full of painting clay diya candles, henna and wearing sparkly bangles! Ms. Alfone said, "I was so happy to open our door to families who wanted to share special traditions."

Leaders from the Summit High School Marching Band performed for the LCJSMS Physical Education classes. Middle school band students were then invited to come to our marching band demo in the evening, where they learned things like marching basics, pep tunes, and even part of this season's show, Through the Storm! 

During National Digital Citizenship Week, Summit primary and elementary schools participated in grade-specific lessons and activities that reinforce our strong digital citizenship initiative! Our Technology Coaches continue to oversee this initiative throughout the school year.

French Novice and Emerging classes at LCJSMS taught by Mme Loriot Apruzzese are celebrating diversity! Mme Loriot Apruzzese asked sixth grader Laetitia to come to her class to present about her hometown in France and talk about her family, traditions, famous places in France, French kings, French food and her favorite activities. It was a very good opportunity for the students at the novice level to review all the basic questions they have been learning since September, discover France and its characteristics, and engage in a motivating discussion with Laetitia!

Summit High School juniors and seniors who have been selected as Peer Leaders participated in the annual leadership retreat. Staff from YMCA Fairview hosted the retreat with team-building activities and exercises for the peer leaders. At the end of the day, students found out who their peer leadership partner is for the school year. Throughout the year, each Peer Leader will be paired with a group of 9th graders and meet with them to deliver lessons and strategies as they navigate through their first year of High School. Peer Leaders accomplish this goal in two different ways: Small group discussion and Team Building and problem-solving games and activities.

It was great to see former Franklin principal, Mrs. Tierney, as she brought her therapy dog, Mulligan, to visit students at LCJSMS! The students in Ms. Collins' class learned about therapy dogs, and got to pet Mulligan in an effort to reduce stress before testing began.

Thank you to members of the Summit Fire Department who visited students at the Primary Centers! The firefighters talked about fire safety, showed the students their gear and equipment, and explained the different parts of the fire truck.

District News

On November 14, Summit Common Council approved the first reading of Summit Public Schools' Planned Bond Issuance. The $37 million dollar bond would allow us to create state-of-the-art spaces dedicated to STEAM for our middle and high school students who will truly benefit from innovative learning experiences. This bond will not only enhance our STEAM opportunities, but will also address the District's longstanding facility upgrades. The hearing on this ordinance will be at the Summit Common Council meeting on December 6, 2022.

Washington School Counselor Ms. Sadow organized a school-wide project with Bridges Outreach to host a lunch assembly day on November 22. Bridges Outreach representatives spoke to older students to help them understand the work they do in the community. Washington's PTO generously partnered with Ms. Sadow to reach out to families for volunteers and food collections. In addition to learning in the classroom and participating in food collections, our students are actively involved in these ways:

• 1st grade decorated lunch bags 
• 2nd & 3rd grade wrote a note for each bag 
• 4th grade packed food into the lunch bags
• 5th grade made sandwiches

At the end of this project, Ms. Sadow will be holding a Restorative Circle with each class to discuss how they made an impact, how it made students feel, and what we all might do to continue being change-makers.

Anne Poyner, an educator at Summit Public Schools, received the University of Chicago Outstanding Educator Award! Ms. Poyner is in her 21st year as the director of Theatre and Forensics at Summit High School. Her speech teams regularly place in the final rounds of local, state and national tournaments and she is on the New Jersey Speech and Debate League Executive Committee. Ms. Poyner was awarded New Jersey Coach of the Year in 2014. An Outstanding Educator shapes young minds in meaningful ways—thoughtfully approaching instruction, sharing an infectious love for learning, and caring for students both inside and outside of the classroom. Each year, newly admitted UChicago students have the opportunity to reflect on their time in school and nominate an educator who played a significant role in their education, made a positive impact in their lives, and whose influence has brought them to where they are today.

Elementary Physical Education teachers organized the annual Cross Country Fun Run at Memorial Park on November 17. Students in grades 3-5 participated in a mile run on a beautiful fall day in Summit. Thanks to everyone who participated and supported this event!

Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School is proud to announce tickets are now on sale for our fall play, A Christmas Carol! This classic show tells the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and the Christmas Eve that changes his life forever and teaches him that wealth is not the things we possess but the kindness we share with others.  Filled with familiar characters and some equally well known carols, this is a fun show for the entire family! Performances Friday 12/2 at 7PM and Saturday 12/3 at 2PM and 7PM. Doors open for audience arrival at 6:30PM for evening shows and 1:30PM for the matinee. Tickets are $13 for students/seniors and $15 for adults, you can also buy concession bags at intermission for $10 (cash only). We will be holding a toy drive, in association with G.R.A.C.E, during performances where we are asking for donations of unwrapped board games, puzzles, and LEGOs. Please drop them off before or after the performances on 12/2 and 12/3!

Congratulations to the cast and crew of She Kills Monsters on a terrific fall production at Summit High School!

Around the Classroom

The elementary art department teamed up with GRACE (Giving and Receiving Assistance for our Community's Essentials) in Summit and created Thanksgiving placemats for GRACE’s upcoming Thanksgiving meal for the community.

Thanks to the Summit Music Parents Association (SMPA), Summit High School was able to host the Broadway Actor Jeff Kready for a two part masterclass with our chorus and theatre students! During the first hour, Jeff Kready performed for the students, re-enacted his first Broadway audition for the musical "Les Miserables," discussed his career and answered a plethora of questions from the students. During the second hour, he worked with the advanced theatre students on individual audition material and coached them on new approaches to their singing and acting. It was a phenomenal experience for the students and we are so grateful to the SMPA for sponsoring this event!

On November 21, Wilson and Jefferson Primary Center students and staff participated in their school-wide annual Day of Giving. Through donations from families and student activities, both schools successfully completed the following projects for local organizations:

• “Mugs for Warmth” - to be donated to the local organization S.H.I.P (Summit Helps Its People). Students will decorate paper travel cups and provide them to the agency. Along with the mugs of warmth, canned goods, coffees and other needed items will be provided.
• “Bags for Bridges” - to be given out to those experiencing homelessness in coordination with the organization Bridges.  Students will create snow decorations to be inserted into filled bags with requested toiletry items.
• Seasonal/Holiday Cards - to be given to the clients of Sage Eldercare.
• GRACE - donations of bar soap, hand soap and body wash are needed. Students will create and craft winter trees to decorate the boxes for transit.
• Summit Police and Fire Departments - students will create pictures and cards to attach to large poster board displays of appreciation for our beloved community helpers.

Ms. Rand invited a therapy dog to her class at LCJSMS while students were presenting their independent reading projects.

Ms. Kobilarcik set up an escape room in the Summit High School Library Media Center, in connection with the book her English students are reading, The Great Gatsby. Clues were placed around the library as students solved riddles and puzzles related to the book.

In Mr. Citera's class, students took on the role of legislators to research, write, and present a bill that addressed a social issue. Some of these bills included an Excess Food Act, to address food waste, and an Education Equity Act, to address the high cost of college. Students then presented their bill on the House floor for vote. Bills that received a simple majority passed! On average, only 4% of the thousands of bills proposed in congress become law.

Liam Day is a Summit High School alumnus who attended the Juilliard School and currently performs with various ensembles in NYC including the NY Philharmonic, and Metropolitan Opera. Liam will be working with our SHS band students throughout the 2022-2023 school year as our Artist in Residence!

District News

The Summit Common Council approved the second reading of the District's Planned Bond Issuance at their meeting on December 6, 2022. We are thankful for the community's support, as well as the support from the Board of Education, Board of School Estimate, and Summit Common Council. The $37 million dollar bond will allow us to create state-of-the-art spaces dedicated to STEAM for our middle and high school students who will truly benefit from innovative learning experiences. The District will be putting out more information on the next steps in this process after the New Year. To learn more about the bond, please click the button below.

Summit High School students successfully auditioned for the CJMEA (Central Jersey Music Educators Association) Region Ensembles! The auditions took place on Saturday, December 10, 2022 at J. P. Stevens High School. Over 800 students throughout Central Jersey took part in the highly competitive auditions. The Summit students will perform in January at Monroe Township High School and Rutgers University!

Pictured from left to right:

• James Ritter - Symphonic Band & Orchestra
• John Cho - Symphonic Band & Orchestra
• Ejoo Kang - Orchestra
• Ian Ritter - Symphonic Band
• Lucas Gomez - Symphonic Band
• Brian Axtell - Wind Ensemble (First Chair Trumpet)

Congratulations to Cross Country Coach Neal Sharma who was recently named NJ.com's 2022 Coach of the Year! Summit is fortunate to have Mr. Sharma in the classroom at LCJSMS, and as a coach for our cross country and track student-athletes!

"I absolutely love teaching in Summit. For more than 23 years, half of my life, I feel fortunate to come to school every day to teach students Language Arts at LCJSMS and coach cross country and track athletes at SHS. Contributing to a great community in a meaningful way feels extremely fulfilling. Over the years, I have formed such strong ties to the Summit community and families to which I serve. Summit is my second home and one that my whole family and I feel very much a part of." - Neal Sharma

At the December Board of Education meeting, three Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School staff members were publicly recognized for their courageous actions in assisting in medical emergencies at the school this past year. In March 2022, Ed Mitchko and Aimee Perchak stepped into action and performed CPR on a student in medical distress. In November 2022, a similar emergency situation occurred, and Mitchko and John Ross quickly performed CPR and life-saving efforts on a student. As a result of all three of their knowledge and immediate efforts, the most positive outcome for the students ensued. We thank them for going above and beyond their duties and for their dedication to the well-being of our students.

The Board of Education approved $236,378 from the Summit Educational Foundation (SEF) for the fall 2022 grants cycle.Thank you to the Summit community and SEF for continuously supporting the students and staff at Summit Public Schools!

In the month of November, teacher leaders from each of our schools participated in the Teachers as Global Transformers program in partnership with Kean University. Teacher leaders learned strategies to support cultural competency within their classrooms and will continue to participate in a mentoring program during the 2022-2023 school year so that they will be able to turnkey the information to their colleagues in the 2023-2024 school year!

The Summit High School Speech and Debate team has been busy the past few weeks! Competitors Ravi and Andrew advanced to the semi-finals at the Villiger St. Joseph's Tournament, receiving a Gold Bid to the Tournament of Champions! At the Randolph High School Invitational Tournament, 68 competitors took home another First Place Sweepstakes Trophy. The team enjoyed another great weekend at the Princeton Invitational Tournament with 90 schools and over 1,000 competitors. 18 events advanced to elimination rounds, and 11 events advanced to the final rounds!

Congratulations to Summit students Emily, Chloe, and Angelina for completing their All State Mixed Chorus performance at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center!

Former Franklin librarian, Ms. Loreli Stochaj, was honored by former Franklin principal, Ms. Janice Tierney, during a plaque unveiling for her 36 years of dedication and service to the Franklin and Summit school community. Thank you to the Franklin PTO for your partnership in bringing this plaque to the school.

Around the Classroom

Summit administrators and staff members gathered at Jefferson Elementary School with members of the Summit Educational Foundation (SEF) to commemorate the SEF Innovation Labs at Summit elementary schools. Established in September 2022, the SEF Innovation Labs provide learning spaces for students to explore the areas of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics). More than $876,000 was donated by the SEF to Summit Public Schools in the Spring 2022 grants cycle to support STEAM labs at each elementary school, along with STEAM teachers in each lab.

Ms. Shire's students at Wilson Primary Center wrote codes to navigate Ozobots around snowflakes! Then, they wrote code to create a light show. What a great and fun way to introduce STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) concepts to our young learners in kindergarten!

The student council at Jefferson Elementary School collected items for a Holiday Toy Drive in the beginning of December to benefit local children in need. Due to the overwhelming number of donations, the toys were able to be donated both to a local elementary school and to GRACE (Giving and Receiving Assistance for our Community's Essentials)! The student council members also invited the students in the school to make holiday cards to be shared to SAGE Eldercare.

Students in Mrs. Hussain's 7th grade English class always get the opportunity to choose their own independent reading books. This year, Mrs. Hussain collaborated with the Instructional Facilitator, Ms. Sweeney, and Technology Coach, Ms. Finnegan, to create a new way for students to share the books they read! Using Canva, students designed unique book spines to be displayed on the bookshelf slide. Then, they wrote short summaries and reviews of the book to help others decide if they would be interested in reading it. Now, anyone can browse the shelves and find new books to enjoy!

Students in Ms. Alfone's class worked with previous third graders who demonstrated to them how to use Ozobots in a coding activity that featured a Thanksgiving Day parade. The students created the parade route and crafted balloons inspired by the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade like Snoopy, Pokemon and a turkey!

Students and staff were invited to join the Student Voices Club in making latkes at Summit High School. A latke is a type of potato pancake in Jewish cuisine that is traditionally prepared to celebrate Hanukkah.

District News

Summit parents and guardians are invited to Coffee and Conversation on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Summit High School cafeteria. Summit Board of Education President Michael Colón, Vice President Yon Cho, and Superintendent Scott Hough will be available to sit and chat, and coffee will be provided!

Have you downloaded the Summit Public Schools app?! This mobile-friendly version of the District website includes:

• District updates and news stories from each school
• Events from each school calendar, as well as the District calendar
• Customization filter to show content from specific school(s) based on user preferences
• An easy to navigate staff directory
• Additional links to important District resources: registration, school times, etc.

Download it for free in the App Store or Google Play Store today!

The Summit High School Performing Arts program presents the hilarious musical comedy, Something Rotten! from March 1-4, 2023. This hit musical, which took Broadway by storm in 2015, is an entertaining mash-up of 16th century Shakespeare and 21st century Broadway. Set in 1590's London, two brothers set out to write the world’s first musical. Filled with catchy songs and lots of laughs, Something Rotten! is a funny musical comedy with a heart-warming story. After seeing its large song and dance numbers, audiences of all ages will agree that “nothing’s as amazing as a musical”. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday, March 1-2 at 6:00 pm, and Friday and Saturday, March 3-4 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $15 for students, and $20 for adults and go on sale on Monday, February 6.

Summit High School has earned the College Board AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science Principles! Schools honored with the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award have expanded girls’ access in AP computer science courses.

Quintessence, Summit High School's literary arts magazine, was recently awarded for its incredible work. Quintessence received a First Place designation from the American Scholastic Press Association and an 'Excellent' rating from the National Council of Teachers of English's Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines (REALM) Contest. The magazine, published every spring, features poetry, short stories, essays, and art created by Summit High School students.

The LCJSMS French Club had another successful bake sale! Students baked or bought French products like macarons, croissants, pain au chocolat, baguette and cheese, crepes and madeleines. It was a great opportunity for the whole school to have a French culinary experience!

Summit parents of elementary school students are invited to the workshop: Strategies for Supporting Children's Executive Functioning Skills. The workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in the Summit High School Library Media Center. A live stream of the workshop will be available for those who are unable to attend in person.

Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School brought back the special tradition of hosting the sixth-grade awards assembly. Based on staff criteria and selection, many sixth graders were recognized for their character, creativity, and wealth of knowledge of various subjects. Others received accolades for their unique skillsets ranging from their artistic abilities to their abilities to command a room. What an outstanding group of sixth graders and an exciting tradition to bring back to the school!

Around the Classroom

Summit High School classes hosted a Multicultural Fair and Dance in the cafeteria. Students participated in a month-long cross-curricular project, where they chose a country of personal interest to research. Across their academic courses, students learned about the geography, history, customs, traditions, food, and resources of their country. Students also created recipe cards based on a serving size of 4, created shopping lists for their recipe, and prepared a meal native to their country for all of the attendees to sample. After the students presented for their audience, the dance floor opened up and students and teachers got to show off their dance moves! Thank you to all of the students, parents, teachers, and community members who came out to support this wonderful event!

Ms. Collins' Language Arts class was invited by Mrs. Marrano’s class from Brayton School to read aloud holiday themed children's books to her students. The students were great listeners and asked many questions along with stating their favorite parts. The sixth graders are excited to visit again in March to kick off Read Across America and listen to Mrs. Marrano’s students read aloud to them!

During the month of January, second graders in each of our elementary schools collected large reusable bags for GRACE (Giving and Receiving Assistance of our Community's Essentials) in Summit. The students have collected and donated an estimated 3,000 bags! Thank you to all of the students, families, and staff who have contributed to this service project!

Parents of Franklin third graders visited Ms. Alfone's class to highlight and share their Lunar New Year traditions. Students enjoyed learning about the celebrations and customs of the Lunar New Year by creating dragons and lanterns. ‘Guo Nian Hao!'

Students in Ms. Polles', Ms. Karpinski's, and Ms. Ciccarelli's class discussed the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Then, the Franklin classes brainstormed ideas of words and pictures that they could use to create their own dreams for peace to show on their hand prints to display in the hall. The posters looked great!

What a great surprise! The mystery reader for the 4th grade class at Jefferson was the brother of one of the students! Gustavo was visiting home after completing boot camp to become a U.S. Marine, and surprised his little sister, Sofia, at school. Gustavo read a book to the students, and then answered their questions about joining the military. Fun fact: Gustavo was also a Jefferson Jaguar, and graduated from Summit High School!

On January 9, Summit High School welcomed Broadway Dance Captain, Alicia Albright, to work with students in Concert Choir, Treble Chorus, Theatre 1, and Advanced Theatre. She answered students' questions, helped them develop breathing exercises, and led them in a dance workshop. Thank you to the Summit Music Parents Association (SMPA) for sponsoring this event!

Check out this great cross-curricular activity from Ms. Cohen's 8th grade science class! Students built cardboard cars that had to include a safety restraint and bumper system to protect a raw egg as it collides with an object. Mr. Rohrbach, LCJSMS Industrial Technology teacher, created wood car launchers for all of the science classes to use for their car experiment! The students then released their cars from the launchers to determine how well their safety restrains and bumper systems performed.