JWMS Festival of World Cultures

John Witherspoon Middle School (JWMS) will be celebrating its diverse cultural and ethnic heritage at the first JW Festival of World Cultures on Thursday, May 31 from 6-8 p.m.

JWMS students will be sharing their heritage through music, cultural performances, food, fashion, and more at the festival, free and open to the community at the school.

Dinner will be provided by the public school employees of Princeton Regional Education Support Staff Association (PRESSA), including the custodians/maintenance and grounds workers, secretaries, instructional aides, and bus aides of the Princeton Public Schools district through a New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) PRIDE grant.

Montessori Music Teacher Visits China

Princeton Montessori School’s artist-in-residence music teacher Alex Mitnick traveled to China earlier this month to teach at a children’s music school in Beijing. Mitnick was invited by the director of the music school, Lucy Luo, who got to know Mitnick after her son spent a month in the Montessori School’s third grade during the family’s winter travels.

Mitnick spent the first three days of his eight-day trip performing and teaching workshops at a music festival held on the beaches of the Yellow Sea. He also spent time working with the children’s choir at the LUO Music Education School.

“I was honored that Mrs. Luo asked me to come to Beijing to work with her students and teachers,” Mitnick said. “Music is my passion and I think Mrs. Luo values the fact that I not only teach music, but also work as a musician.”

Vertical Farming Project At Hopewell Elementary School

Princeton University’s Vertical Farming Project (VFP) will be partnering with the Hopewell Elementary School to develop their vertical farm-to-cafeteria program, beginning in September 2018.

Hopewell fifth grade teacher Helen Corveleyn, who oversees the school’s outdoor garden beds and six indoor vertical hydroponics towers, has been instrumental in their new vertical farming initiative partnership with the University. Corveleyn will work closely with Princeton University associate research scholar Paul Gauthier, founder and director of the VFP, to develop the program at the elementary school.

The on-site, indoor classroom will allow preschool through fifth-grade students to mirror Princeton’s program while providing the kids with fresh, organic produce for lunch and an introduction to current scientific development through the application of new, groundbreaking research and technologies.

The Princeton VFP focuses on the sustainability and energy efficiency of vertical farming while studying production rates of hydroponic engineering systems along with marketing and economic feasibility.