Lynne Harkness Retires from JWMS

John Witherspoon Middle School (JWMS) Assistant Principal Lynne Harkness retired last month after 33 years of working in the district. Starting in September 1988 as a physical education teacher at JWMS, Harkness became JWMS assistant principal in August 2001.

Harkness reflected on her many years of service in the Princeton Public Schools. “I will miss the relationships that I have built with everyone here,” she said. “My agenda is to support. I am here to serve and if I serve the staff, they will serve students, who will be happy and then I’m happy.”

“Many of us have had the pleasure of knowing Lynne Harkness for many years,” said JWMS Principal Jason Burr. “In the decade that I worked with Lynne, I can fully attest that she was particularly proud of the opportunity she had each day to help students and staff members.”

Harkness had just one piece of advice for her successor: “Be patient, develop a level of trust, and things will fall in line for you.”

Dinner for 350 Local Families

Princeton Public Schools (PPS) has teamed up with Send Hunger Packing Princeton (SHUPPrinceton) to provide dinner for 350 families with students who qualify for free and reduced lunch. The first of seven dinners will be delivered on April 21 as part of PPS’s distribution of SHUPPrinceton meals already planned for that date.

The dinners will be prepared and packaged by the same company that will be providing students who qualify for subsidized meals with breakfasts and lunches. PPS will order the dinners, and SHUPPrinceton will pay the bill, $12,250 for the week.

If the pilot is successful, SHUPPrinceton will continue to support the dinner distribution through its current funds and through funds that it will raise.

YWCA Robotics Co-Captain Wins Award

YWCA Princeton’s all-girls robotics team co-captain Shreya Hegde was selected last month as a Dean’s List finalist by First Tech Challenge. She is one of four finalists out of more than 50 students who were nominated for the award.

In January Hegde’s team, Prototype G, won the Inspire Award at First Tech Challenge Regional Qualifier. In addition to designing and building semi-autonomous robots that compete in such competitions, the team does extensive community outreach, encouraging other young women to get involved with STEM (science, technology, engineering, math).

The robotics program at YWCA Princeton is designed to empower young women to pursue their interests in STEM and robotics. The state championships, where Hegde would be recognized as a Dean’s List finalist and team Prototype would compete, has been postponed because of COVID-19.