Princeton Academy Will Remain Open

Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, an independent K-8 school for boys on Great Road, has announced that it will not close after all at the end of this school year, but has been saved by “remarkable community support” and will continue into the future with “a conservative financial plan providing stability without compromising the school’s mission or programmatic offerings.”

In October 2023, the school, which was founded in 1999 in seeking to meet the need for a “values-based” private school for boys in grades K-8, announced that due to financial challenges it would be closing in June 2024.

Last week’s press release from Princeton Academy states that the October announcement “was met with unwavering support of devoted parents, heartfelt dedication of faculty and staff, steadfast commitment of the community, and the generosity of donors.”

“The outpouring of support from our community has been overwhelming,” said Olen Kalkus, board of trustees chair and founding head of school. “It is a testament to our shared dedication to provide a transformative education deeply rooted in the values of the Sacred Heart tradition.”

Princeton Academy will be hosting open houses on January 21 and 26 for prospective families to hear from school leaders, parents, and current students; tour the campus; and, according to the press release, “to learn how the inclusive and nurturing environment at Princeton Academy empowers and inspires boys to become men of character, meaning, and purpose.”

Dual-Language Immersion at Community Park

Community Park School will be holding its annual information sessions on the English-Spanish Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program on Wednesday, January 24, from 6 to 7 p.m. and on Thursday, January 25, from 9 to 10 a.m.

Attendance at one of the sessions is required prior to registration in the DLI program, which is open to all rising kindergarten and first grade students in the Princeton Public Schools (PPS).

Parents and caregivers who attend the sessions will meet the Community Park principal and other school personnel as well as current parents, and will learn about the research behind the DLI approach to education and the day-to-day learning experience. Bilingual staff and parents will be on hand to provide Spanish translation.

Community Park’s DLI program, which started in 2015, is one of only nine English-Spanish DLI programs in New Jersey and is recognized by the state as a model program. Call (609) 806-4230 or visit princetonk12.org/academics/dual-language-immersion for more information.

Robeson Mural Unveiled at PMS

As part of a MLK Day event on Monday, January 15, the Princeton Middle School (PMS) unveiled a new mural by artist Jocelynn Hunter Dow in the Paul Robeson Hallway at PMS.

The unveiling took place during “Focus on the W: Wives and Women of the Civil Rights Movement,” a community gathering which developed interdisciplinary lessons about the life and legacy of Paul Robeson. The event, a collaboration of Princeton Public Schools, Princeton Historical society, The Lost Souls Project, Princeton University Library Special Collections, Princeton Public Library, Not in Our Town Princeton, Sankofa Stitchers, and the Paul Robeson House of Princeton, featured opening remarks by Drew University Professor Emerita of History and African American Studies Lillie Edwards.

The artistic work of Dow, a third year visual arts major with Africana studies and creative writing minors in the Mason Gross School of the Arts, “is deeply rooted in themes of identity with a focus on expressing the beauty, power, and boldness of Blackness,” according to a PPS press release.

PPS Science Supervisor Joy Barnes-Johnson noted that PMS Assistant Principal Ebony Lattimer “played a critical role in helping secure the muralist and making sure that the first-named hall brings joy and vibrancy to the building.”

Barnes-Johnson speculated that other hallways at PMS might in the future be named for Sonia Sotomayor, Albert Einstein, and Betsey Stockton. 

Riverside Elementary Ditches Disposables, Embraces Reusables

The Riverside Elementary School Green Team has figured out a system to use reusable cups and plates in order to make schoolwide events more sustainable.

Parents, families, and others attending Riverside events are urged to bring their own reusable, recyclable plates, cups, and utensils. Mary Beth Bardachino, special education instructional assistant and PTO Green Team co-leader, collects the greenware cups from teachers and classrooms and works with the kitchen staff to ensure dishwasher access.

At the end of each event, the Green Team gathers all the cups and brings them into the cafeteria to wash with the school’s dishwashing machine. Bardachino then sorts the dishes and cups into boxes and returns them to the classrooms.

For pasta night the Green Team had to figure out how to accommodate approximately 600 attendees with only about 250 plates. They assigned one adult to use the kitchen dishwasher to ensure a constant supply of clean cups, bowls, and plates. Items were quickly washed, dried, and put back into use. Volunteers kept a constant supply of clean dishes throughout the two-hour event and never had to rely on disposables.

The fifth graders who hosted the event quickly took over the dishwashing and restocking operation. “I cannot believe we have not been doing this all along,” said Riverside PTO Team Co-Leader Bonnie Funicello.

A Sustainable Jersey for Schools grant paid for the classroom greenware used at these events, and the PTO no longer needs to purchase 1,500 cups, bowls, and plates each year. Replacement of disposable serviceware with reusables is estimated to yield a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the products’ lifetime.

Word Masters at Princeton Charter School

Competing recently in the Gold Division of the WordMasters Challenge, a nationwide vocabulary competition, Princeton Charter School students have achieved outstanding results.

Leading the pack with a perfect score of 20, a result achieved by only 47 other fourth graders in the country, was Mila Romalis. Also achieving outstanding results were PCS fourth graders Ethan Bai and Ziheng Wang and fifth grader Nathaniel Houck.

The third and fourth grade students are coached for the WordMasters Challenge by Sandy Noyelle, Joannie Miles, and Cheryl Horan. Erinn Auletta coaches students in fifth through eighth grade.

“WordMasters is not only about learning new and complex vocabulary, it’s about finding subtle connections and nuanced relationships between those words to complete sophisticated analogies,” said Auletta. “Princeton Charter celebrates our four nationally recognized students!”