Winter e-Newsletter

In September, Kearny Schools started with hello. "Start with Hello Week" was created by Sandy Hook Elementary School parents in an effort to raise awarenss about social isolation. Students participated in activities designed to increase inclusion, including brainstorming ways to develop friendships, engaging with inspiring videos and messages about positivity, and holding Spirit Days and Fun Friday activities.

The 4th, 5th and 6th grades enjoyed an instrumental music assembly compliments of the Music Shoppe. The musicians played five instruments to familiar Disney tunes, sparking an interest in the types of musical instruments for the students.

Mr. Ryan Miller and his students participated in Voices for Peace with Dr. Quicke at William Paterson on Friday, October 7th. Voices for Peace is a 24-hour global student radio marathon in celebration of World College Radio Day starting in Ukraine. KHS is the only high school on the schedule for this event of hundreds of college radio stations. Students from the Broadcasting class wrote and narrated the KHS segment on what peace means to them, which was edited by Ryan Miller. Special thanks to Dr. Rob Quicke from William Paterson University for extending the invitation to KHS, as well as Kathleen Astrella for helping organize this great accomplishment.

New for '22, Lincoln Middle School proudly presents the Jr. Kardinal Spirit Squad, led by teacher Jill Taylor. The squad debuted their stellar performance at the fall pep rally.

Our Pre-K students participated in a pumpkin patch activity as part of the Creative Curriculum. To celebrate fall, our youngest Kearny cuties picked and decorated their very own pumpkins!

LMS hosted Library Lending Events on 11/3 and 11/17 through our Jr. Kards Soar to Success Academy. Students and families were able to check out books from our Media Center. The event is designed as a cozy study hall setting for students and families to collaborate to improve student achievement.

Students from around the district collected and donated food to help stock the Kearny Community Food Pantry and help residents in need. Our community is especially thankful for all of the district's generous donations.

Students and faculty from each school decked the halls - and doors - for our annual door decorating contest, which added to our always festive holiday spirit. A special thank you to our judges, Mrs. Encarnacao, Mr. Rosenberg, Mrs. Bieltz, Mrs. DeLima, Mr. Way, and Ms. Biondo, and our teachers and students for lending their time and creativity. Congratulations to all our winners!

Congratulations to this year's Patriot's Pen contest winner, 8th grade honors student Marie Laura Silva, who secured the Hudson County title and placed third at the state level. Of her essay, titled "My Pledge to Our Veterans" Silva writes, "What inspired me is the idea that many soldiers work very hard, and are barely even recognized. They are necessary for our country, but they get nothing from the people in return. Being able to offer my gratitude to a soldier by making this essay made me very happy. This essay was my opportunity to show my affection to the veterans." Silva was honored for her accomplishmen at the annual VFW Luncheon on February 11. Great job, Marie!

The Kearny School District congratulates LMS student Ariana Astorga, who was recognized at the 17th annual Write on Sports Gala for her achievements in the program. Principal Brack and Vice Principal Hempel established the Write on Sports and Kearny partnership in July 2021 to motivate and engage LMS students through print and media journalism to strengthen their writing and find their voices. Partnering with Write on Sports and supporting Kearny teachers sparked a remarkable program with state-of-the-art media equipment, student field trips, direct student interaction with journalists, sports broadcasters, and professional athletes, and a 3-1 teacher-student ratio.

Congratulations to KHS senior Eileen Quia, our 2022 Poetry Out Loud winner, who performed “I Am the People, the Mob” by Carl Sandburg and “The True-Blue American” by Delmore Schwartz. She will continue on to the Region 6 competition on February 10th at Ramapo College and face challengers from Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic counties. Good luck, Eileen!

Congratulations to Ms. Dlugosh and her amazing yearbook students! Kearny High School was awarded “The Best of Herff Jones Yearbooks” for “Outstanding student-produced work”. Our yearbook is featured in their yearly publication of the best yearbooks which is distributed throughout the entire nation.

This year's senior play, Superfreaks was a huge hit! KHS Seniors took to the stage to perform Scott Haan's comedy about our individual quirkiness with heart. Congratulations to all the performers, and special thank you to Milly Gonzalez for her dedication to the arts.

Our students and staff enjoyed a cozy, festive December with schoolwide activites designed to make our schools merry and bright. We enjoyed Pajama Day, Ugly Sweater Day, Toy Drives, and Winter Concerts. Special thank you to Junior PEERS, PEERS, REACH, and our music teachers for all of your dedication and hard work.