Hello Parents, Staff, and Students,

On Tuesday, January 24th, our Board of Education recognized Alissa Zhao. She was the contest winner in the Cooper Levenson Art Contest. Her greeting card for the holidays was selected as the card to go to print for the holiday season. Check out the beautiful artwork in our pictures.

On Wednesday night, January 25th, Alder students performed in the Strings Orchestra at Fernwood Middle School’s Auditorium. Under Mrs. DiSalvio’s leadership and teaching, a beautiful performance was the result. Our parents, staff and students enjoyed the show. We are so proud of our students' hard work and efforts. We are especially thankful for Mrs. DiSalvio and Dr. Kadetsky’s support of the performing arts in our amazing music program.

On Thursday, January 25th, Mrs. Hendrix and Mrs. Ash’s students made pizzas in the cafeteria. Students from other classes worked with the students in these two classrooms to build some delicious pizzas. A thank you to Mr. Spence for organizing the event and a thank you to the teachers, Mrs. Hendrix and Mrs. Ash for providing their students with these life skills and social interactions.

On Thursday evening, January 26th, Alder students performed with Fernwood Middle School and the High school in our District Choral Festival. Mrs. Weatherby and her students have been working hard to prepare for this exceptional night of music. The performance was a collaboration between schools and music teachers. It was truly spectacular and enjoyable. Our Alder students worked the soundboard with Mr. McCafferty’s help. These events make all of our teachers and students' hard work worth it. Parents, classmates, and staff enjoyed this memorable evening at the high school. Please check it out on EHT TV!

On January 27th, The Academic Career Fair was held at the high school. Our 8th grade students attended. This opportunity allowed them to meet different people in varying careers. Many areas were represented from medical to computer technology to trades and everything in between! Students enjoyed meeting people, asking questions, and pursuing fields of interest. We know 8th grade seems like a young age to explore options; however time moves so quickly. We believe that the sooner students can identify areas of interest and further study, the greater chance they will have to get into high school classes to support them.

Parents’ Club and Renaissance are planning for the February 3rd Dance. If your child is interested, they must purchase the tickets in advance. Tickets will not be sold at the door.

Please enjoy the pictures, check out ehtalder Instagram, and have a great weekend!

Ms. Giardina

Alissa Zhao, a 7th grader at Alder Avenue Middle School, won the "Home for the Holidays" art contest. Her artwork was displayed on the front of Cooper Levenson Law's holiday card which was sent out to hundreds of families. Congratulations Alissa! Alissa is pictured above with her art teacher Mr. Andrew Baumgartel and as the recipient of the award at Tuesday's Board of Education meeting with Dr. Gruccio, Amy Houck Elco, Board Solicitor and representative of Cooper Levinson, Mrs. Day, Assistant Principal, and Mr. Baumgartel.

Click the image below to view Alissa's artwork displayed on Cooper Levenson Law's website.

Students in Coding/Robotics Club coded and designed a motion sensor. The sensor triggers a sound and has a motorized arm that flips the light switch to signify someone has entered the classroom. Click the picture below to watch it in action!

Students in Mrs. Del Gaizo's science classes performed a simple investigation on how their bodies responded to simple tasks. Students learned parts of their bodies working together as a SYSTEM!

Congratulations to all of our competitors on an impressive display of spelling. Everyone brought their “A-game!” After nine rounds and nearly two hundred words, Seventh grader Alex Piskun won for the second year in a row. He is the first back-to-back champion in recent memory. Second place went to 8th grader Destiny Abreau. Third place was a tie between 8th grader Cheyenne Bilge and 6th grader Maha Protiva.

Alder Avenue submitted two videos to the Healthy Schools, Healthy Children Winter PSA contest and we won! Both videos were great and all of the students involved did an awesome job! Above is a picture of the group receiving their prize. You can find our videos linked below:

Holiday Food Waste

Staying Fit Healthy and Motivated Through the Holiday

Mr. Spence offered his 6th graders a culinary experience this week and the students loved it. They had such an amazing time!

Dr. Charlton paid our 6th grade students a visit this week and discussed the emphasis of character, academics, dedication, discipline, and the impact social media will have on their opportunities beyond high school.

Friday is Philadelphia Eagles Spirit Day! We asked all of our staff and students to bust out their favorite Eagles gear and everyone showed out!

Mrs. Little’s convocation class is celebrating the coming weekend by playing board games on Fun Friday.

Mrs. DelGaizo modeled a frog dissection to students this week prior to their dissection and needless to say, the students' faces were priceless!

On Wednesday, January 25th, Fernwood and Alder performed at this year's Winter Orchestra Concert at Fernwood Middle School. Great job everyone! Also, special shout-out to our Alder students who worked their magic on the soundboards!

Cool Beans Café is officially open!

Students from our MD program will serve fresh coffee to Alder staff every Friday! This prevocational experience is greatly beneficial for our students, and the opportunity to deliver and greet staff provides social opportunities that mean the most!

What is your position at Alder? What brought you here? How long have you been here?

Hello, I'm DJ Abel and I am an 8th Grade ELA Teacher on the Red Team. I first started working in the Egg Harbor Township School District as a 1-1 paraprofessional at the High School in January of 2017. With my Certificate of Eligibility, I applied for my position in November of 2018 and came to Alder in December 2019, so this will be my 5th round of 8th graders that I have taught here!

What is or has been one of your favorite things about Alder?

One of my favorite things about Alder is the diversity of the student body. I love that we can have students talk about their varied cultural perspectives in the classroom, and it really colors the way they learn the curriculum to make the material dynamic and purposeful. So many students have different perspectives on life and the world, and it makes it exciting to discuss texts with them.

What do you think will be your greatest challenge this year?

My greatest challenge this year will be learning to synthesize data enough to implement the proper interventions for all my students. I want every student to receive the level of instruction they deserve, but it's often hard to synthesize data properly to determine who is most in need at any given point during the year.

Where did you go to school? What degree did you earn?

I went to school at Rowan University and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA in English with minors in Education in Dance. Upon commencement, I receive the Bryna G. Goldhaft Dance Medallion. For my alternate route for teaching, I completed my Masters Credits at Stockton University.

Any fun facts you would like to share about yourself?

I love Dr. Pepper, Mariah Carey, Dancing, and Pokemon! When I'm not coaching my drama and competitive speech team at Mainland Regional High School, I try and spend some of my weekends traveling to large regional tournaments for the Pokemon Trading Card Game!

Hi everyone my name is Kimberle Watt and I am the School Health Specialist here at Alder Avenue. The School Health Specialist supports local school districts in developing, organizing and executing health and wellness initiatives within the framework of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model. We are dedicated to providing comprehensive social service programs in a safe, stress free and decompressing environment while providing the necessary support to staff, students and parents. I’m excited to meet everyone and work with our students, staff, and families with one goal in mind: building a healthier school environment and community.

Throughout the school year, I'll be hosting various events, contests, and programming for our parents and families. I hope to see you all get involved!

Free or Reduced Meal Program

Students and families must submit an application to receive Free and Reduced Meals. Applications for Free and Reduced Meals are available online through MySchoolApps.

Email: ehtnjalder@eht.k12.nj.us
Website: http://eggharborams.ss13.sharpschool.com/
Location: 25 Alder Avenue, Egg Harbor Township, NJ, USA
Phone: 609-383-3366
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EHTNJAlder/
Twitter: @EHTNJAlder