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October Highlights

Randolph Learning Community,

We are continuing to have an amazing school year. I am grateful that we have so much to celebrate, and I have included a few highlights from October below.

To read or see more positive news, I encourage families and community members to follow our district on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In addition, our Board of Education meetings are a great opportunity to learn more about other news and developments happening in the district. The input of families and community members are valuable, and public participation in meetings is an opportunity to hear new ideas and perspectives. If you are not able to attend a meeting in person, meetings can be accessed via live stream as well as after our meetings.

As the month of October closes, we look ahead to November. On November 8, Election Day will be held where three Board seats will be available to serve three-year terms. During the week of November 7-11, we will join schools throughout the United States in celebrating the important work school psychologists and other educators do to help all students thrive. The 2022 National School Psychology Week theme, "Together We Shine," celebrates hope after several challenging years, reconnecting with others, and re-establishing the sense of being valued parts of a greater whole, which empowers students and adults to find purpose and possibility.

In addition, we will also celebrate American Education Week November 13-19. The National Education Association was one of the creators and original sponsors of this important week which is always celebrated the week prior to Thanksgiving. At our Board of Education meeting on October 18, the Board made a special proclamation celebrating the upcoming week. Randolph Education Association (REA) President Sandy Kessell was in attendance to accept the proclamation on behalf of all of our educators. All of our educators are superheroes, and we are so proud to recognize and celebrate all that they do.

In addition to the the robust academic, athletic, artistic and extracurricular opportunities we offer our students; fall activities and events will be abundant as we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving on November 25. We have so much to be thankful for!

Have a wonderful start to the new month!

Sincerely, 

Jennifer Fano, Superintendent of Schools

Fall Fun

The district ended the last day of school in October festively. Students in all buildings were able to participate in fun fall activities! On October 23, Randolph High School also hosted its annual AdoorABLE Doors event. The accessible trick-or-treating event is hosted every year in partnership with Special Services. Fernbrook Elementary teachers Taylor Moore, Reed McMurray, Cindy Scott, and Lisa Rubin all created cross-curricular pumpkin themed lessons. The activities infused math, writing, reading, science and art education. First grade and fifth grade students met with their "Reading Buddies" to deconstruct Halloween poems and made paper jack o'lanterns. It was an opportunity for students of varying grade levels to come together to read and express their artistic creativity collaboratively. Second graders were tasked with making observations of pumpkins using their senses. Afterward, the students completed a writing assignment based on their observations and counted the seeds in varying groups such as to ten and one hundred.

Randolph Middle School Cupcake Wars

Randolph Middle School students faced off in a Food Network style school competition based on the popular show Cupcake Wars which pits some of the nation’s top bakers against one another in a cupcake baking competition. The competing students were tasked with working in teams to create their own recipes, designs and props for their concepts to be judged. Many different creative ideas were submitted in the competition including a minions and farm themed cupcake presentation. Students Siyona Mehta, Grace Kellett and Aarika Dubey ultimately won 1st place for their Starbucks inspired cupcakes based on their favorite Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino. In addition to the tasty treats they created, the team dressed as baristas and created a Starbucks themed pop up shop as their formal display.
 
“We wanted to do something coffee related because we are all huge fans of coffee. Starbucks is one of our favorite coffee shops and also one of the most well known in the world, so we decided to make a cupcake that would be like one of their drinks. We chose the Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino as our inspiration because we felt that combining the flavors of chocolate and mocha would work really well in a cupcake. During the competition, we definitely had many disagreements about props, fillings, etc. However, through the process, we learned how to work together as a team and trust one another. In the end, by working together, we definitely made cupcakes that were really delicious while also using multiple ideas which was a great learning lesson. We are happy and proud to have won the Cupcake Wars, but all of the other participants were very good as well so it’s an honor to be recognized! Now we get to enjoy the cupcakes which is the best part,” Siyona, Grace and Aarika said.
 
Randolph Township Schools has been invested in the growth of culinary arts opportunities at the middle and high school for several years. Thanks to the support of the Randolph community, our students have benefited from world class learning spaces which have been intentionally designed to provide the best outcomes in culinary education. Our culinary educators continue to be leaders nationally in providing innovative lessons and opportunities for our students to explore and learn more about the creation and preparation of food. The Cupcake Wars is one example of many initiatives by our Culinary Arts department to continuously challenge our students to reach new levels of achievement in a fun, supportive environment.
 
Congratulations to all of our students who competed as well as our judges and educators for supporting this amazing project!
 

Every Friday, all Ironia Elementary students gather for 15 minutes in the hallway with their teachers for the "Reading Train." It's a great opportunity for our students to share meaningful connections with one another and bond over their favorite books!

The Signature Project is a multimedia performance assembly by Patrick Dunning that combines art, drama, music, history, technology, engineering and nature. Mr. Dunning shares stories of individuals from around the world to showcase cultural diversity and a love of all that life has to offer.
 
The actual “Signature Project” is an enormous mural that will stand three stories tall when completed. It is painted not only with paint but with the signatures of hundreds of thousands of people from around the world. Mr. Dunning brought a piece of this artwork with him to Randolph where individuals who were 18 years or older were encouraged to add their own signature to it.
 
The Signature Project first came to Randolph in October 2017 and was well received by both teachers and students. After COVID-19 related delays, the assembly returned to the district for all 3rd - 8th grade students.
 
Thank you to the PTO Council for graciously donating to support this assembly and learning experience!
 
More information on the Signature Project can be found at:
 

Forensic Science Crime Scene Investigators

Randolph High School's Forensic Science course was designed for students who would like to pursue advanced studies in science after successfully completing a first-year course in biology. The course challenges students to think critically and problem solve through the use of real-world forensic science methodologies and case studies. During the semester, students apply the techniques and knowledge they have learned from their coursework to better understand crimes committed and means of catching the individuals responsible. Examples of in class labs include blood spatter investigation, blood typing, fingerprint analysis, hair and fiber analysis and DNA profiling.
 
This morning, students in Mr. Maucione's Forensic Science course were tasked with investigating bones from a “crime scene” to determine the gender, height, age and number of victims based on the skeletal evidence. Based on their collected data and observations, the students then created a story of the crime including victim and suspect identities to determine what evidence was needed to convict a suspect of a crime.
 

Close the Gap

Sandal Gap Studio in Houston, Texas was founded with the mission to “fill the gap of knowledge and understanding between society and people with disabilities. Sandal Gap Studio exists to share the beauty of inclusivity through art. The organization intentionally exposes society to the disability community in a comfortable environment where art is used as the common language among the verbal and non-verbal.”
 
The organization started a special program for elementary schools called “Close the Gap” which connects individuals with and without disabilities through art. For the past few days, students in the district's transition program taught third graders at Ironia Elementary art lessons. The program was a tremendous success and many new friendships were made!
 
Learn more about Sandal Gap Studio and its mission:
 

Gabriel Lafazan

Dr. Derek Soled

Randolph High School Students Perform Brain Surgery with Play-Doh

Randolph High School students in Kristen Russo’s General Psychology and Advanced Placement Psychology courses used Play-Doh as part of a “brain surgery” activity studying different functions and specific regions of the brain. The neuroscience lesson helped students visualize their own brains to see how each area plays a role in their daily lives. Students were given specific instructions to create proper anatomical structures such as assembling the cerebral cortex to include indentations for the lateral fissure. For their brains, they recreated the brainstem, thalamus bulb, hypothalamus, pons, cerebellum, hippocampus, amygdala, pituitary gland and corpus callosum. The students then answered a series of questions about the function of each which concluded with the study of the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobe.
 
Randolph High School is fortunate to offer Psychology courses which educate students about the systematic and scientific study of human behavior and mental processes. In each course, students explore and apply psychological theories, key concepts, and phenomena associated with such topics as the biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, learning and cognition, motivation, developmental psychology, testing and individual differences, treatments of psychological disorders, and social psychology. Students also employ psychological research methods, including ethical considerations, as they use the scientific method, evaluate claims and evidence, and effectively communicate ideas. The “brain surgery” activity is only one of many hands-on lessons offered in Psychology where students are able to physically and visually study different anatomical structures.
 
 
Congratulations to Head Football Coach Will Nahan who was selected by the New York Giants and Gatorade as the Lou Rettino High School Coach of the Week for Week 8 of the 2022 season. The Lou Rettino High School Football Coach of the Week Award is part of the Giants' continuing effort to support local high school football programs. The Giants elected to name the award in memory of former Union High School (NJ) coach, Lou Rettino, for his fine commitment to the game of football, his community and the betterment of his athletes' lives. Each week during the high school football season, the Giants select one area high school head coach as the Coach of the Week winner. The selection is based on the coach's continued commitment towards promoting youth football, developing motivated student-athletes and contributing overall to their community.
 
Read more about Coach Nahan's outstanding recognition on the New York Giants website: