North Bergen Preschool collects cans for C.A.R.E.S
Following their annual “Soup-er Bowl” can collection drive and thanks to the generosity of students and their families, the North Bergen Preschool recently donated 339 cans of soup to North Bergen C.A.R.E.S, the township’s local non-profit organization that provides assistance to families in the aftermath of emergencies.
Held around the time of the NFL’s Super Bowl game for the past five years, the collection was part of the school’s Ambassadors of Kindness program, which encourages students to think about the ways they can play a role in helping others.
Earlier this school year during the month of October, Ambassadors of Kindness moderators Miriam Lescaille and Dawn Farmington held a “Sock-tober” event, where they collected new pairs of socks for children as well as adults. The school was able to donate almost 500 pairs of socks to North Bergen C.A.R.E.S.
Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children increases aid for 40th Anniversary
In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children (SFIC) is increasing the amount of money it gives to students attending Archdiocese of Newark Catholic schools, going from $1,200 to $1,500 in partial tuition assistance scholarships per child.
The increase, which was unanimously approved by the SFIC Board of Directors after it was proposed by Chairman Joseph J. Hughes, comes just two years after the last time the fund raised the sum it distributes. Also to commemorate its anniversary, the fund has set a new goal of offering 2,000 scholarships in the 2023-24 school year, which is 250 more scholarships than last year.
Beyond the scholarship increases, SFIC is expanding the number of events it typically holds in 2023. The fund recently hosted its first-ever Application Night, a gathering that drew many parents seeking help in navigating and completing scholarship applications.
Additionally, SFIC is continuing its Torch of Learning campaign, a three-year initiative that aims to annually match the $150,000 the Archdiocese of Newark provides each year to students of the Catholic faith attending archdiocesan Catholic schools in Newark, Jersey City, East Orange, Union, and Fairview through its “We Are Living Stones” Catholic Tuition Assistance Program.
Assuming it achieves its goal every year, the Torch of Learning campaign will raise a total of $450,000 over the course of its existence. Combining that with the monies donated by the Archdiocese, a total of $900,000 in scholarships will be distributed to 600 students.
NJSCA lists 2023 “Counselor of the County” award recipients
On Thursday, March 10, NJSCA honored school counselors from the different counties within the State of New Jersey at the annual “Counselor of the County” Awards Program. School counselors are nominated by their colleagues and are selected by their own county’s School Counselor Associations for this award.
The award honors the professionals who devote their careers to serving as advocates, and often lifesavers, for the nation’s students. Laura Medina, a school counselor from Nicolaus Copernicus Elementary School in Jersey City, was selected as the 2023 Counselor of the County for Hudson County.
Candidates are selected for the Counselor of the County Award at their county-level school counselor associations. They are selected because of their ability to deliver an effective school counseling program which focuses on academic development, career counseling, and personal/social support. They further distinguish themselves by proving to be leaders of systemic change, advocates for students, and collaborative professionals who seek the success of the “whole” student in school and in life.
For more specific information on this association, visit www.njsca.org.
Jersey City students win prize in C-SPAN documentary competition
Simran Marwaha and Gwenyth Friedman, students at Frank R. Conwell, Middle School #4 in Jersey City have been named honorable mention prize winners in C-SPAN’s national 2023 StudentCam competition and will receive $250 for the documentary, “Control Your Guns, Control Our Futures.”
C-SPAN, in cooperation with its cable television partners, asked middle and high school students to engage in a national conversation on the challenges our country is facing with the theme: “If you were a newly elected member of Congress, which issue would be your first priority and why?”
Now in its 19th year, this project-based learning experience gives students the opportunity to explore multiple perspectives on topics that are important to them and consider solutions to address them. In response, nearly 3,000 students participated, and C-SPAN received over 1,500 entries from 40 states, Washington, D.C. and Abu Dhabi.
The most popular topics addressed were Health Care (16 percent), Environment (14 percent), Education (12 percent), Economy (10 percent), and Gun Violence and Firearm Policy (8 percent).
More than 300 students from across the country are winning a total of $100,000. C-SPAN is awarding one grand prize, 4 first prizes, 16 second prizes, 32 third prizes and 97 honorable mention prizes. The winning videos will receive cash awards of $5,000, $3,000, $1,500, $750 and $250, respectively.
High school students competed on a regional level, with the United States divided into three regions: West, Central and East. Middle school students were judged on a national basis. The grand prize winner was selected nationally among all regions and grade levels.
The 150 winning videos can be viewed at www.studentcam.org.
The annual StudentCam competition is sponsored by the C-SPAN Education Foundation. Videos were evaluated by a panel of educators and C-SPAN representatives based on the thoughtful examination of the competition’s theme, quality of expression, inclusion of varying sides of the documentary’s topic, and effective incorporation of C-SPAN programming.
N. Bergen’s Citizen Police Academy graduating class ready to serve
On Wednesday, March 8, the Township of North Bergen recognized the graduates of the North Bergen Police Department’s (NBPD) inaugural Citizen Police Academy (CPA) at its most recent commission meeting. Eight township residents successfully completed the class and received their certificates of achievement from Mayor Nicholas Sacco, Public Safety Commissioner Allen Pascual, and Police Chief Peter Fasilis.
The CPA is open to North Bergen residents only and is loosely based on a police academy recruit training program, allowing members of the community an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of skills and abilities that police officers bring to their work within the community. Graduates underwent a 10-week training program that provided them with a background and deeper understanding of twenty-first century policing.
Workshops were led by police academy instructors, and included discussions with representatives of specialized units, as well as role-playing and tactical exercises. Training exercises also included training and response to opioids/narcotics, first aid and CPR, appropriate use of force, vehicular pursuit, traffic law enforcement, police response to mental illness and special needs, introduction to firearms, law enforcement technology, police defensive tactics, laws of arrest, domestic violence, and crime scene procedures.
The graduates were Carlos G. Almeida, Jose M. Delgado, Brian T. Hernandez, Marco R. Hernandez, Stephanie Jimenez, Carlos Rivas, Lisa Rosabal, Art Schwartz.
The next Citizens Police Academy will be announced this fall. Anyone interested in participating at the next session may contact Capt. Cynthia Montero at cmontero@northbergenpd.com.
NJCU to get nearly $800,000 for online nursing education
New Jersey City University (NJCU)’s Department of Nursing and its Online Nursing discipline will receive nearly $800,000 in the form of federal appropriations to increase equitable access to high demand online nursing education at the university.
NJCU will receive $782,000 in appropriated funds, which will be earmarked to revamp the university’s online nursing offerings. As the state continues to grapple with a statewide nursing shortage that was exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, the funding will enhance the university’s ability to provide equitable access to high-demand online nursing education (RN to BSN) in the region and ultimately graduate highly qualified nurses to serve the ever-changing needs of citizens of New Jersey. The federal funding will enhance the technical framework and expand educational opportunities.
The nursing shortage statistics are staggering. By 2030, New Jersey is projected to experience a shortage of 10,000 nurses across the state. Currently, New Jersey’s nursing shortage is ranked third most severe in the country — behind only the two most populous states in the nation according to the 2020 census figures, California (39.5 million) and Texas (29.1 million), compared to New Jersey which is only the 11th most populated state at 9.29 million.
Sen. Bob Menendez, New Jersey’s senior senator and a Hudson County native, who was the recipient of an honorary doctorate degree in June 2022, addressed the graduates of the NJCU Class of 2022 Commencement ceremony.
NJCU again earns Gold Distinction as a Military Friendly school
New Jersey City University (NJCU), led by its Office of Military & Veterans Services, has again been recognized as a 2023-2024 Military Friendly School and ranked with Gold Designation, militaryfriendly.com announced on March 8. It is the second consecutive year NJCU has been honored with this designation by the publication.
NJCU also was recognized as a Military Friendly Gold institution in the Small Public category after receiving the designation for the first time during the 2022-23 review period. The university had previously been honored as a bronze and silver-level recipient in prior years for its dedication to the military community.
Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated and assessed through the evaluation of both public data about the institution and responses from a proprietary survey. The assessment was offered at no cost to more than 8,800 institutions nationwide.
Evaluated categories include academic policies and compliance, military student support and retention, graduation and career outcomes, admissions and orientation, culture and commitment, and financial aid and loan repayment.
NJCU’s ranking as a Military Friendly Gold institution means it scored within 10 percent of the 10th highest ranked small public-school institution in the country.
More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2023-2024 survey with only 530 earning special awards in the gold, silver, or bronze levels, including 250 selected for ‘Gold’ award status in one of the following 11 school classifications: Graduate School, Large Community College, Large Public, Non-Traditional, Online/Vocational, Private not offering Doctorate, Private Offering Doctorate, Small Community College, Small Public, Tier 1 Research, Tier 2 Research
Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey scores with the assessment of the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for Student Retention, Graduation, Job Placement, Loan Repayment, Persistence (Degree Advancement or Transfer) and Loan Default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.
The 2023-2024 Military Friendly Schools list will be published in G.I. Jobs magazine’s May issue and can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com or by viewing the national announcement webpage.
For more information about NJCU’s student veteran programs, visit https://www.njcu.edu/student-life/campus-services-resources/military-veterans-services.
Students achieve academic honors
Tufts University recently announced that several Jersey City residents were named to the Dean’s List for the Fall 2022 semester: Stephen Christopher, Maryem Haque, Yusuf Haque, and Marcus Hardy.
Dorota Harag of Hoboken has been named to the 2022 fall semester Dean’s List at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
Kimberly Castellano of Bayonne was named to the Dean’s List at Hood College for the fall 2022 semester.
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