Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Programs Kindness Ckla Cadaver Lab topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Watchung School highlights Great Kindness Challenge; student rep describes CKLA curriculum and Middlesex High cadaver lab visit
Summary
The board heard a school spotlight on the Great Kindness Challenge from Watchung School Principal Karen Dudley and a student representative described the CKLA literacy program and a Middlesex High School cadaver lab visit to Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
At the district’s January meeting, Missus Karen Dudley, principal of Watchung School, presented a school spotlight on the Great Kindness Challenge and urged a district focus on social-emotional practices to support academic success.
“I wanted to spend some time tonight to focus on kindness as opposed to our physical academic focus,” Dudley said, describing the Great Kindness Challenge as a weeklong program in late January with a school- and home-focused checklist of kindness acts. Dudley said Watchung School uses daily themes, videos, and counselor-led activities; she credited the school counselor, Missus Hoffman, with coordinating classroom resources and videos for staff. Dudley described themed dress days planned for the week (spirit day, pajama day, team-up day, camo/animal-print day and a fitness-themed day) and outlined examples of student activities such as complimenting classmates, holding doors, and performing simple acts of kindness.
Student representative Harshie Parmar gave a separate presentation on curricular and extracurricular experiences. Parmar explained that “CKLA program stands for Core Knowledge, Language, and Literacy,” saying the program divides instruction into language comprehension and word recognition and is designed to build vocabulary, knowledge and reading skills when taught daily by trained teachers. Parmar also described a recent Middlesex High School field trip: a visit to the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School cadaver lab, attended by AP Biology students. Parmar said Middlesex High School has participated in the program for 11 years and described the experience as an opportunity for seniors to explore anatomy and medical careers.
Dudley and Parmar emphasized social-emotional supports and experiential learning as complements to academics. The presentations did not trigger board action but were recognized by the board during the meeting’s spotlight and student liaison segments.
(End)
