For more information, please visit the Enrichment page.

State of Clinton Elementary School
Annual Address

By
Principal O’Neill
February, 2010

As we enter the second half of our 2009-2010 school year, I want to update our community on where we currently are with regard to our academic program and where we are headed.

Our administrative team has adopted the acronym LEARNS to drive our leadership as we continue our work for the academic, social, and emotional success of our students. With this in mind, I will address where we stand with regard to the district academic programs.

Read the rest of this entry »

Please help us keep this wonderful program that serves approximately 160 students per session:

The Clinton PTA After School Enrichment Program is in need of a new coordinator, or two co-coordinators.

Cecelia started this program five years ago and has been coordinating it ever since. It is a very popular program that runs twice each year (fall and spring) for eight sessions. Coordinator is responsible for choosing classes, hiring teachers, performing all administrative tasks including attendance and sign-out sheets, class lists, registration, and being on site to monitor the program (along with proctors) each Thursday afternoon. Each session accommodates approximately 160 students.

Ideally, we would like someone to work with Cecelia this spring (our spring session begins on March 25th) and take over the program for the fall of 2010. The workload is heavy for the weeks leading up to registration and then approximately 1-2 hours week during the actual session.

In addition to the satisfaction of running such a great program that benefits so many children, the children of the coordinator/s can attend for free.

To volunteer or for more information, please contact Cecelia via clintonschoolpta@gmail.com .

The Clinton PTA After School Enrichment Program is in need of a new coordinator, or two co-coordinators.

Cecelia started this program five years ago and has been coordinating it ever since. It is a very popular program that runs twice each year (fall and spring) for eight sessions. Coordinator is responsible for choosing classes, hiring teachers, performing all administrative tasks including attendance and sign-out sheets, class lists, registration, and being on site to monitor the program (along with proctors) each Thursday afternoon. Each session accommodates approximately 160 students.

The workload is heavy for the weeks leading up to registration and then approximately 1-2 hours week during the actual session.

If you’re interested in learning more, please contact Cecelia through clintonschoolpta@gmail.com .

For the last several years, Clinton School has been the fortunate recipient of Artist-in-Residence Grants from the NJ Council on the Arts. Our 4th grade students have been the lucky beneficiaries of these programs and in the recent past they’ve created beautiful murals with a professional muralist, constructed 3-D ceramic art with a professional artist, and last year, learned and performed dances from around the world with a team of top-notch professional dancers.

The Clinton PTA partnered with Principal O’Neill and applied, and received, another arts grant for this school year (its focus is jazz music) and had even started interviewing artists when we received bad news from the Council.

Gov.-elect Christie has asked Gov. Corzine to freeze payment of all 2010 NJ State Council on the Arts grants until at least January 19 (nearly 14 million dollars worth). This grave crisis is affecting every arts organization and arts program in NJ that receives state funding and it’s also affecting Clinton School since we cannot move forward with our residency until the freeze is lifted. The Council is hoping that the freeze is quick and temporary and that residencies can resume in March but the future of our grant is uncertain, to say the least. Additionally, it takes several months to put the grant into action and complete the program, so there is no guarantee that we will have it at all for this school year.

It is important to let our legislators know how this freeze is affecting our children’s educational experience. Please make your voice heard. Visit www.artpridenj.com and click the Action Alert button to find out who to write to and what methods of delivery are available.

We’ve worked hard year after year to get these grants and implement them into our students’ daily lives. As a PTA we’ve matched the NJ Council on the Arts funds in order to make these programs available. Arts education is incredibly beneficial to our school community. Please make your voice heard as we are in danger of losing this wonderful program.

    –Cecelia Cancellaro

If you’d like to read more about the freeze here are some links: 

Starving N.J. arts: A sad consequence of our budget crisis

Fate of New Jersey Arts Groups Uncertain as State Freezes $10 Million in Funding PND

STATE FUNDING FREEZE COULD MEAN TROUBLE FOR THE ARTS on NBC40

Just a reminder that our PTA Fall After School Enrichment Program ends this coming Thursday, December 10th.

The session was a great success and accommodated more than 160 students for eight creative and fun-filled weeks. Many thanks to our amazing proctors, Lisa, Liz, and Jenny, who kept things running so smoothly and to the parents who helped guide our youngest students during the first couple of weeks, Tracey, Ilena, Victoria, Maria, and Rosalene. And a big THANK YOU to Cecelia for organizing the whole program for our kids!

After School Enrichment will be back again in the spring for another 8- week session beginning Thursday, March 25th (after our All-School Musical Revue), so look for registration materials in late February or early March.

The PTA would love to hear your thoughts about your child’s experience during the session, so please take a few minutes to complete our questionnaire.

Completed questionnaires can be emailed to ccancellaro@verizon.net or can be sent to school in your child’s backpack marked “PTA/After School Enrichment.”

Thanks!