Central Jersey College Prep Celebrates Kindergartners, 5th Graders On ‘Moving Up’

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“Moving Up” ceremonies were held June 23 for Kindergartners and 5th Graders at Central Jersey College Prep Charter School.

Students, families and school staff gathered in the gymnasium for the two roughly hour-long ceremonies.

The school’s Chief Educational Officer, Namik Sercan, gave comments during both programs.

During the Kindergarten ceremony, Sercan noted that some students in the audience were in the school for the first time that day, due to remote learning caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sercan said the students “have learned about learning, and the skills that they learn will help them as they progress with their educational careers.”

“However, life is not just about learning to read and to write,” he said. “Just as important is love, friendship, celebration and acceptance for one another.”

Sercan said that building a community among children, “is the only way to combat hatred, intolerance, racism and racial injustice, which we are seeing around us nowadays.”

The teachers and staff at CJCP, Sercan said, have “given the children a great foundation in their educational careers.”

To the roughly 100 Kindergartners in the audience, Sercan said, “Take on challenges, be loving, love learning, be part of the community, love and be all you can be.”

Here are some scenes from the Kindergartners’ ceremony:

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Later that day, about 75 5th Graders celebrated their moving on to Middle School.

In addition to Sercan, two 5th Grade teachers – Jamie Fischer and Nina Jones – also spoke to the children.

Both teachers gave the students lists of advice.

Among Fischer’s pieces of advice were: have a positive attitude, relax often, be honest and work hard, and find quality role models.

Jones’ list included thoughts such as: be confident and positive, you will accomplish more than you think you can, and have fun and make memories.

Sercan told the students that moving up from the 5th Grade was the “second important step toward attending good colleges and becoming good citizens,” teh first being moving up from Kindergarten.

“We’re all so proud of you,” he said.

Sercan said the students may be a little scared when they enter Middle School in September, but “the support you are going to receive from your peers and your teachers and the staff and your families … will make it a smooth transition.”

The last school year, with the pandemic, proved that the students can undertake challenges and overcome them, Sercan said.

The students, he said, “have a shown a great resilience and flexibility, and I appreciate their hard work. You and your parents have worked with us, and we can’t be more proud of you.”

Sercan said the staff not only expect the children to be good students, “we expect them to show good potential for a bright future.”

Here are some scenes from the 5th Grade ceremony:

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