School District Puts Itself On Display At 6th Annual Showcase

Members of the Conerly Road School Dance Troupe perform during the district showcase.

The township school district celebrated itself March 23 at the sixth annual Curriculum Expo and District Showcase.

In addition to presentations of various educational initiatives and programs, the day featured dance and music performances and an art display by township students.

This year’s event was held at the new Claremont Road Elementary School, rather than Franklin High School, its host for the past five years.

“We wanted to give the community an opportunity to see Claremont,” schools Superintendent John Ravally said of the venue change. “It is our newest school, and it just opened the third week of September, so a lot of folks haven’t had the opportunity to be inside Claremont, so we thought it would be a great idea for people to come and explore the newest school and see some of the wonderful things happening in the district at the same time.”

One of the innovations visitors could see is a “Sensory Blast Off Path,” a colorful “path” depicting planets placed on the floor which proponents say helps focus students with cognitive difficulties.

The path, said Special Education teacher Pamela Lack, is for “children who have challenges in the classroom. So instead of there being a consequence they can come out here, run through the sensory path and hopefully they come back to class ready to learn.”

“There’s research that shows that if they use their sensory skills to navigate through the path, it will balance their mind and kind of take those sillies away from them and they can come back and learn,” she said.

Lack generated the money to buy the path through an online donation site for teachers, she said. She said the district chipped in the installation cost.

“It’s for regular ed, special ed, we want all the kids to be able to use it and enjoy it,” she said.

Students performing were from the Claremont Elementary School Dance Troupe, The Claremont Elementary School Orchestra Ensemble, the Conerly Road School Dance Troupe, The Elizabeth Avenue School Orchestra Ensemble, the Franklin Park School Dance Company, the Elizabeth Avenue School Dance Troupe, the Hillcrest School Dance Troupe and the cast of “Footloose” from both campuses of Franklin Middle School.

Orchestra students also played in the school’s lobby.

Below is a video of the orchestra students in the lobby and Franklin Park School Dance Company:

Here are some scenes from the day:

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