School News

TRENTON – More than 500 Franklin High School seniors were challenged to “keep learning” and “change the world around you” at the 2014 graduation ceremony held June 17 at Sun Bank National Center here. In addition to addresses from class officers, Salutatorian Jay Prekh, Valedictorian Pratik Chheda and school and district administrators, the 2 1/2-hour ceremony featured songs by the …

UPDATE: MacAfee Road School principal Bill Grippo said he felt fine after spending the night of June 17 on the school’s roof. “It was very cool, and there weren’t any bugs,” he said the next morning, as students filed off buses below his perch. “I borrowed a futon from one of the teachers, and that was a lifesaver.”

UPDATE: The Franklin Middle School team placed 17th of the 50 teams competing.  

Sampson G. Smith’s Rhonda Stewart was honored as that school’s and the district’s teacher of the year at the May 22 Board of Education meeting. Stewart, an English teacher, was one of nine teachers so honored.

The Franklin High School chapter of the National Honor Society is 81 members stronger following the May 21 induction ceremony. This year, for the first time, the Society’s membership was opened up to sophomores, said Ron Richter, one of the Society’s faculty advisors.

About 450 Franklin High School students attended the Senior Prom May 16 at the Princeton Hyatt. During the evening, the students enjoyed a cocktail reception, followed by dinner and dancing.

Six township students were among nine grand prize winners in the “My Mom, My Hero” Mother’s Day poetry contest sponsored by Venus Jewelers, Easton Avenue. Students in grades K-12 from more than 12 area schools submitted poems to the contest, according to a press release. Everyone who entered was given a genuine gemstone to give to their mother on Mother’s …

Residents who can spare a few hours a month and would like to tutor underperforming county schoolchildren are being sought by the Somerset County Office of Volunteer Services and the Somerset County Superintendent’s office. Volunteers are not required to be teachers, but they must possess knowledge in areas such as reading, math, language arts, science and English as a Second …

A team of 3rd Graders from the Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter School won a “Disaster Blaster” award at the Junior FIRST Lego League World Expo in St. Louis, Mo. The team won for its robot design to help people during a natural disaster.

A private school for the learning disabled is preparing its new home in the township for a September grand opening. The Center School last week closed on its new home at 2 Riverview Drive. The K-12 school had been operating out of a Branchburg building after its original school in Highland Park was destroyed by fire.