At last night’s Board Of Education (BOE) meeting in the Roselle Park Middle School (RPMS), some time was taken from discussing the school district’s budget to recognize some students who volunteered to reach out to others.
Most of the students, when it’s their birthday, their friends come in and decorate their lockers,” RPMS Principal Mrs. Carlin, referring to the efforts of RPMS students Alexis Cieslinski, Emma Cieslinski, Luana DaLuz, Madison Cieslinski, and Madison Martinez. The principal went on to explain that with the special needs students, a lot of times, their lockers remain bare on such special occasions. The young Roselle Park residents decided to do something about it. As a group, they found when those students who – either by class schedule or program implementation – do not regularly interact with the general school population. They then came in on birthdays and other special occasions and decorated those students’ lockers.
“Students were really shocked and thrilled to death that they did this,” commented the principal on the outcome of those efforts.
Additionally, Mrs. Carlin gave recognition to students who participated in a special pen pal program with one of the school’s Special Education classes. Complimenting the students on the wonderful work they did, Mrs. Carlin went on to describe the way students rotated correspondents between each other in order to individually get to know as many of the students as possible. The success of this first endeavor had the principal saying, “Many of these students have volunteered to come back a second time.”
The RPMS students recognized for being part of the Long Writers Pen Pal Club were Alexis Cieslinski, Angeliesse Barlett, Brianna Feliciano, Emma Cieslinski, Julia Berlinski, Karen Galvan, Kevin Feliciano, Jonmarie Sanders, Luana DaLuz, Madison Cieslinski, Madison Martinez, Matias Carrion, Nicole Flor, and Seth Levine.