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Secaucus Public Schools Educator Nominated for National LifeChanger of the Year Award June 12th, 2019 – Secaucus, NJ. – Clarendon Elementary School math teacher Patricia Smeyers has been nominated for the 2019-2020 national LifeChanger of the Year award. Smeyers was nominated by her spouse, Jarrod Smeyers. She is an advocate for STEM at her school and is a member of the New Jersey STEM Pathways Network. She has gone out of her way to learn new curriculums and uses of technology to help other teachers in their classrooms. Her entire town recognizes her devotion to the students and to the community. "I can barely walk one block in our town without hearing some wonderful story of support or encouragement my wife gave to a child. I hear how her STEM advocacy and her lessons inspired students to become a teacher, computer science major, or engineer," said Jarrod. Smeyers grew up with an undiagnosed learning disability. In college, she had a professor who changed her life by acknowledging her outstanding writing transformation in class due to her professor’s assistance with strategies and confidence. Smeyers committed to change every life she touched from that day on, especially those children who do not realize they have the potential to be successful in school and in the workforce. “She is a true leader. She is my 'superhero' who has confidence in her strengths. Now, it's time for everyone else to realize her super teaching powers, too. Hundreds of students and families already know that Patricia Smeyers, my superhero wife, is definitely a LifeChanger who will never be forgotten,” said Jarrod. About LifeChanger of the Year Sponsored by the National Life Group Foundation, LifeChanger of the Year recognizes and rewards the very best K-12 educators and school district employees across the United States who are making a difference in the lives of students by exemplifying excellence, positive influence and leadership. Each school year, LifeChanger of the Year receives hundreds of nominations from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Seventeen individual LifeChanger of the Year awards will be given during the 2019-2020 school year. (1) Grand Prize Winner – will receive $10,000 to be shared with their school/district. (4) Grand Prize Finalists – will receive $5,000 to be shared with their school/district. (10) LifeChanger Award Winners – will receive $3,000 to be shared with their school/district. (1) Spirit Award Winner – This award is given to the nominee whose community demonstrates the most support for their nomination. The winner will receive $5,000 to be shared with their school/district. (1) Spotlight Award Winner – This award is given to a nominee in a specific discipline each year. For 2019-20, the Spotlight Award will be given to a nominee who has made a proven impact on school safety. The winner will receive $5,000 to be shared with their school or district. Winners are announced via surprise award ceremonies held at their schools. The grand prize finalists will also be honored at a national awards ceremony in April 2020 in Florida, where the Grand Prize Winner will be revealed. Winners are chosen by a selection committee comprised of former winners and education professionals. Nominees must be K-12 teachers or school district employees. To be considered for an award, nominees must Make a positive impact in the lives of students Enhance their school or district’s atmosphere, culture and pride Demonstrate exemplary leadership at the school and/or district level Possess a proven record of professional excellence Show commitment to building a nurturing environment that supports learning Adhere to the highest moral and ethical standards A resource page with ideas for how to celebrate nominees can be found at http://lifechangeroftheyear.com/showspirit/. To view Mrs. Smeyers’ LifeChanger of the Year nominee profile, or to nominate someone from your school community, visit www.LifeChangeroftheYear.com.

This school year, the Secaucus School District raised $74,000. This is the greatest amount our district has raised! We would like to thank all the students and their families, teachers, staff, administration, our Superintendent, Ms. Montesano and Mayor Mike Gonnelli for their efforts and support in this year’s fundraising events! We are so proud of this huge accomplishment.

On Thursday, June 6, 2019, students from both Huber Street and Clarendon Schools joined together to form one team and participated in the annual Hudson County Battle of the Books Competition. The venue for this event was Washington Middle School located in Harrison, New Jersey. Our fifth grade students battled it out with other 5th and 6th grade teams within Hudson County. Secaucus tied for 1st with North Bergen at half time and placed 2nd in Hudson County in the final round. Harrison place 3rd and North Bergen took home the 1st place win! The Battle of the Books competition is a reading incentive program designed to encourage students to read quality award winning literature. To prepare for the competition, the students selected at least four of 15 books to read and come together in groups to demonstrate their abilities and to test their knowledge of the content within the books. Each student was responsible for reading their books and completing memory joggers to prepare for the battle. The completed memory joggers were typed and shared via Google Docs to ensure all 15 books were covered for the team. Teams received five points for answering questions with the correct book title and three points for the correct author for an eight point maximum per question. The competitors of this year’s event scored a Hudson County all time high.

JUNE 5TH WAS OUR 2ND ANNUAL CAREER DAY! THIS YEAR, WE INVITED PARENTS OF STUDENTS IN K-5 TO COME IN AND PRESENT THEIR CAREER TO OUR STUDENTS. THE CHILDREN DRESSED IN A CAREER OF THEIR CHOICE THAT DAY! DISCUSSIONS ON CAREERS WERE DONE IN THE CLASSROOMS. EACH TEACHER TOOK THEIR CLASS THROUGH THE GYM WHERE PARENTS WERE STATIONED AT TABLES AND PRESENTED TO THE STUDENTS.

Oh the thinks you can think, when you think about Seuss! Come check out our two nights of incredible performances by the Clarendon Drama Club. Hope to see you there!