Smiles for Miles on First Day of School

Kids at bus stops and in the classrooms appeared happy to be headed back to class.

Now, let's hope they're as happy about going to school the rest of the year, too. Carolyn Ericksen said daughter Charlotte, starting second grade at Alfred Vail Elementary this week, was so excited that she went to sleep at 11:30 p.m., woke up at 7 a.m. on the dot and could not stop talking about it. "She is not my child," the proud mother laughed. When Rachel Ritter's four-year-old daughter Sutton saw her bus driver, "Mr. Al," instead of saying "go away" like she had before (she didn't like him because "he had taken her big brother away for school," Rachel said), the second-year Lafayette Learning Center student said, "good morning," much to Rachel's pleasure and surprise. "She said 'good morning,'" Rachel exclaimed. "I can't believe she …

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It's Back to School This Week

Also, Zoning Board is meeting and there's still opportunities to eat fresh.

Welcome to your abbreviated week, Morristown. We hope you enjoyed your Labor Day. We hope it was a relaxing way to say "farewell" to summer—unofficially, of course. We still have a couple weeks to go. But, Labor Day isn't the only way autumn is apparently apparent. Remember the song, "See You in September?" We haven't been in school in years and it still gives shivers.

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School Lunch Standards to Take Effect This Year

Whole grain-rich foods, more fruits and vegetables mandated.

School districts across the country will bring new meaning to the "apple a day" saying this school year as nationally-mandated school lunch standards take effect. Beginning in September, the new lunch standards, introduced in January by First Lady Michelle Obama under the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act, will be implemented. The standards were created to help fight childhood obesity throughout the nation. According to a press release from the United States Department of Agriculture, the new meal standards are designed to "make the same kinds of practical changes that many parents are already encouraging at home." This involves the inclusion of fruits, vegetables, whole grain-rich foods, low-calorie foods and foods with reduced amounts of …

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Lost hope

10:28 pm on Friday, November 23, 2012

Mrs Obama is NOT the driving force behind all this dietary change as many of you have given her credit for... The ADA, more formerly known as the AND has been putting a great deal of pressure on dietary changes across the board. Quite honestly I am NOT an Obama fan; however, I do feel that change is grossly necessary in order to avert more of an obesity epidemic...   more ›

High School Football Classifications Released

NJSIAA incorporates the new Group V this season.

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association released its classifications this week for the upcoming high school football season, following the executive committee's approval to create a Group V designation in the four public school sections in May. "This creates a greater opportunity for schools and for student-athletes," Jack DuBois, NJSIAA assistant director who is in charge of football, said following the approval. "It increases the number of teams playing in the playoffs from 128 to 160. At the same time, it eliminates 16 consolation games that schools didn't want to play anyway." The proposal also allows teams with records are under .500 to participate in the playoffs if they are needed to fill an eight-team bracket. "We…

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Chase Bank Partnering to Fill 500 Backbacks Thursday

JPMorgan Chase and World Vision holding event 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 16 to benefit Morristown Neighborhood House.

JPMorgan Chase and World Vision are partnering for an event Thursday at the Chase branch at 225 South St. where employee volunteers, Chase customers and local residents will have an opportunity to fill 500 backpacks with school supplies to benefit children of the Morristown Neighborhood House as they get ready to enter the new school year. JPMorgan Chase and World Vision volunteers will be joined by local community leaders and residents throughout the day as they fill 500 backpacks and raise awareness of the program. Chase customers will have an opportunity to participate in packing a bag or writing an inspirational note to one of the students as they prepare to go back to school. Today, one in five children in the U.S. lives in poverty. …

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Staples Accepting Donations for School Supply Drive

Office supply store will accept donations through Sept. 15.

Are you a teen or do you know one that wants to help out the community? DoSomething.org and Staples would love to see you make donations at Staples' Morristown location between now and Sept. 15. The press release is below. DoSomething.org and Staples have teamed up with teen actress and recording artist Bella Thorne for the 5th annual Staples for Students national school supply drive, to help kids in need (www.staplesforstudents.org). The drive encourages local young people to collect school supplies and drop them off at their nearest Staples store now through September 15.  All school supplies and donations will be given locally to the Picatinny Teen Center to ensure they get into the hands of disadvantaged youth just in time for the new …

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Back-To-School 2011

Column: Back to School Costs Wallop the Wallet

From tuition to school supplies, it's a bank-breaking time for parents and students of all ages.

The start of school is right around the corner. It’s a time of anticipation, trepidation and spending. For college students, like those starting at or returning to Drew, Fairleigh Dickinson University and the College of St. Elizabeth for orientation or the start of classes this week and next, it’s a very expensive month. At these private schools, the cost for tuition, room and board ranges from $38,000 a year to more than $50,000. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average cost of a private college more than doubled between 1990 and 2008, much higher than the 63 percent rate of inflation during that same time frame. Similarly, public college tuitions and fees also have more than doubled, to a national average in 2008-09 of $15,876. …

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Jeanne Feenick

4:04 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011

Good thinking on your part Chicky - if only I had trained my kids this way, I would have saved a lot of $$ along the way. My kids wanted to arrive with a backpack filled with stuff, all labeled with a permanent marker....guaranteeing that they could not be returned when the "real needs" were identified by the teacher ;-(.   more ›