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Cedar Hill School Recognizes World Autism Awareness Day

All Bernards Township schools invite students to go blue for the day.

With the seriousness and sincerity that sometimes only children can summon, the entire third grade at Bernards Township's Cedar Hill Elementary School gathered in an outdoor courtyard on Tuesday morning to recognize World Autism Awareness Day and decorate a tree with blue ribbons covered with personal messages. "It all begins with understanding," Cedar Hill Principal Joseph Mollica told a group of gathered third graders who participated in that particular activity to learn about autism and what it means for others. Mollica noted that everyone faces challenges, and those with autism face certain challenges every day of their lives. "It's not easy for them to make friends. In many cases, it's not easy for them to speak," he told the students…

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Two Bernards Elementary Schools Named as NJ 'Reward' Schools

Two school receive recognition, although no cash.

The state Department of Education has released its list of "Reward Schools" for 2013, and both the Mount Prospect Elementary School and the Cedar Hill Elementary School are included among 112 schools around the state. Schools Superintendent Nick Markarian said he was aware that the two schools had been included as Reward Schools. However, he added that he does not believe the accolade will translate into additional funding for the schools. A Reward School is a school with outstanding student achievement or growth over the past three years, according to information from the state Department of Education. The DOE said the types of Reward Schools are: •    Highest-Performing: schools that are the highest-performing in the state, in terms of …

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Cedar Hill Student's Work To Be Featured At Contemporary Art Show

March is Youth Art Month at the Center for Contemporary Art in Bedminster.

The Center for Contemporary Art, in Bedminster, is preparing for its 14th annual Youth Art Month, and students from Basking Ridge, Warren, Hillsborough and several others are going to see their work featured. A third grader from the Cedar Hill Elementary School, Veronica Fabiano, is one of the featured artists. The exhibition will take place throughout part of March in an exhibition of Somerset County student work done in partnership with Art Educators of New Jersey. Each year, according to a release from the center, every state submits a Youth Art Month report to the National Art Education Association, and awards of excellence are given out. New Jersey, the release said, has been in the top four for the past 11 years. In this year’s …

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Ridge Buses Will Continue Cedar Hill Dropoff For Now

Ridge High School students will continue entering high school each morning from rear entrance to building.

When school starts next Thursday, buses carrying Ridge High School students will continue dropping those students off at the Cedar Hill Elementary School, from which they will walk to the rear entrance of the high school building, Schools Superintendent Nick Markarian said. In the meantime, school officials will continue to work on a solution to bring back the buses to the high school in a safe manner, Markarian said following Monday night's Board of Education meeting. The school district's administration decided last February to reroute the busses away from the main entrance to Ridge, located at the traffic light at the intersection of South Finley Avenue and Lake Road. Since then, residents in Homestead Village, living along the back …

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It's a Tradition: Field Day at Cedar Hill School

Elementary schools in Bernards Township end each school year with a blow-out day of games, fun and remembering.

It's a day that all students at Bernards Township's elementary schools await with anticipation — Field Day, an event that's a little customized for each school, but always planned with a goal of fun, games and a celebration of the coming last day of school. On Monday, the Cedar Hill Elementary School students added a few reflective moments to their fun morning by inviting and honoring eight local veterans to the kick of that school's Field Day 2012. Cedar Hill Principal Joe Mollica said that the school decided to honor the veterans at Field Day this year because, "There's been quite a long-term struggle taking place over the last 10 years, and we just wanted them to know that we know how long it's been, how much it has cost us in lives and…

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Moms Talk Q&A

MOMS TALK: Is Autism Awareness Increasing?

April is Autism Awareness Month — but how much do people really understand about this condition about which many questions remain unanswered?

This week, there have been multiple activities going on that recognize April as Autism Awareness Month. Specifically, Monday was World Austism Awareness Day and a number of local people and organizations, including the Cedar Hill Elementary School, marked the occasion. The Cedar Hill school was decorated in blue, and both students and staff came in wearing blue to celebrate the worldwide Light It Up Blue campaign. Third-grade students tied blue ribbons on a tree in a school courtyard that was planted a few years ago in honor of Autism Awareness month. I learned something about autism even just doing a preview story and stopping by to take some photos during the day. The silk screened banner on which all of the school's children imprinted …

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Maureen Kelly

8:52 pm on Monday, May 7, 2012

Stacey, I have been trying to find your email and haven't seen you for ages. Have been wondering how things were going, please email me. Maureen Kelly at maureenbok "at" gmail "dot" com. Thanks!   more ›

World Autism Day at Cedar Hill School

Students participate in a full day of activities to learn about autism and better understand how it affects others.

This Monday, the Cedar Hill Elementary School held a celebratation involving the entire school, all 630 students in kindergarten through grade 5, for World Autism Awareness Day.   The school was decorated and both students and staff came in wearing blue to celebrate the worldwide Light It Up Blue campaign. The children were going to watch a video in the morning to understand the significance of blue, said Lisa McNey, co-president of Parents of Exceptional Children in Bernards Township. The third grade students once again be tied blue ribbons on a tree in a school courtyard that was planted a few years ago in honor of Autism Awareness month. The students would be writing words of kindness on each ribbon and tying them on the tree. Classes …

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Moms Talk Q&A

Moms Talk: Should the RHS Dropoff Behind Cedar Hill Continue?

It's now been a week since Ridge High School buses were rerouted for morning dropoff behind Cedar Hill School.

This week, Mom's Talk (also for dads, kids, grandparents and other observers) returns to a timely topic — the school administration's decision to reroute Ridge High School morning buses through the Cedar Hill Elementary School traffic loop in an effort to relieve weekday traffic backups at the entrance to the high school. The change was implemented on a trial basis. The decision is supposed to come up for reconsideration at next Monday night's Board of Education meeting, at 7 p.m. at the William Annin Middle School. School officials have asked for the public's input at that meeting. RHS principal Frank Howlett said today that the rerouting of morning buses will probably continue through that time. So, what do you think? What do your kids …

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paragdhagat

6:38 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012

Opening Town-Hall entrance means paving over the fields for buses to come to PAC for drop off, unless your suggestion is students get dropped off at the court-house and walk even longer distances than they do from cedarhill! The field would be effectively divided. One has already been paved over to make a parking lot! More open space lost to development! One must remember that the rear parking …   more ›

UPDATED: Buses to Drop Ridge Students Behind Cedar Hill

Schools Superintendent says change to begin Wednesday on trial basis to try to alleviate morning traffic at Ridge's entrance off S. Finley Ave.

As of this Wednesday morning, Ridge High School buses are scheduled to begin dropping off students at the rear entrance to the the school, requiring students to walk along a pathway leading from the adjoining Cedar Hill Elementary School off Peachtree Road. The change in the route is designed to alleviate the traffic backup that each morning occurs on both directions on South Finley Avenue and on Lake Road leading to Ridge High School, which is located at 268 S. Finley Ave. School begins at 7:35 a.m. However, parents and residents have expressed concerns about traffic on local streets and pedestrian safety in Homestead Village, behind the Cedar Hill school, the added inconvenience for students who take the bus instead of driving and about …

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Wood

8:48 pm on Saturday, February 4, 2012

Delete Scott Guibord (64 Woodstone Road) 8:43 pm on Saturday, February 4, 2012 Hg. That's why we propose that the road to the Ridge High School parking lot be one way from the Municipal Complex. No return trips. There will always be unobstructed access and egress to the Police Station, as the road into the Municipal complex forks left toward the Police Station, and forks right toward the …   more ›

Back to School 2011

A New Chapter for Cedar Hill School Media Center

The elementary school's PTO raises $120,000 to fund renovations at formerly dingy library.

Doors officially opened on Thursday on a bright and updated media center at Cedar Hill Elementary School, thanks to the efforts of volunteers with the elementary school’s PTO. The Cedar Hill Parent-Teacher Organization raised $120,000 to transform the 2,100-square-foot library through significant renovations to both décor and equipment. In addition, volunteers contributed numerous hours to help make the transition happen in a project on which planning started last year. Much of the work was completed over this past summer, with a lot of elbow grease contributed by the parent volunteers. Karen Richman, co-president of the PTO and one of the parents who initiated the project, said $30,000 had been raised through a previous benefit, $60,000 …

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