Maroons Online Vol. 1… No. 87 Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Acta non verba
Observer: Daylight Savings Time
Macky’s New York: Pavillion With Help And Fuzzies
William Peay: Tales From The Wood…
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame: 2020 Inductees Dinner photos
M + A NYC: Ribbon Striped Hand Loomed 24" Pillow
James Stroker: The Magic Finger
Jim Schoneman: Rock Hound
RHS Class Of 1972: Reunion Planning Web Site
Tom Gorman: Superintendent’s Column
Observer
Daylight Savings Time
I am an early riser. The morning when Daylight Savings Time (DST) ends is a happy time. The light comes through all our windows to make my early morning dog-walking duties more pleasant and waking up seem easier.
I can recall during the 1973 oil embargoes they expanded the length DST to save energy. Congress enacted a trial period of year-round daylight saving time from January 1974 to April 1975 in order to conserve energy. This meant we made the morning trek to school in the dark during winter months. Imagine it being a rainy or snowy day and you have a commuters’ hell. Yes, we saved energy in the winter but used more air conditioning in the summer. Some metrics can’t be used to make the case for DST.
Funny thing is that this first Monday after DST, I was foggy-minded from lack of a good sleep. This left me to wonder if I was alone in this plight. First I consulted the Internet. This is fine if you trust the source because the Internet will argue it both ways on every issue under the sun. Then I consulted my cohort of medical experts. They were in agreement that it’s harder on your system to lose an hour of sleep in the spring than it is to gain an hour in the autumn. The loss of sleep produces a “Sleepy Monday.”
Maybe in the near future we’ll use the negative consequences for our overall health as our touchstone for the decision on whether to keep DST. Or we could leave it and give the month of March, which currently has no national holiday, a Self-Care Monday. Then we could take a hard look at the ridiculous grind our workaholic culture champions. This might lead to more people valueing sleep and its long term benefits over glorifying late nights to meet indiscriminate deadlines. My guess is we’d see a boost in productivity & creative thinking, plus more attentive students if people could plan on getting proper rest.
Macky’s New York
Matthew Cortellesi Photography
November 3, 2021 - Central Park
Pavillion With Help And Fuzzies
I went to the park today to try to recreate a picture I took of the San Remo in the late summer only this time with fall colors but alas...it was too windy and the reflection was too choppy so as I walked home with my shoulders slouched...I heard a little bird singing to my right and as I looked...he flew away leaving me this view of the western shore boat landing (pavilion) - funny part is...as I walked up through Stawberry Fields...the guy on the guitar was playing "I get by with a little help from my friends" - indeed...thanks little birdy.
Shot on the eastern shore of the Lake looking west with Pavillion and reflection and base of San Remo upper left.
Time 9am.
#mackysnewyork
William Peay
Tales From The Wood…
This is what patriotism and freedom look like..
I got my J&J shot the first day it was available to me in April. I got my Moderna booster last week on the first day it was available..
No side effects. No cutlery sticking to me because I'm magnetized...I am 97% immunized against infection. I can go anywhere. I'm protecting myself and those around me and by doing so, I'm helping the economy and my country.
Yelling at store employees and beating up flight attendants isn't freedom. It's being an a**hole.
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame 2020 Inductees Dinner
2020 Inductees Dinner photos
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame Nomination Form
Visit The RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame to see photos of the evening and to download the 2020 Banquet Program.
Sammy Cermack, RHS 2010, Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall Of Fame 2020 Inductee
M + A NYC
Ribbon Striped Hand Loomed 24" Pillow
Our oversized kora color (that's a flour-like off white) throw-pillow with a black center stripe, pull through detail, flanked by wee pom poms because what's a pillow without pom poms? Hand loomed by artisans in India in the softest, thickest cotton we've ever seen. Ours comes with a custom insert.
100% hand loomed cotton
Button back envelope enclosure
Self fabric and design front and back
Coconut buttons
Includes down alternative pillow insert
Care:
Machine wash cold, gentle cycle. Tumble dry low.
James Stroker
Jim Schoneman
Rock Hound
Fishing the duck pond in the spring of 1964. Zebco rod and reel, metal tackle box, and a Maxwell House coffee can full of worms that dad and I dug. Caught my very first rainbow trout at this exact spot. I think T&W Ice Cream was just to the left in the background, right by the Ridgewood Avenue bridge that went over the Saddle River. MacHugh's Clothing Store would be to the right I think. This park was great fun in summer and in winter. I remember playing crack the whip on ice skates with friends, and even strangers would join in the fun.
RHS Class Of 1972
Reunion Planning Web Site
Tom Gorman:
Superintendent’s Column
Empathy Fosters a Positive School Culture
If this pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we are all interconnected and our success relies on one another. The District’s theme for this year is gratitude, and one attribute that leads to gratitude is empathy. Our educators, families, and community members recognize the inherent value of empathy as an essential characteristic for lifelong success and identified it as such in the RPS Strategic Plan. Like math or reading, empathy can be taught, developed, and strengthened over time. Building capacity for greater awareness, understanding, and appreciation of one another is as important as mastering academic content and will help prepare our students for a global, interconnected society.
Two years in a row, Basil Pizzuto, RHS Assistant Principal, and Lauren DePinto, District Coordinator of School-Based Mental Health Services, have presented our model “Creating a House that Smiles” at a national school mental health conference. So, how do we create a house that smiles? One proven method is to cultivate a school culture and climate that reflects respect and compassion. Through our robust mental health model, Multi-Tiered System of Supports, social-emotional learning curriculum, district-wide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative, and daily teaching and modeling, we create a caring environment that nurtures understanding and appreciation for the uniqueness of each student. When I think of empathy, I am always cognizant of the platinum rule - “Treat others the way they wish to be treated.” This mindset encourages us to think beyond ourselves and consider the needs of others. Building strong relationships involves having deeper discussions about culture and identity. This exercise can open us up to explore the experiences of those around us and give us the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about someone instead of making assumptions.
The work of cultivating empathetic students begins at the youngest ages, and these lessons take place in our classrooms on a daily basis. Throughout the educational experience, students are exposed to curriculum content, presentations, programs, and events that teach the value of diversity and inclusivity, and examine the history of societal bias, racism, prejudice, stereotypes, and injustice in all forms. They connect their learning by analyzing universal themes and answering essential questions about what it means to be human, to be responsible, to determine what is truth, and to decide who is empowered. They apply these lessons to their own lives and the world around them.
Our educators cultivate critical thinking to prepare students for their next steps, exposing students to speakers who bear witness from personal experiences in the Holocaust and speak directly about the themes of the perpetrator, victim, bystander, and upstander. Mark Schonwetter, a Holocaust survivor, recently came to Ridgewood High School to share his childhood experience in Poland and the life-changing event of the German invasion. Over 300 Ridgewood High School students had the opportunity to hear Mr. Schonwetter’s personal account of a point in history that they read about and study, as well as engage in follow-up class discussions.
The Week of Respect is another avenue to promote positive relationships and understanding among students. Our elementary students attended an assembly entitled “Pockets: What They Hold, What They Hide,” an inspiring presentation about overcoming obstacles with a central theme of kindness and respect. In Open Circle class meetings, students came up with “sparkle statements” - words that make others smile. Middle school students engaged in advisory activities that build respect and appreciation, and high school students took pledges as part of the Tyler Clementi Foundation #Day1 Campaign to stop bullying and be an upstander.
Outside of the classroom, students engage in service activities to help build their capacity for empathy. Several schools recently participated in the Cereal Challenge to support Ridgewood Social Service, while others collected jars of peanut butter and jelly. Some of our high school clubs have been cleaning up local parks and trails, while others have volunteered to assist with children’s activities at the Village’s Oktoberfest in Wilsey Square. These are just a few examples of the many student-led activities and projects, which not only do good for the greater community but also teach the value of giving back and instill empathy.
“Learning to stand in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes,
that’s how peace begins. And it’s up to you to make that happen.
Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world.”
– Barack Obama
The environment we create at school and the connections we strive to establish and deepen undoubtedly foster empathy. Equipped with this essential tool, our students have endless opportunities for future success. By striving to nurture that which unifies us as human beings and rejecting that which divides us, we can grow positive relationships and build stronger interconnected communities.
Thomas A. Gorman, Ed.D. is Superintendent of the Ridgewood Public Schools. For more information, visit the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us.
Peace