Under the Radar

Do Not Try This At Home

September is such a bittersweet time, especially as collegians head back out of our lives.

The deed is done. The younger of two young’uns has been deposited on Boylston Street in Boston, ready for sophomore year. Last year, his first, we could see waves of uncertainty emanating from his body. He wanted us to help him make up his bed, complete with anti-bedbug mattress encasement that required all three of us to maneuver the twin extra-long into the plastic sheath. He wanted us to take him out to dinner “one last time.” His voice quavered when we said goodbye. This year, he practically shoved us out the door. There were hugs but no tears, which, I guess, is how it should be. Hub and I made our way back home to a very quiet house where we will hold down the fort until the next invasion. I usually wait several days before entering …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Send Us Your First Day of School Photos

Upload photos of your kids (or other people's kids) from the first day of school.

It happens every year, to the delight of parents and the horror of children everywhere: the first day of school. Thursday marked the first day back for students in the Moorestown School District and Moorestown Friends School. Students at Our Lady of Good Counsel (OLGC) started their school year Wednesday. So we're asking parents, family and friends: Upload your first day of school photos here complete with a caption of the student's name, age and grade. We'll feature a new photo on the front page of Moorestown Patch every hour (as long as you keep sending us pictures).  Can't figure out how to upload them here? Email photos to rob.scott@patch.com. Click here to see a list of important dates in the Moorestown School District and Friends …

• Photos (21)

New Music Teacher Says Friends School Is 'Amazing Community'

Joanna Stamper takes over as the Lower School music teacher at Moorestown Friends School this fall.

Joanna Stamper started her teaching career at a Friends school, and now, after a stint in public school, she’s returning to the type of classroom where she feels most at home. “I definitely missed the Friends environment and the community,” said Stamper, who will teach music at the Lower School at Moorestown Friends beginning this year. “I missed the sense of community, the spiritual aspect, looking at the entire child.” Stamper, who previously taught at the Friends School Haverford (PA) and most recently in the Cherry Hill School District, said Moorestown Friends “seems like an amazing community.” As the music instructor for the Lower School—preschool through fourth grade—Stamper said she won’t have to worry about holding the notoriously …

• Photos (1)

Our Lady of Good Counsel 2012-13 Calendar

Keep these dates handy.

Last week we gave you a partial list of some of the more important dates from the first half of the 2012-13 school year for the Moorestown Public School District and Moorestown Friends School. Below is a list of some of the milestones from the first semester at Our Lady of Good Counsel School:  1. OLGC’s first day of school for grades 1-8 is Wednesday, Sept. 5, with early dismissal at noon. Kindergarten boys report on Sept. 6 and girls report on the 7th. 2. OLGC will host its annual back-to-school social on Sept. 28 in the parking lot outside the school, with fun games and activities for students, a DJ and much more. 3. The eighth grade Confirmation mass will be held at 4 p.m. Oct. 19 at St. Isaac Jogues Church in Marlton. 4. The school …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)

"Natural-Born" Teacher Ready to Lay Foundation of Learning

For Amanda Casario, a new first grade teacher at Baker Elementary School, there isn't a "more rewarding profession out there."

Pardon the analogy, but if the most important step of building a home is laying the proper foundation, then first grade has to be considered one of the most crucial steps in a child’s education, right? This is where they learn—not just the basic curricula (math, science, Spanish, social studies, reading), but the fundamentals of learning and living in a school environment they’ll need for the next 15+ years of their lives. “It’s a really special age,” said Amanda Casario, who will begin teaching first grade at Baker Elementary School this fall. “They come in as a blank slate, and you’re teaching them how to learn, how to be in school, and really just giving them the foundation they need to be successful for the rest of their life.” Casario…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (3)

'This is What I'm Supposed to Be Doing'

Former D-1 football star Mikal Lundy is ready to begin his first classroom teaching experience at Moorestown High School.

It took Mikal Lundy a month to realize he’d picked the wrong career. Spending his days as an assistant manager of sales for Fastenal Co.—an industrial supply company, which specializes in selling fasteners—did not suit the outgoing Towson University graduate. “The first month was OK, but then from that point on, every day I was looking for another job,” Lundy recalled. “I was like, ‘This is not for me.’ I need to be working with people. I like helping people. I like talking to people.” His job search took him to the City of Burlington School District, where he spent four years as a behavioral specialist working with troubled high school students, which entailed overseeing groups of students to help curb bad behavior, working on behavior …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Letter to the Editor

NJ Health Commish: Vaccinate Your Kids!

Back-to-school time means it's time to get your children up-to-date on their immunizations, writes state Health Commissioner Mary E. O’Dowd.

To the editor: Immunization is one of the most powerful tools available to protect the health of individuals and our communities. Vaccines are responsible for the control of many infectious diseases that were once common in this country and around the world, including polio, measles, diphtheria, rubella and mumps. Vaccines eradicated smallpox, one of the most devastating diseases in history. Over the years, vaccines have prevented countless cases of infectious diseases and saved literally millions of lives. August is National Immunization Awareness Month, a good time for New Jerseyans of all ages to protect themselves and their communities by catching up on their vaccinations. We never outgrow our need for immunizations. Across the …

•  86 Comments
• Photos (1)

Back to School Photo Gallery

Moorestown students reported for the first day of the school year Thursday. Local parents captured some of the images for Patch.

• Photos (39)