Today we finally made the connection between Akeelma and Maleeka. We also learned about how valuable Maleeka's father's poem was to her. In your opinion, which poem will have more of an impact of Maleeka..."Midnight" or "My Maleeka"?
Today we finally made the connection between Akeelma and Maleeka. We also learned about how valuable Maleeka's father's poem was to her. In your opinion, which poem will have more of an impact of Maleeka..."Midnight" or "My Maleeka"?
If you haven't already, be sure to check out the website's News page to read all about our Teacher of the Year, Nicole Dynega!
 You can see it here along with information on all the other Teachers of the Year at LCCS. Be sure to head over to LCCSLive, our YouTube page to check out a fantastic video Ms. Dynega made to show the work she and William Paterson University students did with LCCS kids to enhance literacy.
We are so proud of all our honorees, and so honored that they make LCCS their home!
Marcmulholland
We are thrilled to announce that LCCS will be hosting its First Annual Winter Basketball/Dance tournament this weekend (Saturday the 20th and Sunday the 21st.) Five basketball teams from around the region will come to compete including squads from Lady Liberty Academy, Golden Door Charter School, and teams from schools in West Orange and Irvington.
Saturday's Girls Games are as follows: 
9 a.m.: Irvington A vs. LCCS
9:55: LCCS vs. Golden Door
10:50: Irvington Team A vs. Irvington Team B
11:45: Lady Liberty vs. Golden Door
12:40: LCCS vs. Irvington Team B
1:35: Irvington Team A vs. West Orange
2:30: LCCS vs. Irvington Team B
3:25: Girls Championship Game
Sunday's Boys Games are as follows: 
9 a.m.: Lady Liberty vs. Irvington Team B
9:55: Irvington A vs. Golden Door
10:50: LCCS vs. West Orange
11:45: Irvington A vs. Irvington B
12:40: Lady Liberty vs. West Orange
1:45: Boys Championship Game
In addition to games there will be halftime performances from LCCS's dance team, concessions, music, and a photography station. Come support your Jaguars and have a great time! Entrance is $2 for students, $3 for adults, (all coaches and players are free.)
This weekend's tournament comes fresh on the heels of the LCCS Jaguars' huge win over Roger Treat Academy Charter School in Newark this week. Let's keep the streak going!
Good luck! And thanks so much to Shanelle Muse and Natasha Tyjer for their leadership, as well as James Laster, Angel Melendez (the head Boys coach) Jerome Davis, (Boys assistant coach,) Stephanie Megaro, (head Girls coach) and Melissa Megaro (assistant Girls coach,) Brittin Bleakley, Christina McGarry and all the volunteers who are helping out.
Marcmulholland
We started the new year with an uplifting and inspiring article about Ryan Shapiro, an 18 year old surfer who was bitten by a shark, but refuses to let that keep him out of the water. Please respond to this blog with either an overcoming, uplifting story about yourself, or one that you've seen or read about elsewhere. =)
News Report: http://www.wptv.com/news/region-st-lucie-county/fort-pierce/ryan-shapiro-teen-surfer-describes-being-bitten-by-shark-near-fort-pierce-inlet
Alumni Portrait: Zakiyyah Wiley, Class of 2004
After graduating from Drew University, with degrees in English Literature and Sociology and minors in Business and Spanish, Zakiyyah Wiley took a job that offered security and safety, working in the marketing division for an educational publisher.
"I stayed there about three months but I felt like I was being underutilized, I was not being challenged," said Wiley, who graduated from LCCS in 2004 and attended University Academy High School. "I knew it was a steady income and it was something I could rely on and a lot of people were looking for that type of experience, especially in a challenging job market but I knew I was capable of more."
So Wiley left the safety of her job and became self employed, joining the family business and taking on the role as vice president at a financial consulting firm, EJS Financial Services.
"Looking back, I can attribute that decision to my experiences LCCS," Wiley said. "All the teachers there always encouraged you to put your best foot forward. The academic bar was set at a high level and you were always being challenged in the classroom. Coming from the inner city, that means a lot. They were grooming us for our future so we could compete."
Wiley said she enjoys working with her parents, who run the firm. She's developed a specialty in college planning, and regularly holds educational seminars for parents and students so they can learn about how to save for college, and how to apply and receive the most amount of federal financial aid as they can.
"I love my job now," said Wiley, who divides her time between Jersey City and South Jersey, where the firm is based. "I love that every day is different, and you're really helping people. I love being a self-starter, and I love meeting people form all walks of life."
Marcmulholland
LCCS is excited to introduce a new and innovative after-school program, S.T.R.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts and Math) for students in grades 4-8. There will be a meeting about the program on Thursday Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the school library.
Keep your child’s brain active and stimulated after-school by having him/her participate in problem-based learning centered on higher-order thinking and critical problem solving skills that are crucial for academic success, and are found throughout the Common Core State Standards.
This program is FREE for students who scored “partially proficient” on the NJ ASK test. For those who scored at the “proficient” level, there is a $100 fee.
S.T.R.E.A.M. teachers will teach students a core set of six problem solving and design thinking processes including:
Academic cognitive processes and steps
The design process
The scientific method
Social problem solving skills
For example, a group of students will explore how to increase cognitive functioning through brain exercises. Another project will be for students to study the amount of food waste created at LCCS and determine how this can be reused and recycled.
S.T.R.E.A.M. teachers will facilitate student interests, and will guide learners through the six-step problem-solving and design-thinking process. Students will work to design creative solutions to real-life problems and STEM projects. S.T.R.E.A.M. students will then be trained as teachers, a component of the program we call S.W.A.T.T. (Students With Authority To Teach). “SWATT” students then teach younger students how to apply this process to be strategic readers and complex math problem solvers.
Target: Students in grades 4-8
Dates: Mondays and Wednesdays, January 12th–May 13th
Hours: 3:30-4:30
Location: LCCS
Cost: $100
In class, we read the news article titled, "Corporal Punishment in U.S. Schools" By M.J. Stephey and watched a CBS News Video called, "Corporal Punishment in Schools". We learned that 20 schools in the United States still legally allow this to occur.
Thinking about both sides of the argument (pros & cons) to corporal punishment, what is your perspective? Support it with reasoning, evidence and personal connections.
We are so excited for the Wingspan performance, which will be Thursday. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show starts at 6:30!
For those parents with children in lower grades who may not be aware, Wingspan is how the arts come alive in middle School. Students choose their artistic focus at the beginning of the year and then pick from a wide variety of classes to take weekly. You can learn more about the type of programs offered at their website.
On Thursday, performances will come from middle school students who are in Pop Choir, African drumming, Hip-Hop Dance, Theater, Rap, Guitar, and Ballroom Dance. Here is a sneak peek at the African Drumming class.
There will also be art displays from students in Ms. Schifter’s class and a Cartooning class.
Additionally this week, on Tuesday Ms. Schifter took LCCS students to Highland Park to talk to students there about our Mindfulness In Art Project. They also worked on a project to make glitter jars for meditation.
The YouTube channel, LCCSLive! has a video online now to display their work. From the beginning of the year, students have been creating works that show a “full” mind and a “calm” mind.
We are so incredibly proud of their hard work and creativity!
Ms. Goral’s 8th grade class got a chance to go see Shakespeare’s classic “Romeo and Juliet,” at Manhattan’s Shakespeare in the Square, a fantastic theater troupe that features performances similar to those in the Bard’s day with seating in the round, men playing all parts, and actors playing multiple roles.
Before seeing the play, students read the entire work, taking on different roles themselves to get a feel for the text and the language. They also watched the well-known 1968 movie version. Prior to “Romeo and Juliet,” the class read “The Outsiders,” connecting both time-honored works to themes of stereotypes and rivalries.
Next, in March, the class is going to move into Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” using the innovative “Facing History and Ourselves,” curriculum. This fascinating approach explores not only the literary value of the book, but also the historical context.
“The study guide asks students to analyze the moral growth of the novel’s main characters, and then to reflect on the moral growth that has occurred in their own lives.”
If you have not seen it already, check out Ms. Goral's home page, where she has posted some videos of student's interpretations of "Romeo and Juliet," in song, poetry and rap. We are so fortunate to have teachers like Ms. Goral who has worked so hard to take these classic works and breathe new life into them for our students!
Marcmulholland
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