Pride Parent Party!

On Thursday, September 29th, Pride Academy held its first Parent Party and it was a huge success with over 80 parents in attendance. The goal of Pride Parties is to give parents an opportunity to spend time with their children, learning and growing together.

The theme of our first Pride Party was a "Celebration of Gifts". We focused on Rev. Jesse Jackson's quote, "Your children want your presence more than they want your presents." This quote clearly reminds us all how valuable it is for parents to be present and involved in the lives of their children, especially when it comes to education.
Together with their children, our 80 Pride Academy Parents participated in a team competition which required them to come up with positive activities to do with their families that started with the letter "P". Families later made a commitment to participate in at least two activities that supported the academic goals of their children. There were twelve activities offered, which ranged from signing up for parenting workshops to attending free African Dance Classes.

We look forward to many more fun and educational Parent Parties in the future as we continue to develop more opportunities for parent involvement at Pride Academy.

by Rose Mary Dumenigo

Pride Lions Roar into Flag Football Action!

Pride Academy Charter School is excited to announce its newest addition to their athletic program for the 2011/2012 school year. On Saturday October 1st the Pride Lions began their inaugural Flag Football season versus Jersey City Community Charter School. Prior to their first game, Pride Academy hosted a pep rally in the newly renovated Common Room on Friday, September 30th.

The festivities began with an enthusiastic introduction from Pride Academy’s own Mr. Dunn. Over 200 Pride scholars were present to show their support for the Lions by cheering “Pride Academy, come on let’s hear it! 1-2-3, we have spirit!” First, the eight junior varsity players were introduced followed by the twenty varsity players. The varsity players received their numbers and were presented with their team jerseys. The team stood together wearing their new jerseys with pride, and the school’s excitement could be felt throughout the room.

The team practices on Mondays and Thursdays from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at Elmwood Park in East Orange. Head Coach is Mr. Altamirano, Assistant Coaches are Mr. Geiger and Mr. Wilson, and Skills Coach is Mr. Dunn. Both the faculty leaders and the student athletes are looking forward to a fun and successful season!

By: Mr. Evan Geiger

Ms Dailey Receives Governor's Recognition Award

 We are very proud to announce that Ms Aimee Dailey, our 5^th & 6^th grade social studies teacher, has received The 2011 Governor's Teacher Recognition Award for "demonstration of excellence as a teacher by creating an environment that improves students' academic opportunities, workforce preparedness, and overall quality of life."

The award is granted in appreciation for the contribution of teaching professionals to the success of public schools and the important services they provide outside of the classroom environment. It is an acknowledgement of their efforts and provides an incentive to others to strive for excellence.

Grand Opening of the Pride Power Fitness Room

On Saturday May 21st, Pride Academy 8th grade students and staff were honored to be present at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the Pride Power Fitness Room at the Recreation Fellowship Civic Center in East Orange. As part of the Jerricho Junior Leaders Program, our 8th grade students worked on building and outfitting the fitness room. Due to the hard work of our 8th graders and the generous sponsorship of the Cotcherys, the fitness room now bears Pride’s name and will stand forever in the community as a legacy promoting and supporting the youth of East Orange in making healthy lifestyles choices and spending leisure time in a safe and productive space.

In its three-year relationship with Pride Academy, the Cotchery Foundation has financially supported our athletic program and created and implemented a mentoring program for our 7th and 8th grade students. This year’s endeavor is the Jerricho's Junior Leaders Program, a community service leadership program that continues the goals of the RESH 180 mentoring program that the students participated in as 7th graders. Through the Jerricho's Junior Leaders Program, students explore how serving others not only helps to create a better world, but also helps to develop them as leaders.

Over the course of the year, in addition to their work on outfitting and preparing the Pride Power Fitness Room at the East Orange Recreation Center, our 8th graders participated in a service project with the Adopt One Village Organization. Adopt One Village is a non-profit organization that collects, packages, and delivers clothing, medical supplies, and other materials to Ghana, Africa. Our students spent time sorting clothes for men, women, and children, as well as sorting toys and putting pamphlets together for Adopt One Village.

Jourdan Bowers, an 8th grader from the Gandhi Team, said that she had a lot of fun during the service project and that she would like to volunteer more in the future. Jourdan reflected on her experience and added, "I think that if I was a child in Ghana and I received a package from America, I would like to know that the package was put together by young people like me."

Ms Michele Chiles-Hickman, volunteer leader of the service projects and teacher with the Cotchery Foundation’s RESH 180 Program, added: “As the mother of teenagers myself and a volunteer teacher with the RESH 180 program, I know how challenging it can be to “get through” to youth of this age. It is always a pleasure to complete a service project like this one, at the warehouse, and know that not only have the children gotten something out of it – which they express now – but that some of these experiences will really stay with a lot of them into the future. It is nice for me to be able to work on the “Legacy” lesson that we speak about and it is nice for them to be able to start a “legacy” of their own. I really think that they feel that they are touching somebody's life and this is the essence of what we are doing at Pride and what we want to pass along…..like “paying it forward”. Michele Chiles-Hickman ABR, CRS

Lucky Lions 4-H Club

On Saturday April 16th, Pride Academy was successfully represented for the first time at the Essex County 4-H Fair. Our Pride Scholars had the opportunity to showcase projects they have completed as members of the Lucky Lions 4-H Club and work they have completed in class and at home for competition. In our first fair, we had over 50 projects representing 12 different 4-H members and won more than 60 awards for outstanding projects and presentations. Students submitted many projects related to our Community Garden, which we will be installing this spring, and displayed vegetables, herbs, and even writing projects about our worm composting program. Other projects included paintings, sculptures, movies, and candy that were completed in classes and during 4-H meetings.
4-H members who completed outstanding projects will be honored at Achievement Night in November and will be awarded division ribbons and monetary awards to acknowledge their hard work and dedication. Students will also have an opportunity in May to showcase their presentation skills in the annual 4-H Public Presentation Night where students develop and present a project or speech of their choice to improve their public speaking skills. Public Presentations are especially important to our Pride Scholars as they prepare for high school interviews and meetings to help develop strong and successful plans for their futures. For more information on 4-H events or to join the 4-H club please contact Ms. Kalenak or visit kalenak.pbworks.com

By Ms. Kalenak

Pride Robotics Teams Win Awards

Pride Academy Robotics Teams presented at the 2011 NY/NJ RoboCupJunior Regional competition in Orange on April 10th and earned our congratulations for their hard work, leadership, and determination.
All of our participants demonstrated initiative, courage, and cooperation as they interviewed with judges and presented their Robot Dance Performances.

Two of our teams won awards. The Dance Demons, mentored by Mrs Torres, won in the category for Best Choreography. Their performance displayed a high level of coordination between multiple robots that they had programmed to dance in unison to the rhythm of music edited and arranged by the students.

The Star Power team, mentored by Ms Becker, won in the Best Teamwork category for their robot dance exhibition that included student dance performances and a sound track with live guitar accompaniment.

RoboCupJunior is an international robotics program that is focused on technology education for elementary, middle and high school students. The competition in Orange included teams from New York, New Jersey, and Canada.

Our robotics program was offered as an after school program at Pride this year and was supported through a grant from The Community Foundation of New Jersey. Teachers at Pride worked with Dr. Amy Eguchi, assistant professor of education at Bloomfield College to create a program that encouraged students to pursue studies in math, science, technology, and engineering in college.

We are grateful to Mrs Torres, Ms Becker and Mr Torres for their determination, leadership, teaching, patience, encouragement, and support of our students throughout the entire Robotics program. We are also grateful for the support of the many parents who attended the competition.

Mrs Thomas Awarded Charter School Administrator of the Year!

Pride Academy principal and co-founder, Mrs Fiona Thomas,  was awarded “Charter School Administrator of the Year” at the New Jersey Charter Schools Association (NJCSA) Annual Conference in Princeton on April 8th, 2011.

The two-day conference in Princeton, attended by more than 600 hundred educators, parents and supporters of New Jersey’s growing charter school movement, spotlighted the many achievements of the state’s 73 charter schools and featured discussions among state and national leaders about how charter schools are transforming public education.

“I am honored to be able to accept this award on behalf of our whole school community, our parents and our staff,” Mrs Thomas said. “There is an urgency in what we do. We need to stop and celebrate the joy because it matters and it counts.”

Mrs Thomas was among a select group of educators to receive the Cultivating Quality Education Awards for their contributions in 2010. Mrs Thomas shared the “Administrator of the Year” award with Ms Rahshene Davis of University Heights Charter School in Newark. The awards were judged by a panel of three independent education experts.

“Fiona reflects the strong commitment, involvement and passion that makes charter schools successful,” said Carlos Perez, president and CEO of the NJCSA. “This award honors Fiona for doing her part to enhance public education and helping ensure that all public schools are quality schools.”

In presenting the award to Mrs Thomas, Ken Zimmerman, an attorney and member of the NJCSA board, stressed the importance of having a clear vision as a Charter School leader. However, he stated that Mrs Thomas' success was not only having that vision for her school but in transforming that vision into execution.

In a panel discussion following the award, Mrs Thomas was asked what aspect of founding and leading a Charter School had been the greatest surprise. She replied that it was how quickly she has been able to see transformation in students, even in the first founding year of the school. She explained that Pride Scholars respond to the peaceful and positive environment of a school community where teachers and staff  unconditionally believe in them, treat them with respect, and hold them accountable to high expectations for academic success and leadership.

Celebrate African History and Culture

African Dance Classes

Brother Jerome Hunter will be leading free african dance classes for any students, parents, teachers, and members of the Pride Academy community.

Classes will begin on Wednesdays from 5pm to 6pm, starting on Wednesday, March 3rd.

We invite everyone to come out and learn about the richness and beauty of African culture!!!

African Dance Performance

In Honor of Black History Month, Pride Academy will be hosting a special performance of African dance by The Seventh Principle in Bantaba.

Through their fusion of dance, story and drama, the artist-educators of Seventh Principle teach about both African dance and culture and the history and origins of African-based culture in America. The high-energy of the dancers is contagious and encourages students to pay close attention to what is happening on stage.

Throughout the program, the members of Seventh Principle explain why the people of Africa dance, why they use costumes, and why music is so important to what they do.

We will have two performances, and parents are welcome to attend either performance. The performances will be held on:

Monday, February 28th. 

5th and 6th Grade Performance - 1:40pm

7th and 8th Grade Performance - 2:40pm