Villadom Times Weekly Newpaper Online-November 25, 2009 Issue

November 25, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 21 Park Windmill Christmas Boutique underway The Christmas Boutique at The Community Thrift Shop, located on the lower level of the Midland Park Shopping Center, is open with nearly new clothing, Christmas decorations, jewelry, children’s toys and clothes, and bric-a-brac. During the month of December, the shop will only be accepting donations of Christmas and gift items on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The shop will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, and will reopen for business Nov. 27. There are 52 member organizations beneﬁting from sales of the Community Thrift Shop. Among them are Christ Church Women’s Guild, First Presbyterian Church Women’s Guild, Rosary/Altar Society of Mount Carmel Church, Paramus Congregational Church Women’s Fellowship, the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge, Inc., YMCA-YWCA Bergen County, Children’s Therapy Center, Shelter Our Sisters, American Legion Auxiliary #130, and Children’s Aid and Family Services. Scouts will collect food at Tree Lighting Midland Park Girl Scout Troop #145 is helping to stock local food pantries during the holiday season. Residents are asked to bring a non-perishable food donation to the Midland Park Tree Lighting, which will be held at Veteran’s Memorial Plaza on Friday, Dec. 4 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Items that are most needed include juices, juice boxes, school snacks, hot cereal, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, shampoo, tooth- brushes, toothpaste, and soap. The Tree Lighting Celebration will take place in a heated tent. There will be musical entertainment, hot chocolate, giveaways, and a Santa Shuttle. Rain date is Monday, Dec. 7; rain date hotline is (201) 652-2747. Superintendent Search Community Forum set The Midland Park Board of Education will hold a Superintendent Search Community Forum on Monday, Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. This meeting will be held at the August C. DePreker Media Center in Highland School. This forum will be an opportunity for residents to share what qualities they would like to see in the next superintendent of schools. Baseball association plans meeting The Midland Park Baseball Association will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m. at the Highland School media center. All coaches and parents who are interested are welcome to attend. For more information, e-mail midlandparkbas eball@gmail.com. Alliance opens meeting to residents Parents and guardians are invited to the Midland Park Drug and Alcohol Alliance’s meeting on Dec. 9. The session will be held at 8 p.m. in the conference room at borough hall. The alliance provides programs to reinforce safe activities for school children and for senior citizens to assist in the management of their prescription medicines. The alliance meets the second Wednesday of the month at borough hall in the conference room. Girls’ Softball Association to meet Midland Park Girls’ Softball Association will hold an open meeting on Thursday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Midland Park Public Library. Volunteers are needed for the program. All are welcome. MPPEF sponsors fundraiser The Midland Park Public Education Foundation has partnered with Barnes and Noble for a shopping fundraiser. Supporters of Midland Park’s public schools can shop at Barnes and Noble Booksellers, 765 Route 17 South, Paramus on Thursday, Dec. 3 between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. and a percentage of each sale will be donated to the MPPEF. Shoppers must present the MPPEF voucher, which is available on the organization’s website, mppef.org, or mention MPPEF when purchasing books and other items. Look for the in-store gift wrap table staffed by volunteers from the foundation, who will gladly wrap purchases in holiday style. The all-day fundraiser will include a Reader’s Theater at 4:30 p.m., featuring faculty from Midland Park’s Highland and Godwin schools. At 7 p.m., the Highland Holiday Singers, comprised of ﬁfth and sixth grade chorus members, will perform. The MPPEF is an all volunteer 501(C) 3 organization whose mission is to enhance the academic experience of children attending public schools in Midland Park. Through the efforts of the foundation, grants are awarded to teachers enabling them to bring state-of-the-art learning opportunities and technologies into the classroom. For more information, visit mppef.org. Seniors plan trip The Northwest Bergen Regional Senior Center in Midland Park will be going to Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City on Tuesday, Dec. 15. Cost of the trip is $42 and includes show ticket to “Miracle on 34th Street” at Tropicana Casino. The casino bonus is a $5 cash voucher and buffet. Participants must have valid photo ID to receive the bonus. Payment is due at time of signup at the center or checks may be sent to: Northwest Senior Center 46-50 Center Street, Midland Park, NJ 07432. All area seniors are welcome to join this trip, which will leave from Graydon Pool on Linwood Avenue and Northern Parkway in Ridgewood. Participants should be at the parking lot at 8:45 a.m. The bus will leaves at 9 a.m. and return approximately at 8:30 p.m. Call (201) 4455690 for further information. Board of education to meet The Midland Park Board of Education will meet on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. The meeting will be held in the August C. DePreker Media Center at Highland School. Model train show comes to church The 2009 Bergen County Model Train Show returns to the United Methodist Church of Midland Park during Thanksgiving weekend and the ﬁrst weekend in December. The train club will feature several layouts featuring multiple train gauges. Along with steam, diesel, and electric engines, both older versions and current models, will be Thomas and Friends. New this year will be Christmas-themed On30/Department 56 display and a magic trolleys layout. On the “O” gauge layouts, both passenger and freight trains will be running, along with subways. Layouts will include a ﬁrehouse with moving ﬁre trucks. Mel’s Diner will have cars pulling into parking spaces to be greeted and served by a waitress. Station announcements, ﬂashing lights, bells, whistles and chugging trains will also be part of the action. Tickets for the show are $5 for adults and $2 for children. Visiting hours are Friday, Nov. 27, Saturdays, Nov. 28, and Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays, Nov. 29 and Dec. 6 from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, visit bcmrrc.com or call (201) 445-3767. Student athlete �� (continued from page 5) challenge themselves and take higher level courses, which were more demanding and would often result in lower grades than those students would have received had they taken a less demanding schedule,” explained Dr. Heebink. “A student in a very demanding course (e.g., AP chemistry) could get a C+ and thus not be eligible to be a scholar athlete. Had that same student taken a less demanding chemistry course, he/she would most likely have attained a grade of B or better and thus qualiﬁed to be a scholar athlete. Parents of students who were seeking to stretch themselves academically naturally questioned the fairness of this situation,” the superintendent added. Trustee Ray Moraski said that with the new technology it would be an easy task to determine which students qualify. “All students have a weighted GPA,” he noted. Parent Jayne Bandstra asked whether students who take a “pass” as a grade would be affected. Dr. Heebink said he did not think so, but added that if a student can present evidence of being affected, the principal could review the appeal and make a judgment call. Trustee James Canellas voted against the new criteria. “I voted against the change in criteria �� because I believe that the change is inherently unfair to non-student athletes. As I understand the motion, a student athlete with a GPA of 3.75 who did not qualify for the Honor Roll would be recognized for his/her academic success as a scholar athlete, but a non-student athlete with the same academic success would not be recognized in any fashion for his/her accomplishment,” Canellas explained. Trustee Wayne Roberts, who serves as liaison to the Athletic Boosters Club, said that the organization was in favor of the change in the policy. It was the Boosters parents who asked for a review of the academic criteria to qualify to be a scholar athlete. The ﬁnal decision on which students receive the student athlete honor is made by Director of Athletics Ed Salvi. Those who make any of the honor rolls will continue to qualify, so they will not be penalized. Indeed, they will be recognized for doing their best in the courses that they have chosen, Dr. Heebink said. “The bottom line is that the new arrangement will not penalize those students who sought to achieve at an even higher level and thus risk getting lower grades as a consequence. If their overall academic performance is at a high enough level, they can still qualify,” Dr. Heebink concluded. ��