Allendale February 24, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 3 Woods-Murphy named NJEA Teacher of the Year by John Koster Maryann Woods-Murphy, a founding teacher at the Bergen Academies and now the Spanish teacher at Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, has been named 2010 Teacher of the Year by the New Jersey Education Association. She will be featured on Classroom Close-Up, NJ, on Feb. 27, March 29, and April 3. Woods-Murphy learned Spanish the total-immersion way when she and her husband moved to Spain after she graduated from Montclair State College. She said she adapted to her new home in Spain by speaking only Spanish to her husband Joe and to the rest of the people around her. She achieved fluency within three to six months. She was able to obtain a job teaching English, and enrolled in the University of Salamanca. When she and her husband returned to the United States, they started a business, opening the Bergen County Language Institute in 1984. Her daughter Malynda and her son Joseph were born, and Woods-Murphy qualified for her teacher’s certificate and taught at New York middle schools and high schools before becoming a founding teacher at the Bergen Academies in Hackensack. Woods-Murphy joined the staff of Northern Highlands Regional High School in 2003. At Highlands, she works to stimulate a community environment in her classroom, one where students feel safe to take risks and to take their abilities with the language out of the classroom. She has arranged 26 trips abroad for students and colleagues, and organized a Martin Luther King Day of Service at the high school. The school was closed for the day, but more than 80 students offered their services for the day at homeless shelters. As New Jersey Teacher of the Year, Woods-Murphy will participate in a half-year sabbatical sponsored by the Educational Testing Service through June of 2010, traveling around the state in a car rented for her by the sponsoring organization. Her husband is chairman of the ethics program at Dwight Englewood School. Her daughter is a Spanish teacher at the Emil Cavallini Middle School in Upper Saddle River, and her son is studying Spanish and kinesiology at Temple University. Sweet sounds The Northern NJ Region I High School Band Concert was recently held at Randolph High School. Performing at the concert were Northern Highlands students Ethan Piltz, alto sax (Symphonic Band); Michael Halizcer, trumpet (Symphonic Band); and Emile Hsu, timpani (Wind Ensemble). Pictured are Ethan Piltz, Michael Haliczer and Emile Hsu. Paul Banach Construction, LLC Home Remodeling Waldwick • 201-689-0765 • Windows • Doors • Garage Doors • • Finish Carpentry • Crown Moldings, Cabinetry, Walk-In-Closets, etc... • Kitchen & Bathroom Renovations • Take advantage of the Energy Tax Credit in 2010 www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits Speak to your tax advisor to ascertain if you qualify, as these credits will make a project more economical for you! Over 20 yrs. exp. • Senior Citizen Discount • Ref available upon request All work performed by owner • Free Estimates ������� ������������ 99 West Allendale Ave. Allendale, NJ Phone: 201-327-2423 Fax: 201-327-9550 Try Our Green Bagels!! Call about our Special Occasion Catering Monday thru Saturday 6am to 3pm • Sunday 7am to 2pm For St. Patrick’s Day Mike Canova-Owner, Graduate of Culinary Institute of America Paulbanachconstruction.com 1-20-10....Mike....from Janine PaulBanachConstruction2x2(1-20-10) 2x2” 2-24-10 BerniesBagelsStPatty2x2(2-24-10) For Mike from Janine 99 W. ALLENDALE AVE. 201-995-0955 Mon - Fri 11-7 Sat 10-7 Sun 12-6 THE GAME ZONE