Sharon Luberto of Midland Park, the physical therapist at the ECLC of New Jersey school in Ho-Ho-Kus, has been named the state’s Related Services Provider of the Year by ASAH. For the past 15 years, Luberto has been helping students who are diagnosed with Down syndrome, autism, complex learning or multiple disabilities, do everything from improving their balance and coordination to better visually tracking words on a page to navigating the school’s stairs to get to class. She was singled out for using creative thinking and approaches in working with her students and looks to many different sources for inspiration, from the school’s facility, dog, Patrina, to high-tech toys, like the Wii. Recently, she started a morning Zumba class to help students transition from sitting during long bus rides to activities of the school day. Listening to the music and moving to the fast rhythms make students more alert, awake, and ready for class. The annual award is given by ASAH, a nonprofit organization of more than 125 private schools and agencies in New Jersey that provide education and services to people with special needs. The competition draws nominations from member schools throughout New Jersey, and Luberto was initially chosen as the Region I winner from a long list of educators working at schools in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, and Union counties. The final selection from finalists representing four regions across the state was set to be announced on Nov. 2, 2012, during ASAH’s annual conference in Atlantic Luberto wins award March 13, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 27 Park Windmill Foundation hosts Blue Jean Ball The Midland Park Public Education Foundation will host its annual Blue Jean Ball fundraiser on Saturday, April 13. The event will be held from 7 to 11 p.m. at Saint Leon’s Armenian Church, 16-21 Saddle River Road in Fair Lawn. Event co-chairs are Kristin Fiore and Laura Thomas. Tickets are $60 each and include dinner and dancing to DJs from In the Mix. The evening will feature an auction and special fundraisers. Tickets may be purchased at www.mppef.org. The event will benefit the foundation’s mission to enhance and support new curriculum initiatives and enrichment opportunities within Midland Park’s public school system. Since its inception, the MPPEF has raised more than $200,000 to provide teacher-generated classroom and district-wide grants and scholarship grants to Midland Park’s college-bound students. The Midland Park Public Education Foundation, an all-volunteer, non-profit community organization, is dedicated to the advancement of academic excellence in the Midland Park public school system. For more information on how to help the MPPEF reach its goals, visit www.mppef. org, follow the MPPEF on Twitter, or friend the organization on Facebook. Church hosts Fish & Chips Dinner The Midland Park Christian Reformed Church will host its Sixth Annual Fish & Chips Dinner on Wednesday, March 13. The dinner will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall, located at 183 Godwin Avenue. The cost is $13.50 for adults, and $8 for children under 12. To reserve a seat, call the church at (201) 445-4260. Boys go ‘Scouting for Food’ Cub Scout Pack 157 and Boy Scout Troop 157 will participate in the annual Ramapo Valley District Food Drive. Midland Park residents are asked to be on the lookout for bags that were recently distributed and fill those bags with canned or dried packaged food, toiletries, paper supplies, baby food, etc. The filled bags should be placed on residents’ front steps or in another visible location. Scouts will pick up the bags on Saturday, March 23 between 9 a.m. and noon. The donated food will go to the Center for Food Action in Mahwah. For more information, call Anthony at (201) 741-1252, Jack at (201) 264-4839, or Lorraine at (201) 445-5967. Community Thrift Shop holds sale The Community Thrift Shop, located on the lower level of the Midland Park Shopping Center, will hold a half price winter clearance sale on March 26 and 27. A Bag Sale will follow on March 28. The shop will be closed on March 29 and 30 for restocking with spring merchandise. The shop will reopen on Monday, April 1 for receiving from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. On Tuesday, April 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the shop will begin its sale of spring clothing and household items. Valley Hospital Auxiliary plans Fashion Show benefit The Midland Park Branch of the Valley Hospital Auxiliary will meet on Wednesday, March 13 to finalize plans for the 44th Annual Luncheon and Fashion Show. The group will meet at 10 a.m. at Faith Reformed Church, 95 Prospect Street in Midland Park. This year, the auxiliary is teaming up with the Oakland Branch of VHA to host the event set for April 16 at the Brownstone in Paterson. To make a monetary donation, contribute a prize, or purchase tickets for the show, call (201) 370-9891. Tickets are $35. Press releases for this column may be emailed to editorial@villadom.com. Deadline is Wednesday at noon. Sharon Luberto holds her award. City, but the event was postponed after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy just days before. Luberto finally learned of the award at a special lunch held in February. Outside of ECLC, Luberto has been involved with running special needs play groups in Waldwick and offers afterschool physical therapy sessions for students who do not receive services in their schools. Obituaries (continued from page 26) Mary Scillieri, nee Kyriakakis, of Wyckoff, formerly of Clifton and Passaic, died Feb. 28. She was 92. She was a parishioner of Saint George Greek Orthodox Church in Clifton. She is survived by her children Roseanne Psomas and Joseph Scillieri, two grandchildren, her brother Ted Karas, and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Samuel Scillieri. Arrangements were made by Scillieri Funeral Home in Paterson. Memorial donations may be made to Spectrum for Living, 210 River Vale Road, Suite 3, River Vale, NJ 07675; or Saint George Greek Orthodox Church, 818 Valley Road, Clifton, NJ 07018. Catherine Walton Neal Wilson of Simsbury, Connecticut, formerly of Wyckoff, died Feb. 26. She was 48. She was a 1982 graduate of Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes. In 1986, she graduated from Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with bachelor’s degrees in English and French. She earned a master’s degree Mary Scillieri Catherine Walton Neal Wilson in French from Middlebury College in 1989. She worked as a bilingual secretary at Citibank in New York City, then for Schlumberger, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia. Before taking her first teaching position at the Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford, Connecticut, she spent a year in Paris, France. She returned to Salem College to earn her formal certificate to teach French, and stayed on to teach at the all-girls private school, Salem Academy, also in WinstonSalem, North Carolina. Six years later, she was also teaching French at Salem College. In 2006, she retired from teaching French and moved to Simsbury to become a full-time mother. She held several longterm substitute French jobs at Westminster School and Ethel Walker, both in Simsbury. She was a member of the Simsmore Tennis House. She is survived by her husband Scott Andrew Wilson, her children Natalie Warren Wilson and Scott William Wilson, her mother Eleanor Neal of Charlotte, North Carolina, and her sister Laura Neal of Washington, D.C. Arrangements were made by Vincent Funeral Home in Connecticut. Memorial donations may be made to Salem Academy and College, 500 Salem Avenue, Winston-Salem, NC 27108.