Super events at Asbury Park Middle School

During the week of January 27, Asbury Park Middle School had numerous events and announcements. For instance, on January 27 and 28 Asbury Park Middle School students participated in the Superior Court of New Jersey’s Monmouth Vicinage “Journey to Justice Program.” Also on January 28 it was announced that Khiya Mullings would be honored by the Asbury Park/Wall Elks Lodge NO. 128 for her essay on “What Veteran’s day means to me” as well as Xavier Berardesco’s drawing and Mr. Wronko’s project being published in Prehistoric Times Magazine. Finally on January 29, Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande visited the Asbury Park Middle School and gave the students a wonderful presentation on how a bill was passed in the New Jersey Legislature and what it meant to be a good citizen.

On January 27 and 28, Mr. Wronko and Mr. Schneider, social studies teachers, invited the Superior Court of New Jersey Monmouth Vicinage “Journey to Justice Program” back to Asbury Park Middle School for a third consecutive year. This time the students of Mr. Wronko and Mr. Schneider participated in a mock trial dealing with the proper or the improper search of a student’s cell phone. The “Journey to Justice Program” also allowed students to participate in a Jeopardy game that tested the students’ background knowledge regarding the government and the judicial system. Once again Mr. Schneider’s students who participated were well prepared for this game as both his seventh and eighth grade classes battled it out to see who the experts on the government and judicial system were. Besides the mock trial and the Jeopardy game, the “Journey to Justice Program” gave an audience of seventh and eighth graders a presentation on how the judicial system works, careers in law, the importance of education, and encouraging students on how to reach higher goals.

In addition to the “Journey to Justice Program,” it was announced on January 28, Khiya Mullings would be honored by the Asbury Park/Wall Elks Lodge NO. 128 for her essay on “What Veteran’s day means to me.” Her essay she wrote read:

What does Veterans Day mean to me?

Veterans Day means to me are the brave men and women who fought and are still fighting for the United States of America. It also means that these brave men and women who served were willing to risk their lives so that everyone in this country can have a good life. We should be real thankful because if our veterans and current soldiers did not fight in a war for us we would not have freedom. When our veterans fought for our freedom that we have today, their sacrifice was tremendous. For instance, these veterans did not see their families, children, and friends for prolong periods of time. In addition, todays soldiers face the same sacrifice of not seeing their loved ones. The veterans and soldiers of today are beyond dedicated. Their dedication
is well displayed on Veterans Day when they stand still and salute the flag while the National Anthem plays in all its glory. While this scene is taking place, we all can reflect about all of the soldiers who get hurt or have sacrificed their life so we can have freedom.

During Veterans Day, I have noticed on television the families who lost their loved ones during combat. I feel bad for these families because they know the sacrifice their loved ones made to preserve the freedom within our country. I wanted to cry myself because it was so sad. In my own opinion, everyone should be thankful for their service. It is very hurtful to see people who show no gratitude to our veterans. These people must realize that our veterans and current soldiers serve when no one else is willing. If there was anything I could do for the veterans and current soldiers I would. For instance, I participated with several of my peers putting together an assembly for the veterans. The veterans who attended this assembly were Alfonse Freda (Korean War Veteran), Lou Parisi (World War II Veteran), and George Reed (Vietnam Veteran). During our presentations, we made sure that everyone in attendance understood that these brave men that were here today risked their lives so we could have freedom.

Veterans Day is also important because the ones who have served and are currently serving have gone through a lot. They have to see the horrors of war with people dying around them. Because of this tough sacrifice of enduring the horrors of war, we can hang out with our friends, watch TV, and have cell phones to talk to our friends. In
addition, we can go places whenever we want and travel whenever we want. In many countries they cannot do that because they do not have freedom. They live under some form of dictatorship that does not allow people to do much of anything. Also in other countries, vicious governments allow their children to starve. However, because of our government and the people who are serving and have served, we do not have to worry about starvation. I am proud that I am free. I am proud that I am a U.S citizen. I am proud of all our Veterans and soldiers who fought and are still fighting for my country.
On a personal note, my brother is joining the Marines. He leaves in December and I am proud. He’s going overseas. I hope he’s going to be safe. My grandfather also served in the U.S army. I saw his picture in his army uniform. When my grandfather died the soldiers lifted up his casket standing still, the American flag was draped over his casket. Then after that, they shot the gun up in the air. Being a Veteran is great. What does being a Veteran mean to you?

Another announcement that was made on that very day was that Xavier Berardesco’s dinosaur drawing and Mr. Wronko’s Cretaceous War Zone project was published in Prehistoric Times Magazine. Asbury Park Middle School students’ drawings and projects appeared in over ten issues of this magazine.

To finish off the events of this super week, Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande visited a class of fifth and seventh grade students. There she gave a presentation on how a bill was passed in the New Jersey Legislature. She had students pretend to be members of the assembly and the senate. Both sides had to agree on whether or not certain bills would be passed. The bills, used for pretend purposes, were “start at 10:00 a.m. for school” and “party Fridays.” Casagrande guided these students in a class discussion on why or why not these bills should be made into law by the New Jersey Legislature. Casagrande also showed the difficulty it was to get all assembly people and state senators to agree on getting bills passed. Besides her presentation, she answered numerous questions posed by the students. Some of the questions she answered were as follows:

1. In college you were the Undergraduate Student Government President. There you were fighting to prevent tuition hikes. Now that you are an Assemblywoman, are you still continuing to fight against tuition hikes for students going to college?
2. What is the difference between an Assembly Person and a State Senator?

3. Do you think that there should be more women serving in the
government and how would you encourage the young women of today to get involved?

After she was done answering questions, Assembly Woman Casagrande gave a presentation to the students about the importance of being a good citizen. From there she had the students take an oath, in which they were very excited to do, on being a good citizen. The oath stated:

“I hereby declare, that I will do my best in school and maintain a high standard of academic excellence; that I will be the best person that I can be and respect my community; that I will be a proud New Jersey Citizen and bring honor to my home state.”

In closing, it was an honor to have Assembly Woman Caroline Casagrande at the Asbury Park Middle School.

Thanks goes out to the following teachers for their support during the super week:
Mr. Kames (for taking pictures), Ms. Love, Lorne Pierce, Mr. Mason,
Ms. Kaur, Mr. Williams
Ms. Furges, Mr. White, and Mrs. McMillan
Thanks goes out to the administrators for their support:
Dr. Antonio Lewis, Mr. James T. Parham, Ms. Thea M. Jackson, Mrs.
Zakiya G. Del Orbe

Written by David Wronko