East Hanover Middle School
Students at East Hanover Middle School are constantly looking for a way to make a difference both in their own community and throughout the world. Some of the projects they are involved in:
Hurricane Sandy bracelet collection- "Jersey Strong" bracelets were sold and the money collected was donated to Highland Elementary School.
Send a Kid to Camp- students are collecting money to send an underprivileged child to summer camp.
Crayon Collection- The Art Club students have organized a crayon collection to send to a children's hospital.
Toys for Tots- students collected toys to be donated to underprivileged children during the holiday season.
Peer Leader Program
East Hanover Middle School Peer Leaders visit Frank J. Smith Elementary School once a month to help the students develop social/play skills during the students' recess.
Peer Leader Advisory- Peer Leaders visit the 6th grade classrooms to teach lessons based upon the Character Pillars- some activities are role playing and hands on projects
Mix-it Up Days- Students are randomly divided among their grade level peers during lunch. Peer Leaders develop and lead the team building activities.
Princeton University Roots Program Overview
East Hanover Middle School has been selected to partner with the Roots Program, an anti-bullying, harassment and intimidation (HIB) program operated through Princeton University, beginning in the 2012-2013 school year. The Roots Program will provide our school with a fully funded intervention that uses social scientific insights for improving a school’s social climate and reducing HIB behavior. The Roots Program focuses on changing student perceptions of acceptable and desirable behavior, through a bottom-up “grassroots” intervention that centers on students’ perceptions of their social worlds. The intervention will track our school’s HIB climate using student surveys that are administered to all students three times throughout the school year. Teachers will also be surveyed. The student surveys will ask your child to report on the behaviors he/she perceives to be frequent and desirable in his/her friendship groups, so that administrators have a better-informed idea of what students perceive to be part of the “acceptable” or “normal” social experience at East Hanover Middle School. All information collected in the program will be confidential; student information will not be reported back to the school on an individual level, and all names will be replaced with random identification numbers. Small groups of student leaders (selected based on the results of student surveys) will also participate in a training program to discourage HIB behavior within their school friendship groups and online, and to role model inclusive, tolerant behavior. The program is based on extensive social scientific research and previous piloting of this program in other public middle and high schools.
Rangoli Project
This spring, Mrs. Odell’s sixth grade social studies classes completed an interdisciplinary unit that included math and art in order to create a culminating project reflecting the students’ study of ancient India: Rangoli artwork.
Rangoli is seen throughout India during many festivals, particularly Diwali. Rangoli art combines shapes and patterns to create pictures featuring radial symmetry, brilliant colors and geometric designs or elements from nature. These visual feasts for the eyes adorn the floors of homes in India to welcome both guests and the goddess Lakshmi. Each vibrant color represents a different idea or sentiment.
Mrs. Gilmore, Grade 6 Mathematics teacher, assisted the students in developing a working knowledge of coordinate plotting. The children then applied this knowledge to create colorful pictures demonstrating radial symmetry.
Ms. Shott’s seventh grade and eighth grade art classes worked with the sixth graders to create magnificent displays. Each class completed a different assignment that focused on the same theme, vibrant colors and symmetry.
Mrs. Odell’s fourth period class constructed a Rangoli hooked rug as well as muslin panels that reflect the colors and spirit of warmth, celebration and welcome; some of these are now hanging in the East Hanover Middle School entry foyer. Her eighth period class applied their knowledge to create vivid tissue paper panels that grace the foyer floor of EHMS. The tenth period class worked diligently to create a magnificent panel display for all visitors on the front walkway of the school.
This collaborative endeavor demonstrates knowledge of social studies, math and art that includes cultural diversity and exemplifies the educational goals of the East Hanover School District.
