On Feb. 1, Bear Tavern officially celebrates its 40th anniversary. The school will host a "birthday dance" for students, families, and staff
When a new school opens, one automatically envisions a nice sunny fall day with birds singing and children skipping into school. That was not necessarily the case with Bear Tavern Elementary School.
Forty years ago, just as Bear Tavern was preparing to open its doors for the first time, a tornado swept through the area and removed a portion of the new school’s roof.
That didn’t alter Bear Tavern’s enthusiasm. The opening was slightly delayed as the roof was repaired and later that fall students finally skipped into the new building (along with the singing birds).
Bear Tavern still embodies that same resilience today. The original school opened with a little more than 400 students. Over the years that number has grown and today there are over 720 students at Bear Tavern. The school may be larger, but the same overall compassion and dedication has not changed. Just as they were when the school opened, today’s teaching staff at Bear Tavern is caring and responsive to students’ needs. The students are respectful, responsible and love to learn. And the parents and outside community are just as involved as they always have been. That is something worth celebrating.
The 40th anniversary celebration began this month at Bear Tavern and activities will run throughout the year.
The official beginning of the celebration takes place Friday, Feb. 1.
To start the celebration, the students will begin with 40 Acts of Kindness. Each student is encouraged to perform an act of kindness to a fellow student or teacher. The recipient (or watchful teacher) rewards the "kindness" with a cutout bear of thanks. The cutout bears will be used to decorate the school halls and gym.
The Bears of Kindness will be used extensively in decorating the gym for Feb. 1 when Bear Tavern officially celebrates its 40th anniversary. The school will host a "birthday dance" for students, families, and staff. One twist to this traditional birthday dance is that instead of birthday presents, students are being asked to donate to a local charitable organization (things like nonperishable food items).
This concept is not foreign to Bear Tavern students. This entire year students have been very active in many of volunteer activities. "Our students and their families are very generous with their time and focused on the needs of others," said Dick Scheetz, principal of Bear Tavern. "All students, from kindergarten through fifth grade have participated in numerous projects" beginning with the kindergarten students, who are currently involved in a food drive they titled 100 Cans, in recognition of the 100th day of school and learning to count to 100.
First-grade students held a bake sale to benefit the Sept. 11 Fund. The teachers, created the idea to incorporate the study of counting coins into a hands-on learning project. Parents of first-graders were asked to donate baked goods. Each item was sold for one quarter. The children participated by collecting money from upper-class students and by making change. The teachers were amazed by the success of the class. "It was so successful, our class actually ran out of baked goods and I had to pull lollipops and crackers out of my desk to appease the hungry snackers," said Susan Corino. "It was a great way to practice counting coins and we were able to raise over $500 for a worthwhile cause," said Jill Novak.
Bear Tavern’s students were busy spreading holiday cheer this year. The second-graders made holiday crafts that were donated to a variety of locations. Pyramid Santa’s, pasta menorahs, and reindeer sleighs, snowman bookmarks and 3-D reindeer were sent to The American Red Cross, Hamilton Continuing Care and the Jewish Family and Children’s Services in the hope that the holidays would be brighter for all in their care.
Third-grade students created home-made pumpkin bread that was delivered to Fisherman’s Mark in Lambertville in celebration of Thanksgiving.
The fourth-grade students just finished a book drive. Not only did they collect, sort and package over 350 children’s books, but they also made ABC books, coloring books and cards. All these items will be donated to children in the Children’s Specialized Hospital of North Jersey.
And last September, the fifth grade raised $753 for the Sept. 11 Fund through a community car wash.
This message of giving and caring extends beyond the classroom. Parents are as active as their children. Recently over 200 parents, students and siblings made lunches, decorated paper bags, placemats or wrapped place settings. They made over 300 lunches that were donated to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen and Fisherman’s Mark for distribution to needy families. "It is very rewarding to see how 300 lunches touched so many lives, both in giving and receiving," said Margaret DeGennaro, Bear Tavern’s chairwoman of Community Outreach. "The lunches were very much appreciated. I was really impressed by both the students and the families."
Celebrating 40 years is a milestone. But "in addition to just celebrating, our students have developed an appreciation and understanding of the value of service", said Christina Compagna, a second-grade teacher at Bear Tavern. "These are classroom lessons that last a lifetime."
Mr. Scheetz summarized it best when he said "the value of giving to others helps teach young people how to grow into caring, giving adults. Over the next 40 years our students will become the parents of tomorrow’s students, and hopefully that philosophy will continue."