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SOUTH BRUNSWICK: AROUND THE SCHOOLS

Honoring the Past, Embracing the Future

By Maribeth Edmunds, Monmouth Junction Principal
Honoring the Past
When visitors first come upon Monmouth Junction Elementary School, their immediate impression is that the school is small, old and a thing of the past. And from Ridge Road, this seems to be true. The outward appearance of our school harkens back to a bygone era.
Built in 1950 and nestled between neighboring houses, the school is among the oldest of the current district schools in South Brunswick Township.
The exterior is a reflection of a time when Monmouth Junction was simply a quaint village.
History tells us that Monmouth Junction once hosted a railroad junction, a church, a store, a small public house that provided respite for travelers, and 14 dwellings.
In 1902, a four-room schoolhouse was built to accommodate the school children.
Thus, the 1950s building was a modern advancement for this growing area near the railroad.
The original section of today’s school building was constructed as simply as the surrounding town. It housed only nine classrooms, an office and an all-purpose room.
Later on, a marquee was added through the contributions of a group of PTO parents. This marquee has essentially become a landmark associated with the school.
In many places around Monmouth Junction School, the structure reminds us that it was built to meet the needs of 20th century students.
One look at the old-fashioned coat closets and terrazzo floors are indicators of this.
From the looks of things, it does not appear that the original architects had prepared for the future when Monmouth Junction was built. It is a small school that suited a simpler world of the past.
Over the years, however, this quaint village would eventually disappear as the population of South Brunswick exploded. In order to keep up with the needs of students in the 21st century, Monmouth Junction School would need to be enlarged and transformed.
This was a must if our school was to remain as current, relevant and vibrant as the bustling community South Brunswick had become.
Embracing the Future
While the exterior is still small and outdated, the interior is quite different.
Once inside, today’s visitors are often impressed. The building is updated, bright, colorful and welcoming. It is a learning space that can rival the most up- to- date facilities around town.
There have been two additions that have enlarged the original building.
In the 1970s, the first addition was created with ‘open space,’ a school construction trend that allowed for several different classes of students to be housed in the same large spaces.
Research would later indicate that ‘open space’ classrooms did not produce the expected achievement results beyond the results of traditional closed classrooms.
Therefore, when the second addition was completed in 2006, walls were erected and the ‘open space’ ceased to exist.
The latest addition also afforded the school updated classrooms, as well as new library, music room, art room and large cafeteria.
Fresh paint, new doors and bright ceilings completed the physical transformation.
As principal of Monmouth Junction, I came to realize that although we had an updated structure, our school community needed to embrace instruction of the future.
So, we crafted an updated technology vision for the school that would help to move instruction forward.
Unfortunately, funding equipment purchases would be challenging in a time when the district was undergoing deep and painful budget cuts. This was a major obstacle.
To work towards a solution, I sought to form partnerships with our PTO and with interested and forward-thinking staff members in order to make a much-needed difference.
As our conversations evolved, so did our vision: i.e. to install technology equipment in every classroom in the school so that each teacher and each child would have access to the most up-to-date instructional practices available.
Our goal was to move Monmouth Junction into the 21st century, and to do so at a rapid pace.
At this time, Peter Rattien, who is currently our assistant principal, was an aspiring administrator as well as the school’s technology coordinator.
Together, we asked the PTO parents to help raise funds for technology purchases by offering DVD productions of their children’s performances at concerts, musicals, talent shows and other events.
All proceeds being collected would support equipment purchases and installation costs for the school.
The DVDs were an instant success!
Parents enjoyed the fact that they no longer needed to film performances themselves.
And, students enjoyed watching their performances over and over again at home. In essence, we had a win, win situation. Parents had videos of their children’s performances and the school received the bonus of additional technology.
Because of the success of the DVD initiative, the PTO parents became invested in our vision and decided to donate more technology in order to help us set up a Tech Lab in one of the empty spaces at the school.
Over two years’ time, they donated eleven laptops that allowed us to set up the lab with an additional set of laptops already purchased by the district.
Our DVD project allowed us to add an interactive whiteboard and a mounted projector to complete the Tech Lab space. Once the PTO parents saw the success of the Tech Lab, they initiated the idea of hosting a ‘Tech Night’ at the school at which time students presented their technology projects to nearly 200 parents who attended the event.
Today, every Monmouth Junction classroom is outfitted with an interactive whiteboard as well as an overhead projector.
This equipment (along with the teacher’s desktop) provides each class with digital resources to enhance instruction. I rarely pass by a classroom where an interactive whiteboard is not in use.
Further, the district continues to purchase Chromebook devices to add to our current supplies. Monmouth Junction’s PTO has supported our purchases in order to enhance our inventory of Chromebooks.
This will make all the difference for Monmouth Junction teachers and students.
A New Jaguar Logo
As far back as anyone can remember, Monmouth Junction’s mascot has been the Junction Jaguar. Historically, the mascot has been kitten-like in his appearance
This year, to make him more vibrant, our jaguar has also been updated. He now has a cartoon-like appearance
Thus far, his comical likeness has been a popular addition this school year. More importantly, his new image on our school’s T-shirt has captured students’ imaginations. More and more students are wearing the new mascot ‘T’ shirts to school.
To make this even more fun, we are currently engaged in an election to name the new jaguar.
Each class is working on nominations that will be presented to the entire school for a vote.
Voting on the name will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 30.
We will announce the name of the jaguar at our Welcome Assembly on Wednesday morning, Oct. 1.
Naming the jaguar helps to unite our school community and promote school spirit among our students. All of us are anxiously awaiting the new name for our mascot.
Monmouth Junction School is steeped in South Brunswick history, offering us a peek into learning that took place in the 20th century.
The school is a wonderful mix of old and new, past and future. Although we continue to work in an old structure, our school always looks toward the future.
We stay current and relevant through an emphasis of technology instruction.
We do so with a strong partnership with supportive parents.
Although a lot has changed since 1950, one thing has remained the same.
Our faculty, staff and parents are absolutely committed to academic excellence and to the social/emotional growth of all students at the school.
This is what we are most proud of… our commitment and service to children. It is a privilege to be the principal of such a wonderful school.