Franklin Elementary Bests McKinley in Charity Volleyball Match

Schools raised almost $3,500 for 'Restore the Shore.'

Teachers from Franklin and McKinley Elementary Schools faced off on the Westfield High School volleyball court Thursday evening for a little friendly competition for a worthy cause.  Co-organizers Joe Paradise, a fourth-grade teacher at McKinley and Barb Piatkowski, a Franklin School physical education teacher, both hail from the Jersey Shore so when it came time to select a charity to play for, choosing 'Restore the Shore' was "a no brainer," Paradise said. Fellow teachers and staff members were eager to support those still struggling in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Between tickets and concession sales, the schools raised $3,444.50 for the organization that was established to create awareness, gather donations and raise funds for the…

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McKinley Student Art Work Chosen for State Display

Alexandra Brennan is the youngest artist selected.

The following is a press release from the Westfield School District:  McKinley student, Alexandra Brennan, holds her art work titled "Abstraction" which was selected to be displayed at the Department of Education building in Trenton.  Alexandra is the youngest of 13 artists chosen from over 50 candidates throughout the state.  Alexandra is pictured with Art Teacher, Alison Hooper-Korkuch.

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Westfield Artist, Teacher Sells Work to Benefit McKinley Fine Art Dept.

'Community of Learners, McKinley School' is available at Evalyn Dunn Gallery

Ricardo Roig is at it again. The Westfield artist and McKinley School art teacher has created the latest installment in his Westfield series of limited edition, hand cut screen prints. But this time the subject of his work will also benefit from its sale. 'Community of Learners, McKinley School' 19" x 15" 2013 is available at Evalyn Dunn Gallery. A limited edition of 20 hand cut screen prints, each is priced at $200 each. One hundred percent of the sales goes to McKinley School's Fine Art Department to allow for project-based learning, said Roig. Additionally, 10 percent of framing costs will also be donated to McKinley School. "I'm lucky to be the elementary art teacher here and with these funds I hope to really give these kids a life-…

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Power Restored at WHS, McKinley-12:30 p.m. Dismissal Back On

Fire official says buildings are safe.

Cancel that snow day. Power has been restored to Westfield High School and McKinley Elementary School. The 12:30 p.m. dismissal has been reinstated and this will be considered a legal school day. Fire officials have deemed the buildings safe. A transformer fire on Trinity Place caused the outage shortly before 8:30 a.m. 

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Westfield School District Gives Back

McKinley Expands School Family to Include South Jersey Sandy Victims

From cleaning supplies and clothing to gift cards and food items, students and staff donate what is needed.

This piece is one in a multi-part series about the Westfield School District coming to the aid of Superstorm Sandy victims.  Unbeknownst to McKinley Elementary School Principal Marc Biunno and fourth grade teacher Joseph Paradise, their parents live just a block from each in Pt. Pleasant.  It wasn’t until Hurricane Sandy devastated the beach community that the two made the connection while trying to help their families recover in the aftermath of the storm. “Here I am cleaning out the garage and my principal shows up to help,” Paradise laughed, recalling how Biunno offered assistance to residents in their parents’ neighborhood. Having witnessed the destruction firsthand and recognizing the wide-ranging needs of those left in the wake of …

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MORE After School Seeks Community Support

McKinley School's fall session includes Creative Yoga, All About Flight, and Origami.

MORE After School has begun their fall session at McKinley School in Westfield.  MORE presents classes for McKinley students that are unique and challenge the children to develop new interests and skills.  The fall session has classes that include Creative Yoga, All About Flight, and Origami. The community is being asked to donate items that would allow the program to continue to operate at a reasonable cost to participants. All donations are tax deductible as MORE is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.   Jen Mamlet, a member or MORE After School's Board of Directors identified some of the needs of the program. There are many items needed including keyboards, tablets and laptops, pencils and paper, just about any art supply, gardening …

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McKinley Students Help Out at Mr. Checchio's Garden

Children keep tradition alive.

Mr. Fiore Checchio, a life-long Westfield resident, school crossing guard and former master gardener passed away early in May, leaving his beloved wife of 64 years, family and nearby community with an emptiness one only feels after losing someone special.  Although his wife still resides in the home located on the same corner where he regularly reported as a school crossing guard for two decades, she admits that she’s not a gardener like her husband and the lot next to their home, where his cherished garden was always immaculate, was going to be left bare for the season.  However, the Checchio family agreed to allow students from McKinley Elementary to come and plant small vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers in the garden that Mr. …

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Biunno Named Principal of Westfield’s McKinley School

Biunno will replace Matthew Bolton, who has accepted the position of Principal of Westfield’s Edison Intermediate Schoo

Marc Biunno has been unanimously approved by the Westfield Board of Education as the new Principal of McKinley School. His appointment is effective August 13.  Biunno will replace Matthew Bolton, who has accepted the position of Principal of Westfield’s Edison Intermediate School, replacing Cheryl O’Brien, who is retiring. Biunno was selected from among 90 applicants in the tri-state area. He began his career in Westfield as a Language Arts and Journalism teacher at Roosevelt Intermediate School nine years ago. He was presented with the Intermediate Teacher of the Year award while at Roosevelt. Since January 2011, he has held the role of Assistant Principal of Hillside Avenue School in Cranford. Biunno earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from…

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BOE Sets Aside $1 Million for New Boilers, Bathrooms, Windows

Leiz raises questions about process used to determine fund transfer.

Following months of calls to create a maintenance reserve fund for the school system, the Board of Education voted last week to deposit an estimated $1 million from the 2010-2011 budget into a fund and authorized several projects to spend the funds on. The funds, taken from unspent line items throughout the budget, which ended on June 30, will be spent on a series of facilities projects. The move comes several months after the school district’s auditor advised the Board of Education that the district needed to build up the capital reserve fund, which totaled slightly over $800. “In view of the fact that the district had budgeted very little capital maintenance, the board has decided to use the funds for maintenance,” interim BOE Business …

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State Regulations Delay Replacement of School Boilers on 'Last Legs'

BOE told that McKinley boiler likely to survive winter.

Placing the blame at state regulations, the Board of Education postponed replacement of almost dead boilers at McKinley and Franklin Schools until next spring. BOE Facilities Committee Chairwoman Jane Clancy said that while the replacement of the boilers is needed before the boilers fail, a list of state regulations on how to replace boilers and when school districts have to provide heat prohibits the replacement over the summer. Clancy made the announcement while outlining facilities goals during Tuesday evening’s board meeting. “The McKinley boilers are on their last legs,” Clancy said. Clancy said the state requires school districts to provide heat starting on Oct. 15 and the process to replace the boilers will not be completed by then…

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