Thursday, January 10, 2013
'And I Thought About You,' a heartwarming tale about a mother and son, picked up an honorable mention.
Westfield author Rosanne Kurstedt's picture book 'And I Thought About You' received an honorable mention from the New England Book Festival in the Children's Books category. Kurstedt, along with the other winners, will be honored in a private awards ceremony to be held Jan. 19 at the Omni Parker House Hotel in Boston as part of the 2012 New England Book Festival. Published in spring of 2012, the children's story was inspired by real-life events when Kurstedt and her young son were living in Hong Kong. "The story is about a working mother and her son, and she comes home from work and he says, "What did you do today, Mama?" and she recounts her day and after she says what she does, she says "And I thought about you.' It's a touching story…
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Rosanne Kurstedt will succeed him.
In a statement read by Westfield Board of Education President Rich Mattessich, Board Vice President David Finn resigned from his position effective immediately, citing an "urgent family medical matter." Mattessich and fellow Board members Mitch Slater and Ginny Leiz thanked him for his three-and-a-half years of service. The Board voted unanimously to elect Rosanne Kurstedt vice president. Finn's term was scheduled to end in January and he was not seeking re-election. As such, the Union County Superintendent said the Board does not need to fill the vacant seat in the interim. It will serve as an eight-member board until then. Check back with Patch tomorrow for additional details and more from tonight's meeting.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Rosanne Kurstedt and Lisa Carletta-Vietes signed copies of 'And I Thought About You' Saturday afternoon at The Town Book Store.
Westfield residents Rosanne Kurstedt and Lisa Carletta-Vietes signed copies of their new children's book 'And I Thought About You' from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at The Town Book Store. 'And I Thought About You' reflects a universally-shared sentiment all mothers have when they’re apart from their child, “I wonder what my child is doing now?” Kurstedt, a mother of two boys and an adjunct professor at Fordham University, said the afternoon was a great opportunity for her and Carletta-Vietes to talk with people about their inspiration and hear their reactions. The store grew out of a real-life tradition that Kurstedt established with her oldest son while living in Hong Kong. "We want to thank the Town Book Store for hosting us," she said. …
40.652898
-74.347109
The Town Book Store
270 E Broad St, Westfield, NJ
/articles/author-and-illustrator-sign-children-s-book
10602
/locations/6899527
Saturday, April 28, 2012
From boot camp to a book signing, there's plenty to do today in Westfield.
Kick off the day with a free trial boot camp. Starting at 9 a.m. in Tamaques Park, BootCampWF is offering a chance to sample a class before the second spring session starts on April 30. A multi-family garage sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 26 Sandra Circle. Westfield High School students will be washing cars starting at 9:30 a.m. at the high school. The cost of the car wash is $5.00 and donations are accepted. The proceeds will benefi Good Grief. The car wash ends at 2 p.m. Union County is participating in the DEA's National Take Back Initiative. Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella encourages Union County residents to rid their homes of unwanted and expired medication at today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. During October 2011, …
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Rosanne Kurstedt and Lisa Carletta-Vietes will read and sign copies of 'And I Thought About You.'
Just in time for Mother's Day, author, Rosanne Kurstedt, and illustrator, Lisa Carletta-Vieites, both Westfield residents, will be at the Town Book Store on Saturday, April 28 from 2-4 p.m. to introduce, sign, and read their new book, 'And I Thought About You,' a simple, yet poignant, story about a working mother and her child. 'And I Thought About You' reflects a universally-shared sentiment all mothers have when they’re apart from their child, “I wonder what my child is doing now?” From the early morning Blup Blup sounds of the coffee maker to the Zoom Vroom sounds of playing in the park, join a working mother and her son as they engage in a heart-warming welcome-home routine. The playful images of the mother at work set next to the…
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
The Board of Education member is an adjunct professor at Fordham University and a soon-to-be-published children's author.
For Westfield resident Rosanne Kurstedt, her career and her interests go hand in hand. An adjunct professor in the Masters Literacy Teaching Program at Fordham University, the mom of two looks forward to publishing her first children's picture book this spring. 'And I Thought About You' is based on a real-life routine Kurstedt established with her oldest son when they were living in Hong Kong. "The story is about a working mother and her son, and she comes home from work and he says, "What did you do today, Mama?" and she recounts her day and after she says what she does, she says "And I thought about you,' recounting what he does. It's a touching story," she said. Forgoing the tradition publishing route, Kurstedt collaborated with her …
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Walker asked entire board to read statement.
In a change from previous years, Board of Education President Julia Walker changed the practice for the annual reading of the Board of Education ethics statement. Earlier this year, Walker had the entire board read the statement instead of reading it alone. Walker said that she believed this would allow the entire board to understand the meaning of the statement. Check out video.
40.654507
-74.351978
Westfield Board of Education
302 Elm St, Westfield, NJ
/articles/video-boe-reads-ethics-statement
13023
/locations/5066379
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Dolan says Board of Education has discussed communications for number of years.
The Board of Education’s brainstorming session on district goals included discussion of one issue which was decided to be a part of the individual goals. Board members continued a focus on communication and community engagement, which has been one of the top issues voiced by residents in recent years. During budget discussions over the last two years, residents have commented on the board’s communication strategy, along with Washington residents regarding the redistricting issue. In December, the board voted 5-4 to apologize to the Washington community over how the issues were communicated. Several board members have been elected after campaigns stressing communication. “Can we keep community engagement as an ongoing goal?” BOE member …
40.654507
-74.351978
Westfield Board of Education
302 Elm St, Westfield, NJ
/articles/boe-agrees-communications-engagement-top-goal
13023
/locations/4775725
Board members offer individual proposals not adopted in consensus.
The Board of Education’s brainstorming session to create new district goals included several proposals from board members on a variety of issues, which were discussed during the consensus discussion and were noted to be important. District officials said the other proposals were not off the table and would be looked at during the school year. Here is a list of proposals mentioned during the meeting based on the BOE member who made the proposal. Ginny Leiz – Gifted and Talented/Finances and Facilities Leiz proposed a focus on the district’s gifted and talented program, including a look at the offerings at WHS. She said this could include a study of the exact program and if changes are needed in the program. She said one area could be …
40.654507
-74.351978
Westfield Board of Education
302 Elm St, Westfield, NJ
/articles/boe-considers-other-goals-during-brainstorming-session
13023
/locations/4775266
Monday, June 27, 2011
Board aims for Aug. 30 vote, with committee to continue review of policy in the fall
The temperature inside the second floor multipurpose room inside Westfield High School was stifling, the pages of the documents being reviewed dense and the issues and policies being discussed complex. But after 90 minutes of discussion last week , the Board of Education seemed to have taken at least a few steps down what promises to be a long path to finalizing the school district’s new bullying policy and code of conduct. “It’s an issue that’s important, that students treat each other the right way and are treated the right way,” Schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan said during her opening comments. The meeting represented the BOE’s first workshop devoted to board members focusing solely on the bullying policy. The BOE discussed the …
40.64373
-74.347862
Westfield High School
550 Dorian Rd, Westfield, NJ
/articles/boe-starts-long-journey-to-new-bullying-policy
10346
/locations/4709471
Corinne Petersen
2:57 pm on Thursday, January 10, 2013
Congratulations Ms. Kurstedt! I can't wait to read it! :) more ›