Tamaques Hosts Tailgate-Themed Celebration to Commemorate 50 Year Anniversary

The festivities will also include a variety of coveted auction items, such as: Tickets to NBC's "The Voice" in Los Angeles and plus points to cover airfare, golf foursomes, tickets to the Colbert Report, and passes to Disney World.

Tamaques' annual parent social will take place at the Westfield Armory on Friday, May 17th, at 7 p.m. Dubbed "The Tamaques Tailgate," this year's event will toast the school's 50th anniversary, and feature plenty of food, beverages, and tailgating/sports-themed games, including pop-a-shots, foosball and putting greens.   The festivities will also include a variety of coveted auction items, such as: Tickets to NBC's "The Voice" in Los Angeles and plus points to cover airfare, golf foursomes, tickets to the Colbert Report, passes to Disney World, and even an opportunity to check out dress rehearsals for the Tony Awards in NYC!  Tickets for the Tamaques Tailgate are $45 per person in advance, and $50 at the door. The entire Westfield …

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Washington and Tamaques School Serve Up Rescue Squad Fundraiser

Schools team up to benefit Westfield Volunteer Rescue Squad

Washington and Tamaques Elementary Schools will engage in a little friendly competition for a worthy cause Wednesday when students face off on the volleyball court to benefit the Westfield Volunteer Rescue Squad. Westfield High School will play host to the teams who will come head to head at 7 p.m. All proceeds will be donated to the squad.  "We felt like we wanted to give back to a local charity, one that works so hard to serve our town," said Kerri Ponzio, teacher at Washington School who also serves as WHS girls varsity soccer assistant coach. "The Rescue Squad fit those requirements, so it was an easy choice." Tickets are only available to families of Tamaques and Washington Schools and will not be sold at the door. They are priced at…

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Tamaques' Fuzy Named NJ Agricultural Society's Teacher of the Year

During the winter while the school’s outdoor garden was dormant, Frank Fuzy led the building of simple greenhouses which students helped construct on the school’s property.

Tamaques Elementary School teacher Frank Fuzy has been named the New Jersey Agricultural Society’s 2012-2013 Teacher of the Year for his work in educating children about the importance of New Jersey agriculture.  He has earned an all-expense paid trip to the “National Ag in the Classroom” conference to be held in Minneapolis the end of June, which will include admission to teacher workshops and lectures. The award presentation is taking place on April 5 at the Forsgate Country Club in Jamesburg, NJ.  “You have much to be proud of and New Jersey’s agricultural community commends you for your work,” wrote NJ Agricultural Society’s President, Noble McNaughton. The Tamaques School community has been very active in creating an outdoor …

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Tamaques Elementary Reading Marathon Breaks Records to Benefit Library and Sandy Victims

Principal Cullen revealed a new tiger-themed shaved and painted hair style, in homage to the school's mascot, Tami the Tiger.

Tamaques Elementary School held a Reading Marathon fundraiser  this March, with a goal of raising $3,500 to purchase books for the Tamaques library and to assist Union Beach Memorial School after damage sustained from Hurricane Sandy.  The students far surpassed the goal and the records of previous years; Tamaques students read a total of 378,000 minutes and raised $10,500. For the marathon, students in all grades logged how many minutes they read or were read to each day, and teachers logged the class' progress. Students asked sponsors to pledge funds towards their reading accomplishments. At the completion of the marathon, students who raised the most amount of money and who read the most minutes were recognized at a special school …

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Tamaques School Presents 'Tamaques Solid Gold' in Honor of 50th Anniversary

Performances will be held on April 5 and 6.

Tamaques School is celebrating its 50th Anniversary and a big part of that celebration will be this year’s school Variety Show. As usual the show has a theme, and this year’s is “Tamaques Solid Gold” in honor of the anniversary. All of the music for the various dances and songs will be solid gold hits from the past 50 years. The highlight of the show will be the opening number. Usually presented by the fifth grade, this year’s opening will also feature participation from Tamaques School Alumni. The show’s producers began tracking down alumni who still live in Westfield as well as surrounding communities. The opening number is being  produced by Paula McCauley, Maureen Francis, Patty Bromberg and Patrick Cerria.  They got the ball rolling …

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Westfield School District Gives Back

Westfield Second Graders Band Together for Sandy Relief

The “Give a Hand, Wear a Band” bracelet sale has raised $545.

Monica Gundrum’s Second Grade Class at Tamaques Elementary School in Westfield sent a letter and donation to New Jersey First Lady, Mary Pat Christie, to announce their successful fundraising toward the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, a private independent charitable organization chaired by Mrs. Christie.  The “Give a Hand, Wear a Band” bracelet sale has raised $545, and according to the second graders, “we are not finished. . . we thought you should have what we have collected up till now.” Since the Hurricane, the second grade class organized the selling of the Jersey Shore bracelets to family, friends, school mates, and the school store. 

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Westfield School District Gives Back

Photo: Tamaques School Contributes Over $2,500 to Sandy Victims

Tamaques families also donated dozens of holiday gifts and several hundred dollars in gift cards for families who have been affected by the disaster.

A generous Tamaques community has contributed over $2500 in supplies and gifts for the affected communities of Highlands and Union Beach! In support of the National Guard unit stationed at the Westfield Armory, Tamaques donated hazard suits and face masks to aid in the clean up. They were able to supply an 8th grade classroom at Union Beach Memorial School with classroom supplies and funds to replace curriculum materials lost in the storm. Led by 4th grader Madeline Silva, Tamaques families also donated dozens of holiday gifts and several hundred dollars in gift cards for families who have been affected by the disaster.

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Tamaques School Awarded Grant from Whole Kids Foundation

The Whole Kids Foundation grant marks the second one for Tamaques.

Tamaques Elementary School in Westfield has received a $2000 grant from the Whole Kids Foundation and FoodCorps in support of the school’s outdoor educational garden in which fresh fruits and vegetables are grown by the students.  The students have engaged in the planting and harvesting of their garden, with a variety of lessons incorporated into the project.  In addition to the obvious health and science aspects of the garden, teachers have incorporated other curriculum, such as math activities where students measure the perimeter of beds, volume of growth, ratio of seeds to sprouts, and  create charts based on estimates and actual production.  At the beginning of this school year, fifth graders harvested eggplant that they had planted as…

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Westfield’s Tamaques Students Tackle STEM Challenge

Tamaques Elementary School in Westfield emphasized the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

STEM Day at Tamaques Elementary School in Westfield emphasized the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math to all first through fifth grade students.   Organized by Principal Michael Cullen, First Grade Teacher Doreen Rowan and parents Deb Margolies and Barbara Maguire, demonstrations of STEM related topics were presented by parent volunteers.  The sessions included math and engineering principles applied in Lego contests; math and accounting theories helpful in business; technical drawings created and used by engineers; x-rays depicting images of the human body; probability experiments demonstrating their use in actuarial science; aerodynamic principles that make flight possible; lasers and how they are used; engineering …

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Westfield BOE: No Video of Candidates' Interviews

Nine candidates will be present for their interviews during the board's public meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

The Westfield Board of Education will not videotape its Tuesday, Jan. 3 public meeting in which the Board will interview the nine candidates who have applied to fill the seat vacated by former BOE President Julia Walker. "The Board considered the value of videotaping and the impact it may have on the candidates," said BOE President Richard Mattessich. "We will be asking several questions in a limited amount of time and we would like the candidates to be able to work through their responses without the added distraction.   "Unlike Candidates' Night where all citizens vote on candidates and it is important to provide the additional forum of video, the benefit here is limited. All members of the public are, of course, welcome to join us on …

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