HOOTIE

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

4th & 5th Grade Chess Play Day

Educational research has shown that playing chess (and other strategic games) builds 21st century thinking, problem solving, and teamwork skills.

Mrs. Heller teaches 4th & 5th grade students to play chess as part of our enrichment program. The culminating experience for these students is a chess play day where the whole grade comes together to play chess.

The 4th grade students played on November 10.

The 5th grade students played on November 12.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Mrs. Goomer's Class is Caught Reading!

We are enjoying some beautifully warm days for November, and today, Mrs. Goomer's class was caught reading outside! Keep reading, 5th graders.




Friday, September 11, 2015

Remembering September 11

September 11 is a day that our nation will never forget. The LIS Student Council sponsored a spirit day and requested that 4th grade wear red, 5th grade wear white, and 6th grade wear blue to represent the colors of the flag.

During morning announcements, our students were asked to postpone the pledge of allegiance and to conduct an emergency evacuation drill in complete silence as a tribute to those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

It was truly awe-inspiring to watch over 1,000 students and staff walk through the building and out onto the fields in silence. After students were assembled outside, our Student Council officers led us in a solemn salute to the flag.

Our Character Education theme this month is respect. We are proud of our students and staff for their respectful silence this morning. Thanks to all who participated.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

2015-16 School Year @ LIS

We are looking forward to another awesome new school year at LIS.  Our teachers are soooo excited to meet all of their new students and their families. Our placement letters were mailed out and we are ready to get started!!! The first day of school is September 3rd, which is a full day for staff and students.

Here are some important upcoming dates (also available on our school web page):

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

GMTMA Bookmark Contest News

Congratulations to 4th grade student, Samantha Gunton, whose bookmark was selected for Honorable Mention in the Greater Mercer TMA's Safe Routes to School Bookmark Design Contest! Many entries were received, and the committee members said it was very difficult to pick a winner.


Visit the GMTMA website to see all the winning bookmark designs.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Rising 7th Grade (Save the Dates)

Please see below for some important dates for rising 7th grade students (and their parents/guardians):

  • May 20th:  Middle School 101 – Curriculum Night (Academic Course Guide) 7:00 pm - Learn about the Middle School curriculum from the secondary instructional supervisors
  • June 10th: LMS Goes to LIS – Rising 7th Grade Student Orientation (for students only)
  • June 12th: Rising 7th Grade Parent Orientation, LMS Auditorium
    10:00 am - 11:15 am
  • August 26th: Rising 7th Grade Orientation
    • Student Orientation is from 9:00 am - 11:30 am
    • Parent Orientation is from 10:30 am - 11:30 am


Tuesday, April 28, 2015

4th Grade "Walk This Way" Town Council Meeting

In October, all of our 4th grade students participated in "Walk This Way," which is a pedestrian safety program. The students walked around the community and completed a survey about what they observed during the walk. Some of the 4th grade students worked with Mrs. Heller, the 4th grade House Leader, to review the surveys and compile a report.

On Tuesday, April 21, those students presented their "Walk This Way" findings to the Town Council.


This was a great opportunity for our students to get involved in their community. Thanks to Mrs. Heller for coordinating this presentation and to our students for their hard work.

Friday, April 24, 2015

Bus Driver Appreciation Breakfast

Bus drivers & Hootie's Helpers
Our bus drivers were treated to breakfast in the cafeteria today by the 6th grade community service leadership club, Hootie's Helpers. Along with their faculty advisor, Ms. Potocny, Hootie's Helpers served breakfast to our bus drivers to show how much we appreciate them getting our students to school safely each day. It looks like everyone had a great time!

Monday, April 20, 2015

CJMEA Honors Band

CJMEA Honors Band Members
On April 18th, 2015, twelve  students from LIS, along with their director, went to Rahway 7th & 8th Grade Academy in Rahway, NJ to participate in a 1 day band festival.  These students were nominated by their director, Mrs. Allison Kershner, based on their performance in the LIS Concert Band.  Once nominated, students were selected and placed into one of 3 Bands – the” Red Band”, the “White Band” and the “Blue Band”.  Students received acceptance letters and music a few weeks before the festival so they had time to practice.


It was a very exciting day for everyone. Students were placed in ensembles of up to 100 performers from around Central New Jersey.  Everyone was seated next to a student from another school whom they did not know, and all students worked together to rehearse and put on an amazing concert at the end of the day.  What great teamwork!  The students and Mrs. Kershner had an amazing experience and are looking forward to doing it again in the future.

Monday, April 13, 2015

LIS Jump Rope & Hoops for Heart Events

Jump! (photo credit: Rick & Peg DeFalco)
Thanks to Mother Nature, the LIS Jump Rope for Heart event had to be rescheduled twice! It finally happened on Thursday, March 19.


131 4th & 5th grade students participated in Jump Rope for Heart and they raised $15,629.90 for the American Heart Association.

Hoops for Heart happened on February 26, and our 6th grade students raised $7,600.00 for the American Heart Association.

Owen Boggs (4th grade) was the top fundraiser for Jump Rope for Heart. He raised $900.00! Eric Maest was our top individual fundraiser for the 3rd year in a row! This year, Eric raised $3,280.00 for Hoops for Heart. For last year's Jump Rope event, Eric raised $2,205.00, and when he was in 4th grade, he raised $1,400.00. Eric holds the school record for individual fundraising and according to Mr. Boggs's Blog, this has earned him the nickname "Big Money."
Owen Boggs & Eric Maest (top individual fundraisers)
Our grand total raised between the two events is $23,424.00, which is a new school record! Thanks to our Physical Education department for coordinating these great events, and thank you to all who fundraised, participated, and attended.

Fun facts:
  • Highest fundraising 4th grade class = Ms. Steiner's ($1,610.00 raised)
  • Highest fundraising 5th grade class = Ms. Bradley's ($960.00 raised)
  • Highest fundraising 6th grade class = Ms. Tarasov's ($3,682.00 raised)

Monday, March 30, 2015

CJMEA Honors Orchestra

CJMEA Honors Orchestra Members

Sixteen students from LIS went to East Brunswick HS this past Saturday to participate in a one day orchestra festival.  Our students worked with other students from various schools throughout central NJ (all participants had to be nominated by their director). They rehearsed in the morning/early afternoon and put on a concert at the end of the day.  The students did a great job representing LIS - they even made some new friends in the end.

Musical note pretzels!


Monday, March 23, 2015

St. Patrick/St. Baldrick Celebration @ LIS

LIS students enjoyed a terrific morning assembly on March 17. Many students were wearing green to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. All students were treated to an Irish dancing performance from some of our 4th grade students and two special guests (Mr. Adam's daughters).
L to R: Madison A., Gianna M., Reece G., Faith O., Ellie B., Kayla A.
After the dancing, Mr. Adam honored all the LIS students who participated in the St. Baldrick's event over the weekend. Team LIS raised over $18,500 (first place out of 17 teams). Our captain, Jake Ramos, raised $2,160 (our highest individual fundraiser).

The whole school enjoyed a performance by the Msgr. Crean Division 1 Pipe Band, and as team captain and top fundraiser, Jake was honored to lead them in a song.

Overall, Lawrence raised $145,000.00 for this great cause! Thanks to Mrs. Schwartz, our faculty coordinator, Jake Ramos, our team captain, and to all who contributed to the St. Baldrick's Foundation.
Msgr. Crean Division 1 Pipe Band; St. Baldrick's Participants; Irish Dancers

Thursday, March 12, 2015

2015 NJAGC Distinguished Student for the State of NJ

One of our 4th grade students was recently named as the 2015 NJAGC Distinguished Student for the state of New Jersey.  The NJ Association for Gifted Children recognizes one child annually who has made a difference in his/her community and who excels in academics.


Alana Pahade is a student leader who is heavily involved in raising awareness in her community for a variety of charities.

Alana and her sister started their own charity called Better World Cupcakes, in which they make and sell themed cupcakes, and then donate the proceeds to charity. In addition, Alana has started a new charity called Leaf Foundation, Creating Greener Gardens; the goal is to plant trees and preserve natural gardens.

Alana was awarded a certificate, a plaque and a $100 prize in honor of being awarded the NJAGC Distinguished Student of the Year. Congratulations, Alana!

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

2015 LIS Science & Engineering Fair Winners

This year, the Lawrence Science & Engineering Fair was held at the high school on February 28. The Fair is open to LIS and LMS students. There were 140 participants; 80 trophies were presented. Thanks to all of our parents and students for the great turnout and to our coordinator, Mrs. Heller, for her tireless efforts. Congratulations to all of our LIS winners!

4th grade winners
Fourth Grade
Most Superior Science Achievement
  • Abbilash Shivaparan
  • Marcos Lopez & Andrew Duff
Superior Science Achievement
  • Ailish Humphreys & Alana Pahade
  • Anushka Paulchoudhury
  • Ariadne Chilinski & Malgorzata Urbanek
Outstanding Science Achievement
  • Nikhil Kohli
  • Donovan White & Amar Virdee
Honorable Mention
  • Janhavi Palkar & Rhea Phadke
  • Ava Cohen & Sophia Dismukes
  • Eliza Meth & Emily Jorgensen
  • Sonia Chakraborty
  • Thomas Scaturo
  • John & Samantha Gunton
Special Science Recognition
  • Cleaner is Meaner – Brooke Zevon
  • Future Engineer – Rohan Tadisetty & Prem Varun
  • Future Engineer – Maygala Selvisudhakar & Morgan Boone

5th grade winners
Fifth Grade
Most Superior Science Achievement
  • Kavin Nakkeeran
  • Catie Lillja & Liam Thompson
Superior Science Achievement
  • Arnav Aggarwal
  • Paraj Goyal
Outstanding Science Achievement
  • Katie Ciuffreda & Rebekah Gaudino
  • Ariana Colner
Honorable Mention
  • Dhruv Indelicato & Liam Ripberger
  • Chaiyo Kosinski
  • Sai Rajesh & CJ Caponi
  • Maria and Martina Vittadello
  • Aaron Ladinsky
  • Arya Baskaran
Special Science Recognition
  • Out of This World – Richard Zhou & Vidya Vedula
  • Best Use of Color – Adithi Ponakampalli

6th grade winners
Sixth Grade
Most Superior Science Achievement
  • Shaan Virdee & Shiamak Kalwachwala
  • Dylan Morris
Superior Science Achievement
  • Jamie Slutzky
  • Manit Niwas
Outstanding Science Achievement
  • Sofia Garcia & Julian Garcia
  • Alex Papasavvas
Honorable Mention
  • Kaia Dyckman
  • Ayla Rios
  • Neel Revankar & Eric Maest
  • John Weaver & Aiyan Nair
  • Ethan Brewer
  • Suraj Kura & Rohan Vanaparthi

Monday, March 2, 2015

Skyping with a Seahawks Coach

On Friday afternoon, our 5th grade students were thrilled to be able to Skype with Travis Jones, Defensive Line Coach for the Seattle Seahawks. He was introduced to the assembly by his 5th grade niece, Courtney Copeland.


Mr. Jones spoke to the students about his football career, working with the Seattle Seahawks, and the importance of perseverance. His most important advice to our students: "Never Give Up!"

Thanks to Mr. Boggs for organizing this assembly and to Courtney and her parents for connecting our students with Mr. Jones.

Friday, February 27, 2015

LIS Teachers at NJAPHERD Convention

NJAHPERD is dedicated to advancing quality health education, physical education, recreation, dance education, and athletics.  The Association promotes the development of healthy active lifestyles for New Jersey’s students, educators and community members. Our physical education teachers attended the NJAHPERD Conference this week.

L to R: Mr. Barrett, Mr. Chichilitti, NJAHPERD President Ms. Doherty, Mr. Boggs, Ms. Hart
At the conference, our teachers accepted a plaque on behalf of the LIS students. The plaque was awarded to LIS for raising over $20,000 last year for our combined Jump Rope & Hoops for Heart events, making us #1 in the state of New Jersey!

Our teachers also had the opportunity to hear from and meet with the motivational keynote speaker for the day, Gian Paul Gonzalez.
L to R: Ms. Hart, Mr. Chichilitti, Gian Paul Gonzalez, Mr. Boggs, Mr. Barrett
Congratulations to our students, who did such outstanding fundraising, and to our Physical Education department, who spent many hours coordinating these excellent programs.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Essay Contest Winners at LIS

The Old Barracks Museum in Trenton invited all N.J. students in 4th and 5th grade to celebrate George Washington’s birthday through an essay contest.  There were over 200 entries across the state.

Five students from Mrs. Annese's fourth grade class were prize winners!

Back row (L to R): Chloe Davis, Samantha Gunton, Megan Simpson
Front row (L to R): Rebecca Maccaroni, Ailish Humphrey

Samantha Gunton won the contest Grand Prize! She will get to eat a slice of birthday cake with George Washington.  Chloe Davis, Ailish Humphrey, and Megan Simpson were semi-finalists, and Rebecca Maccaroni was a finalist. All five of the girls won a free pass to the Old Barracks Museum.

Happy 283rd birthday to George Washington and congratulations to these fine writers!

Friday, February 20, 2015

LIS Brave Shavers

It is that time of year again when we get ready to shave our heads for a great cause, finding a cure for childhood cancer.  LIS has another strong team for the 2015 St. Baldrick's event being held on Saturday, March 14th at Amalfi's.  Our team's captain is Jake Ramos and he is doing a fantatic job leading our team in preparation for the big day.  If you are interested in being part of the team, raising funds for finding a cure for childhood cancer,  and shaving your head, please go to our team's link at: http://www.stbaldricks.org/teams/TeamLISBraveShavers



Image result for st. baldrick's

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Spelling Bee Winners

On Thursday, December 11, Lawrence Intermediate School 5th and 6th grade students participated in our annual Spelling Bee, sponsored by the LIS PTO. The Scripps National Spelling Bee lists were used to determine the best spellers.
CoordinatorsMs. Stubbs (L) & Mrs. Tarasov (R)
6th grade winners (L to R)Amritha Sypereddi & Dessi Dusichka
5th grade winners (L to R)Jack Granahan & Theo Sardain

Congratulations to 6th grader, Dessi Dusichka, for being LIS's overall Spelling Bee Winner.

Great job to our students and many thanks to Ms. Tarasov and Ms. Stubbs for coordinating the Bee.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

LIS Presentation to the Board of Education

L to R: Liam C., Aidan M., Jamie S., & James K. with Mr. Adam
LIS Student Council representatives visited the LTPS Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, January 14. They presented writing portfolios to the board members as gifts for their service.

The writing portfolios include select 5th grade creative writing samples that were inspired by the work of author Chris Van Allsburg and assigned by Mrs. Heller, our Enrichment/G&T teacher.


Thank you to all of our LTPS Board Members for their service to the Lawrence Township Public Schools.

Monday, January 12, 2015

PARCC Parent Information Session


Many parents have questions about the PARCC test. For answers, please attend our District Information Session for Elementary Parents (grades 3-6) on Tuesday, January 20 from 7:00-8:30 pm at the LHS Commons.

The Information Session will answer the following questions:

  • What is PARCC?
  • Who will be tested?
  • What is on the test?
  • How is the test administered?
  • How can I help prepare my child for the test?

No RSVP necessary.  For more information, contact Tony Mormile at 609-671-5458 or amormile@ltps.org.