From the Desk of the Principal - Dr. Anthony Ingenito
Montgomery Academy - SPRING 2025
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new staff starting with Anthony Barski, E6 Middle School Teacher, Cindy Castenada E5 1:1, Cydni Allbrook E6 1:1, Alexus Evans E4 1:1 and Jaci Taylor E5 1:1. We are all so very fortunate to have you as part of our MA school family and truly appreciate your dedication to our students. As you will see below in reading our last newsletter of the school year, spring has been a busy time for us and we are well on our way toward graduation, the end of the school year, ESY and new beginnings for the upcoming 2025-26 school year. Lastly, thank you to all our teachers and staff as we celebrate Teacher Appreciation week beginning Monday May 5th and Tuesday May 6th with a special breakfast for all our staff. Happy Spring!
Dr. Ingenito
Upcoming Events
ESY 2025 summer program theme.
Adventurer’s Club, will provide opportunities and services that empower students of all ages to explore their imaginations. Besides weekly swimming trips to the Sunrise Lake Beach in Mendham, various other field trips are included to help encourage appropriate socialization skills as well as to introduce learning topics to be explored. Bowling, nature walks, and an amusement park are a few of the planned trips.
EYS runs from July 1- 30th Monday – Friday from 8:30 - 12:30 [No ESY July 4th and 7th]
Word on what MONTGOMERY ACADEMY will be up to this SUMMER. - From Michelle
A Message From Your Specials
Occupational Therapy
During Occupational Therapy sessions over the last several months we have focused on self-regulation. Students are guided to ask their teachers for breaks. O.T. is a time to recharge and check in with each other. We may explore how we are feeling, we may complete a class assignment then engage in a movement break. In the OT room there are various pieces of equipment to facilitate bilateral integration, eye, hand, foot coordination, balance, and motor planning skills. Students are excited and request to explore the E-Z rider, rip stick, woggler, etc. Having an OT break is a great way to reset and recharge. The other day E-1 colored kites and flew them outside.
Music with Elaine
We have been working on forms in music class. The word form in music means “the plan of the piece of music”. The students have learned about “call and response form,” Verse & Refrain form’, AB and ABA form and Rondo form. Every piece of music has a plan to it and these are some of them that the students have been introduced to. The next unit will feature the different ways harmonies are brought into music. The students will learn about countermelodies which are other melodies played or sung simultaneously with the main melody. They produce beautiful harmony. Partner songs are two or more songs sung together which produce the same effect. The students will sing partner songs and countermelodies in class. They will also be playing the countermelodies on the step bells. In June, students will learn about many different composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and more classical composers. They will also learn about the film composers of movies they might have seen. Students enjoy watching some great movie scenes along with the composer we are learning about.
Project Room with Sally
A big thank you to Monica from HS2 for arranging and implementing the opportunity for MA to hatch chicken eggs. The incubator was set up in the Project Room for the entire school to enjoy. It took approximately 21 days for the eggs to hatch. The students were able to see the eggs being turned on a daily basis. Students were also able to see the chicken embryos grow with the special light. On April 15th chickens were born. Students were able to see this process during the course of the day. Montgomery garden is getting planted. Students have helped clean the planting beds and will be planting seeds right after Mother's Day. We will be growing tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers and pumpkins. During the remainder of the school year students will tend to the garden and see the growth of the seeds. When fully grown we will cook the vegetables in Project Based Learning. This is an activity in teaching responsibility as well as seeing an activity from start to finish.
E2 with Amanda
Hello E2 Families! Spring has been full of excitement and creativity in our classroom! In science, students are building carnival games out of cardboard using teamwork and imagination. We also celebrated Earth Day and Arbor Day by learning about ways to care for and protect our planet. In May, we are exploring the history and traditions of Cinco de Mayo. Students are learning about this festive holiday and its cultural significance. We have some exciting trips planned — two visits to the MPAC for special performances and a trip to the Turtle Back Zoo to explore and learn about amazing animals. We’ll wrap up the month with a Talent Show, where students will have the opportunity to showcase their special skills! We’re looking forward to a wonderful end to the school year! — The E2 Team
MIR2 with Lisa
MIR 2 had a ton of fun on our Community Based Learning trip! First, we went to the Morristown Airport to learn about careers at an airport. We
got to see all the big equipment and watch planes take off. We then went to the Madison Train Station to learn about using a train for transportation. We saw how to buy a ticket and where to stand to wait for the train. Our next stop was the Madison Laundromat. We saw where we purchase the soaps and the different types of machines. After that, we went to eat pizza at Romanelli’s in Madison. When we were done eating, we went to Fort Nonsense and saw the lookout points. We took a photo with the canon. We then went to Jockey Hollow and has a chance to explore the soldier huts.
From the desk of Kathy Garofano - Reading Instructor
Reading over the summer is so important for both improving skills and relieving summer boredom. It can
also be a welcome opportunity for adventure! Ideas for adding reading to your summer routines: Pick up an audio book for a long road trip. This is a perfect way to get hooked on a new series. Read about a location in New Jersey and take a ride to visit. Take pictures and make an old- fashioned photo
scrapbook with captions. Read a “How To,” book and try something new. One resource is The Kids’ Kitchen Take-Over by Sara Bennett Stein. You and your child can make a favorite dish by reading and following a recipe. If you have access to some outside space, grow a deck tomato plant after reading all about it.
Along with routine trips to your local library; take advantage of many sponsors that encourage summer reading:
Scholastic is hosting a free reading challenge. Visit Scholastic online -Summer Reading on Home Base for your child to get started. Barnes and Noble holds a summer reading program where kids between grades 1-6 track the number of books they read and earn a free book! Pizza Hut is offering, “Camp Book It.” Visit online for details. McDonald’s sponsors, “Happy Mc Readers Summer program.” Chuck E. Cheese offers a reading reward calendar with a punch card for incentives.
What’s Going on Around Our School?
E2 with Lauren
E2 Ending the Year with a Bang! We are wrapping up the school year with a full lineup of fun and memorable trips!
May 12th: We’re heading to The Pingry School.
May 15th: We’ll explore the incredible Grounds For Sculpture.
May 28th: It’s game time at a Somerset Patriots baseball game!
Plus, we’re hoping to add a planetarium visit in mid-June to round things out.
As if that wasn’t exciting enough, we’re also celebrating a huge milestone — two of our students are getting ready to graduate! We couldn’t be prouder of all they’ve accomplished. Here’s to a fantastic finish to the school year!
E3 with Carmela
E3 has sprung for excitement with Spring in the air and more activities and outings being held outside. In April we made a slider cap game for our Science Fair project. The students each took turns painting and designing it. In Science, we learned about force and motion and students worked on their own 3-D ramps, making them out of recyclable materials. Each student timed their ramps to see which went slower or faster according to their own unique designs. In Social Studies we made a 3-D map of all the counties of New Jersey, using materials from nature including sand, tree branches, leaves, and dirt to represent all different counties. We celebrated Bubbles for Autism and loved having special guest readers take time to read to all the elementary classes. We also celebrated Passover, Easter, and Earth Day. Students learned ways to reuse, reduce, and recycle to keep our planet clean. In May, we will be celebrating and learning about the history and traditions of Cinco de Mayo. The elementary teams will be growing butterflies so we are excited for the arrival of the caterpillars and excited to watch the life cycle flourish from caterpillar to beautiful butterflies. On May 9th we will have a student/faculty basketball game. We also have a visit to MPAC in Morristown for a fun show and after Memorial day weekend we will be ending that week with a fun filled trip to the Turtle Back Zoo. Students are excited for our upcoming talent show and getting show show off some of their singing or magic tricks. In June, we will also have another fun filled trip to MPAC in Morristown. It has been a good year! - The E3 Team
E5 with Ellen
MIR5 is in the process of making flower boxes for Mother's Day. It will involve cutting and staining or painting wood boxes.
E1 with Katie
E1 has been busy celebrating Spring! We created individual "greenhouses" to hang on our classroom windows and enjoyed recording the results of our seed planting in observation journals. We loved celebrating Read across America Week by inviting weekly guest readers. We also participated in MA's annual Bubbles for Autism event by designing and decorating custom elementary program tshirts! We are looking forward to several planned field trips. We will see musical adaptations of two of our favorite books, "Cat Kid" and "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" at MPAC and visit the Turtleback Zoo!
HR4 with Nancy
HS4 has been very busy! In addition to all our academic pursuits, we’ve been celebrating birthdays—Luke, Kristina, and Abhi each had a special day. We marked the occasions with bagels, cakes, and lots of goodies. We also took an awesome field trip to the Lakota Wolf Preserve in Columbia, NJ. In addition to seeing wolves, we spotted bobcats, foxes, and lynx! We have three exciting field trips coming up! On May 15th, we’ll be visiting Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ—a beautiful 42-acre sculpture garden and arboretum featuring over 300 sculptures. Then, on May 28th, we’re heading to a Somerset Patriots baseball game for STEM Education Day which everyone is eagerly anticipating. Finally, in June, we’ll visit the Planetarium at Raritan Valley Community College. There’s so much to look forward to!
HS4 with Kathy & E5 with Jenna
E5 with Jenna
E5 had a wonderful trip to Turtle Back Zoo. It was a sunny day full of adventure. Our favorite stops were the prairie dogs, the flamingos, the touch tank, and, of course, the giraffes!
The middle school recently attended a performance by Black Violin at MPAC. This performance duo offered a concert-like experience for the audience, playing a medley of recent and classic hiphop and R&B hits on violins backed by a band and DJ. Our middle schoolers were on their feet, hands in the air, enjoying the show and discovering that a classical stringed instrument could provide meaning to modern music.
Teacher appreciation week at Montgomery Academy
The Student Council made Teacher appreciation Week extra special by celebrating all Montgomery Academy staff members throughout the week. Along with thoughtful gift bags, they shared sweet treats as a small token of gratitude - just a little something to help brighten each day and show appreciation for the dedication and hard work of our incredible staff.
In addition, administration kicked off the week with a delicious bagel breakfast, and Michelle treated everyone to a fun and festive ice cream sundae bar. It was a week full of kindness, appreciation, and community spirit.