The Hammonton Gazette 12/10/14 Edition | Página 6

Page 6 • Wednesday, December 10, 2014 • The Hammonton Gazette The Hammonton Gazette “The Paper of Record” Gabriel J. donio, Publisher Gina rullo, Editor-in-Chief dan russoman, Sports Editor Benny Mendez, Staff Artist Marysusan Hoffman, Paul J. Macrie iv, Michael Hozik, donna Brown, Joseph Bruno, lauren Bucci, lauren crescenzo, Zack Brown, Staff The Hammonton Gazette is located at 233 Bellevue ave. to reach a staff member, call 704—1940 or fax at 704—1938. the mailing address is P.o. Box 1228, Hammonton, nJ 08037. editorials The Hammonton Gazette is published Wednesdays, by The Hammonton Gazette, Inc. Copyright © 2014. All rights reserved. ISSN 1093—6181 it’ll be some parade While it may seem hard to believe, the Hammonton Fire Department Christmas Parade has been in existence for a decade and a half now. Most kids – and young adults – do not remember a time before the parade moved down Bellevue Avenue from Liberty Street to Egg Harbor Road. In what has become an annual tradition, house parties are held for the holiday season on the night of the parade. What better backdrop for a festive gathering than the array of bands, floats, decorated firetrucks, and dance groups making their way through the center of town? The parade will begin at 7 p.m. on December 13. This week will be especially festive, with the tree lighting and all the additional events from December 6 moved to 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening, December 10 because of rain. Look for the living nativity staged by Victory Bible Church on the front lawn of St. Joseph High School, horse and carriage rides on a new route starting at the Atlantic County Human Services Building at 310 Bellevue Ave. and moving past churches, Veterans Park, the Leo Park section of Veterans Park and the living nativity. Stores and restaurants in the downtown area will be open into the evening on both nights, and the entire town’s business community benefits from these events. Due to the weather bumping the tree lighting to December 10, it will be the first time the tree lighting and the parade will be held in the same week. Make the most of it and bring the kids downtown to sit on Santa’s lap inside Wells Fargo Bank following the tree lighting on December 10. Then, just a few days later, on December 13, join the crowds of people downtown as the Hammonton Fire Department Christmas Parade comes through town. It’s been around so long, it’s officially a tradition. Plus, it’s a free, fun night that kids of all ages love. It’s going to be some parade this year, so come out and enjoy it. The town is ready to roll out the red (and green) carpet for Christmas this week! a bad move The Gazette contacted state officials for comment about the reasons for the closure — coming on December 12 – of the One-Stop Career Center (locally known as the unemployment office) at 43 S. White Horse Pike (near the Family Dollar). The answers, from New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development Director of Communications & Marketing Brian T. Murray, were less than satisfying. “The closure of the Hammonton office is due to the underutilization of that One-Stop Career Center by New Jersey residents. It was under consideration for over a year, and it was determined that it was best to consolidate services elsewhere. The closure will take place at the end of the business day on December 12,” Murray said in an email. There is another One-Stop Career Center in Atlantic County. It is located in Pleasantville. “The department will focus its resources on other neighboring One-Stops, including those in Pleasantville and Vineland. Staff will be relocated to those areas, and customers also may choose to visit the One-Stops in Wildwood, Thorofare and Camden,” Murray said in his email, adding “In response to your questions, let’s get to the most important one right up front: There will be no reduction in services to Atlantic County residents with the closure of the Hammonton One-Stop. We have been handling the unemployment insurance and re-employment services needs of all former casino workers impacted by the industry adjustment in Atlantic City since the first casino closed back in January, and we have been able to handle that industry adjustment while additionally providing services to all others in that region who need our assistance,” Murray said in the email. Mayor Stephen DiDonato and Atlantic County Fifth District Freeholder James Bertino both said they were disappointed to hear about the closure. They said they were not notified by the state about the closure. The Gazette agrees with DiDonato and Bertino. Closing this center was a bad move by the state. Now our elected officials – and the community — must do whatever we can to help ensure the owner of the strip center fills it as soon as possible with quality tenants. PersPective/education Social studies is a wonderful subject area that deserves to be placed at the top of academic priorities. Through history, economics, civics, and geography, we can understand our culture. Participation in our democracy is almost impossible without a thorough knowledge of social studies. Under the direction of our social studies supervisor, Lewis Testa, the Hammonton Schools are embarking on an exciting revision of our K-12 social studies curriculum. Our entire curriculum is organized around “Big Ideas.” For example, in grades one through five, students will study: • Gr. 1 Going To School, Neighborhood News, Free to be You and Me • Gr. 2 Making a Difference, Earning and Saving • Gr. 3 We the People, Biographies • Gr. 4 Immigration Through Personal Accounts, Argument and Debate • Gr. 5 Road to Freedom, Proud to Be an American To increase student learning, we are also using the Common Core Standards. In grades K-5 our curriculum is designed so that social studies content is integrated into Reading units of study. An example is a new second grade social studies unit on African American biographies. The unit connects to the Civil Rights unit in fourth grade and also to the content covered in sixth and seventh grade. Another example is the fourth grade social studies immigration unit. One of the essential questions for the immigration unit is, “What are the reasons that people have immigrated to the United States?” Consideration of this question will lead students to understandings about how the freedom and opportunity afforded by the United States was unique and powerful enough to motivate millions of people to assume the risks and hardships of immigration. Each of the fourth grade units can be closely related to the big ideas woven throughout the district social studies curriculum in meaningful ways. Our students are learning important, complex historical processes. We are revising the sixth and seventh grade curricula for 2014-15 to create more impact topics and cohesion. In sixth grade we are developing a fully integrated Western Hemisphere geography program. The seventh grade course covers U.S. I through the early 1800s with an emphasis on civics. In grades six through 12, social studies instruction will emphasize close reading of content-rich informational text, acquisition of academic vocabulary and the use of specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources. Mr. Testa wrote a grant that was funded through Rowan University to enhance the content knowledge and teaching skills of English and social studies teachers in grades six through 12. The grant will help our teachers increase their content knowledge of social studies as well as help them develop additional pedagogy skills. The Rowan professors will use face-to-face onsite lesson study. Our teachers will also be provided with web modules to support and enhance learning in the face-to-face sessions. The web modules will build content and pedagogical knowledge designed to support the LEA leadership teams across the year. We are also working with the Historical Society of Hammonton to help our students relate the history of Hammonton to U.S. History. This project will involve the students in walking tours of the town. The teachers will use the field trip experiences as a basis for expanding the students’ knowledge of history. Any points where the history of the community intersects with the history of New Jersey and/or the United States will be particularly valuable. dr. c. dan Blachford superintendent Hammonton schools The Hammonton Gazette welcomes letters to the editor that are no more than 800 words long. All letters must include the name of the author and an address and telephone number for verification. Letters should be mailed to The Hammonton Gazette, Editorial Page, P.O. Box 1228, Hammonton, NJ 08037. Letters also will be accepted via fax. The fax number is 704—1938.  Or by email to [email protected]. Deadline for all submissions is 2 p.m. Monday. The Hammonton Gazette reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions expressed in letters, perspectives or in guest columns do not necessarily reflect those of The Hammonton Gazette.  The Gazette is not responsible for factual errors in letters, perspectives or in guest columns. The Gazette retains the right to refuse any submission or advertisement.