Harrison Elementary School
Encyclopedia
Harrison Elementary School is located in Livingston, New Jersey
. It is one of six elementary schools located in town
. There are about 550 students spread out among 27 classes. The grade levels range from Kindergarten to 5th grade. All graduates continue on to Mt. Pleasant Middle School
. The school is named after Amos W. Harrison who was a lifelong Livingston resident and a former President of the Board of Education.
The Core Content Specials includes art, music, physical education, and world languages. Children have the opportunity to participate in all of these classes.
opportunities for an identified population through a pull-out program. The students will be identified starting from grade 2 by a process that includes district/state standardized tests, academic achievement as well as other multiple criteria. The student will meet and participate in interest-based clusters beyond the regular curriculum. Examples of those clusters are Communicating with Lights, Investigative Journalism
, Pond and Ocean Life, and Stock Market
Game.
There are also school-wide enrichment opportunities for any students to participate in extra-curricular activities such as Academically Speaking, Forensics, and Law Fair/Law Adventure.
The school also provides gifted and talented opportunities in art and music for grades 4 and 5 which run separately by the art and music departments. The program for gifted and talented in art is a before-school art program for an identified population which offers various art mediums for students to use and has many sketching assignments.
to the students starting from Kindergarten. The school's world language program cites New Jersey World Languages Curriculum Framework for benefits of world language study in young children such as cognitive benefits, academic achievement, and development of positive attitudes toward cultural diversity. Students also have opportunities to use Spanish in school projects such as Symbolic Migration which encourages students in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to interact about the annual migration of Monarch butterflies.
.
teachers, school counselors, speech and language therapists
, occupational therapists and assistants, aides and behaviorists. The goal of the Department is to provide a support of integrated services to any child with special needs.
also organizes an after-school enrichment program called Kidz Klub. The program offers a variety of activities such as art, cooking, science, games, Lego
building, and robotics
. Students also take part in outside activities such as town-wide Junior FIRST LEGO League
Expo and
Imagine Mars exhibition.
Harrison Elementary School participates in many academic competitions at county, interschool, state, and national levels. Highlights of the accomplishments are:
Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 29,366.Livingston was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 5, 1813, from portions of Caldwell Township and Springfield...
. It is one of six elementary schools located in town
Livingston Public Schools
The Livingston Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in Kindergarten through twelfth grade from Livingston, in Essex County, New Jersey...
. There are about 550 students spread out among 27 classes. The grade levels range from Kindergarten to 5th grade. All graduates continue on to Mt. Pleasant Middle School
Mt. Pleasant Middle School
Mt. Pleasant Middle School is a public middle school in Livingston, in Essex County, New Jersey, as part of the Livingston Public Schools. It serves students in sixth grade and it is the only public school in Livingston for sixth grade students. All of the 6 elementary schools of livingston join...
. The school is named after Amos W. Harrison who was a lifelong Livingston resident and a former President of the Board of Education.
Curriculum and Academic Departments
Harrison School runs in team levels. Every grade level is a team and the teachers and students work together. All of the teachers for each grade work together to be sure their students are getting the same education. There is a team for every grade K-5. Core curriculum includes mathematics, language arts literacy, social studies, and science.The Core Content Specials includes art, music, physical education, and world languages. Children have the opportunity to participate in all of these classes.
Gifted and Talented Enrichments
The school provides gifted and talentedGifted education
Gifted education is a broad term for special practices, procedures and theories used in the education of children who have been identified as gifted or talented...
opportunities for an identified population through a pull-out program. The students will be identified starting from grade 2 by a process that includes district/state standardized tests, academic achievement as well as other multiple criteria. The student will meet and participate in interest-based clusters beyond the regular curriculum. Examples of those clusters are Communicating with Lights, Investigative Journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, Pond and Ocean Life, and Stock Market
Stock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
Game.
There are also school-wide enrichment opportunities for any students to participate in extra-curricular activities such as Academically Speaking, Forensics, and Law Fair/Law Adventure.
The school also provides gifted and talented opportunities in art and music for grades 4 and 5 which run separately by the art and music departments. The program for gifted and talented in art is a before-school art program for an identified population which offers various art mediums for students to use and has many sketching assignments.
World Language
The school introduces SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
to the students starting from Kindergarten. The school's world language program cites New Jersey World Languages Curriculum Framework for benefits of world language study in young children such as cognitive benefits, academic achievement, and development of positive attitudes toward cultural diversity. Students also have opportunities to use Spanish in school projects such as Symbolic Migration which encourages students in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to interact about the annual migration of Monarch butterflies.
Media Center
The media center provides many books for the children to borrow and use. The librarian helps suggest ways to choose books, and works with children on projects related to reading and writing. Those include school-wide reading/writing projects such as Read Across AmericaRead Across America
Read Across America is an initiative on reading created by the National Education Association.One part of the project is National Read Across America Day, an observance in the United States held on March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss.-External links:...
.
Student Services
Student Services helps parents connect and be involved with their special needs child’s education. The Department of Student Services includes a child study team, special educationSpecial Education in the United States
Special education programs in the United States were made mandatory in 1975 when the United States Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in response to discriminatory treatment by public educational agencies against students with disabilities...
teachers, school counselors, speech and language therapists
Speech and language pathology
Speech-Language Pathology specializes in communication disorders.The main components of speech production include: phonation, the process of sound production; resonance, opening and closing of the vocal folds; intonation, the variation of pitch; and voice, including aeromechanical components of...
, occupational therapists and assistants, aides and behaviorists. The goal of the Department is to provide a support of integrated services to any child with special needs.
Health Office
The schools health office provides care for the students and does annual checks for scoliosis and lice. The health office performs health screenings for every child by checking height, weight, vision, hearing, and blood pressure. The school also has many health-related policies including sick child, medication and nutrition policies.Extracurricular activities
Beside many activities offered as part of the co-curricular school-wide enrichment programs, PTAParent-Teacher Association
In the U.S. a parent-teacher association or Parent-Teacher-Student Association is a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a public or private school. Most public and private K-8 schools in the U.S. have a PTA, a...
also organizes an after-school enrichment program called Kidz Klub. The program offers a variety of activities such as art, cooking, science, games, Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
building, and robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
. Students also take part in outside activities such as town-wide Junior FIRST LEGO League
Junior FIRST Lego League
Junior FIRST LEGO League is a non-competitive robotics program designed for children ages six to nine. It is one of the programs established by FIRST.Jr.FLL follows the same topics given to FIRST LEGO League...
Expo and
Imagine Mars exhibition.
Awards and recognition
Harrison Elementary School was recognized by The Business Coalition for Educational Excellence (BCEE) for attaining high rates of student achievement. The school was listed in 2007 Just for the Kids — a list of 73 New Jersey Benchmark Schools. It was among 20 schools in New Jersey in the Proficient/Advanced Proficient benchmark for grade 4.Harrison Elementary School participates in many academic competitions at county, interschool, state, and national levels. Highlights of the accomplishments are:
- Winners of New Jersey State Bar Foundation Mock Trial Competition for Grades 3 Through 6 in 1999, 2001, and 2009
- Finalist of 2009 Cray-Pas Wonderful, Colorful, World Contest
- Winner of The 2007 National Kids-in-Print Book Contest for Students
- A student was a winner of The Third Arts Olympiad and was selected to represent New Jersey in 2007 World Children's Festival
- Winners of 2004, 2006 and 2007 Reading RainbowReading RainbowReading Rainbow is an American children's television series aired by PBS from June 6, 1983 until November 10, 2006 that encouraged reading among children. The award-winning public television series garnered over 200 broadcast awards, including scores of Emmy Awards, many for "Outstanding Children's...
Annual Young Authors and Illustrators Contest