Classroom Close-up, NJ for November
On NJN Public Television
Mondays at 6:30 pm and Saturdays at 7 am 

STATEWIDE- Classroom Close-up, NJ is an original weekly program that airs on NJN Public Television, and features students, teachers and community members who develop and participate in creative and successful school programs. An Emmy award-winning program, Classroom Close-up, NJ is a co-production of NJN Public Television and the New Jersey Education Association, with additional funding provided by PSE&G, Bristol-Myers Squibb, New Jersey FamilyCare, and the NJ Department of Community Affairs’ Living Lead-Safe Initiative. Classroom Close-up, NJ is web cast on the NJN web site at njn.net. The program can be seen in high definition on NJN’s JerseyVision and on Time Warner Cable on channel 750 in New York.

Monday, November 7, at 6:30 pm; Saturday, November 12, at 7 am
• Heritage Day – Second graders at Ocean Road Elementary School in Point Pleasant are participating in a year-long social studies project to celebrate different cultures, which culminates in a Heritage Day celebration.
• Multicultural Celebration – Students who speak English as a second language honor their native countries at Drum Point Elementary School in Brick.
• Soweto – Lawnside Public Elementary students are learning lessons about racial hate and injustice from the South African Soweto Uprisings. These young students perform skits focusing on various aspects of the uprisings.
• Holocaust – Sixth graders from Belleville School #3 prepare for a performance to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Holocaust.

Monday, November 14, at 6:30 pm; Saturday, November 19, at 7 am
• Above and Beyond – South Amboy Elementary and Middle schools have a program called Above and Beyond that encourages students to read more books. Each grade level participates in a Quiz Bowl contest to answer questions based on the book.
• Leaping into Literacy – It all starts with literacy in the home. This is the conclusion educators have made at the Academy Project at the Lincoln Annex in New Brunswick. Thanks to a grant, parents of first graders will receive bookcases in their homes to encourage reading at home. This program is funded through the NJEA Frederick L. Hipp Foundation for Excellence in Education.
• Patchwork – Children at Old Farmers Road Elementary School in Washington Township (Morris County) learn about geometry through the art of quilting. A Dolores Corona Hipp Grant is awarded to outstanding math programs each year in New Jersey. See what “Patchwork of Polygons, Patterns and Prose” is all about. This program is funded through the NJEA Frederick L. Hipp Foundation for Excellence in Education.
• Meet the Authors – During the Third Grade Author’s Program, Countryside School in Mt. Laurel will host an evening when 250 family members and friends meet these young authors as they display their books.

Monday, November 21, at 6:30 pm; Saturday, November 26, at 7 am
• It’s a Miracle – Speech therapists from Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne find a unique way to teach new vocabulary and language concepts to students by using the television show It’s a Miracle.
• Junior Police – Watch as Hasbrouck Heights Junior-Senior High School students entering ninth grade attend a Junior Police Academy. The students receive hands-on training modeled after the real-life police academy experience.
• Jersey Shore – What does the Jersey Shore have to offer to graduating high school students? Oakcrest High School in Mays Landing has created a school-wide curriculum that teaches young people that there is more to the Jersey shore than just sand and sun. The shore offers careers, not to mention a lifetime of learning.
• Habitat Partners – Fourth and fifth grade students from Hillside Intermediate School along with two other schools in Newark (Dr. William Horton and Abington Avenue) join in a program to explore the principles of ecology. The goal of Habitat Partners is to form a bond with science and the natural world while developing meaningful relationships between urban and suburban students and their families. Habitat Partners is funded through the NJEA Frederick L. Hipp Foundation for Excellence in Education.

Monday, November 28, at 6:30 pm; Saturday, December 3, at 7 am
• Social Decision Making – Elementary students become socially aware and learn traits of good character at Bartle School in Highland Park. The students participate in peer mediation and attend learning labs focusing on good and bad choices.
• Lego League – LEGOS are used for more than just play. Gifted and talented sixth graders from Walter Hill School in Swedesboro utilize LEGOS to design and build robots. These robots perform tasks that help people with disabilities. This activity is preparation for an international competition called FIRST LEGO League.
• Time Detectives – An archeological dig was created by teachers at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Edison this past summer. Part of their social studies curriculum, sixth graders measure, map, excavate, clean and record their findings for the archeology project. This program is funded through the NJEA Frederick L. Hipp Foundation for Excellence in Education.
• The Value of Music – Lynn Williams from Thompson Middle School in Middletown Township loves teaching music. The music program has grown into one of the largest choral groups in the state and into one of the most popular classes at the school under her influence. But budget cuts threaten the program. See why Williams’ musical endeavor is worth keeping alive!