Trenton, NJ – Classroom Close-up, NJ on NJN Public Television takes viewers inside the classroom for a first-hand look at the innovative and inspiring programs found in New Jersey’s public schools. This month Classroom Close-up, NJ travels to Howell Township Middle School for a special “Thank a Veteran” program; visits an airbrushing class in Linwood; and watches how students at Jose Marti Middle School in Union City try to create a sonic boom in their auditorium.

An original weekly program, Classroom Close-up, NJ airs on NJN Public Television Mondays at 6:30 pm and is rebroadcast Saturdays at 9:00 am. Classroom Close-up, NJ is a co-production of NJN and the New Jersey Education Association. Additional funding for the show is provided by PSE&G and BNY Mortgage, a Bank of New York Company. Classroom Close-up, NJ is web streamed at njn.net and can be seen on cable stations throughout New Jersey, on NJN’s JerseyVision, and on Time Warner Cable on channel 750 in New York.

Classroom Close-up, NJ, Monday, March 5 at 6:30 pm and Saturday, March 10 at 9:00 am
• Teacher of the Year 2007 – This year’s top teacher in New Jersey is Karen Ginty, a kindergarten teacher at Monmouth Beach Elementary School. The 33-year veteran uses creative approaches to excite her students about learning.
• Whodunnit? – Advance Placement Biology students at Nottingham North High School in Hamilton participate in a CSI-type "Whodunnit?" With the help of Princeton University, which supplies the school with equipment for cheek cell extraction, students use DNA analysis to determine which administrator stole a chocolate cake from the Teacher's Lounge.
• History Detectives – Children from Jersey City’s PS 34 visit the Afro American Historical Society Museum, where they meet Tukufu Zuberi, co-host of the PBS television show History Detectives.
• Aquaculture – Chuck Gehman's high school horticulture class at Middle Township High School in Cape May County learns how to farm tilapia. The interdisciplinary project involves biology, chemistry, physics, horticulture and ecology. This program is funded through the NJEA Frederick L. Hipp Foundation for Excellence in Education.

Classroom Close-up, NJ, Monday, March 12 at 6:30 pm and Saturday, March 17 at 9:00 am
• Colonial Crafts Day – Second graders at Dennis Township Primary School experience colonial life as part of their study of colonial America. Parents operate stations with activities ranging from making corn meal pancakes to embroidery.
• Civic Education – The New Jersey Center for Civic and Law-Related Education conducts a statewide conference for students, educators, and civic leaders. Students demonstrate programs like Project Citizen and Model Congress.
• Thank A Veteran – Cherie Reid, a teacher at Howell Township Middle School, created a website to give children the opportunity to thank a veteran. The website, www.kidsthankavet.com, has not only impacted her students, but touched the hearts of children and veterans across the country.
• Police Art – Officer Charles Jackson, a forensic artist with the Haddon Township Police Department, presents Forensic Art in the Classroom to third graders at Clyde Jennings Elementary School in Haddon Township. Students witness a “crime” and help Officer Jackson create a composite drawing to capture the suspect in this presentation, which is a component of the Adopt-A-Cop program.

Classroom Close-up, NJ, Monday, March 19 at 6:30 pm and Saturday, March 24 at 9:00 am
• Archaeological Dig – An urban school recreates an archaeological dig when science teacher Shelly Witham designs and builds a dig inside the science lab at High Tech High School North Bergen. This is a self-created, hands-on investigation, modeled after the teacher’s own archaeology field work experience.
• Air Brush – Airbrushing may be rare in high schools, but at Mainland Regional High School in Linwood, they are increasingly popular. Taught by art teacher Debra Rogers for more than 13 years, the class is so successful that five years ago an airbrush room was included as part of the new addition to the school.
• Darfur – Part of the New Jersey Holocaust Education Program, South Plainfield High School students hear firsthand from a survivor of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan.
• Community Helpers – Kindergarten students at Donald A. Quarles Elementary School in Englewood discover what it takes to be a community helper when a police officer, a school nurse, and a mail carrier join them for a day. Classroom Close-up, NJ, Monday, March 26 at 6:30 pm and Saturday, March 31 at 9:00 am
• Good Morning Durand – Fourth graders from Durand Elementary School in Vineland are involved in a daily morning television show called Good Morning Durand. The students learn how to produce, edit, host, and do the camera work. Hearing impaired students play an integral role on the show, interpreting the broadcast and working with computer graphics.
• Tech Ed – At William Annin Middle School in Bernard Township, the technical education program features robotics, woodworking, tech fabrication, and more. It is recognized for its emphasis on math and science, helping to prepare students for their studies in high school.
• Human Rights Celebration – Each year the NJEA honors the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a Human Rights Celebration. This year actor Giancarlo Esposito highlights the event, while educators express their support for teaching children about human rights and dignity.
• Science of Sound – Find out if students at Jose Marti Middle School in Union City can make sounds travel in outer space as they create a sonic boom in their auditorium. The Liberty Science Center, which operates an electronic field trip program at the school, presents a program on Science of Sounds…. Shaking it, to help students explore how sound is produced and transmitted.

NJN is available on all New Jersey cable systems and satellite systems,
on Comcast Digital Cable in New Jersey, and on Time Warner Cable channel 750 in NYC.
Classroom Close-Up, NJ is also available via video streaming at njn.net after the original broadcast.
Additionally, the program is repeated on NJN’s JerseyVision on Comcast Digital Cable in New Jersey
(Check http://www.njn.net/digital/schedule.html for detailed listings)
NJN – Uniquely New Jersey
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