GHS

1. GHS October, 2011 Geller House School Hawthorne Cedar Knolls UFSD Gazette Principal: Mr. Mathew Rubenstein School Psychologist: Dr. Vikki Palmer Mr. Stephen McNamara Mrs. Lisa Rowe Mr. Gary Bonoan Ms. Lisette Rubet- Roman Mrs. Kristen Doyle Ms. Carolyn Suarez Mr. Leonard Grassi Ms. Melissa Morse Mr. Pete Ithier Mr. Andrew Savage From the Desk of the Principal………… The month of October is traditionally a month for change, and at Geller House School October is also a month of P.R.I.D.E. The seasons transition from summer to autumn, the leaves begin to change color and fall from the treetops, and cool, crisp air replaces the heat of the last few months. October is a month for Excellence - a month where the New York Yankees and several other Major League baseball teams are making their final push for a World Series Championship. October is a month of Dedication to an Important cause; raising awareness and finding a cure for breast cancer. October is a month for Positive outcomes and Respect, a month for all of us to reflect upon actions and behaviors that may have been counterproductive in the past, and make changes that improve the future for ourselves, and those we cherish as we move towards the holiday season. Always remember to show Geller House School P.R.I.D.E in your actions, and... GO YANKS (and Jets)! Welcome to the next edition of our GHS Gazette. Thank you to all the contributors. I admire all of you who worked diligently to share your thoughts with all of us. I hope that more of you will be inspired to contribute in the future. Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.-- Oprah Winfrey

2. GHS October, 2011 Gazette New Beginnings: Staff of the Month Award! What is “Staff of the Month”? “Staff of the Month” is a title that is given to one staff member every single month. It truly represents appreciation from students and other staff members for showing outstanding P.R.I.D.E. and being very supportive towards students. The recipient receives a rose and a certificate and is mentioned in the newspaper. Mr. Rubenstein, along with the student council, put together the “Staff of the Month” award. Student Council then went around and collected the votes from the other students. That then put in place our first recipient, Mr. Lenny Grassi. Student Council President: Antonio L. On behalf of the students and staff of the Geller House School, I'd like to extend our congratulations to Mr. Lenny Grassi, who is the recipient of our first School Staff of the Month award! Led by our Student Council, our students shared their reflections about how Mr. Lenny Grassi has been supportive, fun, and has shown P.R.I.D.E as a role model in our school program. Mr. Lenny Grassi has high expectations for all students in Geller House School because he believes that all of our students can grow in this program, and the student vote this month indicates that they believe in him as well! Mr. Lenny Grassi, we thank you for the commitment that you've shown our school community! Principal Rubenstein

3. GHS Profile Corner … October, 2011 Gazette Reporter : Antonio Interview of GHS Staff of the Month: Mr. Leonard Grassi Interview with Lenny Grassi By: Rahim Townsend, Antonio LaBoy Q: What were your thoughts the moment we announced your name? A: I was shocked and humbled. Q: Did you win this award being yourself? A: Yes, I can’t be anything else. Q: Do you enjoy doing what you do as school staff? A: Every single day. Q: When did you start as school staff? A: Jan 1999. Q: What do you think is the difference between working as school staff and working as house staff? A: There is no difference. Both are a process that I feel the kids here at Geller need to begin to master. Throughout the day, I try to get each child to maximize their full potential so they can start their journey to be successful when the leave here.

4. GHS October, 2011 Gazette Introduction: Pride Chart by: Mari P. The Inside Scoop On P.R.I.D.E By: Student Council Vice President, Mari I bet a lot of you are wondering how the P.R.I.D.E sheet was made. Well, I’m not going to get into the schematics, but we decided that this school, this establishment, needed a bit more motivation to be all that it could be. Therefore, Mr. Rubenstein decided that we should come up with an acronym to embody our school spirit. So, he came up with P.R.I.D.E : Positive Respectful Important Dedication to Excellence It is very important to follow this acronym, because it is presenting a chance for my fellow students to show pride in who they are and what they do in this school. I might not be the GREATEST advocate in the world, I have my problems also, but I try to curb them, because Student Council is very important to me. Student Council worked as a team to create a vision of P.R.I.D.E being conveyed throughout the school. We created a P.R.I.D.E chart that displayed the meaning of P.R.I.D.E. in each area of the school environment. This is how we came up with the P.R.I.D.E chart. -Mari & Antonio

5. GHS October, 2011 Gazette P R I D E E Geller House School P . R . I . D . E . R P I D study - resolve conflicts - support peers - follow directions - be punctual - show effort - work hard - achieve - believe – lead; with PRIDE!

6. GHS October, 2011 Gazette What P.R.I.D.E means to me! Pride by: Mark P Respect by: Chance C. Respect is in P.R.I.D.E, that is what the “R” stands for. Respect is listening and following instruction. Respect is not talking when someone else is talking. I sometimes do not follow the “R” because I either do not feel like doing the work or most of the time it is because I feel sad and mad that I am not home and with my family. However, I do well most of the days and I do well on my tests. Everyday is a new day, some will be good and some will be bad. Everyday I get a little older and a little wiser. I will try to stop shutting down, and try to control myself. I will try to respect others and try to respect myself!

7. GHS October, 2011 Gazette Geller House watches “The Pact” Featured Writer: Frankie L. “The Pact” was a serious agreement the three men made as juniors. When they were cutting class one day, a security guard spotted them so they ran into the school library to avoid being caught by the security guard. A recruiter from the Seton Hall was giving a speech about the university’s Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Plus Program designed for minorities interested in careers in medicine. The three agreed to apply to the program, and to go on to medical school if accepted. On October 12, 2011 Geller House was presented with this mind boggling story. At 12:30 pm the students at Geller House were given the privilege to see these men’s story and how they became doctors. Its funny how even though they were seen as kids who would never accomplish they were still able to change anddo better in their life.

8. GHS October, 2011 Gazette Geller House watches “The Pact” Reactions to “The Pact” Well to be honest I have had maybe not even a handful of true friends. However, I have had some. What I mean by true friend is someone who would establish the fact that on rare occasions that one will need to put others’ needs in front of one’s own needs. This is solely for the benefit of another person. Now not everyone does this, causing a rift in their friendship. There are a few who step to the plate, putting someone else’s burden on their shoulders and from there signifies the type of friend one has acquired. You can never know a reliable friend from an unreliable one based upon first impressions. Just hope that in a time of need you are not abandoned. There is an infinitesimal amount of things you can say about why your friend isn’t ‘’true,’’ figuratively speaking. However, once you are graced with a true friend, a companion, a brother or sister I and others would concur that there are not enough words to describe how lucky you are to have and be called a “friend.” By: Chris Friendship… By: Joel J. A lot of people ask, what is a true friend ? People should know the true meaning of “friendship.” Well to tell you the truth everyone has their own meaning but a true friend to me is someone who is always around for you and if not they try their very best to be. A true friend is someone who would fight for you, good or bad would tell you nothing but the truth even if it hurts. I hate it when people call “anyone” their friends. All I have to say about that is, “would they die for you?” If anyone was to ask me how many friends I have, I would say well about four. I also have one special person that I love to death and I known that they feel the same.

9. GHS October, 2011 Read Now Power Up Gazette No Pay? NO WAY! Group A finished reading the Read Now Power Up book “No Pay? No Way!” Mr. McNamara had the class answer a few questions about the book. ISIAH B. 9/23/11

10. GHS October, 2011 Math Class Gazette Math Power Points from Ms. Giraulo’s Math Classes: Dytajah Watkins

11. GHS Creative Writing… October, 2011 Gazette Geller House does Horror! By Alisha S. THE LITTLE GIRL, THE GHOST AND THE TOMBSTONE BY: JORDAN C. On a dark stormy night a little girl named Emma was walking in a lonely and scary graveyard. She thought she saw something so she looked and didn’t see anything. She was a bit scared but she shrugged it off and went on her way. As she was walking, she heard a little voice that said, “Emma Wellers!” She started walking faster and faster, then she heard the same voice again and this time it said, “you’re going to die by the end of the night!” She didn’t pay it any mind. In reality she really did see something that was going to mess up her walk home through the dark, scary, and lonely graveyard. Later on the stroll, through the graveyard, Emma saw a tombstone that said: “Here Lies Emma Walker, Died October 18, 2011, Lost to us on Little Rock Cliff”. Out of fear, she ran as fast as she could. She was scared and frantic. In fact, she was out of her mind. Little did she know, she was running straight to Little Rock Cliff…..

12. GHS … October, 2011 Gazette Geller House Sports’ Desk Welcome to the all new Geller House School sports column, "The Three Sportsmen"! In this monthly sports column, join in the conversation as our panel of student athletes takes you around the world with sports in flash! Let's kickoff the chat with the NFL. The New York Jets, led by cornerback Darrelle Revis and his spectacular 100 hundred interception-return for a touchdown, crushed the Miami Dolphins. The Jets' defense bought them a much needed win to put them back on track as a threatening defensive team in the AFC. In the same division, the New England Patriots showed they're still the team to beat when Tom Brady drove the Pats the field in the final minutes of regulation to throw the game winning touchdown pass against the underachieving Dallas Cowboys. Moving on to our nation's capitol, let's recap what happened against the Eagles in Washington DC. The Eagles showed that they can be highly effective with their talented defense, intercepting the Redskins four times. Moving across time zones in the NFC, lets go and get at the coaches for their unprofessional acts against each other at the end of the game between the Lions and 49ers in Detroit - terrible job of setting an example for your players, fans, and kids everywhere with poor sportsmanship.

13. GHS … October, 2011 Gazette Geller House Sports’ Desk Mark P says: "I think that coach John Harbaugh (SF) was a little too excited at the end of the game, and coach Jim Schwartz (DET) took exception." Joel J: "I think their (DET) hopes and dreams were crushed for a perfect season." Mr. Rubenstein: "To me, it's disappointing that two professional coaches could allow themselves to be drawn into this controversy and take attention away from a great game between two exceptional teams." Frankie L: "I think it was a foolish act between the coaches. I mean just because you can't lead your team to a victory doesn't mean you have to get angry. I mean (SF) coach John Harbaugh taunted his opponent at other games and you don't see the coaches getting overly worked up about it." And now... our predictions for our NFL game of the week: the Tennessee Titans vs. the Houston Texans: Joel J: Titans, 27-13 Frankie L: Texans, 22-17 Mr. Rubenstein: Titans, 21-13 Mark P: Texans, 21-17 And finally, our long awaited World Series picks: We have a mixed decision as Mr. Rubenstein, Mark, and Joel pick the Rangers of Texas, and Frankie stands alone to pick the great Albert Pujols and his St. Louis Cardinals. What a great month for sports! We'll recap in November, Happy Halloween!