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DECEMBER 2020 FREE
Schools go allremote
Season of giving Local nonprofits adapt to provide during pandemic
Virtual classes will be held through Dec. 9 and after winter break
By RoB ANtHES, JoE EmaNSKi aND Sam Sciarrotta
La Convivencia’s mission is to embrace diversity within our shared humanity to create peace in our communities, said Tasneem Sultan, the organization’s founder and president. There’s no better time to do that than during the winter holidays. For the last two years, La Convivencia has hosted a day of service in December, packed with youth-oriented activities aimed at bringing together people of all faiths and cultures to give back to the community. “In 2019, nearly 300 youth and adults of many cultures and faiths met at the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church,” Sultan said. “During the activities, they also enjoyed performances of classical Indian dance and a martial arts demonstration. The Holiday Day of Service is an annual event where volunteers gather to give back in the spirit of the holidays that is a tradition present in diverse faiths and cultures.” The day usually consists of decorating cookies, packing personal care items, wrapping presents and writing holiday greeting cards. Everything created on the day of service See NONPROFITS, Page 11
By Sam Sciarrotta
Menaka Surendran (left), Rekha Naidu, Thuvaritha Sivakumar, Sainthavi Sivakumar, Steffina Jerald Kannan, Sayee Sanjana, Naresh Kumar, Malarvizhi Jayaprakash and Priya Balakrishnan are part of a team of needle crafters who crocheted nearly 70,000 Christmas decorations. They earned a Guinness World Record certification for their efforts.
Queens of crocheting Plainsboro crafters part of Guinness record attempt By Sam Sciarrotta
What started as a new hobby turned into part of a Guinness World Record for 10 Plainsboro women. Aparna Nair, Priya Balakrishnan, Malarvizhi Jayaprakash, Rekha Naidu, Menaka Surendran, Thuvaritha Sivakumar, Sainthavi Sivakumar, Steffina Jerald
Kannan and Sayee Sanjana Naresh Kumar earned Guinness certification for their participation in the Mother India Crochet Queens’ effort to create the world’s largest display of Christmas decorations. The Plainsboro group contributed 1,800 handmade items to the total collection of 66,158, shattering the previous record of 4,416 set by the Women’s Weekly, a British group. “It’s like writing your name in history,” Balakrishnan said. The women were among a group of 350. They crafted
snowmen, Santa Claus bobbleheads, nativity figures, snowflakes, Christmas trees, bells, stars and shamrocks. All 66,000 ornaments were collected and displayed in Chennai, India, where they will be converted into blankets, cushion covers, mobile cases and sling bags for orphanages, churches and other charitable organizations. Surendran was able to travel to India last year to present the Plainsboro group’s contributions. Surendran was introduced See CROCHET, Page 14
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West Windsor-Plainsboro schools are running on a fully remote schedule, superintendent David Aderhold announced in a letter Nov. 20. The district will remain fully virtual through Wednesday, Dec. 9. Daily COVID-19 cases have risen statewide from 284 per day to over 4,000 since the school year started. In the WW-P school district, 421 students and 199 staff members have been placed in quarantine or isolation. The quarantine and isolation designations do not necessarily mean a student or staff member has tested positive for the coronavirus. Those in quarantine or isolation may have exhibited symptoms, come into close contact with someone who is COVID-19 positive, traveled from a state on the New Jersey Travel Advisory list or traveled internationally. “Throughout the escalation of the number of cases, the procedures and protocols that the district has put into place have been successful in mitigating school-based spread,” See SCHOOLS, Page 6