May 2016
www.branchburgnews.com
Making the Most of a Drizzly Opening Day
Big golf umbrellas are really made for baseball’s opening days.
There were plenty of umbrellas propped on the shoulders of people attending the Branchburg Baseball Club’s (BBC’s) Opening Day event in White Oak Park on Apr. 22. It wasn’t a heavy rain, but it was enough to make the 55-degree day seem colder than thermometers would indicate. Nonetheless, the turnout seemed about normal for Branchburg’s biggest springtime outdoor event. The kids didn’t seem to mind at all. Branchburg Sports Complex brought its mobile gaga pit and bubble soccer gear, so it’s possible the players didn’t even realize it was drizzling as they waited to march into the opening ceremony area in front of the Snack Shack. Speakers at the ceremony in-
Bridge Work Near School Offers Students Opportunities to Learn The reconstruction of Readington Road from Dreahook Road to Harlan School Road began in late March, and it wasn’t long before Branchburg Central Middle School teachers and students were using the project to advance real-life lessons in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (S.T.E.M.) A bridge being replaced at Readington Road and Baird Road is a quick walk from the school, and on Apr. 3, 17 eighth graders who expressed an interest had an opportunity to meet on the site with Brian W. Maurer, P.E., principal bridge engineer of Somerset County. Maggi Emmons, BCMS S.T.E.M. Coach, led the group, which also included Vice Principal Matt Ross and Curriculum Director Jenn Hauser. Students participating included Matt Bliss, Ben Brown, Trent Greenfield, Grace Jensen, James Maher, Joseph McGroarty, Gabriela Miller, Benjamin Ondis, Katharine Parsons, James Rinaldi, Alexandra Schweid, Bavly Shenouda, Daniel Smith, Hannah Tubridy, Steven VanNatta, Trey Wright, and Adrian Zeni. Mrs. Emmons, who in the past arranged a student field trip to witness a pedestrian bridge being built over Route 22 near Bridgewater Commons, said such trips bring learning to life. “Making content meaningful is my mission as a teacher; and this is our bridge in our town. This construction is how I want them to learn so many Common Core Content Standards. For
cluded BBC President Rich Muratore and Township Committeeman Jim Schworn. Larry Migliore of the BBC’s events committee served as emcee and introduced Paris Bozzuti to sing the National Anthem, and Pastor Mark Swart of North Branch Reformed Church to provide the invocation. Keynote speaker was Lt. Col Craig Casucci, a US Army veteran of the Iraq War, who offered the kids a version of the inspirational quote: “Good, better, best. Never let it rest, till your good is better and your better is your best.” Opening Day Prize List included 92 prizes: Batters helmets, baseball bats, baseball gloves, baseball caps, sling bags, $25 gift cards from Destination Athlete. Softball socks, sack pack, leg guard, wrist guards, back pack, Mets garbage can, Yankees garbage can, baseball batting gloves,
softball batting gloves, womens fitted compression shirt, mens and womens heatgear shirts, baseball bats from Darrow’s. First pitch and tickets packages, honorary bat kid for a day, signed Sparky Lyle baseballs from Somerset Patriots. One week SHS baseball camp from Chris Banos. 30minute lesson packages, one-week baseball camp packages, one week any sports camp, 30-minute batting cage sessions from BSC, 30-minute lesson packages at Diamond Nation, 30-minute lessons at Zoned. Gift cards from Sundae’s, Gift cards from Trattoria Uno. Yankees game tickets from Pepsi. Gift cards from Modell’s. Dozen donuts from Dunkin Donuts, Gift cards from Chimney Rock Inn. Bagels gift cards from Bagel Garden. Sweatshirts from Branchburg Softball. Plus, BSC printed laser tag passes on the tickets used in the gift lottery.
Want to keep kids busy no matter the weather? Set up a gaga pit.
With traffic blocked from using Readington Road, it was the perfect time for students to get right up on the bridge that would soon be demolished.
instance: ‘Consider how each part relates to other parts.’ I hope it gives them a deeper understanding about what it takes to make this world work, and a desire to learn more. “The Readington Road bridge is a lot like the mall’s pedestrian bridge: an engineered functional object that will be in their line of sight, and probably under their feet, often.” Mrs. Emmons said students came back to Readington Road later that week to watch the demolition of the existing bridge, and were impressed how the excavator operator ran the
650 horsepower machine as though it was an extension of his own body. Other lessons at the site included estimating the different diameters of rebar used at different stages of construction. “I love to question them on why the diameters are different,” she said. Another fun subject was discovering that some bridge components, like storm drains, are fabricated out of state, and delivered to the site in shrink wrap. The surprising strength of the shrink wrap led to some eye-opening discussions, she said.