December 2006
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December 20, 2006
Faculty Feast Before the Holidays
Craig faculty gather for a celebration at The Exchange Restaurant in Rockaway on the last day of school before the holidays.
You may think once the students head off for the start of their holiday vacation that the teachers leave as well for some last minute shopping. Not the case! The first stop is always the traditional luncheon held on the last day of school in December. This year was a new venue for faculty and staff -- a comfortable old house on Main St. in Rockaway -- which served a sumptuous buffet lunch. Safe to say, a great time was had by all as the following indicates...
Caroling at the Merry Heart Residence
Craig students entertained the residents of Merry Heart in Boonton with a carol sing just before the holidays.
The Craig lower school student council along with members of the third and fourth grades gathered at the Merry Heart Home for the Elderly in Boonton on December 20th to sing carols to the residents. One of the residents was a retired teacher from the Boonton school system who enjoyed chatting with Mrs. Cozine. Cookies, brownies and other holiday treats were passed around by the children after the singing.
December 19, 2006
The Giving Tree
For the second year, "the Craig School Giving Tree" was placed in the lobby of the lower school.
Hung with cutout ornaments listing gifts for children at the Wanaque Center in Haskell, Craig students selected an ornament for their parents to buy, wrap and bring to the school. Once all the gifts had arrived, Mr. Cap arrived with members of the upper school student council who transported the gifts to the Wanaque Center. The following describes what happened next.
On December 12th a caravan left the Craig lower school in Mountain lakes, loaded with presents for children at the Wanaque Center in Haskell. Over 100 Craig school students, their families and faculty began an annual tradition this year; they “adopted” 62 of the center’s children for the holiday season.
The Wanaque Center for nursing and rehabilitation pediatric unit provides long term care for children from birth to age 21. All of the children at the center require care for conditions ranging from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome to rare genetic disorders. 40 of the “adopted” children require ventilator units just to breathe. Many of the Center’s children have no families or known relatives.
The Wanaque Center asked for 50 blankets, the Craig families responded with twice that many, plus CD players, stuffed animals, books on tape, musical crib toys, pajamas and many other gifts for the holiday season.
Gina Meltzer, director of recreation at the Wanaque Center, commented, “It’s a little overwhelming…” as she watched the volunteer “caravaners” from Craig school fill the lobby with their gifts. “You don’t have any idea what it means to these kids. You’ve really made it a magical Christmas.”
December 06, 2006
Viva La Villa Holiday Party
The annual holiday party was held this year at the Villa on Route 46 in Mountain Lakes.
A convivial group of faculty members, staff, and parents gathered for cocktails and a buffet supper late Sunday afternoon on December 3rd. Because there were few tables, the guests mingled freely with new parents meeting old, faculty mingling with parents, PACS and Board members making the rounds. One of the highlights of the evening for the "old guard" was seeing former Craig student, John Miller, currently on leave from the marines after his recent tour in Iraq.
The evening was a delightful respite from the hectic activities of the holiday season.
