French Presidential Elections 2017
 
In view of the upcoming presidential elections in France, the French Level 4 students at ALJ held a mock election considering the top candidates for the presidential seat.  Each student researched the backgrounds of at least two candidates; highlighting their backgrounds and any experience that could help a voter make a decision on their pick for the seat.  After the students presented their candidates to the class, they each filled out mock ballots and then tallied all votes to see whom they feel should be the next President of France.  The class chose Emmanuel Macron.
 
At 39 years old, Emmanuel Macron, founder of a movement called En Marche!,  is the youngest candidate in the race.  He is a former Minister of Economy; one of the most important government seats in France.  He has never run for elected office and describes himself as "neither of the right nor the left". Other past positions included an appointment as deputy secretary-general of the Élysée in 2012 and economy minister in 2014; lending his name to the "Macron law" which promoted economic growth and opportunities. In April of 2016 he founded the En Marche! movement before he resigned from the cabinet on August 30. He is considered to be one of the most pro-European of the candidates.  His intention is to create and implement reforms that will modernize the French economy.
 
Elections in France will be held on April 23, 2017.  The country operates a two-round system; Article 7 of the Constitution1 states that “if no candidate secures absolute majority (i.e., including blank and null ballots) of votes in the first round, a second round is held two weeks later between the two candidates who received the most votes.”  The new President of the French Republic will be declared on May 11, and the ceremony of investiture will take place on May 14 in the Élysée Palace.  The students of the ALJ French Level 4 class wait to see if their pick will be the one.
 
 
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By Chloe Hessler
On March 29, SMAC and Key Club are organizing a joint fundraiser Student vs. Staff basketball game at 5:00 in the lower gym. The admission will cost $5.00, and there will be a bake sale outside of the gym before and during the game. All proceeds will be donated to the teen center at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in Tylor Collins' name. Tylor spent a lot of time there while receiving treatment and it needs to be remodeled to ensure that all teens at RWJ have the  most comfortable experience possible.  


Currently the faculty/staff team is made up of Mr. Delmonaco, Mr. Klimchak, Mr. Zimbardo, Ms. Mills, Ms. Bukoweic, Ms. Davy, Ms. Celso, and Ms. Cusick will be playing in the basketball game and there are more to come. Any students can play except basketball players and Spring athletes. Senior basketball players can play if they don’t play a spring sport. Students that are eligible are strongly encouraged to sign up and take on the ALJ staff, or to support on the sidelines. Not only will it be a memorable and enjoyable event, but it is an amazing cause that benefits a hospital where Tylor Collins spent a lot of his time, along with other teens receiving treatment. If you or someone you know is interested in playing, please contact Ms. Cusick or Ms. Bukoweic as soon as possible. 

Arthur L. Johnson and Carl H. Kumpf schools,  along with numerous community organizations including the Rahway River Watershed Association, Rahway and Clark Environmental Commissions, Boy Scout Troop 330 and Cub Scout Pack 30, will hold its annual Earth Day Rahway River clean-up on Saturday, April 22nd (there is a rain date of April 23rd).  This cleanup event has been conducted annually since the 1990’s under the auspices of the Union County Adopt-a-Park program.
Teachers at ALJ are adding some in-class incentives for participating. Mr. Reyes, Ms. Zederbaum, Mrs. Jacobi, Mr. Gonzalez, Mrs. Marciano and Mrs. Lopez-Otalvaro are all participating. See individual teachers for specific incentives. 
All volunteers are welcome to participate.  Interested volunteers should meet at the parking area adjacent to the waterfall of the Rahway River by the dam at Winfield Park at 8:45. The clean-up will generally be between 9-1, but any amount of time or effort that folks can volunteer is appreciated.  Anyone can participate! Scout, school, church, and civic groups are just some of the organizations that have participated in the past.
There is a large volume of debris and garbage to remove from the river banks and areas of the river’s floodplain,. This includes debris like shopping carts, tires, and of course floatables (cans, bottles, plastics, etc.). Union County supplies gloves and garbage bags, and material donations from generous individuals and companies (donuts, bagels, coffee, bottled water, paper towels, hand-wipes, etc) support the volunteers.  Last year, nearly 150 volunteers participated, and removed tires, and a number of other large pieces of debris, and over 100 large bags of floatable debris and other wastes.
Fredy Reyes, the coordinator for Clark Public Schools, said “this is a great way to celebrate Earth Day. If you haven't participated in an event like this before, you would find it invigorating, and you will feel good about what you are giving back to your community and the environment.” If you need more information please feel free to drop an e-mail to rivercleanup@comcast.net

The ALJ Crusader of the Month for March 2017 is senior, Matthew Gallo. The Comcast Scholarship Award winner is on the tennis, swimming, and cross country team while keeping up high honor roll grades. He is also a member of the Spanish Honors Society. Matthew also shows leadership outside the classroom and is involved in many clubs such as Key Club, Spanish Club, Student council, Ping Pong Club, and more.

When he is not meeting with Key Club or at a sports practice Matthew enjoys being with his friends and playing games. His favorite thing about ALJ is the teachers. He also likes that ALJ offers classes that help you decide what career choice you will make in the future.

Matthew’s plan after graduation is to attend college and become a nurse practitioner. ​

Due to an expected snowfall totalling one to two feet, all school district schools and activities will be closed on March 14, 2017. Below is the latest from NOAA

Major Winter Storm Late Tonight into Tuesday Evening...
BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT TUESDAY NIGHT...

• Locations: Fairfield, New Haven, Northern Middlesex and Northern New London counties in Connecticut. Passaic, Hudson, Bergen, Essex and Union counties in New Jersey. Orange, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, New York, Bronx, Richmond, Kings, Queens, Nassau and Western Suffolk counties in New York.
• Hazard types: Heavy Snow and Blizzard Conditions.
• Snow accumulations: 1 to 2 feet with with locally higher amounts especially north and west of New York City.
• Snowfall Rates...2 to 4 inches per hour at times.
• Timing: Into Tuesday evening.
• Impacts: Dangerous travel due to whiteout conditions at times. Several roads may become impassable.
• Winds: Northeast 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph.
• Temperatures: In the 20s inland to lower 30s along the coast.
• Visibilities: Near zero at times.

By Dan Collins--Stories and Photos courtesy of Tapintoclark.com

CLARK, NJ-  It’s been 36 years since the No. 3 seeded Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders boys’ varsity basketball team advanced to the state semifinals, but with a 69-58 win over the No. 6 seeded Lincoln Lions Wednesday night in Clark, they secured a berth in the NJSIAA Central, Group 2 Semifinals.
“It was just a complete team effort,” Johnson head coach Dave Kennedy said. “We had contributions from everybody on both ends of the floor and that’s what gave us an opportunity to win tonight.”
With the gym packed and full of fans fired up for the contest, the Crusaders battled the Lions for the first eight minutes of the game, holding a 12-8 lead. Junior George Visconti added five points for his team in the effort.
The second quarter showed the Crusaders exploding on their offensive game, outscoring the Lions 22-14. Trailing 22-20 with 3:02 left in the first half, the Crusaders would make the Lions pay. They went on a 14-0 scoring run to take a 34-22 lead into halftime, leaving the crowd energized and the gym loud.
Junior Joe DiProfio scored 11 points for the Crusaders in that run, while sophomore Brenden Kelly (11 points on the night) scored five points within that run, opening the game up early for their team.
As the second half started, the Crusaders continued to dominate the Lions on their home court. They built a lead as high as 44-30 with 2:57 left in the third quarter, with all the players contributing. Visconti added five more points in that quarter, while senior Brendan Stanzione added two key baskets to make the lead 48-36 heading into the fourth quarter.
Lincoln wouldn’t go down without a fight and would cut into the Johnson lead as the final eight minutes rolled along. The teams would battle for the first three full minutes, with the Crusaders leading 54-43. The teams continued the early tug-of-war, each team continuing to drain baskets on both sides.
Sophomore Brandon Hund drained two straight baskets, the second one being a three-pointer, to make it 63-51 Johnson with three minutes to go. He finished with 13 points for the Crusaders on the night.
The Crusaders faced a challenge late in the fourth quarter when leading scorer Visconti fouled out with 2:31 left on the clock. Lincoln aimed to cut into Johnson's lead, but only got as close as 63-56 with 1:44 left. The Crusaders defense closed the door on the Lions’ season.
“It’s a great feeling,” DiProfio said. “Especially with George [fouling out], we were able to secure the rebounds and keep them off the glass. The key to the game was keeping them off the glass, keeping them from the second chance points."
Visconti finished the night with 18 points. 
“We just play hard, we played defense and ultimately, we just played together,” Visconti said. “We’re going to face adversity on the court and off the court, but as long as we handle it together as a unit, we’re going to have success. I had all the confidence in the world in my guys. I know how hard they work, so I know even though I fouled out on some iffy calls, I knew my guys were going to get it done.”
Seniors Ray Williamson and Brendan Stanzione, who were part of the program in the tougher years, expressed excitement for the team on advancing and says they did all the right things to stop Lincoln throughout the game.
“Just the momentum of these two great wins at home and staying together [were the keys to getting the job done tonight],” Williamson said.
“It’s amazing,” Stanzione said. “I’ve waited four years for this, we’re playing great basketball with this team, we just brought down a tough Lincoln team and I’m pumped.”
“We’re sharing the ball and the fans are supporting us like crazy, I just think we’re playing great basketball,” he added.
The free throws were crucial for the Crusaders, as they drained 14 of them to stabilize their lead throughout the game.
The storyline for the Lincoln Lions was their sloppiness earlier on. They committed turnovers at crucial points and missed 15 from the free throw line.
For Lincoln, sophomore Dante Darby led his team with 20 points in the loss, while senior Najuan Jenkins added 17 points for his team. Senior Tariq Royster added 15 points for the Lions on the night.
The Johnson Crusaders (21-4) advance to the NJSIAA Central, Group 2 Semifinals, where they will face off at No. 2 seeded Bordentown HS Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
“We just need to share the ball, make our shots, be solid, be ourselves and we’re good,” Stanzione added.
The Lincoln Lions finish their 2016-17 season with a 16-11 record.
 

​On Thursday, March 02, 2016, members of the Crusader Athletic Leadership Council participated in the Clark School District’s “Read Across America Day” at the Clark Pre-School. C.A.L.C. members went into the four classrooms and read multiple children’s books to each classroom. In addition, the teachers had a multitude of activities relating to Dr. Seuss and reading that incorporated C.A.L.C. members and pre-school students alike.
C.A.L.C. members Tyler Bohm, Christie Bove, Michael Brennan, Michael Bruno, Jen Casalino, Vin Crisafi, Jon Duffy, Jessica Gannon, Krista Ginesi, Lindsey Hofschneider, Cameron Hund, Jessica Lopez, Katie Prestinari, Gianna Randazza, , Deserae Sequeira, Zach Thornton, George Visconti Jr., Ray Williamson, and Amy Wysocki all took turns reading and discussing various children’s books with the students.
           
Dr. Seuss’s birthday kicks off a month of reading across the nation to raise awareness about the importance of children’s literacy. Special guest readers will be visiting the preschool classrooms throughout March. Research shows that early literacy plays a key role in the enabling of learning experiences that are linked with academic achievement, reduced grade retention, higher graduation rates, and enhances productivity in adult life.