Glen Ridge Board of Education
The GRBOE cordially invites the community to a reception in honor of Dr. John Mucciolo, our new superintendent, on Wed., Feb. 25th from 7 to 9pm at the Women's Club of Glen Ridge, 219 Ridgewood Ave.

UNITED WAY of NORTH ESSEX, in partnership with AARP
Free tax preparation services are available to those filing straightforward tax returns now. Appointment required. For more information call the United Way at 973-746-4040 or go online at http://www.uwne.org/

Need help? Call the United Way's 24/7 free and confidential helpline by dialing 211. United Way volunteers will provide information about community services, job placement assistance, health services, drug treatment programs and so much more!

MOUNTAINSIDE HOSPITAL
How A Healthy Diet and Physical Activity May Keep You Cancer-Free. Many foods and nutrients have been linked to cancer prevention. Exercise is a factor too. Presented by Amy Wolf, Registered Dietician and Diane DePavoda, Exercise Physiologist. Wed., Feb. 25th from 2 to 3pm at Mountainside Hospital.

Sleep Week - Are You Getting a Good Night Sleep? Sleep is a basic necessity of life, as important to our health and well-being as air, food and water. Sleep loss and sleep disorders can take a serious toll. Join us during National Sleep Awareness Week for a discussion presented by Dr. Mete DiKengel, Dir. of Mountainside Hospital's Center for Sleep Medicine on Thurs. Mar. 5th from 2 to 3pm at the hospital. Tours of the center will also be provided.

Hypnosis for Weight Reduction. No diets! No restrictions! No feelings of denial! Through hypnotic suggestions and proven behavior modifications you will make subtle changes to your lifestyle to permanently reduce your weight. Taught by a certified hypnotherapist. Fee - $70. Thurs., Mar. 5th from 7 to 9pm at the hospital.

Weight Loss Surgery: The Facts. The Center for Advanced Bariatric Surgery at Mountainside invites you to find out how this proven procedure can improve your health and lifestyle. Presented by Dr. Karl Strom, Bariatric Surgeon. Wed., Mar. 18th from 7 to 9pm at the hospital.

Register for these programs at http://www.mountainsidenow.com/ or call 1-888-473-4MSH

MOUNTAINSIDE HOSPITAL IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Blood Pressure Screening. Make sure you are at or below 120/80. Counseling and educational materials. No registration required. Thurs., Feb. 19th and Mar. 19th from 9 to 11am at the Brookdale Shop Rite, Broad St., Bloomfield.

Colorectal Cancer Education and Take Home Kits. "E-Z Detect" take home kits to detect blood in the stool - one method to detect cancer. Along with the kit, instructions and educational materials will be provided. Kits are free. No registration required. Mon., Mar. 16th at Grove Pharmacy, 123 Grove St., Montclair.

Community CPR and Basic First Aid Classes. Available every month. For more info and to register call 973-429-6491.

MONTCLAIR DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Women's Health Screening - Pap smears, pelvic exams, breast exam, blood pressure screening and educational materials. Montclair Health Dept., 205 Claremont Ave., Montclair. Screenings held on Thurs., Mar. 5th & 15th between the hours of 8:45 - 11:15am. Fee is $20 / Free to Seniors over 60. Appointments are necessary. For more info and to schedule appointment call 973-509-4974.

COLORECTAL SCREENING - Stop by the Health Deptartment at 205 Claremont Avenue in Montclair on Mon., Mar. 23rd from 10am to 12 noon and receive a take home "E-Z Detection Kit". Educational material and counseling will be available. Free to residents of Montclair, Glen Ridge, Cedar Grove, Verona, Nutley and Belleville. Registration is required. Please call: 973-509-4974.

SMAC - In conjunction with Porite Laboratories, we will administer a test for over 20 values everyone needs to monitor. Calcium, cholesterol, iron, glucose, sodium, potassium, triglycerides and many other important health indicators. Screening is available to anyone. Fee is $35.00. APPOINTMENTS REQUIRED. WALK-INS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Please call: 973-509-4974 to schedule an appointment.

AMERICAN RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE
Donate much needed blood at the Women's Club of Glen Ridge, 219 Ridgewood Ave., on Wed., Mar. 11th from 12:30pm to 6:30pm. The first forty donors will receive a souvenir Travel Mug! Soup, sandwiches and sweets will be served. All donors will receive a raffle ticket on a gift basket drawing. Make an appt. at http://www.pleasegiveblood.org/ or call the office at 973-748-5459. Do you need to check your donor eligibility status visit the website at http://www.pleasegiveblood.org/ Please bring picture ID and remember to eat a healthy breakfast and drink plenty of fluids before donating!

KIWANIS CLUB of GLEN RIDGE
Jambalaya and Jazz Dinner! Time to get your tickets for the fabulous Fourth Annual Jambalaya and Jazz Dinner before it's sold out! Mark the calendar for Fri., Feb. 27th from 7 to 9pm at the GR Congregational Church at 193 Ridgewood Ave. This evening of fine food and marvelous jazz sounds in the spirit of Mardi Gras is brought to you by the Kiwanis Club of Glen Ridge, the GRHS and Middle School Jazz Bands, the GRHS Key Club and Middle School Builder's Club. A sumptuous New Orleans style feast, featuring Sausage or Vegetarian Jambalaya accompanied by fresh bread, salad, iced tea and lemonade will prepared by the GR Kiwanian Chefs! Coffee and dessert will follow. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for kids under 12. Funds raised this year will be for the benefit of the Middle & High School Music Programs. Call Lynne Oliver at 973-748-5206 to make your reservations.

GLEN RIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Glen Ridge Public Library, together with the entusiastic participation of our town's students, teachers, patrons and community members, is collecting pennies for the Pennies for Peace campaign during the month of February. The GR Public Library joins the NJ State Library, the NJ Library Association and libraries throughout the state to honor the legacy of Abraham Lincoln by participating in this cause. Lincoln believed in education, equality, opportunity and peace. Pennies for Peace donations will benefit The Central Asia Institute's effort to build school libraries in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This program was designed to broaden students' knowledge of the world around them and teach them the value of philanthropy, one penny at a time. Donations have topped $200 and with your help they will continue to grow. Look for the large decorated barrel in the Children's Room at the library. To learn more about Pennies for Peace visit http://www.penniesforpeace.org/. For more info about the Central Asia Institute go to http://www.ikat.org/. Please contact the library for any other information at 973-748-5482.

GOALS FOR LIFE, INC.
Goals For Life is sponsoring a Wine Tasting, featuring wine critic Gary Vaynerchuk from the Wine Library, Springfield, NJ Join the fun, sip good wines, munch on light hor d'oeuvres and raise funds for Women's Health Care Initiatives. Sat., Mar. 21st from 5 to 7pm at Fitzgerald's 1928 Tavern; Herman St. Tickets are $50. Purchase tickets online with PayPal. http://www.goalsforlife.org/winetasting. Or send a check with form at: http://www.goalsforlife.org/winetasting/winetasting.pdf. If you wish to conclude your sipping with dinner at Fitzgerald's please make reservations with them at 973-748-4702.

Glen Ridge Athletic Association
Spring Season Sign Ups are underway. Visit the GRAA website at http://www.graa.org/ for important details as well as to register online. Sports to be offered are Baseball and Softball for Grades Pre-K to 8th. Boys and Girls Lacrosse for Grades 1st through 8th and Tennis for Grades 1st through 8th. Come and join the fun!

GLEN RIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Lecture on E.P. Mitchell, founder of Glen Ridge and New York Editor who created the Science Fiction genre. Presented by Joan Hayes. Tues., Feb. 24th at 8pm at the Women's Club.

ROTARY CLUB OF GLEN RIDGE
The Rotary Club held its Annual Dictionary Distribution to all GR Third Graders on February 12th. Herb Addison reports that "nationwide and internationally, Rotary International has distributed over 9.5 million dictionaries to third graders since the program began in 1996". The effort in Glen Ridge began in 2001 and has been met with big Thank You cheers from our students.


News From...

GLEN RIDGE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Election News. The annual School Board/School Budget election will be held on Tues., Apr. 21, 2009. Important election related dates are as follows: Candidate petition filing deadline is Mar. 2, 2009. Voter registration deadline is Mar. 31, 2009. Absentee ballot application deadline is Apr. 14, 2009. Candidate kits for the BOE can be obtained at the Board Office at 12 High Street or downloaded from the NJ School Board Association website by visiting http://www.njsba.org/. Election forms and further information may be found at http://www.essexclerk.com/. More information about the GR School Budget will follow soon.

GLEN RIDGE BOARD OF EDUCATION SENDS NEWS FROM OUR SCHOOLS
Linden Avenue Students and their families just completed a successful food drive for the Human Needs Food Pantry in Montclair donating over 100 bags of food along with a $250 donation from the Linden Avenue Home and School Association. Moving into March Linden students will collect spare change for the "Pennies for Peace" program. Proceeds will benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Forest Avenue Students, their families and teachers will participate in "Empty Bowls Day" on Election Day, April 21st. This will be the culmination of a hunger awareness project funded by the GR Educational Foundation's response to a grant application by art teacher Julie Burns. There will be an evening concert featuring Forest students led by music teacher Rick Merino. Donations from this event will support Montclair's Human Needs Pantry.

Our second graders also paired with the Glen Ridge Golden Circle seniors' group to make lap robes to donate to hosptials and nursing homes. They have invited the seniors' to particiapte in the March 6th celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday where they will share Green Eggs and Ham and read to the Forest students.

Ridgewood Avenue School students participated in the "Pajama Party" supporting the Pajama Program this February. RAS students donated pajamas and books to children awaiting adoption. RAS Home and School Association created Valentine's baskets full of home baked goodies for those serving our community, including crossing guards, librarians and police officers.

Glen Ridge High School students are having ongoing visits with representatives from Habitat for Humanity to discuss the group's mission and outreach.

Members of the "Girls Learn" club recently hosted education advocates from India. They learned about the impoverished areas of India, where girls are subjected to arranged marriages before their teens or sent to work rather than school to earn family income. The girls' eyes were opened to the extreme sacrifices girls in poor Indian families make to gain a minimum education.

GR Police Department Child Safety Seat Inspection Program
NJ Law states that: Children up to 8 years or 80 lbs., must ride in a safety or booster seat in the rear of the vehicle. If there is no back seat, the child must sit in front secured by a safety or booster seat. The number one cause of death of children over 6 months old in the US is motor vehicle accidents. The proper use of child car seats is one of the simplest and most effective methods available for protecting our young childrens' lives should an unfortunate accident occur.

The GRPD continues its dedication to traffic and passenger safety by assigning Safety Technicians to the Essex County Child Car Seat Fitting Station. Located at 120 Dorsa Ave., Livingston (Volunteer Ambulance Corp.), inspections and fittings of child car seats are performed by Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians on Wednesdays, except major holidays, from 9am to 4pm. No appointment is necessary.

Alternatively, GR residents may call Police Officer Charles Roberts to arrange an appointment in town. Most in town appointments will be after 6pm. For more information, please call: 973-429-6898.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/

Forward this newsletter to the members of your organization. If you aren't the contact person, help us reach that person. We welcome and encourage all organizations to submit their news and notices of coming events and we will help spread the word. Look for our next issue in mid March. Deadline for submissions will be March 13th. Send your news to newsletter@grcca.org