How many sides does a cube have? What organ removes waste from the blood? What style of art is Picasso famous for? How many Senators are in the Senate?
Fifth graders on the Orange, Red, Yellow, Green and Blue Teams helped their parents answer these and other questions at the “RU Smarter Than A Fifth Grader” event at Orange Avenue School on March 30.
Over 200 parents and friends cheered on their favorite students and parents. People in the audience wore their school colors and waved signs for the Orange Team from Orange Avenue School, the Red Team from Livingston Avenue School, the Yellow Team from Hillside Avenue School, the Green Team from Brookside Place School and the Blue Team from Lincoln/Franklin School in Garwood.
Bernie Wagenblast served as MC for the third year in a row and kept the evening lively, educational, entertaining and fun.
Joe Carney of Cranford Rotary noted that “This is the sixth year that Cranford Rotary sponsored the event, and for the first time we are joined by co-sponsors TD Bank of Cranford and think d’sign print, also of Cranford.” Sponsors provided prizes for the student participants and door prizes. Mr. Carney added that “for the first time, each school will also receive $200 for a project of their choice.”
Students had gone through a preliminary round of testing in order to advance to the final event. Each school had a parent representative answering the questions with the aid of the student participants, just like the TV program. Questions were drawn up by the Principals and Assistant-principals from each of the schools.
Contestants included Emma Donnelly, Ethan Lanier, Alex Wetherell and Mr Donnelly from Brookside Place; Peter Hrycak, Steven Marotta, Molly Sarton, Allison Schubert, and Mr. Sarton from Livingston Avenue; Nathaniel Fossella, Angelia Knight, Ronan McCoid, Joseph Sdao, and Mrs. McCoid from Orange Avenue; Geoffrey Gretta, Ethan Klein, Lukas Ruby, and Mr. Gretta and from Hillside Avenue; and Paul Castro, Reilley Peck, Kyle Perednia, Madison Tabares, and Mr. Carney and Mr. Peck from Garwood.
The Rotary Club of Cranford was established in 1923 and serves the Cranford community through service projects, sponsorships and scholarships. Close to $250,000 in scholarship funds have been awarded over the last twenty years. Past beneficiaries of other Rotary support include Cranford Family Care, Cranford United Way, Cranford Historical Society, Cranford PAL, the Cerebral Palsy League and the Rotary International Foundation. The Cranford Rotary Club meets every Thursday morning at 7:45 am at the Cranford Community Center. Any business or professional person, active or retired, is cordially invited to attend our meeting. For additional information, please contact Membership Chair Mike Flynn at 908 272-2827.
