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Link staff had an incredibly busy and productive two weeks at the end of August preparing for the new school year! They had meet-and-greet sessions between veteran and new teachers, group meetings on procedures, school culture and instruction, subject area “boot camps,” a day-long retreat for team building, a classroom preparation team, and more. These two weeks built tremendous momentum, putting our staff in a great place to successfully support our scholars starting from Day 1 of the new school year!

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LINK’S SUMMER PROGRAMMING BEGINS!

Link opened the doors for its vibrant summer programming on July 1. Incoming 5^th grade scholars arrived eager and excited, albeit nervous, to Link’s Halsey Street Campus for the annual month-long Link Summer Academy. Students spend the month acclimating to Link’s culture and procedures, meeting their teachers and each other, and strengthening their skills. For staff, the program provides time for student assessment, so teachers learn what each child needs to succeed during the upcoming school year. A fun element added this summer: an introduction to the performing arts.

Additionally, Link is continuing CampLink, a program launched last summer, for rising first, second, and third grade students who need academic support. The goal of the program is to close learning gaps, strengthen academics, and build self-esteem and confidence in learning. After the first week at the Pennsylvania Avenue campus, we transport students to Pingry School’s Pottersville campus which provides comfortable classroom space and safe outdoor experiences for our young scholars throughout the month of July.

To provide academic support to rising 8^th graders, Link established the Link STEAM Academy this summer. This half-day program offered from July 1 to July 26 focuses on math, science, and creative writing to bridge gaps in knowledge and ability students may have in these subjects and to help prepare them for the entrance exams they will take for high school placement in the fall.

Link’s eighty-one 8th grade scholars graduated in a lovely ceremony on the evening of June 20, 2024 and are now headed off to great high schools. We are proud to see them continue their educational journey, moving on to independent day and boarding schools, Catholic schools, Newark magnet schools, and Essex County technical schools. Students who applied to tuition-based schools earned nearly $5 million in scholarships and financial aid. Congratulations to our grads and their families and best wishes for continued success in high school!

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7th grade scholars spent the day in the sun learning about the rich ecological diversity at Sandy Hook, a peninsula along the NJ shore. They used seine nets to observe local marine life and learned about the human impact on the ocean’s shoreline.

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During Environmental Justice days at Link, our K-6 scholars students participated in interactive workshops on worm composting with an organization called Java’s Compost from Orange, NJ. This was an exciting opportunity for our students to deepen their knowledge of composting and clean eating. Students were fascinated by how worms turn food into soil and most enjoyed holding the worms in heir hands!

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Link recently hosted a reunion dinner party for its Class of 2020 to celebrate their graduation from high school. The event was a wonderful opportunity for them to reconnect with each other and with Link teachers and staff, reminiscing about cherished memories and sharing high school stories before embarking on their college or employment adventures. Link had been hosting this event for many years for high school graduates until the pandemic, and we were thrilled to revive it now in honor of these alumni. The Class of 2020, unfortunately, missed out on the usual Link graduation festivities—the 8th grade dance, graduates’ breakfast, and the graduation ceremony—when the world shut down in 2020.Despite the challenges they faced with the pandemic, they showed remarkable resilience, and were so excited to be able to be together again! Congratulations Class of 2020!

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