Cherry Hill Sun

Author: atwiford

  • Library occupies teens with after-hours programs

    Summer at the township library can be appealing to teens and young adults, who have more time to read and participate in activities outside school extracurriculars.

    Among the offerings they’re attracted to is the library’s after-hours programs, held about three to four times a year.

    “They’re really special because they’re after the library’s closed,” explained Jasmine Riel, teen services librarian, of the programs. “It’s just us and a couple staff members and it creates a very unique experience for them in the library.”

    While some of the programs are planned by Riel, most are created and planned by the library’s teen advisory board, an exclusive group of volunteers who have to apply and interview for their place on the board. The most recent after-hours program, on June 27, was a themed escape room planned by member Amelia Siegel with a certain movie in mind. 

    “She came up with it entirely herself,” Riel noted. “So she planned it. She wanted to do it. She said to me, ‘Jasmine, I want to do the next after-hours program and I want it to be “Hunger Games” themed …’ So she planned everything herself.” 

    The escape room was originally planned for April, but put off because of construction on the library’s upper level, where the children and teen sections are located. Riel worked on finding the June date so the teens didn’t have to wait for fall.

    “We knew the ‘Hunger Games’ would be a big hit,” Riel noted, “especially with the new movie coming out (in 2026). And especially over the summer, when teens and kids have more time to read, the most popular series, like ‘The Hunger Games,’ ‘Twilight’ and stuff like that tend to be checked out all the time.” 

    Inspired by Suzanne Collins’ “Hunger Games” books, the escape room had a variety of puzzles with answers that involved trivia and knowledge from the novels. If accurate, each answer gave the two teams a new clue. 

    “We know teens love those books,” Riel pointed out. “So it’s pretty easy to create an escape room that will hook them and make them want to come.”

    After completing a puzzle, the teams found a volunteer to check their answers so they could get clues for the next one. Puzzles included searches of words and names inspired by the industries in the “Hunger Games” series.

    “She (Siegel) designed it in a way so that they had to complete as many of the puzzles around the library as possible to be able,” Riel said, “to get the most clues to be able to solve the final puzzle.”

    Siegel tested her escape room with friends in advance to ensure its difficulty level was appropriate and that it would engage participants. Riel had prizes ready for the participants at the end, including necklaces and stickers inspired by “The Hunger Games.”

    Riel emphasized the importance of and impact of teens planning their own programs.

    “It’s different when a teen runs a program for teens, as opposed to me as an adult running a program for teens …” she observed. “There is a very special connection between a teen leader and teen participants that I really try to embrace and create opportunities for that kind of special connection as much as possible,”  

    The next after-hours program will take place in August and be themed around the movie “Night at the Museum.”

  • Library occupies teens with after-hours programs

    Summer at the township library can be appealing to teens and young adults, who have more time to read and participate in activities outside school extracurriculars.

    Among the offerings they’re attracted to is the library’s after-hours programs, held about three to four times a year.

    “They’re really special because they’re after the library’s closed,” explained Jasmine Riel, teen services librarian, of the programs. “It’s just us and a couple staff members and it creates a very unique experience for them in the library.”

    While some of the programs are planned by Riel, most are created and planned by the library’s teen advisory board, an exclusive group of volunteers who have to apply and interview for their place on the board. The most recent after-hours program, on June 27, was a themed escape room planned by member Amelia Siegel with a certain movie in mind. 

    “She came up with it entirely herself,” Riel noted. “So she planned it. She wanted to do it. She said to me, ‘Jasmine, I want to do the next after-hours program and I want it to be “Hunger Games” themed …’ So she planned everything herself.” 

    The escape room was originally planned for April, but put off because of construction on the library’s upper level, where the children and teen sections are located. Riel worked on finding the June date so the teens didn’t have to wait for fall.

    “We knew the ‘Hunger Games’ would be a big hit,” Riel noted, “especially with the new movie coming out (in 2026). And especially over the summer, when teens and kids have more time to read, the most popular series, like ‘The Hunger Games,’ ‘Twilight’ and stuff like that tend to be checked out all the time.” 

    Inspired by Suzanne Collins’ “Hunger Games” books, the escape room had a variety of puzzles with answers that involved trivia and knowledge from the novels. If accurate, each answer gave the two teams a new clue. 

    “We know teens love those books,” Riel pointed out. “So it’s pretty easy to create an escape room that will hook them and make them want to come.”

    After completing a puzzle, the teams found a volunteer to check their answers so they could get clues for the next one. Puzzles included searches of words and names inspired by the industries in the “Hunger Games” series.

    “She (Siegel) designed it in a way so that they had to complete as many of the puzzles around the library as possible to be able,” Riel said, “to get the most clues to be able to solve the final puzzle.”

    Siegel tested her escape room with friends in advance to ensure its difficulty level was appropriate and that it would engage participants. Riel had prizes ready for the participants at the end, including necklaces and stickers inspired by “The Hunger Games.”

    Riel emphasized the importance of and impact of teens planning their own programs.

    “It’s different when a teen runs a program for teens, as opposed to me as an adult running a program for teens …” she observed. “There is a very special connection between a teen leader and teen participants that I really try to embrace and create opportunities for that kind of special connection as much as possible,”  

    The next after-hours program will take place in August and be themed around the movie “Night at the Museum.”

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  • ‘Traveling museum’ of art goes to school

    Artistic expression and the appreciation of visual arts can be vitally important for the development of school-age children, but not all students have access to art appreciation education.

    To remedy that, Art Goes to School of Delaware Valley brings arts instruction to nearly 165,000 elementary-school students in the region. Cherry Hill has its own chapter of the Philadelphia-based nonprofit, which has been in operation for 50 years.

    The organization’s volunteers go into classes from first to fifth grade to talk about art works, artists, mediums and forms, usually in a class art period with a teacher. Artistic reproductions are part of the lessons and are provided by Arts Goes to School, which is financed by grants and utilizes poster-board recreations of paintings; drawings; photographs; murals; and scaled-down, three-dimensional sculpture replicas.

    Amy Bash is the grant manager for the organization and has been one of its volunteers for several years.

    “We’re kind of a traveling museum …” she explained. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for kids who may not have been exposed to art, literally, from around the world, from caveman art to modern art to local artists.”

    Art Goes to School’s goal is to help children develop 10 main skills through its teaching: observation; communication and language skills; visual communication; problem solving; imagination; making connections; learning about other cultures; collaboration; curiosity; and self-awareness.

    Because the program is run by volunteers, it’s free to students and school districts. Art Goes to School operates during the academic year, with the township chapter beginning its meetings around the time school begins in September, then meeting once a week through December.

    Discussions at the weekly sessions involve discussing the portfolio the organization has given the chapter for that year. Each chapter member chooses an artist or artwork, researches it on their own time, then addresses how to best present the choice for various grade levels.

    “They discuss how to talk about the art with the students,” Bash noted. “There’s a very big difference between a special-ed class versus first grade versus fifth grade, and their knowledge about art and what type of art they may have been working on in the classrooms, so we customize the presentations.”

    Portfolios are chosen and created by an Art Goes to School formal committee and rotate between the approximately 30 chapters in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. They feature a mix of various art styles and forms. 

    No experience or specific expertise is needed to become a volunteer educator with the nonprofit, which provides all necessary information and arranges all meeting places and classes.

    “You don’t have to have an art degree,” Bash emphasized. “You don’t have to have been a teacher.”

    Each instructor generally teaches about 10 classes in the academic year, with each one taking about 40 minutes.

    “It’s not like you have to meet every day or every month throughout the year,” Bash offered. “Typically, we’re off when school is off as well. So it’s not a huge imposition in time. But it’s extremely rewarding.”

    Bash went on to say that participation by volunteers can be a rewarding experience given the way they introduce art to students.

    “The great thing about Art Goes to School,” she remarked, “is that while you can’t necessarily touch or talk out loud a lot in the museum, you can speak your heart and your mind, you can share your thoughts and you can touch the samples that we bring in.”

    Volunteers also get an opportunity to socialize.

    “Everyone is really nice, creative, knowledgeable and committed members of our chapter …” Bash observed. “We’re always looking to bring new people into the fold so that we can perpetuate this truly amazing benefit that the community and the school system receives.”

    Anyone interested in volunteering for Art Goes to School can contact Libby DeLuca, the Cherry Hill chapter chair, at libbyd67@comcast.net.

  • ‘Traveling museum’ of art goes to school

    Artistic expression and the appreciation of visual arts can be vitally important for the development of school-age children, but not all students have access to art appreciation education.

    To remedy that, Art Goes to School of Delaware Valley brings arts instruction to nearly 165,000 elementary-school students in the region. Cherry Hill has its own chapter of the Philadelphia-based nonprofit, which has been in operation for 50 years.

    The organization’s volunteers go into classes from first to fifth grade to talk about art works, artists, mediums and forms, usually in a class art period with a teacher. Artistic reproductions are part of the lessons and are provided by Arts Goes to School, which is financed by grants and utilizes poster-board recreations of paintings; drawings; photographs; murals; and scaled-down, three-dimensional sculpture replicas.

    Amy Bash is the grant manager for the organization and has been one of its volunteers for several years.

    “We’re kind of a traveling museum …” she explained. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for kids who may not have been exposed to art, literally, from around the world, from caveman art to modern art to local artists.”

    Art Goes to School’s goal is to help children develop 10 main skills through its teaching: observation; communication and language skills; visual communication; problem solving; imagination; making connections; learning about other cultures; collaboration; curiosity; and self-awareness.

    Because the program is run by volunteers, it’s free to students and school districts. Art Goes to School operates during the academic year, with the township chapter beginning its meetings around the time school begins in September, then meeting once a week through December.

    Discussions at the weekly sessions involve discussing the portfolio the organization has given the chapter for that year. Each chapter member chooses an artist or artwork, researches it on their own time, then addresses how to best present the choice for various grade levels.

    “They discuss how to talk about the art with the students,” Bash noted. “There’s a very big difference between a special-ed class versus first grade versus fifth grade, and their knowledge about art and what type of art they may have been working on in the classrooms, so we customize the presentations.”

    Portfolios are chosen and created by an Art Goes to School formal committee and rotate between the approximately 30 chapters in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. They feature a mix of various art styles and forms. 

    No experience or specific expertise is needed to become a volunteer educator with the nonprofit, which provides all necessary information and arranges all meeting places and classes.

    “You don’t have to have an art degree,” Bash emphasized. “You don’t have to have been a teacher.”

    Each instructor generally teaches about 10 classes in the academic year, with each one taking about 40 minutes.

    “It’s not like you have to meet every day or every month throughout the year,” Bash offered. “Typically, we’re off when school is off as well. So it’s not a huge imposition in time. But it’s extremely rewarding.”

    Bash went on to say that participation by volunteers can be a rewarding experience given the way they introduce art to students.

    “The great thing about Art Goes to School,” she remarked, “is that while you can’t necessarily touch or talk out loud a lot in the museum, you can speak your heart and your mind, you can share your thoughts and you can touch the samples that we bring in.”

    Volunteers also get an opportunity to socialize.

    “Everyone is really nice, creative, knowledgeable and committed members of our chapter …” Bash observed. “We’re always looking to bring new people into the fold so that we can perpetuate this truly amazing benefit that the community and the school system receives.”

    Anyone interested in volunteering for Art Goes to School can contact Libby DeLuca, the Cherry Hill chapter chair, at libbyd67@comcast.net.

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  • ‘It mattered so much’

    Cherry Hill High School East graduated its class of 2025 on June 20 at Temple University’s Liacouras Center in Philadelphia in a ceremony that featured 19 valedictorians.

    Students lined up in bright red robes and moved in single file groups to take their seats in the rows of folding chairs after an 11:30 a.m. start. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by graduate Ethan Barroway and the national anthem was played and sung by the CHHSE Symphony Orchestra and choirs.

    Photos by Abigail Twiford
    Cherry Hill High School East graduates enter the Liacouras Center at Temple University in Philadelphia before the ceremony.

    Graduate Isabelle Berger then delivered the ceremony’s opening address.

    “I’m definitely still in denial that I’m going to have to do my own laundry in a few months,” said Isabele Berger of how quickly high school went by.

    She addressed how quickly high school went by and advised the graduating class to savor the moment and appreciate the good times they had in four years.

    “Finally, we were about to soak up the last few weeks and months and days of our high-school careers,” Berger said. “And now standing up here today, I’m definitely still in denial that I’m going to have to do my own laundry in a few months.”

    Student government association president Manar Hadi focused on how the graduates should not leave behind the hard work and determination that got them through high school, even as they move on to an uncertain future.

    “This may be the last time,” he noted, “however, it is not a departure from the grit that has brought you here. Continue forward.”

    Student government association president Manar Hadi gives his speech.

    Senior class president Jessica Lazaroiu then delivered a speech focused on what she would do differently if she could relive her high-school experience, a question she was asked by an administrator two weeks before the ceremony.

    “I wouldn’t change a thing,” she remarked. “Not because it was easy or perfect, but because it was ours.”

    Each of the school’s multiple valedictorians had the opportunity to write a speech celebrating their achievements in this chapter of their lives, with all of them printed in the ceremony’s program. Only one valedictorian chosen by lottery, Arden Leslie, actually read her speech.

    She began by joking about everyone wearing the same outfit: a bright red graduation gown with tassel. She then reflected on how far the class has come from their first days as freshmen at East to graduates about to head into the workforce, the military or college.

    The assistant principal for the class of 2025, George Zografos, then took the stage to recognize military service candidates, and class advisors Sharon Mills and Jodi Rinehart presented awards.

    Advisors for the Class of 2025, Jodi Rinehart (left) and Sharon Mills address the class they had advised over the past year.

    “If you ever need us, we will be here for you,” Zografos promised the graduates. “Being a Cougar means that you will fight for what is right, do the right thing when no one’s looking, and will always be my scholars. Best of luck in everything you do.” 

    Two songs were performed by the school’s combined choirs: “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield and “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” by Peter Christian Lutkin.

    Aaralyn Camp then gave the senior address. Her speech noted the countdown that had been in the background of all of the graduates’ lives since the start of their senior year, with her friends and peers often noting that it would be the last time they would do something together as a high-school class and the fear that came with it that she wasn’t doing enough to remember everything.

    “But that fear, that ache in our chests when we think about the end, is a testament,” she stated. “A testament to our love for the school and the community held within it … If I wasn’t sad about it ending, it would mean that none of it mattered. But it did. It mattered so much.”

    School Superintendent Dr. Kwame Morton gave his own address to the class of 2025 and certified them as having completed all necessary criteria to receive their diplomas. Board of education president Gina Winters then officially accepted the class.

    Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kwame Morton gives his address to the senior class before certifying them as graduates.
    Gina Winters, board of education president, accepts the class of 2025 as graduates.

    Diplomas were then handed to graduates as their names were called and they walked across the stage and down its steps to return to their seats.

    The closing address was given by Madeleine Pierlott, who asked her fellow graduates to take time and appreciate the last moments they would all spend together in the same building.

    “Let’s take one minute to cherish this moment,” she noted, “the last time we’ll all be together as the class of 2025.” said Pierlott.

  • ‘It mattered so much’

    Cherry Hill High School East graduated its class of 2025 on June 20 at Temple University’s Liacouras Center in Philadelphia in a ceremony that featured 19 valedictorians.

    Students lined up in bright red robes and moved in single file groups to take their seats in the rows of folding chairs after an 11:30 a.m. start. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by graduate Ethan Barroway and the national anthem was played and sung by the CHHSE Symphony Orchestra and choirs.

    Photos by Abigail Twiford
    Cherry Hill High School East graduates enter the Liacouras Center at Temple University in Philadelphia before the ceremony.

    Graduate Isabelle Berger then delivered the ceremony’s opening address.

    “I’m definitely still in denial that I’m going to have to do my own laundry in a few months,” said Isabele Berger of how quickly high school went by.

    She addressed how quickly high school went by and advised the graduating class to savor the moment and appreciate the good times they had in four years.

    “Finally, we were about to soak up the last few weeks and months and days of our high-school careers,” Berger said. “And now standing up here today, I’m definitely still in denial that I’m going to have to do my own laundry in a few months.”

    Student government association president Manar Hadi focused on how the graduates should not leave behind the hard work and determination that got them through high school, even as they move on to an uncertain future.

    “This may be the last time,” he noted, “however, it is not a departure from the grit that has brought you here. Continue forward.”

    Student government association president Manar Hadi gives his speech.

    Senior class president Jessica Lazaroiu then delivered a speech focused on what she would do differently if she could relive her high-school experience, a question she was asked by an administrator two weeks before the ceremony.

    “I wouldn’t change a thing,” she remarked. “Not because it was easy or perfect, but because it was ours.”

    Each of the school’s multiple valedictorians had the opportunity to write a speech celebrating their achievements in this chapter of their lives, with all of them printed in the ceremony’s program. Only one valedictorian chosen by lottery, Arden Leslie, actually read her speech.

    She began by joking about everyone wearing the same outfit: a bright red graduation gown with tassel. She then reflected on how far the class has come from their first days as freshmen at East to graduates about to head into the workforce, the military or college.

    The assistant principal for the class of 2025, George Zografos, then took the stage to recognize military service candidates, and class advisors Sharon Mills and Jodi Rinehart presented awards.

    Advisors for the Class of 2025, Jodi Rinehart (left) and Sharon Mills address the class they had advised over the past year.

    “If you ever need us, we will be here for you,” Zografos promised the graduates. “Being a Cougar means that you will fight for what is right, do the right thing when no one’s looking, and will always be my scholars. Best of luck in everything you do.” 

    Two songs were performed by the school’s combined choirs: “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield and “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” by Peter Christian Lutkin.

    Aaralyn Camp then gave the senior address. Her speech noted the countdown that had been in the background of all of the graduates’ lives since the start of their senior year, with her friends and peers often noting that it would be the last time they would do something together as a high-school class and the fear that came with it that she wasn’t doing enough to remember everything.

    “But that fear, that ache in our chests when we think about the end, is a testament,” she stated. “A testament to our love for the school and the community held within it … If I wasn’t sad about it ending, it would mean that none of it mattered. But it did. It mattered so much.”

    School Superintendent Dr. Kwame Morton gave his own address to the class of 2025 and certified them as having completed all necessary criteria to receive their diplomas. Board of education president Gina Winters then officially accepted the class.

    Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kwame Morton gives his address to the senior class before certifying them as graduates.
    Gina Winters, board of education president, accepts the class of 2025 as graduates.

    Diplomas were then handed to graduates as their names were called and they walked across the stage and down its steps to return to their seats.

    The closing address was given by Madeleine Pierlott, who asked her fellow graduates to take time and appreciate the last moments they would all spend together in the same building.

    “Let’s take one minute to cherish this moment,” she noted, “the last time we’ll all be together as the class of 2025.” said Pierlott.