Education HQ

Students from the Young Adult Program report about CTC programs, initiatives, and student experiences.

May 2025 - CTC from a Student's Perspective

As an emotional young autistic woman, my life is basically like a huge roller coaster- it has ups and downs, though a lot more than a typical person my age. This was especially the case before I found Celebrate the Children.

Prior to this school, I was through three different high schools, the first being my local public school. None of them were a good fit for me. Pretty much all three of them had strict teachers, strict rules, and a challenging environment all around. After leaving the last school for not being supportive and permissive with the students, my mom looked for a new school by having us tour two. I didn’t like the first one for being too boring and quiet. We then looked into the second one, which was CTC.

We toured the school, and I was amazed by how supportive and friendly the environment was. I was accepted into the school, and began my first day there in early March. I have enjoyed every day so far. I love that the teachers are willing to accept me for who I am, the fact that the school has nice facilities, the fun things we do at the school, and so many other aspects of it. For example, I really love sitting around with everyone and talking during lunch.

It may have been tough trying to get into a new environment, but it was definitely worth it for me.

Written by Y.A.P. student Kendall.

April 2025 - Connect, Inspire, GROW!

As the warm weather approaches, the students are getting the garden ready at CTC. This year it has been a team effort, with the YAP agriculture internship teaming up with support from the younger grades to clear the garden beds, clean up, and set up new, organic soil.

Judy’s class was amazing at learning how to use different tools and enjoyed doing heavy work. Judy observed that, “It was interesting to see some of my more energetic students concentrating on a task. It’s sometimes much more pleasant to do an outdoor task, I think, than indoor ones.”

The agriculture internship in the Young Adult Program has been starting seeds indoors with the help of some high school students.
A high school student, Menachem, commented that, he is "happy to see the soil resting before a time of growth, because it is important to balance the two.” The agriculture internship has also had the opportunity to transfer their gardening skills in the community as volunteer members of the Denville Beautification Committee. Through the committee, YAP students mulch, plant, and beautify important areas such as downtown gardens
and the “Welcome to Denville” sign.

Next week, Stella’s class is scheduled to put seeds in the ground of the CTC garden, and we regularly have drop in visits from students of all ages.
The team effort this year has been a great chance to connect students across grades and inspire a love for agriculture.
We can’t see what is going to GROW!!!

Written with Support from Y.A.P. Student Moishe,
A Key Member of the Agriculture internship and the Denville Beautification Committee

March 2025 - Neurodiversity Walk CBI

Ms. Judy's kindergarten class has been using their CBI time to visit businesses in Downtown Denville. On these trips, students hand out Valentinesthey have made, and staff have been sharing walk sponsorship packets for the upcoming Neurodiversity Walk in April. They were happy to report that they got warm welcomes (and some donations) from businesses such as A&R interiors, King's Palace, Oriental Express, Beignets, Evolve, Denville Cleaners, Cafe Crevier, Chocolatine, and Poke Bowl!

Judy's students spent time creating beautiful Valentine's before their first trip to give as a thank you to the businesses. For their second round of visits, Ms. Katie's class joined in the fun and the students gave out Mardi Gras masks this time. The CBIs have been a great social experience, and also very educational. The elementary teachers used the opportunity to practice traffic safety skills while walking around town. Judy's class has been a shining example of enthusiasm for the Neurodiversity walk, and creating meaningful community based instruction. Thank you Judy, Katie, and all of the generous donors!

Interview and research conducted by Y.A.P. student Lillian

February 2025 - Coffee Corner Internship

Coffee Corner is an internship done by the Y.A.P. students in the school kitchen. They serve Cold Brew Coffee, both regular and decaf coffee.
Our school staff seem to enjoy the coffee a lot.

They also serve cookies and scones that the students make.
It’s helped us Y.A.P. students learn how to make and serve coffee.
It’s just like making and serving in a real coffee shop, like Starbucks.
We serve all this in the mornings, from 10-11:30 AM.

Our staff member, Wendy Wollny, describes the Coffee Corner as
“A wonderful opportunity for the students to interact with the staff”.
Andrew Reynolds, one who runs the Coffee Corner, said, “The idea for Coffee Corner was Keri Sharpe’s, and we're both big fans of good coffee.
We know that there's a lot of staff at C.T.C. that like it too. So we figured we could help everyone stay caffeinated with some delicious coffee,
and serve some freshly baked goods to go along with it.”

Written by Y.A.P. student Matthew.

January 2025 - Cooking with Chef Rob

Cooking with Chef Rob is something new here at CTC. It is in the main building in a new state of the art kitchen located by the gym. Teachers can schedule class time or individual times to cook with Chef Rob. He teaches kitchen safety and how to cook safely. He makes sure all kids can participate and he always has safe ingredients. He is fun and always makes sure that we are supported and feel accomplished. I interviewed YAP student Josh and he had this to say about Cooking with Chef Rob, 'I love to cook with Chef Rob, it is my favorite class. Eating the food we make is my favorite part.' I have also had the opportunity to cook one-on-one with Chef Rob and it makes me feel good and accomplished. I am always looking forward to getting to cook with Chef Rob. Chef Rob is an amazing addition to Celebrate The Children and I hope all students get the opportunity to cook with him.

Written by Y.A.P. student Isha.
Photographed by Y.A.P. student Juliana.

December 2024 - CTC's First Thanksgiving Day Parade

On the day before Thanksgiving all the kids from the main building had a parade around the school. The parade was in the morning for Thanksgiving.
It was fun because all the kids had balloons and signs for Thanksgiving. All the people were happy and I was happy. This was the first parade like this at CTC. We are thankful for the teacher Rachel Cope for planning this! A funny costume was that some of the kids were dressed as turkeys. That made me laugh. Something I want people to know about the parade and something I think the day proves: don’t think that we can’t have fun because we can!

Written and photographed by
Y.A.P. student Jordan.

November 2024 - Y.A.P. Composting Program

Composting is good for the earth because it helps the biodegradable bottles to break down easier by getting the junk out of the ocean to protect the animals. So, Why should we compost? Composting is an excellent way to reduce waste, benefit the garden and help the earth. Food scraps that would normally end up in a landfill can instead be included in your compost. This reduces greenhouse gasses and also improves soil structure, allowing the water and air to flow freely and prevent erosion. Improved soil structure also reduces carbon dioxide emissions. Compost is also good for your plants. The food scraps as well as twigs, paper and lawn trimmings, provide nutrients that are far better than a chemical fertilizer. And the improved soil structure ensures that the nutrients stay in the soil, nourishing the plants. So, what can't you put in your compost? Any plastic of course as this does not break down, but also food scraps that might attract pests, such as dairy, animal bones, and cakes and cookies. Also large pieces of wood that might take a long time to break down. You may wonder where you can compost? You can do this at home, of course. But here is some great news! You will now be able to compost here at school too! The Young Adult Program’s Agriculture Program will be collecting compost materials. Stay tuned for more on how you can contribute to this endeavor, and help the earth and our garden.

Written by Y.A.P. student Juliana.
Photos taken by Y.A.P. students Dylan and Kevin.

October 2024 - Y.A.P. Internships

The Young Adult Program started off the school year with their first ever job fair for internships. Students tried out each of the in-house internship areas including Mechanical, Kitchen and Agriculture. After giving each one a try, students were encouraged to rank their choices based on their personal strengths and interests. Seeing the interns take charge of their learning and to advocate for themselves was a valuable experience for staff and students. Josh (pictured) is new to the Y.A.P. this year and has whole-heartedly embraced this learning exploration.

Can you guess which internship he picked based on these pictures?
If you see a YAP student, feel free to ask them what internship they selected and WHY!

Written by Erin Pollio,
Structured Learning Experience Coordinator
at Celebrate the Children