Teachers
Awards Event invitations may be downloaded from the list below.
Downloadable 2008 Photo and Name Release form (Word)
Awards Event Invitations (PDF download)
April 5th Monmouth County
April 25th Atlantic County
May 2nd Ocean County
May 6th Middlesex County
May 8th Morris and Sussex Counties
May 13th Union and Essex Counties
May 15th Somerset, Hunterdon, Warren and Mercer Counties
May 21st Bergen and Passaic Counties
May 22nd Camden County
Order baseball tickets for your qualifying students...
Teachers: Each student who qualified for the program is eligible to receive a free ticket to one of the Celebrate NJ! ballgames listed below, however each free ticket must be confirmed and mailed back to us by parents before May 1st. Please send home an order form with each qualified student.
Qualifying Student Order Forms (PDF download)
June 2nd Lakewood BlueClaws
June 5th Somerset Patriots
June 6th Sussex Skyhawks
June 8th Atlantic City Surf
June 12th Trenton Thunder
June 14th NJ Jackals
June 17th Camden Riversharks
June 20th Newark Bears
...and invite your school out to show their support for your students!
This year we're inviting all students in your schools to come out and support your fourth grade students. Please distribute this order form to other teachers in your school to send home with their students.
Support Your Students Order Forms (PDF Download)
June 2nd Lakewood BlueClaws
June 5th Somerset Patriots
June 6th Sussex Skyhawks
June 8th Atlantic City Surf
June 12th Trenton Thunder
June 14th NJ Jackals
June 17th Camden Riversharks
June 20th Newark Bears
Teachers, Administrators, Librarians, Technology Teachers...
Thank you for your interest in the Celebrate NJ! School Program.
Already Registered, click here to update your class information and to upload your student articles for judging.
Template Letter to Parents (Word Format for editing)
October 18, 2007 Program Update (PDF)
November 26, 2007 Program Update (PDF)
December 13, 2007 Program Update (PDF)
Guidelines for Submitting Student Articles (PDF)
January 9, 2008 Program Update (PDF)
NEW! Celebrate NJ! Bookmarks -- Order or Print your own!
(Print your own-- 5 X 7 finished size)
Front Back

Contact us to order a quantity for your class (postage and handling fees apply).
WebQuest Editor Sheets -Word Format (Kathy Suk, Bethlehem Twp Schools)
WebQuest Planning Pages - Word Format (Kathy Suk, Bethlehem Twp Schools)
DOWNLOAD 2007-2008 PROGRAM OVERVIEW... choose a link below.
Word Format
PDF Version
WATCH THE VIDEO News 12 "In Our Schools" Interview
Part One: Inteview with Karen Hatcher of Celebrate NJ! (6 minutes)
Part Two: Karen Hatcher is joined by students from Chittick Elementary School (7 minutes)

Sorry, registration has closed. Please contact us for more information.
Profesores: La versión del texto del WebQuest está disponible ahora para los estudiantes en español. Para descargar, presione aquí.
Class Project Ideas and Additional Online Resources
In addition to student articles, we also encourage teachers to involve their students in "class projects" that use the Celebrate NJ! program resources. We will be accepting pictures and descriptions of your finished classroom projects to display on our website. Here are a few ideas and samples that you may use, or feel free to come up with your own creative ideas. (PDF format)
2007 Class Project Section
NJ Cake Project
Sample Class Newsletter
Ideas for Comics, Puzzles and Games
Additional Online Resources for Teachers and Students
Here's What Teachers Have to Say about the Program...
“As a media specialist, I do not get to teach subject areas in depth. Because of this, I really do appreciate Web Quests that are well organized and easy to navigate. I thought the Celebrate NJ Web Quest was really well done and my students agree. Those who were “reluctant” at the introduction of the assignment completely embraced it by the end because everything they needed to succeed was provided for them. The students enjoyed the assignment so much that they not only worked on it during their scheduled class lab times, but also came in after school, during free time, and at home, as well.
I really enjoyed watching the students get so excited about learning! Celebrate NJ reinforced so many important skills: reading, writing, research, history, critical thinking, oral presentation and computer application. It truly was a worthwhile program that I look forward to participating in again next year. Thank you for such a memorable experience. We’ll see you at the ballgame!”
-S. Novoshelski, New Milford Schools
“(The program) is going great, the kids are very interested in the WebQuest… I’m also having fun working on this unit and I think it’s just a terrific activity to help people appreciate what a super state we live in!”
-J. Zingaro, Berlin Community School, Camden, NJ
“Usually, the students learn about their county or their township. The Celebrate NJ school program allowed them to look into the entire state and learn about so many different things it has to offer. They thoroughly enjoyed it and are now looking forward to visiting so many different plances they didn’t know about before.”
-J. McCluskey, Alexandria Middle School, Pittstown, NJ
“It was a great experience for the kids. They were doing research and writing in a fun and exciting way.”
-C. Grabowski, Cove Road School, Hazlet, NJ
“The project is a fantastic idea! Fourth graders in NJ are required to learn about NJ, and this presents some interesting ways for students to learn about the state they live in. What I like best … is that the project covers a wide variety of topics. Thanks for initiating this project … thousands of people will benefit from this experience.”
-A. DiFilippo, Incarnation School, Trenton, NJ
“Great learning opportunity for students making connections between their own lives and where they live.”
-S. Brown, Mountain View School, Flanders, NJ
“Not only did the Celebrate NJ! program provide enrichment for my students, but it benefited them in so many ways in that it provided a different vehicle for learning. They thoroughly enjoyed doing the research and writing their articles.”
-Meghan Hodulik, Hillside School, Bridgewater, NJ
“At first, the students were less than thrilled about the research, but once they got involved, it was so exciting to watch their interest in the content take over. Suddenly, they were looking forward to finding out more about their particular subject and it wasn’t work anymore, but pure enjoyment.”
-L. Goetz, Sacred Heart School, S. Plainfield, NJ
“The children were able to look so much deeper into particular topics in such a way that the normal curriculum does not allow. They did extensive research and truly enjoyed seeing the fruits of their labor and how their hard work paid off.”
-P. Keane, Wannamassa Elementary School
“Thank you for organizing the lovely ceremony. It was nice for our girls to have the opportunity to read aloud the results of their research on New Jersey to their parents, classmates and guests. I know that we all look forward to seeing their articles published on the Celebrate NJ website. As a native Trentonian, I am grateful for the work you are doing to help others understand why we Celebrate New Jersey!”
-M.A. Hughes, Principal, Villa Victoria Academy, Ewing, NJ
“ Thank you for the opportunity to have the students engaged in an activity that they enjoyed doing. It was a pleasure to see them so excited about working on a task they hadn’t done before. It really opened their eyes to what New Jersey has to offer. We all appreciate the work you put into this and look forward to working with you next school year.”
-C. Heuser, Lanes Mill Elementary, Brick, NJ
“It was a wonderful learning opportunity for the students and myself. The cooperative experience produced our very own school newspaper written by fourth grade students.”
-M. Cornish, St Therese School, Succasunna, NJ
“Thank you for the tickets! I have to tell you that my students went wild with excitement when I announced they would each be getting two tickets. The students who had articles selected were doubly excited, as were their classmates. They cannot wait to see the articles featured in the special section of the Courier!”
-D. Fonder, Hillside School, Bridgewater, NJ
“From start to finish, it was a wonderful experience. My students got a lot out of the program and even those who have always complained about work, loved doing this project. I can’t tell you how many parents have expressed their approval of this program.”
-K. Pietruszki, Sacred Heart School, So. Plainfield, NJ
Evaluation Tool
Teacher Evaluation
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This Evaluation Model is offered as a tool to assist you in the assesment of your students work. It was created by a 4th grade teacher. You are free to use it as it is or to create your own. |
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1: Beginning |
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2: Developing |
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3: Accomplished |
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4: Exemplary |
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Historical Accuracy |
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Very little of the historical information was accurate and/or in chronological order. |
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Most of the historical information was accurate and in chronological order. |
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Almost all historical information appeared to be accurate and in chronological order. |
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All historical information appeared to be accurate and in chronological order. |
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Articles - Purpose |
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Less than 75% of the articles establish a clear purpose in the lead paragraph and demonstrate a clear understanding of the topic. |
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75%-84% of the articles establish a clear purpose in the lead paragraph and demonstrate a clear understanding of the topic. |
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85%-94% of the articles establish a clear purpose in the lead paragraph and demonstrate a clear understanding of the topic. |
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90%-100% of the articles establish a clear purpose in the lead paragraph and demonstrate a clear understanding of the topic. |
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Articles - Interest |
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The article does not
contain facts or
figures that might
make it interesting
to read. |
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The article contains
some facts or figures
but is marginally
interesting to read. |
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The article contains facts, figures and/or word choices that make the article interesting to readers. |
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The article contains facts, figures and/or word choices that make the article exceptionally interesting to readers. |
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Presentation
"optional" |
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The newspage is messy or very poorlydesigned. It is not attractive. |
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The newspage is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy. |
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The newspage is attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness. |
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The newspage is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness. |
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Spelling & Proofreading |
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Many spelling or grammatical errors remain in the final copy of the newspaper. |
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Several spelling or grammatical errors remain in the final copy of the newspaper. |
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No more than 3 spellingor grammatical errors remain after one or more people (in addition to the typist) read and corrected the newspaper. |
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No spelling or grammatical errors remain after one or more people (in addition to the typist) read and corrected the newspaper. |
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