Just like Jacques Cousteau

Eight-year-old Ryan O’Connor with teacher Karen Dakak.

Several Matheny students recently visited the HealthQuest Fitness center in Flemington, NJ, to experience a “Jacques Cousteau” lesson that included science, language arts, health, physical education and mathematics. Among the activities were:

• Learning about the habitats of animals and plants and ways that humans might harm those habitats.

• Using props and objects to develop spatial and coordination skills.

• Using equipment to see and feel some of the things Jacques Cousteau did during his times of exploration.

• Developing and refining gross motor skills.

HealthQuest is a family fitness, wellness and athletic facility. In addition to aquatics, it offers dance, gymnastics and martial arts. The visit there by Matheny students is an example of how skills and behavior learned in school are practiced during interactive trips to various community resources.

Eight-year-old Patrick Conmy with his mother, Kerry.

Sussex/Passaic Community College nursing student Mitchell Klein, center, reviews a patient’s chart with Matheny nurse Carrie Fordham, left, and Sussex/Passaic CC nursing instructor Linda Zenkert.

To help ensure that there will be  a steady supply of nurses trained in the care of children and adults with special needs, we sponsor nursing programs at three area schools: Sussex/Passaic Community College in Newton, Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg and Warren County Community College in Washington. These nursing students are also a source of recruitment for Matheny’s nursing department.

Nursing at Matheny is a rewarding experience. Our focus is on maintaining patients’ wellness so they can benefit fully in our therapy, education, recreation, community and fine arts programs. Because Matheny’s patients’ needs are complex, our nurses have to be competent in a broad spectrum of practice applications.

Karen Deland received her award from WDHA's Terrie Carr.

Matheny School teacher Karen Deland was one of 18 New Jersey teachers honored on March 13 as part of WDHA/WMTR’s Teachers Who Rock class of 2012. Deland received her award from WDHA midday personality Terrie Carr at a special banquet held at Ravello Elegant Weddings & Banquets in East Hanover, NJ. The awards were presented because the Greater Media radio stations feel excellent teachers aren’t receiving adequate recognition for their important contribution to society.

Deland first taught at Matheny in 1979, leaving in 1980 to accept a teaching position in the Franklin Township Public School District in Quakertown. After earning a law degree and raising a family, she returned to Matheny in 2009 and was named Matheny’s Educator of the Year in 2010.

The keys to her success, she says, are flexibility and patience. “You have to be flexible in all aspects,” she says. “You just kind of have to roll with it. Nothing is set in stone.”

From left, Matheny administrative assistant Betty Schoonover; curriculum coordinator Linda Mullin; vice principal Sean Murphy; Karen Deland; Karen’s husband Steve Deland; and principal Sheryl Gavaras.

Cory Mazen with Matheny adult patient Brad Goldman.

As an education major at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA, Cory Mazen and her class visited Melmark, a Berwyn, PA-based agency that serves children and adults with a broad range of developmental disabilities. “My heart melted for the students there,” Mazen recalls. “It opened my mind to the other side of education. After I graduated in 2010, I had to find a school like Melmark closer to home.”

“Home” was Mendham, NJ, where Mazen grew up, graduating from West Morris Mendham High School in 2006. She now teaches second grade at the Bedwell Elementary School in nearby Bernardsville, NJ. “I discovered Matheny,” she says, “ran in the 5K at Miles for Matheny last year and made a personal donation. This year I have a webpage on the Miles for Matheny website, and I’m trying to raise money. I would love for people to support me and Matheny for everything they do. It’s a great cause.” As of March 19, Mazen had raised $350; her goal is $500.

Miles for Matheny will be held Sunday, April 22, at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack. All funds raised will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and to people with disabilities in the community.  In addition to the 5K, there are five different Cycling Routes, a Kids Fun Run and the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk in which more than 100 participants in wheelchairs, with walking partners, travel 1.5 miles around town.

Major Miles for Matheny sponsors are: The Poses Family Foundation; Affinity Federal Credit Union Foundation; Archer & Greiner P.C.; BP Fueling Communities; WCBS-TV/WCBS Newsradio 880; Partlow Insurance Agency; Peapack-Gladstone Bank; and Porzio Bromberg & Newman P.C.

For more information or to register, log onto www.milesformatheny.org. To donate to Cory Mazen’s webpage, click on Search for Participant and type in her name.

"Half Circle" by Ellen Kane.

Two artists in Matheny’s Arts Access Program will be featured in a special exhibition, “Lane & Kane,” which will open April 1 at the ZEBU Forno Restaurant/Café in Morristown, NJ.

The abstract artists, James Lane and Ellen Kane, both have distinct signature styles that have developed over the years. Through the unique Arts Access methodology, artists like Lane and Kane are able to pursue their creative passions, no longer feeling defined by their disabilities but rather defining themselves by their achievements.

An opening reception will be held from 4-6 p.m. on Sunday, April 1. ZEBU Forno is located at 9 South St. in Morristown.

Untitled by James Lane.

The O'Connor Clan at Miles For Matheny 2009.

Register and raise donations online for Miles for Matheny by logging onto www.milesformatheny.org. Set up your own home page, which allows you to easily reach out to your family, friends and business associates to support you. Your sponsors’ names and gift amounts will be recorded automatically for you. Monitor your fundraising activity online and watch as you reach your personal fundraising goal! Prizes are awarded for top fundraising individuals and teams.

Tips are offered online. You can also call Patricia Cats at (908) 234-0011, ext. 260, or email her at pcats@matheny.org.

Miles for Matheny is being held Sunday, April 22, at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack, NJ. All proceeds from this event will benefit the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and people with disabilities in the community. Activities include five Cycling Routes, a 5K Race, Kids Fun Run and the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk.

Major sponsors are Poses Family Foundation; Affinity Federal Credit Union; Archer & Greiner P.C; BP Fueling Communities; WCBS-TV/WCBS Newsradio 880; Partlow Insurance Agency; Peapack-Gladstone Bank; and Porzio Bromberg & Newman P.C.

Brad at work.

Brad Goldman has never let cerebral palsy prevent him from being an artist. Using a personal computer and a head pointer, he paints and creates greeting cards. In fact, Goldman has his own greeting card company, BRADesigns.

Now 41, Goldman was enrolled in the Matheny School when he was 2 years old. He lives in the community and attends Matheny’s Adult Medical Daycare program. Although unable to speak, he communicates by using a Dynavox, an electronic augmentative communications device. And he converses by eye-gazing on a manual communications board.

Goldman began painting when he was 10 years old, and his first inspiration, “came when my father bought roses for my sister, and I painted them. My parents, artists themselves, would paint with me.” After seeing his work, someone at Matheny asked Goldman to produce a Christmas card. That blossomed into BRADesigns, which began in 1994 with the help of his parents. While Christmas is his big season, Goldman is busy right now producing Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day cards.

For more information, log onto www.bradesigns.com.

Allyson Merer.

Donna and Barry Merer of Scotch Plains, NJ, have lots of friends who are “serious cyclists.” So they have a receptive audience when they promote Miles for Matheny, the annual fundraiser and community event being held April 22 at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack, NJ. The Merers have an even more compelling reason to support and fundraise for Miles. Their 20-year-old daughter Allyson is a residential student at Matheny.

“We’re thrilled with the care and love that Ally gets from everyone at Matheny,” says Donna Merer. “It fills such a need for families, providing the best care for children with disabilities. It’s a wonderful school and medical facility.”

Like most Miles participants, Merer is happy the event is moving back downtown and is looking forward to walking with her daughter in the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk.  She thinks it’s great to see people come out of their houses and cheer the Matheny students and patients. To help raise funds for the event, the Merers have formed a webpage, “Ally’s Allies” on the Miles for Matheny website, and they’re confident their cyclist friends will support the event. “They feel this sort of jump starts the cycling season,” Merer adds.

In addition to five Cycling Routes and the Wheelchair Walk, Miles activities include a 5K Race and a Kids Fun Run. All funds raised will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to inpatients and people with disabilities in the community. Major sponsors are:  Poses Family Foundation; Affinity Federal Credit Union Foundation; Archer & Greiner P.C.; BP Fueling Communities; WCBS-TV/WCBS Newsradio 880; Partlow Insurance Agency; Peapack- Gladstone Bank; and Porzio Bromberg & Newman P.C.

For more information, log onto www.milesformatheny.org; to support Ally’s Allies, click on Search for Participant and type in the team name.

Team Schapiro at Miles for Matheny 2011.

With about 45 days to go before Miles for Matheny, three fundraising teams were pacing the field. As of March 8, the top spot belonged to That’s How Scott Rolls, a team formed by Andrew and Julie Gordon of New Providence, NJ, whose 12-year-old son, Scott, is a student in the Matheny School. That’s How Scott Rolls had raised $2,048.

Second place belonged to Team Schapiro, which had generated $1,275 in contributions, followed closely by Jack’s Team with $1,015. Team Schapiro was formed by the Schapiro family of Basking Ridge, NJ, and Jack’s Team members are Doug, Katie, Meghan and Caroline Harter of Madison, NJ, parents and sisters of five-year-old Matheny student Jack Harter.

To start your own team, log onto www.milesformatheny.org and look for Team Fundraising Tips. If you need further help, email Patricia Cats at pcats@matheny.org or call her at (908) 234-0011, ext. 260. All funds raised at Miles for Matheny will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and people with disabilities in the community.

On a recent Monday afternoon, MBS students Blake Kernan, left, of Short Hills, NJ, and Tatiana James of Basking Ridge visited with Matheny student Aaron Turovlin.

The relationship between the Morristown-Beard School in Morristown and Matheny goes back longer than anyone can remember. Every Monday afternoon, a group of eight or nine students from Mo-Beard, a coeducational independent school for grades 6-12, visit Matheny to participate in a wide variety of activities, from card games and crafts to adaptive sports and computer games.

In all, about 50 middle and upper school MBS students take part in the Matheny visits, an activity the school is very pleased about, as it says on its website: “The students and faculty of the MBS community are proud to acknowledge themselves as some of Matheny’s most consistent, proactive volunteers.”

In addition to the weekly visits, Morristown-Beard students raise money every year to support Miles for Matheny, the annual fundraiser and community event being held this year on April 22 at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack, NJ. Last year, Mo-Beard students raised $2,600. Fundraising activities for this year’s Miles are just getting underway.

At last year’s Miles for Matheny, Mo-Beard student Neil Gadde presented Matheny president Steve Proctor with a check for $2,600 while classmates and faculty members looked on.

Susan Casarez arranges items in a toy display while Josephson Badger looks on.

Josephine Badger and Susan Casarez couldn’t have led more different lives. Badger retired 10 years ago from the Peapack, NJ, Post Office. Casarez spent three years in the CIA and 20 years in the US Marine Corps. Badger has lived in Gladstone, NJ, for several years. Casarez grew up in Peapack-Gladstone but just moved back to Peapack this past September, after an absence of 33 1⁄2 years, to be closer to her mother.

They do, however, share one common commitment: volunteering at the Second Chance Shop, the thrift shop in Gladstone managed by The Friends of Matheny to raise funds for Matheny. Badger has been working at Second Chance for about seven years, mostly on Friday mornings, although she substitutes when needed. Casarez works every Monday and every fourth and fifth Friday. Badger “enjoys the camaraderie and talking to the people who come in to shop.” Casarez says working at the shop, “just makes me feel good. It’s all for a good cause.”

Through the week of March 3, 2012, the Second Chance Shop had earned more than $79,604 since opening after Labor Day. For the entire 2010-2011 season the shop had earned $88,000. The Friends of Matheny has raised more than $3 million for Matheny since its inception in 1983.

Spectators will once again be able to line the streets and cheer on the wheelchair participants.

Anyone who would like to participate should contact Patricia Cats in Matheny’s Development Office at 908 234-0011, ext. 260, or email her at pcats@matheny.org. Matheny sincerely appreciates the community partnership and support we receive. This support helps make Miles for Matheny a success.

This year’s Miles for Matheny will be held Sunday, April 22. Activities include a 5K Race, five different Cycling Rides, a Kids Fun Run and the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk in which more than 100 children and adults in wheelchairs, with walking partners, travel 1.5 miles around town. All funds raised at the event help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny’s inpatients and to people with disabilities in the community.

Major Miles for Matheny sponsors include: The Poses Family Foundation; Affinity Federal Credit Union Foundation; Archer & Greiner P.C.; BP Fueling Communities; WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880; Partlow Insurance Agency; Peapack-Gladstone Bank; and Porzio Bromberg & Newman P.C.