How Sweet It Is!

After a 23-year run, John Tompkins of Basking Ridge, NJ, retired from his career on Wall Street. In April 2011, he started a new career inspired by his love for the caramels a childhood friend’s mother had made. His company, based in Randolph, NJ, is called JT’s Confections, and he modestly claims that, “My caramels are the best caramels you will ever eat.” He expanded from caramels into pecan clusters consisting of caramel poured over roasted pecans and hand dipped in rich chocolate.

The confections business, he says, “is so very different from Wall Street. Your competitors want to see you succeed!” Tompkins has succeeded, and he has also used his new vocation as a way of giving back to the community, providing candy to help nonprofits raise funds. Tompkins’s daughter, Georgia, a student at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, is an active member of the Junior Friends of Matheny, a group consisting mainly of Ridge and Bernards High School students who volunteer and raise money for Matheny.

From left, Junior Friend Sarah Desatnick, John Tompkins, and Georgia Tompkins. Desatnick, also a Ridge student from Basking Ridge, is the sister of Matheny resident, Bryan Desatnick.

For Valentine’s Day, Tompkins is donating 100 boxes of clusters to the Junior Friends, who will sell them at $33 a box. “And if they sell more,” he says, “I’ll try to fill the order.” The Junior Friends of Matheny is open to all high school age volunteers. Its mission is to support Matheny through both fundraisers and volunteering and to bring awareness and acceptance of children and adults with disabilities.

Some of the Mardi Gras masks from last year’s celebration.

Once again the Verve Bistro in Somerville, NJ, will donate partial proceeds from its annual Mardi Gras celebration to Matheny. The five-day Mardi Gras celebration begins on Thursday, February 4. On that day — plus Friday, February 5, and Saturday, February 6 — the restaurant will feature food specials of New Orleans, Venice and Brazil. Diners will also have the opportunity to bid on Mardi Gras masks.

On Sunday, February 7, a Gumbo Cook Off will take place from 1-5 p.m., ending just in time for football fans to get home for the Super Bowl. Contestants are invited to bring two gallons of their best gumbo to Verve by 1 p.m. in order to enter. The Gumbo Buffet that follows will cost $10. Fat Tuesday, February 9, will offer “prizes, gaudy decorations, and cheap plastic trinkets.” And, everyone who bid on masks will find out who the winners were

Last year, Verve raised $2,000 for Matheny. To make reservations during the Mardi Gras celebration, call (908) 707-8655 and be sure to mention Matheny.

Jameir Warren-Treadwell acts out Henri Rousseau’s “The Sleeping Gypsy”.

Ryan O’Connor is one of Pablo Picasso’s “Three Musicians”.

Students in three Matheny School classes researched famous artists and created displays to bring the artists’ work to life. The ‘Festival of Living Art’ took place in the morning and early afternoon on January 11 in the hallways at Matheny. There were four different group shows, featuring works of 12 different artists including Michelangelo’s “Sistine Chapel”, Pablo Picasso’s “Three Musicians”, and Henri Rousseau’s “The Sleeping Gypsy”.

Visual and performing arts classes play an important role in The Matheny School’s curriculum. Art classes provide motivating opportunities for students to see and experience the world through visual, three dimensional, and tactile modalities. Materials are adapted to maximize student participation through positioning, fine motor adaptations, and specialized communication supports.

Two attorneys from Sussan, Greenwald & Wesler, a leading special education law firm based in Cranbury, NJ, will make presentations at The Matheny School on Thursday, January 28, during National School Choice Week. Jayne M. Wesler, Esq., will speak on “Special Education/IEP & Due Process”.  Alex M. Hilsen, Esq. will talk about “Estate Planning Special Needs Trusts and Guardianship”.

Wesler, a psychotherapist and  former child study team member, recently won a landmark decision in which she convinced the court that the Summit, NJ, School District had denied a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment to a child diagnosed with a severe communication disorder. Hilsen has experience at Fortune 500 companies such as Merrill Lynch and Citigroup where he worked in financial services and monitored and advised clients on all avenues of investing and financial planning. He is the parent of a child with special needs.

The presentations will be given at 6 p.m. at The Matheny School, 65 Highland Ave. in Peapack. Refreshments will be served, and an informal tour of the school will be available. To RSVP, email mathenyschool@matheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 721.

If Glenn Stackhouse hadn’t torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in 1988 while playing for his Air Force squadron football team, chances are he wouldn’t be a physical therapist today. “While rehabbing from surgery,” the Wharton, NJ, resident recalls, “I became interested in what I was learning about my knee. Shortly after that, our squadron was volunteering for the Special Olympics, and we were asked to sign up to help. It was there I met a 32-year-old Navy veteran who was a physical therapy student at Southwest Texas State University.”

Stackhouse with Matheny student Kim Alarcon, who uses a specialized Rifton gait trainer to help her maintain balance and safety while improving her walking skills.

Fast forward to 1992 when Stackhouse, working as a physical therapy aide at Dover General Hospital, applied for physical therapy school at Kean University. His first job after graduation was at the Mercer Medical Center in Trenton, but, in 2000, he joined Matheny in Peapack as a physical therapist in its community services program.

Stackhouse provided PT services to adults in the community with developmental disabilities and worked for 10 years bringing PT services to the Mendham Township School District. “I provided in-class support and worked to develop adaptive physical education strategies for district students with special needs.” While Stackhouse was working in the Mendham Schools, one of the classes was planning a field trip to Waterloo Village and was concerned that a student who was in a wheelchair wouldn’t be able to make the trip because of the rough terrain. Stackhouse contacted Matheny’s rehab technology department and came up with a wheelchair with high density wheels that could be used both as a power chair and manually. The Mendham Resource Center teacher was trained on how to use it, and the student was able to make the trip.

As part of Matheny’s community services program, Stackhouse also worked at the Morris and Sussex County Arcs, providing staff training for safety, back care basics, and adaptive equipment while also working as a physical therapist. In May 2005, the Morris County Arc presented him with its Healthcare Provider of the Year award. He also spent nine years as a Matheny physical therapist in the New Jersey Early Intervention Program, “working with the families of children under the age of three with developmental delays.”

Since 2008, Stackhouse has worked full-time in The Matheny School, and last year his colleagues voted him “Related Services Provider of the Year.” “Each day,” he says, “I am privileged to team up with the most committed, creative, and amazing people imaginable. Everyone works together for the benefit of the families and individuals we serve.”

The fifth edition of the Bulldog Bugle was published in December. Through their words and photos, the student reporters shared a small glimpse into the daily happenings at The Matheny School. Publishing a student newspaper is truly a team effort, and the students worked in collaboration with classroom staff and therapists. Teacher Felicia Querrey is the school faculty member who oversees this project.

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From left, Skanska employees Lisa Mancuso and Young Moon and Matheny resident Jamie Formisano.

Volunteers from Skanska USA’s Parsippany, NJ, office made their annual visit to  Matheny  to deliver presents to our students and patients.  Sweden-based Skanska is one of the world’s leading construction groups. Skanska has a culture of giving back to the community. Its efforts are coordinated by a community involvement committee that schedules activities year-round.  The same four Skanska USA employees have been visiting Matheny for several years.