Circus Therapy

Liam Quat learned how to juggle 17 years ago when he was 10 years old. For the past five years, the Bedminster, NJ, resident has been teaching and performing, specializing in object manipulation and balance. He currently works for The Circus Place in Hillsborough, NJ.

Quat recently visited Matheny and provided an interactive circus performance and workshop for students at The Matheny School, helping stimulate their imagination, creativity, and physical fitness in a playful, social setting. Among the therapeutic benefits from Quat’s performance: self-esteem, ability to overcome fears, balance, flexibility, coordination, focus and attention.

Liam Qua introduces scarf juggling to student Jamil Jones as speech-language pathologist Emily Teed looks on.

One of the many types of juggling performed by Liam Quat for Matheny School students.

The 19^th annual Miles for Matheny will be held Sunday, June 5, in Peapack’s Liberty Park.  Miles is a family-friendly event that raises funds and awareness for children, teens, and adults with developmental disabilities.  It brings together Matheny’s students, patients, family, friends and members of the community for an exciting day of camaraderie and fun. Here’s what you can look forward to:

• Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk. More than 100 Matheny children, teens, and adults “wheel” through the streets of downtown Peapack, accompanied by family and friends and cheered on by neighbors and supporters. Sponsored by Partlow Insurance and the Golub Family.
• Cycling. A choice of 10, 25, 35, and 50-mile bike rides, plus the highly challenging “Hills of Attrition” endurance ride. The Hills of Attrition course was redesigned this year by the Bedminster Flyers and subtitled “Ride It If You Can”. Sponsored by Peapack-Gladstone Bank.
• Fitness Walk. This is the second year for this one-mile walk/jog for all ages.
• Kids Fun Run. Children ages 3-10 enjoy friendly competition, and everybody’s a winner. Sponsored by Porzio, Bromberg & Newman P.C. Attorneys at Law.
• Breakfast of Champions presented by The Friends of Matheny plus music, family entertainment and refreshments throughout the event.

The Poses Family Foundation is again our Premier Sponsor, and other major sponsors are Mariner Wealth Advisors and WCBS Newsradio 880.

Log onto www.milesformatheny.org to register for an event, form a fundraising team or make a donation.  For assistance, call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260, or email pcats@matheny.org.  Onsite registration begins at 8 a.m. on June 5, and events run throughout the morning culminating with the Wheelchair Walk starting at 12:15 p.m. All proceeds from Miles for Matheny will benefit programs and services that enhance the lives of the children, teens, and adults served by Matheny.

Ellen Kane in front of her creation, “Half Circle”, at the “Lane and Kane” exhibit.

Ellen Kane says her paintings represent her happy personality. She sometimes likes to use circles and other geometric shapes in her work. “I always want to do beautiful paintings,” she says. “I want to do something different every time. Sometimes I know what I want to do before I start painting. Some of my favorite shapes are triangles, rectangles, and squares. When I do digital art, I like to use cylinders and octagons.” Her work was showcased in a two-person show, “Lane and Kane” in Morristown, NJ, and has been exhibited at the Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ; Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ; Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, NJ; and as part of the permanent collection at Johnson and Johnson headquarters in Cincinnati and New Brunswick, NJ.

Kane is one of 10 participating artists in the first Art Garden CSA, a Community Supported Arts Program that connects emerging artists with disabilities and local art collectors. Art Garden CSA was launched early this year by Matheny’s Arts Access Program and Arts Unbound with a Community Employment Grant from the Kessler Foundation. Through Art Garden CSA, the 10 participating artists with disabilities have each been given a $1,000 stipend and are required to create 25 pieces of art for the program. These can range from paintings, jewelry, small sculptures, wearable art, photography and more. The “community” is comprised of any individual or group that purchases one of the 25 available shares. They pay $500 for each share and, in return, receive 10 pieces of art – one from each artist. The buyers receive their art at two “pick-up” events during the year where they can meet the artists and establish relationships. Shares can be purchased through the Art Garden website at artgardencsa.org.

Arts Access empowers individuals with disabilities to create art without boundaries. Arts Unbound is dedicated to the artistic achievement of people living with disabilities and of seniors.

When she was five years old, Michelle Fontes started dancing with her father at the Portuguese Club in Perth Amboy, NJ. And she continued dancing there until she was 19. “Portuguese people love two things,” she says, “Food and drinks and dancing. If you go to a party, and we know you are not Portuguese, we will still try to get you to join us.”

Michelle Fontes gives a dance lesson to adult patient T.J. Christian.

That’s exactly what Fontes, an adult services life skills coach, did during a Portuguese Day celebration at Matheny, coaxing Matheny staff members and adult patients to get out on the dance floor. She demonstrated three Portuguese dances: the Vira, the Bato Pe, and the Marcha. The Vira means ‘turns’, and “that’s what we do the most of,” she says. “There are many forms of turning, and how fast or slow you go is based on the beat of the drum.” The Bato Pe is a line dance, and the Marcha is a two-person dance – “You just march in place with the music.”

The adult services program is designed to instill a sense of self-respect and self-expression among adult residents at Matheny and its group homes.

Matheny School teacher Stacy Lafargue has been chosen as a member of the 2016 Class of Teachers Who Rock by Greater Media radio stations WDHA 105.5FM and WMTR 1250AM in Cedar Knolls, NJ.

The Teachers Who Rock program recognizes up to 24 outstanding teachers to receive this prestigious award for their important contribution to society. An awards banquet to honor all the winners will be held on April 5 at Casa Bianca in Oak Ridge, NJ.

Lafargue uses large moving visuals to help student Katherine Gaudio understand a lesson in a life skills class.

Teaching, Lafargue believes, “is not just about getting the final result, but about the process it takes to get there. Whether it’s choosing which color marker they want to use on their worksheet, picking their favorite snack, or answering questions on an assessment, I try to make it just a little easier for my students to exist in the world each day.” Lafargue’s story was read on the air on Friday, March 4, by WDHA Morning Jolt hosts Jim Monaghan and Kim Mulligan and WMTR Morning Team host Chris Edwards.

Mary Rita Tortorello welcomed Nash East to Matheny, helped by, from left, speech-language pathologist Christine Mayercik, teaching assistant Kim Slawson, and curriculum supervisor Jim Hintenach.

India Jones presented Nash East with a special ‘Thanks Y’All’ banner. From left, Cousin John LaGreca, Jeff the Drummer, and Tex Huber.

One of the high school classes at The Matheny School has been studying westward expansion in its U.S history class, and the curriculum includes playing country and western music to get students in the right mood. So, it only seemed natural to reach out to a country and western band to play during a school assembly.

Basking Ridge, NJ-based Nash East was only too happy to fill the bill, appearing at an assembly on Friday, February 26, playing and singing a broad range of country hits that included Hank Williams’s “Hey Good Lookin’”, Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again”, and John Denver’s “Country Roads”.

With the help of an augmentative communications device, student Mary Rita Tortorello welcomed the band onstage. Another student, India Jones, presented the musicians with a special ‘Thanks Y’All’  banner at the end of the performance. And Nash East brought western hats for every one of the students in attendance.