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Campus Renovations Reflect Growing Ranney Programs and Parent Support

As students start their 2013-2014 school year at Ranney, they may be happily surprised to see some changes around campus. Thanks to generous donor support, two growing programs—Robotics and Performing Arts—will now have more space for instruction, practice, and even, competition. Additional upgrades, completed as part of the school’s general operations, can be found in the Lower School and Gerhard Pavilion for Athletics.


Robotics Program Gains Permanent Lab, Equipment and Practice Field

The Ranney Robotics program has undergone amazing and unexpected growth across all divisions during the past few years. The first Robotics class was offered to students in 2010-2011. That school-year, five students took the course and 10 students started an Upper School Robotics Club. They used a lab in the Gerhard Pavilion for Athletics (GPA) to hold meetings and scrimmages. Within a few months, the club had advanced to the semi-finals of a VEX New Jersey Qualifier Round Up Competition (read the back story ). Just a few years later, more than 20 students were involved in the program and the Upper School Robotics team qualified for the VEX World Championship. Twelve Upper School students, including team leaders Raymond Moser '15, Brandon Gioggia '16 Amy Winkler '15 and Vasilios Nicholas '16, traveled to Anaheim, California, to compete in the championship at the global level (read the back story).

This coming year, 10 students are enrolled in Robotics class, an elective that is now offered to 10th, 11th and 12th graders, and at least 15 students are expected to participate in the Upper School Robotics Club. The GPA lab and Lower School classroom that were used temporarily as “labs” to build and practice the robots were deemed no longer adequate for the growing program’s needs. Thanks to many gifts received in support of the program, the students will now have a formal Robotics Lab, along with robotic equipment, to learn, practice and compete in.

Located in the Upper School, the new lab contains a full-sized, platform-style, moveable field that can accommodate competitions. The room also allows students to work on four robots simultaneously and provides classroom space for the elective as well as for related Computer Science and AP Computer Science courses. The lab contains a large storage area as well, which is needed for the numerous robotic parts, motors and batteries. The Annual Fund supported the purchase of two additional state-of-the-art robots for the Robotics Club and four additional robots for the Robotics course, along with a variety of equipment and parts.

“With the growth of the program, it was clear that the students needed new materials to build their robots—and they needed a space to work and have fun in,” adds Mrs. Trish Gioggia, an Annual Fund donor whose son Brandon '16 got involved in the Robotics program last year and quickly became a team leader. She’s been to several competitions since, including the spring 2013 world championship in California, and has been amazed at how much her son and the other students take away from robotics. “They learn to work together in their own teams as well as with other school teams; they learn to share ideas regarding different designs and concepts to make their robots work better; and they learn how to work independently.”

Additional donations to the program through the Annual Fund by the Moser and Nicholas families provide for robot parts. “The challenge changes every year for competitions, so special parts are needed to build competitive robots. The team needs different motors, actuators, sensors and other items that don’t come in standard parts kits,” explains Mr. Raymond Moser, who has a Master’s degree in electrical engineering and who has been coaching the Upper School team the past few years. He’s been impressed with how much his son, Raymond—the team captain, and other Ranney team members have learned. “The competitions are extremely competitive but also cooperative. If something goes wrong, the teams help each other out. These robots don’t work the same way every time and a lot can go wrong. All those involved learn a lot of practical engineering problem-solving skills as a result and it’s been great to watch them develop this skill.”

Dr. Noel Delgado, the Robotics activity coordinator and Upper School Dean of Students, agrees. “The activity builds not only team-building skills but also engineering, computer science, problem-solving, geometry and mathematics skills,” he says. “We have a core group of students with strong science, engineering and computer skills and the Robotics program is where they can shine. Now, with the program’s success, new dedicated space, additional supplies and academic instruction, they are naturally gravitating toward the program.”

Robotics Faculty Advisor Chiara Shah concurs that interest in robotics is on the rise. “The growth in our program mirrors the growth of robotics competitions worldwide,” says Mrs. Shah, who also teaches math and science in the Upper School. “In just the past two years, the number of registered teams for the VEX robotics competition has almost doubled, from 4,000 in 2011 to 7,300 in 2013.”

Plans are in the works for the Robotics program to cross over to the Middle School and Lower School. In fact, the Lower School division received the Goldenrod Robotics YouthTouch Grant in 2012 to bring real-world examples of robotics engineering to the classroom. And just this past spring, the division began its own Lego Robotics League for students in grades K-5. Several Upper School Robotics team members helped to mentor their younger Ranney peers over the summer.

Mr. Moser encourages the Ranney community to come and watch campus events and competitions—they’re like sporting events and a lot of fun. The school plans to host at least one home tournament this year.

Adds Mrs. Gioggia, “For us, Ranney is a smart investment in Brandon’s education and supporting programs is simply an extension of that investment.”



Performing Arts Finds Home Base in the Commons

The Performing Arts Department is another program that has grown leaps and bounds over the past few years, leading to the need for more instructional space. A generous leadership gift to the Annual Fund from the Woska family has transformed the first floor of the Commons Building to incorporate new classrooms for the expanding program. The repurposed space includes two new instructional spaces for the Ranney School General Music, Choral and Instrumental programs. In addition, the installation of specially designed band instrument lockers will give students a place to store and protect their instruments between classes. SMARTBoards® and music staff boards will also be added along with acoustic panels.

“With emphasis on the past five years, the Performing Arts Department has been ‘the little engine that could,’” says Performing Arts Director Tess Nielsen. “As all the moving parts came together, including an enhanced curriculum and co-curricular offerings, our department has demonstrated the potential to become ‘a big engine that can.’” That engine made its debut on the stage of world-renowned Carnegie Hall in January 2013 with a winter concert that every Ranney student and family will remember for the rest of their lives.

Dr. Scott Woska, a member of the Board of Trustees, and his eldest son Evan ’21 both had the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall with the Ranney Lower School Orchestra. In fact, Dr. Woska has always had a special place in his heart for music; he attended Rutgers University on an oboe scholarship and spent part of his early career as a composer. He is often seen on campus assisting with orchestra rehearsals, tuning violins and accompanying on piano.

“When this project came up, I was excited about it and wanted to be involved,” says Dr. Woska. Mrs. Sharon Woska is also a huge supporter and fan of the arts. “We wanted to be connected to something that we’re passionate about,” adds Dr. Woska about their Annual Fund gift.

Many of Ranney’s performing arts classrooms are spread across campus, and teachers and students alike often have to lug their instruments and equipment with them as they move from room to room. “The space now provides a home-base for Dr. Dorothy Sobieski (Orchestra Director), Mr. Kevin Cotter (Band Director) and Mrs. Nielsen,” says Dr. Woska, “and it’s a great addition for the students. Overall, I hope the new space will provide a better environment for the kids to progress in their musical learning.” The new space is to be called the Woska Performing Arts Center.

Adds Mrs. Nielsen, “It has been incredibly gratifying to watch this program grow over the years. We are laying the groundwork for performing arts to become one of the premier programs at Ranney School. The faculty members truly believe in their students and in the ability of the arts to transform lives and help shape community culture.”



Additional Upgrades across Campus

In addition to these campus renovations, made possible through the Annual Fund, a few facilities across the Ranney campus were upgraded during the summer as part of general operations. The school has partnered with internet providers Windstream and Comcast to increase Internet capacity by 400% and to provide essential system redundancy. In addition to internet access, TV programming will now be available in select locations.

The Early Childhood Education Center’s back porch was replaced. The porch leads to the Lower School playground, which now features a retention wall and new perimeter fence. Inside, the center’s Beginner classrooms have renovated boys’ and girls’ bathrooms.

Across the lawn, the Gerhard Pavilion for Athletics now features a high-performance floating floor with new school logos in the main gymnasium. In addition, a new Nevco wireless scoreboard is to be installed. These upgrades were made due to damage caused by a rooftop electrical fire last spring. The roof has since been repaired and multiple safety checks, including by local fire and police departments, have been performed to ensure ongoing and future safety in the building.

Overall, these facility additions and upgrades pave the way for an even more successful athletic and academic school year. We welcome all returning and new students back to campus for a year that is sure to be filled with fun, learning and Panther pride.

 
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society.