Bi-Monthly: Richard M Teitelman Middle School
Builders Club is an international student-led program providing
members with opportunities to perform service, build character and
develop leadership. It is open to middle and junior high school
students. Clubs are chartered in partnership with a Kiwanis club and a
school or community-based organization serving middle or junior high
school students.
Members of Builders Club from the Richard M.
Teitelman Middle School were out tending to the Union Bethel
Civil War Veterans Ceremony. They were joined by their Advisors Mary
Hendrie and Paul E Schulte. Flags will be positioned by each gravestone
for Memorial Day Weekend. Cleaning up the cemetery is an ongoing project
for the Builders Club. They are proudly sponsored by The Kiwanis Club of
Cape May.
The Richard M. Teitelman Middle School
Builders club held a successful fundraiser for their community
projects on March 2, 2019. Nineteen four-member teams
competed for prizes in the mid-winter tournament to raise funds
for the club projects. The club’s mission and vision is to
continue upkeep and support for the Union Bethel Civil War
Veterans Cemetery and provide Thanksgiving baskets for families
in need at their school again the year. Plans include support
for the Friday Book Bag food program and an animal shelter.
The puzzle tournament was a welcome late winter indoor
activity for teams to support the Builders Club event. Kiwanis
Club of Cape May sponsored the purchase of the 550 piece jigsaw
puzzles that depicted Lighthouses of New Jersey. “The puzzle
worked out to be just right for a competition,” said Jacqueline
Moon, a Kiwanian advisor to the club.
Local businesses and individuals provided prizes and funding
support. Volunteers who helped during the event included Kiwanis
club members; Lower Township Historic Preservation Commission
members; Teitelman employees, ‘cafeteria lady’ Joan and office
administrator Lauren Hansen; Paul Schulte, Builders Club teacher
advisor along with Jacqueline Moon and Mary Hendrie, Kiwanis
Club of Cape May advisors. Kiwanis Builders Club is an
international student-led program providing members with
opportunities to perform service, build character and develop
leadership. It is open to middle and junior high school
students. Clubs charter in partnership with a Kiwanis club and a
school or community-based organization serving middle or junior
high school students.
For more information on the Kiwanis Club of Cape May and
Richard M. Teitelman Middle School Builders Club
Contact Us.
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The winning team was the LCMR Kiwanis Key Club who sponsored
themselves for $50 and walked away with almost $300 in prizes.
The team members were Club Teacher/Advisor Chris Vitale, Nick
Arpa, Ryan Devine, and Andrew Heim.
Second place team was Puzzlers Too sponsored by the Crab
House at 2 Mile Landing with Builders Club President Jakob
Hansen, his grandmother Gail Johns, and Hailee Stiefel.
Aqua Trails Kayaking sponsored third place team, Paddle
Puzzlers. Team members were Erin Haibach, a Builders Club
member, Kyla Haibach, Anya Davids and Marley Kronemeyer.
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Click a thumbnail for full size image...
The Builders Club at the Richard M. Teitelman Middle School, a club
of seventh and eighth graders in Lower Township is collecting
non-perishable food items and donations for this year's Thanksgiving
food baskets.
According to Paul Schulte, club advisor and engineering teacher at
the school, "This is the first time the Builders Club has taken this
on," he said. "I proposed it to the entire club at our first meeting,
and they agreed to take on the project. The Builders Club, a partner is
sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Cape May. Both organizations are
collecting for Thanksgiving food baskets. The club is a Kiwanis
International student-led program providing members with opportunities
to perform service, build character and develop leadership for middle
and junior high school students.
Newly elected club President Robbie Sleght, an eighth-grader from
North Cape May, said, "The club wants to be able to help those who are
less fortunate than us" for the holidays."Some people don't have a lot,
so it's nice to know that we can help others in our community," added
Anya Davids, an eighth-grader who is a member of the club. "Some people
aren't able to celebrate Thanksgiving in the special way that it should
be, so this gives us a chance to help them," noted Elliana Morello,
newly-elected vice president and a seventh-grader from North Cape May.
Schulte said the club would work with the school staff to identify
families in need. About 20 families receiving weekly book bags of
non-perishable foods are already on the list.
More Information:
Cape May County Herald - Students Collect for Thanksgiving Baskets
By KAREN KNIGHT,
CAPE MAY COUNTY HERALD
ERMA – Hoping to teach his students “to give back to their
community,” a middle school teacher has been leading the charge
to clean up the final resting place of Cape May’s and Lower
Township’s first African-American families and black Civil War
soldiers.
Paul Schulte, who teaches an engineering program at R. M.
Teitelman Middle School, advised the school’s Builders Club,
which has been clearing the Bethel Union Civil War Veterans
Cemetery, on Tabernacle Road.
They have joined forces with the Cape May Kiwanis Club, which
sponsors the school club, and the Lower Township Historic
Preservation Commission (HPC) in the service project.
“Our goal is to get it cleaned up so it can easily be
maintained,” Schulte said. “The community response to helping us
has been amazing.”
About half of the Builders Club’s 30 members are the “core”
workers, according to Schulte, who is the son of two history
teachers. “History is near and dear to my heart,” he said, “so
my students understand why I am so passionate about this
project. I’m also hoping to teach them about giving back to
their community.”
When Schulte decided to clean the cemetery, he was contacted by
the mayor of Lower Township about working with the HPC on the
project.
At the first workday Feb. 17, 14 students and eight adults
spent the Presidents Day holiday clearing branches, leaves and
other objects from the grounds.
At the second workday March 4, 17 of the 18 adults were from
the HPC, and they brought along a chainsaw to cut trees and
branches while the students raked and removed more leaves and
branches. The third workday, March 25, about 50 students and
adults were present.
Their goal was to have the cemetery in tip-top shape for a
“grand re-opening” near Memorial Day, according to Schulte.
“The response from the kids and community has been amazing,”
Schulte said as he watched the volunteers pick up logs, rake
leaves and remove branches and vines from the grounds. “All
these people are here because I asked.
“It’s a bit overwhelming,” he admitted. “This is a real
testament to the people of Lower Township and their
understanding of the significance of this cemetery. I guess these
folks wanted to make our little corner of the world a better
place.”
Although the cemetery has been the service project of other
groups over the years, it had fallen into disarray because no
one maintained it.
Schulte is hoping this time is different and said the
Builders Club has taken this service project on and will return
in the fall to remove leaves.
He’s also been amazed at the community’s response to keep the
grounds clear. “When we first started clearing the grounds, you
could hardly tell it was a cemetery,” he said. “We still have
some work to do, but it’s in great shape by comparison.”
“We’ve had a woman offer to give us day lilies to plant,
because they require little maintenance,” noted Jacqueline Moon,
a member of the Kiwanis Club who is involved with the project
and volunteered her efforts the second workday.
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Rudy VonColln, a member of the HPC from Erma, said he plans to
do what he can to maintain the grounds over the summer,
including mowing and trimming plants and bushes. “The Kiwanis
Club will contribute flags for all the veterans gravesites,” Kim
Ford, Kiwanis Club president, said. She and her husband, Jim,
were among the volunteers March 25.
“Paul (Schulte) has done a great job in pulling together
everyone to help clear this land,” she added. “I used to walk my
dog here and never knew it was a cemetery at first. The work
that everyone has done to clear this land is amazing.”
The cemetery was once the site of the Union Bethel Church and
the first black settlement in the area. It is the final resting
place for some families, including the Turners, Vances,
Humphries and Hastings.
Some headstones date to 1834; stone marks the gravesite of
nine black sailors found on Delaware Bay beach in Lower Township
after their ship went down in 1850. At least 70 veterans are
buried there.
“It’s been phenomenal the work the kids have done,” said Pary
Tell, a member of the HPC from Erma, who raked leaves March 25.
“They’ve come out in all kinds of weather, given up their day
off from school, to be here.”
“It’s nice to see they want to give back to the community,”
added Judy Gillis, another HPC member who lives in Villas.
“Once we get this cleaned up and re-dedicated, we’ll be
looking for additional clubs and groups to come in and donate
their time to helping keep this land clear.”
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Teacher Sponsor: Mr. Paul Schulte
Cape May Kiwanis Club
February 17, 2017: Today was R. M.
Teitelman Middle School Builders Club’s first work day at Bethel Union
Civil War Veterans Cemetery located in Erma, NJ in Lower Township.
Union Bethel Cemetery is the final resting place of Cape May and Lower
Township's first African American families and Black Civil War soldiers.
The renovation and clean-up project was the brainchild of Mr. Paul
Schulte, Engineering Science teacher and the club’s sponsor. Even though
today was a day off from school commemorating the Presidents’ Day
weekend, 14 students and eight adults came to pitch in and get this
project off to a great start. The goal is to have the project completed
by this Memorial Day when we will celebrate the grand re-opening of the
cemetery.
Several
different private groups and organizations have made efforts in cleaning
up the cemetery but unfortunately falls back into disarray without
regular maintenance. To help prevent this from happening again, local
landscape company has offered to regularly mow and trim. Mr. Schulte has
also made arrangements with a company to engrave new grave markers at no
cost for the plots that no longer have them or have been broken
and destroyed. The Builders Club will have fundraisers to procure the
funds needed to purchase the markers.
The students who volunteered their time and ENERGY today were: Izzy
Aftanis, Jordan Dougherty, Rob Elwell, Nikolas Frey, Ethan Frohman, Max
Gilbert, Kyla Haibach, Alli Johnson, Chloe Lawler, David MacDonald,
Molly McGuigan, Victoria Novsak, Kate Von Savage and Jackson Schiffbauer.
In addition to Mr. Paul Schulte, the adults who actively participated
were: Rob Elwell, Judy Gillis, Mark Haibach, Ed Johnston, Jacqueline
Moon, Mark Schiffbauer and Bruce Tell. This equated to 40 hours of
volunteer labor! The next work day is scheduled for March 4, 2017
at 11 am.
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