b'Family shoppingThere\'s a little something for everyoneas we head back into school season."Theeasiertoseeyou with,mydear"(andto readthosewordson thepage)withCad-disreaders.Theyblock bluelightandofferanti-scratch, anti-reflective and anti-smudgeopticalgradelenses,$95,After the pandemic hit, the program resumed this past spring with weekly Zoom calls and Maker+Muse,170MaplewoodAvenue,reached about 8-10 families. It will return in the fall with in-person and online options.Maplewood, 973-313-2722, maker-muse.com hybrid, Simpson says. But even afterRobles-Fernndezsaidthepro-hybrid school started on January 19,gramwasgivenanextensiontouse there were hiccups, closures and last- theAchievegrantfundingthisfall, Foryoungandoldminute schedule changes that made itand he plans to search for additional alike, Q-bitz family funhard even for English-speaking parentsfunding sources as well. For example, puzzle game teachesto follow. they were able to tap into state fund-symmetry, visual dex- It was a confusing time, so it wasing earmarked for parent outreach to terityandstimulatesreally fortunate that we had this week- teach parents how to use PowerSchool, the brain to use spa- ly forum, Simpson says, adding thatCanvas and other remote learning pro-tialreasoningandRobles-Fernndez would join the classgrams, he said.memoryskills,$28.99,each week to help answer questions. We are hoping to get more families Sparkhouse Toys, 9 Vil- Being online offered another ben- interested and offer different levels of lage Plaza, South Or- efit. Some parents who had been un- English classes and school-related top-ange,973-821-5227,able to attend the in-person classes dueics, he says.sparkhouse.net to conflicting work schedules or trans- RaylinRodriguez,a2021CHS portation challenges, suddenly foundgraduate who moved to the U.S. from they could participate.the Dominican Republic when he was Jazmin Forigua is one such parent.in eighth grade, doesnt think drum-She and her son Kevin, who will bemingupsupportfortheprogram NewT-shirtsforthenewschoola senior at CHS, moved to the U.S.should be too hard; indeed, he raved year!, $25 orfree with enrollment,from Columbia four years ago, both ofabout it.SoiHeardMusic,10EWillowthem speaking only Spanish.Ifounditprettygoodthatthe Street A, Millburn, 973-232-5111,Because of my work, I could neverprogramdoesntonlyhelpstudents soiheardmusic.com attend, Forigua says, explaining thatwhose main language isnt English, it she liked the online option because ithelps their parents, too. Thats great! allowed her to take part. he says, adding that he often practices Thecourseisverycomplete;theEnglish with his mom.teacher, Katie, is very easy to under- Thishelpshertoimprove,he stand,shesays.Ihavelearnedtosays. The best part is that it helps par-translate more easily and to understandentswhoarenotabletoafford[tu-You say you want to dance?when school teachers speak to me. ition]foranEnglishclass.They Try out a pair of tap shoesTheprogramwassosuccessfulshouldmakethis[available]inthe byBalera,$55,Conceptsit reached about 8-10 familiesthatwhole state. DanceAcademy,50S.Robles-FernndezandSimpsonplanMaliaRulonHermanisaneducation Orange Avenue, 2nd floor,to continue it in the fall, offering bothwriter based in Maplewood. She is very SouthOrange,973-762-7709,in-personandonlineoptions.Simp- involvedintheSOMSDcommunity theconceptsdanceacademy. sonwantstoinviteadditionalguestand cant imagine navigating it without com speakers, such as a guidance counselorknowing English; she has great admira-to speak to parents about how to navi- tion for the non-English-speaking parents gate the college admissions process.who do it every day.36/ matters magazine / school 2021'