Passages Roberta Kaplan, Beloved MS 80 Teacher, Dies at 61 By ABIGAIL GOLDMAN
Born in Brooklyn on Oct. 9, 1942, Kaplan's family moved to Woodside, Queens in her early childhood where she grew up with her sister, Janet Brand. Kaplan received her teaching degree from Queens College and had two children, Lauren Adler and Lisa Scheiner with her then husband, Ezra Kaplan. Kaplan was a favorite with the students of MS 80, many of whom attended her funeral at Schwartz Brothers Chapel in Forest Hills, Queens. "Up until her last year of teaching she was writing lesson plans on Sunday nights for hours," said Brand. "She was trying to develop lesson plans that were motivating. She really believed she could make an impact on these children." Kaplan was a founding member of the Environmental Awareness Reaching to Help (EARTH) Program at MS 80, a specialized curriculum based on environmental awareness, mathematics and science that promoted a close relationship between teacher and student. Kaplan also taught in the Advanced Math and Science Institute. Fellow MS 80 teacher and Magnate Coordinator, Laura Spalter, knew Kaplan for 16 years and saw the qualities that endeared students to her. "She was an expert in her curriculum," said Spalter. "She had a gentle way about her; she fostered creativity." As co-founder of the Norwood Action Club, an after-school group devoted to civic action, Kaplan worked to empower children through hands-on involvement with community issues. MS 80 has since created a literacy award to be given out at graduation in honor of her work with students. In May of last year, Kaplan began to have trouble catching her breath. While at first she assumed the difficulties were related to dust in the classroom, an MRI eventually proved otherwise. Although she had quit smoking 20 years before, Kaplan was diagnosed with lung cancer. "She worked all of summer school and was ready to retire that August," said Brand. "She was diagnosed the day after she put her retirement papers in. That's what makes it so heart-wrenching." The students of MS 80 are composing a series of reflections on Kaplan's passing, which will be collected into a book and given to her family as a memorial. One of Kaplan's former students, Stephanie Nichols, wrote, "...you have inspired hundreds of students over your dedicated years of teaching (including my brother and sister) and I want you to know that I will never forget you. As I accept my diploma, I will think of you and thank you, because of all your great teaching and inspiration to succeed in every aspect of life." Moss, Groarke Have Baby Girl
Moss has been editor of the Norwood News since 1994 and Groarke is assistant professor of Government and director of the Peace Studies program at Manhattan College in Riverdale. Twins Born to Norwood Couple Norwood residents Sirio and Heather Guerino recently became parents to twins. Hendrix Salvatore and Spartacus Siriogavanni Guerino were born on March 8 at North Central Bronx (NCB) Hospital. Heather Guerino explained why they named their sons after the famous American guitarist and Roman gladiator. "My husband plays the guitar and is a big fan of Jimi Hendrix," Heather Guerino said. "He grew up listening to him." As for Spartacus, Sirio Guerino was inspired by the fact that Spartacus will be playing on April 18 on USA at 8 p.m. "We really liked the name," Heather said. "It's a powerful name. Hendrix is already a powerful name, and we wanted our other son also to have a powerful and meaningful name and not a common one. We wanted them to have names to live up to, so to speak." Heather praised NCB staff. "The service that I received was very good," she said, "and the midwife for the boys was very attentive and took good care of them." She had been originally scheduled to give birth at Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville but didn't have enough time to get there. She would like to thank midwife Winifred Connerton, C.N.M., and nurse practitioner Brianna Richardson. The Guerinos have an older son, Duval, who will be 24 this year. Duval is currently serving in the Army and is stationed in Germany. -Gary Pang Norquist Recognized for Map Design
"For the major part of my life I have dedicated myself to drawing maps," Norquist said. "Cartography is hard work, but when done with a passion, it becomes art." A graduate student of Lehman College's Geographic Information Science Program, Norquist achieved the recognition in the student category of the 31st annual competition, sponsored by the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. The map depicts the locations of retail and service establishments within the BID, along with cultural landmarks like parks and universities. The map - which is now part of the permanent collection of the U.S. Library of Congress - was funded by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz. "I'm so thrilled about this," said Roberto Garcia, the BID's executive director. "This project is a perfect example of how government, community organizations and residents can work together for the preservation and positive promotion of a community." Norquist is taking a break from her graduate studies to participate in the city's Teaching Fellows program. She is currently enrolled in Mercy College, and teaches a lively bunch of middle-schoolers at MS 180 in Co-op City. --Heather Haddon Ed. Note: For a copy of the winning map, call the Jerome-Gun Hill BID at (718) 324-4946. Mosholu Preservation Corporation, the publisher of the Norwood News, manages the BID.
|
The day after she filed for retirement, Roberta Kaplan, a teacher whose career spanned 32 years, was diagnosed with lung cancer. Kaplan, who taught literacy at the Isabel Rooney Middle School 80 for the past 23 years, passed away on March 14 at the age of 61.
Norwood residents Jordan Moss and Margaret Groarke announced that their daughter, Devin Frances Groarke Moss, was born on March 6 at White Plains Hospital Center.
She weighed 8 lbs. 7 oz. It is the couple's first child and the first grandchild of Moss' parents, Sabina and Jay Moss of Long Island. She is the fourth grandchild of Groarke's parents, Stephen and Bernadette Groarke of Yonkers.
Janet
Norquist, a Norwood map-maker, recently received an honorable mention from the prestigious American Map Design Competition. Norquist's map, a rendering of the Jerome-Gun Hill Business Improvement District (BID), went up against hundreds of other maps from all over North and South America and the Caribbean.
