February 6, 2012

SciCore News Feed

Faculty

General Information About SciCore Academy:

  • Founded 2002
  • Private Middle and High School, grades K-12
  • Principal – Arthur T. Poulos, Ph.D.
  • Facilities at 156 Maxwell Ave. and 120 Main Street, Hightstown NJ, approximately 13,000 sq. ft. of classrooms, computer lab, science laboratory, Art room, Gym, and Multi-purpose space.
  • Faculty are experts in their subject matter, and are drawn from schools, corporations, government, and non-profits
  • Dedicated to Academic Excellence within a College Preparatory Curriculum
  • Accredited by Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
  • Accepts I-20 applications

Our Teachers and Staff:

Arthur T. Poulos, Ph.D. Chemistry, Mathematics

Ph.D. and M.S. in Physical Chemistry, Northwestern University. B.S. with distinction in Chemistry and Magna Cum Laude, Duke University. Post-doctoral studies at University of California-Santa Cruz in photochemistry and spectroscopy. 7 years experience teaching inorganic chemistry at Rutgers University. President of Poulos Technical Services, a research and consulting firm specializing in real-time detection of chemical species in mixed media. Extensive contract research experience conducted for NASA, NSF, USAF, DOE, and EPA, small businesses, and universities.


Danette N. Poulos. Elementary mathematics and English

Mrs. Poulos is a co-founder of SciCore Academy and serves as the Vice-Principal. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Westminster Choir College. After working as a product coordinator at Bristol Myers Squibb Company, she served as Vice-President of Poulos Technical Services, a research and consulting company in the field of real-time detection systems. At SciCore, Mrs. Poulos is responsible for marketing, student discipline and student activities. She also teaches elementary level mathematics and English.


Marina Ahunbabaeva. Art and Architecture

Marina received her training in art and architecture at the renowned Academy of Fine Arts, Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture at St. Petersburg University in Russia. Mrs. Ahunbabaeva has been a freelance artist since 2002, producing oils, acrylics, and watercolors for private collections, galleries and auctions. She is a commissioned artist for Princeton University, which has purchased a series of her scenes of buildings on the Princeton campus. The official 2011 Princeton University Calendar is illustrated with 12 of her watercolors of Princeton University buildings and scenes. An outstanding teacher as well, Mrs. Ahunbabaeva is comfortable teaching all levels of students, from K to high school. At SciCore, she has guided students to produce outstanding works in acrylic and watercolors, which now adorn the school.


Joseph Monticello. Civics, General Science, Mathematics, Economics

BA Engineering, Syracuse University, BS Paper Science Engineering, NYS College of Environmental Science, AAS Chemical Technology, Broome Technical Community College. Formerly Senior Engineer at IBM Corporation (retired) in information recording, manfacturing, product assurance. US Navy, Lieutenant Junior Grade. Instructor in Chemistry at US Naval Academy Preparatory School, Bainbridge, MD/Newport, RI. Most recently the Quality Assurance Manager at CCL Label Corporation.


Richard M. Peterson. Physics, Computer Programming, Mathematics

B.S. in Physics, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, M.A. in Physics, Princeton University. Mr. Peterson is a scientific programmer by profession, having worked for many years at the Sarnoff Corporation in Princeton, NJ. He is the holder of three patents and received RCA/Sarnoff Achievement Awards for 5 years between 1981 and 2000. He has had over 22 years of real-world experience in the application of mathematics and computer skills to research and development. Over the years, Mr. Peterson has volunteered to help students improve their math skills in venues such as Ask Dr. Math and GED exam preparation. He has coached students of all ages in math understanding via the Internet as well as one-on-one.


Christopher Brooks, Martial Arts and Elementary History

Chris Brooks received the Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University with a major in Criminal Justice. He holds a black belt and is a professional teacher of martial arts at a Tom Bryan’s school of martial arts in East Windsor.


Sophia Stavrakis, Greek

Mrs Stavrakis is a renowed teacher of contemporary Greek for students in Mercer County, with over 30 years of experience. She has taught all age groups, from early elementary to senior citizens, accomodating their learning levels and styles. Her friendly and energetic personality makes learning Greek an unforgettable experience. A native of Greece, Mrs. Stavrakis also imparts to her students an appreciation of the great Greek cultural traditions.


Janet Berrill. Typing and Keyboarding Skills

Mrs. Berrill received the B.S. degree from Trinity College, Hartford, CT in Mathematics and Computer Science. While there, she was selected as the President’s Fellow for Mathematics and graduated with honors. She was subsequently employed by IBM as a Systems Engineer and as a computer programmer for the US Ledger System. Mrs. Berrill left the workforce in 1993 to raise a family and homeschool her children up to middle school age. She has taught pre-Algebra and typing at SciCore, where she developed her own system for touch-typing. This method has proven to be highly effective for teaching students as young as first grade to competently touch-type.


Colin Orr. Middle School English, High School Writing

Colin Orr received the Master of Fine Arts in Fiction Writing at the University of Pittsburgh and Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy (with honors) with a minor in English Literature from the University of Pittsburgh. His teaching experience is diverse, having taught political philosophy at the university level, general academic classes at the elementary level, and GRE and SAT instruction to high school students. He has been involved in curriculum development for improving student literacy, cultural exchange, and creative projects in mediums including photography and film. Mr. Orr is a practitioner of martial arts and has taught health-based martial arts classes to adults and children. He has a special passion for creative writing and is pursuing freelance writing opportunities.


Robert T. Thick. High School Literature, Drama, Comedies, Speech

Mr. Thick has been a working performer and director for more than 30 years. He has performed thoughout the United States and Europe in theatres and opera houses. His diverse venues have included The Barn and True Grist Dinner Theatre in Michigan, Pheasant Run in Chicagp, Chautauqua Opera – New York, and many appearances in New York City. In addition, he has been seen in some of the finest Opera Houses of Germany, England, France and Austria. He is the artistic director and co-founder of The Off-Broadstreet Theatre in Hopewell, NJ. He has studied acting with Kenneth Kohn, Andrew Flemmer, Joseph Smith, Leonard Treash and Boris Goldolfski. He has studied voice with William Appel, Robert Barnes and Marlena Malas. Representative roles include Henry in “The Fantastics”, Sancho Panza in “Man of LaMancha”, Arthur in “Camelot”, Rudolpho in “La Boheme”, and Mastersinger in “Die Meistersinger”.


Paul Manulik, Suzuki violin classes

Mr. Manulik is the founding director of the Princeton String Academy, a Suzuki music school for violin and viola. The school offers private and group lessons, theory, chamber music, recitals, and outreach programs. The 2010 student body includes the concertmaster and principal viola of YOCJ, Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra, and All State Orchestra. Mr. Manulik earned a masters degree in viola performance from the University of Iowa and has studied viola with William Preucil, Jerry Horner, and Evalina Chao. During the summer he teaches at Suzuki institutes throughout the country. He has served as principal violist with the Cedar Rapids Symphony and has been an instructor at the University of Northern Iowa.


Salvatore Clappsy. Middle and High School Biology

Mr. Clappsy is a highly experienced teacher of biology, earth science, environmental science, computer technology and physical science, having taught in private, charter and public schools in grades 6-12. He has taught AP biology, developed a school science program to meet Middle States standards, and served as a departmental science chair. He holds certifications in electronics technology, educational science technology, Polycom video conferencing, and Smartboard systems. Prior to his teaching career, Mr. Clappsy served as an environmental and safety technologist for the State of New Jersey. He brings to SciCore a wealth of knowledge in the area of applied biology.


Eugene Porcelli. Middle and High School History

Mr. Porcelli graduated Cum Laude from Rider University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in Global Multi-National Studies and a Graduate certification in Secondary Social Studies Education. He is also a veteran of the United States Marine Corps with two deployments in Iraq. Mr. Porcelli joined the Marine Corps for the same reason he is now a teacher at SciCore Academy: a passion for United States history. He is currently teaching ancient history and geography at the middle school level as well as US History I & II at the high school level. Some of Mr. Porcelli’s awards and honors consist of the ETS Recognition of Excellence for exceptional performance on the Praxis II Social Studies Content Knowledge exam and the Navy/Marine Corps Unit Commendation award for distinguished service in action against the enemy with outstanding heroism, Al Anbar Province, Iraq 2006.


Natalie Martin. Elementary Science

Ms. Martin holds a B.S. degree from Rutgers University majoring in Meteorology and minoring in Marine Sciences. She has M.A. degree in Environmental Education from Montclair State University, and has a certificate of eligibility in Earth Science and Environmental Education. Natalie Martin is an experienced science educator. As an instructor at Liberty Science Center, she developed and presented numerous interactive educational science programs to large and small audiences. At the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Ms. Martin recruited and supervised volunteers and interns, led tours, and developed programs on dry tropical forests. She is experienced in the practice of meteorology, and served for a number of years as a weather watcher at Rutgers University; she was also a summit intern at the Mount Washington Observatory, NH. Ms. Martin brings to SciCore exceptional demonstration skills and much experience in giving students “hands-on” laboratory experience.


Paul Tastenhoye. French

Mr. Tastenhoye is an experienced teacher of the French language and culture at the college level. He is currently on the faculty of the College of New Jersey in the Department of World Languages and Cultures. He brings to SciCore Academy college-level standards in the teaching of French.


Rachel Lu. Japanese, Chinese

Ms. Lu began her career in education managing a Japanese language school in her native Taiwan. For the past year and half she has served as an instructor in Chinese at a local tutoring company and has instructed SciCore students in Japanese and Chinese. Her practical and fun teaching methods have enabled students to rapidly achieve fluency in Japanese and place out of first year college Japanese.


Roberta Goodson, Italian and Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL)

Mrs. Goodson is an experienced teacher of Italian at all age levels, K through adult. In addition to her responsibilities at SciCore Academy, she is an instructor at the Dorothea House – Casa di cultura intaliana, South Brunswick Adult School and Inligua School of Language and Translation. Mrs. Goodson has also taught ESL and is fluent in German.


Miguel Iniguez. Chess, Spanish

Mr. Iniquez is a highly experienced chess instructor for elementary school students in several private and charter schools in the New York City and the Princeton, NJ areas. He has developed and implemented successful after-school and summer camp programs and coaches and mentors teachers to learn to teach chess. He has taught students scoring at the highest levels in several national championship. At SciCore, he led the third grade team to winning the State Championship contest in Lincroft, NJ, and Novice II first place winners at the annual Greater Princeton Area contest at the Princeton Day School. He is also director of CHESSKIDSNY.com, which uses technology such as Chess Base and Power Point to design chess graphics and develop programs to teach chess positions to his students. Mr. Iniguez is also fluent in Spanish and teaches in both English and Spanish.


Catherine Doyle, Elementary music.



Amy Gates. Administrative Assistant and Registrar


Click this link for more information about SciCore’s mission, staff, facilities and future plans.

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