Four Berkeley Elementary School sixth-graders achieved a second-place finish in a statewide mock jury competition sponsored by the NJ Bar Association and are currently rehearsing a staged presentation of the trial. The dramatization is to be performed at the NJ Law Center, in New Brunswick, next month. In the photo, the students appear with their teachers who coached them. Foreground, from left, Samantha Moya, Gabriel Caberte and Ella Gulczynski; background, from left, Katie Koury, Avery Atexide and Meagan Kowalczyk.
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Four Berkeley Elementary School students, who were awarded a second-place finish in a statewide, mock trial competition for fifth-graders, will perform a dramatization of the trial next month at the NJ Law Center, in New Brunswick.
The four students are Avery Atexide, Gabriel Caberte, Ella Gulczynski and Samantha Moya. They will play characters in a presentation about a negligence lawsuit stemming from an accidental fall. The scenario is titled, “The Case of the Slippery Boulder: The Evans Family v. Camp Rocky Road.” It is based on a real-life experience and was written by the students as part of the gifted and talented program at Berkeley Elementary. The students submitted a synopsis of the lawsuit. After being notified of their second-place finish, they began preparations for rehearsals with a script.
The scenario is the story of a negligence lawsuit.
Two sisters and their best friend are at camp. On the first day at camp, one of the girls slips on a boulder and breaks her arm. The camp counselor, who has told the campers what rules must be followed, carries the injured girl to the camp nurse who calls for an ambulance. The girl’s family sues the camp for medical costs: $4,450.
Avery will be playing the role of the camp counselor, Bob Wooden; Gabriel will the best friend and accident eyewitness, Willy Watcher: Ella will perform the role of the camp owner, Matilda Trippe; and Samantha is the victim’s sister, Danielle. Four classmates will be playing attorneys. As of Monday, April 16, three were chosen. There were Zion Giles, Ian Gomez and Lia Tanedo. The trial is to be performed before an audience of fifth-graders who competed in the mock jury competition.
According to the children, who were interviewed at the school along with their gifted and talented program teachers, Katie Koury and Meagan Kowalczyk, the facts of the case were not supposed to present an easy jury verdict. Legal matters to be considered include negligence, duty and evidence. The students researched everything they presented their synopsis, even the medical costs.
Koury and Kowalczyk are responsible for running the Berkeley gifted and talented program which is for fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-graders.
“Every Tuesday and Thursday during lunch time we all gather and work on various activities that go above and beyond the general education curriculum,” Kowalczyk said. “As per district, fifth-graders in the gifted and talented program, across the elementary schools in Bloomfield, are required to submit a mock trial to the NJ State Bar Foundation.”
Koury is a resource teacher and has been at Berkeley for seven years. Kowalczyk, a speech language therapist, has been at the school for eight years.
In a statement to this newspaper, Berkeley Elementary Principal Natashia Baxter said that the Bloomfield School District offers a variety of opportunities for students to enhance their intellectual, creative, academic and leadership potential.
“The intent of the gifted and talented program is to extend the core curriculum while encouraging the development of skills in the areas of independent learning, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning,” Baxter said. “Here at Berkeley, we are devoted to building the whole child by allowing students the opportunity to tap into their leadership skills and think ‘outside the box’ by empowering them to highlight their problem solving and reasoning skills.
“This is the first time in history that Berkeley students have placed in the Law Fair competition,” she continued. “The staff and I are ecstatic about our fifth-graders mock trial, ‘The Case of the Slippery Boulder’ being recognized at the state level. This is a huge honor for Berkeley and for the district! The staff, parents and I will be attending the competition on May 24 at the Law Center in New Brunswick.”
Kowalczyk said a student is selected for the gifted and talented program for several reasons: reading level, teacher recommendation and IQ test scores taken in the third grade.
“Teacher ratings and reading levels are tracked starting in kindergarten,” she said. “At the end of third grade, the top 10 percent of students is recommended for gifted and talented starting in fourth grade.”
The four students in the mock trial competition are the only gifted and talented fifth-graders at the Berkeley this year.
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