The North Ward Center kicked off their Little League baseball season with a parade that culminated with opening day festivities in Essex County's Stephen N. Adubato Sports Complex in Branch Brook Park in Newark.A crowd of almost 1,000 joined the opening day's processions as hundreds of smiling children dressed in their team uniforms marched along with their parents and siblings down Mount Prospect and Bloomfield avenues to the park.

All five divisions of The North Ward Center's baseball program along with teams from the Roberto Clemente Little League participated in the more than 30 year tradition.

Graduating eighth graders at Robert Treat Academy Charter School in Newark received a record $6 million in scholarship offers to attend private boarding and day schools in the fall.

The scholarship offers this year exceeded the average $4 million a year that previous classes have received since the first class graduated in 2005, said Theresa Adubato, the principal of Robert Treat.

"We are extremely proud of our students," Adubato said. "The scholarship offers that this class received are a reflection of all the hard work they have put into their academics during their elementary school years."

Robert Treat, which was established in 1997 by North Ward Center founder Stephen Adubato, enrolls 450 students at its North Ward campus. The second campus in the Central Ward, which opened in 2009, currently enrolls 100 children in grades K-3 and will eventually have 225 students in grades K-8 as it adds a grade every year. Robert Treat was nationally recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon school of excellence.

"The fact that these children are getting into the greatest high schools in America and on full scholarship shows that children in Newark can excel," Stephen N. Adubato said.

Students at the school have been accepted to some of America's most elite boarding schools including Cheshire, Choate Rosemary Hall, The School at Church Farm, Deerfield, Groton School, St. Paul's, Phillips Exeter, Phillips Academy Andover, the Peddie School and Lawrenceville. The boarding schools have offered students more than $4.6 million in scholarships.

As a bassist for Latin jazz band Ruben Blades and Seis del Solar, Mike Vinas has performed on some of the biggest stages in the world.

But several times a week, the Latin Grammy Award winning artist comes to a classroom in Newark at the Robert Treat Academy to teach music composition to a small group of students in an afterschool enrichment program.

Sam Delgado, the vice president of external affairs for Verizon New Jersey, was honored by The North Ward Center in Newark at its annual Three Kings Day celebration.

Delgado, a long-time resident of Newark's North Ward, received the award in recognition of his corporate involvement on behalf of Verizon in support of the community.

Before they’re allowed to shoot baskets, children enrolled in The North Ward Center’s recreation program first have to hit the books.

The after-school tutoring program, designed for students in kindergarten through sixth grades who are struggling in school, was launched in response to parents’ demand to put academics before sports.

The North Ward Center’s Forest Hill Child Development Center has immediate openings for preschool for children ages 2 to 5. The program runs Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Breakfast, lunch and snack are included for $140 per week. All children are accepted, including those not yet toilet trained. 

If you are interested call immediately - (973) 481-1023.

Father Robert Sandoz, the president of Christ the King Prep School in Newark, was honored by The North Ward Center at its annual Monsignor Geno Baroni awards luncheon.

Sandoz was presented the award by Bill Baroni, the deputy executive director of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Verizon New Jersey President Dennis Bone was honored by The North Ward Center at its 11th Annual Gala that raised funds for the expansion of Robert Treat Academy's Central Ward campus.

The concert served up a variety of music from Puccini’s famous operas, including Gianni Schicci, Tosca, La bohème, Turnadot as well as the pop tunes that Sinatra made famous, including “You Make Me Feel So Young,” “It was a Very Good Year,” and “All the Way.”

In honor of Critchley, The North Ward Center donated $10,000 to one of Critchley’s favorite charities, Sisters of Christian Charity at Assumption College in Mendham. Guests at the event, held at the Breakers on the Ocean, were also asked to make a voluntary contribution to the organization.