Press release from Rumson School District

It starts with the question, “How can we make the world a better place?”  To answer that question 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students imagine, research, design, and build model “Future Cities” that showcase their solution to a citywide sustainability issue.

On January 14, Forrestdale School sent eighth grade students Jackson Patton and Lang Daly to Rutgers University to represent their fellow members of the school’s Future City Team, in the 25th annual Future City Competition — an event at which Forrestdale’s future city, named Forrestopia, was granted  the “Most Environmentally Friendly City” award.

This year the students were to design a city that included a distributed network of innovative, multi-use public spaces. Students showcased their solutions via a virtual city design (using SimCity), a 1,500-word city essay, a scale model, a project plan, and a live presentation in front of four judges.

“ It was fun because it was not like any class I have ever taken,” said 8th grader, Cassidy Cashion, one of the students took on this class as an extra elective that is part of Rumson’s JET (Journey Into Expanded Thinking) Enrichment Program.

“You had to research and create something completely new.”

The Future Cities team will be delivering their presentation to the public at the February 22, 2017 Board of Education meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 22, and will be honored by the BOE as well.