A Quilt from New Jersey

Threads help connect Jersey to Iditarod Trail

GEORGE PACCIELLO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Heidi, 17, gets some help sewing a portion of the quilt from Barbara Kotulich.

WASHINGTON TWP. -- Come March 1, a slice of Warren County life and culture will be present in Alaska's frozen tundra during the legendary 1,150-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
As participants in the Common Thread Quilt Project, students from the New Jersey Department of Children and Families Warren Project TEACH/TEC school in Washington Township have made a pair of quilts that will eventually make their way to the Iditarod Trial, while being shared with numerous other schools that have also made quilts.

The two Warren County quilts feature a total of 21 squares that tell a little about the local culture and students who made the quilts.

Among the squares made by the students is one of Blairstown resident Kim Darst, a sled dog racer who is hoping to qualify for the 2009 Iditarod. Other squares feature local people, animals and places, including a pair of American Red Cross therapy dogs, the National Guard and Oakwood Lanes.

Warren Project TEACH/TEC teacher Jean Pollock said the quilt project has allowed students to not only artistically express information about themselves and local culture, but also learn about the history of the Iditarod, build life skills by using a sewing machine and incorporate various aspects of the quilt project into technology, including setting up a video-conferencing session with a sister Department of Children and Families regional school in Passaic County.

Principal Stacy Becker said the project is a great way for students from different parts of the country to learn more about one another.
"The project helps the students in knowing there's a bigger world out there and gives them the opportunity to share things about New Jersey with people in Alaska," she said.
Assisting the students in carrying out the quilt project is Jane Blaile of Phoenix, Ariz., who was selected to serve as this year's Teacher on the Trail. Blaile, the 10th Teacher on the Trail, offered the following observations to fellow educators on the significance of the quilt project:
"Through this project, school children and teachers in Alaska will see a hint of the extent to which the Iditarod reaches others. The quilt you will send is for them to 'read,' learn from and enjoy as a connection to another place very far, but not always so very different from them. You and your students will enjoy the satisfaction of making a connection to a place full of wonder and beauty that you only read about in books and on the Internet and that you dream of visiting and watch ever so closely during the Iditarod. You will have a piece of yourselves in their school."

Warren Project TEACH/TEC students Heidi Troutman and Victoria Berges said they enjoyed the creativity of the project and being able to include their own personalized squares on the quilts. Both students said they are excited over the prospects of their quilt ending up in Alaska along the famous Iditarod Trail.
Represented on the Warren County quilts are friends from the community who have supported the school including: Rob Plenge and Barb Kotulich of Oakwood Lanes; Carl Maier with the American Red Cross Therapy dogs Rusty and Star; Mary Thomas of Cocoon Coffee Shop; New Jersey Army National Guard; and Darst.

While this is the first year Warren Project TEACH/TEC is participating in the quilt project, the school has been participating in Iditarod-related educational activities for several years, said Pollock.
Located in Washington Township since 1999, the state-run Warren Project TEACH/TEC is an alternative high school for at-risk students and pregnant or parenting teens that provides an onsite nursery. Becker said the school's goal is to have students progress in their studies to obtain their high school diplomas. Becker said there are currently 18 students enrolled in the Warren County school, which is one of several state DCF regional schools located throughout New Jersey.

http://blog.nj.com/warrenreporter/2008/01/threads_help_connect_jersey_to.html