Library Becomes the Heart of Lunchtime Life at CSSJ
At the Community School for Social Justice (CSSJ), students go to play and paint during lunchtime at the library. They also use the computers and spend their entire lunch break there. The students talk with their friends and sometimes play games like Jenga , Doctor, and Sorry! They also play Connect 4. They use the…
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How do CSSJ students perceive math?
Many students at CSSJ experience academic difficulties when it comes to passing their classes. However, one subject that students appear to most struggle with is mathematics. Math can be an enjoyable subject when students fully understand the material, but when the concepts become challenging, it often turns into a source of frustration. To gain insights…
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Building Bonds (and Roofs): CSSJ Hosts 5th Annual Gingerbread Competition
This was the fifth annual gingerbread competition happening at CSSJ, which kicked off on Thursday December 18 in the library filled with mentors and mentees with the help of the teachers and counselors. The purpose for this event was to bring the 9th graders and their mentors together as they work to build gingerbread houses.…
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The Heart of Photojournalism: Storytelling Through the Camera
In the class known as Photojournalism, these aspiring photojournalists are taught how to capture moments that tell powerful stories. Through the camera lens, students learn to document real life moments with their voices, improving their skills in both technical aspects and storytelling. The class focuses on the importance of ethics, cooperation, and using images to…
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CSSJ Celebrates Holidays with Family Groups Door Decoration Competition | Theme: Nostalgia
CSSJ’s door decoration competition among Family Groups have come to an end. After the judges looked at all the doors they have decided that Caroline’s Donkey Kong Arcade Door deserved the first place, then Marian’s Looney Tunes Class of 2026 Door came in second place. There were two doors that tied for the third place:…
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Health opportunities bathroom policy affecting CSSJ students
A long line of students has started appearing this year, by the bathroom. There is a new bathroom policy affecting not only Health Opportunities High School (HOP), which was the school that was intended for, but also Community School for Social Justice (CSSJ), according to anonymous sources. This policy requires a lot of patience on…
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Clean Bathrooms: ¿Everyone’s Responsibility? “The Reality of Our Bathrooms.”
At the Community School for Social Justice (CSSJ), students have been neglecting bathroom cleanliness. Many female students litter by throwing toilet paper on the floor and splashing water, leaving the area dirty.During school hours, both boys and girls often share the same bathroom. In many cases, girls carelessly dispose of soiled sanitary napkins in the…
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Creativity Without Borders: Art Students Bring Ghana, Japan, Italy, and France to Our School.
On Wednesday, November 26th, the art gallery proved that creativity has no limits. The art students transformed the classroom into a colorful and cultural space, showcasing pieces inspired by Ghana, Japan, Italy, and France. Each artwork represented a corner of the world and showed how art can connect people no matter the distance. According to…
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Hello August!: How to have an eventful summer while filling up your resume
The school year has ended just a month ago and you’re most likely very ecstatic about that. You get to chill in your bed, play video games, chill with your friends, go to the pool, the beach, work a summer job or even go on vacation. Even though it’s summer, that does not 100% mean…
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CSSJ’S Green Team Meets Governors Island
On May 22nd of 2025, students from the Community School of Social Justice’s Green Team took the journey to go to Governors Island. Students from various NYC high schools also took their Green Team representatives to participate in many activities and presentations on how to make your school’s environment healthy again. This year, CSSJ’s sustainability…
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New Schoolyard, New Energy: Morrisania Campus Opens Its Gates
Morrisania Educational Campus on Forrest Avenue wanted to make an improvement for the school and the community, by improving their school yard, which is now available for the public as of June 13. This attraction will be available for others outside the school as well (after school hours). The innovative design is set to appeal…
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New York Edge college trip to two HBCUs
Juniors and Sophomores traveled from Community School for Social Justice to Virginia State University and Hampton University, both in Virginia on Wednesday, March 26,2025. New York Edge team and lower division teachers nominated these students to go on the trip. Touring Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) gave students a chance to see if these…
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Trade Wars and Price Hikes: The Real Impact of U.S. Tariff Policies
If you have not been living under a rock, you must have heard that prices are going up due to Trump’s tariffs. They serve as a tool for governments to regulate international trade. Tariffs are the percentage of the value of the imported goods. Trump is proposing tariffs for all US imports including goods from…
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Why teens need to go to sleep early
Do you have trouble sleeping and wonder why it’s important for you to go to sleep on time and get 8 to 9 hours of sleep? Stay here to find out. Good sleep is essential to everyone, but to teenagers, it is especially vital. As adolescents navigate the highs and lows of school, social life,…
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CSSJ Bucks: Motivating Students to Excel
At the Community School for Social Justice, we motivate students to achieve success through an innovative reward system: CSSJ Bucks, toy coins awarded to those who demonstrate responsibility. This initiative has transformed academic performance and punctuality, proving that positive reinforcement fosters excellence. Speaking with the school store directors, I asked how they came up with…
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CSSJ HAVE THEIR 2ND ANNUAL FORUM
On May 15th, Community School for Social Justice had its second annual forum the multipurpose room, hosted by New York Edge (NYE) members: Ashley, Craig, Bryan and Cody. Donovan, Zephni, Charlize, Gondo, Victor, JC, Mackenzie, Jacob, Sophie, Cheikhou and Andrew volunteered after school to help with the event. The teachers also stayed late to host…
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Perfect Attendance Pays Off: Climbing to Success
“Keep going, Donovan!,” my friends, Zeph and Jacob yelled. I was hanging on for dear life, tired and exhausted, 60 feet in the air. They also helped me locate better footholds and handholds. This wasn’t my first time rock climbing, but it was my first as a senior with my crew. This trip was sponsored…
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Frames of Change: The Impact of BDC on Bronx Communities
The Bronx Documentary Center (BDC) is a non-profit gallery organization in the South Bronx to help students develop their visual storytelling skills and critical social issues. BDC’s mission is to share issues like immigration, justice, and education that people in the Bronx deal with through photos and videos. The Bronx Documentary Center was founded by…
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Community In Action: How CSSJ Lives Up To Its Name
CSSJ is not new to community service. We love giving back to our community, it’s in the name! We have an upcoming community service event called the Toy Drive. I interviewed one of CSSJ’s many lovely social workers, Sherry-Ann Jenkins. She had much to say on this topic. The toy drive is when we collect…
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Unforgettable Senior Journey: CSSJ Class of 2025 Redefines The Senior Trip
As the high school journey comes to an end for our seniors, CSSJ has many fun activities planned. The same activities that you will see every year are the College March, senior luncheon, prom, and decision day which rarely ever change. However, the one activity that the seniors do have a say is the senior…
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Ramadan Traditions: Fasting, Prayer, and Celebration
Ramadan is a holy month for the Muslims celebrated once a year in the Islamic calendar. It could be 29 or 30 days based on the moon phase. This is also known as the Hijri calendar to Muslims. Muslims started this calendar after a man named Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. He and his followers destroyed pagan worship…
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Empowering Teens: Recognizing and Preventing Dating Violence
Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month was a national effort to raise awareness of teen dating violence. 33% of women get sexually, physically and verbally abused, according to loveisrespect.org. It was has been observed every February since 2004. At CSSJ, Ms. Saini and Ashley created a wall installation for students to write anonymous personal experiences, definition…
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Dungeons and Dragons Club: “Pick Your Poison!”
Community School For Social Justice has opened students to join the gratifying and amusing club of Dungeons and Dragons hosted by 11th grade history educator: Anthony Bernardo, who has been the Dungeon Master since 2017 to 2025 and continuing. The club includes a summary of around 6-7 kids from various grades and whether they’re experienced…
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Senior Year at CSSJ: Looking Back and Stepping Forward
Senior year at Community School for Social Justice (CSSJ) brings a mix of excitement, pressure, and reflection. As the final year of high school approaches, seniors are focused on finishing strong, preparing for the future, and savoring their last year with friends and teachers. Reflecting on the Past For many seniors, this year is a…
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Guitar Heroes: CSSJ Students Find Their Beat
The guitar class at Community School for Social Justice helps students earn art credit and expand creativity. Students are learning the basics in how to play guitar like strumming a chord by brushing the strings with their fingers, finger positioning, barre chords, and basic chord shapes. Students use two types of guitar, electric guitar and…
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Ice skating trip with mentors and mentees
One of the best experiences of being mentors and mentees at CSSJ is going on trips together to build community and connect with each other. Mentors and mentees skated at an ice skating rink in Prospect Park on a chilly Monday morning in Brooklyn. As expected, some kids fell multiple times but got back up,…
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Can Yondr Pouches Unlock Student Potential?
The new school year has started back in September, but with a kick. As the use of smartphones have become more ubiquitous, distraction and antisocial behavior have become a concern for parents and schools. After years of phones being semi-allowed to be used on the school premises, in 2023, CSSJ came to the conclusion that…
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CSSJ holds its first Halloween Parade
On this Halloween, students and staff members at CSSJ celebrated Halloween for the first time officially with a custom fashion parade. Halloween was celebrated in such a unique fashion at CSSJ. Students and staff members who dressed up for the occasion wore outfits such as Ghostbuster, Little Red Riding Hood, the Grinch, a trash bag,…
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More Than Just a Field Trip: CSSJ’s HBCU Fair
Imagine walking into a brightly lit basketball court emblazoned with championship banners, with famous Historically Black Colleges & Universities’ representatives and their colorful flyers underneath. CSSJ seniors Donovan, Cheikhou, Joswar, Jacob, Keshae and Louis along with staff members Linaida and Craig walked into such a place not long ago. The trip started at 9 am.…
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A rite of passage: Class of 2025 Photos
By the two entrances of the multipurpose room, there’s a stage with colorful theater lights above it, and although we call it a stage, it’s really just a small raised platform with stairs on the side. Soon, this stage will be filled with seniors. Hi y’all! It’s that time of year again for Community School…
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Better Luck Next Time, Yankees!
Recently, CSSJ attended the Yankees VS. Orioles on September 24th. Everybody seemed excited and the energy in the stadium was amazing. It was a great way for teachers, students and parents to bond. My friends and I talked about it for days leading up to it. Everybody was really excited to see a game before…
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