Discipline is not a word that you often hear coming out of the mouths of kids, but at the Aug. 21 graduation of this year’s Junior Police Academy in Buchmuller Park, kids not only talked about it, but said they were glad to get it.
As the three platoons in the week-long summer program made a parade through the park, many of the kids bore the pride of having accomplished a second year.
“We were supposed to have the graduation the previous Thursday,” said Mayor Dennis Elwell. “But we could not because of the power outage.”
Many of the families scheduled their vacations so as to follow the graduation ceremony, and when the town was forced to change the date, some kids could not attend the final event.
Elwell, an Army veteran familiar with marching in a close order drill, said the group made an impressive entrance, marching in cadence, and attributed the success of the program to the several police officers involved, such as Sgt. Mike Reinke and Officer Kim Elphick.
This was the second year of the Junior Police Academy, a three-day educational camp for kids. The camp is designed to foster better communication between the town’s youth and police, showing the kids some aspect of police training and giving them an overall view of the full range of police duties. The event was supposed to run from Aug. 11 to 15 but was cut short by the blackout. Shortened or not, kids got to spend time close up with police officers, developing a relationship of trust and friendship.
Reinke and a handful of other police officers spent a better part of the week walking these kids through routines that would hopefully change some of their lives for the better, or at least, open their eyes to a way of life they knew little about.
Although all of the kids had volunteered for the camp, some looked startled by the sharp commands Reinke issued before graduation.
During the academy, a lot fell on the shoulders of platoon and squad leaders, who were expected to help get their units into shape, echoing some of the commands and detailing some of the chores issued them by the police. As a group, these kids learned to march, establishing loyalty towards the colored flag to which they had been assigned.
On the first day, they learned the basics: how to stand at attention or at ease, how to react to a command. Then over the next few days, they learned a little about what police do, that it often is more than just making arrests.
Kids said it was hard, but fun
This was Matthew Belen’s second year attending the academy. Upon graduation, he and Shannon Casey were given Academy Achievement Awards. Belen said he enjoyed it this year, including the discipline.
“The officers were kind of strict sometimes,” he said. “They yelled sometimes. But it was fun.”
Belen, who will start fifth grade on Sept. 3 at Clarendon School, said last year was longer. This year, they didn’t get to go to the town swimming pool. The academy was cut short by the Aug. 14 power outage.
“I was a squad leader once, but not this year,” he said.
Kids in the academy, Belen said, were divided into two platoons: red and white. Although Belen was wearing a red t-shirt that indicated he was a member of the 2003 academy, he was part of the white platoon this year.
“I learned about different kinds of commands, like about-face,” he said.
Angelo Cirinelli, also going into the fifth grade at Clarendon School and a member of the academy last year as well, said this year the organizers took the kids to new places such as a Newark Bears baseball game and to Rexplex, a massive sports and arcade complex in Elizabeth.
“Last year it was longer and we went to more places,” Cirinelli said.
When asked what he learned this year from the academy, he said, “We learned commands, to march and how to stand.”
He said he liked it enough to want to go through the program against next year, if it is held. Cirinelli was honored with one of this year’s Platoon Leader Awards.
Peter Botros and Tara Roarty were given awards for their work in close order drill.
Roarty, who will be entering sixth grade at Clarendon, said this was her second year at the academy.
She said she learned discipline and particularly liked the marching.
Nicholas Williams will be entering the third grade at Clarendon School in September. This was his first academy, and said he liked going to the baseball game best. Like many of the kids, Williams said he was fond of Police Sgt. Mike Reinke, who was one of the officers involved in the program.
Jesse Williams, Nicholas’ older brother, is entering the sixth grade. This was his second time at the academy.
“I liked it much better this year,” he said. “There was a lot of discipline. I was platoon leader this year.”
As a platoon leader, Jesse Williams said he was responsible for other kids.
“As a platoon leader, you become the boss of the platoon,” he said. “You get to tell them to come to attention and left face.”
Williams won an award for being the most outstanding graduate at this year’s academy.
Gabrielle Povolotzky, who was awarded a platoon leader award this year, will be attending fourth grade in Clarendon. She said she thought the whole academy was “cool.”
Lauren Bradshaw, a sixth grader in Huber Street School, said she enjoyed the academy, although it involved work.
“It was very difficult, but it was also kind of fun,” she said.
Salvatore Peralta, a fifth grader from Clarendon School, said this was his first year. Although he enjoyed the camp, he said the police officers and others were very strict about maintaining discipline.
“We were not supposed to fool around or talk when we were told not to,” he said.