And I'm so happy and pleased to say that when I walk through these halls and talk to these students in these six different schools, I see students that are learning and having fun. And to me, those are two very important qualities of a very, very effective education.
>> Birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere. Students come back year after year. There's multi-generations that have attended Birwood. It is truly a loving community. It's such a wonderful place to be. >> Our core values are the same as Rockaway
Township. Heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, respect, and trust. So, we can focus on particularly on being kind. What >> really resonates with me about this school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others. Whether it be a
difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience, they learn to persevere. And we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before. Stony Brook is an amazing place. It really is. And I think anybody who joins us, whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day, uh, you
know, I think echo that sentiment. Our staff is second to none. They really put the kids first all the time. And our students are exceptional as well. It's a wonderful school community. Our PTA is incredibly involved. Everything we do is well attended. back to school nights, our events, and we have a very involved
school community, both academically working handin-hand with our teachers, but also I think for extracurricular as well. >> Every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high school. And we have an opportunity to
instill core values into our students, helping students develop into future leaders, into being positive role models and citizens in our community. Our mantra we live by is no walls, no limits because being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great sense of
community. You just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors. >> What keeps me coming back here every morning? Hugs from kids. You know, I love being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me. Teachers who I now share personal connections with because
I've been here for 11 years as the principal. So yeah, I I think for me it's just being a part of something, being a part of the team. Uh we're all very different, but um but we we get along and you know, we support each other. >> Every morning I'm inspired by these
children, their energy, their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious. >> The people I work with makes me come back every single day. I hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building. I have the easiest job in the world
because I have the hardest working teachers in the world. >> The thing that makes Scopland Middle School so great is truly the people. It's the students. It's the staff. It's the community members. It's the parent involvement. It's the investment in making it a better place. >> I come here for the students. I love the
kids here. They are amazing. They're the best part of my day. They're the best part of my week. That's why I do what I do. I'm proud to be the superintendent of Rockway Township Schools and we are thankful for all the support we have from our community. I truly believe in an educator being
able to make a difference in the world. It's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to and teaching at Dubire is And so it's been really good. Yes, I think
I have to interview. Yes, I got an email. Okay, good. Well, I wasn't sure. I didn't know if I was still in front of Did
I check? >> No. >> No. >> My name is Dr. Richard Corbett and >> my name is Dr. Richard Corbett and I am the proud superintendent of Rockaway Township Public Schools. I was just
waving to some of our wonderful students as they were walking by and I'm so happy and pleased to say that when I walk through these halls and talk to these students in these six different schools, I see students that are learning and having fun and to me those are two very
important qualities of a very very effective education. >> Birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere. Students come back year after year. There's multi-generations that have attended Birwood. It is truly a loving community.
It's such a wonderful place to be. >> Our core values are the same as Rockaway Township. Heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, respect, and trust. So, we can focus on particularly on being kind. What really resonates with me about this school is that we put more value in
developing personal growth versus comparison to others. Whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience, they learn to persevere. and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before. >> Stony Brook is an amazing place. It really is. And I think anybody who joins
us, whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day, uh, you know, I think echo that sentiment. Our staff is second to none. They really put the kids first all the time. And our students are exceptional as well. It's a wonderful school community. Our PTA is incredibly involved. Everything we do is
well attended. back to school nights, our events, and we have a very involved school community, both academically working handin-hand with our teachers, but also I think for extracurricular as well. >> Every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District will graduate
from Copeland before they go on to high school. And we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students, helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community. Our mantra we live by is no walls, no limits because being a school with no walls uh
provides our students a great sense of community. You just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors. >> What keeps me coming back here every morning? Hugs from kids. You know, I love being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me. Teachers who I now
share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal. So yeah, I I think for me it's just being a part of something, being a part of the team. Uh we're all very different, but um but we we get along and you know, we support each other.
>> Every morning I'm inspired by these children, their energy, their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious. >> The people I work with makes me come back every single day. I hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building. I
have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world. >> The thing that makes Scopland Middle School so great is truly the people. It's the students. It's the staff. It's the community members. It's the parent involvement. It's the investment in making it a better place.
>> I come here for the students. I love the kids here. They are amazing. They're the best part of my day. They're the best part of my week. That's why I do what I do. I'm proud to be the superintendent of Rockway Township Schools and we are thankful for all the support we have
from our community. I truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world. It's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to and
teaching at Dubire is special because we don't have walls. I think social emotional learning is very important. It gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional dialogue and
that helps the whole child. If you've never taught at another school and you come to Birchwood, you honestly never want to leave Birchwood. You walk into this building and it's a family. We're all together. We're all happy. We're smiling. Nobody's cranky or miserable. We're here together for each
other. One of the things that I love the most about this position and this job is that I get to work with students of all ages now that we house preschool students here. I see every single student in the building from preschool all the way through fifth grade. And I get to work with them on a deeper level
on a way that inspires them not just to be confident in themselves but in what they love. After teaching for 25 years, I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a story of why I come back every day. Any
good lesson makes me feel alive. Going to the soccer games, the football games, seeing my students outside the classroom. I want the kids to feel at home and I feel the more comfortable that they are, the relationship that we build together, the better they're going to do in class. Not not only enjoy their
time in class, but also take risks. It's a really great environment here at KDM. My co-workers are great. The students every day, they make me laugh. One thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset. I did have a student that came in and really didn't like math. They were really negative
self-talking, saying that they can't do this. And so, basically throughout the whole year, we worked on just changing that mindset. >> Good evening, Rockway Township. I'd like to call this meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Can I please have an attendance roll call? >> Mrs. Anderson
>> here. >> Mrs. Kuru. Miss Mcgiri >> here. >> Mrs. Messi >> here. >> Miss Richardson, Miss Torren. >> Dr. Thomasini >> here. >> We have a quorum. >> Thank you. The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act was passed to ensure the right of the public to have advanced
notice and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any time any business affecting their interest is discussed and acted upon. In accordance with the provision of the act, the Rockway Township Board of Education has caused notice of the date, time, and place of said meetings to be published in the daily record, the Star Ledger,
and be posted in all schools in the district, in the municipal building of the township, and the township library. Does any board member wish to object to the conduct of this meeting for the purposes as stated in the public notice? Seeing and hearing none, all documentation and materials considered by the board of education as part of
this agenda are available for public review and comment. Members of the public are invited to come to the Board of Education building off Green Pond Road during the regular business hours of 8:00 a.m. to 400 p.m. Monday through Friday if they wish to inspect any of the referenced items. Can I please have a motion to wave the flag salute till
open session? >> So moved. >> Seconded. >> Show of hands, please. >> Thank you. Resolved that in accordance with the open public meetings act, the Rockway Township Board of Education will meet in close session to discuss matters involving personnel, litigation,
acquisition of real property, security, negotiations, receipt of governmental funds. The content of said discussions will be disclosed to the public at such time and extent as is required by law. Can I please have a motion to go into close session? >> So moved. >> Seconded.
>> Thank you. Show of hands, please. >> All righty. going into close session at 6:01 p.m. >> My name is Dr. Richard Corbett and I am the proud superintendent of Rockaway Township Public Schools. I was just waving to some of our wonderful students as they were walking
by and I'm so happy and pleased to say that when I walk through these halls and talk to these students in these six different schools, I see students that are learning and having fun and to me those are two very important qualities of a very, very effective education.
>> Birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere. Students come back year after year. There's multi-generations that have attended Birwood. It is truly a loving community. It's such a wonderful place to be. >> Our core values are the same as Rockaway
Township. Heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, respect, and trust. So, we can focus on particularly on being kind. >> What really resonates with me about this school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others. Whether it be a
difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience, they learn to persevere. and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before. >> Stony Brook is an amazing place. It really is. And I think anybody who joins us, whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day, uh, you
know, I think echo that sentiment. Our staff is second to none. They really put the kids first all the time. And our students are exceptional as well. It's a wonderful school community. Our PTA is incredibly involved. Everything we do is well attended. back to school nights, our events, and we have a very involved
school community both academically working handin-hand with our teachers, but also I think for extracurricular as well. >> Every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District and will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high school. And we have an opportunity to instill core values into
our students, helping students develop into future leaders, into being positive role models and citizens in our community. Our mantra we live by is no walls, no limits because being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great sense of community. You just know
you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors. What keeps me coming back here every morning? Hugs from kids. You know, I love being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me. Teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've
been here for 11 years as the principal. So yeah, I I think for me it's just being a part of something, being a part of the team. Uh we're all very different, but um but we we get along and you know, we support each other. >> Every morning I'm inspired by these
children, their energy, their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious. >> The people I work with makes me come back every single day. I hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building. I have the easiest job in the world
because I have the hardest working teachers in the world. >> The thing that makes Scopland Middle School so great is truly the people. It's the students. It's the staff. It's the community members. It's the parent involvement. It's the investment in making it a better place. >> I come here for the students. I love the
kids here. They are amazing. They're the best part of my day. They're the best part of my week. That's why I do what I do. I'm proud to be the superintendent of Rockway Township Schools and we are thankful for all the support we have from our community. I truly believe in an educator being
able to make a difference in the world. It's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to and teaching at Dubire is special because we don't have walls. I think social
emotional learning is very important. It gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional dialogue and that helps the whole child. If you've never taught at another school
and you come to Birchwood, you honestly never want to leave Birchwood. You walk into this building and it's a family. We're all together. We're all happy. We're smiling. Nobody's cranky or miserable. We're here together for each other. One of the things that I love the most about this position and this job is
that I get to work with students of all ages now that we house preschool students here. I see every single student in the building from preschool all the way through fifth grade. And I get to work with them on a deeper level on a way that inspires them not just to
be confident in themselves but in what they love. After teaching for 25 years, I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a story of why I come back every day. Any good lesson makes me feel alive. Going
to the soccer games, the football games, seeing my students outside the classroom. I want the kids to feel at home and I feel the more comfortable that they are, the relationship that we build together, the better they're going to do in class. Not not only enjoy their time in class, but also take risks.
It's a really great environment here at KDM. My co-workers are great. The students every day, they make me laugh. One thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset. I did have a student that came in and really didn't like math. They were really negative self-talking, saying that they can't do
this. And so, basically throughout the whole year, we worked on just changing that mindset. One of the things that I'm really hoping to teach them more than anything else is about kindness and you know being good friends to each other. One of my most favorite success stories is a particular student when you know he
would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk. I've tried to instill intrinsic love for school, intrinsic love for education. And over time, I've seen him pick that head up and that's why I do what I do to have a
kid come in and their school's a happy place for them and they want to come. So, we used to always start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do things that might seem hard like a
harder task. And I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient and show grit in the face of a harder task, then all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier. >> Our goal here is that every child is as comfortable in class as they are at home. And if they're ever in trouble,
they're ever concerned or worried that they have the tools available to them to be successful and to help each other be as successful as we know they can be. We have really seen over the years an incredible increase in their emotional maturity and in their abilities to deal
with issues both in the playground and in the classroom. And I really believe it's because our district's focus on SEAL over the last several years. >> I am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School. I really love to see the growth and the change to the students.
And what I really focus on is teamwork. So the kids are always in teams. We want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas. I want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home. I want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable, feel like they can be
themselves. They may not come here and love math, but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class. Years ago, I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics. And I worked so carefully with her. I gave her extra help just to have her overcome
this fear and it was fabulous to see that aha moment when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day. >> So my name is Jackson. >> My name is Mia. >> My name is Mariah. >> I think what awesome is about being in
Birwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls. Like in school they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a wall with the art teacher. >> My favorite is recess. My favorite thing
is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff. We get to do puzzle of the day and it's really fun. We get to watch videos at the end of the day. My name is Carly and I am in fifth grade
and I go to DVL. >> Yeah. My name is Rehea. I'm in first grade. Being at DVL is awesome because all the teachers here are so great and so nice. >> I like the teachers here. They make it awesome here. She teaches well and then
she teaches us stuff which we have never learned. >> My favorite subject is probably math because I like all the challenges. My favorite special is art class with Miss Takis. Plus, drawing is my favorite thing. >> What makes DBL unique is that everyone
is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other. >> My name is Quink. I'm in the fifth grade. >> Hi, my name is Arya. I am in second grade. What makes our school awesome is all the teachers we have here. They help us every day. All the janitors keep our
school nice and clean. all my friends that helped me since kindergarten and everybody just helps us here because we are a really good community >> because of my friends, the teachers and the principal. Like we read a book and then we do a project based on what happened in that story.
>> Math is my favorite subject because the teachers always help us and it's fun but it can be complicated but it's still really fun. My favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good teachers. They have fun activities to do
and their stories. My first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into chapter books in Juni V. Jones. My favorite subject is science. In science, you do lots of experiments and I think experiments are very fun. Every
day I'm like happy at school. When I came into sixth grade in Copeland where everything was new and different for me, Mrs. Heath, she was especially really kind to me, she still talks to me even though we don't really see each other that much and she gives me so much good
luck for all the things that I do. One teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my seventh grade LA teacher. I used to just like like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make that subject more fun.
I think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers. Math is my favorite because like you can learn different things like times, plus minus. No matter where you come from or no
matter what you like look like, people will be friends with you and welcome you into this school. One word to describe this school is probably heart. Honesty, empathy, acceptance, and respect and trust. This is probably one of the most special
places I've ever worked. It is the staff, the teachers. Uh they are loving, they are caring. The energy here is just great. It's wonderful to work with a group of men and women who truly love what they do. Their heart, passion, and soul is for students, and to see them
succeed. I try to find a way for them to want to be here. Even if they're sad or even if they don't want to get out of the car in the morning, if I say, "Hey, let's go wander in the library." And they bounce out of the car right away, which actually happened, then I've done something right that I have found a way
to make them feel like this is home for them because that's kind of how I feel. I love the kids here. They're amazing. They're the best part of my day. They're the best part of my week. That's why I do what I do. >> So, my name is Jackson. My name is Mia. My name is Mariah.
>> I think what awesome is about being in Birchwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls. Like in school, they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a wall with the art teacher. My favorite is recess.
My favorite thing is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff. We get to do puzzle of the day and it's really fun. We get to watch videos at the end of the day. >> Our doors are always open. We are truly a family here. Our kids are just
everything. >> If you've never taught at another school and you come to Birwood, you honestly never want to leave Birwood. You walk into this building and it's a family. We're all together. We're all happy. We're smiling. Nobody's cranky or miserable. We're here together for each
other. Birwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere. Students come back year after year. There's multi-generations that have attended Birwood. It is truly a loving community. It's such a wonderful place to be. I commute an hour or more every
day and I've been given the opportunity to work in another district, but I've been here 7 years and I will drive that hour because the community, the parents, the teachers, our principal are incredible. We're just so happy to have such a loving, nurturing community that
is so vested in our school. We are family and once a bulldog, always a bulldog. I truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world. It's so important to have a positive
environment for a child to come to. And teaching at Dwire is special because we don't have walls. >> Our mantra we live by is no walls, no limits because being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great
sense of community. You just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors. >> I like to tell people that when you're here, it's like learning at home. You're in your kitchen, but you still know what's going on in the family room. It builds like this, you know, camaraderie
amongst not only the students but also the faculty that work here. We call ourselves a Dwire family. Mr. McGovern, he seldom calls us a school and we really all live by that. We treat each other like family and we emulate that for the kids.
>> I think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers. Math is my favorite because like you can learn different things like times, plus minus. No matter where you come from or no
matter what you like look like, people will be friends with you and welcome you into the school. One word to describe this school is probably heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, and respect, and trust.
I have been teaching art here in Rockaway Township for 16 years. I think social and emotional learning is very important. It gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional
dialogue and that helps the whole child. I get the privilege of going into every single class once a month where I do a guidance lesson. The best part of my job is when one of them is having a tough day and then they feel better and it's because of me. >> The people I work with makes me come
back every single day. I hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building. I have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world. Every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high
school. And we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students, helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community. >> I am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School. I really love to see the
growth and the change through the students. And what I really focus on is teamwork. So the kids are always in teams. We want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas. >> I want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home. I want them to come into my classroom and feel
comfortable, feel like they can be themselves. They may not come here and love math, but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class. When I came into sixth grade in Copeland, where everything was new and different for me, Mrs. Heath, she was especially really
kind to me. She still talks to me even though we don't really see each other that much and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do. One teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my 7th grade LA teacher. I used to dislike like reading and writing
and she really helped me understand and make that subject more fun. Years ago, I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics and I worked so carefully with her. I gave her extra help just to have her overcome
this fear and it was fabulous to see that aha moment when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day. >> We are making sure kids are prepared for the future and that means making sure
that they have access to technology. Every single classroom has interactive boards. Kids get a Chromebook in the fifth grade. >> They work as a team towards a common goal. They overcome challenges. We connect with the community through our concerts which are very well attended.
Vanda Copeland is truly an all-inclusive experience for all of the students here. >> I try to get everybody involved so that they can make a positive impact in the future. I teach US history and I come to work every day excited. I get the
opportunity to mold the next generation. >> The thing that makes Copeland Middle School so great is truly the people. It's the students. It's the staff. It's the community members. It's the parent involvement. It's the investment in making it a better place. >> Our core values are the same as Rockaway
Township. Heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, respect, and trust. So we can focus on particularly on being kind >> by being kind to a friend, helping them out, helping teachers, be nice to them, be respectful, and don't interrupt the teachers.
>> And everything we do, we try and relate back to our core values. One of the things we are working on right now is positive behavior system. I don't like to address anything negative in my office because I want kids to be able to trust me and to be able to come down as a leader of the building. So, we're really working on being kind. And yes,
academics are important, but one of the main things for us is that we raise good kids. The main message is to be kind because above all else, we want our kids just to be kind. >> My name is Carly and I am in fifth grade and I go to DVL. >> Yeah. My name is Rehea. I'm in first
grade. >> Being at DVL is awesome because all the teachers here are so great and so nice. >> I like the teachers here. They make it awesome here. She teaches well and then she teaches us stuff which we have never
learned. >> My favorite subject is probably math because I like all the challenges. >> My favorite special is art class with Miss Takis because drawing is my favorite thing. >> What makes DBO unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone
cares about each other. If I had to describe our building in one word, I would say we're a little unconventional. We're always trying to have our teachers and our students look at other ways to achieve success. And for every student, that's different.
There are other ways that we can really show student growth, student success. >> I'm not trying to be cheesy or anything. It's it really the staff here um we have built a family. And I think that says something about the building and the and and the community that we foster here at ZBO. And I'm really grateful to be part
of that. >> Being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me, teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal. >> After teaching for 25 years, I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a
story of why I come back every day. Any good lesson makes me feel alive. Going to the soccer games, the football games, seeing my students outside the classroom. I want the kids to feel at home and I feel the more comfortable that they are, the relationship that we build together, the better they're going
to do in class, not not only enjoy their time in class, but also take risks. >> So, yeah, I I think for me it's just being a part of something, being a part of the team. Uh we're all very different, but um but we we get along and you know, we support each other.
What really resonates with me about the school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others. Whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience, they learn to persevere. And we can bring out something in themselves that they might
not have seen before. >> It's a really great environment here at KDM. My co-workers are great. The students every day, they make me laugh. One thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset. I did have a student that came in and really didn't like math. They were really negative
self-talking, saying that they can't do this. And so, basically throughout the whole year, we worked on just changing that mindset. Just because we can't do something right now doesn't mean that we're never going to be able to do it. And that's what I teach all of my students.
>> My favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good teachers. They have fun activities to do and their stories. My first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into chapter books in Juni B. Jones. >> My favorite subject is science. In
science, you do lots of experiments and I think experiments are very fun. Every day I'm like happy at school. >> We identify the interests of students. You know, what motivates them so students feel more comfortable and confident in their learning environment,
moving them forward from one learning experience to another. Every morning I'm inspired by these children. Their energy, their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious. >> One of the things that I'm really hoping
to teach them more than anything else is about kindness and you know being good friends to each other. One of my most favorite success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk. I trying to instill intrinsic
love for school, intrinsic love for education. And over time, I've seen him pick that head up. And that's why I do what I do. To have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them, and they want to come.
Stony Brook is an amazing place. It really is. And I think anybody who joins us, whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day, uh, you know, I think echo that sentiment. Our staff is second to none. They really put the kids first all the time, and our students are exceptional as well. It's a
wonderful school community. Our PTA is incredibly involved. Everything we do is well attended, back to school nights, our events, and we have a very involved school community, both academically, working handin-hand with our teachers, but also, I think, for extracurricular as well. Inside school, I really try to
be involved in as many things as I can. My children also go to school in this district at one of the other schools and I'm really proud of what we put forth for our children. Anytime we can bring togetherness and have us all work together, both in our community and out, it's really going to help everyone raise their own level of abilities to really
increase the success of our community. So we used to always start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do things that might seem hard like a harder task. And I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient
and show grit in the face of a harder task then all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier. Having students in a classroom that's smaller where you get to meet their needs specifically rather than in a bigger classroom. You can build more of a rapport and relationships with them. I like them to
become successful not just academically but also social emotionally. >> My name is Queen. I'm in the fifth grade. >> Hi, my name's Arya. I am in second grade. What makes our school awesome is all the teachers we have here. They help us every day. All the janitors keep our
school nice and clean. All my friends that helped me since kindergarten and everybody just helps us here cuz we are a really good community. >> Because of my friends, the teachers and the principal. like we read a book and then we do a project based on what
happened in that story. Math is my favorite subject because the teachers always help us and it's fun but it can be complicated but it's still really fun. >> I've always wanted to be a teacher. I think the reason why I wanted to be a teacher is because I think I had really good elementary school teachers. Rockway
I thought was really interesting because I feel like it is a small close-knit community, but I also felt like there's a lot of different opportunities in Rockway. I like how there was five different elementary schools, but I also like how I felt like that I fit in with the Stony Brook mentality. The Stony
Brook mentality is something where we all feel and have the same idea of supporting students. the kids understand that everyone makes a mistake, everyone has a bad day, and I think that it gives the opportunity for kids to grow and not feel like penalized. I love that we have a great principal. I love the teachers
and the morale. As soon as I started coming up here, since I am from South Jersey, I felt welcomed and included right away. >> My name is Dr. Richard Corbett and I am the proud superintendent of Rockaway Township Public Schools. I was just waving to some of our
wonderful students as they were walking by and I'm so happy and pleased to say that when I walk through these halls and talk to these students in these six different schools, I see students that are learning and having fun and to me those are two very important qualities
of a very very effective education. >> Birwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere. Students come back year after year. There's multi-generations that have attended Birwood. It is truly a loving community. It's such a wonderful place to be.
>> Our core values are the same as Rockaway Township. Heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, respect, and trust. So, we can focus on particularly on being kind. What really resonates with me about this school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus
comparison to others. Whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience, they learn to persevere. and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before. >> Stony Brook is an amazing place. It really is. And I think anybody who joins us, whether it's full-time or visitors
in the building just for a day, uh, you know, I think echo that sentiment. Our staff is second to none. They really put the kids first all the time. And our students are exceptional as well. It's a wonderful school community. Our PTA is incredibly involved. Everything we do is well attended. back to school nights,
our events, and we have a very involved school community, both academically working handin-hand with our teachers, but also I think for extracurricular as well. >> Every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high
school. And we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students, helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community. Our mantra we live by is no walls, no limits because being a school with no walls uh
provides our students a great sense of community. You just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors. >> What keeps me coming back here every morning? Hugs from kids. You know, I love being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me. Teachers who I now
share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal. So yeah, I I think for me it's just being a part of something, being a part of the team. Uh we're all very different, but um but we we get along and you know, we support each other.
>> Every morning I'm inspired by these children, their energy, their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious. >> The people I work with makes me come back every single day. I hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building. I
have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world. >> The thing that makes Scopland Middle School so great is truly the people. It's the students. It's the staff. It's the community members. It's the parent involvement. It's the investment in making it a better place.
>> I come here for the students. I love the kids here. They are amazing. They're the best part of my day. They're the best part of my week. That's why I do what I do. I'm proud to be the superintendent of Rockway Township Schools and we are thankful for all the support we have
from our community. I truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world. It's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to and
teaching at Dubire is special because we don't have walls. I think social emotional learning is very important. It gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional dialogue and
that helps the whole child. If you've never taught at another school and you come to Birchwood, you honestly never want to leave Birchwood. You walk into this building and it's a family. We're all together. We're all happy. We're smiling. Nobody's cranky or miserable. We're here together for each
other. One of the things that I love the most about this position and this job is that I get to work with students of all ages now that we house preschool students here. I see every single student in the building from preschool all the way through fifth grade. And I get to work with them on a deeper level
on a way that inspires them not just to be confident in themselves but in what they love. After teaching for 25 years, I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a story of why I come back every day. Any
good lesson makes me feel alive. Going to the soccer games, the football games, seeing my students outside the classroom. I want the kids to feel at home. And I feel the more comfortable that they are, the relationship that we build together, the better they're going to do in class. Not not only enjoy their
time in class, but also take risks. It's a really great environment here at KDM. My co-workers are great. The students every day, they make me laugh. One thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset. I did have a student that came in and really didn't like math. They were really negative
self-talking, saying that they can't do this. And so, basically throughout the whole year, we worked on just changing that mindset. One of the things that I'm really hoping to teach them more than anything else is about kindness and, you know, being good friends to each other. One of my most favorite success stories
is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk. I've tried to instill intrinsic love for school, intrinsic love for education and over time I've seen him pick that head up and
that's why I do what I do to have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them and they want to come. So we used to always start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do
things that might seem hard like a harder task. And I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient and show grit in the face of a harder task then all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier. >> Our goal here is that every child is as comfortable in class as they are at
home. and if they're ever in trouble, they're ever concerned or worried that they have the tools available to them to be successful and to help each other be as successful as we know they can be. We have really seen over the years an incredible increase in their emotional
maturity and in their abilities to deal with issues both in the playground and in the classroom. And I really believe it's because our district's focus on SEAL over the last several years. I am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School. I really love to see the
growth and the change to the students and what I really focus on is teamwork. So the kids are always in teams. We want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas. I want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home. I want them to come into my classroom and feel
comfortable, feel like they can be themselves. They may not come here and love math, but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class. Years ago, I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics. And I worked so carefully with her. I gave
her extra help just to have her overcome this fear. And it was fabulous to see that aha moment when she finally got it. And that is why I do what I do every day. >> So, my name is Jackson. >> My name is Mia. My name is Mariah.
>> I think what awesome is about being in Birwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls. Like in school, they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a wall with the art teacher. My favorite is recess.
My favorite thing is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff. We get to do puzzle of the day and it's really fun. We get to watch videos at the end of the day. >> My name is Carly and I am in fifth grade
and I go to DVO. >> Yeah. My name is Rehea. I'm in first grade. >> Being at DVL is awesome because all the teachers here are so great and so nice. >> I like the teachers here. They make it awesome here. She teaches well and then
she teaches us stuff which we have never learned. >> My favorite subject is probably math because I like all the challenges. >> My favorite special is art class with Miss Takis plus drawing is my favorite thing. >> What makes DBL unique is that everyone
is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other. >> My name is Quink. I'm in the fifth grade. >> Hi, my name is Arya. I am in second grade. >> What makes our school awesome is all the teachers we have here. They help us every day. All the janitors keep our
school nice and clean. All my friends that helped me since kindergarten. And everybody just helps us here cuz we are a really good community. >> Because of my friends, the teachers, and the principal. Like we read a book and then we do a project based on what
happened in that story. Math is my favorite subject because the teachers always help us and it's fun, but it can be complicated, but it's still really fun. >> My favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good teachers. They have fun activities to do
and their stories. My first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into chapter books in Juni B. Jones. My favorite subject is science. In science, you do lots of experiments and I think experiments are very fun. Every
day I'm like happy at school. When I came into sixth grade in Copeland where everything was new and different for me. Mrs. Heath, she was especially really kind to me. She still talks to me even though we don't really see each other that much and she gives me so much good
luck for all the things that I do. One teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my seventh grade LA teacher. I used to dislike like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make that subject more fun.
>> I think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers. Math is my favorite because like you can learn different things like times plus minus. No matter where you come from or no
matter what you like look like, people will be friends with you and welcome you into the school. One word to describe this school is probably heart. Honesty, empathy, acceptance, and respect and trust.
This is probably one of the most special places I've ever worked. It is the staff, the teachers. Uh they are loving, they are caring. The energy here is just great. It's wonderful to work with a group of men and women who truly love what they do. their heart, passion, and
soul is for students and to see them succeed. >> I try to find a way for them to want to be here. Even if they're sad or even if they don't want to get out of the car in the morning, if I say, "Hey, let's go wander in the library." And they bounce out of the car right away, which actually happened, then I've done
something right that I have found a way to make them feel like this is home for them because that's kind of how I feel. I love the kids here. They're amazing. They're the best part of my day. They're the best part of my week. That's why I do what I do. >> So, my name is Jackson.
>> My name is Mia. My name is Mariah. >> I think what awesome is about being in Birchwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls. Like in school, they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a wall with
the art teacher. My favorite is recess. My favorite thing is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff. We get to do puzzle of the day and it's really fun. We get to watch videos at the end of the
day. >> Our doors are always open. We are truly a family here. Our kids are just everything. >> If you've never taught at another school and you come to Birwood, you honestly never want to leave Birchwood. You walk into this building and it's a family. We're all together. We're all happy.
We're smiling. Nobody's cranky or miserable. We're here together for each other. >> Birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere. Students come back year after year. There's multi-generations that have attended Birwood. It is truly a loving community.
It's such a wonderful place to be. I commute an hour or more every day. And I've been given the opportunity to work in another district, but I've been here 7 years. and I will drive that hour because the community, the parents, the teachers, our principal are incredible.
>> We're just so happy to have such a loving, nurturing community that is so vested in our school. We are family and once a bulldog, always a bulldog. I truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world.
It's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to and teaching at Dubire is special because we don't have walls. Our mantra we live by is no walls, no limits because being a school with no
walls uh provides our students a great sense of community. You just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors. I like to tell people that when you're here, it's like learning at home. You're in your kitchen, but you still know what's going on in the family room. It builds like
this, you know, commodery amongst not only the students, but also the faculty that work here. We call ourselves a Dwire family. Mr. McGovern, he seldom calls us a school and we really all live by that. We treat each other like family and we emulate that for the kids. I
think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers. Math is my favorite because like you can learn different things like times, plus minus. No matter where you come from or no
matter what you like look like, people will be friends with you and welcome you into the school. One word to describe this school is probably heart. Honesty, empathy, acceptance, and respect and trust. I have been teaching art here in
Rockaway Township for 16 years. I think social and emotional learning is very important. It gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional dialogue and that helps the whole child.
I get the privilege of going into every single class once a month where I do a guidance lesson. The best part of my job is when one of them is having a tough day and then they feel better and it's because of me. >> The people I work with makes me come back every single day. I hire a very
unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building. I have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world. Every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high school. And we have an opportunity to
instill core values into our students, helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community. >> I am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School. I really love to see the growth and the change through the students. And what I really focus on is
teamwork. So the kids are always in teams. We want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas. I want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home. I want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable, feel like they can be themselves. They may not come here and
love math, but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class. When I came into sixth grade in Copeland, where everything was new and different for me, Mrs. Heath, she was especially really kind to me. She still talks to me even though we don't really see each other
that much and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do. One teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my 7th grade LA teacher. I used to dislike like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and
make that subject more fun. Years ago, I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics. And I worked so carefully with her. I gave her extra help just to have her overcome this fear and it was fabulous to see
that aha moment when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day. >> We are making sure kids are prepared for the future and that means making sure that they have access to technology.
Every single classroom has interactive boards. Kids get a Chromebook in the fifth grade. >> They work as a team towards a common goal. They overcome challenges. We connect with the community through our concerts which are very well attended. Vanda Copeland is truly an all-inclusive
experience for all of the students here. >> I try to get everybody involved so that they can make a positive impact in the future. I teach US history and I come to work every day excited. I get the opportunity to mold the next generation.
>> The thing that makes Copeland Middle School so great is truly the people. It's the students. It's the staff. It's the community members. It's the parent involvement. It's the investment in making it a better place. >> Our core values are the same as Rockaway Township. Heart, honesty, empathy,
acceptance, respect, and trust. So we can focus on particularly on being kind >> by being kind to a friend, helping them out, helping teachers, be nice to them, be respectful and don't interrupt the teachers. >> And everything we do, we try and relate
back to our core values. One of the things we are working on right now is positive behavior system. I don't like to address anything negative in my office because I want kids to be able to trust me and to be able to come down as a leader of the building. So, we're really working on being kind. And yes, academics are important, but one of the
main things for us is that we raise good kids. The main message is to be kind because above all else, we want our kids just to be kind. >> My name is Carly and I am in fifth grade and I go to DVO. >> Yeah. My name is Rehea. I'm in first grade.
>> Being at DVO is awesome because all the teachers here are so great and so nice. >> I like the teachers here. They make it awesome here. She teaches well and then she teaches us stuff which we have never learned.
>> My favorite subject is probably math because I like all the challenges. >> My favorite special is art class with Miss Takis because drawing is my favorite thing. >> What makes DBL unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone
cares about each other. If I had to describe our building in one word, I would say we're a little unconventional. We're always trying to have our teachers and our students look at other ways to achieve success. And for every student, that's different.
There are other ways that we can really show student growth, student success. >> I'm not trying to be cheesy or anything. It's it really the staff here um we have built a family. And I think that says something about the building and the and and the community that we foster here at CBO. And I'm really grateful to be part
of that. >> Being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me, teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal. >> After teaching for 25 years, I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a
story of why I come back every day. Any good lesson makes me feel alive. Going to the soccer games, the football games, seeing my students outside the classroom. I want the kids to feel at home and I feel the more comfortable that they are, the relationship that we build together, the better they're going
to do in class, not not only enjoy their time in class, but also take risks. >> So, yeah, I I think for me it's just being a part of something, being a part of the team. Uh we're all very different, but um but we we get along and you know, we support each other.
What really resonates with me about the school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others. Whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience, they learn to persevere and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have
seen before. >> It's a really great environment here at KDM. My co-workers are great. The students every day, they make me laugh. One thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset. I did have a student that came in and really didn't like math. They were really negative
selft talking saying that they can't do this. And so basically throughout the whole year we worked on just changing that mindset. Just because we can't do something right now doesn't mean that we're never going to be able to do it. And that's what I teach all of my students.
>> My favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good teachers. They have fun activities to do and their stories. My first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into chapter books in Juni B. Jones. >> My favorite subject is science. In
science, you do lots of experiments and I think experiments are very fun. Every day I'm like happy at school. >> We identify the interests of students. You know what motivates them so students feel more comfortable and confident in their learning environment moving them
forward from one learning experience to another. Every morning I'm inspired by these children. Their energy, their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious. >> One of the things that I'm really hoping to teach them more than anything else is
about kindness and you know being good friends to each other. One of my most favorite success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk. I trying to instill intrinsic love for school, intrinsic love for
education. And over time, I've seen him pick that head up. And that's why I do what I do. To have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them and they want to come. Stony Brook is an amazing place. It really is. And I think anybody who joins
us, whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day, uh, you know, I think echo that sentiment. Our staff is second to none. They really put the kids first all the time. And our students are exceptional as well. It's a wonderful school community. Our PTA is incredibly involved. Everything we do is
well attended. Back to school nights, our events, and we have a very involved school community, both academically, working handin-hand with our teachers, but also I think for extracurricular as well. Inside school, I really try to be involved in as many things as I can. My children also go to school in this
district at one of the other schools and I'm really proud of what we put forth for our children. Anytime we can bring togetherness and have us all work together, both in our community and out, it's really going to help everyone raise their own level of abilities to really increase the success of our community. So, we used to always start off with a
growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do things that might seem hard like a harder task. And I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient and show grit in the face of a harder task, then all the other academic
challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier. Having students in a classroom that's smaller where you get to meet their needs specifically rather than in a bigger classroom, you can build more of a rapport and relationships with them. I like them to become successful not just academically but also social emotionally.
>> My name is Queen. I'm in the fifth grade. >> Hi, my name's Arya. I am in second grade. What makes our school awesome is all the teachers we have here. They help us every day. All the janitors keep our school nice and clean. All my friends that helped me since kindergarten and
everybody just helps us here cuz we are a really good community. >> Because of my friends, the teachers and the principal. like we read a book and then we do a project based on what happened in that story. Math is my favorite subject because the teachers always help us and it's fun but it can
be complicated but still really fun. >> I've always wanted to be a teacher. I think the reason why I wanted to be a teacher is because I think I had really good elementary school teachers. Rockway I thought was really interesting because I feel like it is a small close-knit community, but I also felt like there's
a lot of different opportunities in Rockway. I like how there was five different elementary schools, but I also like how I felt like that I fit in with the Stony Brook mentality. The Stony Brook mentality is something where we all feel and have the same idea of supporting students. the kids understand
that everyone makes a mistake, everyone has a bad day, and I think that it gives the opportunity for kids to grow and not feel like penalized. I love that we have a great principal. I love the teachers and the morale. As soon as I started coming up here, since I am from South Jersey, I felt welcomed and included
right away. >> My name is Dr. Richard Corbett and I am the proud superintendent of Rockaway Township Public Schools. I was just waving to some of our wonderful students as they were walking by and I'm so happy and pleased to say that when I walk through these halls and
talk to these students in these six different schools, I see students that are learning and having fun and to me those are two very important qualities of a very very effective education. >> Birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere. Students come
back year after year. There's multi-generations that have attended Birwood. It is truly a loving community. It's such a wonderful place to be. >> Our core values are the same as Rockaway Township. Heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, respect, and trust. So, we
can focus on particularly on being kind. What really resonates with me about this school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others. Whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience, they learn to
persevere. and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before. >> Stony Brook is an amazing place. It really is. And I think anybody who joins us, whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day, uh, you know, I think echo that sentiment. Our staff is second to none. They really put
the kids first all the time. And our students are exceptional as well. It's a wonderful school community. Our PTA is incredibly involved. Everything we do is well attended. back to school nights, our events, and we have a very involved school community, both academically working handin-hand with our teachers,
but also I think for extracurricular as well. >> Every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high school. And we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students, helping students develop into future
leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community. Our mantra we live by is no walls, no limits because being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great sense of community. You just know you're walking into a special place when you come
through our doors. What keeps me coming back here every morning? Hugs from kids. You know, I love being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me. Teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal. So yeah,
I I think for me it's just being a part of something, being a part of the team. Uh we're all very different, but um but we we get along and you know, we support each other. >> Every morning I'm inspired by these children, their energy, their willingness to support and grow with one
another is contagious. >> The people I work with makes me come back every single day. I hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building. I have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world. >> The thing that makes Scopland Middle
School so great is truly the people. It's the students. It's the staff. It's the community members. It's the parent involvement. It's the investment in making it a better place. >> I come here for the students. I love the kids here. They are amazing. They're the best part of my day. They're the best
part of my week. That's why I do what I do. I'm proud to be the superintendent of Rockway Township Schools and we are thankful for all the support we have from our community. I truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world.
It's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to and teaching at Dubire is special because we don't have walls. I think social emotional learning is very important. It gives us a chance to discuss our
emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional dialogue and that helps the whole child. If you've never taught at another school and you come to Birchwood, you honestly never want to leave Birchwood. You walk into this building and it's a family.
We're all together. We're all happy. We're smiling. Nobody's cranky or miserable. We're here together for each other. One of the things that I love the most about this position and this job is that I get to work with students of all ages. Now that we house preschool students here, I see every single
student in the building from preschool all the way through fifth grade. And I get to work with them on a deeper level, on a way that inspires them not just to be confident in themselves, but in what they love.
After teaching for 25 years, I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a story of why I come back every day. Any good lesson makes me feel alive. Going to the soccer games, the football games, seeing my students outside the classroom. I want the kids to feel at
home. And I feel the more comfortable that they are, the relationship that we build together, the better they're going to do in class. Not not only enjoy their time in class, but also take risks. It's a really great environment here at KDM. My co-workers are great. The students every day, they make me laugh.
One thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset. I did have a student that came in and really didn't like math. They were really negative self-talking, saying that they can't do this. And so, basically throughout the whole year, we worked on just changing that mindset. One of the things that I'm
really hoping to teach them more than anything else is about kindness and, you know, being good friends to each other. One of my most favorite success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk. I've tried
to instill intrinsic love for school, intrinsic love for education and over time I've seen him pick that head up and that's why I do what I do to have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them and they want to come.
So we used to always start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do things that might seem hard like a harder task. And I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient and show grit in the face of a harder
task then all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier. >> Our goal here is that every child is as comfortable in class as they are at home. and if they're ever in trouble, they're ever concerned or worried that they have the tools available to them to be successful and to help each other be
as successful as we know they can be. We have really seen over the years an incredible increase in their emotional maturity and in their abilities to deal with issues both in the playground and in the classroom. And I really believe it's because our district's focus on
SEAL over the last several years. I am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School. I really love to see the growth and the change to the students and what I really focus on is teamwork. So the kids are always in teams. We want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas.
I want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home. I want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable, feel like they can be themselves. They may not come here and love math, but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class. Years ago, I had a sixth grade student who was
absolutely petrified of mathematics. And I worked so carefully with her. I gave her extra help just to have her overcome this fear. And it was fabulous to see that aha moment when she finally got it. And that is why I do what I do every
day. >> So, my name is Jackson. >> My name is Mia. My name is Mariah. >> I think what awesome is about being in Birchwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls. Like in school, they have this like art thing where you
go downstairs and like paint a wall with the art teacher. My favorite is recess. My favorite thing is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff. We get to do
puzzle of the day and it's really fun. We get to watch videos at the end of the day. >> My name is Carly and I am in fifth grade and I go to DVL. >> Yeah. My name is Rehea. I'm in first grade. >> Being at DVL is awesome because all the
teachers here are so great and so nice. >> I like the teachers here. They make it awesome here. She teaches well and then she teaches us stuff which we have never learned. >> My favorite subject is probably math
because I like all the challenges. >> My favorite special is art class with Miss Takis. Plus drawing is my favorite thing. >> What makes DBL unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other. >> My name is Queen Kern. I'm in the fifth
grade. >> Hi, my name is Arya. I am in second grade. >> What makes our school awesome is all the teachers we have here. They help us every day. All the janitors keep our school nice and clean. All my friends that help me since kindergarten and
everybody just helps us here cuz we are a really good community. >> Because of my friends, the teachers and the principal. Like we read a book and then we do a project based on what happened in that story. Math is my favorite subject because the teachers always help us and it's fun but it can
be complicated but it's still really fun. >> My favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good teachers. They have fun activities to do and their stories. My first grade teacher got me into reading and she got
me into chapter books in Juni V. Jones. My favorite subject is science. In science, you do lots of experiments and I think experiments are very fun. Every day I'm like happy at school. When I came into sixth grade in Copeland where
everything was new and different for me, Mrs. Heath, she was especially really kind to me. She still talks to me even though we don't really see each other that much and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do. One teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my seventh grade LA
teacher. I used to dislike like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make that subject more fun. >> I think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers. Math is
my favorite because like you can learn different things like times plus minus. No matter where you come from or no matter what you like look like, people will be friends with you and welcome you into the school. Fun word to describe
this school is probably heart. Honesty, empathy, acceptance, and respect and trust. This is probably one of the most special places I've ever worked. It is the staff, the teachers. Uh they are loving, they are caring, the energy here is just
great. It's wonderful to work with a group of men and women who truly love what they do. their heart, passion, and soul is for students and to see them succeed. I try to find a way for them to want to be here. Even if they're sad or even if they don't want to get out of
the car in the morning, if I say, "Hey, let's go wander in the library." And they bounce out of the car right away, which actually happened, then I've done something right that I have found a way to make them feel like this is home for them because that's kind of how I feel. I love the kids here. They're amazing.
They're the best part of my day. They're the best part of my week. That's why I do what I do. >> So, my name is Jackson. >> My name is Mia. My name is Mariah. >> I think what awesome is about being in Birchwood is the um the like artwork
that's on the walls. Like in school, they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a wall with the art teacher. My favorite is recess. My favorite thing is reading and just
doing a bunch of fun stuff. We get to do puzzle of the day and it's really fun. We get to watch videos at the end of the day. >> Our doors are always open. We are truly a family here. Our kids are just everything. >> If you've never taught at another school
and you come to Birwood, you honestly never want to leave Birwood. You walk into this building and it's a family. We're all together. We're all happy. We're smiling. Nobody's cranky or miserable. We're here together for each other. >> Birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere. Students come
back year after year. There's multi-generations that have attended Birwood. It is truly a loving community. It's such a wonderful place to be. I commute an hour or more every day. And I've been given the opportunity to work in another district, but I've been here
7 years. and I will drive that hour because the community, the parents, the teachers, our principal are incredible. >> We're just so happy to have such a loving, nurturing community that is so vested in our school. We are family and
once a bulldog, always a bulldog. I truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world. It's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to and
teaching at Dubire is special because we don't have walls. Our mantra we live by is no walls, no limits because being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great sense of community. You just know you're walking into a special place when you
come through our doors. I like to tell people that when you're here, it's like learning at home. You're in your kitchen, but you still know what's going on in the family room. It builds like this, you know, commodery amongst not only the students, but also the faculty that work here. We call ourselves a
Dwire family. Mr. McGovern, he seldom calls us a school and we really all live by that. We treat each other like family and we emulate that for the kids. I think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers. Math is my
favorite because like you can learn different things like times, plus minus. No matter where you come from or no matter what you like look like, people will be friends with you and welcome you into the school. One word to describe
this school is probably heart. Honesty, empathy, acceptance, and respect and trust. I have been teaching art here in Rockaway Township for 16 years. I think social emotional learning is very important. It gives us a chance to
discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional dialogue and that helps the whole child. I get the privilege of going into every single class once a month where I do a guidance lesson. The best part of my job is when one of them is having a tough
day and then they feel better and it's because of me. >> The people I work with makes me come back every single day. I hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building. I have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world.
Every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high school. And we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students, helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community.
>> I am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School. I really love to see the growth and the change through the students. And what I really focus on is teamwork. So the kids are always in teams. We want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas.
>> I want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home. I want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable, feel like they can be themselves. They may not come here and love math, but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class. >> When I came into sixth grade in
Copeland, where everything was new and different for me, Mrs. Heath, she was especially really kind to me. She still talks to me even though we don't really see each other that much and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do. >> One teacher that made me feel special
and cared for was my seventh grade LA teacher. I used to dislike like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make that subject more fun. Years ago, I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics. And I worked so carefully
with her. I gave her extra help just to have her overcome this fear and it was fabulous to see that aha moment when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day. >> We are making sure kids are prepared for
the future and that means making sure that they have access to technology. Every single classroom has interactive boards. Kids get a Chromebook in the fifth grade. >> They work as a team towards a common goal. They overcome challenges. We connect with the community through our
concerts which are very well attended. Vander Copeland is truly an all-inclusive experience for all of the students here. >> I try to get everybody involved so that they can make a positive impact in the future. I teach US history and I come to work every day excited. I get the
opportunity to mold the next generation. >> The thing that makes Copa Middle School so great is truly the people. It's the students. It's the staff. It's the community members. It's the parent involvement. It's the investment in making it a better place. Our core values are the same as Rockaway
Township. Heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, respect, and trust. So we can focus on particularly on being kind >> by being kind to a friend, helping them out, helping teachers, be nice to them, be respectful and don't interrupt the teachers.
>> And everything we do, we try and relate back to our core values. One of the things we are working on right now is positive behavior system. I don't like to address anything negative in my office because I want kids to be able to trust me and to be able to come down as a leader of the building. So, we're really working on being kind. And yes,
academics are important, but one of the main things for us is that we raise good kids. The main message is to be kind because above all else, we want our kids just to be kind. >> My name is Carly and I am in fifth grade and I go to DVO. >> Yeah. My name is Rehea. I'm in first
grade. >> Being at DVO is awesome because all the teachers here are so great. >> Growth student success. >> I'm not trying to be cheesy or anything. It's really >> growth student success. >> I'm not trying to be cheesy or anything. It it really the staff here um we have built a family and I think that says
something about the building and the and and the community that we foster here at ZBO and I'm really grateful to be part of that. >> Being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've
been here for 11 years as the principal. After teaching for 25 years, I >> 11 years as the principal >> after teaching for 25 years, I can't pinpoint one can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a story of why I come back every day. Any
>> really resonates with me about the school is that we put more value in value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others. Whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience, they learn to persevere and we can bring out
something in themselves that they might not have seen before. >> It's a really great environment here at KDM. My co-workers are great. The students every day, they make me laugh. One thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset. I did have a student that came in and really didn't
like math. They were really negative self-talking, saying that they can't do this. And so basically throughout the whole year we worked on just changing that mindset. Just because we can't do something right now doesn't mean that we're never going to be able to do it. And that's what I teach all of my
>> forward from one learning experience to another. Every morning I'm inspired by these children. Their energy, their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious. One of the things that I'm really hoping to teach them
more than anything else is about kindness and you know being good friends to each other. One of my most favorite success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk. I trying to instill intrinsic love
for school, intrinsic love for education. And over time, I've seen him pick that head up. And that's why I do what I do. To have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them and they want to come. Stony Brook is an amazing place. It
really is. And I think anybody who joins us, whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day, uh, you know, I think echo that sentiment. Our staff is second to none. They really put the kids first all the time. And our students are exceptional as well. It's a wonderful school community. Our PTA is
incredibly involved. Everything we do is well attended. Back to school nights, our events, and we have a very involved school community, both academically, working handin-hand with our teachers, but also I think for extracurricular as well. Inside school, I really try to be involved in as many things as I can. My
children also go to school in this district at one of the other schools and I'm really proud of what we put forth for our children. Anytime we can bring togetherness and have us all work together, both in our community and out, it's really going to help everyone raise their own level of abilities to really
increase the success of our community. So we used to always start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do things that might seem hard like a harder task. And I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient
and show grit in the face of a harder task then all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier. Having students in a classroom that's smaller where you get to meet their needs specifically rather than in a bigger classroom you can build more of a rapport and relationships with
them. I like them to become successful not just academically but also social emotionally. >> My name is Queen K. I'm in the fifth grade. >> Hi, my name's Arya. I am in second grade. What makes our school awesome is all the teachers we have here. They help us every day. All the janitors keep our
school nice and clean. All my friends that helped me since kindergarten and everybody just helps us here cuz we are a really good community. >> Because of my friends, the teachers and the principal. like we read a book and then we do a project based on what
happened in that story. Math is my favorite subject because the teachers always help us and it's fun but it can be complicated but it's still really fun. >> I've always wanted to be a teacher. I think the reason why I wanted to be a teacher is because I think I had really good elementary school teachers. Rockway
I thought was really interesting cuz I feel like it is a small close-knit community, but I also felt like there's a lot of different opportunities in Rockway. I like how there was five different elementary schools, but I also like how I felt like that I fit in with the Stony Brook mentality. The Stony
Brook mentality is something where we all feel and have the same idea of supporting students. the kids understand that everyone makes a mistake, everyone has a bad day, and I think that it gives the opportunity for kids to grow and not feel like penalized. I love that we have a great principal. I love the teachers
and the morale. As soon as I started coming up here, since I am from South Jersey, I felt welcomed and included right away. >> My name is Dr. Richard Corbett and I am the proud superintendent of Rockaway Township Public Schools. I was just waving to some of our wonderful students as they were walking
by and I'm so happy and pleased to say that when I walk through these halls and talk to these students in these six different schools, I see students that are learning and having fun and to me those are two very important qualities of a very very effective education.
>> Birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere. Students come back year after year. There's multi-generations that have attended Birwood. It is truly a loving community. It's such a wonderful place to be. >> Our core values are the same as Rockaway
Township. Heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, respect, and trust. So, we can focus on particularly on being kind. What really resonates with me about this school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others. Whether it be a
difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience, they learn to persevere. and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before. >> Stony Brook is an amazing place. It really is. And I think anybody who joins us, whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day, uh, you
know, I think echo that sentiment. Our staff is second to none. They really put the kids first all the time. And our students are exceptional as well. It's a wonderful school community. Our PTA is incredibly involved. Everything we do is well attended. back to school nights, our events, and we have a very involved
school community, both academically working handin-hand with our teachers, but also I think for extracurricular as well. >> Every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District and will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high school. And we have an opportunity to instill core values into
our students, helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community. Our mantra we live by is no walls, no limits because being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great sense of community. You just know
you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors. What keeps me coming back here every morning? Hugs from kids. You know, I love being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me. Teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've
been here for 11 years as the principal. So yeah, I I think for me it's just being a part of something, being a part of the team. Uh we're all very different, but um but we we get along and you know, we support each other. >> Every morning I'm inspired by these
children, their energy, their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious. >> The people I work with makes me come back every single day. I hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building. I have the easiest job in the world
because I have the hardest working teachers in the world. >> The thing that makes Scopland Middle School so great is truly the people. It's the students. It's the staff. It's the community members. It's the parent involvement. It's the investment in making it a better place. >> I come here for the students. I love the
kids here. They are amazing. They're the best part of my day. They're the best part of my week. That's why I do what I do. I'm proud to be the superintendent of Rockway Township Schools and we are thankful for all the support we have from our community. I truly believe in an educator being
able to make a difference in the world. It's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to and teaching at Dubire is special because we don't have walls. I think social
emotional learning is very important. It gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional dialogue and that helps the whole child. If you've never taught at another school
and you come to Birchwood, you honestly never want to leave Birchwood. You walk into this building and it's a family. We're all together. We're all happy. We're smiling. Nobody's cranky or miserable. We're here together for each other. One of the things that I love the most about this position and this job is
that I get to work with students of all ages now that we house preschool students here. I see every single student in the building from preschool all the way through fifth grade. And I get to work with them on a deeper level on a way that inspires them not just to
be confident in themselves but in what they love. After teaching for 25 years, I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a story of why I come back every day. Any good lesson makes me feel alive. Going
to the soccer games, the football games, seeing my students outside the classroom. I want the kids to feel at home and I feel the more comfortable that they are, the relationship that we build together, the better they're going to do in class. Not not only enjoy their time in class, but also take risks.
It's a really great environment here at KDM. My co-workers are great. The students every day, they make me laugh. One thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset. I did have a student that came in and really didn't like math. They were really negative self-talking, saying that they can't do
this. And so, basically throughout the whole year, we worked on just changing that mindset. One of the things that I'm really hoping to teach them more than anything else is about kindness and you know being good friends to each other. One of my most favorite success stories is a particular student when you know he
would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk. I've tried to instill intrinsic love for school, intrinsic love for education. And over time, I've seen him pick that head up and that's why I do what I do to have a
kid come in and their school's a happy place for them and they want to come. So, we used to always start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do things that might seem hard like a
harder task. And I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient and show grit in the face of a harder task, then all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier. >> Our goal here is that every child is as comfortable in class as they are at home. And if they're ever in trouble,
they're ever concerned or worried that they have the tools available to them to be successful and to help each other be as successful as we know they can be. We have really seen over the years an incredible increase in their emotional maturity and in their abilities to deal
with issues both in the playground and in the classroom. And I really believe it's because our district's focus on SEAL over the last several years. >> I am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School. I really love to see the growth and the change to the students
and what I really focus on is teamwork. So the kids are always in teams. We want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas. I want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home. I want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable, feel like they can be
themselves. They may not come here and love math, but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class. Years ago, I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics. And I worked so carefully with her. I gave her extra help just to have her overcome
this fear and it was fabulous to see that aha moment when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day. >> So my name is Jackson. >> My name is Mia. >> My name is Mariah. >> I think what awesome is about being in
Birwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls. Like in school they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a wall with the art teacher. >> My favorite is recess. My favorite thing
is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff. We get to do puzzle of the day and it's really fun. We get to watch videos at the end of the day. My name is Carly and I am in fifth grade
and I go to DVO. >> Yeah. My name is Rehea. I'm in first grade. Being at DVO is awesome because all the teachers here are so great and so nice. >> I like the teachers here. They make it awesome here. She teaches well and then
she teaches us stuff which we have never learned. >> My favorite subject is probably math because I like all the challenges. My favorite special is art class with Miss Takis. Plus, drawing is my favorite thing. >> What makes DBL unique is that everyone
is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other. >> My name is Quinker and I'm in the fifth grade. >> Hi, my name is Arya. I am in second grade. What makes our school awesome is all the teachers we have here. They help us every day. All the janitors keep our
school nice and clean. all my friends that helped me since kindergarten and everybody just helps us here because we are a really good community >> because of my friends, the teachers and the principal. Like we read a book and then we do a project based on what happened in that story.
>> Math is my favorite subject because the teachers always help us and it's fun but it can be complicated but it's still really fun. My favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good teachers. They have fun activities to do
and their stories. My first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into chapter books in Juni B. Jones. My favorite subject is science. In science, you do lots of experiments and I think experiments are very fun. Every
day I'm like happy at school. When I came into sixth grade in Copeland where everything was new and different for me, Mrs. Heath, she was especially really kind to me, she still talks to me even though we don't really see each other that much and she gives me so much good
luck for all the things that I do. One teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my seventh grade LA teacher. I used to just like like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make that subject more fun.
I think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers. Math is my favorite because like you can learn different things like times, plus minus. No matter where you come from or no
matter what you like look like, people will be friends with you and welcome you into the school. One word to describe this school is probably heart. Honesty, empathy, acceptance, and respect and trust. This is probably one of the most special
places I've ever worked. It is the staff, the teachers. Uh they are loving, they are caring. The energy here is just great. It's wonderful to work with a group of men and women who truly love what they do. Their heart, passion, and soul is for students, and to see them
succeed. I try to find a way for them to want to be here. Even if they're sad or even if they don't want to get out of the car in the morning, if I say, "Hey, let's go wander in the library." And they bounce out of the car right away, which actually happened, then I've done something right, that I have found a way
to make them feel like this is home for them because that's kind of how I feel. I love the kids here. They are amazing. They're the best part of my day. They're the best part of my week. That's why I do what I do. >> So, my name is Jackson. My name is Mia. My name is Mariah.
>> I think what awesome is about being in Birwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls. Like in school they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a wall with the art teacher. My favorite is recess.
My favorite thing is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff. We get to do puzzle of the day and it's really fun. We get to watch videos at the end of the day. >> Our doors are always open. We are truly a family here. Our kids are just
everything. >> If you've never taught at another school and you come to Birchwood, you honestly never want to leave Birchwood. You walk into this building and it's a family. We're all together. We're all happy. We're smiling. Nobody's cranky or miserable. We're here together for each
other. Birwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere. Students come back year after year. There's multi-generations that have attended Birwood. It is truly a loving community. It's such a wonderful place to be. I commute an hour or more every
day and I've been given the opportunity to work in another district, but I've been here 7 years and I will drive that hour because the community, the parents, the teachers, our principal are incredible. We're just so happy to have such a loving, nurturing community that
is so vested in our school. We are family and once a bulldog, always a bulldog. I truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world. It's so important to have a positive
environment for a child to come to. And teaching at Dubire is special because we don't have walls. >> Our mantra we live by is no walls, no limits because being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great
sense of community. You just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors. >> I like to tell people that when you're here, it's like learning at home. You're in your kitchen, but you still know what's going on in the family room. It builds like this, you know, camaraderie
amongst not only the students but also the faculty that work here. We call ourselves a Dwire family. Mr. McGovern, he seldom calls us a school and we really all live by that. We treat each other like family and we emulate that for the kids.
>> I think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers. Math is my favorite because like you can learn different things like times, plus minus. No matter where you come from or no
matter what you like look like, people will be friends with you and welcome you into this school. One word to describe this school is probably heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, and respect and trust.
I have been teaching art here in Rockaway Township for 16 years. I think social emotional learning is very important. It gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional
dialogue and that helps the whole child. I get the privilege of going into every single class once a month where I do a guidance lesson. The best part of my job is when one of them is having a tough day and then they feel better and it's because of me. >> The people I work with makes me come
back every single day. I hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building. I have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world. Every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District and will graduate from Copeland before they go on
to high school. And we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students, helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community. >> I am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School. I really love to see the
growth and the change through the students. And what I really focus on is teamwork. So the kids are always in teams. We want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas. >> I want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home. I want them to come into my classroom and feel
comfortable, feel like they can be themselves. They may not come here and love math, but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class. When I came into sixth grade in Copeland, where everything was new and different for me, Mrs. Heath, she was especially really
kind to me. She still talks to me even though we don't really see each other that much and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do. One teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my seventh grade LA teacher. I used to dislike like reading
and writing and she really helped me understand and make that subject more fun. Years ago, I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics and I worked so carefully with her. I gave her extra help just to
have her overcome this fear and it was fabulous to see that aha moment when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day. >> We are making sure kids are prepared for the future and that means making sure
that they have access to technology. Every single classroom has interactive boards. Kids get a Chromebook in the fifth grade. >> They work as a team towards a common goal. They overcome challenges. We connect with the community through our concerts which are very well attended.
Vander Copeland is truly an all-inclusive experience for all of the students here. >> I try to get everybody involved so that they can make a positive impact in the future. I teach US history and I come to work every day excited. I get the
opportunity to mold the next generation. >> The thing that makes Copeland Middle School so great is truly the people. It's the students. It's the staff. It's the community members. It's the parent involvement. It's the investment in making it a better place. >> Our core values are the same as Rockaway
Township. Heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, respect, and trust. So we can focus on particularly on being kind >> by being kind to a friend, helping them out, helping teachers, be nice to them, be respectful and don't interrupt the teachers.
>> And everything we do, we try and relate back to our core values. One of the things we are working on right now is positive behavior system. I don't like to address anything negative in my office because I want kids to be able to trust me and to be able to come down as a leader of the building. So, we're really working on being kind and yes,
academics are important, but one of the main things for us is that we raise good kids. The main message is to be kind because above all else, we want our kids just to be kind. >> My name is Carly and I am in >> township. Can I please have a motion to come out of close session? >> So moved.
>> Seconded. >> Show hands, please. >> Thank you. Reconvening at 7:40 p.m. If we could all please rise for pledge of allegiance. Igiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it
stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Please remain standing. Oh, say by the dawn early so proud we held
at the twilight. last gallant streams. prove to our flag stillang of the brave.
Thank you very much. Sir, are we going to the audit presentation next? >> Yes, I'm happy. Oh, I'll let uh Miss Slam, our business administrator, introduce our auditor. >> Okay. Thank you. >> The order presentation. >> Yes, we have Man Lee from Nisvaceia with
us tonight for the audit presentation. I know that's why everyone's here. Man, you want to come up? >> Well, I appreciate the support. I presented the last couple of nights and we mentioned the word order and everybody ran couldn't run fast enough.
All right. So, I left a uh copy of a financial highlights uh in um each of your spots. If let me know if you you're missing missed anybody. >> We're good. Thank you. >> All right. So, I'm going to go over financial
highlights at 6:30 uh 25. And if at any point in time you have any questions, please feel free to stop me because I tend to talk a little fast. If you look on the first page, so it's a two-page summary. front and back. If you
look on the first page at 63025, uh the overall fund balance is approximately $16.38 million. Most of that is restricted in various reserves. You have about $600,000 in
encumbrances. Those are the goods that you've ordered, placed an order for us of 6:30, but have not received us as of that date. A little over $9 million in capital reserve that you can use for any projects in your long range facilities
plan. $200,000 in maintenance reserve for any required maintenance for your school facilities. $50,000 in emergency reserve that you can use for uh security project or any health benefit increase in excess of 4%.
If approximately $660,000 in unemployment compensation for unemployment claims, current year excess surplus of $2.2 million, that's to be used in your upcoming budget cycle, which is your 2627 budget,
prior year excess surplus of $1.5 million, you're using that right now in your 2526 school year. And that leaves you you with approximately two $2.1 million in unassigned fund balance that the state allows you to keep in uh as
unassigned. Uh the meadow section is the activities of what makes up the overall uh slight increase in fund balance. Uh I'm not going to go over every single number. I just want to highlight a couple. You have excess in uh local and state
revenue and those are made up of unanticipated revenue such as uh interest earnings and excess in extraordinary aid. And you have un unspent budget appropriation of about a little over $2 million. But what after you factor out the incumbrances, you
have about 1.5 not spent, which is only about 3% which is a very small percentage. And all of those are good things because it go towards replenishing the surplus that you use toward during the year to uh offset uh budget expenses.
So the bottom uh shows a trend of how much fund balance you've been using to support your budget. Uh so for 2324 which is for you two budget cycles ago you use an in total $4.4 $4 million, but
approximately half of that was used towards uh one-time expenses. Uh last year 1.5 through your current year is also 1.5 and in 2627 you you'll see the increase and that was intentional to provide you for more flexibility in your
upcoming budget cycle. uh because there's obviously a lot of uncertainties in terms of state aid and other uh potential increases in cost and of course the intention would be to uh not use all of that towards recurrent
expenses if possible. And then if you flip to the next uh the back of the page, you have the three reserves, the activities of the three reserves. In capital reserve, you withdrew $1.3 million during the year for various projects of which 500 wasn't
spent. So you were able to put that back in. Uh and in for maintenance reserve, you $100,000 during the years to uh towards required maintenance. And the following section is the recap of activities in your three enterprise
funds, your food service, summer enrichment, and after school. So for food service, you were in the red, about $30,000. Uh ending with a little over $200,000 in that position of fund balance. Summer
enrichment slightly in the red of about $600 and then after school uh in deposit of about $4,000. And then the bottom section is just a recap of the activities in your uh long-term liabilities and you paid off
your last payment of your zero bonds during the 2425 budget year. Any questions in terms of uh financials? And there is one very minor recommendation this year regard in
regards to um the food service manage company and working with them to try to make sure that they uh provide a business office with all the the catering invoices each month. Very minor uh um your business administrator is already aware of it and have taken steps
and uh talk to the food service manage company. Other than that, I would like to, you know, thank the BIS your business trader and superintendent order staff for another successful audit and commend them for always another good
audit. >> Thank you, man. >> Thank you very much. >> And thank you, man, and your team for your partnership. We really appreciate it. >> And I wish everybody a happy holidays and safe travels. >> Thank you. >> You're not leaving, are you? No.
>> Cookies. We can make another special. >> We know we do. Uh, Miss Anderson, we have another very special presentation. And would you like to say a few words as the board vice president? And I know >> Yes, I do. >> Good.
>> She's so in just two and a half years, I have um had an opportunity to work with some really terrific board members. um three who've retired, Andy Force, Tanya Shield, Lissa Smith, and now um I'd like
to express my appreciation for two others who are retiring tonight. Um I've written things down. I'm normally pretty good, but I don't want to miss anything. So, you guys have worked for six years. You've dedicated your service to our students, our schools, and our
community. Chrissy has been an advocate for transparency and accountability and accountability. You've always lived up to your pledge to let's be honest and Christy although we might not have always been on the same side and agreed on every issue I have sincerely appreciated your level of involvement
since our days together in Dwire. Um our other honore Aaron you've demonstrated extraordinary commitment not only as a school board member but also as Morris County's chief sheriff officer a veteran serving now two decades or more in New Jersey Army National Guard. You have
communicated with clarity and acted with integrity and you've always managed to keep things fun. So to both of you, I want to thank you. You've given up your time generously and not just here, but in coaching and with your home life. Thank you to your families. We know how
much time you've given up. Um you've each helped make Rockaway better. You've listened carefully to the community and you ensure that residents feel heard and represented represented. So, thank you both for your dedication, your service, and your unwavering commitment to doing what's right for our students and our
town. We'll miss you guys. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you so much. Yes, that'll be awesomebody. You're >> welcome. invite the families to come forward.
>> Families. >> Yeah. Another X picture. >> Well, first of all, let's get a picture of the family. I know. Great. Thank you very much. Greatly appreciated. >> Thank you. You've taught us all a lot.
>> Thank you, >> Dr. Corbett. I believe we have another presentation. >> So, throwing the ball to you. >> Thank you very much. And thank you both Christie and Aaron um for working with me over the last four years into my fourth year. I appreciate it so much all
the support you've given me uh the communications that we've had and and you know it's it's a team effort but I sadly recognize that this the board has only one original member from when I was hired
and that's Mrs. Mezic and everybody else is leaving me except Mrs. Mezzik. But but thank you for your service. I appreciate it so much. >> Thank you, Dr. Corbett. >> Um we are going to begin. Um what makes the district great are the
people that work here and I and I see them every single day come to work and work hard with dedication and devotion. And this is one of my favorite board meetings all year because we have an opportunity to recognize those people
who come to work every day to serve the district and for many many many years. Um so we are going to begin with recognizing those people with years of service in the district and we'll begin with the 30 years of service in the
district and I will ask uh the principal of KDM Mr. Rollins to come forward. >> Oh, we're gonna Oh, okay. We're gonna we're gonna go by school. Come up, Brian. We're going to go by school. We'll start with KDN. >> I was just corrected by uh >> Yes.
>> Go get the other pages, Brian. All of the pages. >> All KD, we didn't rehearse like this. We didn't rehearse this. Well, it always gets changed at the last minute. >> All right. So, so um Mi Mr. Rollins will recognize all those years of service.
Mr. Rollins. Excellent. Thank you, Board of Education, Dr. Corbett, Miss Lamb. Greatly appreciate you having us out for this wonderful evening. Congratulations to all that are being honored and recognized. Uh, wonderful, wonderful night. As Dr. Corbett said,
>> with that being said, Oops. Thank you. >> All right. >> At KDM, our culture thrives on growing and supporting one another. And it's from that spirit that our stash staff has graciously shared their sentiments
about tonight's honores. I we all agree that it's best coming from their own peers than it would be for me as as the administrator. So recognizing Miss Jude Wallen for 30 years as a staff uh administrative assistant. She started
off as a staff assistant. Miss Clary, one of her colleagues writes, "You are the hero who does it all for our staff, students, and families. You have touched so many lives throughout these wonderful years. Thank you for your endless dedication, commitment, and
professionalism every single day. Thank you for being the warm, welcoming face that greets us each morning. You are truly the heart of our school, keeping everything running smoothly and supporting all of us in more ways than we can count." Miss Clearary speaks of
Miss Wallen. Could you please come up, Miss Wallen? 25. >> 25. >> Thank you. >> Mrs. Roselini for 25 years of service as a staff assistant. I told McGovern I'm not going to get
emotional, but it's a little tough. The teacher she works with day in and day out, Miss Jigila writes of Miss Roselini. Miss Moselini is the hardest working, most dedicated person I know. She goes above and beyond every single
day for her students. She pours her heart into every child who walks through our door. And that's why so many of them come back years later to visit. Our school would not be the same without her. Miss Rosel
No, don't. >> Okay. Next, Lyn Shoner for 25 years of service also as a staff assistant. This is written by a colleague they were very close with Miss Creden Lynn. Your positive attitude and
willingness to help have made you a pleasure to have at KDM. You have helped students become more independent and confident, giving them greater opportunities to be a part of their classes. Your students at KDM have relied on you for encouragement,
friendship, and support. Miss Allison Cedon. Yes, years of service. >> Dr. Eisenhower. She's a speech pathologist at KDM and this is written by her colleague that she shares a room with Miss Darno.
On a daily basis, Dr. Darno demonstrates exceptional skill, a compassion and caring treatment style, a compassionate and caring treatment style, and unwavering dedication to her students and their unique needs. She has created a supportive environment where every
child feels valued and empowered to grow and develop their speech and language skills. KDM has been lucky to benefit from this expertise that Dr. Heisenhower has provided to both staff and students in our building and we are thankful to
have her. Mr. Sarno or Miss Eisenhower's Mr. Sarno speaks of Miss Eisenhower. Okay. >> All right. This is the tough one, Mr. McGovern. It is. I'll do my best. Uh we're recognizing Miss Allison Cedon who is
our one of our autism teachers at KDM for tenure and her colleague, one of her staff assistants, Miss Francis writes, "Miss Cedon, I've watched you pour yourself into your students with patience, creativity, and compassion.
You take on the toughest and most challenging behaviors with a smile. You don't just teach, you uplift and make every child feel valued and loved. Working with you has shown me what it means to be a teacher who cares. Your
consistency, kindness, down to a downto- earthth nature, and dedication have inspired us to be the students biggest advocate. You lead quietly but powerfully through your presence and action. Miss Cedon,
>> thank you so much, Mr. bronze and thank you so much to the recipients at KDM. And now I'd like to um ask Mr. McGovern to come forward please to provide the service pins and the tenure pins.
Before I start, I'd like to uh congratulate Christy and Aaron on uh a tremendous service to our community. So, thank you. Christy served as my PTA president as well. Um and then she took on the board uh agenda. Uh but she has served with
passion throughout her tenure as a PTA president and as a board member, Aaron as well. Thank you. Good evening. I am very excited tonight to celebrate these tremendous staff members. It has always been said that
are you you are only as good as the work you are willing to do when no one else is watching. And these eight staff members we celebrate tonight when no one else is watching do a truly amazing job every day they when they come to work. Let me start with our tenur staff
members. Michelle Flynn. She's not able to be with us tonight, but I wanted to ensure I say a few words on how much I appreciate her work ethic. No matter what the assignment or task, Michelle meets meets it head on, getting
fully immersed in her students and finding the just right way to deliver instruction. I know Michelle is not here, but as she streams the the meeting back tonight later, I want her to know how much I truly appre appreciate her work and her work ethic. So, congratulations to
Michelle Flynn on tenure. Now, one of the truly unsung heroes in our district is is one of our custodian staff receiving tenure tonight, Loose Colon Rodriguez. Loose came to us three years ago to work as one of our night
custodians. Loose is a hard worker dedicated to her assignment. Although a tough task working in a building at night, it can feel like an isolated assignment. But Loose puts her head down and ensures our building is clean and up
to the standards each and every day. So Loose, thank you and congratulations on your tenure. was wondering why I was having such a hard time reading. I forgot my glasses. 20 years of service. Miss Hemer, you
came to us from KDM 18 years ago. Her dedication to her first grade assignment has been exceptional, especially in working with our ML students. She has a special gift in the way she ensures all her students feel comfortable and are open to learning.
Miss Heammer, thank you for your dedication, your love of your students, and passion about your work. Kristen Heammer. And now for your sidekick, Miss Lampman. You came to us from Birwood for the last
13 years where she has worked in our first grade. Miss Lampman has that innate ability to mold our kindergarten students into productive first graders. Her ability to run and manage a classroom is truly remarkable to watch.
It is a good day. It was a good day for Dwire when Miss Lampman came to us. So Jill, thank you for your dedication, your love of students, and your passion about your work. Also, Jill Lampman The last recipient of a 20-year pin,
Rosa DeCandia, our school nurse. Rosa and I are very much alike. We are confident in what we do and expect the same of our peers. But on the exact opposite side, what people don't always see is that she is the kindest and most
caring nurse I have ever worked with. No one truly knows the day-to-day nurses go through seeing 30 to 40 students a day. But each student is treated with love, care, and devotion to her duty. No one
else sees the nurse go around with the principal delivering turkeys to the home of families in need within their school district. No one sees the trip she makes to the hospital rooms of students and staff to ensure they are cared for. So,
Rosa, thank you for being the person I want by my side in a crisis or in any time of need. You are truly an exceptional school nurse. Sorry, we had a lot of people tonight for 25 years. Pins of service. Judy
Aaron is an educ is an educator of our student our is an educator. Our students gravitate to our instrumental music department overflows with students wanting to learn from her. And what is truly remarkable is what she gets back
from her students. Just stop by any one of our concerts. What makes Judy special to the Dwire family is her flexibility and ability to adapt in any situation. She is truly an impactful educator that has changed the lives of so many
students. There are now dozens of students from my recall that went on to be music educators or continue in the arts well into college because of the start Miss Aaron gave them with the Dwire family. So Judy, thank you for your dedication, your love of students,
and your passion about your work. Judy Aaron. Sue Ramp came to the Dwire family from Stonybrook 17 years ago and moved right into our kindergarten department. Her ability to work with students and especially disabled students is truly
amazing. What she is able to accomplish in a classroom with students of all ranges and ability is a true gift. Her kindness, love for her students, and dedication in supporting each student's need is absolutely tremendous. Miss Ram
also supports our district as one of our lead teachers. So, Miss Ram, thank you for all you do and thank you for your 25 years of service to our community and to the Dwire family. Sue Ram. Last but not least, Tara Van Orton. Tara
has been with me for 23 years. She is one of only three remaining teachers from when I started. Miss Van Orton is a truly exceptional teacher and leader. She will hate for me to to say this, but Tara can be assigned to any grade level
and perform at a high duty and level. I challenged her once or twice during my career on this and was never proven wrong. Tara is a common sense person and sees things from perspectives that no one else sees of. This is most evident
evident in her role as a teacher leader. I could truly go on about Tara tonight because of what we have been through. But in the interest of time, Miss Van Orton, thank you for your love of students, dedication, and passion to
this profession. Tyra Van Orton. Thank you, Miss McGovern. Next, I would like to introduce Mr. Dustin Bayer, the principal of Copeland Middle School. Mr. Bayer. Good evening. I've also asked Mr. Young, our dean of students, and Miss Shan Miss
Champagne, our vice principal, to join us. And I'd like to echo the sentiments of Mr. Rollins, Mr. McGovern, Dr. Thomasini, Miss Curu. Thank you and congratulations. Thank you for your service and all of your support over the years that I've been here. Um and and to the board, Dr. Corbett, again, as always, thank you for your support of
all of our our staff members and our students. To all of the honores tonight, congratulations. It's wonderful to see all of our family members uh and friends here out to support. We have a lot to celebrate tonight. Starting off with 25 years of service. Uh I have two staff
members who I believe are in attendance tonight. Our first staff member is Miss Karen Bouselli. After 25 years of dedicated service, this staff assistant has become an indispensable part of the Copeland community. Known for a calm, steady presence, she has supported
countless colleagues, administrators, and students with professionalism and care. Her commitment has helped the district navigate change, maintain continu continuity, and uphold its mission year after year. She truly connects with her students and treats
them like her own. Karen Buselli, congratulations on 25 years. Our next honore is a staff member who's also been here for 20 years. For 25 years, Chrissy Champy has been a cornerstone of Copeland Middle School.
First inspiring students in the classroom and now supporting them with warmth and expertise as a school counselor. Known for treating every child with the same care she gives her own, Chrissy brings unmatched experience and a steady, reassuring presence to
every student she meets. Her deep knowledge of school counseling and her ability to navigate any situation make her an invaluable resource for families. As a proud mom and a compassionate advocate for children, Miss Champy is a
true gift to the Copeland community. And the parents of this town are truly fortunate to have her guiding their children through the formative middle school years. Congratulations, Miss Champion. We have two additional staff members from Copeland who could not be in attendance tonight. Both from the fizzed
department, both serving for 25 years at Copeland Middle School. Miss first, Miss Jennifer Clack is a former vice principal and although she's not a current vice principal, she's a tremendous resource to us to our administrators particularly in the area of scheduling and just a great resource
and colleague and mentor to her to her colleagues. Also, Chris Jackson has been serving as a fizzed teacher for 25 years at Copeland Middle School. Chris Jackson is dedicated. He's compassionate. He cares about the students. And I love truly love coming in Monday morning and
sharing our hockey dad stories. Congratulations to Miss Clack and Mr. Jackson. For 20 years, this teacher has brought curiosity, energy, and a love of discovery to the district as a dedicated science teacher. Her classroom is a
place where questions are encouraged, experiments come to life, and students learn to see the world through the lens of wonder and critical thinking. Colleagues admire her steady commitment to a strong to strong instruction, her ability to connect with students of all backgrounds and her passion for making
science meaningful and fun. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention her elaborate Halloween costumes. Her two decades of service reflect not only on her expertise, but her deep belief in the power of education to spark imagination and shape future
innovators. Congratulations on 20 years, Jessica Stasil. Okay, that's okay. Get it. Also being honored for 20 years of service at Copeland Middle School is Miss Claudia Armanetti. Miss Armeny Miss Armanetti could not be in attendance
tonight. Miss Armanetti uh teaches Spanish at Copeland Middle School. She is a dedicated to her students, to her colleagues. She loves the curriculum. She's continuously trying to make her program better and impact our students in a positive way. Congratulations, Miss
Armanetti. Moving on to our tenure pins. A staff member who really desperately wanted to be here tonight, but for circumstances beyond her control, could not be here. Miss Marcy Gregory. I know Marcy's watching from home. Although Marcy Gregory couldn't be here tonight, we
want to make we want to take a moment to recognize her with heartfelt appreciation. Marcy has officially received tenure as our purchasing SE secretary, a well-deserved milestone for someone whose dedication keeps Copeland Middle School running smoothly every day. Her hard work, attention to detail,
and unwavering support make an incredible difference behind the scenes. We are truly grateful for everything Marcy does for the Copeland community and we're thrilled to celebrate this achievement for her. Miss Denise Manger is recognized for the steady dedication and warmth she brings
to the department every day. Known for her exceptional organization, calm presence, and genuine care for students and staff, Miss Manger helps create a welcoming space where everyone feels supported. Congratulations, Denise. Nancy Brandler is celebrated for her
passion, energy, and leadership she brings to the music program that was clearly on display tonight. Thank you, Nancy. And the her commitment extends far beyond the classroom. She directs evening concerts and showcases students talents, leads engaging afterchool clubs
and helps to organize memorable field trips and broadens students experiences. And Nancy, I will say this from Nancy will never say no. If you say, "Hey, Nancy, we need students to sing at any event." Um, I think Dr. Corbett, you can you can agree with that. Nancy Nancy will have it done. Congratulations,
Nancy Brandler. Also receiving tenure, this sixth grade special education teacher is is recognized for her deep commitment to supporting every learner and helping students reach their full potential. With patience, creativity, and a strong belief in her students abilities, she
tailor instruction to meet individual needs while fostering confidence, independence, and a self and self- belonging. Congratulations, Miss Susan Callahan. Take that. Don't forget that. Lewis Cologne Rodriguez from our custodial staff is honored for the
steady dedication and hard work he brings to the building every day. Known for his reliability and attention to detail, he plays a vital role in creating a clean, safe, and welcoming environment to everyone. And I know I speak on all of the Copeland staff when
I thank Lewis for his service. Congratulations. Two more staff members who wanted to be here tonight, but unfortunately couldn't make it. both teachers in the six in the sixth grade this year. John Ross has been a sixth grade teacher with us since his first day. He is a tremendous
resource to our incoming to our incoming sixth graders every year teaching science. He's reliable, consistent, and cares deeply about our students. Congratulations, John Ross. Miss Jill Selbo, I can't speak enough about her professionalism. Miss Selbo
was a seventh grade science teacher this year. We asked her to kind of put on a different hat. She's now teaching seventh grade science and I'm sorry, sixth grade science and sixth grade history and doing a tremendous job and is a consmate professional. Thank you,
Jill Sbo. And congratulations. Thank you very much, Mr. Bayer and all the teachers and staff at Copa Middle School. Next, I would like to ask Mr. Salaso to come forward, please. Good evening. Good evening, everybody. Uh, I'd be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to also thank Christy and
Aaron for all your service and and the board as a whole for everything you do. Uh, just to take a second, Aaron, I'm sorry I have to do this. I I've I've known Aaron for a very long time. Um we went to high school together. He knew me when I didn't speak any English. So, uh this is very special. We talk about it often how kind of crazy this whole ride
has been. So, to have the opportunity to be here for his last meeting is is incredibly special for me as well. So, thanks for everything you do and have done. So, uh thank you. Uh come just one more round of applause for Dr. and everybody. I don't have too many people um so I'll
be quick. Uh starting a 25 years. you unfortunately could not be here tonight, but Miss Palmia Chrysler uh one of our fifth grade teachers is a pillar at DBL. She's an incredible leader uh both at DBL and uh in the Rockway Township School community in general as a teacher
leader. She is somebody who everybody can go to for advice both in the classroom and personally. She's an amazing mentor to our younger staff. And uh I myself come I am incredibly lucky to to have her in my building and then we're all lucky to have her at DBL. So, I know she's not here, but a big round
of applause for Miss Chrysler, please. For 20 years, uh, Miss Mary Wildbacker, she's our academic, one of our academic intervention teachers at at DVLO. And, uh, Mary and I spent many hours, uh, many meetings looking at things from an outside the box perspective. And, uh,
thank you so much, Mary, for always going above and beyond. uh your students gain uh incredible um knowledge not only in the classroom and and those numbers speak for themselves. The data speaks for itself, but what I really want to talk about tonight is the immeasurable confidence that your students gain from
from being with you, you know, day in and day out. Uh we see that confidence every day within them and how much they grow. So, thank you so very much. So, congratulations to you, Mary. I do have uh two tenure um folks to recognize. Unfortunately, neither of them could could be here tonight and
they are both from our custodial staff. Uh Miss Beatatrice Castano and Miss Nora Mazera. Um, I'll speak for them and and for a whole entire custody staff, the amazing job they do each and every day, keeping our school um functioning, keeping our school clean, keeping it a
place where our students love being in. And above that, they're incredible, incredible human beings. They're just the nicest people. So, uh, we thank them with all our hearts for everything they do day in and day out to make the school the way it is. So, thank you to them. And that's all I got. I only have four.
So, thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Salasso. And next, I would um ask Mr. Rivera to come forward, please. put the microphone down a little bit. Hi everyone. Um board members, Dr. Corbett, thank you
so much for this opportunity to honor our staff, our incredible staff that district has. Um I'm going to try to I'll be short, I promise. Um there's a couple of our um members that weren't able to attend, but I do want to talk about them very briefly. Um and they
also received even Mrs. Dario that wasn't that's no longer she um not no longer in the district due to retirement. One of her um awesome friends in the school went home to her and delivered her beautiful bouquet of flowers. Um so I would like to talk
about um Miss Davey. I'm sorry. She's one of our social workers. Um, as a parent of a student of my child had dyslexia, you I cannot tell you enough how valuable these CST members are. Mrs. Sel, she
advocates for every single one of the students in this district. Not only Birwood, but every single student that she touches. She's going to advocate for that student. You have no idea. Um, next is um Mrs. Dario. Mrs. Visario, like I
said, she recently retired. Um, but Mrs. Dario is one of the most passionate people. Um, she has so much passion for teaching every single student. Oh, these are beautiful. I'm sorry. Um, when she retired, I don't know if you
got an opportunity to see the special education um special um newsletter that we did for her. Um, when I tell you that I asked staff to share pictures of her for the last 20 years that she's been in the district, I was just adding pictures after picture after picture. It was
amazing to see such an incredible individual just grow, you know, 20 years of teaching and every other picture was with either a staff member or students. Um, the next two is Miss and Miss Kramer. Miss Kramer was going to be here
with us today. Um she's celebr she's also celebrating 20 years. Um but her son has a hockey game so she's like not I really want to be there but I don't want to miss my hockey game. So as parents I totally understand that. Um Mr. Menuk very shy. She said no no no
I'm not doing that. But um my daughter is a journalist, a beauty journalist and I'm going to tell you um these ELA teachers are incredible. Um these are the teachers that touched their lives. My daughter when she was in third grade knew she wanted to be a
writer because of her ELA teachers and hats off to all these teachers. Um Mrs. Pava is our custodian. She's receiving her tenure pin today. Um again she wanted to be here but she was just concerned with going back and forth. Um
you should have seen me down in the hallways at Birchwood like Gloria Dona Gloria you know looking for her. Um, but I will for her I will speak in Spanish. Um, for her family that's listening. Um, I didn't read anything I wrote. Um,
tonight Miss Moniki and Mr. Vanier are here. Um, Miss Miki, she's receiving her tenure pin. I'm just going to speak from the heart. Um, Miss Due to the skills that Miss Miki has, you see her up and down the hallways,
inside the classrooms, in the gym, right? Pouring her skills and her expertise. And you see her day in and day out switching strategies just just to make sure that oh Brian
just to make sure that her students are meeting these goals. Again as a mother of a that has a child with special needs. Missy what you do for these kids parents for the rest of their life will be grateful to you. Can you come up and
receive your pin? She's incredible. Miss Dany, please look at one of the Birchwood videos. Please look at our holiday show that took place yesterday when we're talking about the energy that he has and the passion he just goes on and on when
he's composing those music that the music. Thank you for everything you do for our kids. You are amazing individual. I can't even imagine your home life with your wife. It must be so exciting and so fun. He continuously smiles in those hallways
every day and you can't help but smile when you see him. And the kids truly love him. We love you. Come up. Receive your pen. >> Thank you everyone. >> Thank you Mr. Rivera and all the students. I mean the staff at Birwood. those congratulations to those who
received service pins and tenure pins. And next I think we have Stonybrook. Yes. Yes. Mr. Wnooki is next. Steve, should I leave these up here for you? Just wondering. I don't know.
Nah, I don't think you need. I'm only kidding. I'm only kidding. Stony Brook's always last, man. But you know, it's it's always good. Good evening, everyone. Board of Education, Dr. Tamacini, Miss Coraloo, congratulations on uh finishing up your term
and congratulations to all honores tonight. Welld deserved and well earned. So, we couldn't have everybody from Stony Brook here tonight, but we're going to recognize them anyway. Uh first up, we have four individuals being recognized for 25 years of service. Um,
and we are going to begin with Miss Gina Loa who currently serves as our fifth grade ELA teacher where she has been such a presence for so many years. I mean, it's hard to imagine our fifth grade uh, you know, without Miss Loa. She's not only an outstanding educator,
but she has a true passion for reading, writing, and all things ELA related. And Lionel Messi, of course, she's a huge Messi fan. Over the years, so many of her former students have reached out to ask whether their favorite teacher, Miss Loa, is still at Stonybrook. That alone speaks to the tremendous impact she's
had on their lives. Thank you, Miss Loa, for 25 years of service and for being such a valuable asset to the Stony Brook community. Round of applause. Okay. Next, she's unable to attend uh but I tonight, but I certainly want to acknowledge Miss Cherylyn Pedis who
during her time with the district has served in a number of roles both in the classroom and out of the classroom uh central office for a little while. And while I'm sure she's done an exceptional job in all of them, I'd be hardressed to imagine she could do anything better than what she does now. Miss Poretus is
one of the most talented reading specialists I I've ever worked with and she truly works magic with her kids every year. But that's not where her accolades end. Even at 25 years, her efforts outside the classroom are equally impressive. She's plays an instrumental role in our RTI team, heads
up our student council, serves on instructional council, and spearhead so many initiatives that help make Stony Brook the best it can be. Getting better with time. So, Miss Pedes, thank you for all that you do. We're so lucky to have you on staff. Round of applause for Miss Cherylyn Pedes.
All right, next up is the maestro himself, our music teacher and band director, Mr. Kirby Jacobson, who's also celebrating 25 years. Mr. Jay, he does such an incredible job in his role at Stonybrook, organizing and running our winter and spring concerts, providing
lessons for all our band students, bringing uh groups of students to perform at the Kesler Institute uh in West Orange twice a year, and delivering engaging music lessons. Throughout all of it is his love for music, which is always evident and all he does and just
so important to have for a music teacher. Mr. Jay, thank you for everything you've done and continue to do for Stonybrook. We appreciate you. Congrats on 25 years. >> Another 25.
All right. And one more 25 year um teacher who's unable to who's not able to be here, but it's Mr. Ivan Coleman. So, I just wanted to take a moment to recognize uh you know the amazing job he does. He's the occupational therapist at Stony Brook. Um and he like I said, he's
done an exceptional job working with students over the years and in addition to his regular responsibilities, he plays an instrumental role in other school initiatives. He's particularly he's a PBS pointman. He always goes above and beyond to ensure that the program
is implemented with fidelity and we are truly grateful for all of his efforts. Always goes above and beyond. Congratulations, Mr. Coleman, on 25 years. We're lucky to have you. All right, we have two uh teachers celebrating 20 years. Uh neither one could be here tonight. One of them just
called I'm going to say called out, but not really. what she she called last minute and her son had a fever. But first up is Miss Tracy Estie uh who currently serves as a third grade special ed teacher. Uh she served in various roles over the years both in gened and special ed. And no matter the
assignment, she's always done such an amazing job and her students flourish under her guidance. Year after year, Miss Estie develops and maintains such a great rapport with all of her students and their families and her genuine concern for the well-being for their well-being is truly admirable. Miss
Estie, thank you for all that you do. We're lucky to have you. Congratulations. And also celebrating 20 years, Miss Kelly Stevens. Um, you know, she also serves in our fifth grade. And just like I said about Miss Loa, uh, you know, I really can't imagine our fifth grade
without her as well. Not only is she a tremendous math teacher, she's just also a great person. She goes above and beyond for her students and we are so fortunate to have her all these years. Congratulations, Miss Stevens. We appreciate you. All right. And we have three staff
celebrating tenure. First up is our art teacher, Miss Eve Pisano. While Miss Pazano is currently earning tenure now, don't be deceived. She's a seasoned veteran. She came to Stony Brook with a long proven track record as a successful art teacher and we were fortunate enough to snag her when the timing was right.
She's a wonderful teacher and extremely talented artist who continues to inspire all of her students each and every day. Congratulations on earning tenure, Miss Pisano. You are appreciated. All right. And next, Miss Joy Van Wigan, who currently serves as a second grade
teacher for us. Miss Van Wigginan is the consumate professional. She has developed a wonderful rapport with her students, her parents, and the entire staff. Not only is she an excellent teacher, she also has a knack for successfully writing grants, which we find we found out over the past few
years. uh you know grants that have really benefited the school. Congratulations, Miss Van Ring in Stony Brook. He's lucky to have you. Welld deserved. Oh man, I love this last one. I don't speak Spanish like Miss Vera, but my PTO knows what I'm talking about right here.
So, last but certainly not least, Mr. Jose. You know, it's so funny. Jose, I saw the last name. I'm like, who's that? I all I know is all I do is I've been calling him Jose for years, man. Sele. Did I say that right? I don't know. There you go. But anyway, Jose,
he's our night custodian. Um, you know, initially I didn't think you'd be here. I said he's too busy working, but I was so happy to see you when you got here. But he is such a hard worker. He and you know what? He's just really a sweet guy. Anything he you ask him to do, he does it with a smile. We love him and we
truly appreciate all that he does for Stony Brook. Congratulations, Jose. Come on up. Thank you, Mr. Wiznusi, and all the staff and teachers at Stonybrook for their service to our district. Um, I am going to ask our business
administrator to come forward to introduce our maintenance and transportation superstars. >> We have Mr. Rosman for transportation, but I'll >> Oh, you maintenance. Okay, Mr. Rosman. Okay, fine. I'll introduce Mr. Rosman. >> Okay, John, do you want to go first? You want to do transportation?
>> Okay, so Mr. Mr. Rosspan, if you want to come up, >> by the way, Mr. Rosban is the new supervisor of transportation. Have a round of applause because it's a tough job and I couldn't do it, but he is. Thank you, John. >> Thank you, board. Um,
Ruth Foster, 25 years of service. Uh, I met her about three and a half years ago when I started as a bus driver. She started as a bus driver in uh 2000. uh after starting as a bus driver uh she became the PM dispatcher and became the office help uh so for the last uh few
years she has been instrumental in keeping uh the buses running keeping the the the record straight and getting students on time. Uh to say some things about her um I echo some of the previous supervisors that were here their statements uh she's a team player always
willing to lend a hand. She's the most reliable and dedicated uh employee around. She's a true asset. Her professionalism and all aspects of her job are above and beyond what is required. Ruth 25 years
>> now. >> Okay. So, our supervisor of maintenance, Mr. Martino wasn't able to be with us tonight. Um, so it fell to me to recognize our 20-year service uh, veteran, Miss Jeannie Stites. Um, if I could have a dollar for every time
someone has told me, I don't know, ask Jeanie, she'll know, we would balance the budget in five minutes. Um, Jeanie has a wealth of knowledge about the district. She is a consmate professional. She's a joy to work with, and we just really appreciate your years of service, Jeie. We've been very lucky to have you.
And now it's my turn. And I'm going to need these. No, no, no. I won't need these. Um, I think the unsung heroes. Um there's a lot of unsung heroes in our school district. A lot of people who work so hard uh behind the scenes, but a business administrator is one of those
because you don't see all that the business administrator does. Um but when you think about it, if it's tangible in this district, if you can touch it, it has to do with the business administrator. I mean, it's the money. It's every it's she oversees
transportation. She oversees maintenance. Everything that's tangible, you can put your hand on it. That's the business administrator. And we are so fortunate when we hired Megan Slam four years ago, you know, uh, as as our business administrator because if you
look around you, you will see so many districts. I won't name any names, but there are so many districts that are struggling financially. And it is a struggle to keep districts these days above float, above water, but she's doing it for us. And I can say with all
due respect to our husband, Ry, that we have the best admin business administrator in the state of New Jersey, Ray, right here, right here in Rockaway Township, but she's not going anywhere. So I congratulate Miss Megan Slam and Jack and Eloise too for having
a great mommy. really sorry and I have no idea where and also um thank you Miss Kim Willer for organizing this putting it together. Kim, I appreciate it very much. My secretary and again, we congratulate all of you um for um for your service to the district
and we thank you for your service to the district. And um uh Mr. President, may we have 10 minutes for uh cookies? >> All the way till 9:00. >> Oh, we have till n we have more than like 15 minutes for cookies. Thank you all so very much. Please help yourself. Thank you.
>> All right, we got it. You should definitely do it. How are you? >> Nice to meet you. Heard great things. >> Nice to meet you. >> My name is Dr. Richard Corbett and I am the proud superintendent of Rockaway Township Public Schools. I was just waving to some of our
wonderful students as they were walking by and I'm so happy and pleased to say that when I walk through these halls and talk to these students in these six different schools, I see students that are learning and having fun and to me those are two very important qualities
of a very very effective education. >> Birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere. Students come back year after year. There's multi-generations that have attended Birwood. It is truly a loving community. It's such a wonderful place to be.
>> Our core values are the same as Rockaway Township: Heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, respect, and trust. So, we can focus on particularly on being kind. >> What really resonates with me about this school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus
comparison to others. Whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience, they learn to persevere and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before. >> Stony Brook is an amazing place. It really is. And I think anybody who joins us, whether it's full-time or visitors
in the building just for a day, uh, you know, I think echo that sentiment. Our staff is second to none. They really put the kids first all the time. And our students are exceptional as well. It's a wonderful school community. Our PTA is incredibly involved. Everything we do is well attended back to school nights, our
events, and we have a very involved school community both academically working handin-hand with our teachers, but also I think for extracurricular as well. Every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District and will graduate from Copeland before they go on
to high school. And we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students, helping students develop into future leaders, into being positive role models and citizens in our community. Our mantra we live by is no walls, no limits because being a school
with no walls uh provides our students a great sense of community. You just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors. What keeps me coming back here every morning? Hugs from kids. You know, I love being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to
see me. Teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal. So yeah, I I think for me it's just being a part of something, being a part of the team. Uh we're all very different, but um but we we get along and you know, we support each other.
>> Every morning I'm inspired by these children, their energy, their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious. >> The people I work with makes me come back every single day. I hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building. I
have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world. >> The thing that makes Scopland Middle School so great is truly the people. It's the students. It's the staff. It's the community members. It's the parent involvement. It's the investment in making it a better place.
>> I come here for the students. I love the kids here. They are amazing. They're the best part of my day. They're the best part of my week. That's why I do what I do. I'm proud to be the superintendent of Rockway Township Schools and we are thankful for all the support we have
from our community. I truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world. It's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to and
teaching at Dubire is special because we don't have walls. I think social emotional learning is very important. It gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional dialogue and
that helps the whole child. If you've never taught at another school and you come to Birchwood, you honestly never want to leave Birchwood. You walk into this building and it's a family. We're all together. We're all happy. We're smiling. Nobody's cranky or miserable. We're here together for each
other. One of the things that I love the most about this position and this job is that I get to work with students of all ages now that we house preschool students here. I see every single student in the building from preschool all the way through fifth grade. And I get to work with them on a deeper level
on a way that inspires them not just to be confident in themselves but in what they love. After teaching for 25 years, I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a story of why I come back every day. Any
good lesson makes me feel alive. Going to the soccer games, the football games, seeing my students outside the classroom. I want the kids to feel at home and I feel the more comfortable that they are, that the relationship that we build together, the better they're going to do in class. Not not
only enjoy their time in class, but also take risks. It's a really great environment here at KDM. My co-workers are great. The students every day, they make me laugh. One thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset. I did have a student that came in and really didn't
like math. They were really negative self-talking, saying that they can't do this. And so, basically throughout the whole year, we worked on just changing that mindset. One of the things that I'm really hoping to teach them more than anything else is about kindness and you know being good friends to each other.
One of my most favorite success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk. I've tried to instill intrinsic love for school, intrinsic love for education. And over
time, I've seen him pick that head up and that's why I do what I do. To have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them and they want to come. So, we used to always start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of
lessons about how we are able to do things that might seem hard, like a harder task. And I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient and show grit in the face of a harder task, then all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier. >> Our goal here is that every child is as
comfortable in class as they are at home. And if they're ever in trouble, they're ever concerned or worried that they have the tools available to them to be successful and to help each other be as successful as we know they can be. We have really seen over the years an
incredible increase in their emotional maturity and in their abilities to deal with issues both in the playground and in the classroom. And I really believe it's because our district's focus on SEAL over the last several years. >> I am the steam teacher at Copeland
Middle School. I really love to see the growth and the change to the students. And what I really focus on is teamwork. So the kids are always in teams. We want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas. I want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home. I want
them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable, feel like they can be themselves. They may not come here and love math, but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class. Years ago, I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics. And I worked so carefully with her. I gave
her extra help just to have her overcome this fear and it was fabulous to see that aha moment when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day. >> So, my name is Jackson. >> My name is Mia. My name is Mariah.
>> I think what awesome is about being in Birwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls. Like in school they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a wall with the art teacher.
>> My favorite is recess. My favorite thing is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff. We get to do puzzle of the day and it's really fun. We get to watch videos at the end of the day.
My name is Carly and I am in fifth grade and I go to DVO. >> Yeah. My name is Rehea. I'm in first grade. Being at DVL is awesome because all the teachers here are so great and so nice. >> I like the teachers here. They make it
awesome here. She teaches well and then she teaches us stuff which we have never learned. >> My favorite subject is probably math because I like all the challenges. My favorite special is art class with Miss Takis. Plus, drawing is my favorite
thing. >> What makes DBL unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other. >> My name is Quinker and I'm in the fifth grade. >> Hi, my name is Arya. I am in second grade. What makes our school awesome is
all the teachers we have here. They help us every day. All the janitors keep our school nice and clean. all my friends that helped me since kindergarten and everybody just helps us here because we are a really good community >> because of my friends, the teachers and the principal. Like we read a book and
then we do a project based on what happened in that story. >> Math is my favorite subject because the teachers always help us and it's fun but it can be complicated but it's still really fun. My favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good
teachers. They have fun activities to do and their stories. My first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into chapter books in Juni B. Jones. My favorite subject is science. In science, you do lots of experiments and
I think experiments are very fun. Every day I'm like happy at school. When I came into sixth grade in Copeland where everything was new and different for me, Mrs. Heath, she was especially really kind to me, she still talks to me even though we don't really see each other
that much and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do. One teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my 7th grade LA teacher. I used to just like like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make that subject more
fun. I think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers. Math is my favorite because like you can learn different things like times, plus minus. No matter where you come from or no
matter what you like look like, people will be friends with you and welcome you into the school. One word to describe this school is probably heart. Honesty, empathy, acceptance, and respect and trust. This is probably one of the most special
places I've ever worked. It is the staff, the teachers. Uh they are loving, they are caring. The energy here is just great. It's wonderful to work with a group of men and women who truly love what they do. Their heart, passion, and soul is for students, and to see them
succeed. I try to find a way for them to want to be here. Even if they're sad or even if they don't want to get out of the car in the morning, if I say, "Hey, let's go wander in the library." And they bounce out of the car right away, which actually happened, then I've done something right that I have found a way
to make them feel like this is home for them because that's kind of how I feel. I love the kids here. They're amazing. They're the best part of my day. They're the best part of my week. That's why I do what I do. >> So, my name is Jackson. My name is Mia. My name is Mariah.
>> I think what awesome is about being in Birchwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls. Like in school, they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a wall with the art teacher. My favorite is recess.
My favorite thing is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff. We get to do puzzle of the day and it's really fun. We get to watch videos at the end of the day. >> Our doors are always open. We are truly a family here. Our kids are just
everything. >> If you've never taught at another school and you come to Birwood, you honestly never want to leave Birwood. You walk into this building and it's a family. We're all together. We're all happy. We're smiling. Nobody's cranky or miserable. We're here together for each
other. Birwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere. Students come back year after year. There's multi-generations that have attended Birwood. It is truly a loving community. It's such a wonderful place to be. I commute an hour or more every
day and I've been given the opportunity to work in another district, but I've been here 7 years and I will drive that hour because the community, the parents, the teachers, our principal are incredible. We're just so happy to have such a loving, nurturing community that
is so vested in our school. We are family and once a bulldog, always a bulldog. I truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world. It's so important to have a positive
environment for a child to come to. And teaching at Dwire is special because we don't have walls. >> Our mantra we live by is no walls, no limits because being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great
sense of community. You just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors. >> I like to tell people that when you're here, it's like learning at home. You're in your kitchen, but you still know what's going on in the family room. It builds like this, you know, camaraderie
amongst not only the students but also the faculty that work here. We call ourselves a Dwire family. Mr. McGovern, he seldom calls us a school and we really all live by that. We treat each other like family and we emulate that for the kids.
>> I think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers. Math is my favorite because like you can learn different things like times, plus minus. No matter where you come from or no
matter what you like look like, people will be friends with you and welcome you into the school. One word to describe this school is probably heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, and respect, and trust.
I have been teaching art here in Rockaway Township for 16 years. I think social and emotional learning is very important. It gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional
dialogue and that helps the whole child. I get the privilege of going into every single class once a month where I do a guidance lesson. The best part of my job is when one of them is having a tough day and then they feel better and it's because of me. >> The people I work with makes me come
back every single day. I hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building. I have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world. Every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high
school. And we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students, helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community. >> I am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School. I really love to see the growth and the change through the
students. And what I really focus on is teamwork. So the kids are always in teams. We want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas. >> I want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home. I want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable, feel like they can be
themselves. They may not come here and love math, but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class. >> When I came into sixth grade in Copeland, where everything was new and different for me, Mrs. Heath, she was especially really kind to me. She still talks to me even though we don't really
see each other that much and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do. >> One teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my seventh grade LA teacher. I used to dislike like reading and writing and she really helped me
understand and make that subject more fun. Years ago, I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics. And I worked so carefully with her. I gave her extra help just to have her over.
>> All right, this brings us to public discussion. During the course of the board meeting, the Rockway Township Board of Education offers members of the public an opportunity to address issues regarding the operations of the Rockway Township Public Schools. The board reminds those individuals who take this opportunity to identify themselves by name and address and to limit their comments to items listed on the agenda
and/or items directly related to the operations of the school district. Issues raised by members of the public may or may not be respon responded to by the board. All comments will be considered and a response will be forthcoming if and when appropriate. The board asks that members of the public be courteous and mindful of the rights of other individuals when speaking.
Specifically, comments regarding students and employees of the board are discouraged and will not be responded to by the board. Students and employees have specific rights afforded by the laws of New Jersey. The board bears no responsibility, nor will it be liable for any comments made by the members of the public. Members of the public should
consider their comments in light of the legal rights of those affected or identified in the comments and be aware that they are legally responsible and liable for their comments. In accordance with board policy 0167, public discussion is limited to 15 minutes with a three-minute limit per member of the public. The board president shall have the right to modify the length of public
discussion as he deems appropriate. Can I please have a motion to open to the first public comment? >> So moved. Seconded. >> Thank you. Show hands, please. >> Please come on up. Thank you. Brian Adams, RTEA. Uh, tonight we honored our colleagues
for their years of service and achieving tenure. Looking at the night, uh, the names on tonight's agenda, we are acknowledging something far deeper than just the time served, we are acknowledging their resilience. We speak about challenges in education, but this
group, amongst others, have faced them head on. Most recently, when the district was disrupted by a cyber attack, we did not falter. When the screens went dark and our systems went offline, the education
continued. We improvised, we adapted, we kept the classroom going. That is what the true mark of the PR professionals who are here and in our classrooms every day. We make it look easy even when it's incredibly
challenging. To the outside world it might look like at business as usual but as co-presidents with terra we know the effort the creativity and the exhaustion required to maintain normaly
and we maintain the standard of excellence when it would be easy to say we just can't do this today. So to our newly tenured colleagues and our veterans they represent the best of us. They've proven no matter the circumstance, they
will always show up for our students. So to the board, we thank you for recognizing these professionals. And finally, we want to thank our technology department for their tireless work and getting us back online.
Um, it's a reminder that whether we are fixing the systems or teaching the lessons, we all work to support the students. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Would anybody else from the public like to come up?
All right. Seeing and hearing none, can I please have a motion to close the public comment? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Thank you. Show of hands, please. >> And Mr. President, before we go to the next section, if I could. >> Sure. Go right ahead. >> Um, so it came to my attention that we
um did not recognize my assistant an Yakavino for her tenure. Um Anne couldn't be with us tonight. However, um we would be remiss if we didn't speak about Anne. Um oftentimes when people refer to an assistant, they are they'll say something like, "Oh, they're my
right hand." Um I can tell you that Ann is my right hand, my left hand, and half the time my brain. Um so, you know, she deserves all the recognition. We're very excited to have her. I am very excited to have her in the business office, and she's um just a really integral part of my team. So I apologize Ann that you
were not recognized uh during the session. It was got a little bit crazy at the end. We had a lot of people moving but you are um definitely to me um and just somebody that I can't get through the day without. So thank you an >> Thank you.
Communications. Do we have any additional communications? >> Uh no. No additional. >> All right. Thank you. Moving on to the approval of the minutes. Can I please have a motion to approve the minutes? So moved. Seconded. >> Thank you. Can I have a roll call vote, please? >> Yes. Mrs. Anderson?
>> Yes. >> Mrs. Cury Laroo? >> Yes. >> Ms. McGiri? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Messi? >> Yes. >> Ms. Torren? >> Yes. >> Dr. Thomasini? >> Yes. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. Moving on to the superintendence report. Dr. Corbett, please.
>> Uh, thank you, Dr. Thomasini. On December 2nd, first student buses, which our district contracts to provide transportation for three routes, failed to provide transportation to our students. A slide, please. On that same
day, many other students and many other districts, excuse me, had a delayed opening or a close. Megan and I met with the district manager on December 3rd to discuss our concerns and to understand why this happened. We were assured that this mistake would not be repeated and was in
part due to drivers obtaining inaccurate information through social media. First student provided an action plan intended to alleviate our concerns and I apologize to the families who are inconvenienced. I'm grateful to Abe Elder and his team
for their digital work in restoring our internet service. We are currently about 80% functional. Over the past few weeks, I have met with teachers and staff around the district to understand their challenges, to hear concerns. This is also an opportunity for me to
appreciate their hard work and dedication to the students of Rockway Township. On behalf of all district administrators and board of education and grateful to teachers, certified staff, nurses, uh the technicians in the technology department, the par professionals, support staff,
maintenance custodians, secretaries, bus drivers. Your time, energy, and effort are what make our district awesome. On November 13th, CPAC sponsored a parent support group at the Rockway Township Public Library. This meeting
did not focus on a particular issue. Instead, it served as a forum for parents to offer mutual support and to share their challenges and successes. The next parent support meeting will be held on January 13th, and all families are invited to attend. We look forward to the January professional development
day where key topics will be offered to help our staff focus on student support. The Interact Club is one of the newest service clubs at Culpa Middle School. club sponsored by the Rockway Rotary Club was officially chartered yesterday
and they wasted no time helping. Their first project is collecting items for Oscar, an acronym for One Step Closer Animal Rescue. In the future, I hope to introduce the members of the Interact Club to our board and the community.
In fact, kindness, gratitude, community service are themes that ran through our schools during November. And would like for you to hear all the wonderful activities that centered around these themes. I'll begin with Birchwood where World Kindness Day was separated
celebrated. Students and staff recognized the day wearing yellow and green. Students and staff also participated in the PTA flannel day, demonstrating their school spirit and pride in our community. Students also enjoyed the book fair and were excited to purchase their favorite
books. Before Thanksgiving, parents and teachers had an opportunity to meet and discuss their child's progress during the parent teacher conferences. Of course, as you know, parents are essential to our success. Throughout November, Dwire has been actively engaged in numerous community
service initiatives with students taking great pride in learning and participating in events that support both the township and our school community. Most recently, students collected donations for the local food pantry. It was a heart it was heartwarming to see the joy on their
faces as they delivered their contributions. The Dwire PTA recognized the importance of these efforts and is a strong partner in this work. In addition to collecting boxes of food, the PTA generously donated $500 in ShopRight gift cards to
further support the cause. The DWI seeds of service project are inspiring and and align beautifully with this month's social emotional learning theme of gratitude. The third grade students also experienced the joy of receiving through service thanks to the Rockaway Rotary
Club which provided each child with their own personal dictionary. In addition to service, our students have been working diligently in the classroom. This was evident during the parent teacher conferences which offered families a comprehensive understanding of their child's academic and social
progress. Once again, Dwire demonstrates the inclusive, caring, and supportive environment we strive to create for all students and staff. As the holiday season approaches, Stony Brook is also filled with the spirit of
giving. Thanks to the generosity of the Stony Brook PTA, parent volunteers and staff, initiatives such as the giving tree and the annual coat drive are already making a meaningful impact. The Stony Brook student council is grateful for the cake making kits kit donations.
While the community support with the community support students assembled over 50 birthday bags filled with cake mixes, icing candles, plates, napkins, and festive decorations. The bags will be delivered to the local food pantry this
Tuesday. The school is also preparing for the winter concert on December 18th where students will showcase their talents, families, and friends. Congratulations to the November principles, Hall of Fame recipients. Last month's character trait was gratitude, and their photos are proudly
displayed in the window near the main office. On Wednesday, November 19th, the marching bands from Morris Nolles and Morris Hills high schools visited Culpa Middle School to perform for our student uh for our music students. This high energy event inspired many of our young
musicians and strengthened their relationship between excuse me, the relationship between the middle and the high school uh music programs. The winter band concert took place on Thursday, December 4th, showcasing the hard work and talent of our student
musicians. And last night, the winter chorus and strings concert was outstanding. Both performances were sold out and warmly received by families and friends. The Copeland Middle School PTA holiday
shop was a tremendous success. Many participated and provided a festive, enjoyable experience for students as they selected gifts for families and friends. We're grateful to our PTA volunteers for their dedication making this event a highlight of the season. On Monday, December 8th, high school counselors from the Hills and Nolles
visited Copeland to speak with our eighth grade students. They provided valuable information about academic programs, extracurricular opportunities, and the transition to high school. This annual visit continues to play an important role in helping our students
prepare for their next step in their educational journey. Our unified sports program is now up and running, offering inclusive athletic opportunities that bring students of all abilities together. Participation, enthusiasm has been high, and we look forward to the continued growth of this meaningful
program. The DBO community continued to demonstrate its commitment to service, collaboration, and excellence throughout the month. Their student government successfully led a schoolwide canned food drive, collecting over 650 items to
support local families in need. In addition, the fourth grade team organized a thoughtful and impactful clothing drive, further reinforcing the school's focus on helping others. The PTA also played an important role in bringing the community together through
their uh festive holiday shop and the always popular cocoa and cookies event. Both activities created joyful experiences for students and families while strengthening connections across the school. The kindness tree and
kindness boxes promoted positive choices within the building, giving students meaningful ways to recognize, celebrate, and spread acts of compassion. These initiatives have already begun to brighten the school environment and encourage thoughtful interactions among
students. The theme for November at KDM was also gratitude, and the community certainly has much to be grateful for. To date, KDM has issued more than 85 positive office referrals to recognize students who exemplify heart, honesty, empathy,
acceptance, respect, and trust. Students and staff also joined together in wearing green and yellow on World Kindness Day. In addition, the student council participated with the KDMPTA, facilitated a food and coat collection,
which resulted in the donation of 650 canned goods. Thanks to this incredible effort, students earned a fun flip day where students will dress up as teachers and teachers will dress up as students. This should be interesting. The PTA delivered all don donated items to our
neighbors in do and to the food for hope program through the care center of New Jersey. We are grateful also to the Rotary Club of Rockaway and their sponsor, the Fulton Bank for generously donating dictionaries to every third grader. KDMPTA hosted a fantastic holiday
boutique which allowed students to thoughtfully and independently purchase gifts for their loved ones. KDM is preparing for the festive weeks ahead including their winter concert tomorrow, December 11th. And that is my report. Thank you. And I wish
everyone a happy holiday. Actually, that's not my report because I want to just go over the HIV very quickly. There one more slide there. I like that last light. The last light up there. Oh, there we are. That's a picture of the KDM holiday boutique there. Well, it's actually us
participating in the holiday boutique. Um, under current investigation in terms of HIV, there are six. Of the six, one was affirmed um and the nature of the incident was mental, physical, and sensory disability. All four problems were met. The other five were not. And
now that is my report. Thank you, M. Dr. President. Thank you very much. Moving on to the business administrator's report. Miss Slam, please. >> Thank you, Dr. Thomasini. Um, as noted earlier, the district completed our audit for the 2425 school year. We are grateful to Nisavia for their
partnership and preparation of our comprehensive reports. The audit will be posted on the district website following tonight's meeting and will also be available through the NJ DOE on their website. Uh, we are very pleased with the results of the audit and our continued financial stability. Thank you to my team in the business office for
all of their hard work and diligence throughout the year without which we would not be able to remain as compliant and as efficient as we are. Um I would also like to note that the excess surplus amount is higher this year than usual owing to the fact that we did not elect to make direct deposits into our
reserves at year end closeout. The reason being we are holding that option until the budget creation for 2627 at which time we will have the opportunity to either deposit those funds or proceed with the amount purely as a revenue source. This will allow us time to determine the financial climate with
changes in government and possible shifts in our other revenue sources. Uh the buildings and grounds department has been hard at work in the past few months completing a number of projects throughout the district. CMS has new bleachers installed in Basset Hall with an extension in the number of seats available which has been a big benefit
for sports and assemblies. There is also a new divider installed in the other gym. We've replaced components of the water system at CA at CMS with um that were outdated. This strengthens the system and ensures that we do not suffer loss of functionality in those areas as we move through the colder months. Um we
also finalized our projects at KDM with the installation of new doors on the exterior of the building. Finally, um I would like to address the technical issues we experienced in the district since the middle of November. Um unauthorized actors gained access to one of the district's older servers through
an account that had remained active but unused. This particular server and older system that functioned as a bridge for transferring information between two programs contain a vulnerability that these actors were able to exploit. We do not know the exact makeup of the organization behind the attack, but
these incidents are typically typically carried out through automated tools that constantly scan the internet for vulnerabilities. The technology department went into immediate action with the support and direction of our insurance representatives and their forensic specialists. Because of the strength of our authentication tools,
the structure of our network, and the way our critical systems are isolated, both our internal team and the forensic investigators are reliably certain that no data was moved off site. The affected files were encrypted which made them temporary temporarily inaccessible to us. But we have no evidence that any staff, student or financial information
was exposed. One of the primary challenges was that the affected server environment needed to remain untouched during the forensic investigation. This prevented our team from performing the usual repairs right away. Instead, our technology department and one of our vendors began building a more secure replacement system. This new environment
restored connectivity for teaching staff, which remained our first priority. Since then, the team has been working through the remaining staff devices and systems, reformatting and reconnecting them to the rebuilt environment. I cannot stress enough that this could have been so much worse had it not been for the strategic planning
done by Mr. Elder and his wonderful staff by isolating key software programs such as Genesis, Systems 3000, and others. Our staff, student, and financial data remained inaccessible to the attackers. This structure also allowed us to quarantine those programs while we worked to resolve the broader issue. While the various service
disruptions were regrettable, I was so impressed with the dedication of our staff to getting us back up and running. Not once did anyone on my team complain about long hours or the complexity of the work. And I will tell you as an aside, I was on calls with Abe till midnight. Um his record was he was here
till 3 in the morning one of the nights and not not one complaint, not one um his team, not not one word other than how are we doing? What can we do better? So, um, the dedication is just next level. Um, they saw it as we had a problem that needed solving, and that
was all they needed to know. Um, I've seen districts that have been crippled by events like this, but we were not. The costs associated with the forensic activities and the recovery and rebuild of our system will be largely covered by our insurance policies, and we will be taking this opportunity to build an even more secure system moving forward. But
when I tell you categorically, and I will stand by it and fight any BA who wants to, my technology team is the best in the state. I truly believe that. So, thank you, Abe, and thank you to your team. Um, and just on a personal note, I wanted to thank Christy and Aaron for
your service to the board. It's been such a joy working with you for the past four years. I'm so sad to see you guys go. Um, just consumate professionals, so engaged. You guys have the best debates, the best information. It's just been so much fun. Um, and Erin, I will so miss
you shouting military codes at me while I take the minutes. >> We were just making >> Definitely not stressful at all. >> No problem. Everything phonetically from here on out. I got it. Understood. >> Thank you guys. >> Thank you, Megan. >> Thank you. Moving on to committee reports. Are
there any committee reports? >> I do have one for the education committee. Uh, we met on December 4th. Um, we had some guests in attendance. Miss Young came to join us and Mrs. Petowski. Um they spoke to us about the December PD day. Teachers used the
professional development time on December to concentrate on data analysis, risk assessment, and curriculum planning, a focus on the RTI system. There's an upcoming half day for students in January for and a full day uh with for staff. They'll have a PD day
in the afternoon that will be staffled and personalized. So teachers will have an opportunity to showcase their expertise. Um they've been invited to submit a proposal by last week. Uh some of the things that are coming up, Rucker's clinicians are going to run three professional development sessions
for helping students with ADHD. That's in response to parents who voiced an a need for that um at CPAC meetings. Other offerings, we're going to have our our behavior analysis in the back. She's going to be offering different strategies and helping coach teachers.
And there's also information on how to write the um parts of the IEPs that we are ahead of the game for changes that are coming as of next school year. The principles met on the 25th of November to talk about upcoming budget.
Uh we're proud that our district has been um sought out by other surrounding schools to tour our facilities and check out how we're implementing programs here. Congratulations to the teachers because that's kudos to what you've done and how you're performing. Um we had an
open discussion again about the new changes being made to the IEP process and how parents will be in need to be informed two days prior to an annual IEP meeting. And so Rockaway, as per usual, is going to start that sooner than we're supposed to so we can
work out any kinks. Um, and so I thank you guys for starting that. And then two upcoming events. Um, we're proud to have another district-wide author night. We have Jay Cooper, who's an illustrator of 29 books coming. And then, um, another
family math night. We've listened to the district. parents have said that it'd be more advantageous to have it in the winter months. We had had it in October and there's a lot of evening activities. So, um sometime later in the new year,
we're going to have a fun competitive night and I too want to thank the teachers and the staff and the technology department for all of your work. Um, I think that even things like being able to run off photo copies be became an impossibility and so you'd had
no access to your work and no access to run anything off and so I'm sure your creativity was tested and Abe, thank you for those very late nights. I appreciate it. That concludes my report. >> Thank you. Any other committee reports?
Uh the community outreach um committee met um yesterday, December 9th. Uh we have been discussing uh setting out a survey in the future um as we discuss the future operational needs of the district. Additionally, we're looking to
have targeted outreach to our seniors, and we anticipate being able to offer transportation and some food um in the spring, two of one of our events.
>> Awesome. Thank you very much. Any other committee reports? >> All right, moving on to section seven recommended for board of action. Uh alpha personnel Can I please have a motion to approve the personnel items? >> So moved.
>> Seconded. >> Thank you. Being that they're personnel, there's no discussion. Can I please have a roll call vote, please? >> Mrs. Anderson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Kiru, >> yes. >> Ms. McGiri? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Messi? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Torren? >> Yes.
>> Dr. Thomasini? >> Yes. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. Moving on to HIV determination. Can I please have a motion to approve the HIV determinations? So moved. >> Second. >> Thank you. This will be that 296477
is confirmed. 296504 is unconfirmed. 296589 is unconfirmed. 296646 is unconfirmed. 297354 is unconfirmed. 297535 is unconfirmed. 297544
is confirmed. 297607 is unconfirmed. 297608 is unconfirmed. 297759 is unconfirmed. 297769 is unconfirmed. 297784 is unconfirmed. 297880 is unconfirmed. 297-955
unconfirmed. 297998 unconfirmed. 29800 is unconfirmed. And 298236 as unconfirmed. Can I please have a roll call vote? >> Mrs. Anderson. Yes. Mrs. Kuru, >> yes. >> Ms. Mcgiri,
>> yes. >> Mrs. Mesi, >> yes. >> Ms. Tor, >> yes. >> Dr. Thomasini, >> yes. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. Can I please have a motion to approve the education recommendations, please? >> So moved. >> Seconded. >> Thank you. Any board discussion? Hearing none, would anybody from the
public like to talk about education? Seeing and hearing none, can I please have a roll call vote? >> Mrs. Anderson, >> yes. Mrs. Kiru, >> yes. Miss McGiri? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Meszik, >> yes. >> Miss Torren, >> yes. >> Dr. Thomasini, >> yes. Motion carries. >> Thank you. Moving on to special education. Can I please have a motion to
approve special education recommendations, please? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Thank you. Any board discussion >> hearing? None. Anybody from the public want to speak about special education? >> Seeing and hearing none, could I please
have a roll call vote, please? >> Mrs. Anderson. Yes. Mrs. Miss Kuru, >> yes. >> Miss Mcgiri, >> yes. >> Mrs. Meszik, >> yes. >> Ms. Torren, >> yes. >> Dr. Thomasini, >> yes. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. Moving on to echo administration. Uh, can I have a motion to approve administration
recommendations, please? >> So moved. >> Seconded. >> All right. So, this f first portion going to open to uh the Does anybody from the public want to make any comments on the superintendent's contract? I can open up the the floor if
anybody has any comments on the super >> questions. We can open for questions >> or questions. >> All right. Seeing and hearing none. Any board discussion on anything in administration, would anybody like to make any comments on anything else in administration from
the public? Seeing and hearing none, can I please have a roll call vote? Mrs. Anderson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Kiru, >> yes. >> Ms. Mciri, >> yes. >> Mrs. Mzik, >> yes. >> Miss Tor, >> yes. >> Dr. Thomasini, yes. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you very much. Congratulations, Dr. Corbin.
>> Thank you, Dr. Thomasini, and to the board. Thank Thank you so much. Uh, I just want to say just I'm not going to go on and on and on, but I I'm so happy that I I can I can do this and be here for another four and a half years. I'm so happy to be here.
I've enjoyed this is my fourth year in the district. The time flew by. I cannot believe how fast the time went. But it's this board that that makes it so fulfilling for me. The board, the students, the community, but the board is is is what I I I really rely on in terms of communication and getting the
job done and making sure that u I'm I'm focused on the right thing. The current board and the board that hired me, the board's changing, but the current board is phenomenal. The board that hired me is phenomenal. Uh, in fact, Tanya Shields is out there right now. She was one of the board members that hired me.
So, thank you too, Tanya. And I and I look forward to to working with all of you uh for the next four and a half years. Thank you so much for this opportunity. Moving on to finance. Can I have a motion to approve the finance recommendations, please? >> So moved. Seconded.
>> Thank you. I definitely recommend uh we we approved the bills. I signed them yesterday, myself and Mrs. McGiri. Anybody from any uh board discussion on finance? >> Anybody from the public want to discuss
finance? >> Seeing and hearing none, can I have a roll call vote, please? >> Yes. Mrs. Anderson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Kuroo, >> yes. >> Ms. McGiri? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Mzik? >> Yes. >> Ms. Torren? >> Yes. >> Dr. Thomasini? >> Yes. >> Motion carries.
>> Thank you. Moving on to our second public comment. In accordance with board policy 0167, public discussion is limited to 15 minutes with a three-minute limit per member of the public. The board president shall have the right to modify the length of public discussion as he deems appropriate. Can I please have a motion to open to the
second public comment? >> So moved. >> Seconded. >> Thank you. Show of hands, please. >> Would anybody from the public like to come up? Dana Tabadella, 31 Omaha Avenue. I just want to congratulate all the staff
tonight on their uh tenure and years of service pins. I want to congratulate Dr. Corbett on the renewal of your contract. He's definitely a keeper. Um, I also want to thank Alpha Alpha Romeo
Oscar November and Christie for their hard work and years of service on the board. You will truly be missed. Um, I do have something for both of you. Um, I have for Aaron uh an Alpha Bravo Charlie Christmas
ornament for your tree. >> Thank you very much. >> And uh I have for Christie, long story short, I survived. So, thank you so much for your service and um you'll definitely be missed. Thank you to pick this up at the end.
>> Thank you very much. >> Anybody else from the public? All right. Can I please have a motion to close the public comment? >> So moved. Second. >> Thank you. Show of hands, please. All right. Any old business? Mrs. Messik.
>> Okay. As mentioned before for the Mars County School Board Association, we had our meeting December 3rd, excuse me, 2nd and it was this topic was AI for enhanced learning and community engagement
and we can certainly send out the slides to anybody who wants to see them. Additionally, we uh read off the names for our newly elected board members who are Dylan Erie and Jamie Gorman. And then we said goodbye to the retiring board members
Chrissy Cororaru and Dr. Aaron Tamsini. Our next uh meeting will be virtual only creating a positive school culture addressing ethics, cell phones and HIV. Again, that's virtual. >> Yes. >> Yes.
>> Okay. Oh, >> and we'll have our own decking committee who will be addressing the legal >> bits in there. >> When Sunday, >> uh, Wednesday, February 4th. >> Additionally, just to run through the other ones, we have our fourth annual
unsung hero ceremony, Thursday, March 5th, Hamburg Park High School. Um, let's see. Wednesday, April 1st is a deadline for the 2026 Irene Lefay Excellence and Boardmanship Award. Information is in the agenda packet that
which I can send to you or on the NJSBA website. And our last meeting of the school year, Wednesday, May 6. It's uh our celebration, success, and honoring service. It's the fourth annual uh Nancy Hellborg
Memorial Award recognition committee um ceremony that will be at West Mars Mendum High School in Menum. >> Sorry I couldn't attend that live. I was fine but virtual means I go home and then everybody and I I couldn't but thank you for the invite. I appreciate it.
>> Yes, you're welcome. >> That's it for old business. >> Thank you. No, any other old business? I just wanted to uh say congratulations to all of the teachers and the performers for the holiday concerts. I was able to go to Copeland's and it's amazing what they can pull together in just a few
short months of school. It's really a professional performance and it's a testament to how hard our teachers and our students work. And also um for the Morris County School Boards Association, Copeland's students got to play their recorded performance. And so it was
really nice to see that um and see other towns recognize that. So thank you for getting that set up. >> That's it. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. Thank you to the the choir that was here today. They were amazing. >> I always enjoy them. I said thanks for making the the board live.
>> You know it's really interesting because I go to the concerts around the district and all the concerts. Um, and it's amazing to see how they progress through elementary school, then sixth grade, then seventh and eighth grade because like last night, um, at the band
concert, the band and chorus, >> it was good. I mean, when I say it was good, I mean I'm not just saying it because it's good. It was really a good concert >> and very that was very impressive. So, thank you to the dedicated teachers.
Great community of music teachers in this district and they really do appreciate the board support. >> They're amazing. >> Thank you. Any new business? >> I I have a bunch. So, if somebody else wants to go first, they can.
>> Go ahead, Lisa. Let's get it out of the way. Take the band me. >> All righty. >> Okay. So, There's an link uh an upcom excuse me an upcoming training opportunity New Jersey schoolboard Association's three Rs roles
responsibilities and resources it's a webinar on December 17th it is at 10:00 a.m. So maybe somebody won't be able to attend it. Uh then governance one for up uh or incoming I should say uh board
members. It's the new board member orientation weekend. The registration opens January 2nd and it's very important to get as in as soon as possible because they have a limited amount of um opportunities to go there. It's unr underwritten by a grant from
Educational Leadership Foundation of New Jersey. will be two weekend programs held at the Crown Plaza Princeton Conference Center in Plansboro Township. Friday, January 23rd through the 25th and Friday, February 20th to the 22nd.
A few more again from Mars County School Board Association. Um, in Mars County, we embrace the leadership from within by utilizing Mars County board members to generate our meetings and events. If anyone would like to participate in our
next meeting, let me know. I can make it happen. >> Um, wait. Hold on. Still not done. >> I did want to comment on the um holiday concerts I've attended. They were awesome. Uh, it was really impressive to
see how many um strings players we now have for Copeland. Filled the entire stage. And of course, it's always cute to see the little kids at uh I saw Birchwood um the other day as well. I think that's
it. I might come back to something else. >> Um just to add on, um I found out today that we do have a new Charlene Peterson. We have a new um representative. I don't know his last name. They said it very quickly. There you go. Lisa knew. I had a feeling you would. >> Um so Paul
>> Paul Panero Paul Panero >> uh is a former superintendent. >> Yes. So we now have our our guide for anything school boards related and uh we can reach out to him as needed. >> Awesome. >> Anyone else before I do have another >> Go ahead, Miss Beth.
>> Okay, so at this point I just wanted to say thank you to both Chrissy and Aaron. It's been uh entertaining last six years for sure. We've we've gone through a lot. We found another superintendent. I mean, during my tenure on the board,
we've gone through three uh searches. Uh, as as Tanya knows, we've gone through a lot. I just want to say thank you. I mean, as board members, we're probably the only ones who realize how much time we actually spend away from our families, miss games, miss concerts,
and everything else just to make sure that we're here. So, I I really wanted to say thank you to both of you. It's been invaluable having you on the board. >> Thank you, Lisa. All right. >> Do you have a swan song? >> No, they So, you know what? I'll go
ahead now. Now it's Now it's my turn for the for the last part. F first um for a minute. Uh to Miss Kur Laru, uh Chrisu. >> Oh, darn it. I listen, I practice, too. Uh listen, we've we've been we started together and we end here together. And I
appreciate um what you brought to the board, your expertise, your transparency um and your tenacity uh for the students in this district. It was certainly uh worthwhile having you here and I'm glad I got to to ride this ride right along with you uh together. Um to the rest of
the board that's here, you guys have definitely been an addition um to to this entire experience. Mrs. Mezzi from the beginning. >> Um it's been wonderful working with everybody here. Um to the administration,
I just I appreciate everything that you guys do. Uh, I can't say enough about how professional and how how much gets done in this district and the amount of things that go on behind the scenes that just don't get discussed or talked about. Um, and it's amazing what is
we're able to do for the children here in this town. Um, it has been an absolute honor and a pleasure to serve in this capacity with the board of education. I I can't say that enough. Uh, from the heart. I appreciate being able to to be here and to be in this
position and to have been able to serve the students in this district. I'm sure uh that I will I will miss being around uh this entire group and I wish you all the best of luck moving forward into the future. So, thank you. >> You know, Aaron, you you can always come
back. Tanya does see that she's she's there. I could see you and Tanya sitting together in the future. >> Tanya's saving me a seat. shared shared question. Um, and I'm sorry. I'd be remiss. One last thing. Um, I'd be remiss if I didn't say anything about Nancy uh, in this.
>> Um, when we came on, it was definitely a different time. And I feel very confident that we were able to accomplish a vision that Nancy had and that was a unified board that came together and was able to move forward and progress for the kids in this district. And that was her vision. and
she wanted to see a trained, efficient board that worked in collaboration with one another no matter what side of the table that we came from. And I think we accomplished that. And I'm very happy that we're able to do that. So, um, in the spirit of Nancy. >> Well, you know me, I'm always going to one up.
>> Oh, no. Okay, good. She wrote it down. >> I wrote it down. All right. So, so first I just want to say that it's it's hard to fit final thoughts into six years into a shorter address. So, I wrote it down to stay on track because you know me, I'll go off on a tangent. Um, so please don't find this disingenuous either and know that this I just want to
be clear that this statement is made by an individual board member on their way out and is not reflective of any of the board's thoughts there. >> Got it, Jackie? Like I got it. >> Okay. So, I want to thank all the board members I've worked with. I would like to call out Lisa for all the help you've given me over the years. You were truly,
as your certification says, a master board member. And I hope the board will put you back in your appropriate seat as board president because not only are you the most experienced, but you are always willing to help others learn and I know that you would be willing to train a successor. A shout out to Lissa Smith who supported me since day one to be a
better board member. And of course the late Nancy Hellborg who told me when I joined the board, you don't have to agree with me. Just take the time to look at the facts and make your own decision. That always stuck with me. I want to thank Megan Slam and Dr. Corbett. I truly think you are both two
of the best things that have happened to this district. I also want to give a huge thank you to every employee in this district no matter where you sit. Council Jackie, it's been great working with you and please send my regards to Dennis. Abe, thank you and I forgive you for putting my mug on the big screen when I
had to be virtual. Uh Anita, you're awesome. I don't know where you are, but I know I'll see you around town. Oh, there you are. I don't I have my glasses on. I can't see. Uh now to the community, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve in this capacity. Sadly, changes in my career and my personal life did not allow me to
continue this journey. For those who didn't vote for me, you didn't pick at me at board meetings. So, thank you for that. Um now, when I ran for the board, my slogan was as as you said earlier, let's be honest. So, I want to ensure that I leave the same way I came in by giving two sincere apologies. The first
goes to the community and all that I represent. A few years back, I got myself caught up in some Facebook drama, which was unbecoming of a board member. And let's be honest, as an adult, as a board member, at times it can be very hard to read some of the comments and some of the things that are said and stay quiet. For example, I remember the
week after I got elected, candidates were being put on blast for not collecting their signs from around town. I in fact actually had a horrible case of strep throat, so I couldn't be out there running around collecting signs. But I got lucky as my board members helped me out. Nancy Hellborg and her husband went to pick up my meds for me
to help me get better. And I recall, I believe even Aaron and Lisa went and collected a few of my signs and put it out by my garage um so I didn't have to. Even members of the community got involved. I remember actually Dana Tabardella um I think you also grabbed some signs and you stood up for me on
social media as you often do. So, thank you, Dana. Uh the second apology is for a mom I met several years ago at Mount Home Pond. She wanted to join the board and I offered guidance and support. She got herself on the ballot and asked my thoughts on a large parent parental
group that had reached out to her to want to to want to endorse her. Knowing how hard campaigning is, I said I didn't think it would hurt. You know, hey, I wish I had help at an endorsement of a large group. Um, sadly, neither one of us realized that it would alter the
board elections into a political battle. Overall, a mother, a wife, a sister, and a daughter of our community was dragged through the mud of all over social media. And for that, I express my deepest apologies to that mom and hope that she knows board elections are not meant to be a political war zone. We
leave that for the town council. Lastly, a few community members came to me to ask about my comments regarding the NJSLA scores. Hopefully, I can hold it together for this one. I want to be clear, my comments were never about teachers. The teachers of the community not only help children but families
because when your child is struggling, it affects your entire household. The teachers of the community not only teach my ch my children, but they are your muffs, Dr. Corbett. They are the extra hug my child needs when I have been on a week-long business trip or when they are
having a bad day. They are the reassurance to parents that their kid will get through the rough patches. They are even at times the few extra cents a child needs at the book fair to get that book that makes them happy or just not to be embarrassed. My ask was simply to
ensure that teachers have what they need and we all have a plan together. Also looking at the bad is not being negative. It gives the opportunity to develop a remediation and having a remediation plan shows the potential to change for the better and I look forward to seeing that happen in the board to
come. Thank you. >> Thank you. Well, I'm very happy to say this. Fortunately, we are not done >> because we have to go back into executive. >> Uh, so can I please >> I thought you were kidding. >> Oh, I'm not kidding. We have to go back into executive
>> and we're going to adjourn from exe. Jackie, is that >> we're going to come back out here to adjurnn. >> But no action will be taken. We will be in executive session for approximately >> 5 minutes, >> 10 minutes, >> 15 minutes to discuss matters of of
attorney client privilege. >> We're gambling. >> Thank you. >> Can I please have a motion to go back into close session? >> So moved. >> Seconded. >> Thank you. Show of hands, please. >> Going back into close session at 9:47
p.m. >> I don't know if I said this, but no action will be taken. You didn't. >> You did. >> My name is Dr. Richard Corbett and I am the proud superintendent of Rockaway Township Public Schools. I was just
waving to some of our wonderful students as they were walking by and I'm so happy and pleased to say that when I walk through these halls and talk to these students in these six different schools, I see students that are learning and having fun. And to me, those are two
very important qualities of a very, very effective education. >> Birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere. Students come back year after year. There's multi-generations that have attended Birwood. It is truly a loving community.
It's such a wonderful place to be. >> Our core values are the same as Rockaway Township: Heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, respect, and trust. So, we can focus on particularly on being kind. What really resonates with me about this school is that we put more value in
developing personal growth versus comparison to others. Whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience, they learn to persevere. And we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before. >> Stony Brook is an amazing place. It really is. And I think anybody who joins
us, whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day, uh, you know, I think echo that sentiment. Our staff is second to none. They really put the kids first all the time and our students are exceptional as well. It's a wonderful school community. Our PTA is incredibly involved. Everything we do is
well attended. Back to school nights, our events and we have a very involved school community both academically working handinhand with our teachers but also I think for extracurricular as well. >> Every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District will graduate
from Copeland before they go on to high school. And we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students, helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community. >> Our mantra we live by is no walls, no limits because being a school with no
walls uh provides our students a great sense of community. You just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors. >> What keeps me coming back here every morning? Hugs from kids. You know, I love being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just
happy to see me. Teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal. So, yeah, I I think for me it's just being a part of something, being a part of the team. Uh we're all very different, but um but we we get along and you know, we support each
other. >> Every morning I'm inspired by these children. Their energy, their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious. >> The people I work with makes me come back every single day. I hire a very unique and special educator and that
permeates throughout the building. I have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world. The thing that makes Scopland Middle School so great is truly the people. It's the students, it's the staff, it's the community members, it's the parent involvement, it's the investment in making it a
better place. I come here for the students. I love the kids here. They are amazing. They're the best part of my day. They're the best part of my week. That's why I do what I do. >> I'm proud to be the superintendent of Rockway Township Schools and we are thankful for all the support we have
from our community. >> I truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world. It's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to and
teaching at Dubire is special because we don't have walls. I think social emotional learning is very important. It gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional dialogue and
that helps the whole child. If you've never taught at another school and you come to Birchwood, you honestly never want to leave Birchwood. You walk into this building and it's a family. We're all together. We're all happy. We're smiling. Nobody's cranky or miserable. We're here together for each
other. >> One of the things that I love the most about this position and this job is that I get to work with students of all ages. Now that we house preschool students here, I see every single student in the building from preschool all the way through fifth grade. And I get to work
with them on a deeper level, on a way that inspires them not just to be confident in themselves, but in what they love. After teaching for 25 years, I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a
story of why I come back every day. Any good lesson makes me feel alive. Going to the soccer games, the football games, seeing my students outside the classroom. I want the kids to feel at home and I feel the more comfortable that they are. The relationship that we build together, the better they're going
to do in class, not not only enjoy their time in class, but also take risks. It's a really great environment here at KDM. My co-workers are great. The students every day, they make me laugh. One thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset. I did have
a student that came in and really didn't like math. they were really negative selft talking saying that they can't do this. And so basically throughout the whole year we worked on just changing that mindset. One of the things that I'm really hoping to teach them more than anything else is about kindness and you
know being good friends to each other. One of my most favorite success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk. I've tried to instill intrinsic love for school, intrinsic love for education. And over
time, I've seen him pick that head up, and that's why I do what I do. To have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them, and they want to come. So, we used to always start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of
lessons about how we are able to do things that might seem hard, like a harder task. And I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient and show grit in the face of a harder task, then all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier. >> Our goal here is that every child is as
comfortable in class as they are at home. And if they're ever in trouble, they're ever concerned or worried that they have the tools available to them to be successful and to help each other be as successful as we know they can be. We have really seen over the years an
incredible increase in their emotional maturity and in their abilities to deal with issues both in the playground and in the classroom. And I really believe it's because our district's focus on SEAL over the last several years. >> I am the steam teacher at Copeland
Middle School. I really love to see the growth and the change through the students. And what I really focus on is teamwork. So the kids are always in teams. We want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas. I want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home. I want
them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable, feel like they can be themselves. They may not come here and love math, but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class. Years ago, I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics. And I worked so carefully with her. I gave
her extra help just to have her overcome this fear and it was fabulous to see that aha moment when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day. >> So my name is Jackson. >> My name is Mia. >> My name is Mariah.
>> I think what awesome is about being in Birwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls. Like in school they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a wall with the art teacher.
>> My favorite is recess. My favorite thing is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff. We get to do puzzle of the day and it's really fun. We get to watch videos at the end of the day.
My name is Carly and I am in fifth grade and I go to DVO. >> Yeah, my name is Rehea. I'm in first grade. Being at DVO is awesome because all the teachers here are so great and so nice. >> I like the teachers here. They make it
awesome here. She teaches well and then she teaches us stuff which we have never learned. >> My favorite subject is probably math because I like all the challenges. My favorite special is art class with Miss Takis. Plus, drawing is my favorite
thing. >> What makes DBL unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other. >> My name is Quink. I'm in the fifth grade. >> Hi, my name is Arya. I am in second grade. What makes our school awesome is
all the teachers we have here. They help us every day. All the janitors keep our school nice and clean. all my friends that helped me since kindergarten and everybody just helps us here because we are a really good community >> because of my friends, the teachers and the principal. Like we read a book and
then we do a project based on what happened in that story. >> Math is my favorite subject because the teachers always help us and it's fun but it can be complicated but it's still really fun. My favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good
teachers. They have fun activities to do and their stories. My first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into chapter books in Juni B. Jones. My favorite subject is science. In science, you do lots of experiments and
I think experiments are very fun. Every day I'm like happy at school. When I came into sixth grade in Copeland where everything was new and different for me, Mrs. Heath, she was especially really kind to me, she still talks to me even though we don't really see each other
that much and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do. One teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my seventh grade LA teacher. I used to just like like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make that
subject more fun. I think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers. Math is my favorite because like you can learn different things like times, plus minus.
No matter where you come from or no matter what you like look like, people will be friends with you and welcome you into this school. One word to describe this school is probably heart. Honesty, empathy, acceptance, and respect and
trust. This is probably one of the most special places I've ever worked. It is the staff, the teachers. Uh they are loving, they are caring. The energy here is just great. It's wonderful to work with a group of men and women who truly love what they do. Their heart, passion, and
soul is for students, and to see them succeed. I try to find a way for them to want to be here. Even if they're sad or even if they don't want to get out of the car in the morning, if I say, "Hey, let's go wander in the library." And they bounce out of the car right away, which actually happened, then I've done
something right that I have found a way to make them feel like this is home for them because that's kind of how I feel. I love the kids here. They're amazing. They're the best part of my day. They're the best part of my week. That's why I do what I do. >> So, my name is Jackson. My name is Mia.
My name is Mariah. >> I think what awesome is about being in Birchwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls. Like in school, they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a wall with
the art teacher. My favorite is recess. My favorite thing is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff. We get to do puzzle of the day and it's really fun. We get to watch videos at the end of the
day. >> Our doors are always open. We are truly a family here. Our kids are just everything. >> If you've never taught at another school and you come to Birwood, you honestly never want to leave Birwood. You walk into this building and it's a family. We're all together. We're all happy.
We're smiling. Nobody's cranky or miserable. We're here together for each other. Birwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere. Students come back year after year. There's multi-generations that have attended Birwood. It is truly a loving
community. It's such a wonderful place to be. I commute an hour or more every day and I've been given the opportunity to work in another district, but I've been here 7 years and I will drive that hour because the community, the parents, the teachers, our principal are
incredible. We're just so happy to have such a loving, nurturing community that is so vested in our school. We are family and once a bulldog, always a bulldog. I truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world.
It's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to. And teaching at Dwire is special because we don't have walls. >> Our mantra we live by is no walls, no limits because being a school with no
walls uh provides our students a great sense of community. You just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors. >> I like to tell people that when you're here, it's like learning at home. You're in your kitchen, but you still know what's going on in the family room. It
builds like this, you know, camaraderie amongst not only the students but also the faculty that work here. We call ourselves a Dwire family. Mr. McGovern, he seldom calls us a school and we really all live by that. We treat each other like family and we emulate that
for the kids. >> I think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers. Math is my favorite because like you can learn different things like times, plus minus. No matter where you come from or no
matter what you like look like, people will be friends with you and welcome you into the school. One word to describe this school is probably heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, and respect, and trust.
I have been teaching art here in Rockaway Township for 16 years. I think social and emotional learning is very important. It gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional
dialogue and that helps the whole child. I get the privilege of going into every single class once a month where I do a guidance lesson. The best part of my job is when one of them is having a tough day and then they feel better and it's because of me. >> The people I work with makes me come
back every single day. I hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building. I have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world. Every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high
school. And we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students, helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community. >> I am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School. I really love to see the growth and the change through the
students. And what I really focus on is teamwork. So the kids are always in teams. We want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas. >> I want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home. I want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable, feel like they can be
themselves. They may not come here and love math, but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class. >> When I came into sixth grade in Copeland, where everything was new and different for me, Mrs. Heath, she was especially really kind to me. She still talks to me even though we don't really
see each other that much and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do. >> One teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my seventh grade LA teacher. I used to dislike like reading and writing and she really helped me
understand and make that subject more fun. Years ago, I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics and I worked so carefully with her. I gave her extra help just to have her overcome this fear and it was
fabulous to see that aha moment when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day. >> We are making sure kids are prepared for the future and that means making sure that they have access to technology.
Every single classroom has interactive boards. Kids get a Chromebook in the fifth grade. >> They work as a team towards a common goal. They overcome challenges. We connect with the community through our concerts which are very well attended. Vanta Copeland is truly an all-inclusive
experience for all of the students here. >> I try to get everybody involved so that they can make a positive impact in the future. I teach US history and I come to work every day excited. I get the opportunity to mold the next generation.
>> The thing that makes Copa Middle School so great is truly the people. It's the students. It's the staff. It's the community members. It's the parent involvement. It's the investment in making it a better place. >> Our core values are the same as Rockaway Township. Heart, honesty, empathy,
acceptance, respect, and trust. So we can focus on particularly on being kind >> by being kind to a friend, helping them out, helping teachers, be nice to them, be respectful and don't interrupt the teachers. >> And everything we do, we try and relate
back to our core values. One of the things we are working on right now is positive behavior system. I don't like to address anything negative in my office because I want kids to be able to trust me and to be able to come down as a leader of the building. So, we're really working on being kind. And yes, academics are important, but one of the
main things for us is that we raise good kids. The main message is to be kind because above all else, we want our kids just to be kind. >> My name is Carly and I am in fifth grade and I go to DVO. >> Yeah. My name is Rehea. I'm in first grade.
>> Being at DVL is awesome because all the teachers here are so great and so nice. >> I like the teachers here. They make it awesome here. She teaches well and then she teaches us stuff which we have never learned.
>> My favorite subject is probably math because I like all the challenges. >> My favorite special is art class with Miss Takis because drawing is my favorite thing. >> What makes DBL unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone
cares about each other. If I had to describe our building in one word, I would say we're a little unconventional. We're always trying to have our teachers and our students look at other ways to achieve success. And for every student, that's different.
There are other ways that we can really show student growth, student success. >> I'm not trying to be cheesy or anything. It's really the staff here. Um, we have built a family. And I think that says something about the building and the and and the community that we foster here at ZBO. And I'm really grateful to be part
of that. >> Being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me. Teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal. >> After teaching for 25 years, I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a
story of why I come back every day. Any good lesson makes me feel alive. Going to the soccer games, the football games, seeing my students outside the classroom. I want the kids to feel at home and I feel the more comfortable that they are, the relationship that we build together, the better they're going
to do in class, not not only enjoy their time in class, but also take risks. >> So, yeah, I I think for me it's just being a part of something, being a part of the team. Uh we're all very different, but um but we we get along and you know, we support each other.
What really resonates with me about this school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others. Whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience, they learn to persevere and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have
seen before. >> It's a really great environment here at KDM. My co-workers are great. The students every day, they make me laugh. One thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset. I did have a student that came in and really didn't like math. They were really negative
self-talking, saying that they can't do this. And so, basically throughout the whole year, we worked on just changing that mindset. Just because we can't do something right now doesn't mean that we're never going to be able to do it. And that's what I teach all of my students.
>> My favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good teachers. They have fun activities to do and their stories. My first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into chapter books and Juni B Jones. >> My favorite subject is science. In
science, you do lots of experiments and I think experiments are very fun. Every day I'm like happy at school. >> We identify the interests of students. You know, what motivates them so students feel more comfortable and confident in their learning environment,
moving them forward from one learning experience to another. Every morning I'm inspired by these children. Their energy, their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious. >> One of the things that I'm really hoping
to teach them more than anything else is about kindness and you know being good friends to each other. One of my most favorite success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk. I trying to instill intrinsic
love for school, intrinsic love for education. And over time, I've seen him pick that head up. And that's why I do what I do. To have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them, and they want to come.
Stony Brook is an amazing place. It really is. And I think anybody who joins us, whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day, uh, you know, I think echo that sentiment. Our staff is second to none. They really put the kids first all the time. And our students are exceptional as well. It's a
wonderful school community. Our PTA is incredibly involved. Everything we do is well attended. Back to school nights, our events, and we have a very involved school community, both academically, working handinhand with our teachers, but also I think for extracurricular as well. Inside school, I really try to be
involved in as many things as I can. My children also go to school in this district at one of the other schools. And I'm really proud of what we put forth for our children. Anytime we can bring togetherness and have us all work together, both in our community and out, it's really going to help everyone raise their own level of abilities to really
increase the success of our community. So, we used to always start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do things that might seem hard, like a harder task. And I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient
and show grit in the face of a harder task, then all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier. Having students in a classroom that's smaller where you get to meet their needs specifically rather than in a bigger classroom, you can build more of a rapport and relationships with them. I like them to
become successful not just academically but also social and my name is Dr. Richard Corbett and I am the proud superintendent of Rockaway Township Public Schools. I was just waving to some of our wonderful students as they were walking by and I'm so happy and pleased to say
that when I walk through these halls and talk to these students in these six different schools, I see students that are learning and having fun and to me those are two very important qualities of a very very effective education. >> Birwood is very special because it is
truly a family atmosphere. Students come back year after year. There's multi-generations that have attended Birchwood.