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 Rockway Township. part, 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 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 [Music]
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 Good evening, Rockway Township. I'd like to call this meeting to order
at 6:01 p.m. Can I please have a roll call of attendance? Mrs. Anderson here. Mrs. Kurillaroo here. Ms. McGiri here. Mrs. Mzik here. Miss Richardson here. Miss Tor here. Dr. Thomasini here. We
have a quorum. Thank you. The New Jersey Open Public Meeting 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 business affecting their interest is discussed and acted upon. In accordance with the provisions 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 within 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 stated in the public notice?
Seeing 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 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday if they wish to inspect any of the referenced items. Can
I please have a motion to wave the pledge of allegiance until open session? Some moved. Second. Thank you. Show of hands, please. Resolve that in accordance with the open public's 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 hands, please. Going into close session at 6:02 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.
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 Dwire 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 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. 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 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. [Music]
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 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 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. 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. [Music]
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 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 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 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 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
[Music] 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 and 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. Rockaway 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. Can you see how well it was out? I'm fragile. Oh yeah. So it's So here open No worries. No worries. How are you? I'm
good. How are you? Good. I just got freed from the meeting because got here. Oh, good. There's a couple people here. Should I tell them to come and sit down or if they're here for? Yeah, they can come in. They just They're going to hang out. It's It's 45 more minutes for 35 more minutes.
[Music] Well, the cookies are for after you can have water. Hello. How are you? interrupt. I'm free. You stay open. One is unstable. That's fine. Where my hands up?
Perfect. You are amazing. Is he here? You want me to move it somewhere? No, no, no, no. I'm going to stay there. I'm letting you know. I'm spread out. Another half hour. Hi guys, how are you?
I didn't That's why they don't especially for I said I told you it was parents. Yes. Yes. Hi everyone. How are you? What's Yes.
Foreign Hallelujah. in his office. Hey, how are [Music] Yeah. Hello. [Music] It is Yes. I'm sorry.
Did you get it? It's good. [Music] Right. There we go. You are you are you are I already put my message tomorrow going. And then
cabin last year was They're beautiful. Mark. [Music] [Music] That's a [Music]
long and thank my Yes. I understand. But it's [Music] like here. And then I [Music]
got right now. I showed you this kid and he worked for I don't know. How are you kids going? Welcome. I know. I heard I I I haven't seen TJ,
but I I've seen the main out there. [Music] What's What's his area? I I you would you would think with those [Music] He's kind of like, I guess I have to do college, too. But
Oh, good for him. Absolutely. You're welcome. I don't know about said, "What are you doing over there?" What? Said, "What are you doing over there?" Oh, you were calling me for 5 minutes. I didn't hear you. Um Oh, I got my stuff today. Oh, you did? Are you?
No, I didn't do it yet. You didn't do it yet? No. Are you around tomorrow? Uh, tomorrow I have to go into the office, but I can stop by anytime on the way home. Yeah. In the evening? Yeah. When I go for Should I put it on his desk? Yeah, go
ahead. I'll bring him. Wait, should I have it facing him or Yeah. Look at me. What's going on? 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 Good evening, Rockaway Township. Can I please have a motion to come out of close session? Second. Thank you. Show hands, please.
All right. Exiting close session at 19:30 hours. Can we please stand for the pledge of allegiance? I aliance 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. Thank you. Dr. Corbett, if I may turn it over to you, please. May, but I'm going to step up to the the podium if I may. Of course. Do you want to turn around?
Turn around. I'm pleased, so pleased on behalf of the board to have Copeland Middle School represented tonight as we recognize some very, very special students and the staff too for all they do to make Copeland Middle School exceptional. And I know that um Mr.
Bayer, Miss Champagne, and Mr. Young have worked very hard to positively positively affect the culture of Corpal Middle School. And I'm looking at a presentation there that I think Mr. Bayer is going to walk us through. Right, Mr. Bayer? So without further
ado, perhaps the board can um can shift find a seat in the audience because I will now turn it over to the one and only the one and only principal of Copa Middle School, Mr. Dustin Bayer. How about a round of applause?
Good evening, Board of Education, Superintendent Dr. Corbett, and all of the parents, students, and community members in attendance. I am absolutely thrilled to stand before you tonight as we come together to recognize some truly remarkable students. Young individuals
who not only shine through their accomplishments, but who also embody the heart of our school theme, building our community brick by brick. Tonight we celebrate more than just achievements. We celebrate the spirit of teamwork, the power of perseverance, and
the belief that when we each bring our strengths to the table, we can create something far greater greater than we ever could build alone. In a few moments, I will be introducing a new initiative at Copeland Middle School known as unified sports
along with all the students, staff members, and administrators who brought this idea to reality. But first, I'd like to introduce you to two extraordinary eighth grade students who will leave a lasting legacy here at Copeland Middle School when they graduate in a little over a
month. Up first, our 2025 unsung hero. Each year, we can change the slide. There we go. Each year, the Morris County School Boards Association recognizes one student from each Morris County School
District as an unsung hero. An unsung hero is a student who makes outstanding contributions to their schools and communities, but are often overlooked by other traditional student recognition programs. On Wednesday, May a on Wednesday, April 2nd at Morris Nolles
High School, these students were recognized in front of an audience of nominees, parents, administrators, and board members all throughout Morris County. Congratulations to the 2025 Copeland Middle School unsung hero, Jamie Lewis.
Jamie. Jamie, come on. [Applause] The Morris County Superintendent's Middle School Leadership Award is presented annually to a graduating middle school student whose actions and deeds represent a model of citizenship
and leadership in their respective school community. On Tuesday, May 6th, one middle school student from each Morris County middle school was recog was recognized and awarded the Morris County Superintendent Middle School Leadership Award. Congratulations to the
2025 Superintendent Leadership Award from Copeland Middle School, Steven Shalia. [Music] As I said earlier, I'm thrilled here to talk now about our unified sports program at at Copeland Middle School.
But first, what's unified sports? Unified Sports is a registered program of the Special Olympics and joins people with and without disabilities known as Unified Partners on the same team. Dedicated to promoting social inclusion
through shared sports training and competition experience. It was inspired by a simple principle. Training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding. Unified sports is not just about
athletics. It is about inclusion. It's about creating opportunities for every student to be seen, to belong, and to contribute. For students with intellectual disabilities, unified sports provides a platform to showcase their abilities, not just their needs.
For their peers, it's a chance to be leaders, teammates, and advocates. for the school community. It's a chance to model what true inclusion looks like in action. Unified Sports here at Copeland Middle School began we began planning back in
April in collaboration with our district administration. Dr. Corbett's been a a huge supporter right from the beginning and and and reaching out to surrounding school districts who have a similar program through Zoom meetings, through Google Meets, through phone calls. We we were able to kind of tap into those
resources and identify programs that were already in place and running and figure out how could that what could that look like here at Copeland Middle School and how can we roll it out in the best way to to support our students. We had two staff members who wrote a grant proposal in August
submitted on August 16th and we were quickly informed that we were awarded a grant of $3,000 to support this from the Special Olympics program. From that point, coordination, planning, and recruitment began. We had to identify a program coordinator who I'll talk more
about shortly, coaches, staff assistants, and most importantly, our student athletes. Our first session began on February 19th, and we've been meeting weekly on Wednesdays from 2:30 to 3:30 right here in Basset Hall.
Transportation is provided by the Rockway Township School District. And I'm proud to say that our roster consists of 15 student athletes both of comprised of both students with and without disabilities. Sports and activities include again this is ever evolving but
so far our sports and activities include volleyball, basketball, baseball, bowling, soccer, relays, team building activities and skilluing activities as well. In our first year, in our pilot
year here, our students also organized a spread the word spirit week the week of March 8th. So again, we're just getting started. We have big uh big goals for where this is going to um where we'd like to see this go. But here's some pictures. Take a look at some of our student athletes here, some of our
advisors learning from each other. So planning ahead. What where does this again? I've mentioned a few times this is our pilot year with unified sports sports. Step one, our goal was to develop an afterchool club to run concurrently with our three afterchool club activity sessions. You'll see the check mark. We've accomplished that
goal. Step one is completed. Step two, further develop the club into more formalized sports. Step three, we would love to see our unified sports program compete against local unified sports affiliated schools. Big picture, we
would love nothing more than for Copeland Middle School to be a host for a Special Olympics event in the future. Again, thinking big picture. Some potential partnerships. One of the one of our school goals this year was to develop more service and leadership programs here at Copeland Middle School.
Unified Sports certainly fell into that C category. But we also developed two new programs called Lead for Change and We Dine Together, which are both service student-based organizations where students can identify service leadership projects. I would love to see
partnerships where we can cross teamam those students and build and work towards something like a Special Olympics event here at Copen Middle School. Next year, we hope to introduce the Interact Club through through the Rotary and and other community organizations that could also partner
with Unified Sports. Finally, in closing, I I just want to give some acknowledgements and thank you as thank you. As I said, Dr. Corbett's been a huge supporter of this uh event from the beginning. Always the board of education supporting everything we do here at Copeland Middle School and certainly the finances and just the
overall support as well. Katie Petroski, our director of special services. Megan Slam, our business uh our our our I'm blanking here, a business administrator. Thank you. And Alfonso Ganella, all three have been pivotal in getting this program up um from the board office. So,
can't thank them enough. Now, uh some of our administration here here at Copeland Middle School. Miss Champagne, you know, Miss Champagne is a former special ed teacher. This is a very program very near and dear to her heart. Um was very pivotal in get getting this program going. Mr. Young is always down there. I
think we were bowling today. Basketball always down there pitching and helping out with the students. Our um coordinator and grant writer, Rose Heath. Rose really stepped up to the plate and has done all of the recruiting, the promoting, the organizing. Can't say enough uh about
the great work that Rose has done to get this work going. Kelly Makavoy was also instrumental in getting the grant proposal written and that extra funding coming through. our coaches, some of whom I believe are in attendance tonight, Alexis Simpson, Ken Fuches, Scott Credio, and our staff assistants
who the program certainly couldn't run without, Eileen Quinn, Gina Fico, Lisa Rossetti, Luba Mula, Phil Sverin, and Ruple Shri. So, at this point, I would love to call forward our students, our student athletes, and then all of our
staff members at the end. If we can come together for a picture, that would be great. So, we're going to call students in alphabetical order. Students, as you come, please take your certificate and we'll and we'll stand for a picture. Emily
[Applause] Buckman, Joshua Glorioso, [Applause] Alyssa [Applause] Graioli, Belle
[Applause] Holland, Johan Warz Lopez, [Applause] Ryan Kern, [Applause] Max Leuza
[Applause] Trevor [Applause] Melatessa, Jackson Mccomish,
Draven Pupila, [Applause] Raphael Santos [Applause] Braha Servin
[Applause] Emma [Applause] Barola, Alexis [Applause]
Webb, and Benjamin Webb. Yeah, let's get all the students maybe to squeeze together and then our staff members. Rose, come on up. Who else? Yes, of course. Yeah. Yeah. Can we just congratulate?
Of course. 24. I can't One, two, three. That's one way to get [Music] [Applause] Stephen, Stephen and Jamie, if you could
come up with a board would love to get a picture with you as well. What's that? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Please [Applause]
I I get the last word. I do. Um, we teach at Copeland teach uh English. We teach math, social studies, we teach a lot science more than any of those subject matters. We teach at Copeland that every
student is important and every student is special and the students I'm referring to those that help with unified sports. You are great teachers. You're wonderful teachers and you teach me. You teach all of us by what you do and the example that you set. So, thank
you all for doing what you do. Appreciate it so much. And what we'd like to do now with the permission of the board president, I can't see him because Oh, there he is. Okay, good. Can we take a 10-minute break and have some cookies? All right, how about some cookies for 10 minutes? Thank you,
everybody. On the dot. Did you notice I 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 Rockway 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 [Music] 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 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. Mr. President, I am ready to go. All right, here we go. Rock and roll. All right, we're all good. 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 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 legal rights afforded to them by the laws of New Jersey. The board bears no responsibility, nor will 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 threeminute 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 of hands, please. All right. Is there anybody from the public that would like to address the
board? Good evening. Brian Adams, RTA. I haven't been up here in a while, but uh I just wanted to give an update on some of the recent um events that the association has been sponsoring. Just want to reiterate that we are
deeply committed to supporting our community and one of the ways that we do that is sponsoring events that bring people together and this spring has been busy. In April, we were delighted to be part of the Rockway Township Library Springfest on Sunday, April
27th. In support of literacy, we had the pleasure of handing out hundreds of free books to children of the township. It was awesome to see how excited they got to pick out books and it really shows how important it is to get kids hooked
on reading early. Also in April on the 10th, we sponsored a creative and fun event with Brush Crush from Denville. Participants joined by a uh with a step-by-step workshop to create their own adorable
turtle painting. And this was fun for the entire family. As May arrived, we continued our commitment to engaging the community with a special event just in time for Mother's Day. On May 8th, we hosted a plant a plant and paint
pickup. This event encouraged creativity and encou provided a wonderful opportunity for families to create a special personalized gift. Participants picked up ceramic painters, seeds, paints, and brushes to take home and
decorate their pots and watch their creations grow. Looking ahead, we're excited to announce the return of a very popular event, our pizza pickup night. Due to enthusiastic demand, we will be offering
convenient fund kits on two different dates, May 20th and June 10th. And this will provide a perfect opportunity for families to get together, put a pizza together, and have some fun. So, these are just a few examples of how we're
working to support and engage the community here in Rockway Township, and we are proud to be part of these initiatives and always looking for ways to make a positive impact. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Adams from the RTA.
Anybody else from the public? All right, seeing no additional, can I please have a motion to close public comment? So moved, seconded. Thank you. Show hands, please. All right, moving on to section one, communications. Uh, we have none.
No communications. Correct. Correct. All right. So, no communications since last meeting. Moving on to section two, approval of the minutes. Can I please have a motion to approve the minutes? So moved. Second. Thank you. Can I please have a roll call vote? Mrs.
Anderson, yes. Mrs. Kurillaroo, abstain. Ms. Mcgiri, yes. Mrs. Mezik, yes. Miss Richardson, yes. Miss Tor, she left. Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. I did not notice that. Dr. Thomasini. Yes. Motion
carries. Thank you. Moving on to section three, superintendent report. Dr. Corbett, please. Thank you, Dr. Thomasini. I'll keep this brief, no longer than 45 minutes. I'm kidding. There's your humor showing.
In response to the increasing frequency of inappropriate physical contact at Copeland Middle School. And Abe is going to move the slide. Um, oh yeah, by the way, go back, Abe, that's take your child to work day up there. By the way, that was a wonderful day at the
administrative building. We got a lot done that day. Yeah, everybody point out their kid is up there. And now that's not my son, by the way. That's Megan's son. That's Jack. That's cute. Is Eloise. All right. Anyway, I should get back to business.
Let's go to the next slide. In response to the increasing frequency of inappropriate physical contact at Copa Middle School, I sent a the letter I mean, excuse me, sent the community a letter on May 6th addressing this concern. I hope this letter has raised
awareness regarding the issue. As I attend the spring concerts around the district, I'm impressed with the talent of our students and the dedicated music teachers. The years of practice were highlighted at the
Copeland Middle School chorus string concert held at Morris Nulls High School last Wednesday. It was a wonderful performance. The Copeland Middle School band concert will perform May 20th at Morris Hills High School and everyone is
invited. I learned yesterday that the Rockaway Township School District has been awarded one of one of the best communities for music education for six consecutive years. I attribute this accomplishment to our music faculty
which is extremely dedicated to its students. To prepare our incoming sixth grade students for the academic demands and the high behavioral expectations of the middle school, Mr. Barry and I will be visiting each elementary school. We had our first meeting with the incoming
sixth grade class from KDM. And our conversation with fifth graders will continue as we visit DBO and Dwire on May 27th. That's picture is from KDM. That's all our fifth grade students who will soon be sixth graders in just a
matter of a few months here at Copeland. On Tuesday, May 6, kindergarten orientation was held at Stonyie Brook Elementary School. We welcomed over 80 parents to the event. Kindergarten Lee teacher provided valuable insights about their child's kindergarten year. The
presentation focused on fostering student independence, offering a look into the typical day in a kindergarten, and giving an overview of the curriculum with a special highlight on the Super Kids reading program. In addition, parents received key dates for upcoming events, including the kindergarten meet
and greet, which is on June 23rd and 24th. The kindergarten open house, which is on August 26th, to help support continued learning. Over the summer, we shared various engaging activities for incoming students. The evening continued with a Q&A session allowing parents to
ask questions, connect directly with the teachers. The annual middle school leadership award was held May 6th at the handover Mana Copelan Middle School recognized Stephen Kagglia. Steven will attend
Morris Nolles High School in September. The second annual CPAC community wellness fair was held yesterday here at Copeland Middle School. The community participation was impressive and the feedback was very positive. That's one of our students getting her face painted at the health fair. And now we'll go to
some news from the schools. Thanks to some beautiful weather, Birwood students have been excited to participate in outdoor physical education classes and spend extra time in the playgrounds. This month, students took part in the annual walk-athon hosted by the PTA and dressed
up in the most dapper outfits for the school's Kentucky Derby Day celebration on May 2nd. The PTA also collaborated with students for the festive Mother's Day plant sale. This month is filled with exciting field trips including a visit to Turtleback Zoo for the first grade
and a trip to Liberty Science Center for the fourth grade. Uh the school will wrap up the month with its highly anticipated Disney Day ice cream social. The Dwire family had a great week of celebrating their staff led by
the PTA. Students contributed by visiting the Dwire post office and mailing postcards to their teachers thanking them for their dedication and service. The week ended on a high note as each teacher received a Yeti drink container commemorating Dwire's blue ribbon award from this year. Students
also uh are commended for their drive and determination to do their best on the NJSLA. Students not taking the NJSLA participated by keeping the building very quiet. And at last, Dwire has a working electric sign
prominently displayed in front of the school. Six years and you can see it right behind you. Go back to the previous slide. There it is. There's the sign. If anybody hasn't seen it at KDM, students take the NJSLA. Staff are engaged in valuable district-wide
professional development centered on the Lincoln platform. Beyond the classroom, students have enjoyed a range of enriching experiences. The first graders visited Tranquility Farms where they enjoyed a hay ride, explored the greenhouse on a scavenger hunt, and planted flowers. Second graders supported our environment by
planting native trees in the Hudsonian wetland area. Parents and students joined Mayor Joe Jackson and the township employees to help preserve this important reserve. And you can see a picture there. They're planting trees at right behind uh Dr.
Thomas. The third graders explored the wild world of weather at the Liberty Hall Museum. They learned how to predict weather, tell time with a sundial, and understand planned adoptions for survival. Student uh talents were also celebrated at the KDM spring music
concert and art show. The fifth grade verse faculty basketball game was exciting and the match was so close the teachers recruited parents to help balance the scales, creating a fun and friendly competition. Finally, during April, 45 positive office referrals were
submitted for students demonstrating heart, honesty, empathy, acceptance, and respect, trust. So far, over 383 referrals have been distributed at KDM. At Stony Brook State, testing was kicked off with the annual NJSLA parade
where students in grades K through two enthusiastically cheered the third and fourth graders. For the sixth consecutive year, Stony Brook has completed all four no place for hate activities and earned a gold star designation, a testament to its ongoing
commitment to fostering an inclusive and respectful school community. This spring also brought a series of successful events including the book fair and the plan fair. Student appreciate staff appreciation week was another highlight as the entire Stonyiebrook team was
celebrated. The PTA and parent volunteers made this possible with their time, energy, and dedication. DBO students continued to engage in hands-on activities, thoughtful discussions, and collaborative projects that reflect their growing skills and enthusiasm. They successfully kicked off the NJSLA
testing, and celebrated their annual spring concert and art show, highlighting students creativity and hard work. They are grateful to the Morris Hills Key Club for helping beautify their courtyard and to all the families who supported these special events. At Copeland Middle School, the
eighth grade class is anticipating their class trip to New York City on May 28th, as well as awards night on June 12th, the formal on June 13th, and most of all, graduation is scheduled for June 18th. As we prepare to transition our eighth grade students to high school, we
are helping the fifth grades transition to Copeland. These students will visit Copeland Middle School and take a tour, ask questions, become familiar with the setting. Students are all looking forward to their upcoming field days. Finally, staff appreciation week was a great success. Thanks to the PTA who
made all the donations. And that's my reports part one. Oh, we still have the HIV report. So let me go into the HIV report real quick. Under current investigation, there is one and um that has been
founded not to be substantiated as an act of HIV. And then under current investig for affirmation this evening, there are six um HIVs. Of the six, five are unsubstantiated. one was
sub substantiated uh as gender identity and expression prong one two three and four actually all four prongs part three three of three every year um I provide to the
board of education the school self- assessment for determining grades under the anti-bullying bill of rights so if you will bear with me I will go through this each school has a grade and And the grade is out of 78 points and the
elements are HIV programs, training on the board of education approved HIV policy, um staff instruction and training programs, curriculum and instruction, HIV personnel, school level HIV incident reporting procedure, HIV investigation procedure, and HIV
reporting. Those are the categories and the scores can tally to a maximum of 78 uh points. So, if you get 70 out of 78, you get 100%. Birwood Elementary School, uh, in their self-reporting scored themselves at
76 out of 78. By the way, this will be available to anybody who wants it. Katherine A. Dwire scored themselves a 75 out of 78. Copeland Middle School scored themselves
a 74 out of 78. Dennis B. O'Brien scored a 76 out of 78. KDM scored a 76 out of 78. And finally,
Stonybrook scored a 76 out of 78. I just want to repeat it is self a self-evaluation reporting instrument and it will be available as requested and that is my report. Thank you very much Dr. Corbett.
Oh it's on the Thank you very much specialist reminded me that is on the website. So for anybody who wants it is there. Excellent. On the website. Moving on to section four business administrators report. Miss Lamb please. Thank you Mr. President. Um, first I want to note that we did
have reports that the live stream was not functioning properly at the beginning of the meeting. Um, we apologize we had a technical error, but the meeting is recorded and will be available um, following the close of the meeting. So, everyone who missed any sections, you'll be able to go back and watch it. So, we do apologize for that.
Um, business office following the approval of the 2526 budget is working to open the new financial year as well as coordinate the endofear spending plan. So far, we've been able to purchase uh renewals for some of our curriculum software programs and um and have ordered replacements for the KDM
and DBO lunch tables with the savings generated in other sections of the budget. So, that's exciting. Um our grounds team is working on our spring outdoor projects, which include new mulch at all the schools and replacements for plantings as well as mowing and weeding along around all of
the buildings. Um, a member of our maintenance team also recently redid the entrance stairs at central office which had begun to break down. He did a wonderful job and as our resident Mason highlighted once more the benefit of having licensed experts on our maintenance staff. So, we appreciate that. Also on tonight's agenda under
finance, we have the approval of our most recent bills list to highlight the expenditures on tonight's bills list which make up the total amounts reflected. Um, approximately $50,630 can be attributed to various utilities. Approximately $124,834 is attributed to tuition.
Approximately $34,99 attributed to custodial and maintenance costs. Approximately $231,448 attributed to security costs. Approximately $161,489 attributed to transportation
contracts, mechanical repairs, and department supplies for transportation. and we had two payrolls, the 415 and 430 payroll with a total of $3,668,900.96. The remaining costs can be attributed to a range of smaller categories including purchase services, supplies, food service, staff, PD, and
travel. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you very much. Uh, moving on to section five, education report. Dr. Corbett, do you have anything? Okay, moving on to section six, committee reports. Are there any committee reports for this evening? I have one for the education committee.
We met this past Monday, May 12th, from 4:30 to 5:30 virtually. Um, there were just a few things that are new for the next school year. There will be a central ordering system for curriculum.
Uh, in the past, each principal would order their school supplies. Um, not like more for the materials for their curriculum. And in going through all the curriculum documents, we noticed that there was then different schools that
may have brought other programs and they weren't all available to all of our students. So now there's going to be a a curricular coherence and a more streamlined process for ordering. Um it will also allow us to be fiscally responsible. So we'll only be spending money on the things that we we need
instead of excess things. There's also going to be more of a universal scheduling for the elementary schools. So, um, the process wasn't as formal as it should be. So, that was kind of hard. If you went into a building, you didn't necessarily, if you went to observe a
classroom, maybe they weren't running reading when you thought that they were supposed to be. So, there all the elementary schools will be running on a similar schedule. The early elementaryaries are going to have their core subjects more so in the earlier part of the day. Um, that should allow
us to be more efficient with staffing and RTI services. There's also going to be like explicit times for the character strong seal program. Um there was discussion between the um department heads and then the high
school. They I guess that's an ongoing thing, but they focused primarily, we were told, on their technology updates. Next year, the high school will have a policy, not our district, but the high school have a no cell phone personal device policy. We're just kind
of monitoring to see how that goes since our eighth graders will be headed there. We talked about how they are seeing AI affect their classroom use. Um, and so right now there's no formal district policy and we're kind of just watching
them to see how that goes. Alfonso also shared an um more for discussion post. I I linked it to the bottom of my report. It was an Instagram video of just how maybe we could flip a classroom and have the
kids use how we can best use AI because I know some of our board members too were looking at like this is out there. How do we teach kids how to be responsible with it? That concludes my report. Thank you very much, Miss Anderson. Miss Mezik. Yes. Uh for community outreach,
we met yesterday from 4:30 to 5:30. Um it's me, Allison, Aaron, Dr. Corbett and Peter Kasano was our guest from USA Architects. So, basically the only thing that happened at that meeting was that we had Peter uh update the committee
about NJ um D's meeting regarding our flood hazard analysis at the DBO site. The next um meeting will be Tuesday, June 10th at 4:30 at community uh central office. Thank you, Mrs. Mezik. Any other
committee reports? Okay, moving on to section seven, reorganization items for board action. Can I please have a motion to approve the uh reorganization items? Starts on page three, ends on page nine. So moved. Second. Thank
you. Any uh board discussion on these? I can open to the public if anybody from the public wants to make a comment on this section. Seeing none, can I have a roll call vote, please? Mrs. Anderson, yes. Mrs. Curu, yes. Miss McGiri, yes. Mrs. Messi,
yes. Miss Richardson, yes. Dr. Thomasini, yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Moving on to section 8 recommended for board action starting with uh alpha personnel. Personnel starts on page nine, ends on page 11. Uh since this is
personnel, no discussion, but motion to approve personnel items, please. So moved. Seconded. Thank you. Can I please have a roll call vote? Mrs. Anderson? Yes. Mrs. Kuru? Yes. Miss Mciri? Yes. Mrs. Messi? Yes. Miss
Richardson? Yes. Dr. Thomasini? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Moving on to Bravo HIV determinations. Can I have a motion to approve HIV determinations? So moved. Seconded. All right. Thank you. So for this evening we are
affirming that 289976 is confirmed. 29240 is unconfirmed. 29719 is unconfirmed. 291046 is unconfirmed. 291128 is unconfirmed. 291431 is unconfirmed. Can
I please have a roll call vote? Mrs. Anderson? Yes. Mrs. Kir Laroo? Yes. Ms. McGiri? Yes. Mrs. Messi? Yes. Ms. Richardson? Yes, Dr. Thomasini. Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Moving on to Charlie. Starts on page 11 and ends on
page 12. Can I have a motion to approve the education recommendations? So moved. Seconded. Thank you. Any board discussion? Anybody from the public like to comment on education?
Just a question. There's an asterisk under number two. Does that belong somewhere? I don't see satisfactory. Um, yeah. So, it would there's only one bracketed tabled item. It's referring to that. So,
it should have an asterk there, I believe. Okay. All right. Yes, I wasn't sure. Yeah, it's I think because there was only one, they probably missed the aster, but it's referring to the directly above it. All right. Thank you. Sure. Thank you. Can I have a roll call vote,
please? Mrs. Anderson, yes. Mrs. Curleroo, yes. Ms. McGiri? Yes. Mrs. Messi? Yes. Miss Richardson? Yes. Dr. Thomas? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Moving on to Delta Special Education. Can I have a motion to approve special education recommendations?
So moved. Seconded. Thank you. Any board discussion? Anybody from the public like to comment on special education? Seeing none, can I have a roll call vote, please? Mrs. Anderson, yes. Mrs. Kur Laroo, yes. Miss McGary, yes. Mrs.
Mezik, yes. Miss Richardson, yes. Dr. Thomasini, yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Moving on to echo administration. Can I have a motion? Excuse me. Let me go ahead and pause there. I believe I would like to make a motion for to move administration with the addition of the
following motion. Uh, be it resolved that the Rockaway Township Board of Education upon the recommendation of the negotiations committee approve the memorandum of agreement and salary guides between the Rockaway Township Board of Education and the Rockway Township Education Association bus
drivers unit for the period of July 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2028. Thank you, Miss Lamb. Do we have that noted? Yes, that's noted. Uh, can I have a second as amended? Second. I just want to make sure that's being put down as
number 13. 13. Yes, that. Okay. And for the record, um, do I have to press this button? Yeah. Um, for clarity purposes, once the item is approved, it will be public. The memorandum of agreement will public publicly be accessible as well as there's a copy available for inspection
up on the table, but I wanted to make that aware. It was simply just an oversight as to not being included in the agenda this evening. Thank you. All right. Can I please Oh, we already have the motions, correct? We're good there. Yes, we have. Okay, we're already good on that one. All right. Any board
discussion on administration items? Anybody from the public like to comment on administration? Seeing none, can I have a roll call vote, please? Mrs. Anderson, yes. Mrs. Kuru, yes. Ms. Mciri, yes. Mrs. Mzik, yes. Miss Richardson, yes.
Dr. Thomas, yes. Motion carries as amended with the addition of 13. Thank you. Moving on to Foxtrot Finance. Can I have a motion to approve the finance recommendations, please? So moved. Seconded. Thank you. I uh went yesterday and
signed the bills and I recommend that we approve them. Uh any board discussion on finance items. All right. Anybody from the public want to comment on finance? Seeing none, can I have a roll call vote, please? Mrs. Anderson, yes. Mrs.
Kuru, yes. Ms. Mcgiri. Yes. Mrs. Mesi, yes. Miss Richardson, yes. Dr. Thomas, yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Moving on to go policy. Can I have a motion to approve policy recommendations, please? So moved. Second. Thank you. Any board discussion on
policy? Anybody from the public like to come up and any comments on policy? Seeing none, can I have a roll call vote, please? Mrs. Anderson, yes. Mrs. Kuru, yes. Yes. Ms. Mcgiri. Yes. Mrs. Mesi. Yes. Miss Richardson? Yes.
Dr. Thomasini? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. This moves us to the second public comment. In accordance with board policy 0167, public discussion is limited to 15 minutes with a threeminute 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. All right. Is there anybody from the public that would like to come and address the board? All right. Seeing none, can I have a motion to close the public
comments? So moved. Seconded. Thank you. Show hands, please. Moving on to the uh the next section here. Discussion items. Is there any old business? Any new business? I just want to congratulate Lisa Mezik. She was
appointed the at last week's new um Morris County board's meeting, she was appointed the new president of that position. So, congratulations. [Applause] Excellent. Any other new business?
I just wanted to uh comment on two things. Um just want to congratulate our music department and Copeland overall about uh just such an awesome designation that we are now for 60 consecutive years uh rated as best communities for music
education. I think that's awesome. Uh the other one was the CPAC community wellness fair if anyone was there. Um it's very well um attended I guess. um a lot of vendors. Um so I just wanted to do an
extra thank you to the three um people that were here or vendors that were here in this room. The Jeff Dairy made food service and the Mars County Vocational School for their face painting. Thank you very much. Any other new
business? All righty. That brings us to adjournment. Can I have a motion to adjurnn the meeting? So moved. Seconded. Thank you. Show of hands, please. Meeting adjourned at 2030 hours. Have a good night. Rockway Township.
I think you should. I like that. I like that. Thank you. [Music] [Music]
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