##VIDEO ID:iizMwhtkn8E## Rockway Township heart honesty empathy acceptance respect and Trust so we can focus on particularly on Mrs Anderson here Mrs C Laro here misss mcui here Mrs mzik here miss Richardson here miss Tor here Dr Thomas ini here we have a quorum thank you uh the New Jersey opening 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 to the provision of the act the Rockway Township Board of Education has caused notice of the date time and placees set 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 Rockway Township and the Township Library does any board member wish to object to the conduct of this meeting for the purpose as stated in the public notice seeing none all documentation and materials considered by the Board of Education as part of this agenda are available a 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 between 8:00 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday if they wish to inspect any of the reference items can I please have a motion to wave The Pledge until open open so moved second thank you show a hands resolve that in accordance with the open Public's meeting act the Rockley Township Board of Education will meet and close session to discuss matters involving personnel acquisition of real property security negotiations receipt of government funds the content of said discussions will be disclosed to the public at such time and extent as required by law can I please have a motion to go into close session so move seconded show a hands please all right going into close session at 6:01 PM that's a good that's a good [Music] 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 Birchwood 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 Lear in experience they learn to persevere and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before Tony Brook is an amazing place it really is and I think anybody who joins us whether it's full-time or visit us 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 uh involv School Community both academically working hand inand 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 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 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 copel 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 and to have a positive environment for a child to come to and teaching at deire 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'm 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 so we 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 or 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 onal over the last several years I am the steam teacher at cop 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 DBL yeah my name is Rya I'm in first grade being at DB is awesome because all the teachers here are so 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 cuz drawing is my favorite thing what makes de unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other my name is Queen K 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 side 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 and juny 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 7eventh grade La teacher I used to just likee 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 hard honesty empathy acceptance and respect and [Music] 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 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 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 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 Birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere students come back year after year there's multi-generations that have attended Birchwood 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 bulld doog always a bulld doog 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 deire 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 your 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 codery amongst not only the students but also the faculty that work here we call ourselves a DWI 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 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 the 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 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 copelan 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 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 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 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 scopel 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 [Music] 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 DB yeah my name is Rya I'm in first grade being at DB 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 tus CU drawing is my favorite thing what makes D 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 way 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 build a family and I think that says something about the building and the and and the community that we Foster here at dbo 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 pin .1 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 enironment 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 teacher 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 juny 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 interest 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 WR first thing in the morning morning his head would be down on that desk I'm 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 bony 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 hand inand with our teachers but also I think for extra curricular 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 District at one of the other schools and I'm really proud of what we put forth for our children any type 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 faith of a harder task than 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 emotionally my name is Queen K 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 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 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 was a lot of different opportunities in Rockway like how there was five different elementary schools but I also like how I felt like that I fit in with the Sony Brook mentality the Sony 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 Birchwood 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 and so we can focus on 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 Tony 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 hand inand 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 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 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 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 DWI is special because we don't have walls 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 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 ma 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'm trying to instill intrinsic love for school intrinsic love for education and 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 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 than all the other AC 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 or 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 districts Focus onal over the last several years I am the steam teacher at copela 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 make 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 bre 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 DB yeah my name is Rea I'm in first grade being at DB 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 cuz drawing is my favorite thing what makes Deo unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other my name is Queen K 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 jamers keep our school nice and clean all my friends that help me since kindergarten 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 and juny 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 dislike like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make that subject more fun I think the wi 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 hard honesty empathy acceptance and respect and [Music] 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 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 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 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 Birchwood 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 want aable dog always a bu dog 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 deire 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 codery amongst not only the students but also the faculty that work here we call ourselves a DWI 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 [Music] 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 copela 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 team 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 just like 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-in 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 scopeland 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 dvf yeah my name is Ria 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 cuz drawing is my favorite thing what makes deio 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 say something about the building and the and and the community that we Foster here at dbo and I'm really grateful to be part of that 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 that relationship ship 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 is 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 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 juny 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'm 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 bony Brook is an amazing place it really is and I think anybody who joins us whether it's full-time or visit us 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 and we have a very involved School Community both academically working hand in 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 any type 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 us always start off with a growth mindset set 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 than 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 academic but also social emotionally my name is Queen K 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 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 was 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 Sony 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-generation ations that have attended Birchwood 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 Tony 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 hand in hand with 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 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 scopeland 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 deire 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 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 so we us 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 than 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 or 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 onal over the last several years I am the steam teacher at copela 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 DBL yeah my name is Rea I'm in first grade being at DBL is awesome because all the teachers here are so great and so nice I like the teacher is 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 tus CU drawing is my favorite thing what makes deio unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other my name is quen k I'm in the fifth grade hi my name is area 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 juny 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 the 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 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 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 Birchwood it is truly a loving Community it's such a wonderful place to be I commute an hour or more every 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 in 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 deire 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 uh great sense of community you just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors I like 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 codery amongst not only the students but also the faculty that work here we call ourselves a DWI 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 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 copela 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 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 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 interaction active 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 scopel 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 [Music] 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 teach 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 DBL yeah my name is Rya I'm in first grade being at DB 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 tus CU drawing is my favorite thing what makes deio 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 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 dbo 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 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 and juny 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'm 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 bony Brook is an amazing place it really is and I think anybody who joins us whether it's full-time or visit us in the building just for a day uh you know I think Echo that sentiment our staff is second to none and 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 hand inand 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 any type 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 us 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 than all the other academic challenges that they're faced with 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 emotionally my name is Queen K in the fifth grade hi my name is Arya I am in second grade what makes our school awesome as 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 can G 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 I feel like it is a small close-nit community but I also felt like there was a lot of different opportunities in Rockway like how there was five different elementary schools but I also like how I felt like that I fit in with the Sony Brook mentality the Sony 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 principle I 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 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 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 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 sonon Brook is an amazing place it really is and I think anybody who joins us whether it's full-time or visit us 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 hand inand 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 mantro 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 Sport 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 the hardest working teachers in the world the thing that makes scopel 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 emo 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'm 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 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 than all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier our goal here is is that every child is as comfortable in class as they are at home and if they're ever in trouble or 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 districts Focus onal over the last several years I am the steam teacher at copela 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 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 car and I am in fifth grade and I go to DB yeah my name is Rya I'm in first grade being at DB 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 cuz drawing is my favorite thing what makes Deo unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other my name is Queen K 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 jammitors keep our school nice and clean all my friends that helpy s 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 there's stories my first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into chapter books in juny 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 thank you good evening rocke Township can I please have a motion to come out a Clos session so moved seconded show a hands please all right coming out a close session at 7:31 can we please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all thank you all right to start off this evening we have a very very distinguished presentation uh DWI elementary school has been recognized as a Blue Ribbon School uh which is an outstanding achievement for anybody at home that does not know it is a significant achievement that uh that DWI has been chosen as selected um thanks to our our awesome students parents and especially our faculty and uh Mr McGovern who will come up uh in a little bit I would be remiss if I didn't uh acknowledge some of our dignitaries that we have here this evening uh Senator Buco as well as assemblywoman Dunn and assemblyman braco also here in attendance tonight mayor Jackson councilwoman Brooks councilman salberg and councilman wovi thank you so much for coming we appreciate it so to start off this evening if I could please ask Senator buo assemblywoman Dunn and assemblyman Breco to please come up for the presentation thank you Mr President it is certainly an honor for us to be here tonight uh to recognize DWI Elementary School um you know the most one of the most important things that we can do uh whether it's a school board or the municipality or legislators of the county is to make sure that we provide our children with the greatest education possible and when you see something like a National Blue Ribbon School right here in Rockaway township it really instill Pride not only in us as representing you but in the community as well and um and as I read about dwire and I I spoke to a couple of teachers back there who I can say we couldn't be prouder of um to realize that there are no walls or doors um and how the kids can interact uh is an amazing thing I could I could be honest with you if I was in elementary school today and anyone on doors or walls they'd be searching for me all day but um but that's a testament to the administration to the school board to the superintendent to the to the teachers to the kids to the families and to the municipality for what you've given these kids and what you've given the teachers to the point that they can Excel that they receive the National Blue Ribbon honor so we're here tonight to congratulate the township congratulate the board congratulate the administration the teachers and especially uh the kids on the work that you've done to reach this Milestone so we have have a resolution I'll let assemblywoman dun and assemblyman Branco say a few words and then we'd love to present that to you thank you good evening good evening it is a pleasure and an honor to be here tonight I'm assembly woman Ora dun and I love board member thomasa how you mentioned you recognize the students first uh right we know that it takes the students to achieve this but of course a community a collaboration uh and it's not it's not something we know that a distinction that is granted by the United States Department of Education based on a snap you know just a snapshot in time it's you have an extended proven record of high performance and may I note not just in scores uh and I've had the pleasure uh and really the blessing to be here to visit the school on a v variety of occasions I get to be content for civic education and talk about state government and I can see the mission of no the no walls U and every child uh is is paid attention to uh when I come to visit you can feel that uh and and you could see it in action so it's really about uh tonight honoring you for educating the entire the the whole child uh and I'd love to note uh which in my looking looking up your history that in 20 20 so this again is this has been a a a long established record of high performance and and work uh you were granted a national school of character in 2020 not many schools are still continuing that in their curriculum and we can take that up on another day for a discussion uh so again I just want to say uh it's just I know we've been waiting for this evening and I'm just so happy to be here to say congratulations uh and really best of Lu as you continue on uh with all of your your great performance uh in shaping a very bright future for not just Rockaway not just for the county but this is a win for our state so thank you and here assemblyman Bronco I'll be incredibly brief as as the junior guy on this team it's always my job to actually take out the document and and I don't uh um I don't know that people in this room uh realize how magical this document is this is a document that was agreed to by all 120 members on both sides of the aisle so this is Magic I trust you especially if you know Trenton so I'm going to give you a quick little idea as to what we wanted to convey here um and and just kind of give you an idea as to as to why we're here I'm going to read right off the document that we're going to present the board today whereas the strength and success of the State of the State of New Jersey the Vitality of our communities and the effectiveness of our American society depend in great measure upon a thorough and efficient education for our children and upon schools exemplified by Katherine a DWI Elementary School that use creative methods to install a lifelong love of learning and whereas within all spheres Catherine a DWI elementary school has established a model to emulate and set a standard of Excellence toward which other educational institutions might strive and whereas it is both fitting and proper for the members of this legislature to pause in their deliberations to congratulate Katherine a DWI Elementary School on its Stellar achievement which has instilled the people of whorton in this state with a tremendous sense of Pride now therefore be it resolved by the Senate and general assembly of the state of New Jersey that this legislature hereby salutes Katherine a DWI Elementary School pays tribute to the meritorious record of accomplishment shared by its teachers administrators and staff and extends sincere best wishes for its continued success and vigor in all the years to come congratulations [Applause] guys Mr McGovern can I please have you come forward Dr Corbett you to please come on thank youting were thank you [Applause] cookie not yet not yet close but have some patience Dennis you'll get your cookies trying to avoid photos can't you can't I'll never forgive you guys for a postcard I hope this comes out okay I wrote it in a hospital room this morning with I was with a friend who was having uh surgery today so uh they helped me with it and helped them get through the day so uh I hope it I hope it's as meaningful to everyone here as it was to us as we were writing it good evening I'd like to start by thanking the board of education for honoring us tonight on receiving the National Blue Ribbon award this award is United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis it is awarded by attaining standards of excellence evidenced by T student achievement and measures the Department of Education honors high- performing schools and schools that are making great strides in closing achievement gaps Katherine a DWI received the award in the exemplary high- performing schools category exemplary High performing schools are selected because they are among the state's highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed test that is the technical aspect of achieving this award this award to the dwire family encompasses so much more than just academics this was a culmination of hard work and dedication of three very specific groups our staff our students and our parents I'm a little biased on this but I have the hardest most dedicated staff and administrator can be gifted with these staff members come ready to dive into the deep end of the pool every day challenging their students and not just academically they also instill in our students the need to become productive and caring members of our community our teachers demonstrate in their daily actions for our students that hard work and being passionate about a cause or a community need makes their life that much more fulfilling so to my staff thank you for caring thank you for coming to work every day and challenging our students and thank you for instilling the word family in the way that you interact each day with each and every student our students are absolutely tremendous they come from all walks of life different economic backgrounds and have a multitude of first languages but they come to us every day ready to learn our students understand that for 6 and a half hours they are safe and cared for but they also come every day ready to learn with open minds knowing that they are an environment that truly cares for each and every one of of them to our parents thank you for sharing and trusting us with your most precious possession you have instilled in your children a true love of learning this is witnessed each day as I watch them depart the bus in the morning smiling and ready for the day no they come happy they come prepared and excited to start their day but the true measure of our parental support is in the way of you give of yourselves for your children children all I need to do is ask and you are at the ready to support our academic Mission our seeds of service and then the way you give of yourself to make every child and teacher the best that they can be each and every day so receiving this award is not just an academic achievement it is a culmination of what we do for each other as a family how we cheer each other's accomplishments how hard we truly work but more specifically specifically in the way we value and cherish each other it is because of this our children and staff are truly free to learn and grow so thank you again Dr Corbett and members of the board of education for taking time to recognize the three main factors of why DWI was able to accomplish such an outstanding achievement and why these three factors our staff our students and our parents make our school a special place to to be at DWI we have a tradition we have many Traditions but one of my favorites is when a family member does something truly outstanding We Salute them and The Way We Salute them is with a standing ovation so please join me in a standing ovation to salute again our staff our students and our parents thank you thank you very much Mr McGovern well-deserved wire sir if it's okay with you uh cookies cookies nobody wants to take them all home so we want to right if we could do what do you think 10 minutes for cookie break that' be great please enjoy the cookies and coffee that are over there from mashi 10 minute break thank you everybody thank you for being here we really appreciate your presence and support for our schools thank you pretty sure I stepped on a wire stepped on something SC anything oh something there are plenty of cookies and there are few kids my name is Dr Richard corpet 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 and these 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 Birchwood 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 and 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 persever and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before Tony Brook is an amazing place it really is and I think anybody who joins us whether it's full-time or visit us in the building just for a day uh you know I think Echo that sentiment 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 hand inand 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 scopel middle school is 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 School 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 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 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 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'm 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 so we us 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 than 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 onal over the last several years I am the steam teacher at copela 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 DBL yeah my name is Rea I'm in first grade being at DB 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 tus cuz drawing is my favorite thing what makes de unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other my name is Queen K I'm in the fifth grade hi my name is Arya I am in second grade what makes our school awesome as all the teachers we have here they help us every day all the jamers keep our school nice and clean all my friends that helped me since kindergart 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 they're stories my first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into chapter books and juny 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 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 dis likee like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make that subject more fun I think the wire school is awesome uh it's going to take us to our uh 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 those individuals who take this opportunity to identify themselves by name and address and to limit their comments to items listed on the agenda Andor 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 others when speaking specifically comments regarding students and employees at the board are discouraged and will not be responded to by the board students and employees have specific rights afforded to them by the laws of New Jersey the board Bears no responsibility nor will it be liable for any comments made by 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 may be aware that they are legally responsible and liable for their comments in accordance with board policy 0617 public discussion is limited to 15 minutes with a 3-minute limit per member of the public the board president shall have the right to modify the length of public discussion as he deems a appropriate can I please have a motion to open to public motion to open second thank you show a hands please all right is there anybody from the public that would like to come and address the board please state your name and address thank you Megan o Conor 64 Erie Avenue uh good evening and thank you for taking my comments so I do have some comments about the communication with the referendum so on the website on December the 20th there was a press release that was issued and I'm going to read verbatim from that release it said given the current uncertainty which is referring to the environmental issues we are exploring the option of an altern alternative referendum date later than March 2025 and at the last meeting on January the 8th um I did come up and ask when is the referendum going to be because from that press release it made it sound like it could still be a possibility and the answer that I got on January the 8th and I'm quoting we we will not be having the referendum in March so I am asking uh the board on on behalf of the residents of Rockway that we do need very clear communication on when a referendum is going going to be so it it really shouldn't be a matter of somebody from the public like myself um asking a question to get clarity on it and I really think to remedy this situation there should be another press release saying that defini definitively there's not going to be a referendum in March um and my second question to do with communication to is once you've reorganized you've met with your Architects how much notice will you giving residents of a referendum is there some sort of rule or law that you have to give so much notice um and I think that's really important uh considering the amount of money that uh the board of education is asking for thank you thank you Dr Corby do you want to yeah well we can say definitively that there will be no referendum in March I cannot say definitively when the referendum will be because we do not have a date for a future referendum and um I will tell you that the community outreach committee I well if Mrs mzik doesn't mind I'll say this and she could speak too because she's the chair of the committee will be meeting with the Architects very shortly to determine what our options might be we didn't have the options now you know we have been as the press release indicated um we ran into a brick wall with the D and I'll say a publicly I'll say it okay the DP is putting Indiana bats ahead of the the um the importance of students and that's the problem um I could get specific but it would take too long to get specifics about what the D concerns were but the the the problem was we couldn't do what we wanted to do so the referendum cannot happen in March in terms of notice to the community it's to the community's advantage and to our advantage to give as much notice to the community as possible when a referendum date has been established because we I think I can speak for the board in saying this we want to keep the community informed every step of the way we want people we want to be on board with the community we want the community to be on board with us in terms of doing what's in the best interest of students in this District so um I under I appreciate your questions um I don't have specific answers because I cannot tell you when a referendum date is going to be we do not know I can only tell you it will not be in March Mrs mes do you have anything additional that you wanted to add as a chair excuse me do you have anything additional you wanted to add as a chair just that um you'll hear during the committee reports but we will be um we're looking to have a meeting on January 29th with our Architects and more information will come out after that I'm not sure if we'll have the firm date but there are only four times that the uh District can go out uh for another vote uh one is March the other one's September I think it's uh November and December so those are the only four uh times a year that we can do that but likely looking at one of those other dates and as far as our timeline goes even things that we present it also has to go in front of the Department of Education so there's approval processes that go along the way so although it seems like there's uh it's like questions questions questions we've spent hundreds of hours looking over options on what we can do ultimately we have identified that there is a there's a significant Gap Rockaway Township continues to broaden and expand and we owe every child in this community a place to go to school we owe that to them we have to give that to them so uh although we don't have uh all definitive answers on where we're going to go we'll continue to explore we'll continue to do our diligence uh due diligence and we will let the community know as soon as possible when the next referendum date will be Donna marce zinski one Lake Shore Drive um you know I have something else to add to it but I just wanted to touch on the referendum um there was something about home sharing like renting rooms out in your home that can actually add to the problem so it's something that I kind of look at I'll I'll email it to you okay thank um but one of the things that like is kind of strange this week my daughter came home from school and I asked her like I always always do you know what you learn blah blah blah and she was telling me different things and she didn't get like anything about the inauguration which was kind of bizarre because I remember no matter who was president something I learned in school and I never knew who the teacher voted for just like you guys don't know who I voted for even though some of you probably think you do but uh maybe one maybe one person does but um so it's kind of it was kind of bizarre to me it was the first experience in any school district where my child did not get any information in social studies on the inauguration so I just wanted to mention that thank you thank you thank you anybody else for public comment all right seeing none can I please have a motion to close to public comment so moved second thank you show a hands please all right moving on to Communications uh just confirming the board has not received any correspondence since the last regular meeting that's correct thank you uh we'll move on to the 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 K Laro abstain thank you noted Miss mcgi yes Mrs mzik yes Miss Richardson yes Miss Tor yes Dr tomasini yes motion carries thank you next uh superintendent's report please thank you Dr tomasini all right there three parts of my report this evening just to give people a heads up you might want to get some coffee I'm going to start out with the regular superintendent report and then I'm going to uh segue into an update on the district gos which I will be brief about but then finally the HIV report so there's three parts of the report the focus of the CPAC which was held on January 14th was anxiety warning signs treatment and ways to support your child clinician Cynthia Harvey Janine brazinski presented eight people attended nine people participated virtually the next meeting will be held February 11th in the cul Middle School library and everyone is invited to attend the CPAC meeting it's not just for parents of students with an IEP our partnership with the New Jersey Coalition for inclusive education continues as we strive to ensure all students are included Mr solazo and a few dbo teachers attended the New Jersey Coalition for inclusive education went to conference on January 10th and they are eager to share the newly acquired Knowledge and Skills with colleagues the second Academy night occurred on Thursday uh 6:30 p.m. at the Rock away Township Library that was last Thursday the topic focused on academic technology to support parents there were 13 people in attendance in attendance and the topics included the Genesis portal Genesis Gradebook link it Google classroom and clever all schools have been officially trained on the link it platform training was held at each building and conducted by linkit Representatives which segue nicely into the second round of Assessments which began this week the Annual Spelling be was held on January 16th at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in the burrow I am pleased to inform the board and the public that rockco Township students swept the top three spots first place went to Liam haget a fifth grader from dwire second place yes you can clap second place went to Alexander pulock a fourth grader at Birchwood and third place went to Mia Bri a a fourth grader at DWI all spelling the contestants will be recognized yes clap good give a nice round of applause on February 12th our board will formally recognize uh all our contestants um and all three of our winners will be participating in The District spelling be held in the burough at the Assembly of God Church on February 22nd this evening I am recommending Rebecca Garcia for the position of assistant director of student services since February 2022 Rebecca has been employed by the relle Park School District as a director of special services this appointment is effective onor before March 23rd Rebecca will say a few words after the resolution is passed this evening from our schools at Birchwood prek and kindergarten teams are diving into the three-year Grant from the New Jersey inclusion project supported by the New Jersey Department of Education and New Jersey Coalition for inclusive education this month teachers are conducting walkthroughs that focus on aligning practices to ensure kindergarten Readiness and support for all Learners with engaging lessons fund projects and a strong sense of teamwork January is shaping up to be a month of growth and Discovery for our Bulldogs over the next two months DWI students will be preparing for the upcoming State assessments additionally we are conducting midar Diagnostics in language arts and math which will provide uh the staff with important data on student growth the dwire family is imp is extremely proud of Liam hagert and Mia briena who plays first and third place as just mentioned in the interdistrict Women's Club Spelling Bay KDM students are working through their meteor assessments the data from the I ready math diagnostic assessments show some impressive growth students will continue with Ela in Reading assessments to the rest of January 14 after school clubs are currently running at KDM and they are filled to capacity the traps mark Marketplace will be held on March 7th and the talent show on March 27th the student council and PTA are hosting a co- drive to help Neighbors in need throughout the winter KDM is proud of the four Representatives who participated in the spelling be for Martin Luther King Day first grade students worked on meaningful projects where they shared how to show kindness to honor Dr King's Legacy of empathy compassion and positive action KDM continues to promote these virtues daily as at Stony Brook teachers continue to administer the midyear assessments later in the month students will collaborate during their Library periods to create a tree of respect this project will be displayed in the hallway as part of the school's second no place for hate activity will coincide with the upcoming annual great kindness challenge at the end of January the school takes pride in its ongoing character education initiatives which makes Stony Brook a very special place to go to school congratulations to the students who participate in the annual spelling B we are proud of their efforts and achievements representing Stony Brook at dbo children continue to amaze us with their curiosity and growth mid year Ela and math Diagnostics will continue into the coming weeks this past week students the student council started kindness boxes and they will also be running a canned goods Drive first graders are looking forward to a visit from a therapy dog which is scheduled later this month call is prepared for the second half of the 2024 25 school year and by the end of January all students will have completed their math and Ela assessments excuse me class meetings were held on Tuesday January 21st to reinforce the core values at Copa middle school as they continue to build our community Brick by Brick the stud school student C excuse me the school counseling office has been busy preparing eighth grade students for transition to high school the boys and girls basketball teams will be competing in the respective County tournaments and we wish them the best of luck I would like to provide the board and the public an update regarding uh our district goals at their annual board retreat held July 8th 2024 the Board of Education identified five goals for the 2024 2025 school year goal one by the end of June or by June 2 the district will increase the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations on the New Jersey student learning assessment in ela and Mathematics by 5% across all grade levels 4 through eight grade three is the Baseline compared to 2023 2024 school year Baseline through databased articulation targeted interventions and both internal and external professional development goal two provide additional common and consistent learning experience in mathematics literacy and science science to Foster increased engagement goal three improve the climate and culture in each school and reduce chronic absenteeism through the implementation of character strong seal programs improved HIV processes We Dine together at Copeland pause at Copeland Unified sports at Copeland and finally climate and culture surveys gold four reinforce a positive and effective practice of community outreach that is transparent trusting and collaborative and goal five plan and Implement a referendum that will address both capacity and educational needs well into the future of the Rockway Township School District so I'd like to offer some highlights demonstrating our progress toward meeting these goals essential to the first goal is a faithful and consistent application of I ready Mr ganella has observed instruction throughout the grade levels to ensure that I ready is the basis for instruction in addition we have received assistance from an IR ready instructional coach who advised principles regarding what they should look for in classroom instruction Champion teachers were identified based on the com a combination of I ready data njsla scores and observational feedback these teachers have engaged in planning meetings with the IR ready instructional coach and plan to to do co- teing lessons we are confident that we will meet the goal of improved performance on the New Jersey student learning assessment by 5% the second goal ensures consistent academic success throughout the district under Mr canelo's leadership we are strictly adhering to a curriculum revision cycle and professional development centered on vertical and horizont horizontal curriculum articulation consistent resources across the district include super kids science and social studies uh materials Scholastics 2024 election supplements author day and Academy nights we are currently providing additional common and consistent learning EXP experiences in mathematics literacy and science to Foster increased engagements I will repeat Scholastics 2024 election supplements next to academic achievement climate and culture are a priority and addressed in the third goal character strong has been implemented throughout the district cult middle school has begun We Dine together and pause Unified sports begins very soon our councilors and HIV Specialists receive frequent updates and training to deal with bullying behaviors a chronic absenteeism committee was formed to create a new attendance create new attendance procedures and protocols districtwide collaboration with parents and the community continues to be a focus work towards the fourth goal provides our community with Academy nights presentations provided by the special education parent advisory committee and family math night despite a hold on the March referendum vote the Board of Education will continue to consider options to address the educational needs of our students we are in the process of scheduling a meeting with our architect to develop plans that avoid conflicts with d regulations the fifth goal to plan and implement the referendum will be carried into succeeding into the succeeding school year for more detailed information beyond the summary please see our website where the docum board and District goals is posted it's the same document that Abe is showing you on the screen and I just skimmed it gave you the essentials but there's more detail in that document finally part three um just a uh Public Presentation on the current HIV investigations um over the past month there have been five HIV investigations all of these HIV investigations took place at cop Middle School of the four HIV investigations only one was substantiated and the um identifiable characteristic was race so all four prongs were met and race was the identifiable characteristic and that Dr Tomi is my report thank you thank you very much can I please have the business administrator report M SL yes thank you Mr President um budget preparation is in high gear as we move into February central office administration met with each of the School principles the week of January 6th to hear their proposals for the 25 26 school year I have also been working with each of the department heads to forecast their needs at this time the position control roster has been completed and will serve as the first entries for the proposed budget as we always begin with our Personnel costs which um account for essentially 80% of the budget um our biggest concern this budget season is related to the pending announcement of the new funding formula for state aid we have no indication at this time whether that formula will be favorable or not so I will keep you updated as I learn more we have reached completion for all three of our Roofing projects uh Copeland KDM and Birchwood and we have moved into the warranty phase so happy to report that that work is finally completed um this past week the gas tanks at the transportation Depot became inoperable after many phone calls to our surrounding districts and townships I was able to find help um to ensure that our buses and maintenance Vehicles remained on the road a very sincere thank you to Denville Township for allowing us to purchase gas from their pumps uh I also want to acknowledge our building and grounds department and Mr Michael Martino for their response during the recent snowstorm I greatly appreciate their dedication and teamwork on January 15th Dr Corbett and I met with representatives from the ptas to discuss the recent changes to the district donation policy we had a very good discussion and I appreciate all of those who attended I look forward to our continued partnership with our ptas 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 um the total amounts reflected approximately $227 can be attributed to various utilities uh 111 I'm sorry $2,252 can be attributed to tuition um $ 48,3 181 uh fall into the category of custodial maintenance uh 35,9 can be attributed to Transportation contracts mechanical repairs and Department supplies we had two payrolls on there uh one for November 15th and November 30th totaling to 3,613 225 uh the remaining costs are attributed to a range of smaller categories including Aid and lose supplies uh Food Service staff PD travel Etc as well as a significant portion being attributed to um the various um departmental needs again small purchases make up the larger number so while that doesn't Encompass every single dollar it gives everybody kind of a snapshot of what's included in that Bill's list so ends my report thank you very much Mr slam I'm not seeing Mr gel this evening I will go ahead and pass over the education report uh before we start this uh portion of committee reports uh just a report out to the public uh I'm going to go over a couple of positions that are on here but just the everything for our committees Community Liaisons as well as PTA Liaisons are available on our website uh underneath the main page if you go to board of education you can go in and you can take a look at the uh the document that I'm currently reading off of now uh but currently our board of education has uh five committees four regular committees and one ad hoc committee with that being stated our first committee is policy which is chaired by Miss C laru our education committee which is chaired by Miss Anderson our negotiations committee which is chaired by miss mcgi our community outreach committee which is chaired by Mrs mzik and our operations and finance committee which is chaired by myself as as far as our PTA Liaisons for Birchwood the primary is Mrs mzik with the alternate being Mrs mcari for jwi the primary is Miss CA Ru with the alternate being Mrs Richardson for Copland Middle School the primary is Miss Anderson with the alternate being Miss torn for dbo the primary is myself with the alternate being Mrs mzik for KDM the primary is is Mrs Richardson with the alternate being myself and for Stonybrook the primary is Miss Tor with alternate being Mrs Anderson any additional questions on our committees can be found on the website or you can of course always ask with that being stated are there any committees that would like to discuss upcoming dates go ahead Miss meth okay so I just wanted to confirm because we do need to keep the uh pedal down on the community out we discussed um Wednesday January 29th from 4 to 5 you guys both have that on okay going forward does Tuesday still work at 430 yes okay I'll come up with a robust schedule for that I know you guys like it I look forward to those Weekes every week there you go um the Ed committee is going to meet on January 30th as long as at 4:30 at central office um we'll have to talk to with uh Mr ganel and see what days work going forward we'll get the board an agenda this week thank you any other committees uh operations committee is going to meet on January 27th at 4:30 at the board office all right so concluding committee reports let's go to recommended for board action under uh section Alpha Personnel because it's Personnel there's no uh no discussion so can I please have a roll call vote on Personnel uh motion to approve my apologies correct let's go ahead motion to approve Personnel so moved seconded thank you now let's have that roll call vote Mrs Anderson yes Mrs car Laro yes Miss McGary yes Mrs M mzik yes Miss Richardson yes Miss Tor yes Dr tomasini yes motion carries thank you uh Dr Corbett with your permission uh I would like to call up Miss Garcia our new assistant director of student services good good evening everyone I apologize I'm getting over the flu so my voice is the last thing to come back so please excuse my voice this evening um but I just have something quickly that I want to state so good evening members of the Rockway Township Board of Education Administration staff and community members my name is Rebecca Garcia and I'm honored to be on the agenda for approval for the new assistant director of student services I'm deeply committed to fostering collaboration among all stakeholders to enhance the effectiveness and reach the student services department my goal is to ensure that the diverse needs of of our students and families are met with Innovative inclusive and high quality programs it is a privilege to join the Rockaway Township community and I look forward to contributing my expertise while partnering with each and every one of you to support the success and well-being of all of our students thank you welcome thank you all right moving on to section Bravo can I please have a motion to approve the Hib determinations so moved seconded thank you so to confirm here so for uh Hib incidences numbers 273 293 is unconfirmed 273 294 is unconfirmed 27348 is unconfirmed 2735 29 is confirmed 273 612 is unconfirmed 27 3738 as confirmed 27 3879 is confirmed 28415 is confirmed 284 648 as confirmed can I please have a roll call vote Mrs Anderson yes Mrs kuroo yes Miss McGary yes Mrs mzik yes Miss Richardson yes Miss Tor yes Dr Thomas cini yes motion carries moving on to section Charlie education can I have a motion approve the approve the education recommendations second thank you we can open this up to public comment if anybody would like to make a comment on education any board discussion all right seeing none can I please have a roll call vote on education Mrs Anderson yes Mrs K laroo yes M mcari yes Mrs mzik yes Miss Richardson yes Miss Tor yes Dr tomasini 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 go ahead Mr M okay as I um I had already reached out to Dr Corb about it but I just wanted to draw attention to under number two this is again uh page eight under special education there is a change that's folded extraordinary Aid um and the amounts and this is from the June 26 agenda I did ask Dr Corbett what the change had been uh just to ensure that we had done everything on our end and the answer I received was that um Shepard School has increased uh the rates for staff assistance is that correct that's correct M okay and is it correct that um it had been $180 4 and it was raised to 19582 that is correct Mrs mik thank you okay thank you that's it awesome all right I can open this up to the uh the public if anybody has any comments on special education seeing none can I please have a roll call vote Mrs Anderson yes Mrs K laroo yes Miss mcari yes Mrs mzik yes Miss Richardson yes Miss Toren yes Dr tomasini yes motion carries moving on to Echo Administration motion to approve administrative recommendations if I could stop before we take the motion um there's actually an additional motion that we we need to read in this evening um yeah and I apologize for the the late addition but um I'm going to read that motion in now and then if the board sees fit we will move the section as amended got it um so number three uh under Administration would become upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools the board approves the submission of the J Doe equivalency waiver as it relates to the district's NJ qac submission under the instruction and program DPR so again if the board is in favor of adding that motion if I could change that to a motion to uh move the section as amended I move to make a motion to approve Administration with the amendment okay do we have a second seconded excellent can open this uh up to the public if anybody has any comments on Administration seeing none can I please have a roll call vote on the amended Administration one two and three yes and I just want to mention for the public the reason that this is a late edition and I do apologize we just found out um this afternoon that we were eligible for this waiver so um again we apologize we don't like to read in motions but that's why we're doing that this evening uh Mrs Anderson yes Mrs kuroo yes Miss mcir yes Mrs mzik yes Miss Richardson yes Miss Toren yes Dr tomasini yes motion carries all right moving on to finance can I have a motion to approve Finance recommendations so moved second thank you uh with this I went to the board office yesterday 21 January and signed the bill so I recommend that we approve the bills uh any board discussion I can open up to the public if anybody has any comments or questions on finance seeing none can I please have a roll call vote Mrs Anderson yes Mrs kuroo yes Miss mcui yes Mrs mzik yes M Richardson yes Miss Tor yes Dr tomasini yes motion carries thank you that brings us on to our second public comment can I have a motion to open to the second public comment please so moved second thank you show a hands all right is there anybody from the public that would like to come up and make a comment all right seeing none can I please have a motion to close the public comment so moved seconded show a hands please all right that moves us on to section s uh old business any old business any new business well I have some new business I got about 38 minutes to kill [Laughter] here no in all seriousness but I I just I won't carry on for 30 minutes um I just want to mention publicly that over the last couple years um I have seen I think very impressive improvements here in terms of the climate and the culture at Cula Middle School which is one of my not an official goal it's not a board goal not a district goal it's my goal right to see the the the school improve in so many different ways uh on Tuesday they had an assembly sixth seventh and eighth grade and they went over the discipline they went over dress code they went over emergency drills a lot a lot of things um in this school I will say it publicly to be sure that we are all on the same page and everyone knows where I'm coming from and the staff the students teachers Administration everyone uh first of all we are going to eliminate from this school racial epithets right I I don't want to hear it I don't want to hear it from anybody there's no excuse now it's become very common place for students because they hear it in lyrics and songs and they hear everything else and it gets thrown around like it's nothing but students will learn very quickly that if you say the word that's offensive to everybody of Goodwill everybody of Goodwill there's serious consequences so that's number one that's going to stop number two um what concerns me is very much is the inappropriate physical contact that happens I won't go into details about examples about what that that boils down to but in this school and in every school in this District but particularly here there is only two ways to touch somebody else in this school only two ways a handshake and a high five fist bump handshake high five fist bump if a student touches another student and by the way it could be a staff member touching another staff member or a staff member touching a student the community will only touch anyone else a handshake and a high five that's it um because because we want to create a culture where everyone is important because they are everyone is valued because they are and I don't want anyone offended we don't want anybody offended we want everybody to safe so I just want to say that publicly to the board that's the direction uh that's that's our goal to to continue to repeat that on and on reiterate it to students and get that message through so thank you very much to the board for their support thank you Dr Corbett with that that brings us to the conclusion of our agenda for this evening can I have a motion to adjourn please so move second show a hands meeting is adjourned this evening at 8:34 thank you Rockway Township thank you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]