Friday, May 24, 2013
Students are chosen to be honored at the high school.
As part of a new program at the Bridgewater-Raritan High School instituted by new principal Brett Charleston, at least one student is chosen every week to be honored for his or her contributions to the community at some point that week. In this column, we will honor those students each week, with the information included in Charleston's weekly principal's column, on the school's website. Congratulations to the most recent honorees!
Monday, May 20, 2013
They are concerned that class sizes will be too large next year.
Parents of second-graders at Hamilton Primary School are pleading with the district to make sure there are four sections next year to accommodate the about 70 students entering third grade—but no decisions have been made thus far. Several parents spoke out at a recent board of education meeting with a request that class sizes be lowered for the incoming third-graders to ensure that they don’t have 24 students in classes come next year. “In terms of studies that support the benefits of reduced class sizes, it has a positive impact in the course of academic development,” said Argonne Farm Drive resident John Corbitt. “We talk about students in high school needing extra time, and the fundamentals developed in the early grades serves as the …
The tree is being dedicated to Mitzi Morillo as she leave for Mendham Borough.
Adamsville Primary School’s PTO recently dedicated a tree in honor of principal Mitzi Morillo. The Kwanzan Cherry Tree symbolizes how Morillo helped the school grow during her five-year tenure. Morillo is leaving to take a superintendent position in Mendham Borough. "It was a pleasure having Mrs. Morillo at our school. We are sad to see her go, she will be missed," said Mijett Long, PTO co-president. The tree was donated by Paul Cernuto, long-time Bridgewater resident and owner of High Tech Landscapes Inc., in Branchburg. —Jill Tarbell
Friday, May 17, 2013
Students are chosen to be honored at the high school.
As part of a new program at the Bridgewater-Raritan High School instituted by new principal Brett Charleston, at least one student is chosen every week to be honored for his or her contributions to the community at some point that week. In this column, we will honor those students each week, with the information included in Charleston's weekly principal's column, on the school's website. Congratulations to the most recent honorees!
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Agreements with Supervisors and Principals associations need ratification.
The Bridgewater-Raritan board of education is reporting that tentative agreements have been reached with the Supervisors Association and the Principals Association. The Bridgewater-Raritan Principals Association had declared an impasse in December, and negotiations were ongoing with the Supervisors Association in January. Board of education President Patrick Breslin announced Tuesday that the board has reached tentative agreements with each of the two associations. “At this point, both are in the process of working through their own versions of salary guides,” he said. “They will be worked out with the board, and, following that, the memberships will have the right to review and ratify the agreements.” After that, Breslin said, the board …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Bridgewater-Raritan administration says absenteeism is down, want to give it another year.
Despite concerns from parents and students alike, the Bridgewater-Raritan school board's policy committee has recommended giving the changed absentee policy one more year before possibly making any changes — mostly because it has made such a difference already. Two years ago 60 percent of students had more than 16 absences, Superintendent Michael Shilder said. “That’s a horrendous number,” he said. “But that has dropped dramatically in the years since. “Our policy is similar to quality schools around the state,” he added. “It’s a situation of managing absences, not just being excused.” The policy change was approved July 24, and says that anyone absent more than 16 days from a year-long course, 12 days from a physical education course, …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
An interim superintendent will be hired for the new school year.
The board of education is preparing its plans for hiring a new superintendent after Superintendent of Schools Michael Schilder officially announced his retirement, effective Aug. 1. "I came to Bridgewater-Raritan over six years ago, and have never regretted that decision," Schilder said during his announcement at Tuesday's board of education meeting. "In fact, this position has been the highlight of my career thus far." "We have worked through many challenges and opportunities, and, while the district had always been strong, I think we've made many improvements that resulted in an even better school district," he added. Schilder said his retirement will be effective Aug. 1, although his last day will be some time before that because of …
Monday, May 13, 2013
Bradley Gardens honors Derek Hardgrove for three years of service.
Derek Hardgrove, a custodian at Bradley Gardens Primary School, was honored for three years of service in a special ceremony April 24. Bradley Gardens school counselor Ellen St. Pierre said she thought the ceremony would be a great character lesson for the students. “We hold monthly schoolwide meetings, which promote a positive school climate, and I had wanted to do something special to honor him because he is such a cheery yet hard-working person,” she said. “He goes above and beyond his call of duty at our little school, and deserved to be recognized.” St. Pierre said Hardgrove does back-breaking work everyday, and always goes above what is normally requested. At the celebration, St. Pierre said, the students sang “For He’s a Jolly Good …
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Hillsborough to play for county championship for the 11th time in the last 12 years.
Bridgewater-Raritan girls will have to settle for being the second best softball team in Somerset County after losing the tournament semifinal Saturday 8-0 to Hillsborough. Hillsborough got off to a solid start when pitcher Alexis Schengrund struck out the side in the first inning. Schengrund's teammates did their part and put up 4 runs in the same inning, putting Bridgewater on their heels. But Bridgewater looked like they were up to the task when they loaded the bases with one out in the second inning. But the Panthers were unable to capitalize and failed to score. "We hit the ball well today," said Hillsborough coach Cheryl Iaione. "We played them twice before and beat them up pretty good. But we were a little nervous today because …
Saturday, May 11, 2013
The BRMS students entered the National eCybermission Contest.
Eighth graders at Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School received an honorable mention in the recent National eCybermission Contest with their plans on turning wasted food scraps into compost. Those involved were Hemang Dama, Jack McManus, Morgan Nelson and Amit Nitin, as well as science coordinator and team advisor Rob Ambrose. Ambrose said the team was looking to develop an experiment that could solve a problem in their local community. “The problem they decided on was turning wasted food scraps and paper from the school cafeteria into compost which could be used to supplement the soil in the school’s gardens,” he said. Ambrose said they conducted a survey in early January to figure out how much food was being wasted in the school cafeteria …
Mike
8:38 am on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
I respect your point of view, Eliot, even if I disagree with it. There's no getting around that NJ is not a good place to stay (from a tax perspective) for empty-nesters, especially if they're on a fixed income. You mention an alternative funding system...safe to say you mean privatizing the whole thing? Because if you're talking about incorporating it into some other publicly-funded setup, it's … more ›