Familiar faces, different places…At the June 11 Board meeting, the Board approved several appointments for the 2013-2014 school year: Dr. Kirk Rickansrud as Principal of Thomas Paine Elementary School, Dr. John Cafagna as Principal of Carusi Middle School, Dr. Neil Burti as Principal of Bret Harte Elementary School, and Mr. Jim Riordan as Principal of the Alternative High School (Mr. Riordan will also continue as the Director of High School Guidance). Parents and students will have opportunities to meet their new principals on the following dates: Click for more information about the pending appointments.
At the June 11 Board meeting, the 2013-2014 student BOE representatives were welcomed to their year of service. They are Lydia George-Koku, representing High School East and Ryan Gallagher representing High School West. The alternate representatives are Sagar Desai from East, and Valerie Wilson from West.
About 300 seniors from Cherry Hill High School East and West were honored on Sunday, June 9, at the 16th Annual Academic Brunch sponsored by the Cherry Hill Education Foundation. Each year, the Foundation recognizes students from our high schools who have achieved and maintained high academic performance. This year's guest speakers were Ravi D Goel, MD, and Andre Hu, MD, graduates of Cherry Hill East Class of 1989. Congratulations to the senior honorees and thanks to the Foundation for its ongoing support of this special event.
Click for the middle school and high school Graduation Dates for June 2013.
On Friday, May 31, more than 200 students from across the district participated in the 2nd Annual STAR Games! Click for details – and watch next week’s e-news for more pictures and videos!
At the May 28 Action Meeting, the Board of Education recognized the 2012-2013 student representatives to the Board: Rebecca Fisher (Cherry Hill East), Christopher Blandy (Cherry Hill West), Andrew Adler (East Alternate), and Melissa Malik (West Alternate). Each month, the student representatives shared news about activities in their schools and provided valuable insights during curriculum, policy, and budget discussions. These students displayed intellect, dedication, poise, and character and served as outstanding representatives of their schools and our district. Thank you Rebecca, Chris, Andrew, and Melissa … best wishes for a successful future!
At the May 28 Board of Education meeting, the Board recognized Beck Middle School for its selection as a 2013 National School of Character! Beck underwent a site visit in April and was notified by the Character Education Partnership of its selection on May 8. Click for more information.
Beck Middle School’s own Rose Casey is featured in a radio spot currently airing on BEN-FM. Rose talks about the work of Educational Support Professionals (ESPs)and her role at Beck, where she supports students and plays in the Beck band! Rose also serves as President of the Educational Assistants of Cherry Hill (EACH), the bargaining unit that represents our district’s 300+ ESPs. Click HERE to listen to Rose’s radio spot; the BOE recognized Rose at the May 28 meeting. Congratulations and thank you to Rose Casey and to all of our valued ESPs.
Summer Learning Opportunities… The district is offering new summer enrichment courses for students in Grades 6 through 11! From method acting to short story writing… from humor to model rockets, there’s something for everyone! The courses will be offered during the weeks of August 5-8 and August 12-15. Click HERE for a brochure and registration form. Please note: The registration deadline has been extended to June 30!
Also offered this summer for high school students are the popular SAT Prep and College Essay Writing Courses! Click HERE for information on the SAT Prep course and HERE for details on the College Essay Tutorial.
Keeping Our Children and Schools Safe…At the May 14 Zone PTA meeting, Dr. Maureen Reusche shared with our PTA Presidents some of the recommendations of the security assessments that were conducted by district staff and members of the Cherry Hill Police Department. Click HERE to view the video of Dr. Reusche’s message. As a result of the security assessments, and after consultation with the building principals, the district will be implementing a series of recommendations to enhance the safety and security of our schools. Some of the changes will be implemented in September 2013, but some – which involve changes in behaviors of staff and parents – will be implemented after the Memorial Day holiday. Click HERE for a summary of the changes. Many thanks to the officers of the Cherry Hill Police Department for their assistance and professional expertise in conducting the security assessments and developing the recommendations.
In special action on May 14, the Board of Education appointed Dr. Kwame Morton as Principal of Cherry Hill High School West, effective July 1. Click for details.
We love our teachers! Dr. Reusche sent a special video message to our teachers in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week – with a little help from some of her friends throughout the district. Click HERE to view! (Thanks to our PTA leaders and school staff who helped make this video happen!)
In special action on April 9, the Board of Education approved an Energy Savings Plan which will include boiler replacements at 16 schools, lighting controls, hot water pump replacements, “miser” controls for vending machines, power optimization controls for computers, and more. The Board also approved submitting the projects to the NJ DOE and amending the district's Long Range Facilities Plan to include the projects. A resolution for the lease purchase financing plan for these projects will be on the May 14 Special Action agenda. Funding for the lease purchase financing would come through the district's annual capital budget. Click for more information.
Congratulations to the Cherry Hill Education Foundation for another successful Dancing with the Cherry Hill Stars! Funds from this annual event are used to support grant initiatives in our schools! CHEF has posted a highlights video on YouTube; click HERE to view (or check it out on the CHEF Facebook page. Bravo to the students, teachers, parents, and administrators who participated in the group production number “Dancing in the Streets” and to the student musicians from the Cherry Hill East Jazz Standards Group and the Carusi Jazz Band who shared their remarkable talents for the show. And, finally, a special shout out to our colleagues Marta Audino, Michelle Smith, Jodi Raditz, Cindy O’Reilly, Heather Esposito, and Deborah Jacobs, and to our students Molly McGee and Madison Girgenti, who competed as dancers in the show! You were ALL awesome!
In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, please click to find resources to help support children.
Registration is open for the Cherry Hill School District's Summer Arts Enrichment Program 2013. Classes will be held from June 24 - July 25 in the following areas: Mixed Media Art, Beginning Band, Beginning Orchestra, Intermediate Band, Intermediate Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, Elementary Chorus, and Secondary Chorus. Click HERE for details, including fees, schedule, and registration form.
Two of our Cherry Hill teachers are recognized in this month’s SJ Magazine as our region’s top teachers! Grand Prize winner in the magazine’s third annual “Top Teachers” contest is Colleen Girgenti, third grade teacher at Johnson Elementary School, who was nominated by student Catherine Williams. Kingston fourth grade teacher, Jackie DeCola, was a runner up in the contest; Jackie was nominated by former student Alex Dudley. Click HERE to read the nominating essays submitted by the students. Congratulations to Colleen and Jackie – and to the students they’ve inspired!
Congratulations to the 15 students from Cherry Hill High School East who have advanced to Finalist standing in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program. The Finalists are: Juliet Brooks, Jennifer Cha, Alison Chen, Hao Chen, Hannah Germaine, Michael Hwang, Shriya Joshi, Sarah Kim, Derrick Lin, Ajay Nadig, Kieran O'Donnell, Arun Reddy, Angela Sun, Monica Wei, and Susanna Yu. Winners of Merit Scholarship awards (Merit Scholar® designees) are chosen from the Finalist group based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments–without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference. Selectors evaluate a variety of information, including the Finalist's academic record, information about the school's curricula and grading system, two sets of test scores, the high school official's written recommendation, information about the student's activities and leadership, and the Finalist's own essay. Congratulations Finalists!
The Cherry Hill School District operates a tuition-supported Extended Day Child Care program for kindergarten students. The program operates each day that school is in session. EDCC's trained professional staff provides a safe and stimulating program of kindergarten enrichment activities (playtime, arts, crafts, games, nature, science, music and movement activities). Click HERE and select EDCC Registration for more information.
2013-2014 School Calendar...At the February 26 action meeting, the BOE approved the calendar for the 2013-2014 school year. Students will return on Tuesday, September 3. Click HERE to view the full year!
The annual testing report, presented at the December 18 action meeting, shows that Cherry Hill students continue to perform well on state assessments, scoring at or above the averages of schools in the district’s wealth category—District Factor Group (DFG) GH – in 100% of the testing areas. Click HERE to view the presentation by District Coordinator of Research and Assessment Valerie Sadwin - including a summary of testing highlights to celebrate and challenges that the district faces. Click HERE to view the complete testing report.
The Cherry Hill School District has been named to the 3rd Annual AP® District Honor Roll for simultaneously increasing access to Advanced Placement® course work while increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP Exams. Cherry Hill is among 539 school districts across the U.S. and Canada – and just 34 New Jersey districts - recognized by the College Board for achieving both of these goals. Click for more information.
In special action on November 19, the Cherry Hill Board of Education ratified a new teachers’ contract that will add 30 minutes of instructional time to the secondary (Grades 6-12) school day beginning in September 2013. At the elementary schools and the Barclay Early Childhood Center, the 30 minutes will be added to the teacher work day. The two-year pact was ratified on November 15 by the Cherry Hill Education Association. Click for more details.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Contract Settlement...When will the student day begin and end? Is there any impact on the school day this year? Click for answers to these and other questions. Check back frequently; the FAQ will be updated as we receive new questions.
At the September action meeting, the Board of Education approved the Board Goals for 2012-2013. Click to view the approved goals.
The Cherry Hill School District has been designated a “high performing” district by the New Jersey Department of Education through the Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC) district performance review.
The Cherry Hill School District proudly announces the designation of Cherry Hill High School East as a "Reward School" by the New Jersey Department of Education as part of the DOE's new statewide accountabilitiy system. Click for details.
New to Cherry Hill? All registration is conducted centrally at the Malberg Administration Building. Click HERE for information on registering your students in our great public schools.
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Jun 18, 2013 2:45 AM
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