District News Archives

Board of Education meeting Monday, November 28, 2011 7:00 PM William Annin Middle School. Monthly business meeting for approval of bills, appointment of staff, and curricular changes. Included among the business items are the receipt of the 2010-11 financial audit, approval of transportation routes, and acceptance of PTO donations.

The Board of Education will meet in closed session to discuss qualifications of candidates for the superintendency effective July 1, 2012 on Wednesday November 2, 2011 from 3:30 - 5:30 pm. The Board will also meet in closed session to interview superintendent candidates on Monday, November 7 from 12:00 noon - 7:00 pm. The meetings will occur at the Board of Education building, 101 Peachtree Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920, no formal action will be taken at these meetings.

Due to scheduling conflicts and issues related to the recent storm, the Ridge High School Marching Band Competition has been canceled. We thank the students and RHS Marching Band Parents' Association for their countless hours of dedicated support to their children and all participants of this activity.


The Ridge PTO is pleased to present a re-screening of the movie "Race to Nowhere" at 7:00 P.M. November 3rd in the Ridge PAC. Tickets will cost $10 in advance, $15 at the door; details on pre-purchase are forthcoming. Ridge students will be admitted free with a Ridge ID; Annin students accompanied by a paying parent will also be allowed in free (please note that the content may not be appropriate for middle school-aged children). A discussion of the topics addressed in the movie will be held immediately after the screening. Those who have seen the movie before but who wish to partake in the discussion will be allowed in at no charge after 8:15 P.M.


Memo from Dr. Valerie Goger...
Please click here to read the memo for school closing updated information.

Please be advised...due to the loss of power in many homes associated with the storm, students will not be expected to have homework completed that was assigned over the weekend. The weather has caused enough problems; homework should not add to that stress.

Transportation Update...
As of Friday, September 30, 2011 all parents whose children are being bused to school should have received a new bus pass in the mail with a bus assignment for a route to take effect the morning of Monday October 3, 2011. The bus pass should mirror information posted on the Registration tab of Home Access Center. Drivers have been practicing the new routes this week.

These new passes that were sent to parents are designed to improve the overall transportation situation in the District. However, some parents have communicated to BaskingRidge@sc.esc.k12.nj.us a concern with the new bus assignment or they have requested to keep their current bus assignment. The Somerset County Educational Services Commission (SCESC) has addressed as many of these concerns as possible in an effort to make sensible adjustments to the new routes. Parents involved in these adjustments would have had direct communication from SCESC in this regard.

In order to lock in the new routes and bus pass assignments taking effect the morning of Monday October 3, 2011 efforts to address parental requests for bus pass adjustments were suspended on Thursday, September 29th at 4PM. As of noon on Friday September 30th all current bus assignments, including any adjustments that were made during the week, have been reloaded into Home Access Center. In conclusion, all current bus assignments are presently loaded into Home Access Center and these bus assignments are to be adhered to effective the morning of Monday, October 3, 2011. Parents are encouraged to review the bus assignment on the Registration tab of Home Access Center once more before October 3rd.

Continued efforts to fine-tune bus routes will commence next week. Your patience is appreciated. 


Applications for the PALS Pre-K class are now being accepted.
Click here for more information.


For election polling locations, please click here.

For School Election, Budget and Absentee Ballot information, please click here. 


Please click here for RHS 9 period day scheduling information.

Ridge senior Shannon McNamara recently spoke at the White House on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day. Shannon is the founder of SHARE (Shannon's After-school Reading Exchange), an effort dedicated to providing reading materials to girls in Tanzania. First Lady Michelle Obama recognizes Shannon several times in her remarks to the assembled guests. Congratulations to Shannon, and our community's thanks for her dedication to such a wonderful cause!

Shannon's speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCU4L-tG834
Mrs. Obama's speech
http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2011/03/08/first-lady-international-womens-day


SOLAR PANEL PROJECT
The proposed Solar Panel Project for the district was
discussed at the April 25, 2011 Board of Education meeting.  Please click here for more information.



Presentation: A Snapshot of Special Education in Bernards Township
presented at the February 14, 2011 Board of Education Meeting.

Bernards Township Parent Initiative
“Working To Keep Our Full Day Kindergarten Program”
www.brfulldayk.org


The Math Department has established a scholarship fund in memory of Fern Wilson. Anyone interested in making a contribution should send a donation payable to The Ridge High Activity Fund, note "Fern Wilson Memorial Scholarship."
Ridge High School
268 S. Finley Avenue
Basking Ridge NJ 07920
Attention: Marsha Moroni


From the Bernards Township Health Department...
H1N1 Influenza Vaccination Clinic - New for April 2010


Congratulations to Liberty Corner School!
They were selected as a 2010 National Schools of Character Promising Practices award winner. The Character Education Partnership selected their practice, “Character Rocks”, to serve as a model for others to possibly replicate and integrate into their character education initiatives. Click here to learn more.

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!
Forbes names our district as one of its 25 Best Schools For Your Housing Buck!! "That winning combination - - a high-quality education and a great home - - helped Basking Ridge rank as one of our Best Schools for the Housing Buck.

For its median home price of $628,100, the schools earn an Education Quality Score of 95.31 on a scale of 100 - - the best at the price point in the state of New Jersey. The town also has a low unemployment rate (6.9%) compared to the national average."
Please click here to read the article at Forbes.com.


The International Technology Education Association (ITEA) announced this week that William Annin has been given the International Technology Education Middle School Program Excellence Award. This prestigious award identifies quality programs of technology education that are in place to help students become more technologically literate. These programs are identified as ‘international model programs’ and will be published in The Technology Teacher, the journal of the International Technology Education Association. In the future, Annin may have the opportunity to host teachers from other states if not other nations to share their Technology Education Program. Programs from Spain, Australia, Great Britain and Canada were just some of the countries that have in the past been represented by this International Technology Education Association Award! Our congratulations to technology faculty members Nick Beykirch, Mike Levy, and Germaine Ogitis for developing and delivering such an outstanding program. Extra kudos to Nick Beykirch who was also named ITEA’s Teacher of the Year! They will be honored at a conference in North Carolina in March.


2010 Govenor Teacher of the Year Recipients...
Barbara DeLorenzo, WA; Michael Pepitone, MP; Andrew Henthorn, LC;
Tracy Underhill, CH; Margaret Mitchell, RH; & Megan Malone, OS 

 
Congratulations to Oak Street School Reading Specialist Kristin Bobowicz who has been named 2009 Somerset County Teacher of the Year!!
The Bernards Township Board of Education is proud to present the 2009 Governor’s Teachers of the Year Recipients.
Congratulations to...
Elizabeth Freisen - Cedar Hill School
Karen Finazzo - Liberty Corner School
Angela Hall - Mount Prospect School
Theresa Foy - Oak Street School
John Fry - Ridge High School
Jim Buist - William Annin Middle School 

Ridge High School was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a National Blue Ribbon School November 3, 2009 in Washington D.C.

From left to right, Superintendent, Dr. Valerie Goger, Sean Siet, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Aba Kumi, Director of NCLB-Blue Ribbon Schools Program, U.S. Department of Education, and Frank Howlett, Principal.Significant Drivers of Enrollment in Bernards Township Schools - October 31, 2008.  Please click here to read the report. 


Fox News at William Annin Middle School.
The clips below are from the appearance on Fox News on Inauguration Day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cgU2E_R29Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QaK6acdQoM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1f31K2Oa0w

NJEA Hero Award Winner John Gullifer
Philadelphia Eagles' Omar Gaither presents Mr. Gullifer with the award



Information on Random Drug Testing
Student drug-testing programs: do these programs negatively impact students?
Adapted from a research report (unpublished) of Christina Steffner
Principal Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, New Jersey, USA
By: C. E. Edwards
July 2008

Drug testing athletes to prevent substance abuse: background and pilot study results of the SATURN (student athlete testing using random notification) study.
Journal of Adolescent Health, Volume 32, Issue 1, , January 2003, Pages 16-25
Linn Goldberg, Diane L. Elliot, David P. MacKinnon, Esther Moe, Kerry S. Kuehl, Liva Nohre, Chondra M. Lockwood.
Access the ScienceDirect Info site if you have questions about this message or other features of this service.

WWC Quick Review of the Article "Outcomes of a Prospective Trial of Student-Athlete Drug Testing: The Student Athlete Testing Using Random Notification (SATURN) Study"1
1"Outcomes of a Prospective Trial of Student-Athlete Drug Testing: The Student Athlete Testing Using Random Notification (SATURN) Study." Journal of Adolescent Health 41 (2007) 421-429. Linn Goldberg, Diane Elliot, David P. MacKinnon, Esther L. Moe, Kerry S. Kuehl, Myeongsun Yoon, Aaron Taylor, and Jason Williams.

A Message from the Bernards Township Health Department:
The #1 way to prevent the spread of colds and flu this season is by washing your hands or using hand sanitizer. Click here for a quick three minute video on how to wash your hands and use hand sanitizer.
Message from N.J. Department of Health regarding MRSA Information.

Message from N.J. Department of Health regarding Flu Immunization.

Voluntary Random Drug Testing
Bernards Township Board of Education Presentation on Voluntary Random Drug Testing - May 14, 2007
» Download Voluntary Random Drug Testing Presentation (PDF 144KB)

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