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The following is a summary of the April 23, 2015, Combined Conference & Regular Meeting of
the Berkeley Heights Board of Education:
Report of the Student Representatives –
Christopher Weeks reported on the following:
• The National Honor Society Induction Ceremony at Governor Livingston.
• Recent activities of the GL Student Ambassadors.
• The GLHS Student Council Blood Drive.
• The Junior Semi-Formal.
• The results and records of all GL Spring Sports Teams so far this season.
Superintendent’s Report:
• -Mrs. Rattner announced the names of the district staff members chosen as “Educator of
the Year” in their respective schools for 2014-2015: Ms. Laura Doeringer (Mary Kay
McMillin Early Childhood Center), Ms. Cristina Cerulo (Thomas P. Hughes School), Ms.
Laurie Liming (Mountain Park School), Mrs. Cheryl McKinney (William Woodruff
School), Mrs. Dawn McGann (Columbia Middle School), and Mr. Joseph Voorhees
(Governor Livingston High School). These outstanding teachers will be honored at a
ceremony during the public meeting of the Board of Education on Thursday, May 7th at
7:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Governor Livingston High School.
•
-Mrs. Anne Corley-Hand, Principal of Mary Kay McMillin Early Childhood Center; and
Mrs. Michele Gardner, District Director of Special Services, provided a report on
Collaborative Inclusion at the Early Childhood Center. Learn more about this initiative
by clicking here.
•
Mr. Frank Geiger, Principal of Columbia Middle School, delivered a presentation about a
proposed change in the school’s daily schedule for the 2015-2016 year; click here to find
out more about this proposal.
•
Mr. Geiger also provided a PowerPoint presentation of the Data Dashboard. This
recently-developed compilation of statistics provides a picture of how well Columbia
Middle School students perform on various standardized tests as compared to students in
middle schools in 20 other school districts that are similar demographically to Berkeley
Heights. Click here to see this presentation.
•
Mrs. Rattner reported on two very beneficial parents programs that were held recently at
Governor Livingston: “How to Write an Effective College Essay” with Randy Levin; and
“Ryan’s Story,” dealing with the devastating impact of cyber-bullying, presented by John
Haligan.
•
Mrs. Rattner announced that the End of Year (EOY) PARCC testing session would begin
on Monday, April 27th.
Superintendent’s Report (continued):
•
The Superintendent also reported on recent happenings at the elementary schools:
-At McMillin: First Graders enjoyed a Honey Bee assembly; there was a Community
Celebration for April birthdays and the theme of the celebration was “Respect The
Earth;” and students kicked off the St. Jude’s Bike-A-Thon.
-At Hughes: A “Bollywood” Indian Dance Assembly was well-received by students; and
each student received a tree to bring home and plant in observance of Arbor Day.
-At Mountain Park: Teachers, parents and volunteers from the community presented 25
workshops on a variety of music-related subjects on “Music Day,” with the highlight of
this event being a performance by jazz musician Hayes Greenfield. In addition, the
Safety Patrol sponsored a Used Book Sale and $218 was raised and donated to the Cystic
Fibrosis Foundation.
-At Woodruff: Fourth Graders sent care packages to a day care center in Appalachia;
Fifth Graders presented a Living Museum where they dressed as famous people and
spoke about their lives; and Grade 5 students also learned ballroom dancing and
demonstrated what they had learned to the entire school.
The Board of Education formally voted to approve the following:
•
•
The employment of Mr.
Robert Nixon as
Principal of Governor
Livingston High School,
effective July 1, 2015.
Mr. Nixon is currently
the Assistant
Superintendent for
Curriculum and
Instruction in the Bound
Brook Public Schools.
He had served as
Assistant Principal at
Governor Livingston
from July 2012, through
June 2014.
Robert Nixon (center), who was appointed Principal of Governor Livingston High School
at the April 23 BOE meeting, pictured with current GL Principal Scott McKinney (left)
and Superintendent of Schools Judith A. Rattner (right)
Several personnel-related resolutions, including the appointment of two substitute/
replacement teachers for the remainder of this school year, the re-employment of
non-tenured professional staff for the 2015-2016 school year; the employment of athletic
team coaches and band personnel for 2015-2016; and the acceptance of retirements from
the following staff members: Ms. Joyce Hayes, District Director of Guidance and
Supervisor of School Nurses; Kathleen Grysko, Teacher of Health and Physical
Education; and Catherine Alexis, Paraprofessional.
The Board of Education will conduct a Combined Conference and Regular Meeting and
Public Meeting to Adopt the 2015-2016 Budget on Thursday, May 7th in the Auditorium of
Governor Livingston High School. The public meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. with a
reception and ceremony honoring the 2014-2015 “Educators of the Year” in the Berkeley
Heights Public Schools.