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March 28, 7PM at RS
BOE Public Budget Hearing
March 29
End of Marking Period
March 30, 6PM at HS
Faculty/Varsity Charity Basketball for Trevor
April 2, 7PM at WS
PTA General Mtg. & Ice Cream Social
April 5
Report Cards & Portfolios Issued
April 6-15
Spring Recess - Schools Closed
April 18, 7:30PM at RS
BOE Meeting
April 19
NJ ASK Open House at RS
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BOE Approves Tentative Budget
Public Hearing March 28
The Manchester Township Board of Education, at a March 1 Special Meeting, approved a resolution to adopt the tentative 2012/2013 Manchester Township School District budget with a General Fund Tax Levy of $39,331,303.
Business Administrator, Craig Lorentzen said that the budget is within the state mandated cap requirements with no waivers to raise additional taxes and therefore would not be subject to a public vote under new regulations. [Read Full Article]
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March BOE Highlights
BOE Self Evaluations, a new Parent Portal on the district website, curriculum, and money-saving efforts by the district were among the topics discussed at the March 21, 2012 Manchester Board of Education meeting.BOE Self Evaluation
BOE President, Donald Webster, Jr., reported that the BOE members completed their annual Self Evaluation Process and presented a summary of the findings.
Parent Portal on Web
Superintendent of Schools, David Trethaway, said that the district is using the district's website to try to make it easier for parents to engage in the education process from home. He said that the high school and middle school would begin a pilot program of a new Parent Portal that will allow parents to access their child's attendance, grades, and other important information at any time through the website.
Curriculum
Revised curricula for a number of subject areas and grade levels were approved by the board. Trethaway told the Board that both state tests, HSPA and NJASK, will be discontinued next year and replaced by a new test, with a one-year gap before the new test begins. A new test could mean changes in the curriculum, however, Trethaway said that the advice the district received from the state is to continue to concentrate on the common core standards. "We have been stressing this through our professional development and are on target with the state requirements," he said.
Service Project Highlighted
Trethaway showed a video clip from the NJEA Classroom Closeup television program which featured the Helping Hands for Hunger food drive at Manchester Township High School. This drive, organized the by the school's Peer Leadership Program, provided over 200 Thanksgiving food baskets to local families in need. Trethaway remarked that, although test scores and other statistics are important, he wanted to highlight some of the other ways Manchester students excel.
Lunch Ingredient Concerns
Recent items in the news about school lunch programs using questionable ingredients, in particular "pink slime" and ammonium hydroxide, should not cause concern in Manchester, Trethaway said. "I have been assured by Sodexo, our food service provider, that they do not buy or use any of those products."Dating Violence Policy
A new policy and regulations regarding Dating Violence were approved by the board. Trethaway said this is a new mandate. He mentioned that he read an article that stated that one in three teenage relationships involve some kind of abuse. "So this is something we definitely should be more aware of," he remarked.QSAC
The district completed its QSAC review by the County Superintendent, Trethaway reported. "They look at five areas: operations, governance, finance, curriculum & instruction, and personnel," he said. "The County Superintendent complimented us for being very well prepared. I want to thank Tom Baxter and his committee for a job well done." The final report should come back in a few weeks.District Working to Save Money, Lower Costs
Business Administrator, Craig Lorentzen, reported on several ways the district is working to save money. The district saved about $380,000 over the past three years on school and office supplies by using a co-op called Educational Data; the refinancing of bonds at a lower interest rate will save the district $550,000; and a $26,000 safety grant from the district's insurance company will be used next year for security improvements.
Financial Reporting Award
Lorentzen also announced that the district once again qualified for the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting, for the 16th consecutive year. "This is a tremendous achievement for the Business Office staff, the Board of Education and the entire district. It is a result of an exceptional team effort," he said.
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Police Dept. Brings G.R.E.A.T. Program to Middle School
 Seventh graders at Manchester Township Middle School are participating in a new program called G.R.E.A.T. and they think the program is, well, pretty great. G.R.E.A.T. stands for Gang Resistance Education and Training and it is being taught in health classes by Manchester Township Police officers Patrolman Pat Morgan and Sgt. Charles Brooks. Manchester is one of only two schools in Ocean County to receive a police department grant to bring this program into its schools.
G.R.E.A.T.'s violence prevention curriculum is a life-skills competency program designed to provide students with the skills they need to avoid gang pressure and youth violence. The curriculum can be used in conjunction with other prevention programs encouraging positive relationships among the community, parents, schools, and law enforcement. It is a 13-lesson program that will be taught over 10 weeks at the middle school in 7th grade health classes. Half of the 7th graders will take part this year, and next year they will expand to all of the 7th graders. [Read Full Article] |
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