Dear Staff and Community Members,

I hope that everyone's new year has gotten off to a great start! Things have been quite busy in the District as one of our biggest referendum projects was concluded (see Ribbon Cutting below!) and a new one began (Elevator at Wolf Hill School). We also began the bidding process for the final projects of this multi-year initiative. This month was also exciting as our Wolf Hill family grew by two additional PreK classes! All of this required quite a number of classroom moves, and it is the flexibility and dedication of our staff that allowed for easy transitions for our students. It was certainly a team effort and a huge thank you to all involved!

As we head into February, I wanted to follow up on the Board's communication regarding a personnel appointment. Mr. John Russo was appointed as the Interim Superintendent for the District at Monday evening's Board of Education meeting. Read below for a little introduction to Mr. Russo. Mr. Russo will join me on February 26th as he acclimates until my last day in district, which is February 29, 2024.

Have a wonderful month of February!

Dr. Laura Godlesky

Mr. Russo has been an educator for thirty years. Mr. Russo served as an assistant principal in Keyport, principal in Tinton Falls, assistant superintendent in Middletown, and superintendent in Tinton Falls. Mr. Russo also recently served in several interim positions, including superintendent in Avon, Brielle, and Plumsted and principal in North Hanover and Hazlet. Mr. Russo is excited to work with the Oceanport school community and the Board of Education during this transition.

Mrs. Patricia Kelly was reelected this past November to serve in her second full term on the Board of Education. Mrs. Kelly brings a lot of expertise in the area of education to the Board of Education as she is currently in her 17th year as a teacher, and currently is teaching social studies in Middletown. In that role, she also serves on committees and advises a club, understanding the various roles that teachers hold within a district. She has a Bachelor's of Arts in Education from The College of New Jersey and a Master's in European History from Monmouth University. Mrs. Kelly is a student advocate at heart and works to ensure that our district frames decisions around what is best for children. She currently is the chair of the Policy Committee and sits on the Curriculum and Instruction Committee for the Board. She and her husband Scott are also parents in the district as well. Their son is currently enrolled in the Oceanport Pre-K program and they have twin two-year old girls.

Deirdre Bova began her tenure on the Oceanport Board of Education in 2019 and is excited to begin her third term this year. Ms. Bova is the Board’s Vice President, and she also serves on two Board committees; she is chair of the Curriculum and Instruction Committee and also member of the Personnel Committee. Ms. Bova has been residing in Oceanport since 2012, and she is married to Andy Bova, a music producer and third-generation Oceanport resident. Deirdre and Andy have two daughters, Audrey (Shore Regional Freshman) and Ella (8th Grader at Maple Place). Ms. Bova is an assistant principal at Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School and is in her 24th year as an educator. She is an active member of her local church, and she continues to hone her love of education in teaching Sunday school there to 4th-6th graders. Ms. Bova wishes to thank the community for their continued support in the success of the District, and she is honored to serve the students of Oceanport as a Board member.

Mr. Neal Usatin is honored to serve the families and communities of Oceanport and Sea Bright in his second term on the Oceanport Schools Board of Education. Neal is the Board’s liaison to the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) and Monmouth County School Boards Association. Through coursework and seminars offered by NJSBA, Neal enhances his service to ensure that the children of both towns get the education they deserve – the best. Neal is a film and television editor with over 25 years of experience and in his second year of business school at UNC Chapel Hill. Family time is the life blood of the Usatin household, filled with storytelling, laughter, music, and four-part harmonies. They also love to travel, camp, hike, and search for the best burgers. Neal is grateful to share his love of learning, instilled in him by tremendous public school teachers, and he would like to thank Oceanport and Sea Bright for their continual support.

When school opened up on January 2, 2024, the construction walls were removed and students were able to utilize our new staircase and get to their new classrooms on the third floor which was created through the attic expansion project. Additionally, the renovations on the 2nd floor were also complete. Some final touches were just put into place this week, with added bulletin boards and decals that personalize the space. Check out some pics below!

This marks another milestone in our Referendum progress. Please join us in the Wolf Hill School Cafeteria at 6pm on February 7, 2024 for our Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to officially celebrate this space, and tour all renovated areas and additions.

Please RSVP to Rosalie Cuoco at rcuoco@oceanportschools.org if you are able to attend!

Maple Place Middle School once again participated in The Great Kindness Challenge this past month! Mrs. Bonett worked hard to ensure that our middle schoolers viewed the week from a lens of kindness. Every morning started with kindness quotes on the announcements and there were kindness reminders on the lockers in the hallway. Additionally, there were interactive cafeteria lessons with all grades during lunch. During these lessons, the students were asked to complete one of the sentence starters about showing kindness to themselves, to others, and to their teachers. The responses were very thoughtful. These responses are hung around the "Be the 'I' in Kind" display in the main hallway. For these efforts, Maple Place Middle School was again deemed a Kindness Certified School! Congrats to Maple Place! Check out some pics below!

This year Maple Place had 25 7th & 8th grade students participate in the Future City Competition sponsored by Discovery Education. The students were challenged with this scenario and problem:

Imagine your city at least 100 years in the future. Think about different forms of green, clean, and renewable forms of energy. What if your city were powered entirely by electricity generated from sources like these? How would it look, smell, sound, and feel different? For the competition, your team will design a 100% electrically powered city with energy generated from sources that keep your citizens and the environment healthy and safe.

From October to January, the students worked in collaborative teams to research and plan their Future Cities. The students were mentored weekly by 2 civil engineers, interviewed a Micro-grid expert, and had other guest speakers, including parent Kari Martin, to inform them about the many issues and factors they would need to consider to plan their cities. The Future City Competition hits many different learning standards in ELA, Math, Science, 21st Century Learning, Engineering & Design, Social Studies, and Visual Arts.

Maple Place sent 6 teams to competition under the guidance of their Gifted and Talented teacher, Mrs. Nicole Goldsmith. Oceanport Schools had phenomenal success competing against 50 teams from across the state of New Jersey! Team RaTufnut (RA-TUFF-NOOT) received a special award for Best Use of Energy Systems finishing in 14th place. Eloise Landua, Melody Miano, Teagan DeStefano represented the team on Saturday while Aubrey Guinta, Lilly Newland and Ryan Schiavo were also contributing members of that team. Team Waitara (WHY-A-TARRA) finished in third place overall. Making the top 3 is a huge recognition as the team had to perform their presentation on stage in front of the entire crowd. Team Waitara's members are Ella Bova, Kate Patton, Alyssa Terwiliger, and alternate Emme Testa was also present at the competition to assist the team with Q&A. Team member Izzy Stroka did not attend but contributed to the project as well. Mrs. Goldsmith was awarded with a $750 STEM grant for the third-place finish to support learning in this area at Maple Place School.

Congratulations to all!

On January 2, 2024, the Oceanport School District welcomed two new classes of PreK students to the Wolf Hill community. These new 3 & 4 year old students have already acclimated to their new classrooms, teachers, and support staff.

Next year the Oceanport School District will continue its PreK expansion with the addition of one more 3/4 year old classroom. At the current time, registration for new PreK students for the 2024-2025 school year is open. Details can be found in the flyer below. Please check out the details in Mr. Maglione's letter linked below or from the QR Code on the flyer.

Please note, this is for *new* students only. Current PreK students are already registered and will remain as students in the District as long as they are eligible.

At the January 17, 2024 Board of Education Meeting, the District Goal Update was presented. This update provides artifacts in how the district is progressing in their annual goals. It is a great snapshot of where we are currently, and provides some insight as to what to expect for the rest of the year. All District Goals are approved in the summer prior to the start of the school year, and are aligned to the three and five year goals set forth in the District Strategic Plan. Please click below to view the presentation.

Please see the flyer below for more information about upcoming ADL meetings and socials. All are welcome, and the ADL executive board would love to invite new members to attend.