Falcon Flyer

Each year throughout the State of New Jersey schools recognize one teacher and one educational service professional with the distinction of being a Governor’s Educator Award recipient.

Please join me in congratulating this year’s recipients:

• Kimberly Serzan, JTHS Governor’s Teacher of the Year
• Jasminka Nakev, JTHS Governor’s Educational Services Professional of the Year
• Alyssa Guagenti, JTMS Governor’s Teacher of the Year
• Karen Roccisano, the JTMS Governor’s Educational Services Professional of the Year
• Jennifer Tamayne-Hettema, White Rock Governor’s Teacher of the Year
• Theresa Eskow, White Rock Governor’s Educational Services Professional of the Year
• Katherine Uvino, Stanlick Governor’s Teacher of the Year
• Gina Santini, Stanlick Governor’s Educational Services Professional of the Year
• Anne Arias, Cozy Lake Governor’s Teacher of the Year
• Meredith Cruz, Cozy Lake Governor’s Educational Services Professional of the Year
• Marin Greene, Briggs Governor’s Teacher of the Year
• Elizabeth West, Briggs Governor’s Educational Services Professional of the Year

Thank you for your outstanding contributions to Jefferson Township Public Schools.

Congratulations to Katerina Loncar who recently signed her National Letter of Intent to continue her academic and soccer career at Division 1 LaSalle University in Pennsylvania.

Thank you to everyone who came out to support our JTHS artists and art teachers at Grand Cascades Lodge at Crystal Springs for the annual Jack-O-Lantern carving contest. It was a beautiful fall night with a lot of Falcon faces in attendance which was greatly appreciated. JTHS entered the contest using the theme "mythological creatures" and I am proud to announce a big congratulations to JTHS Senior Maggie Gesek for winning "Most Original Design" from the judges and a $100 gift card. Our art students and teachers in this district continue to prove that they are among the best in New Jersey.

Mr. Nicholas and his JTHS STEM Academy students designed and laser-cut several large paint stencils of the new and updated ADA handicapped parking logo. The new logo is more inclusive of those who are wheelchair-bound and reflective of the active lifestyle that many live. Student volunteers from the JTHS STEM Academy joined forces with our buildings and grounds staff to put those stencils to use and paint the new logo onto the handicapped parking spaces all across our district. Students learned how to operate the line painting machine, worked together to positively impact our district, and put their "design for community" class mantra into action. Thank you to Mr. Nicholas for leading this design and getting his students to volunteer and to Mr. Serignese for his help with the paint and manpower.

The Transportation Department is thrilled to add 4 busses to our fleet despite significant delays due to supply chain issues. Two 54-passenger busses and two 29-passenger busses have been put into service.

Author Shauna Cagan came to read her book Addie and the Amazing Acrobats to our students. Shauna talked about the writing process and sang songs with the students. Families were able to pre-purchase her book and have it autographed.

Thanks to the DeGeorge family, students were able to participate in a Touch-a-Truck event with an emergency vehicle from NJ Transit. The NJ Transit officers also brought a drug-sniffing dog and showed the students how the dog searches and finds narcotics.

As a result of the overwhelming generosity of our families and the community, enough money was raised by the PTA to host Slime Day. During Slime Day, Mrs. De Brito, Mrs. Howe, Mayor Wilsusen, Officer Ryan McGowan, and Custodian Vinnie Macaluso (Mr. Vinnie) were slimed to the delight of all of our students.

Briggs classes were challenged to a scarecrow contest. Mayor Wilsusen judged and picked the winning class from each grade level. Winning classes received a celebration pajama day.

Over the past few weeks Mrs. Povinelli's Preschool class has been exploring different types of bread. The students have been very excited to gather ingredients, follow a recipe, and create a bread dish in our upcoming baking activity. Our dramatic play area has been transformed into a pizzeria, where the students love creating pizza dishes for each other. They are also focusing on fine motor skills through various seasonal crafts and discussing the many things they are thankful for.

Our school community took the opportunity to welcome and recognize our school community's veterans. Students sang songs and demonstrated their newly learned sign language skills.

Stanlick honored 28 veterans at their annual Veterans Day celebration. The honorees were invited to a welcome breakfast and participated in an outdoor ceremony around the flagpole where our students sang patriotic songs. Following the ceremony, the veterans visited our classrooms to share their experiences with our community.

On November 3rd, everyone read The Magical Yet. The students created YET banners where they identified something they are working hard to accomplish as they practice a strong growth mindset.

Stanlick students also got in on the slime fun with Dr. Papa as the main event. The JCPTA raised $32,800 during the Falcon Fun Run last month. As a result, Mrs. Howe, Mayor Wilsusen, Dr. Papa, Mr. Jose, Miss Nimmo, and members of the JTPD were slimed on Friday, November 17th.

The Stanlick community participated in Jumpstart Kids Read for the Record. Every class read With Lots of Love by Jenny Torres Sanchez. By participating in this reading program, we joined approximately 26 million people from around the world by reading the book on October 26th. As an extension activity, our students created positive messages filled with love to display outside the main office.

Students wore costumes to school to celebrate Halloween. They learned about Halloween safety and participated in related games and activities. The Milton Tri-School PTA provided special snacks and the Jefferson Township Police Department presented each child with a prize. Thank you to both groups for their ongoing generosity.

The students received a lesson in fire safety from Fire Company # 1. Children were taught the importance of fire safety: regularly check smoke detector batteries, planning a meeting place in the event of a fire, stop, drop, and roll, and using the back of their hand to check a closed door before opening it. Following these simple steps can help prevent a disaster.

In honor of parents, relatives, and friends who served our country, a special Veterans Day program was held. Under the direction of music teachers Mr. Tiedemann and Miss Kirschner, children sang patriotic songs to over 40 veterans. Our visiting heroes had the opportunity to speak with the children about the branch of the armed forces they served, how many years they served in the military, and the price of freedom.

Congratulations to our students who auditioned to perform with the Sussex County Junior Honors Band and Chorus. This year, 15 of our students were selected to participate in these high level performance groups. A special congratulations to Mrs. Kulick, Middle School Band Director for being chosen to conduct this year’s Sussex County Junior Honors Band. We are so proud of Mrs. Kulick’s well-deserved distinguished honor.

The Middle School inducted 29 seventh and eighth students into the Tri-M Music Honor Society. A lovely ceremony took place with solo performances by violinist, Trevor Zorzi and vocalist, McKenna Vasquez, and a clarinet duet performed by Natasha Jacoby and Leilah Marshall. Congratulations to these exemplary students.

JTMS Honor Roll and High Honor Roll students were recently awarded their certificates for the first marking period.

A representative from the Visions Federal Credit Union’s JTHS branch visited 6th and 7th graders during their Financial Literacy classes. Part of the discussion was the importance of financial literacy and how credit unions help to become fiscally responsible. Students continue to work on their stock market game portfolios and learn how the stock market functions and how world events impact the markets and economy.

Congratulations to the October Falcon Pride Student Recognition Award recipients: Camila Sanchez, Patrick Bubniak, and Tim Connolly who contribute to their school community in their own unique ways and are leaders among their peers.

The JTHS community hosted a Veterans Day celebration. Classes from every department were invited to meet with a group of volunteer veterans; they discussed their military experiences and answered student questions. Over 500 students visited throughout the day to speak with our veterans and learn about their sacrifice and the opportunities that the military can provide for our students' futures. A huge thank you to all of our veteran volunteers, the teachers who brought their classes and helped run this event, our administration for supporting the event, and the JTEA for sponsoring the event through a generous grant.

Congratulations to our Debate Team and their coach, Mrs. Vandigriff, for placing first at the Dover Tournament on October 27th. A special shout-out to Ava McFarquhar and Delphina Barnor for going undefeated.

JTHS held its second successful college fair of the school year on October 25th. There were 60 colleges and over 110 students in grades 10-12 in attendance.

Students were invited to join their guidance counselor for snacks as they worked on their college applications during their lunch and academic block.

Are you looking for a part-time job with hours to fit perfectly with your child's school schedule?

Jefferson Township Public Schools is now hiring dedicated individuals like you to join our team.

• Substitute School Nurse
• Special Education Aide
• School Bus Aide
• School Bus Driver