On June 20, 415 J.P. Case
Middle School 8th-graders were
promoted to 9th-grade. I am so
proud and honored to have
taken part in this special
celebration. The evening was
filled with tradition, inspiration,
joy and excitement.
Promotion is always a
special time that allows us to
come together to celebrate our
graduates’ many achievements.
Together, we look toward their
bright future as they continue
their journey as life-long
learners. We
wish them the
very best in
high school
and beyond!
Our district is proud to launch our new Twitter account. Follow us
@FlemRarSchools and #frsd to receive instant information. We look
forward to using Twitter as an immediate, effective and relevant form of
communication for students, staff members, families and community
members. News, announcements and alerts will be shared via Twitter as
well as through our other communication channels, including our web
site, list serve, eNewsletters and automated phone messages.
Help us spread the word and encourage others to find and follow us
on Twitter.
J.P. Case Middle School promotes the Class of 2014! About News & Notes
News & Notes is all about our students and
our team here in the Flemington-Raritan
School District. Together, we are all
working hard, focusing on our tasks, meeting
our deadlines and looking ahead to what
will face us in the future. But as we embrace
tomorrow’s challenges, it is important to recognize how far we’ve come, how
much we’ve achieved and how proud we are to be a
part of this district. All of us play a significant role
here at FRSD. Each of us contributes to every
student’s educational journey through our
schools. News & Notes
celebrates achievements, highlights initiatives and
shares our progress. But more importantly, it
showcases our students, teachers and staff
members who make our schools outstanding. It is for these reasons and so
many more that I am so very fortunate to serve as
your Superintendent.
In this issue: Promotion
FRSD joins Twitter
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Retirees Recognized
Meet Ms. Collins
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Math Awards 3
Star Students 4
FRSD launches new Twitter account to instantly communicate
News & Notes from the Superintendent’s Desk
Flemington-Raritan
Summer 2014 Contact: [email protected]
Regional School District
Congratulations and best wishes for much success at Hunterdon Central!
Greatest Books 5
Recipients of the “Principal Paw” high honor are pictured above, with Vice
Principal Peter Sibilia (left), Vice Principal Anthony DeMarco (far right) and
Principal Robert Castellano (inside right).
Find us on Twitter @FlemRarSchools and #frsd to get news, alerts, updates and much more.
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FRSD welcomes Dana Collins as new Math/Science Supervisor
Lynn Douglass—School Psychologist, Special Services
Susan Dunnigan—Reading Recovery, Robert Hunter
Patricia Force—MD/LEAP, Copper Hill
Roseann Lane—Grade 6 Lang. Arts, Reading-Fleming
Susan Mitcheltree—Resource Center, Copper Hill
Katherine O’Leary—Kindergarten, Barley Sheaf
Jennifer Pavuk-—Grade 6 Science, Reading-Fleming
Sandra Pollock— Math/Science Supervisor
Joan Ribaudo – Secretary to the Asst. Superintendent
Deborah Ricard—G&T Math, Robert Hunter
Kathy Schilder—School Nurse, Desmares
Sharon Shepperd—Social Worker, Special Services
Gone but Never Forgotten: FRSD honors our retirees Congratulations and best wishes to this year’s retirees!
On May 30, students at Francis A. Desmares
School took part in an Olympic celebration
during annual field day festivities. Paralympian
Maureen Ryan Esposito conducted Olympic-
style events in the school gym by sharing stories
of her Paralympic Games experiences. The
students witnessed and participated in Olympic
J.P. Case ranks 4th!
J.P. Case Middle School
ranked 4th on the list of the top 10 fundraising schools in the
state by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. They raised
$6,849.77. Well done!
Kudos to Rishubh!
We congratulate J.P. Case
8th-grader Rishubh Thaper for
winning the middle school
division of the MusicFirst
composition contest. Compose-
First was open to all students in
the United States! Rishub's
Symphony No. 3 was performed
by the J.P. Case Symphony
Orchestra during its spring
concert and at Hershey. It was
also selected as a finalist for the
New Jersey Music Educators
composition, the only middle
school finalist in the state.
Below is a list of staff retirements in our
district for the 2013-2014 school year. We
extend a sincere thank you to each retiree for
their dedication and valuable contributions to
our students and schools. We wish them much
health and happiness in their retirement years!
Linda Brown—Grade 6 Math, Reading-Fleming
Eva Carmona—ESL, Robert Hunter
Homeroom Assignments
Parents, mark your
calendars! Please
remember that postcards
announcing student
homeroom assignments
for the 2014-2015 school
year will not be mailed
home this summer. Once
again, teacher/homeroom
assignments will be
available on our district's
online Parent
Portal on
August 22.
Desmares hosts Olympic Day as part of annual field day fun
and Paralympic sports such as goalball (a
sport for the blind and visually impaired),
soccer, sitting volleyball, tandem cycling and
running events. The students truly enjoyed
their Olympic Day fun.
To learn more, visit: www.teamusa.org/
olympicday.
We are very pleased to welcome to our
district our new Math/Science Supervisor Dana
Collins. Ms. Collins succeeds Mrs. Sandra
Pollock who retired at the end of the 2013-2014
school year.
Ms. Collins completed her undergraduate
studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University (NJ),
earned her master’s degree from Wilkes
University (PA), and completed her math
certification from New Jersey City University.
She comes to us with over 10 years of teaching
experience in grades 6 through 12.
Throughout her career, Ms. Collins has
served on numerous curriculum committees,
mentored new mathematics teachers, planned
and delivered numerous professional
development classes and was a National Honor
Society advisor.
In 2006-2007, Ms. Collins was awarded the
New Jersey Governor’s Teacher of the Year
award and later was selected as a member of
the Governor’s Teacher Recognition Program
Selection Committee.
We are delighted to welcome Ms. Collins
to our administrative team and to the FRSD
family. We wish her the very best in her new
role here in our district.
Dana Collins
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On June 11, the students at Copper Hill School unveiled a new Buddy Bench during
school spirit assemblies. Lisa Hutchison’s 2nd-grade class performed a skit to introduce
the bench and its purpose to fellow students.
The bench is placed on the school playground and is used to help lonely children find
a friend to play with. A child feeling lonely or left out of playground fun can sit on the
bench. Students who spot a child sitting on the bench are encouraged to invite that child
to play with them to help them feel happy and included.
Pictured (right) is 2nd-grade teacher
Lisa Hutchison, students Julianna C.
and Julia M. and Vice Principal
Vanessa Ahmed.
Copper Hill unveils Buddy Bench during spirit assemblies
District students earn top scores to clinch math achievements in annual programs
Once again, the Flemington-Raritan
Regional School District enjoyed great
success in two annual math programs. On
June 16, the Board of Education
recognized the top scorers in each of these
contests.
In the Continental Math
League, district G&T 4th-grade students
ranked in first place, nationally, and 3rd-
and 5th-grade students ranked in first
place in their region. Several students
placed first nationally. They are Reading-
Fleming Intermediate School 5th-graders
Daniel McCarthy and Julia Granato;
Francis A. Desmares School 4th-grader
Mats DeLausnay; and Copper Hill School
3rd-graders Ben Sherwood
and Dakota Berenger-Stern.
In addition, the 6th-grade
at Reading-Fleming
Intermediate School ranked
20th out of 134 schools in the state in the
New Jersey Math League. District 6th-grade
top scorers were Rebecca Bozzo, Jackson
Qian, Tyler Heller, Kristin Bindas, Eesha
Shankar, and Sydney Kang.
Also, the 7th-graders at J.P. Case
Middle School ranked 29th out of 141
schools. They placed first in their region.
Top scorers were Aidan Lynott, Ajay
Chakraborty, Austin Preiss and Vishantak
Srikrishna.
The 8th-graders ranked 14th out of 137
schools and first in our region. Rishubh
Thaper ranked among the top 22 students
in the state. Top scorers were: Rishubh
Thaper, Kailash Raman and Kent Mei.
The Board of Education recognized the
district’s G&T math teachers, accelerated
math teachers and all math department
faculty members, as well as Math/Science
Supervisor Sandy Pollock for their hard
work in preparing the students for success. Pictured (above) from left is Superintendent Gregory Nolan, honored students, teachers Carri Strunk,
Michele Tonge and Linda Alsop and Board President Bruce Davidson.
Reading-Fleming science teacher takes part in implementation of science standards At Reading-Fleming Intermediate School, 6th-grade Science Teacher Donna Stumm was selected to take part in an opportunity to
help support the likely implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards in New Jersey. She will serve in the first cohort of the
NGSS Teacher Leaders Program, which will consist of six exceptional K-12 classroom teachers. A consortium of institutions are working
to prepare for the implementation of these standards. They are the Rider University SELECT Program, the Princeton University Teacher
Preparation Program, and the Science Education Institute at Raritan Valley Community College. As part of a state-wide plan, a cadre of
teacher leaders will assist the consortium with the implementation efforts across the state. To develop their capacity to do this work,
multiple opportunities for the teacher leaders will co-facilitate professional development programs. Ms. Stumm’s selection to this
program was partly based on her impressive experience with and presentations on CONNECT-ED and other workshops. Good luck!
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Technology Award—Lauren Forrest
World Language Award
Erin Corbo—Spanish
Allison Colon—French
Citizenship Award—Brianna Broderick
DAR Award
Tristan Armstrong
Jordan Cole
“Eye of the Tiger” Award Brianna Huber
Jacob Poltz
Johann Phillip Case Award Rishubh Thaper
Kindness Award Lexi Walton Nathaniel Miller
Mary Denbigh Scholarship
8-1 Lauren Batiste 8-2 Alexis Bragg
8-3 Alex Barbella
8-4 Venkat Srinivas
J.P. Case honors standout students for academic and athletic achievement
On June 13, J.P. Case Middle School held
its 2014 Awards Ceremony. The following
8th-graders were honored for their significant
achievements this past school year. We
congratulate them on their success!
Art Award—Dennica Mitev
Band Award—Bryant Hall
Chorus Award—Tara Keelan
Consumer Science Award—Hannah Ellenberg
Gifted & Talented Award—Zachary Werner
Instrumental Award—Abigail Calvelli
Math Award
8-1 Kent Mei
8-2 Anna Davis 8-3 Marissa Carvelli
8-4 Rosha Chittuluru
Language Arts Award 8-1 Samantha Reilly
8-2 Sophia King
8-3 Rachel Zaccaro
8-4 Caroline Wallendal
Physical Education & Health Award Hannah Korn
Sean Parker
Science Award
8-1 Julia Qian 8-2 Kylie Stives
8-3 Jodi Tomasello 8-4 Greg Bristol
Norton Scholarship—Annalee Tryon
Promotion Speeches Katie Rude
Paige Petrole
Sports’ Scholar Athlete Award Sarah Kolody
Justin Aimone
Sportsmanship Award Brittany Bill
Panayiotis Kousoulas
Yashkas Award Winners 8-1 Dominic Parente 8-2 Megha Vadehra
8-3 Fernando Rodriguez 8-4 Jacob Barrett
Robert Hunter cooks, collects tabs and coins, and dances for a good cause!
On June 2, four Robert Hunter School staff members visited the Ronald McDonald House in New Brunswick to prepare dinner
through the Caring Cooks Program. Nurse Tommie Lou Judson, Principal Dr. Becky Hutto, and teachers Ali Bishop and Margaret
DeAngelis brought homemade meals and prepared dishes for 10 guests who are staying at the facility while their children receive medi-
cal treatment at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital. The volunteer effort tied into a school fundraiser held this winter. Students collected
and counted pull-tabs to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House. The students collected 165,000 tabs and $938 in loose change
this year. They even earned a dance party, DJ included, for reaching and exceeding their 100,000 tab goal. Way to go, Robert Hunter!
Above, from left: Ali Bishop, Tommie Lou Judson,
Margaret DeAngelis and Dr. Becky Hutto.
Above: Tiffany Cinquemani’s class collected and
counted 165,000 pull-tabs for the effort. Above: 4th-graders presented their tabs and fund-
raising results to a representative from J&J.
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Thank you, PTOs!
I want to take a
moment to thank each
of our schools’ PTO
officers for their
tremendous efforts in
contributing to the
educational experience
of our students. As a
former building
principal, I know how
important volunteers
are to the success of a
school. I have seen,
firsthand, parents
continuously dedicate
their time and offer
their talents.
On behalf of the
Board of Education,
our entire district and
our students, I thank
our PTO leaders and all
of the PTO members for
their contributions
during the 2013-2014
school year.
Barley Sheaf
Teacher selected to
Dream Team
Mary Jane Custy,
the Stretch/G&T Teacher at Barley Sheaf
School, took part in TeachFest in early June
in New Orleans. TeachFest was a
unique professional development event
focused on creating high-quality Common Core
curricular resources. The educators attended
the event as part of LearnZillion’s
national Dream Team, which is made up of 200 talented math and
English language arts (ELA) teachers.
The 100 greatest children’s books in the last 100 years...enjoy!
In previous newsletters I shared this year, I listed
50 of the top 100 greatest children’s books from the
last century. Listed below are the remaining 50 books
from the list, which was
published by the Star Ledger on
October 8, 2013, as the most
popular picks by librarians.
Happy reading!
The Little House, by Virginia Lee Burton (1942)
The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
(1943)
Locomotion, by Jacqueline Woodson (2003)
Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story From
China, by Ed Young (1989)
Madeline, by Ludwig Bemelmans (1939)
Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey
(1941)
Matilda, by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin
Blake (1988)
Meet Danitra Brown, by Nikki Grimes,
illustrated by Floyd Cooper (1994)
Millions of Cats, by Wanda Gág (1928)
Miss Nelson is Missing!, by Harry Allard,
illustrated by James Marshall (1977)
Mr. Popper’s Penguins, by Richard and
Florence Atwater; illustrated by Robert Lawson
(1938)
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert
C. O’Brien (1971)
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African
Tale, by John Steptoe (1987)
My Father’s Dragon, by Ruth Chrisman
Gannett (1948)
My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits,
illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska (2003)
Olivia, by Ian Falconer (2000)
One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia
(2010)
The People Could Fly: American Black
Folktales, by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by
Leo and Diane Dillon (1985)
The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster,
illustrated by Jules Feiffer (1961)
Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters
and a Prologue, by Maurice Sendak (1962)
Pink and Say, by Patricia Polacco (1994)
Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren (1950)
Ramona the Pest, by Beverly Cleary (1968)
Rickshaw Girl, by Mitali Perkins, illustrated
by Jamie Hogan (2007)
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, by Mildred
D. Taylor (1976)
Rumpelstiltskin, by Paul O. Zelinsky
(1986)
A Sick Day for Amos McGee, by Philip
Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead (2010)
The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats (1962)
Starry River of the Sky, by Grace Lin
(2012)
The Stories Julian Tells, by Ann Cameron,
illustrated by Ann Strugnell (1981)
The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf,
illustrated by Robert Lawson (1936)
Strega Nona, by Tomie dePaola (1975)
Swimmy, by Leo Lionni (1963)
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, by
William Steig (1969)
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy
Blume (1972)
The Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adven-
tures of Brer Rabbit, by Julius Lester,
illustrated by Jerry Pinkney (1987)
Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold (1991)
Ten, Nine, Eight, by Molly Bang (1983)
Tomie dePaola’s Mother Goose, by Tomie
dePaola (1985)
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs,
by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith
(1989)
Tuesday, by David Wiesner (1991)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle
(1969)
The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963, by
Christopher Paul Curtis (1995)
The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin (1978)
When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead
(2009)
Where is the Green Sheep?, by Mem Fox,
illustrated by Judy Horacek (2004)
Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice
Sendak (1963)
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears, by
Verna Aardema, illustrated by Leo and
Diane Dillon (1975)
Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne, illustrated
by Ernest H. Shepard (1926)
A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle
(1962)
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