The meeting began with a student presentation. Harding Township School’s Quest students under the supervision of teacher Amy O’Brien had participated in a competition through the NJ Consortium of Gifted and Talented Programs entitled “World of Free Enterprise” sponsored by Toys R Us.
On February 16, 2011, 32 teams presented at Toys R Us World Headquarters in Wayne New Jersey, competing with team from various school districts from Morris County.
Out of 32 teams, Harding Township School won three awards:
- Best presentation: 3rd place: Blastoff Inc. presents the Flipside Rocket Cycle
Team members are: Kevin Travers; Bradley Harris; Stephanie Dellavia; Lilah Connell; Mattie Saulnier; and Joseph Sciales.
- Best print ad: 3rd place: Imagine Art presents Shoetastic. Team members are:Noah French, Joey Goret; Morgan Sanchez; Andrew Novotny; Avery Humphries; Jake Kurz. According to Noah French, “Our kit lets you design your shoe the way you want it to look—colorful and creative. The kit sells for $30.”
- Best Toy Idea: First Place: Voyage, INC. presents the RC Video Plane. Team members are Jack Thomson, Megan Dyer, Brandon Bernstein, Brittany Bistis, Maddie Boyer and Joe O’Connor. Classic remote control airplane with a mounted camera. The built-in Voyage USB port is also available for downloading pictures onto the “company’s” website.
Part of the award recognition criteria was student presentation of their products at the competition.
After the student presentations were complete, the Board continued with its regular agenda.
Dr. Darren Petersen: Plan to attend Harding Township School’s Technology Showcase at the school on Thursday, May 26th --time TBA-- in an open-house format. Presentations will be ongoing throughout the evening. Julie Poole, Amy O’Brien and Dennis Kozar presented the plan for this presentation:
- When guests enter the school gymnasium, they will receive a color-coded floor plan of the school of presentation locations. Student ambassadors will also be on hand to direct visitors.
- Presentations include smart board lessons, Senteos, Smart Table, solar cars, the Vernier Pro Lab Interface, Edirol Field Recorder in Music, Digital Moments Club, and computer art with Adobe Photo Shop. Refreshments and a slideshow will also be presented.
- The Technology Showcase is open to the public.
- No Business Administrator/ Interim Superintendent Report-Jim M. not present.
- Curriculum and Instruction Report: STEM program is getting students interested in science, placing Harding Township at the vanguard of innovative school programs.
- Budget presentation will be delivered on March 28. Board will meet in Executive Session in preparation.
- Madison Board of Education introduced their new superintendent Dr. Mike Rossi. The Madison Board may move to the old Dodge municipal building in Madison, but major renovations are required first.
- Vision Council: Meeting Thursday March 10th at 7:30 pm in the Harding School Media Center.
- District Writing Assessment—teachers are in process of grading writing portfolios as part of the Six plus One Traits of Writing program. Teachers visited a school in Franklin Lakes that is using the Singapore Math program in preparation for possibly implementing this program here.
Board resolved to hold a public hearing to adopt the budget for the 2011-2012 school year.
Special Olympics Basketball will be held in school gymnasium on March 8 from 6 to 8 pm.
Kindergarten will walk to the Kemmerer Library as a part of the Read Across America field trip with a police escort.
The Board approved a new aide position which will impact this year’s budget at approximately $18,000.
Upcoming events include March 28 Board Meeting:
- Public Hearing on Budget
- Adoption of Budget
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