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RTNJ NEWS 1

Randolph Township Schools Newsletter June 3, 2016

Upcoming Events:

June 3: Grade 6

Field Day

RHS Dance Show-

case

June 4: SAT

June 6-7: Schools

Closed for Unused

Emergency Days

June 8: RHS Col-

lege Essay

Presentation

June 9: CG Grade

5 Stardust Event

RMS Rockapaloo-

za

RHS Senior Prom

Fernbrook End of

the Year PTO Par-

ty

Ironia Whole

School Picnic

June 10: Fern-

brook K-5 Play-

date Picnic

RMS 8th Grade

Award Ceremony

RMS 8th Grade

Dance

June 11: ACT

Testing

June 13: CG Fun

Day

RHS Senior Picnic

BOE FFT Commit-

tee meeting

Board Names Fano Superintendent At its meeting May 12, the Randolph Board of Education approved a three-year contract with Jennifer A. Fano as the district's new superintendent following a lengthy search.

Ms. Fano will officially take over as the district's new superintendent on July 1 after serving as interim superintendent and acting superinten-dent since last fall. Board members congratulat-ed Ms. Fano and took turns praising her and congratulating her.

Board of Education President Al Matos, who was at a technology conference, offered his congratulations to Ms. Fano through a video, which was played at the meeting. Mr. Matos noted that the board had the privilege to see Ms. Fano as both acting and interim superinten-dent. "As a board, we challenged ourselves to seek the best qualified person for the job, attracting some 30 applications from four states and interviewing a handful, with Ms. Fano rising to the top," Mr. Matos said. "The role of the Randolph Superintendent includes implementing the board of educa-tion's policies. The superintendent is the educational leader of the district and is the manager of the $90 million large organization."

Matos described many of the qualities that make Ms. Fano the perfect candidate for the job. "She is a thought leader, a trusted source who moves and inspires people with innovative ideas, turning those ideas into reality and knowing how to replicate success."

Ms. Fano also "has a collaborative style" and "has the confidence to share her ideas and accept oth-ers, and is what the district needs, not only to heal, but to move us into new levels of education as a team."

(Pictured above, The Randolph Board of Education and Randolph High School Stu-dent Council representative Molly O’Meara congratulate Ms. Fano..)

Board Honors Teachers of the Year

The Randolph Board of Education honored

the district’s 2016 teachers of the year

from all six schools and thanked them for

their hard work and dedication to Randolph

students.

(Left, The BOE, Interim Superintendent Jennifer A.

Fano and principals thank the district’s teachers of the

year.)

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RHS Students Selected for Prestigious Programs

RHS Principal Debbie Iosso has announced that two high school juniors have been selected to attend pres-tigious summer programs.

John Yager will attend the 2016 Governor's School of Engineering & Technology from June 26-July 22 at Rutgers University's School of Engineering while Jessica Freund has been accepted to the N.J. Scholars Program at the Lawrenceville School.

"This is a tremendous honor," said Yager, who noted he is also proud to represent RHS.

The Governor's School of Engineering & Technology is a unique and intensive residential summer program that brings together some of New Jersey's most talented and motivated high school students. Students take team-based courses in areas such as "robot soccer" and research projects including designing water purification systems for the developing world. The scholars work with peers and professors who are ex-perts in their fields. The students gain hands-on experience in re-search and work on challenging and open-ended problems with others who share their passion for engineering and technology.

Jessica said she is very excited for the N.J. Scholars Program at the Lawrenceville School because of its focus on the great war. The program is titled "The Great War Era: Cultural Splendor or the Collapse of Civilization?" The students will attend daily lectures and seminars, take field trips and even attend a special graduation ceremony at the culmination of the program.

RHS Principal Debbie Ios-

so said she is proud of

John and Jessica and know that they will represent RHS well in

these prestigious programs. "John and Jessica are absolute role

models for all of Randolph High School students," she said. "I

can't wait to hear about their experiences."

(RHS Principal Debbie Iosso and Guidance Counselor Debbie

Holz congratulate Jessica Freund, above, and John Yager, left.)

Meredith Conway Appointed as New Human Resources Officer

Meredith Conway, the Human Resources Officer for the Paramus

Board of Education, will begin her new position as the Human Re-

sources Officer for Randolph Township Schools on July 1. The board

approved her appointment May 19.

Conway, who has also worked in human resources for the School

District of the Chathams and New Century/Pinnacle Financial, has a

master’s degree in human resource management from the College of

St. Elizabeth and a bachelor’s degree in history from Muhlenberg

College. “I am excited to be returning to my home, Morris County,”

said Conway, who lives in Oak Ridge. “This position is going to bring

a great deal to Randolph Township Schools and I look forward to

working with all of the staff to continue the tradition of excellence

the Human Resources Office provides to the district.”

Interim Superintendent Jennifer A. Fano said that Conway “will be a

positive and proactive resource for all district employees” and she

looks forward to her assuming the position this summer.

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Scenes from RHS Junior Prom at the Skylands (below)

RHS Global Café—Students Celebrates Different Cultures

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Fernbrook Tricky Tray

Parents and staff spent an evening out at RHS for the Fern-brook Tricky Tray and bingo night May 13. Lots of prizes were given out including gift certificates and purses. (Fernbrook PTO President Theresa Fogel and PTO Volun-teers Tracey Drozek and Wanna Li enjoy the evening.)

Register for Randolph Community

School Summer Camps

The Randolph Community School is offering new and

exciting trips and activities this summer at its three

summer camps: Summer Kids (grades K-1), Summer

Stars (grades 2-5) and Camp Discovery Travel (grades

5-8). Give your child the summer to remember before

space runs out. We offer eight one-week sessions from

June 27-August 19. Summer Kids and Summer Stars

are conveniently located at Fernbrook Elementary

School while Camp Discovery Travel is located at Ran-

dolph Middle School.

New this summer: dance, improv, jewelry making and more athletics and new field trips to ex-

citing places. Camp Discovery Travel now offers three fun trips per week!

The Community School will also offer Young Rembrandts art workshops at Shongum and Cen-

ter Grove schools, Super Science Workshops at Shongum School and Summer Strings, Guitar

and Piano Camp at RHS. For more information, please visit rtnj.org and click on the channel

bar for Community School and then summer camps. Call (973) 361-0808 ext. 8603.

RMS Welcomes Jackie Fik as New Vice Principal

The Randolph Board of Education approved Jackie Fik, a 22-year school district employee and current RMS instruc-

tional coach, as a new RMS vice principal beginning July 1.

RMS Principal Dennis Copeland welcomed Fik to her new

position and said “I am extremely pleased and look for-

ward to the contributions and value that that Mrs. Fik will

add to the RMS community.”

Mrs. Fik, a former RMS language arts teacher, has a

bachelor’s degree in political science from Rutgers Uni-

versity and a master of arts in teaching from Fairleigh

Dickinson University. She will complete a post-graduate

educational leadership program with NJ EXCEL through

the Foundation for Education Administration in June. Mrs.

Fik’s appointment is contingent on her pending certifica-

tion.

Interim Superintendent Jennifer A. Fano said that

“Jackie has spent the past 22 years as a dedicated em-

ployee of Randolph Township Schools, first as a language

arts teacher at Ironia and later at Randolph Middle

School. More recently, she has worked as an instructional coach at the middle school, educating our staff about the

latest innovations in instruction, benefiting all of our students. She has been an asset to teachers and administra-

tors in the middle school and we anticipate her transition to the role of vice principal to be seamless. She will be an

asset to the administrative team as well.”

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CG Kindness Tour

On April 29, Center Grove second grade students

set out on a kindness tour by bus which took

them to a senior center where they sang songs

for the residents and shared flowers they made.

They then visited the animal shelter where they

dropped off donations they collected. The stu-

dents then went to the post office to mail letters

they wrote to soldiers at Fort Dix. The final stop

was Freedom Park where the children enjoyed a

nice lunch and celebrated their acts of kindness.

Public Enjoys Randolph’s Abilities Fair

On May 23, students, parents and staff spent the evening learning that people with dis-

abilities have many abilities at the Randolph

School District’s Abilities Awareness Fair.

The event also showcased services available

to people with disabilities and featured a va-

riety of speakers including current students

in Randolph’s Special Services Program and

Randolph’s Supervisor of Special Services

Evy Falcon-Duran. Several community agen-

cies were also represented at this free

event. (RHS Nurse Nicole Haydock at one

the tables at the fair.)

Senior Celebration

Before its games versus Roxbury, the RHS Girls

Softball Team celebrated its seniors by present-

ing each one, pictured above, with flowers. (Rose

Bollinder, Nicole Ferry and Rachel Fennel)

RTNJ News Recognized

The New Jersey School Public Relations As-

sociation awarded the RTNJ News, our

school district newsletter, with the first-

place award in the newsletter category at

its annual Communication Awards May 20

at Rowan University. (NJSPRA Vice President

Lori Perlow presents Allison Freeman, Ran-

dolph’s Communications Coordinator, with the

first place

award dur-

ing the

awards cer-

emony.)

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Boys’ Soccer Team Kicks Cancer

The Randolph High School Boys' Varsity Soccer Team is helping Morristown Memorial Medical Center "kick cancer" by edu-cating women about breast cancer.

The team sold black T-shirts with pink soccer balls printed with "Let's Kick Cancer" and raised $1,300 for the Carol W. and Julius A. Rippel Breast Center at Morristown Memorial Medical Center. In a special ceremony in the RHS auditorium on May 6, team members presented a check to Renee Tram-bert, a nurse navigator/patient care coordinator at the breast center. "Every year we try to do something to give back to the community," said Kevin Weber, one of the team's captains.

Art Shows

The artwork of RHS and RMS students was

featured in recent art shows at both schools.

(RMS artists Karina Garbarini, Emily Tully and

Megan Pinyan with their work for the show.)

Teacher Appreciation

Each Randolph PTO organized special

staff appreciation events at each school

to recognize staff. (Above, RHS staff

enjoyed baked goods made by parents.)

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RHS Anti-Bullying Assembly

RHS Students attended an anti-bullying assem-

bly which taught students about diversity.

(Maitri Shah performs, right.)

Freshman Musicians

Nine RHS freshman musicians performed

with the North Jersey Jr. Region Band. (Left to right, above, Hanna DeOliveira, Zach

Freheiter, David Goldberg, Andre Hance, Jack

Knapp, Zach Kozma, Katie LaBold, David Popkin

and Tommy Yager.)

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Muffins for Mom

Center Grove preschoolers invited

their moms and some grandmas to

a special “Muffins for Mom” pro-

gram for Mother’s Day.

Dance Showcase

RHS Dancers will perform their annual showcase

June 3 at 7:30 p.m. at RHS.

Field Day! Fourth and fifth graders at

the four elementary schools enjoyed field

day at RMS last month.

Ironia Has Heart

Ironia students donated cars, trucks and

other toys to needy children through the

Ironia Has Heart Program. The toys were

brought to Head Start’s School Readiness

Program, which will distribute the toys to

needy preschoolers and also use in Head

Start classrooms.

Mayo Center Honors Ran-

dolph Music Students in

April and May

Morristown’s Mayo Center for the

Performing Arts recognized Randolph

High School cellist Natalie Stadler, a

senior (pictured left) and RMS eighth

grade violinist Olivia Guarinello

(right) who were invited to meet

Itzhak Perlman on May 7. In addition, RMS sisters Jacqueline and Jose-

phine Wu, (pictured right with RMS Music Teacher Sherry Griggs and Olivia,) were honored in April.

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RHS Night of Fashion

The Commons at RHS resembled the

runways of Milan and Paris as stu-

dents modeled the fashion designs of

our talented fashion design class stu-

dents in classes taught by Jill

Petrucelli and Karen GaNung one

evening last month. Students dressed

in everything from evening gowns to

casual designs perfect for school

which they paraded down the RHS runway. Afterwards, parents and students enjoyed delicious refreshments and

viewed special displays featuring designs created by students. (The designs of Lauren Forstenhausler, left with models Delane

Shakar and Emma Baxter, and Mackenzie Sheehan, right, with Sutton Todd, Haley Ornstein, Mackenzie and Jillian Fantuzzi.)

Constitutional Convention

Center Grove fifth graders in

Mary Curtis’ class “performed”

the Constitutional Convention

for parents last month.

Memorial Day

Center Grove second grad-

ers honor soldiers at a spe-

cial concert presentation for

Memorial Day.

Principal for a Day!

Fernbrook fifth grader Emily

Peia enjoyed being principal

for a day and working with

Principal Danielle Soldivieri.

“Being a principal is a lot

more work than people

think,” Emily noted. Mrs. Sol-

divieri said she enjoyed work-

ing with Emily, who won the opportunity in a raffle.

RMS Sign Elves

Mr. Sheehy’s technology students were

caught changing the sign outside RMS

one recent morning.

RHS Debate Students Compete

RHS sent students to two national

forensics championships including

one in California last weekend and

one in Salt Lake City in June.

RMS Author Day!

Author Wendy Mass spent

two days at RMS conducting

writer’s workshops and

meeting with students

thanks to the PTO. (Mass talks

to 6th graders in the library above.)

Ironia Family Night

Ironia students and their families

enjoyed a special family night of

STEAM activities last month. (Hetal and Manu Raiyani with son

Vedant Patel enjoy a workshop.)

Global Presentation

Center Grove students enjoyed a spe-

cial presentation about the earth. Stu-

dents event got to visit inside the

globe in the school’s all-purpose room.