You may be curious about what’s new in the school district this year. I am delighted to share some coming attractions: we welcome two new assistant principals at Holmdel High School (HHS), replacing Mr. Katz who retired and Mr. Bals who left to become a principal in another school district; we have updated and planned new courses for our HHS and Satz students; Writers Workshop will be implemented at Village and Indian Hill Schools, further developing writing skills through a program that works in parallel with Readers Workshop; Power School’s Parent Portal will be introduced to all parents …

  As I drove around Holmdel on June 20th I saw Holmdel blue graduation balloons attached to mailboxes and this year a balloon magically appeared on our mailbox! Thank you to the HHS PTSO and junior class parents for continuing this Holmdel tradition.  Over the years we watched our children progress through the grades, marked by milestone events: the Tin Can Derby, Heritage Day, Colonial Day, the Ice Cream Social, the Sixth Grade Electricity Project, the Ellis Island trip and the Washington D.C. trip.  In addition to what was being taught in the classroom, they participated in field trips, …

As graduation approaches, we look back on a year in which some things have changed while others remained much the same.  On the change side, we introduced a 10 minute longer school day this year.  The added time was used to support character education in grades K-8, which dovetailed nicely with the increased focus on anti-bullying.  At the high school, coupled with a few schedule tweaks, it allowed us to add 3 minutes to each class period, yielding added instructional time each day.  We also outsourced the remaining 40% of our busing, and relocated the school district’s central office to …

Over the last decade, I’ve had many conversations with friends, neighbors, and residents about Holmdel’s schools, and inevitably two questions surface. What can we do to keep taxes manageable?  And probably even more important, what can we do to make sure we spend our money wisely? Our mission as a school district is to provide our children a through and efficient education.  We have to continually balance our desire to provide one of the best public educational experiences in the country, while keeping costs at a level this community can afford.  You can’t achieve both goals by accident—it …

With second semester beginning, we review our progress to date in meeting our 2011-12 goals. Each goal – World Language program enhancement, Technology improvement and integration into instruction, Character Education, Differentiated Instruction, and Financial Enhancements – builds on prior years’ efforts, although this report focuses on current accomplishments. World Language K-12 At Village School (VS), Spanish classes are now longer, allowing more to be accomplished in each session. Teachers conduct lessons in Spanish, with students responding in kind, as much as possible.  Fourth and …

Each new school year the laws under which we operate change.  The new Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act brings significant changes in how schools respond to bullying, both preventively and in dealing with consequences.  Why is Bullying being Taken so Seriously? The immediate trigger for the legislation was last year’s suicide of a Rutgers student after he was harassed on the basis of his sexual orientation.  However, there are also broad statistics about the harm resulting from bullying: Fifty-five % of 8 – 11 year-olds and 68% of 12 – 15 year-olds say bullying is a serious problem for them. (…

10 Minutes per Day Translates into More Learning The Board has long recognized that our school day is much shorter than the state average. For instance, the 2009-10 NJ Department of Education School Report Card shows the Holmdel High School day was 6 hours 17 minutes versus the state average 6 hours 53 minutes. With ever-increasing material to be covered in class, we believe our students would be better served by increasing instructional time at the high school. We also believe a longer school day in the elementary and middle schools would enhance our Character Education program, which has …

What is this thing called geocaching? It’s a fun-filled, challenging hobby that combines a walk in the great outdoors and a challenge to your observational and detective skills. What’s more, one can participate in this activity as an individual, or be one of a group, a team, a family, etc., but it may not be done in one's armchair or in the comfort of one's living room. Many people combine the activity with a hike – oftentimes a hike is the only way to get to the final destination. Geocaching is a sport that requires you to find a “cache” that was carefully hidden by some other geocaching …

Thirteen years ago my husband and I sat with parents in the All-Purpose Room at Village School. It was Back-to School Night. The principal, Mr. Blejwas welcomed us as the parents of the Class of 2011. At the time graduation seemed so far away.  He told us it was okay if our child didn’t know how to read yet, they would learn.  He was correct. They did learn to read and so much more. Over the years we watched our children progress through the grades, marked by milestone events: the Tin Can Derby, Heritage Day, Colonial Day, the Ice Cream Social, the Sixth Grade Electricity Project, the Ellis …

As the temperature climbs this July, so does the incidence of Lyme disease.  Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is transmitted to humans via the bite of an infected tick.  It is one of the fastest-growing infectious diseases in the United States, with the number of cases increasing since the mid-1990’s, according to the CDC.  In 2009, 95 percent of all Lyme disease cases were reported from 12 states, with New Jersey having one of the highest rates in the US.   Now is the time to be aware of this disease, since July is the month in which most new cases are reported.  Lyme disease is …

The Holmdel Fire and Rescue Company #2 would like to thank the residents and businesses of Holmdel for their support in our spring fund drive. This year 48% of residents of the north side of town donated to the fire company. The largest donation of $2,900 came from Karl and Barbara Lee Brand of Holmdel. This generous donation will fund one entire new set of turn out gear. We also had one other donation of $2,000, and four families that donated $1,000. Fifteen families donated over $500.   The following businesses also donated funds to the company: Amanda's Hallmark, Dearborn Market, Cosmetic …

Yes in our back yard!   Monmouth County has a terrible shortage of homes which are safe, decent and affordable.   We need homes for folks with low-to-moderate incomes: entry-level police and firefighters, nurses and teachers, service and restaurant workers, plus our own children, parents and ourselves, if and when our circumstances change.  Finding reasonably priced homes is a great burden for many, who have to commute long distances (at $4 a gallon of gas!) to work in our area.   I am a member of a local church advocacy group (New Creations in Christ), with over twenty member churches. We …

I’m sure you have heard the old cliché about the cobbler whose children run around barefoot, because he’s too busy making shoes for everyone else. But one day, the community was amazed to see the cobbler’s children wearing shiny new shoes, even though their father seemed as busy as ever. “Where did you find the time to make your children’s shoes?” they asked.  The cobbler smiled.  “I didn’t.  I dipped into my ‘rainy day’ fund, and we went to Sears.”  School districts face a similar dilemma. Even before the state restricted school boards from raising property taxes by more than two percent per…

As happens every spring, the April 27 school elections were swiftly followed by Board reorganization on May 4.  Having bid a fond farewell to out-going Board member Michael Collins in April, we welcomed new member Victor DeSario, and welcomed back newly re-elected members Phyllis Pascucci and Barbara Garrity.  We also elected our Board leadership for the year – I am our new president, and Robin Wetmore is now our vice president. A check of our old minute books reveals, somewhat surprisingly in this day and age, that this is the first time women have occupied both leadership roles …

A letter from three board members of the Holmdel Football and Cheer Association. The tradition of Holmdel Football and Cheer continues in 2011.  We would like to welcome back all returning members and new members to our 2011 season.  The Holmdel Football Association, a long standing member of the Jersey Shore Football League, has chosen to remain a part of the league which is currently 32* towns strong.  Remaining a part of the Jersey Shore Football League will give us the best opportunity to compete against the biggest and best football and cheer associations in the Jersey Shore. Holmdel, …

This is the last issue by the 2010-11 Holmdel Board of Education since the Board will be reorganized in mid May with existing and newly elected board members. While we are looking forward to another productive year, it is time for us to look back and reflect upon certain things. Therefore, I have invited Mr. Michael L. Collins, who had initiated the idea of having this HBOE column, to share his experience on the Board and offer his thoughts about serving. I would also like to express our appreciations to Mike for his service, and wish him good luck in his study in law and future endeavors. Dr…

As President of the new Holmdel Pop Warner, I am writing to provide the community with our organization’s reasons for not following Holmdel Football Association (HFA) to the American Youth Football League (AYFL) and to extend an invitation to parents and children who wish to continue to participate in Pop Warner football and cheer. In March, several shore area town-based sports associations which, for many years, supported the Pop Warner football and cheerleading programs decided to become affiliated with the AYFL instead. In Holmdel, the HFA decided to make the switch as well. Unfortunately…

As of March 16, the 2011-12 School Tax Levy proposed for voter approval on April 27, is a zero increase levy. It will not increase your taxes.  The budget it funds focuses resources on our core mission of developing the potential of every student into achievement. It also reflects the results of a number of longer-term district efforts – energy conservation, negotiations and outsourcing transportation. It is the product of the hard work of our school administration, as well as the cooperation of our teachers and other school employees.  An overview of this information was presented at our …

In his recent letter to the Holmdel Patch, Mr. Robert Way challenged the economics surrounding the proposed school budget for next year.  Clearly a lot of work went into the analysis.  Unfortunately some of it is based on inaccurate information and, because there are significant differences in the services that must be offered by public, but not private, schools, the analysis arrives at some questionable conclusions. Let me highlight four important points. First, Mr. Way looks not at this year's budget, but rather focuses on last year's numbers.  He also looks at the district's total budget, …

The Holmdel School District received an early Valentine’s Day card last month—a report card by the New Jersey Department of Education providing detailed performance data from each of our four schools. Across almost every scale you wish to measure, our student achievement was outstanding—from high graduation rates to strong standardized test scores to high attendance in Advanced Placement courses.  For example, our average math and verbal SAT scores were almost 100 points above the state average, and 86 points higher in the essay section. More than a majority of the eighth graders who took the…