The first workshop for children who will start kindergarten this fall will be held on Saturday, February 1 at each of Verona’s four elementary schools from 10 to 11 a.m.

These workshops, sponsored by Verona elementary schools’ SCAs, are open to children who will be five years old on or before October 1, 2020 and are registered with the Verona Board of Education to enter kindergarten. Additional workshops will be held on March 7, April 4, and May 2. For information and to sign up, please contact the following people:

• Brookdale: Sarah Ford 973-518-4278 safford09@gmail.com; Kate Cichocki 201-780-8254 katie.lenox@gmail.com
• F.N. Brown: Catherine Crevoiserat 201-446-4146 catherine@crevoiserat.com; Sharon Stanisci 973-768-0683 jayesha26@aol.com; Rachel Klansky 908-770-5934 rachelsklansky@yahoo.com
• Forest: Casey McCartney 201-417-2124 caseydepalma@yahoo.com
• Laning: Kristina Oliver 973-615-2217 kristinaoliver7@aol.com

There will also be kindergarten parent orientations:

• Brookdale, Thursday, May 21, 6:30 p.m.
• F.N. Brown, Thursday, March 26, 7 p.m.
• Forest, Wednesday, March 11, 7 p.m.
• Laning, Monday, March 23, 7:30 p.m.

Verona now has a full-day kindergarten session, which runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. The Montclair YMCA offers an aftercare program between 2:45 and 6 p.m. You can find more information on kindergarten registration and orientations on the Verona Public Schools website.

VHS has developed strong female participation in AP computer science and comp sci events, like VHS’ trip to CS50 at Harvard in 2017.

Verona High School has received the College Board’s 2019 Female Diversity Award for AP Computer Science Principles.

The award recognizes schools that reached 50% or higher female participation in either of the two AP computer science courses–AP Computer Science Principles and AP Computer Science A– or whose percentage of female AP comp sci test takers met or exceeded that of the school’s female population in 2019. Out of 20,000 institutions that offer AP courses, only 818 met the diversity award criteria.

And VHS really met it: Verona’s female participation in AP Computer Science Principles was 64% in 2019, which exceeds the female percentage of the overall student body.

VHS has had AP Computer Science Principles since 2016-2017, when it was first released to high schools by the College Board. The course was built and introduced at VHS by Danielle Mutovic, who recently left the school to become director of technology at Paramus Catholic High School.

According to Rich Wertz, who heads comp sci teaching at VHS, for the past 10 years, female participation in the other computer science course, AP Computer Science A, has been 34% at VHS, while it has been 22% for all of New Jersey. In 2019, female participation in both AP computer science courses was 46%, while it was 30% for all of New Jersey.

There was a special ceremony on Tuesday at the Board of Education meeting to honor three groups that Athletic Director Bob Merkler said had brought “tremendous pride and success” to Verona High School last fall: the Marching Maroon & White, the cheerleaders and the state championship football team.

Merkler noted that the marching band—which numbered 80 members last fall—is often very visible to the community. “You can drive by our fields at night and they are out there under the lights,” he said. “On Fridays, they provide the entertainment at our games whether it’s at home or on the road. And on Saturdays, they travel throughout the state to perform their show. Without them, a football game is not the same. Thank you for your support throughout this season,” Merkler told Director Erik Lynch and the band members in attendance.

Merkler commended the cheer squad for their dedication. “It doesn’t matter if it’s hot or cold, rain or sun, they are out there supporting our team and community,” he said. “They do an amazing job week in and week out and are an integral part of our games. Thank you for your support throughout this season.“

Coach Batty said the presence of the cheerleaders and marching band were key parts of “coming home” to coach at VHS.

Then Merkler turned his attention to the titles totaled up by the football team. “Our team reached unprecedented heights this season,” he said. “They captured a division title, the North 2 Group 2 Sectional title, and the North Group 2 Regional Championship while also completing a 12-0 season. It was a truly dominant season where the average score in our games was 39-11. This is a special group of players and especially seniors. They will go down in Verona’s illustrious athletics history as the best football team who has ever played here. It was really amazing to watch them week in and week out and see how they galvanized our school community. Congratulations on such an amazing season.”

Every band, cheer squad and football team member in attendance received a certificate from the BOE recognizing them for their accomplishments.

Lisa Freschi, president of the Verona Board of Education, announced at Tuesday’s meeting that the BOE will be voting on a new contract for Superintendent Dr. Rui Dionisio at its next meeting on February 11. The BOE had been scheduled to vote on the contract at its December 10 meeting, but Dr. Dionisio withdrew it from consideration. The contract that will be up for a vote in February is the same as the contract that was to have been voted on in December.

Dr. Dionisio’s current contract, which dates from 2017, states the BOE would renegotiate it if New Jersey ended the cap on superintendent salaries and the cap was ended last July. Freschi said that when Board met in executive session on September 10, 2019, its members had unanimously decided to negotiate a new five-year contract with Dr. Dionisio.  In addition to Freschi, the BOE at that time included Glenn Elliott, Jim Day, Tim Alworth and Pam Priscoe. Elliott, who had been part of the negotiation team, was defeated in last November’s election by Sara Drappi.

Freschi noted that Dr. Dionisio has been a rare point of stability in the superintendent’s job: Prior to his hiring in August 2014, Verona had had six superintendents in 16 years. Dionisio has rolled out a series of improvements to Verona’s curriculum and schools, including the so-called house model at H.B. Whitehorne Middle School that put the school under the direction of two, co-equal principals, as well as a variety of new communication tools to reach both parents and the community at large. He has also engaged the community in school improvement with a variety of advisory and action committees, including a committee on mental health and suicide prevention whose work led to the passage of a $550,000 ballot question to fund mental health services in all six Verona schools. Freschi noted that Dr. Dionisio has been invited to speak to the national conference of AASA, the School Superintendents Association, next month on the importance of mental health education in public schools.

Dr. Dionisio has also improved buildings and grounds at Verona’s six schools. He oversaw the implementation of the 2014 referendum that had been passed under the previous superintendent, the renovation of the fitness center at Verona High School, and also developed the $27 million referendum that voters overwhelmingly approved last November. Dionisio said at Tuesday’s meeting that he has been meeting with the district’s architects on refining that plan and that bid documents will be going out in February. 

Freschi said that Dr. Dionisio’s work on the school budgets has boosted Verona’s reserve accounts over the past two years from $100,000 to more than $700,000, and in 2019 he was able to restore 95% of the items cut from the 2018 school budget.  Dr. Dionisio has led several cost-saving initiatives for the district. He has been serving as the acting facilities director, which has saved the district $220,000 so far, Freschi said. Working with Frank Mauriello, Verona’s director of special education, he implemented programs at the middle school and high school that have kept more special ed students in-district, saving Verona from costly out-of-district placements. For the current school year, Freschi said, Dr. Dionisio has negotiated a reduction in the cost of the school physician that will produce an $18,000 savings. 

Under his current contract, Dr. Dionisio’s salary was $205,000, including merit bonuses. The contract to be voted on in February, which eliminates merit bonuses, specifies a base salary of $219,540, plus a $3,000 stipend because he has his doctorate and a second $5,000 stipend to serve as the district’s director of facilities. (If Verona were to hire full-time director of facilities, the cost would be at least $140,000.) The first year total for the new contract would be $227,540. The base pay increases to $223,931 in 2020-2021, to $228,409 in 2021-2022, to $232,978 in 2022-2023 and $237,637 for the final year of the contract, 2023-2024. 

During Dr. Dionisio’s tenure, Freschi noted that the quality of education in Verona has been recognized at the county, state and national level. “Verona has become a leader in public education,” Freschi told the BOE, “one which other districts look to and model. We want to maintain this standard.”

“Our staff, faculty, and administrators, deserve the stability and standard of excellence that they’ve experienced,” she added.

You can listen to Freschi’s remarks in the meeting video below, which also includes a presentation to the marching band, cheer squad and football team, as well as a presentation on a strategy to invest the money to be borrowed for the referendum during construction to save taxpayers money. The February 11 meeting will be held in the Learning Commons at Verona High School, at 7 p.m. and it is open to the public.

For its spring musical this year, H.B. Whitehorne Middle School will be presenting Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. There are 105 kids in the show and some of them will be a different kind of actor: Their roles will involve operating the puppets that represent the mice, dove and cat who aid the namesake heroine. In January, HBW’s puppeteers learned their craft from a former HBW student who has made a career in puppeteering: James Wojtal.

Wojtal, who graduated Verona High School with the class of 1993, started making puppets in kindergarten. As MyVeronaNJ.com noted in its 2010 profile of Wojtal, he went on to make puppets for the Muppets and Sesame Street, as well as Avenue Q, Saturday Night Live and Bear In The Big Blue House. He continues to work for Sesame Street, but has also done puppeteering on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Smurfs and The Happytime Murders in recent years.

Brian Michalowski, the HBW music teacher who is the show’s director, set up the training for his performers. “For the past couple of years I’ve tried to get Verona alumni who have a career in the arts to talk to the kids in the show,” he says. “Last year Ben Liebert came to work on some character development.” Liebert, a 2003 graduate of VHS, has been performing in New York City since 2018 in a unique Yiddish-language production of Fiddler On The Roof.

“James is before my time at VHS,” adds Michalowski, “but I knew of him because I went to school with his younger brother. I asked him to come in and talk about his time at HBW and VHS, his career as a puppeteer and puppet maker, and a simple demonstration of puppets.”

And Michalowski confesses to an ulterior motive too. “While I think STEM education and coding is important,” he says, “I’m also trying to show that you can actually make a career of the arts.”

For now, HBW’s students will be creating a show for their school and the community. Cinderella will be performed on Wednesday, March 18 at 3:30 p.m. for students and staff only, followed by 7 p.m. public performances on March 19, 20 and 21,

The Verona Board of Education voted unanimously tonight to approve a new contract for Superintendent Dr. Rui Dionisio. 

Pam Priscoe, a BOE member who works for Verona’s tax assessor by day, conceded that deciding on the contract renewal has not been easy for her. “I have felt strongly that it was a large number,” Priscoe said of the contract, “and I deal with the taxpayers every day. But I’m in agreement with everything that you have done for the district,” she said to Dionisio, “and I appreciate what you have done.” Priscoe also volunteered to be part of the committee to renegotiate Verona’s teacher contract. That will be helpful to the Board since, neither BOE members Tim Alworth nor Sara Drappi can be involved in Verona’s contract because they are educators in other districts, .

Both BOE President Lisa Freschi and Vice President Jim Day thanked Priscoe for her decision. “In December,” Day said, “I wasn’t sure I would be sitting here in February having this discussion and this vote.” The BOE had been scheduled to vote on the contract at its December 10 meeting, but Dr. Dionisio withdrew it from consideration after some residents mounted a Facebook campaign against the terms of the contract and against holding the vote before Drappi, who was elected to the BOE in November, had taken up her seat on the body.

The new contract specifies a base salary of $219,540, plus a $3,000 stipend because he has his doctorate and a second $5,000 stipend to serve as the district’s director of facilities. The base pay increases to $223,931 in 2020-2021, to $228,409 in 2021-2022, to $232,978 in 2022-2023 and $237,637 for the final year of the contract, 2023-2024. 

Priscoe said that while she struggled with the size of the contract, she was “in agreement with everything” that Dionisio had done for the district.

Under his previous contract, which dates from 2017, Dionisio’s salary was $205,000, including merit bonuses. The new contract eliminates merit bonuses. The 2017 contract included a clause that it would need to be renegotiated if New Jersey ended the cap on superintendent salaries and the cap was ended in July 2019. 

Dionisio assumed the role of facilities director in 2018 when Verona needed to cut a full-time position to close a $160,000 budget gap caused by increased out-of-district placements for special education students and demand for extra classes at Verona High School. If Verona were to have hired a full-time director of facilities, the cost would have been at least $140,000. Dionisio’s assumption of the facilities role has saved Verona $220,000, Freschi said at the last meeting.

At the last BOE meeting, Freschi outlined the progress Verona’s public schools have made under Dionisio, including curriculum changes, new communication tools, the implementation of a so-called house model at H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, and advisory and action committees whose work led to the passage of a $550,000 ballot question to fund mental health services in all six Verona schools. Dionisio, who has increased the district’s reserve accounts, also oversaw the implementation of the 2014 referendum that overhauled the 60-year-old heating system at Verona High School  and turfed both VHS sports fields. He championed both the full-day kindergarten ballot question and the referendum that passed last November. Prior to Dionisio’s hiring in August 2014, Verona had had six superintendents in 16 years. 

The Verona Board of Education disclosed at its Tuesday, February 11 meeting that the school district has had to hire a bathroom monitor to stop vandalism at Verona High School.

In recent weeks, one of the boys bathrooms has been the subject of repeated problems, including toilets being stopped up, soap dispensers ripped off the walls, trash spread on the floors and both urination and defecation on the floors and walls. VHS has security cameras in the hallways that could record who is entering and leaving the bathrooms but they are not sufficient to pinpoint who is causing the damage.

“It’s very upsetting as a parent and a board member that this is going on,” said BOE member Pam Priscoe. “This needs to stop,” she added, calling on students and parents to talk to the district about what they know about the problem. “It’s a shame that we have to spend $20,000 to put someone outside the bathroom.”

BOE member Sara Drappi, echoed Priscoe’s call for information. “By the time you are in high school,” she said, “you have to be held accountable for your actions.”

Superintendent Dr. Rui Dionisio indicated that the cost could be higher than $20,000 adding, “that is money that should be going to our students, our staff, and our facilities.” Dionisio noted that since the monitor was implemented at the start of the week the problem has stopped. “We want to treat our students like adults,” Dionisio said, “but if some of them are going to act like children we have to take other measures.”

The Verona Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, February 25 will feature an update on the mental health initiative that Verona voters approved for the district in 2018. Frank Mauriello, who has been Verona’s director of special services since 2015, will give the report. He and Verona’s superintendent, Dr. Rui Dionisio, recently presented on Verona’s mental health programming to the national convention of AASA, The School Superintendents Association.

In December 2016, in the wake of a student death by suicide, the Verona Public School district created two action committees to examine two aspects of its learning environment. The Mental Health & Suicide Prevention and Code of Conduct & Respect action committees looked into separate aspects of mental health and wellness in the district and what it would take to improve the district’s handling of these issues. The committees’ work resulted in a ballot question asking voters to approve $550,000 to be added annually to the district’s budget specifically for mental health services.

The question, which was approved in 2018, has added three mental health clinicians to Verona’s child study team to deliver services all all six Verona schools. The “Why Mental Health Matters” also led Verona Public Schools to host presentations for students and the community on suicide by Kate Fagan, the author of What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen. The district also held sports games for suicide awareness in 2017 and 2018. Verona was one of 34 school districts nationwide that were recognized as “Districts of Distinction” by District Administration magazine for its efforts to improve mental health services.

The BOE meets in the Learning Commons at Verona High School at 7 p.m. You can find the full agenda for the meeting here. The meeting is open to the public, and will be videotaped for the district’s YouTube channel.

The Verona Foundation for Educational Excellence (VFEE) will hold its annual Teacher Toast on Friday, March 27, from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. at Caldwell University’s Cougar Den in Visceglia Hall.

Tickets are $60 per person, and they available for purchase on VFEE’s website until March 23. VFEE has not yet announced the teachers who will be honored.

Starting March 1, you can enter here for a chance to win free tickets to the event.

If you have questions about the event, please contact Branka Kurta at 201-214-3623 or bkurta-ail@vfee.org, or Jackie Quattrocchi at 201-563-2565 or jquattrocchi@vfee.org.

VFEE is a non-profit that funds projects that enhance student learning in Verona, independent of the Board of Education and the school system. Teachers apply directly for VFEE grants, which have totaled more than $200,000 since inception. Recent grants funded the purchase of professional crime scene investigation equipment for Verona High School’s Law and Criminal Justice class, as well as a win tunnel to be used by in STEM, STEAM classes and physics classes at VHS.

Calling Verona’s student mental health initiative “one of the most important things that Verona has done,” Director of Special Services Frank Mauriello told the Board of Education’s Tuesday meeting that the district has made significant progress in addressing mental health issues since the mental health ballot question passed. The initiative, Mauriello said, has gotten students and their families the support they need, raised grades and lowered absenteeism, while reducing Child Study Team caseloads to more manageable levels. He also said that the students who have met with mental health professionals through the program have learned coping skills that are enabling them to address some new situations without additional intervention.

To get Verona’s initiative off the ground, Mauriello said, the district had to overcome four barriers: limited financial resources, culture issues, a lack of acceptance of mental health issues, and a lack of specialized staffing. He thanked the community for approving the dedicated funding for mental health services in 2018, and thanked the volunteers on two action committees whose work in 2017 made the mental health ballot question possible. Superintendent Dr. Rui Dionisio created the committees in the wake of a student death by suicide. (This reporter served on one of the action committees and is the mother of the child who died.)

Verona has drawn on four main programs for its mental health initiative: Effective School Solutions, which is providing the district with licensed social workers; Peekapak, social emotional learning curriculum for K-4 students; and Positive Behavior Support in Schools (PBSIS) a collaboration between the New Jersey Department of Education Office of Special Education and The Boggs Center, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School that supports a range of school intervention needs. The collaboration has expanded mental health counseling to the elementary schools, and has added to the resources at H.B. Whitehorne Middle School and Verona High School.

Mauriello said there is a growing mental health epidemic among K-12 students, which he called the “invisible disability,” with some 17% of students nationwide now showing mental health issues. He noted that it can take an average of 11 years for a person who has been diagnosed with a mental health issue to get appropriate treatment, and said that one of Verona’s goals is to make that shorter for Verona’s students. Mauriello noted that Verona has developed a relationship with St. Clare’s Hospital in Denville that is making it possible for Verona students to get a mental health evaluation in 24 to 48 hours and not the two weeks that it often takes.

Verona’s mental health initiative has earned the district local, state and national recognition, said Mauriello, who noted that he and Dr. Dionisio had presented to a national conference of superintendents in San Diego earlier in February. “We are not the only people struggling with this epidemic,” he said.

You can watch Mauriello’s presentation in the video below, view his slide deck here and learn more about Verona’s mental health and wellness programs through the district’s website.

In other business at the BOE meeting, Dr. Dionisio noted that Verona had achieved an exceptionally low 2.12% rate on the bonds that will be issued to finance this year’s referendum work, which will translate into a $2.2 million savings for taxpayers.

Dionisio said that New Jersey will release its school aid numbers on Thursday, and that this year’s outlook “seems promising” since Gov. Phil Murphy has promised to invest an additional $336 million in K-12 education statewide, as well as $1.1 billion to close the shortfall in the state’s teacher pension fund. Dionisio said that he expects to have a preliminary Verona school budget on March 20, which will be voted on at the BOE’s second April meeting after public presentations.

Dionisio also noted that Verona will have three retirements this year: Diane Newman, the assistant in the VHS guidance department, VHS art teacher Terry Sherman and middle school science teacher Carol Thomas, who was also Dionisio’s seventh grade science teacher.

Verona High School Principal Joshua Cogdill sent out an email last night to VHS parents, but if you didn’t get it, you need to know that VHS students might need to pack lunch today, Thursday, February 27.

That’s because last night, VHS discovered a plumbing issue in the cafeteria kitchen. It is being worked on, but while it is, the cafeteria can offer only a limited lunch menu: pizzas, bagels, pre-made sandwiches, salads, chips, and beverages.

“If your student wants a different selection of food for lunch,” Cogdill wrote, “we encourage them to please pack a lunch.”

Dear Verona Community Members,

The Verona Public School district is committed to the health, safety, and well-being of our students. There has been increasing attention regarding coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) over the past several weeks. It is important to highlight that there have been no reported or confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Verona Public Schools. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) stated that, “While the immediate risk of this new virus to the American public is believed to be low at this time, everyone can do their part to help us respond to this emerging public health threat.”

Although there is no concern about coronavirus in our schools at this time, we have begun planning for the potential community spread of the virus. Our custodial department has disinfected our schools and we will continue to sanitize our buildings as a precaution moving forward. We are in the process of installing additional alcohol-free hand sanitizers in public areas in our schools. We are also preparing for the potential impact to our community health and the delivery of instruction for our students. The Verona Public Schools administration and technology department is working on plans for instructional delivery should a public health issue arise that would impact attendance in our schools.

Our health department and administration will work closely with families to ensure the health and well-being of all community members is ensured. We strongly recommend that all families with a child in our schools who have recently traveled outside of the United States contact our school nurse prior to sending your child back to school. In the event a student or staff member is suspected of having a communicable disease, he/she shall not be readmitted back to school until written medical evidence is presented stating the person is free of the communicable disease. We will continue to support the confidentiality of all students and appropriate timeline for re-entry to school for any potentially affected students or staff. Any person with illness symptoms should remain home to prevent infecting other people.

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has stated that “there is currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. However, as a reminder, CDC always recommends everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases. Parents have a responsibility to discuss these preventive actions with your child:

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
• Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask. CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19. Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.”

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the State of New Jersey Department of Health websites provide information on the prevention of coronavirus at the following links:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/ncov.shtml

The Verona Public Schools will continue to closely monitor the situation and collaborate with health and government organizations to ensure the well-being of our entire community governing the prevention, control, and reporting of communicable disease. We all have a part to play in staying healthy and we encourage everyone to follow these recommendations. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

All my best,
Rui Dionisio

The New Jersey Department of Education recognizes teachers and educational service professionals annually through its Governor’s Educator of the Year award program. Verona’s public schools decided to participate in the recognition program for the 2019-2020 school year, and nominated seven people from the district for recognition: Corisa Walker, Megan Pellegrino, Tatiana Fella, Linda Wangner, Meredith Bielen, Norma Palmer, and Jonathan Thai.

Verona began the process for selecting the honorees last December. A Google nomination form was sent to each school’s staff and parent community. After collecting the completed nomination forms, each building principal created a diverse panel that assisted with the selection process that ultimately led to the selection of the teacher of the year, and if nominated, an educational service professional of the year for each school.

Corisa Walker is the librarian at Brookdale and F.N. Brown elementary schools and has spent eight of her 20 years as an educator in Verona. She is the chairperson of the One District, One Book program, a member of the strategic plan and action committees for culture and climate, the lead coordinator of the makerspace and design thinking initiative and was a 2016 recipient of the “Inspiring Excellence” award from the Verona Foundation For Educational Excellence (VFEE).

Megan Pellegrino is a third grade teacher at F.N. Brown and has spent 22 years in Verona. She is part of the Google Apps for Education leadership team, as well as the conflict resolution and peer mediation training, and was a 2015 recipient of VFEE’s “Inspiring Excellence” award.

Tatiana Fella is a first grade teacher at Forest Avenue, with 18 years of serving Verona. She is a Wilson Language-certified educator, part of the district’s conflict resolution and peer mediation training, and was a 2019 VFEE’s honoree.

Linda Wangner is a special education teacher at Laning who has spent 15 years of her 24-year career in Verona. She is also a Wilson Language-certified educator, and is also certified in Wilson Fundations, a multisensory, structured language program, as well as Lindamood Bell learning processes.

Meredith Bielen is an 8th grade special education teacher, based in H.B. Whitehorne’s Olmsted House. She was recognized for creating an environment where students feel important and safe, and where they are supported academically, socially and emotionally.

Norma Palmer is the school nurse at HBW, who joined the school in 2015 after a career in nursing at Clara Maass and Caldwell College. She was recognized for creating HBW’s Rapid Response Team and training other staff members in the protocol.

Jonathan Thai has been a math teacher at Verona High School for nine years. He is the Student Council advisor and has been a coach to both boys and girls tennis teams at the JV and varsity level.

Yvette McNeal and David Galbierczyk, principals of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, are proud to announce the names of those fifth grade students who have earned academic recognition during the second marking period of the 2019-2020.

These students have qualified for the honors award by attaining all “A” and “B” grades:

Hafeeza Ahmed, Manuel Alvarez, Laura Baglieri, Charlie Banta, Massimo Baschieri, Declan Burke
Nicholas Caggia, Meina Cheng, Rennon Curren

Anthony Davis, Ryan DeMars, Arden DeShazer, Adrianna Fasanella, Johnna FioRito, Nicholas Fradette, Coralie Gangl, Trevor Giarrusso, Isabella Gonzalez, Franchesca Grape, Lexia Guarino

Kiley Haggerty, Leah Haggerty, Henry Hekman, Lori Hempel, Ylliona Hoxhaj, Julia Hromoko, Ashton Hyams, Grace Ibold, Aidan Ippolito, Charlotte Ka, Dominic Kennedy, Jason Koffler, Ryan Kohler, Cooper Konzelmann, Drew Krusznis

Spencer Labonne, Caroline Lareau, Ariana Lelio, Eliana Marateo, Caitlyn McCole, Marley McDevitt, Michael McElroy, John McEnerney, Thomas Michael, Isabelle Millar, Kyle Moore

James Nachbaur, Madeleine Nogales, Carolyn North, Dante Palmer, Vidhi Parekh, Elissa Pena, Devyn Quigley, Joseph Radigan, Robert Rowbotham, Zachary Schroeder, Anna Schulke

Sola Takahashi, Sienna Tamburri, Gabriella Tedesco, Kyle Thompson, Grace Verzella, Nicolette Vitale-Morano, Ellen Waldron
Nicholas Zehnder, Oliver Ziebert

The names of some students who qualified for the honor roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

The Woman’s Club of Verona has opened applications for its Community Service scholarships. Applicants must be residents of the Township of Verona graduating high school in 2020.

Scholarships will recognize students who have demonstrated a commitment to community service and an interest in helping those around them.

Academic achievement and financial need are not considered.

Applications are available here, on Naviance or may be requested from jlarroyo59@verizon.net.

The application deadline is April 1, 2020.

Yvette McNeal and David Galbierczyk, principals of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, are proud to announce the names of those fifth grade students who have earned academic recognition during the second marking period of the 2019-2020 school year.

These students have qualified for the high honors award by receiving an “A” in every school subject:

Juliana Alvarez, Emely Andrade, Andrew Aromando, Emma Aromando, Ryan Barrow, Asher Bernard, Vivienne Butler, Nicholas Byrne

Tyler Casella, Molly Daggs, Nicholas Danieli, Gianluca DeVito, Cameron DiDomenico, Alyssa Ehrlich, Camila Fernandez, Sadie Fjeldal, Hong Hao Fu

Emma Gardner, Taylor Garibell, Josephine Garnet, Theodore Handler, Victoria Harvey, Henry Hayter, John Hromoko
Caleb Idrovo, Annalise Kearns, Taryn Krill, Declan Lambert, Rowe Lamkey, Graham Lehrhoff, Max Ludlow

Daniel Mahon, Logan Main, Cecilia Manis, Maren McCabe, Riley McClellan, Jaeden McHugh, Scarlett Morin, Sara Mroz, Molly Mutovic, Luke Nawrocki, Nicholas Nazzaretto

Shayna O’Reilly, Violet Palmer, Francesca Pantano, Ariel Perez, Olivia Piccuirro, Asher Pope, Kieran Quinn, Valentina Rizzi, Ella Rosinski, Morgan Rossi

Isabella Santamaria, Lucas Santamaria, Matthew Schaller, Kathryn Scipione, Elena Spong, Dexter Stark, Mia Stiefbold, Emma Syros, Carolyn Weil, Chloe Wynne

The names of some students who qualified for the honor roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

Yvette McNeal and David Galbierczyk, principals of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, are proud to announce the names of those sixth grade students who have earned academic recognition during the second marking period of the 2019-2020.

These students have qualified for the honors award by attaining all “A” and “B” grades:

Joseph Abello, Elin Attal, Braden Bailey, Nathan Baron, Jada Bednar, Dylan Benavides, Zachary Bermeo, Dylan Bratek, Jocelyn Brooks, Madison Brown, Charlotte Brutman, Tyler Burns

Luke Caputo, Nicholas Caruso, Ryan Cavallo, Lewis Cheng, Henry Cherep, Owen Church, Hannah Crinion, Lauren Czupak, Christian DePalma, Isabelle Derrick, Christopher DiDiego, Daniel DiGeronimo, Stella DiNatale, Abigail Donnelly

Reese Falcone, Grace Fatatis, Sebastian Ferran, Grant Fersch, Lily Filippazzo, Lauren Foley, Lillian Forino, Luke Freedman, Amy Gabrael, Noah Garson, Addisyn Garthwaite, Finola Giblin, Sophia Graziano, Ryan Guo

Sydney Hannigan, Joseph Houck, Paige Kirby, Logan Knoetig, Evelyn Kogan, Sarah Komninos, Isabella Lambo, Sadie Lanzo, Andrew Liaukus, Ivy Liaukus, Michael LoCurto, John Loudon, Joshua Loudon

Juliana Maglifiore, Sofia Marrero, Shawn McElroy, Liam McEnerney, Jenna McGrath, Michael McHugh, Caleigh Moore
Ryan Morrice, Noella Newman, Jayden Nigro, Maximo Nogales, Preston O’Donnell

Gavin Palmer, Jenna Papocchia, Camille Patrone-Michellod, Charles Pepe, Elizabeth Petruzzi, Joseph Phelan, Nia Pilauri, Isabella Powley, Rocco Quilici, Abigail Romanyshyn, Brigid Rowbotham, James Russell

Nicolas Saj, Matthew Schwartz, Ayden Serfaty, Brayden Shorter, Sophia Simon, Riley Stocker, Nicholas Testa, Erin Tevlin, Jessica Theobald, Jessica Toriello, Grace Traficante, Evan Tsang

Sienna Ulukaya, Sofia Valese, Johnathan Velebir, Charles Wacha, Brady Watkins, James Waugh, Nate Williamson, Kenneth Yu, Natalia Zazzera, Connor Zimany, Julia Zysk

The names of some students who qualified for the honor roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

Yvette McNeal and David Galbierczyk, principals of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, are proud to announce the names of those sixth grade students who have earned academic recognition during the second marking period of the 2019-2020 school year.

These students have qualified for the high honors award by receiving an “A” in every school subject:

Andrew Ackerman, Juod Alqaisy, Leah Bachan, Sophia Chanana, Giada Contorno, John Cooper, Justin Cruz, Isabella Czupak

Lauren Forrest, Emerson Garrett, Francesca Ghetian, Suri Gupta, Samantha Heimall, Eve Kershaw, Payton Kohler

Alexa LeBosquet, Mason Mania, Patrick Mann, Taylor McClain, Stephen McDonald, Michelle Mooncai, Corinne Mullings

Dylan Neale, Gwendolyn Neale, Julia O’Reilly, Lexi O’Reilly, Beatriz Pezutto

Kai-Pai Rackley, Lily Riedy, Lea Romar, Katelyn Scelfo, Madelyn Schlosser, Michael Siclari, Giulia Stoicescu, Synclaire Szamborski

The names of some students who qualified for the honor roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

Yvette McNeal and David Galbierczyk, principals of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, are proud to announce the names of those seventh grade students who have earned academic recognition during the second marking period of the 2019-2020.

These students have qualified for the honors award by attaining all “A” and “B” grades:

Jaye Auriemma, Jonah Axelrod, Ariella Balerio, Ella Barchie, Connor Barshay, Sophie Besante, Francesca Bopp, Shaun Brown, Wesley Brown, Marc-Evans Calixte, Kate Carlson, Gianluca Checchetto, Kylie Conklin, Marco Contorno, Camila Cortes

Mairi D’Andrea, Margot DaCosta, Julia Dacey, Lauren DeFabrizio, Luca DeFabrizio, Marisa DeFabrizio, Jack DeMars, Andrew DePaul, Kori DePoe, Jayden DeSilva, Jordan Dunn

Daniel Fernandez, Samantha FioRito, Jack Flannery, Daniel Frenklakh, Isabella Garcia, Jonna Garcia, Benjamin Garnet, Hayden Garrett, Cali Giacomazza, Eliza Glatter, Ian Gottstein, Ryan Gray

Jack Harmon, Molly Hayter, Isabelle Heimerle, Theo Heitzman, Sophia Hippe, Christian Kaulback, Riley Kenrick, Kylie Kiernan, Shaina Kogan, Parks Lamkey, Jack Latson, Reece Luftglass

Aiden Main, Joseph Manganello, William McGrath, David Megalla, Maeve Nachbaur, Tristan Newman, Mia Nicolato, Nia Nikolova, Victoria Niziolek, Charlotte North, Angelina O’Dell

Camille Pajonas, Shiv Pancholi-Parekh, Victor Paz, Alexa Polanco, Sidney Quinn, Johnny Ratuis, Samantha Repoli, Aryanna Ricci, William Rice, Ella Romanyshyn, Mason Rossi, Griffin Russo

Michelle Salanon, Amy Sandoval, Christopher Seepaul, Angelie Sin, Kieran Smith, Harrison Sorger, William Strong, Krishna Vann, Tristan Velleca, Camryn Wardrope, Madan Williams, Jessica Yu, Miriam Zikry, Nathaniel Zimmer

The names of some students who qualified for the honor roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

Yvette McNeal and David Galbierczyk, principals of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, are proud to announce the names of those seventh grade students who have earned academic recognition during the second marking period of the 2019-2020 school year.

These students have qualified for the high honors award by receiving an “A” in every school subject:

Kelly Barrow, Iyana Best, Maya Cappello, Alison Carvalloza, Owen Chanana

Luke Fenton, Sydney Fradette, Dylan Frey, Stephen Gaffney, Jacqueline Gardner, Chloe Giessen

Danielle Imbriano, Isabella Lambert, Zia Mahmood, Brielle Marchese, Molly McCabe, Sadie McMahan

Lily Nachbaur, Frank Orrei, Kaitlyn Pietrucha, Jackson Pope

Matthew Raff, Ella Scipione, Jane Sorger, Kaelin Walsh, Nina Zawodny

The names of some students who qualified for the honor roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.