Artstanding Friday, May 19th, at LHS!
Dear Vernon School Community,
Please join us at our annual “Artstanding” program held on the indoor and outdoor campus of Lounsberry Hollow School on Friday, May 19th, from 5:00 to 8:00 pm, one of our largest community activities of the year.
This annual art festival is an event you and your family do not want to miss. “Artstanding” features student artwork, student performances, interactive opportunities, tie dye station, mural creation, drum circle, and food.
Food is for purchase, cash only, as well as other novelties. This fantastic night out is a free event, open to the public, designed to highlight the VTSD students’ work within the visual, performing, and practical arts from grades K-12. This program would not be possible without the generous support and a Pride Grant from the Vernon Township Education Association and the NJEA, as well as the support of the parents and guardians of the Executive School and Community Association. This festival, featuring music, visual art, theatrical productions, dancing, robotics, technology, culinary creations, virtual reality, and hands-on activities, is fun for the whole family. Don’t miss it!
SAT Testing – May 6, 2023
All students must have an admission ticket ( printed from the College Board website:(Collegeboard.org) and an acceptable photo ID to gain entry to the SAT testing areas on Saturday, May 6, 2023. Any student who does not have their admission ticket printed out and an acceptable photo ID will be turned away and told to register for the next test. Please understand THERE CAN BE NO EXCEPTIONS !!
Plan to arrive at the High School no later than 7:45 AM. Bring 2 Number 2 pencils and a calculator if you want to use one.
Superintendent Spotlight
Luke Keating was given the Vernon Township School District’s Superintendents Roundtable Award at the annual luncheon on April 21st at Lafayette House. Luke is a member of five academic honor societies, a 3-year varsity tennis player, a music section leader in the school marching band, and participates in the Mock Trial program at the high school. He is involved with the Youth Leadership Council through the Vernon PAL, and has worked several seasons at Mountain Creek. Luke has expressed interest in mastering Chemistry, so he may one day be a teacher. Congratulations on this well-deserved award!
Freshman Academy MP 3
Special Care Planner Workshop
VTSD is excited to announce another informational session with Douglas Vogel, who will be presenting information regarding long term planning for dependents with disabilities. On April 25th at 6pm via Zoom, Doug will speak about topics including special needs trusts, wills, letters of intent, life insurance, and other items related to a comprehensive support plan for children with disabilities.
Please register using this link: https://tinyurl.com/5yvhe9tx, and see the included flyer for more information. Please feel free to share this with any friends or family members who may care for a dependent with a disability! While pre-registration is required, there is no cost for this program.
Information From our Superintendent Mr. Rogers
March 24, 2023
Dear Vernon School Community,
As you know from previous correspondences and discussions at recent board meetings, Vernon is in a budget shortfall, losing $8.5 million in annual state aid over the past six years and over $6 million in grants and stabilization aid. This eventuated us to make very difficult decisions about our programs and overall instruction. Unfortunately, one of those decisions impacted many of our district faculty and staff members. Regretfully, we are writing to let you know that we spoke with many faculty and staff members yesterday to let them know they will not be with us for the 23-24 school year. Please note that affected faculty and staff will continue to work for the rest of the 22-23 school year. Below are the many questions that we have received from the community. We want to provide as many answers as possible.
Why weren’t parents notified first?
To show respect and dignity to faculty and staff who will no longer be with us at the close of the current school year, we needed to let the affected staff know first. An email was sent out before last week’s board of education meeting to inform the faculty and staff that if their employment status was affected by the cuts, they would be informed later the following week. At the March 16th board meeting, discussions occurred concerning our significant reduction in state aid and increased operating costs. As a result, we discussed that we would have to reduce faculty and staff and make reductions in all operational areas across the district. For details on the budget and state aid reductions, the March 16th board meeting can be viewed on the link above or at vtsd.com. Click on the Board of Education tab, and click on BOE Video Archive. HERE are the slides of the 23-24 Budget Presentation.
Why were teachers spoken to during school hours?
We understand how difficult this is for teachers and students; however, this had to take place during the teacher’s contracted school hours. Substitute teachers were in place to cover teachers’ classes if they could not return to their classrooms. Our goal was to ensure all staff members were notified on the same day if possible and began meeting with teachers at 7:00 AM, ending at 3:45 PM. We chose to begin on Thursday because we were uncertain if we could reach out to everyone during one day and wanted everyone to know before the weekend.
Why aren’t administrators being let go?
Faculty and staff cuts were made across all certified and non-certified areas, which include administrators, teachers, support staff, aides, secretarial staff, and custodial staff.
Are other staff or programs being cut?
Details regarding the overall 23-24 budget will be discussed at future board of education meetings. Our next Work Session meeting will be on Thursday, April 20, 2023, at 7:00 pm, at Lounsberry Hollow School, and our next Public Session will be on Thursday, April 27, 2023, at 7:00 pm, at Lounsberry Hollow School. HERE is the budget presentation.
Thank you for your continued understanding during these difficult times in the Vernon Township School District.
Sincerely,
Russell Rogers
Superintendent
Genesis Parent Portal Update
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new parent portal 2023
2-15 BOE Meeting Change
P U B L I C N O T I C E
VERNON TOWNSHIP BOARD OF EDUCATION
PUBLIC MEETING – CHANGE IN TIME
The Thursday, February 16, 2023 Public Meeting will now start at 5:30 p.m. for Executive Session and 6:00 p.m. for Public Session. The meeting will take place at Lounsberry Hollow School Library, 30 Sammis Road, Vernon, New Jersey. Action shall be taken.
Sincerely,
Patricia Ratcliffe-Lee
Business Administrator/Board Secretary
Open Board Seats
VERNON TOWNSHIP
SCHOOL DISTRICT
School Board Appreciation Month and VTSD Student Achievements
Dear Vernon School Community,
This month NJ public schools celebrate Board Appreciation Month. This is a time when we pause and thank our Board of Education members for serving our schools and students. Board of Education members set the policies for our schools and make important decisions affecting curriculum, financing, and staffing. Our Board of Education is made of nine members and one Vernon Township High School Senior. Meet our Board members…
Kelly Mitchell- Board President
Justin Annunziata- Board Vice President
John Kraus
Adina Leuthner
Martin O’Donnell
Jennifer Pellet
Theresa Scura Coughlin
Joseph Sweeney
Ray Zimmerman
Colin Giesen- VTHS Student Representative
This month we also celebrate the young readers of our district that participated in the Mind Travelers Program. The Mind Travelers program encourages our students in preschool through grade five to read books, books that can take us to places that can give us clues about our world and characters to like or fear or admire and look up to. In each book, there are discoveries about the world and about ourselves. Our district celebrates the students that “got lost in books, as it’s a great place to be found”! The students listed below were recognized at the January 19, 2023, Board of Education meeting. Congratulations to all of our readers!
LH, 5thGrade – Tristan Talerico
LH, 5th Grade – Noah Ponsica
LH, 5th Grade – Caleb Ponsica
LH, 4th Grade – Jon Pandel
LH, 4th Grade – Jacob Oeters
RH, 3rd Grade – Joshua Cadou
RH, 3rd Grade – Lucas Vasilic
RH, 2nd Grade – Jayson Moore
RH, 2nd Grade – Brayden Handal
CM, 1st Grade – CaraMia Morley
CM, 1st Grade – Jasper Lukasik
CM, Kindergarten – Mason Hostler
CM, Kindergarten – Efetobo Alakpa
WR, Preschool – Patrick Murphy Flood
WR, Preschool – Panayiotis Portela
WR, Preschool – Afroditi Portela
WR, Preschool – Carter Montgomery
WR, Preschool – Harlow Kuhn
Congratulations to our Vernon Township High School students who competed at the NJ Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) competition on January 21st, at Passaic County Technical School, under the direction of Mr. Matt Bergh. HOSA prepares future health professionals for the health industry. Many of our HOSA students also serve locally in our first aid squads, so while they are learning in school, they are also receiving practical, real-life, hands-on training in our community.
Juniors Avery Crafton and Sophie Van Den Broek received FIRST PLACE in the First Aid and CPR Skills category. Avery and Sophie are both volunteers at Vernon Ambulance squad.
Seniors Marissa Ajamian and Daniel Lovett were fifth-place green medal winners for EMT Skills. Marissa is a volunteer at the Vernon Ambulance Squad, and Dan is a volunteer at the Glenwood Pochuck Ambulance Squad. In addition to learning in school, Marissa and Daniel devoted many hours to training on their own to prepare for scenarios they would encounter at this competition.
Senior Aiden Lubeck finished sixth place in Pharmacology and is the HOSA President.
Senior Jessica Lefort finished 8th place in Sports Medicine and is the HOSA treasurer.
Here are some pictures of our students receiving their awards…
Lounsberry Hollow School 5th grade art students, under the direction of art teacher Mr. Erik Villanueva, created maps based on the idea of “self”. In this art project, students practiced many art forms. Each island surrounding their face island represents something about themselves. Students learned to create and center block letters. They learned about Photoshop and using filters. They learned about transfer methods, silhouettes, and symbols. Finally, students learned about mixed media, conceptual art, and deconstruction.
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Speaking of art…SAVE THE DATE…VTSD’s annual Artstanding Program will be held on Friday, May 19th, at Lounsberry Hollow School. This program that features our fine, practical, and performing arts is under the direction of Mr. Villanueva and is partially being funded by a very generous Pride grant from the Vernon Township Education Association.
A few reminders…
- We will have upcoming Early Dismissal Days on Wednesdays throughout the winter as follows
- January 25, 2023
- February 15, 2023
- March 29, 2023
- Marking Period 2 closes on January 30th
- Vernon Township High School will have Early Dismissal Days the week of January 30th for mid-term exams
- School will be closed on Monday, February 20th for President’s Day
Thank you for partnering with our schools, our teachers, and our administration!
Sincerely,
Rosemary Gebhardt
Assistant Superintendent
