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BOE June Meeting Changes

Please click the link below for information regarding the June BOE Meeting changes

 

Click here for more information

SCHOOL PERFORMANCE REPORTS

 

DISTRICT PERFORMANCE REPORT

Cedar Mountain Performance Report

Glen Meadow Performance Report

Lounsberry Hollow Performance Report

Rolling Hills Performance Report

Vernon Township High School Performance Report

Walnut Ridge Performance Report

 

Instrument Test Drive

Below are the pictures from the Instrument Test Drive from Tuesday, May 2nd.  High school band and orchestra students are helping our Rolling Hill’s 3rd grade students try out instruments.  Over 90 students came to the instrument test drive!

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!

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

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Upcoming Events

June 2023

Monday June 5 – Wednesday June 7

GMMS - Field Days
Monday June 5 – Wednesday June 7
GMMS - Field Days

  • 6/5 – 8th 
  • 6/6 – 7th
  • 6/7 – 6th
  • Raindate on June 8th

Monday June 5

2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
HS STEM Induction/CTE Ceremony
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
CM Book Fair

BOGO fair, buy one get one of equal or lesser value free

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
RH Gr. 2 Orientation (session 1)

Tuesday June 6

6:00 am – 8:00 pm
Primary Election Polling
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
HS Solo Ensemble Concert
View the Full VTSD Calendar