13043 June 3, 2014 The minutes of the regular meeting of the North Plainfield Board of Education held on June 3, 2014 at West End School, 447 Greenbrook Road, North Plainfield, NJ. Mrs. Bond-Nelson called the meeting to order and made the following announcement: In accordance with NJSA 10:4-10, required advance notice of this meeting was filed with the Borough Clerk; submitted to the COURIER NEWS, STAR LEDGER, AND Comcast; posted at Watchung School, Borough Hall and the North Plainfield Public Library and the school district website. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Mrs. Bond-Nelson requested the call of the roll: Thomas Allen Thomas Kasper David Branan Kathleen Mullen Sandra Dodd Linda Bond-Nelson John Fellin, Jr. A quorum was established Also present were Dr. Marilyn Birnbaum, Superintendent of Schools; Donald Sternberg, Board Secretary/School Business Administrator; and Dr. Robert Rich, Assistant Superintendent, as well as, Amaree Gardner, Student Representative and approximately 19 members of the staff and public. Introduction of New Staff Minutes Approval Mr. Branan moved, seconded by Mr. Allen and unanimously approved to accept the public session minutes of May 21, 2014. Mr. Branan moved, seconded by Mr. Allen and unanimously approved to accept the executive session minutes of May 21, 2014. Comments from the Public Upon request of the chair for topics from the public, there were none. Student Representative Report There were none. Presentation Mayor Giordano Jr. presented a Proclamation and Key to the City from the Borough of North Plainfield recognizing Dr. Birnbaum for her career and efforts during 44 years of dedicated service. Dr. Birnbaum and Mr. Mazur presented the 2014 Teacher of the Year Awards. Mr. Karl Gordon discussed with the Board ensuring compliance with Janet’s Law and reviewed the requirements. Superintendent’s Report
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13043
June 3, 2014
The minutes of the regular meeting of the North Plainfield Board of Education held on June
3, 2014 at West End School, 447 Greenbrook Road, North Plainfield, NJ. Mrs. Bond-Nelson
called the meeting to order and made the following announcement: In accordance with
NJSA 10:4-10, required advance notice of this meeting was filed with the Borough Clerk;
submitted to the COURIER NEWS, STAR LEDGER, AND Comcast; posted at Watchung
School, Borough Hall and the North Plainfield Public Library and the school district
website. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Mrs. Bond-Nelson requested the call of the
roll:
Thomas Allen Thomas Kasper
David Branan Kathleen Mullen
Sandra Dodd Linda Bond-Nelson
John Fellin, Jr.
A quorum was established
Also present were Dr. Marilyn Birnbaum, Superintendent of Schools; Donald Sternberg,
Board Secretary/School Business Administrator; and Dr. Robert Rich, Assistant
Superintendent, as well as, Amaree Gardner, Student Representative and approximately
19 members of the staff and public.
Introduction of New Staff
Minutes Approval
Mr. Branan moved, seconded by Mr. Allen and unanimously approved to accept the public
session minutes of May 21, 2014.
Mr. Branan moved, seconded by Mr. Allen and unanimously approved to accept the
executive session minutes of May 21, 2014.
Comments from the Public
Upon request of the chair for topics from the public, there were none.
Student Representative Report
There were none.
Presentation
Mayor Giordano Jr. presented a Proclamation and Key to the City from the Borough of
North Plainfield recognizing Dr. Birnbaum for her career and efforts during 44 years of
dedicated service.
Dr. Birnbaum and Mr. Mazur presented the 2014 Teacher of the Year Awards.
Mr. Karl Gordon discussed with the Board ensuring compliance with Janet’s Law and
reviewed the requirements.
Superintendent’s Report
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June 3, 2014
RECOGNITION/PUBLIC RELATIONS
Staff
The following six outstanding educators have been selected from the North Plainfield
School District as the 2014 “Teacher of the Year” Award Recipients. These educators
are being honored tonight at our district’s Teacher Recognition Ceremony. In addition, the
North Plainfield leadership team has invited each recipient with a guest to a special
luncheon at Giovanna’s Restaurant on June 13, 2014. The honorees submitted the
following biographical data:
Anthony Della Rosa
Computer Science Teacher
NPHS
Mr. Della Rosa graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a degree in Business
Management.
After graduation Mr. Della Rosa worked as a computer programmer for the Party City
Corporation and the three-time Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils. Mr. Della Rosa
was also an adjunct professor at Hudson County Community College in Jersey City where
he taught computer programming and systems analysis and design classes for ten years.
During that time he developed his passion for teaching by working with students of varying
academic and cultural backgrounds, including ESL students.
In 2002, Mr. Della Rosa made a permanent change in his career by becoming a full-time
teacher. He returned to college after ten years to finish his last semester and earned a
Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. He then began teaching full time at the
Hudson County Schools of Technology in North Bergen, New Jersey where he taught
Advancement Placement Computer Science and Business Applications. Next he taught
Kindergarten through 8th grade computer classes at Jersey City Golden Door Charter
School, where he also served as their Director of Technology.
In 2007, Mr. Della Rosa married, had a son and moved to Summit, New Jersey. While
searching for a job closer to home, he was hired by North Plainfield Public Schools to teach
high school web design and middle school computers. In 2010 Mr. Della Rosa was
approached by Patricia Marseglia, math supervisor, to run a digital camp with the Johnson
& Johnson Corporation. Since the program’s inception, students have been exposed to
corporate culture, worked on case studies, learned presentation skills while networking
with the staff of Johnson & Johnson in hopes of securing future employment.
This past school year the Johnson & Johnson Corporation extended to Mr. Della Rosa and
his students an opportunity to expand the Digital Camp into their Technology Awareness
Program (T.A.P.) where students visited the facilities at Johnson & Johnson in Raritan,
New Jersey, and worked in groups on various business case studies to solve common
problems. Students also attended seminars by Google, Apple, and Microsoft to learn about
cyber security systems, business ethics and career opportunities at Johnson & Johnson. The
program also includes students with an interest in pharmaceutical careers; they were given
a tour of Johnson & Johnsons Ethicon facility and actually worked on a simulator to
perform mock laparoscopic procedures.
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Mr. Della Rosa’s educational philosophy is “never give up.” After leaving college in 1993,
Mr. Della Rosa was able to go back and earn his degree, which is why he can stand before
you today as proof that “never giving up” works. He is also a firm believer in “if students
cannot learn the way we teach, then we must teach the way they can learn."
Shona Hodge-Wright
Reading Teacher
NPMS
Ms. Wright believes that reading, consequently learning, should be empowering. She wants
her students to be excited about acquiring new information while reading. Her favorite Dr.
Seuss quote “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you
learn the more places you'll go” expands on the old adage that knowledge is power. Ms.
Wright encourages her students to read by emphasizing that anything they want to learn
about is in a book in the public library. Ms. Wright didn’t begin her teaching career in
reading but realized along the way the value of inspiring young minds through books.
Ms. Wright started her career with a BA in math and history from the University of
Binghamton in upstate New York. Her first teaching job came right after college as a
Catholic elementary school teacher. Ms. Wright worked as a third and fourth grade teacher
for three years in the Catholic system. While teaching all the disciplines separately she
found great fulfillment connecting all the content areas through literature. It was then
that she decided to return to school to earn her Masters in Reading Education from
Brooklyn College. It also was during this time that she decided to challenge herself further
by joining the United States Army Reserves. After completing her Masters and her
military training, Ms. Wright decided to join the New York City public school system,
teaching there for three years.
Before she began working in the North Plainfield School district, Ms. Wright took a hiatus
from the educational field and experienced life as an assistant production editor at Penguin
Putnam Publishing Company. Although she loved this job and found it fulfilling, she
missed being in the classroom, inspiring young minds. She had made the decision to return
to teaching but it was put on hold while she served a one-year stateside deployment after
9/11. When her deployment was over, Ms. Wright looked for a job placing her back in the
classroom. She was lucky enough to obtain a teaching position in the middle school ten
years ago. Ten years later she still finds joy teaching students that anything they want to
learn is in a book in the public library, anything.
Colleen Strickland
Science Teacher
Somerset School
Ms. Strickland has lived in North Plainfield her whole life. In 2001 she graduated with
honors from North Plainfield High School. From there she went on to receive an Associate’s
Degree in Pre-Pharmacy from Raritan Valley Community College and then transferred to
Rutgers University – New Brunswick where she received her BA in Biological Sciences.
After graduating from college, Ms. Strickland was unsure of what she wanted to do next, so
she began to substitute teach in the district, worked as a teacher’s assistant for Klubhouse
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Kids at West End Elementary School, and continued her work with the North Plainfield
Recreation Department. It was through these experiences that Ms. Strickland soon
realized her true calling was to work with kids. It was then that she enrolled at the
Alternate Route Teacher Certification Program offered through the Morris Union Jointure
Commission. She is currently in her seventh year with the North Plainfield Public School
District as a sixth grade science teacher and is looking forward to watching her first class of
students graduate from high school at the end of June.
Ms. Strickland has one sister who lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and four
children. She is the proud mama of a two-year-old French bulldog who enjoys eating
peanut butter, going for walks, and snuggling. Ms. Strickland enjoys kayaking, paddle
boarding, snorkeling, snowboarding, being with her nephews, animals, and taking naps too.
She states, “I chose to work in the field because it makes me happy. How many people can
honestly say they are happy and satisfied in their career choice? I can! I believe that each
child is a unique individual who needs a secure, caring, and stimulating atmosphere in
which to grow and mature emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially. It is my
desire as an educator to help students meet their fullest potential in these areas by
providing an environment that is safe, supports risk-taking, and invites a sharing of ideas.”
Nancy Lubreski
Kindergarten Teacher
West End School
A native of Staten Island, New York, Ms. Lubreski received her BA in Speech/Theatre and
English Summa cum laude from Wagner College. Upon graduation, she pursued a career
in musical theatre and performed in productions at Disney World, dinner theatres summer
stock companies, and Holland America Cruises. Then she traded in her sheet music and
tap shoes, married Jeff, an educator/coach, and was blessed by the arrival of sons, Ryan,
Sean and Brett. “I am very proud of my three student athletes, who never cease to amaze
me! My life has been a happy combination of My Three Sons, Home Improvement and
Sports Center!” she notes.
Theatrical training and experience, and the wonder years spent at home, have provided a
great deal of background material for her teaching success. “I believe that teaching
kindergarten, which is truly a child’s garden, must be joyful, and include ample amounts of
laughter and love. Incorporating the arts, and learning through song, poems, and dramatic
play is essential to student engagement. As a performer, one develops the ability to
improvise, to remain creative, and flexible, and to be childlike. On any given day, I am a
combination of mom, the Pied Piper of Hamlin, Peter Pan, and Mary Poppins! These
qualities have helped me to connect with my students and to create a classroom
environment that allows students to feel comfortable and confident and loved. Children of
all ages love to play games, and learn best when information is presented in ways that are
meaningful and fun! Think Playdo, bubbles, and “magic” writing pencils, throw in some
pixie dust and you have the recipe for happy, motivated students!” Ms. Lubreski remarks.
Ms. Lubreski continued, “Life has a funny way of coming full circle. The first book I
received was a gift from my father, a member of the NYPD for thirty two years. My dad
was a child of the depression who shared shoes with his brothers. The essential question of
the day for him was, ‘Am I going to eat?’ The ‘silver fox’ did not have the benefit of a
formal education past high school, but he clearly understood the value of education and
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June 3, 2014
worked hard to provide that opportunity for me. He taught me the importance of treating
people kindly and the necessity of retaining a sense of humor. The book he gave me was
called My First Book of Flowers. I still have the book, crumbling yellowed pages. I learned
to read by looking at the illustrations and re-reading it until I knew the name of every
flower. How fitting that now I am the gardener of the Room 15 kindergarten. I call my
students ‘my flowers’ and each year, it is my privilege to watch the little September seeds
blossom into June blooms.”
Sonya Larado
Art Teacher
Stony Brook School
Sonya Larado graduated from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of Art with a
Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts in Printmaking and Photography in the year 2000, with a
minor in Art History. She then received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking as
well as her Master of Art in K-12 Education at West Virginia University, College of
Creative Arts in 2003. A highlight of her graduate career was participating at the
Caversham Press artist residency in Balgowan, South Africa. She has exhibited her prints
and photographs in numerous juried exhibitions throughout the United States.
The past two summers, Ms. Larado was awarded a scholarship to the Artist Teachers’
Institute at Stockton College, NJ. She attended a Digital Photography program to improve
upon her technical abilities and learn new computer technology useful when working with
students in North Plainfield and her own work as a photographer.
This is her tenth year of teaching in North Plainfield as an art teacher. She has taught
kindergarten to fourth grade art at Stony Brook School and kindergarten art at West End
School. Additionally she has taught Exploring Art and Digital Photography courses at the
high school. She is the advisor for both after-school art and computer programs at Stony
Brook School and a coach for Stony Brook “Girls on the Run.” She has dressed up as Dr.
Seuss characters and participated in Read Across America each year creating large scale
projects with students based on the year’s theme. Ms. Larado also organized a school-wide
recycling project to create a bottle cap mural for Earth Day. This project was designed so
that the exterior courtyard of Stony Brook School can become an inviting place full of art as
it depicts Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
Ms. Larado states, “I have always loved making and creating art. It is this outlet that has
made me able to express my thoughts and feelings easily. My goal as a K-12 art educator is
to foster creativity in all of my students and that they will learn how to look at and see
things differently as they grow through the years in North Plainfield.”
Sharon Egan
East End School
Special Education Teacher
Ms. Egan is in her 14th year of teaching in the North Plainfield School District. She is a
graduate of the University of Michigan where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in
History. Several years ago, she returned to school to earn her Teacher of the Handicapped
certification at Kean University. Ms. Egan has spent her career at East End School where
she has provided instruction in Kindergarten through fourth grade as either an in-class
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support or resource room teacher. This year, she is an in-class support teacher in both first
and second grades.
Ms. Egan believes that every child has the potential to develop abilities for learning. Every
child may learn at a different pace in his/her own unique manner. Therefore, each and
every child should be provided with an environment which consists of instructional
strategies that will make them successful. It is her philosophy that in order for learning to
take place in a child, the teacher must create a positive, caring and nurturing environment,
in which children feel confident to take risks to learn, without feeling threatened or
ridiculed.
In addition, Ms. Egan believes that her role as a teacher plays an integral part in creating
the future of our society and notes that children are most impressionable during their
formative years. “Therefore, it is crucial that teachers exhibit good values, build self-esteem
and be the kind of role model that provides an example to our students. Teachers should
strive to help students become self-sufficient, self-motivated and productive citizens,” she
remarked.
In reflecting on her career, Ms. Egan concludes, “The teaching profession remains one of the
most positively stimulating experiences in my life. Teaching gives me a strong sense of self-
worth and accomplishment. As a teacher, I know that I have a strong influence on my
students’ lives. Therefore, each day I try to do my best to provide my students with every
opportunity to be successful in their learning. This may be difficult at times and some days
may provide a great challenge. However, I know that I can make a big difference in my
students because of my dedication to make them the best that they aspire to be.”
Students
Congressman Lance Thanks NPHS trumpeters: Congressman Leonard Lance
thanked Mark Romero (senior) and Aaron Ervin (sophomore) after their playing of Taps
at the Blue Star Memorial program on Friday, May 23, 2014. Also representing NPHS were
the JR ROTC Color Guard. The Blue Star Memorial was formed in 1944 by local garden
clubs who beautified a six mile stretch on Route 22 to honor the men and women in the
Armed Forces. In 1945 it became a national project, where garden clubs developed similar
sites throughout the United States in collaboration with their State Highway Department.
Mark played Taps and Aaron juxtaposed an “echo” that offered a poignant ending to the
program that also included North Plainfield Mayor, Michael Giordano, Jr.; Rear Admiral
Christopher J. Paul, U.S. Navy; Susan O’Donnell, GCNJ Chairperson and Davis Earl,
NJDOT Office of Landscape Architecture.
Middle School Assistant Principal John Ferguson is proud to announce the following
students for recognition on achieving the Honor Roll for the third marking period:
(*) = All A’s
Grade 7
Acevedo, Demetrius Hosny, Rana Nguyen, Tien
Adams, Kierra Ibrahim, Sarah Nunez, Xiomara
Amancha, Laura (*) Imtiaz, Hassan Orozco, Diana
Andrews, Alyssa Jackson, Teri Osegueda, Andy
Arguello, Kayla Jeffries, Stacy Pacla, Myles
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Benson, Brian Jr. Jones, Janiyyah Parra, Stephanie