·      The Assistant Principal interviews will take place at the end of May. We received more than 160 applicants.

·      I received a letter from Police Chief Ray Wilson informing me of the 2008 National Click It or Ticket Mobilization and I want to share the following information with you:

This May 19 through June 1, law enforcement officers will be out on our roads and our highways to aggressively enforce seat belt laws as part of the national 2008 Click It or Ticket mobilization. They’re not out there to write tickets, but to save lives and to get everyone buckled up, especially teenage drivers and their passengers.

Please buckle up and remind your teenagers about the life-saving benefits of buckling up. All across America, motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of death for teenagers.

·      Maureen Doloughty sent a communication this week announcing that Holmdel Township’s Unit in Iraq, Alpha Company, has been notified that they will be returning at the end of July. She will cease sending packages on June 1^st. However, she is putting together “welcome home” packages containing the little luxuries they have been without for the last year and a half.

·      An unannounced lock down drill was conducted at Village School on Monday afternoon. This was the first time the new push button, pre-recorded lock down message system was used in the district. The students and staff reacted extremely well and should all be commended for a job well done. As always, the drill was conducted in cooperation with the Holmdel Township Police Department and Office of Emergency Management.

·      The third graders did their final performance at Village School last week. The show was titled, “Assignment Earth” and the songs and dialogue were informative with regard to “being green” and ways to be more ecologically friendly.

·      Indian Hill had a very successful Walkathon fundraiser hosted by the PLG. The students, staff, and parents did a wonderful job.

·      The cast and crew put on a great production of 101 Dalmatians at Indian Hill. The kids were great in performing and putting together a fantastic show.

·      We are very proud of our 5^th and 6^th grade students for doing a nice job with their NJ ASK testing last week. They remained focused during long test times, and we are confident we will see the results.

·      Mr. Schillaci reports it was a pleasure meeting with the incoming fourth graders during orientation. It was nice to see such an excited group of youngsters who will join Indian Hill in September.

·      Under the direction of Ms. Alicia Sneddon, the Satz students put on a very entertaining and exciting talent show. Students displayed their skills not only with singing and dancing, but also with playing the piano, drums, keyboard and electric guitar. The show was jam-packed with humor, great acts and fun for all.

·      Mr. Goetke and the students in the Satz Concert Chorus and melody Ringers put on a compelling and enlightening show Tuesday night. Songs such as “Flying Free” and “Music in You” were expertly choreographed by Mr. Goetke and harmoniously sung by the Satz students. The hour-long show was not only a delight but a joy to everyone in the audience.

·      Satz seventh and eighth grade teams competed in the Battle of the Books at Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School last week. This is the event where students must read fifteen different novels and compete to respond accurately to difficult questions regarding each novel (each cleverly worded so a close reading of each book is essential). The seventh grade team took third place out of twelve teams, missing only a single question, and the eighth grade team took home the first place trophy! Both trophies are on display in the Satz CyberCenter.

·      A seventh grader at Satz took first place in Public Speaking held recently at Randolph Middle School. Two sixth graders and one eighth graders also participated. Our eighth grader placed third. Their coach, a senior at Holmdel High School, did an excellent job in preparing these students for the competition.

·      Congratulations to our High School team on winning fourth place in the 2008 Moody Mega Math Challenge! They presented their paper yesterday at Moody's Headquarters in NYC yesterday and were awarded fourth place, with $7500.00 scholarship money. Their paper was one of six finalists among 300 entries, and were subjected to intense scrutiny and judging. Just to have been selected as one of the final six was a tremendous accomplishment.

·      On May 16, the Folger Library will be coming to Holmdel High School to present a workshop for High School and Middle School English teachers and Special Ed teachers called “Shakespeare Set Free.” We will also be hosting four teachers from Asbury Park High School. This workshop is funded through a grant from the Dodge Foundation.

·      The Holmdel Theatre Guild (HTG) concluded its 2007-2008 season with four sold-out performances of “Class Action” this past weekend. “Class Action” told the story of the high school experience through 24 “scenes” – they were funny, sad, heart-warming, gut-wrenching, and, above all, real. Kudos to cast and crew on another job well done, and thanks to Mr. Clores, Mr. Mester, and Mr. Smith for all that they do throughout the year for the benefit of our kids.

Activities towards meeting district goals:

·      Technology & Differentiated Instruction:  Liz Giacobbe and Harry Dangler, in conjunction with the Technology Department, developed a link on SharePoint for “shared projects.” The Village staff can access SharePoint and the “Shared Projects” folder, which are broken down by grade level and subject matter. Teachers can borrow each other’s PowerPoints, Word documents, web links, etc. and post for other to borrow.

·      The Holmdel High School web design class is having its best year ever. Taught by first-year teacher Mathew Weisfeld, the Intro and Dynamic Web design classes at Holmdel High School teach students how to design and create their own professional website. They have serviced the community by creating a website for the Generation’s Elder Care Foundation (www.geneldercare.com) and are currently in the process of creating a site for local community resource Bayonet Farms. The mission of the class is to teach and expose students to real-life experiences that can be related to an actual web design job. Students have to create websites for mock “clients” and, eventually, the chance to work with a real client and create a website from start to finish to the client’s specifications.

·      Character Education:  Indian Hill School is wrapping up a successful first year of the implementation of the Character Education Program, Responsive Classroom. The program went so well, that the district is planning on incorporating it into the Village School. Village School has already implemented the program in several of its classrooms and is looking to expand it for the 2008-09 school year. They are sending two teachers to a weeklong training this summer in Colts Neck.

·      Strategic Planning:  As we researched strategic planning for possible implementation, we have begun to identify models.  One model that focuses on Excellence is the Baldrige Model.  That model examines; Organizational Leadership, Strategic Planning, Student and Stakeholder Focus, Measurement and Analysis of Organizational Performance, Workforce Focus, Process Management and Results.  During the spring break, Mrs. Currie attended the Baldrige Quest for Excellence Conference in Washington DC.  While she was specifically focused on the Strategic Planning portion of the process, she identified a critical need for a Holmdel Mission Statement.  Further, when examining strategic planning in this model, it was evident that a systematic improvement plan will provide guidance when major changes or innovations compete for limited resources.  The strategic planning category emphasized a future oriented basis for decisions and priorities.  With the district goals that are current in place, we are beginning the focus on the future.  Further, the district goals are aligned and cascade through the administrators annual professional goals.

·      World Language:  The World Language Program at Satz has been refined to offer all five languages in the coming year to seventh grade students during the regular school day.  The current schedule of alternate day instruction will be followed.  The students will continue with the same language in eighth grade.  With the in-depth middle school course work, the students will be well prepared to move into the year two of the language in ninth grade. The World Language curriculum in grades 1 – 6 will be refined over the summer months.  This will be an area of continued focus for the coming years.