Toms River Regional Schools

January 2010

As school reopens following the winter recess, we would like to once again recognize the acts of kindness demonstrated by students, faculty, and staff during the holiday season. A special thanks to all of the charitable endeavors taken on throughout the Toms River Regional School District. These events made the holiday season brighter for many in our community.

We would like to begin 2010 with a commitment to high expectations. We look forward to the accomplishments and achievements of the Toms River Regional students in the year ahead. Happy New Year!

December 2009

December is a month where the commitment of our students, faculty, staff, and administration to the community shines brightly. Here are just a few examples of upcoming events and charitable activities:

High School North’s Interact Club will be singing carols at the senior center on December 16^th.

Intermediate East will be having their Vocal Orchestra Concert on December 17, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.

Intermediate South’s Early Act Club is collecting food for their needy Seminole families and selling holiday stuffed bears to benefit the March of Dimes. The Intermediate South staff is collecting Toys for the Salvation Army’s “Adopt an Angel program”. The Student Council is doing a Toys for Tots toy drive.

Beachwood Elementary teamed up with the Girl Scout Troop and conducted a coat drive, together they collected over 200 coats. The Student Council along with our PTO held a can food drive and sold bracelets to purchase Shoprite gift cards for needy families during the holidays. The faculty and staff of Beachwood have organized a "Giving Tree" and have supplied gifts for seven Beachwood families. Our Kindergarten Holiday Concert is on Dec. 11th, AM at 9:30, and PM at 1:00. Our PTO Santa Holiday Gift Shoppe and Cookies with Santa is set for Dec. 11th from 6:30-8:30. The Winter Chorus Concert is set for Dec. 16th at 1 PM.

The Cedar Grove Patriots are busy all year round, engaging in activities which benefit our community. These are some examples: A food drive was held in September for Hunger Awareness Action Month. Many boxes of nonperishable food staples, donated by pupils and staff, were gratefully accepted by the House of Hope in Toms River. The staff participated in a Jeans Day in October to benefit breast cancer research. We used the money paid for the privilege of wearing jeans to school to sponsor a colleague in the Making Strides for Breast Cancer walk.

In November, another staff Jeans Day raised funds for our holiday giving needs. Two families of pupils made extremely generous donations towards this effort. Several faculty members donated bicycles. Two classes buddied-up to “adopt” a family who is experiencing financial difficulties. Many children from our school, along with their parents and extended families, will have a brighter holiday, thanks to the kindness of so many among us. Classes, grade levels, and individuals initiate altruistic, cooperative, selfless activities throughout the year. At Cedar Grove, every season is a season for giving!

Hooper Ave. Elementary School participated in the tree lighting at TD Bank and sang carols.

Walnut Street Elementary participated in the tree lighting ceremony downtown and have their Orchestra/Band concert on 12/16.

Washington Street Elementary first graders are making gingerbread houses!

We wish the best for your families during this magical time of year. All schools will be closed for the holidays and winter recess from December 24-January 3. We will welcome our students back in the new year on Monday, January 4, 2010. Happy New Year!

October 2009

School has been open for a month now and all classes, activities, and sports are well underway. There are many interesting events happening in our school community.

On October 10, 2009, the PTO and staff of Intermediate South invite you to enjoy a morning of healthy living. The fun day will feature our first 5.8K (3.6 miles) RUN/WALK. The fun day will begin with registration at 8AM directly across from the new Seminole water tower. Registration will include a tee shirt for the event. The start time of the 5.8K is 9AM. After completing the course, there will be refreshments available at the school. Call Intermediate South at 505-3900 for more information.

The BOE student reps from the high schools have informed us of the following events at the schools. At High School East, FCCLA will be attending the Breast Cancer Walk October 18 at Point Pleasant Beach. In addition they will be holding officer elections this month. FCCLA is also proud to announce that last year they raised enough money to send food out for 800 families through the Feed the Children Organization.

The HSE Student council is planning “Good Neighbor Day”! Students will put a full plant on all the neighbor’s porches saying, “Greetings” from our Raider Neighbors. Look out for the 30 minute news show, “Toms River Schools Today” broadcasted by East’s’ TV21 journalism students.

At HSS, many of South’s various clubs and organizations are off and running to make a difference. The Interact/Red Cross Club has already begun to collect donations for the March of Dimes “Save a Premature Baby” campaign. Their goal is $750.00,and they are off to a great start! Additionally, the TEAM students at South have started to plan for their upcoming presentation at South Toms River Elementary, and the Big Brother Big Sister program has also started to plan for the upcoming year. Last, but most certainly not least, Toms River South’s very own charity, the Indian Givers, fundraised at Back to School Night. They also continue to run the school store, Indian Outfitters, which carries clothes and school supplies. All items in the store are free for any student who needs them, and all funds raised by the Indian Givers go to help South students and families in need.

At HSN, the “Mariner’s Port” opens. This school store is a welcome addition providing Mariners a way to purchase last minute school supplies and school spirit items year round. The cafeterias have been renamed from North and South to Blue and Gold.

On October 7th and 8th, all of the district's third-graders will be treated to a performance from the HSS English Department. High School South Thespians will be performing the musical A Year With Frog and Toad at the High School North auditorium.

The cast features Andy Brown a South senior as the character of Frog and Michael McMahon a fellow senior who is playing Toad. The group which boasts nine of our finest Thespians have been practicing under the direction and choreography of Kristine Perry all summer and under the musical direction of Faith E. Kline who is also the musical director for the South musicals. Additional cast members include Anna DeBlasio, JJ Merrell, Samantha Cassidy, Joey Diaz, Nicole Clark, Janet Gleason and Chole Stratton.

The show is based on the beloved Frog and Toad series of children's books written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel. The show is described as sweet and funny. The show chronicles a year in the life of two friends. As they travel through the seasons, they learn lessons of friendship and family using song and dance and some help from friends like the birds, turtle, snail and mouse, characters who appear throughout the books as well.

Halloween is coming! The Halloween parade is scheduled for October 31, 2009. The traditional trick or treat day in Toms River and surrounding communities is Friday, October 30, 2009. To ensure of a safe and happy Halloween, please be sure children are traveling together in well-lit areas accompanied by a responsible adult.. For more information of the Halloween parade, please visit www.tomsriverhalloweenparade.com or call 732-349-0144.

September 2009

First Impressions

First Impressions

As the 2009-2010 school year begins, we would like to welcome everyone back for the start of the new year. Each new school year begins with hope and new promises, and many new faces.

First impressions are important to us. We work hard all year to provide students with a learning environment that includes the cleanest and most updated facilities. We take pride in our schools and the professional staff that teaches encourages and challenges our student body to be the best that they can be. We offer a technology infused curriculum that educates over 17,300 students from K-12. We offer sports, clubs, and the arts to our students. We offer the history of a school system where kids come first. Many of our students had parents who graduated from Toms River Regional and remained here to raise their children in the schools they attended. We have many teachers who once attended our schools as students and returned to share their gifts and knowledge with our district. We are always impressed with the accomplishments of our alumni.

We welcome all new and returning families and their children to the TRRS family. We are committed to high expectations for a successful school year. Please take advantage of all that the district has to offer your family and your child. And, please seek assistance in any area that you need help. We are here for you and your student.

Please visit our online calendar for the most updated school events, times and information @ www.trschools.com/calendar. Helpful links for parents are listed under News and Notes at www.trschools.com/newsnotes.

We wish you a wonderful school year. We look forward to watching your child learn new subject areas, uncover hidden talents, and grow as individuals.

Summer 2009

As summer winds down, the Toms River Regional District is looking forward to the return of our students for what is sure to be a memorable 2009-2010 school year.

This summer, we have been working on several cost effective initiatives to expedite procedures within the district. In our continual effort to go green, we are transitioning our traditional printed calendar to an improved online calendar. Parents will be able to conveniently access this regularly updated online calendar right from our district webpage under Calendar Connect. This project will be debuting soon.

Secondly, in an effort to stay in contact with our alumni, we are working to update our high school alumni database. Our alumni will be contacted by Harris Direct for updated information. We will then be able to share ideas, alumni profiles, and information with our vast number of graduates.

Lastly, as of September 1, 2009, all those seeking employment with the district will be directed to fill out an online application. This will improve efficiency by making the application procedures easily accessible from our website. We look forward to helping the environment while improving the application process.

We are sure that all of the new initiatives will prove not only to be more cost effective, but also more efficient and convenient. We look forward to opening schools on September 2, 2009.

June 2009

We hope everyone has a safe and happy summer. Congratulations to our 8th grade and high school graduates.

April 2009

Thank you to all of our taxpayers in Toms River, Beachwood, Pine Beach, and South Toms River for passing the school budget 5595-2820. We appreciate your confidence in these difficult economic conditions.

Congressman John Adler visited Hooper Ave. Elementary and brought good news of a $6.1 million dollar federal stimulus check for Toms River Regional Schools. Read all about his visit by clicking here.

Budget Information:

I am pleased to announce, for the third year in a row, a ZERO tax increase for Toms River Schools (Toms River, Beachwood and Pine Beach) and a slight increase for South Toms River of 1.5 cents. This comes as much needed relief during these unprecedented economic times. Surely, you have read about how many local districts have been coping with these tough economic situations. Some have been forced to layoff staff, end student programs, close schools and other drastic measures. Fortunately, Toms River Regional Schools’ excellent fiscal management and unique business model has provided alternate sources of revenue to supplement our budget and control the cost of services.

Our solar initiative continues to pay off. Solar RECs (renewable energy credits) bring over a million dollars annually back to the budget. Other alternative funding projects provide revenue that is used to purchase items that otherwise would be added to the regular budget. These enterprise accounts have paid for renovations needed to provide for high school closed lunches and also paid for the purchase of technology equipment and buses, to name a few.

This year, we constructed a lean budget with no new staff, programs or projects. As a direct result of these combined efforts, we have been able to maintain the lowest equalized tax rate, the second lowest per pupil cost and the seventh lowest administrative cost in the state of New Jersey. As Superintendent, I am fortunate to be able to give you this good news.

As you know, the school budget vote will be held on April 21^st. You will be receiving a personal letter from me under a separate mailing. The purpose of that letter is to provide you, the taxpayers, with the facts that you deserve in order to best make an informed decision.

More budget news

Michael J. Ritacco
Superintendent of Schools
mritacco@trschools.com

March 2009

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to United Water for their generous donation of $12,000 to fully fund the SAT Online Prep program. This unique program is guided by certified teachers and provides additional academic enrichment opportunities to high school juniors during lunch periods. The support and partnership of local businesses allows the district to offer more programs to our students.

The district offers several academic enrichment programs for high school students to prepare for the SAT test. All High School students have access to the SAT Online program which is designed to help each student gain the confidence needed to score high on their official SAT test. Each student has been given a log on and password in order to practice taking the exam and working on specific problems. Students are able to take an online exam, receive the results, and customize his/her studies to individual strengths and weaknesses.

English and math teachers have integrated SAT type questions into their curriculum in order to better prepare the students for the exam. Teachers also use the College Board sponsored Word of the Day exercise. This is an SAT sponsored activity where an actual SAT problems are sent to students and teachers. Many schools offer contests to engage student interest.

The Board of Education was honored on January 20, 2009 for Board Appreciation Month. The students participated in the event with cards and letters, poems, and live performances from the High School North Cheerleaders, the High School East Color Guard, and the High School South Band.

Established in 2002, the purpose of Board Appreciation Month is to demonstrate our gratitude for the time, energy, commitment and untiring efforts that a Board of Education contributes each year. Our board of education has over one hundred years of experience between them.

We would like to thank our Board of Education for their service to the students, employees, and our community. Serving on the Board of Education takes a great deal of time and dedication in order to create policies and make informed decisions that are in the best interest of the students and our community.

Michael J. Ritacco
Superintendent of Schools
mritacco@trschools.com