|
liberty School news |
|||
|
Liberty School Newsletter February 25, 2005 |
|||
|
Voicemail:
908-637-4790 Web
address: www.gmrsd.com/liberty.htm |
|||
|
Message From Mr.
Alercia The
Annual School Elections will be held this year on Tuesday, April 19. These elections are very important for our
school district because School Board members are elected and our annual
school budget is either approved or disapproved. As a parent with one or more children in the school district or
as a tax paying resident, you certainly want to make sure that your interests
and opinions are counted. You can
make them count by actively taking part in this very important election. Here are some suggested steps to take now. 1. Be sure
you are registered to vote. You have
until March 19 to register. For your
convenience there is a voter registration form attached to this newsletter. All you have to do is fill out the form
and send it to the address that is provided. Please be aware that if you have not voted in the last two
federal elections, you are no longer a registered voter. 2. Attend
the Meet the Candidates Night on Wednesday, March 16 at 6:30 pm at the
Great Meadows Middle School. This
informative session will give you an opportunity to hear from some or all of
the candidates who are vying for the open seats on the Board. There will be a question and answer
format, as well as an opportunity for each candidate to introduce himself or
herself. The event will be held in
the middle school dining room prior to the regular meeting of the Board of
Education. 3. Attend
the public hearing on the 2005-2006 School Budget. This meeting, held on March 29 at 7:30 p.m. will consist of a
review of the proposed budget and its implications to the school program. 4. Vote and
be counted on April 19. All three of
our schools are doing very well as reported in the 2003-2004 School Report
Card, but in order for them to keep pace and continue progress you must
become involved. For a look at your
school’s report card visit our district website at www.gmrsd.com and click on the link to the
Department of Education’s website for the School Report Card. If you would like a hard copy of the
report card, please call the district office at 637-6576. Jim Alercia, Interim Superintendent Chess
Club
Congratulations and good luck to the following students
who will be representing Great Meadows Regional School District in the Warren
County Consortium Chess Tournament this Friday, February 25th: 6th grade: Adam Y., Chris C.,
Brian M., Ashley I., 4th Grade: Kyle T., Quin C. We are
proud of your accomplishment! PRE-SCHOOL
PROGRAM
Great Meadows Regional School
District offers a preschool disabled class, which is located at Liberty
School. We currently have morning and
afternoon sessions which run approximately 2 hours, 15 minutes each. The program is based educationally to
teach the whole child. Specialists
such as speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists
offer their services to the preschoolers. Parents with children aged 3-5
who might be considered educationally disabled or having developmental
speech, physical, or behavioral delays may contact the district’s Child Study
Team office at 637-6020 for further information.
Independence First
Aid Squad Regina Lane Great Meadows, NJ Saturday, February
26, 2005 4:00-8:00 p.m. Adults $7.00; Children under 6,
$3.50. Information:
908-852-3422 Telephone Book
Recycling Sponsored by Liberty Cub Pack
138 in conjunction with Sprint and
Warren County Recycling March 15 – April 15, 2005 Please bring old phone books to
Liberty School Place in trash container marked
“telephone books” Additional information-contact
Lynne Rutkoski @ 908-637-8758 PTO News PTO meeting
dates/times for the remainder of the school year are as follows: March
8th, April 12th, and May 17th, all from 7:00-8:30 PM, with free babysitting
available. (The March and May meetings were
previously scheduled for the morning; they have now been changed to
the evening.) Please join us! Thank you to all the volunteers who made the February Teacher
Appreciation, "Everything Chocolate But
Brownies" such a success!
Mrs. Castanien was the lucky winner of a $25 Shell gift card,
donated by Lloyd C. Grub Plumbing and Heating. Many thanks to the Grub
Family! TV Turnoff Month is March
29th-April 22nd. We are extremely light on volunteers and need your
help! If you can lend a hand, please call Chair Jennifer Cassini at
637-8822 as soon as possible! Thank you. The 5th Grade Send-Off plans are in the
works! If you are interested in participating in any way, please
contact either of the following Chairs: Sue Lechner at 637-8127 or
Diane Francis at 637-4383. Community Day is
scheduled for June 11th this year. Volunteers to run the PTO
booths that day for 1-2 hours are needed. If you are interested, please Contact Chair Sarah Grub at 637-6810. We are
in dire need of a Treasurer to replace
Charlene Prouflias as of the April elections. Training and complete
support will be provided! As elections are held
annually, nominations are also being accepted for all of the
officer positions. If you are interested, please call any of the
officers as soon as possible. You may also contact Colleen Makarevich,
Nominating Committee Chairperson, at 637-6995. Nominations will be
accepted until 3/30. The PTO portion of the school website has been updated
with meeting minutes, agendas, proposed by-laws and change summary, and
committees/chairs (along with e-mail addresses). We are hoping the
website will be used as an additional way of keeping the lines of communication
open within our PTO. The link is http://www.gmrsd.com/liberty.htm.
|
Budget Update The Board of
Education will soon adopt a preliminary school budget for the 2005-2006
school year. This budget provides for
the education of 462 9th through 12th grade students
attending Hackettstown High, 1,032 K-8 students in our three schools, and 10
out-of-district special education students.
The Great Meadows Regional School District is among the most cost
efficient school districts in Warren County and in the State. As a point of comparison, Great Meadows
Regional spends 17% less than the average of the school districts that we
border. Those districts include
Hackettstown, Allamuchy, Mansfield, Hope, Oxford and White. Our district is 18% below the average cost
per pupil throughout Warren County school districts, and 24.5% below the
state average per pupil cost. In this
year’s budget development process, under the State’s 3.01% cap on spending,
our lower spending levels will lead to additional budgetary constraints. Voters in our
school district will play a crucial role in the Annual School Elections on
April 19. In the next few weeks we
will be providing you with information to make an informed decision regarding
the budget. If the budget as proposed
by the Board of Education is passed on Election Day we will have sufficient
funds to maintain our programs and to make improvements where needed. We will also have sufficient funds to
maintain our buildings properly so that larger expenses are not incurred in
the future due to neglect. If the
budget fails to gain voter approval, line item cuts may be recommended by the
Independence or Liberty Township municipal leaders. In an effort to inform you regarding the upcoming elections and
to present relevant facts regarding the school budget, we will have budget
updates in our newsletters between now and April 19. All budget updates will also be posted on
our district website at www.gmrsd.com. Please check these updates and feel free
to call (637-6576) or e-mail (jalercia@gmrsd.com) me if you have any
questions or concerns. Jim Alercia Interim
Superintendent Mug & Muffin The next Mug & Muffin meeting with Mr. Batha will be
held on Tuesday, March 1st at 6:30PM. Art News Congratulations to Juliana H, Emily M, Shannon C, Nicole
C, Brianne L, Ali C, Elizabeth D, Clara K, Julia D, Nick G, Michael R, Tyler
C, Brian W, Kim N, Adrienne N, Stephanie S, Sarah R, Tate J, CJ L and Lee A
for solving the Mystery Artist Contest.
M.C. Escher, the famous 20th century graphic artist, was
February’s mystery artist. Here are the clues for March’s contest:
Good luck and please turn all guesses in to the art room
by 4/15. Argyle Fish
& Chip Dinner Sponsored by the ITVFD Ladies Auxiliary March 4, 2005 5 pm to 8 pm Adults $10, Seniors $9, Children under 12 $7 Advanced tickets preferred Call for tickets Terry Snyder 908-637-8272 or Susan Snyder 908-850-6422 LONGABERGER BASKET TRICKY
TRAY Saturday, April 16,
2005, Independence First Aid Squad, Regina Lane Great Meadows, NJ Doors open at 6:00
p.m., drawing starts at 7:30 p.m. Admission: $10.00
(includes 26 tickets and refreshments) No one under 18
admitted. Information: 908-852-3422 PTO News (Continued) ***Please note the following correction to the "Proposed
By-Law" copies that were sent home last week. The summary
states that the officers will be able to approve up to $250. The Proposed By-Lays should also read $250 (as opposed to
$200). Thank you. Help Wanted The Great Meadows Regional
School District has substitute school nurse positions available. Please stop in to the Board Office and
see Ellen Weiss or call 908-637-6576.
8th Grade Tricky Tray The 8th grade Tricky
Tray was a huge success! Thank you
to those parents who donated a basket and to those who helped during the
event! Thank you also to the
Liberty School teachers and staff for their generous donations! Our community businesses also played a big
part in making this event so successful and we thank them all very much! Tiger Sport Association (TSA) Football and
Cheerleading Registration Hackettstown
Community Center (in the
back auditorium) March 9,
7-8:30 PM March
19, 10 AM-12 Noon and final sign-ups NO EXCEPTIONS April 2,
10-12 Noon. All
players entering grades K-8 as of September 2005 are eligible for
football. All new
players to the football program must bring copy of birth certificate. All
girls entering grades 2-8 as of September 2005 are eligible for cheerleading. Questions? Please call Football
Director Chuck Harvey 850-9477 or Cheerleading Director Lisa Castner
637-8119. |
School Election The Annual School Election will
be held on Tuesday, April 19, 2005. Any registered voter interested in being
a candidate for the School Board can obtain nominating petitions from the
Board Office located in the basement of Central School, 281 Route 46, Great
Meadows, NJ 07838, phone- 908-637-8672. Petitions must be filed by 4 PM on
Monday, February 28, 2005. Candidates filing a nominating
petition for board membership must meet the following qualifications: •
He/She is a citizen of the United States of America •
He/She must be at least 18 (eighteen) years of age •
He/She must be able to read and write •
He/She has been a resident of the municipality from
which he/she is to be elected for at least one year preceding the date of the
election •
He/She is not disqualified as a voter pursuant to
R.S. 19:4-1 •
He/She is a registered voter in the district. No board of education member
shall be directly or indirectly involved in any contract with, or claim
against the board. For Independence Township, there are two (2) seats open for a full
three (3) year term. For Liberty
Township, there is one (1) seat open for a full three (3) year term. | ||
