Each month, the Board of Education recognizes students from every school at its meeting. This month, the Board of Education celebrated the following students and their achievements with the community:
Manchester Township Elementary School
Skylar Hawkins
Manchester Township Elementary School (MTES) is proud to recognize an outstanding fifth grader. Skylar is a member of our broadcast news team, an attendance ambassador, and serves as President of the MTES chapter of Junior Impact. Her academic achievement is just as impressive. We are proud of Skylar and how she serves as a role model to all of our Dragons. Keep shining Skylar!
Ridgeway Elementary School
Taisha Valente-Romero
We are proud to recognize Taisha, an exceptional student whose artistic talent continues to shine in our school community. Taisha’s creativity, attention to detail, and passion for expressing herself through art demonstrate not only advanced skill but also deep imagination and dedication. Her artwork brings color and inspiration to those around her, reflecting both her strong work ethic and her bright spirit. We commend Taisha for her outstanding achievements and look forward to seeing her continue to grow as an artist and student.
Whiting Elementary School
Beau Sloan, Ciara Farash, Morgan Goelz
In an effort to remind Whiting Elementary School students of this year's theme, "Be Your Own Hero," aligned with the book Be Your Own Hero by Lisa King, our students participated in a writing contest on the topic “What does it mean to be a hero?" This activity helped encourage them to work towards being a hero in school. Beau Sloan, Ciara Farash, and Morgan Goelz were selected for their writing and participated in Cookie Decorating and Cocoa with Ms. Swift.
Regional Day School
Brielle Mayberry
Brielle has made great strides academically and behaviorally. She is a hard-working student who always tries her best. Brielle is always a great friend and a positive role model for her classmates. Her kindness can be felt throughout the school. She can often be heard greeting and cheering on her friends. We are all so proud of Brielle and the growth she has made!
Manchester Township Middle School
Rebecca Fonti
Rebecca Fonti is an excellent example of a student who is deserving of recognition for her contributions both in and out of school. Academically, she works hard, maintains excellent grades, and is a great role model for her peers. Outside of the classroom, she is a member of the Girl Scouts, the MTMS Band, the Student Council, and currently serves as the vice president of the Impact Club. Moreover, she also assumed the role of manager for both the Cross Country and Basketball teams and will soon become an assistant director for our upcoming Spring play.
MTMS January Athletes of the Month
Chloe Sarama & Liam Fecanin
We are extremely proud to have Liam Fecanin and Chloe Sarama represent MTMS as our Student Athletes for the month of January. Liam and Chloe are both great representations of what it means to be a student athlete. They are 8th-grade leaders on our Wrestling and Cheerleading Teams (respectively), work just as hard in the classroom as they do in the athletic arena, and serve as excellent examples to our younger student athletes.
Manchester Township High School
Brianna Oliva Morales, Monica Galvan & Mailynh Da
Three dedicated MTHS students took the initiative to spread kindness throughout the community by organizing a gift drive for local senior citizens. They invited staff and students to “adopt” a senior, collected wish list items, and personally delivered the gifts to residents at Aristocare. Through their compassion and leadership, these students created meaningful connections and demonstrated the powerful impact young people can have when they give back.
MTHS Athletes of the Month
Andrew Petersen & Jesse Sarana
Andrew Petersen is a junior swimmer who broke the Ocean County record in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.56 and set a school record in the 100-yard breaststroke at 57.85. Andrew also became the first Manchester swimmer ever named Swimmer of the Meet at the County Championships. Jesse Sarana is a sophomore who leads the Hawks in basketball scoring. She scored a career-high 35 points against Point Pleasant and is averaging 19 points per game this season. Jesse will represent Manchester at the Shore Conference Women in Sports Day in February.
In addition to the Board of Education honoring our students and staff, Superintendent Pedroza proudly recognized our Board of Education members for their dedication and service to our community during School Board Appreciation Month.
Serving on the Board of Education is a meaningful responsibility that requires time, thoughtful leadership, and a strong committment to our students, staff, families, and our community. On behalf of our students, families, administrators, faculty, and staff, we thank you for your service, leadership, and dedication to public education.