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 staff, and their achievements, with the community:
Manchester Township High School
MTHS NHS Chapter and Advisor, Heather Staples
This award recognizes leadership and community service of the past year. Specific projects cited in 2025-2026 include: The Santa for Seniors Project, Study Buddies, Make-A-Wish Pickleball Tournament, Cinderella's Closet Prom Event, and Seniors to Seniors Community Events (movie night, BINGO at LVW, Tech Day(s), and Talent Expo at the Memory Care Facility).
Manchester Township Middle School
Kristine Laporte
On 09/17/26, a 7th grade student in Mrs. Laporte’s science class began to choke on a piece of ice from his water bottle. Upon noticing this, Mrs. Laporte immediately sprang into action and performed the Heimlich maneuver on the child. Fortunately, she was able to dislodge the ice very quickly and the student was fine. On behalf of the entire staff, we are very proud of her actions and feel that she exemplifies our district motto: “Excellence by Example.”
Rotary International & MTSD Partnership
-
Habitat for Humanity Club
Rotary International is a global service organization that brings people together to improve communities and help others. The Rotary club partners with the MTSD on service-learning projects that teach kindness, leadership, and civic responsibility.
The Interact Club is a service organization for young people aged 12 to 18, sponsored by local Rotary International clubs. The Lakehurst/Manchester Rotary Club sponsors our Interact Club and provides scholarships for our graduating seniors. The students participate in community service projects in and around our community. Our motto is: "Service Above Self".
The Habitat for Humanity Club provides students with opportunities to give back to their community through hands-on service projects and volunteer work. They work side by side with the Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity organization and have participated in projects such as building benches, building planter boxes, assisting with community cleanups, and supporting local organizations while developing teamwork, leadership, and practical skills.
Manchester Township High School
Christian Feinstein, Carlo D’Antonio, and Ashley Smejkal
ESports Senior Members
Thanks to seniors Christian, Carlo, and Ashley for being leaders and mentors to our younger players. They are incredibly dedicated to the team and participate in practice and matches several times a week. At this Board of Education meeting, they even put on a live demonstration of what ESports are for the audience!
Military Veterans Acknowledgment
In anticipation of Veterans Day, MTSD recognized all who served in the armed forces. Attending veterans were honored for their service, dedication, and sacrifice.
Manchester Township Elementary School
Gianna LaFalce, Hannah Rolls, and Aliyah Maghrabi
Students of the Month
Meet Our Junior Impact Club Officers; Gianna LaFalce, Vice President Hannah Rolls, and Secretary Aliyah Maghrabi ! Led by Ms. Freund and Mrs. Vasquez, our club encourages students to be positive role models through acts of kindness, community service, and leadership. Our Junior Impact Club is ready to lead with heart, serve with purpose, and show that even small acts of kindness can make a big difference!
Ridgeway Elementary School
Cydney Conway, Carson Grande, and Evelyn McLaughlin
Students of the Month
Whiting Elementary School
Alexander Beltran, Jadziel Caban Dones, Gabriel Cruz, Victoria Kopchinskaya, and Marisol Segundo Rojas
Students of the Month
A special shoutout to Ms. Gould’s students for their hard work organizing and leading our Adopt-a-Scarecrow Fundraiser! From promoting the fundraiser and distributing flyers to collecting and counting money, these Wildcats demonstrated teamwork, responsibility, and leadership. Families joined in the fun by decorating personalized scarecrow nameplates, transforming our school’s front walkway into a beautiful fall display! This wonderful initiative brought our school community together and showed that even our youngest Wildcats can make a BIG impact!
Regional Day School
Joseph Cortes
Student of the Month
Joseph is an excellent role model for his friends. He is always offering to help. Joseph is well deserving of Student of the Month for the Regional Day School. His fellow Penguins are so proud of him!
Manchester Township Middle School
Kyleigh Schear
Student of the Month
MTMS is proud to nominate Kyleigh Schear as our Student of the Month. Last year, Kyleigh served as a manager for the Cross County, Basketball, and Track teams, while also participating in Student Council and Stage Brains. This year, she is working with the Cross Country team once again and is off to a great start academically, with an “A” average in all of her classes. We are very proud of her hard work and dedication to our school and can’t wait to see what she does in the future.
Manchester Township Middle School
Summer Williams & Cole Kurak
Athletes of the Month
We are extremely proud to have Cole Kurak and Summer Williams represent MTMS as our student athletes for the month of October. Cole and Summer are both great representations of what it means to be a student athlete. They are 8th grade leaders on our Soccer teams, 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
Samuel Garcia
Student of the Month
Samuel was selected as our senior student for the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Good Citizen Award. This award is based on Dependability, Service, Leadership and Patriotism. Sam will have a chance to compete for a scholarship through a timed essay.
Manchester Township High School
Boys Cross Country and Girls Tennis
Division Champions
Congratulations to our Boys Cross Country Team and Girls Tennis Team on an incredible day for Hawks Athletics! Our Boys Cross Country Team captured the B South Division Championship, while our Girls Tennis Team earned the C South Division Championship on the very same day! These outstanding accomplishments reflect the hard work, dedication, and commitment of our student-athletes and coaches. We couldn't be prouder of both programs!
