School Board Honors Teachers Of The Year, Harmony Day Award Winners

Sampson G. Smith’s Rhonda Stewart was honored as that school’s and the district’s teacher of the year at the May 22 Board of Education meeting.

Stewart, an English teacher, was one of nine teachers so honored.

Eileen Brett, Sampson’s principal, called Stewart “an amazing educator who really cares and inspires her colleagues.”

“Her students quickly know at the beginning of the year that this is a woman who means business,” she said.

Other teachers named Teacher of the Year for their buildings were:

• Paulette Kirchner, Franklin High School: She gives her students “the motivation that is needed to become a good student and a good person,” said Orvyl Wilson, the high school’s interim principal.
• Mildred Arrieta, Franklin Middle School: She is a “passionate advocate for her students,” said building principal RaShawn Adams. “She exemplifies all that we need and desire for our students in Franklin Township.”
• Tracey Medina, Conerly Road School:  Medina came to the school “with a vision, a passion and a desire to teach,” said Conerly Road principal Donna Burnett. “She is so devoted, so dedicated to her students.”
• Howard Feinberg, Elizabeth Avenue School: “He wants to develop young minds, and you can see that happening on a daily basis,” said principal John Haney. “he views teaching not as a job, but as a calling.”
• Kimberly Bunch, Franklin Park School: Nicole Scott, Franklin Park’s principal, said Bunch is “an amazing advocate for her students and she works hard to meet their needs. She puts the emphasis on what a child can do, instead of what they cannot do.”
• Nora Carlisle, Hillcrest School: Evelyn Rutledge, Hillcrest’s principal, said Carlisle “greets her students every day with a smile and appositive attitude. She is devoted and very committed as an educator.”
• Donna Geyer-Delrocco, McAfee Road School: Geyer-Delrocco could not attend the meeting, but principal Bill Grippo said she “creates a ripple” among her Kindergarten students. “That’s what teaching is all about, creating a ripple,” he said. “That’s what the magic is all about. She’s an inspiration.”
• Nancy Fischer, Pine Grove Manor School: “She goes above and beyond for each of her students,” said building principal Miguel Rivera. “She has shown and demonstrated a true warmth and caring for her students, far beyond the walls of the school.”

Students from throughout the district participated in a poem and essay contest for the annual Harmony Day celebration. The students wrote about “what harmony means to them,” said program coordinator Roberta Mitchell.

At least one winner from each school was selected. The winners are:

• Samuel Obeng, Elizabeth Avenue School
• Maya Zavatsky, Conerly Road School
• Dhruvi Mehta, Franklin Park School
• Michelle Louie, Franklin Park School
• Lauren Kozubal, Hillcrest School
• Eli McClain, MacAfee Road School
• Afia Asamoah, Pine Grove Manor School
• Bahia Moormon, Sampson G. Smith School
• Natasha Ishaq, Franklin Middle School
• Jared Lugo, Franklin Middle School
• Tamara Davis, Franklin High School
• Rodney Cruz, Road to Success

 

 

 

 

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