Panther Prints 6-6-12 (pdf)

June 6, 2012
September 22, 2010
Hope Happenings
Friday, June 8
Grade 8 Awards Dinner 6-8pm
Dance, Gr. 7 & 8, 8-10pm
Monday, June 11
Safety Patrol Trip to Dorney Park
I
Tuesday, June 12
Preschool Parent Meeting
6pm in Preschool Room
BOE Meeting, 7pm, Media Center
Friday, June 15
Grade K, 1, 2 Father’s Day Kickball 10:15
Monday, June 18
1 p.m. dismissal, Cafeteria Closed
Commencement, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, June 19
1 p.m. dismissal
Panther Pride Day
(see article regarding lunch on p.2)
Proud to be a Panther.
Page 1 of 4
BOE YEAR END SUMMARY
Another school year is drawing to a close, which
gives me a chance to look back on the many
changes that have occurred this year, as well as the
changes we have to look forward to for next year!
Our new School Principal, Mrs. Stacy Brown
(formerly Ms. Stacy Peterson when she joined us in
August 2011), has settled into her position and has
made numerous improvements in the short time
she’s been with us. One item of note is a nationally
recognized program she brought to our school,
called “Girls on the Run”; this program helps girls
in Grades 3-5 develop self-esteem and self-respect
to help prepare them for life’s challenges as
individuals. The program was a great success, and
we’re looking forward to Mrs. Brown’s future
projects and endeavors.
We will be wishing Mr. Annunziata, our School
Superintendent, the best of luck as he officially
retires on June 30. Mr. Annunziata has been our
lead administrator (acting in several roles including
Principal, Director of Special Services and
Superintendent for Hope and now both White and
Hope Township Schools) for 10 years, and his
dedication to our students and our school has
resulted in tremendous improvements in academic
areas and financial stability. We appreciate all of
Mr. Annunziata’s hard work over the years, his
many contributions and his unswerving
commitment to Hope School, and wish him well in
his retirement!

June 6, 2012
On a brighter note, we’re looking forward to
welcoming our new Superintendent, Mr. Michael
Slattery, when he takes on his Shared Service role
for both Hope and White Township Schools on July
1. Mr. Slattery is an experienced educator and
administrator, who will continue to improve our
successful educational programs by enhancing our
curricula, and teaming with Mrs. Brown to develop
our school in multiple areas that allow for more
learning opportunities for our students. We’ll be
setting up time when the parents and community
will be able to meet Mr. Slattery and speak with
him directly, so stay tuned!
Some important state educational legislation has
been recently implemented, some of which is
already in effect (anti-Harassment, Intimidation &
Bullying, or HIB, legislation) and was rolled out
last September, and some which will be put into
effect this coming fall (teacher evaluation process
and common core curriculum). If anyone has any
questions regarding any changes, please contact our
administrative staff who can provide more
information and details.
As announced last year, we were able to work with
staff and administration to implement an earlier
start time to the school day. Starting this coming
September, we will also be moving to an earlier
start to the academic school day, including a change
in the morning bus unloading and staging
procedures for all grades except Pre-K. In the
mornings, students will disembark from their bus
and go straight to their homeroom by 8:40 am,
rather than gathering in the all purpose room first.
In the afternoon, the procedure remains the same;
students will go directly to their buses from their
homerooms; both morning and afternoon activities
will be monitored, as always, by the Student Safety
Patrol, who tested this new procedure in late May.
This new procedure will be more efficient, allowing
students to go directly to their classes and start their
academic day sooner (and thereby providing more
classroom instruction time in the day) without
extending the day.
On behalf of the Board of Education, I wish
everyone a safe and happy summer and look
forward to the coming school year! See you in
September!
Lori Ostrzyzek
President, Hope Board of Education
Page 2 of 4
HOPE TAKES SECOND PLACE IN SOLAR CAR
COMPETITION
On May 29, a team of students from Hope School’s
Solar Car Club participated in the Inter-County
Finals of the 11 th TransOptions Junior Solar Sprints
Competition held at Central Park of Morris County.
Seventh graders Jeremy Diehl, Alex Nelson, Zach
Panza, along with eighth grader Brian Zyck, entered
their solar car, “Hope Speeder”, into the speed
competition. Their car came in 2nd place out of the
42 solar cars entered. They each won a plaque for
their efforts. This program is under the direction of
Mrs. Mohlmann. Congratulations, team “Hope
Speeder”!
LUNCH ORDERS FOR PANTHER PRIDE DAY
Hamburgers & hotdogs will be served on Panther
Pride Day. All orders must be pre-ordered and
pre-paid. Order forms were sent home with
students and are available in the Virtual Backpack
of the school website. If you do not plan on
ordering a lunch, please bring a lunch or snack to
school. Remaining lunch tickets will be honored.
NOTES FROM THE OFFICE
If you are planning to move before the beginning of
the 2012-2013 school year, please be sure to contact
the Main Office of Hope School before the end of
June.
Mrs. DeYong and Mrs. McNamara would like to
wish all of you a happy and healthy summer. We
will see all returning students on Sept. 5 th !

June 6, 2012
EIGHTH GRADE HOLDS HOPE TWP. MEETING
On Wednesday, May 9, Grade 8 students attended
the Hope Township Committee Meeting for Hope
Gov’t Day. Mayor McDonough came to Hope
School on Monday, May 7 th , and met with Grade 8.
Mrs. Rockenfeller had students apply for township
government positions, who then acted as the Town
Committee. Participating students were: Hunter
Leef- Mayor; Andrew Kobee -Deputy Mayor;
Christian Scaffidi- Councilman; Kieran DeMasi-
Attorney; Brian Zyck- Engineer; Emily Negri;
Clerk. The students did very well in their roles. We
appreciate the efforts of our township officials for
allowing us to participate in this experience.
Page 3 of 4
CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2012!
The administration, faculty, and staff at Hope Twp.
School would like to congratulate the Class of 2012.
Sharon Almanza
Jeffrey Atkinson
Kieran Demasi
Lillian Huey
Nicole Keggan
Andrew Kobee
Hunter Leef
Thomas Madeo
James McKenna
Giovanna Myerchin
Emily Negri
Baily Overko
Virginia Peterson
Elizabeth Planer
John Quimby
Stephanie Ricker
Carissa Rosania
Christian Scaffidi
Brett Siegmeister
Joseph Trautz
Kaitlyn Turner
David Woodworth
Megan Wright
Brian Zyck

June 6, 2012
RECREATION NEWS
Hope Recreation offers fitness Classes at Hope
Community Center. Class times are:
Summer Schedule: M, W, F 9am-10am, $45/month
or $7 per class if you pay per class. Time too crazy
for the summer? Sign up for Fall classes now:
M,W,F, 9am-10am, $45/month and T,TH evenings,
7pm-8pm, $30/month, or sign up for all 5 classes
per week for $60/month. Registration forms
available at the Municipal Building. For more
information, call Ellen at 908-229-3981.
PTA UPDATE
We are still in need of a Corresponding Secretary
for the 2012-2013 school year. If interested, please
contact Kim Tighe via email at the PTA website.
We would like to thank the PTA Officers who are
stepping down this year. A BIG thank you to Karen
Stroud, Lynn Taylor and Michelle Toohey.
The PTA would also like to thank Tim’s Timber for
the generous donation of the treats for the Panther
Pride Day Ice Cream party on June 19 th .
THANK YOU!!!
THANK YOU MRS. MARKUS
We would like to thank Mrs. Markus for her tireless
efforts in creating a Panther Prints Newsletter twice
each month throughout the school year. We hope
that students and parents are kept well informed
with the events of Hope Township School.
In the upcoming new year, we are also asking
parents to continually check the Hope School
Website, particularly the Virtual Backpack and
calendars, and the Parent Portal, where parents of
students in Gr. 3-8 can see their child’s grades at
any time.
Page 4 of 4
AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
To all Hope School Parents and Students,
As we enter the last weeks of school I would like to
reflect back on my experiences at Hope Township
School. I truly appreciate the rewarding opportunity
to work closely with the BOE, faculty, staff, parents
and students of Hope School. I have thoroughly
loved my time at Hope, the challenges, the
successes but most of all the people - students, staff
and community. Hope is indeed an exceptional
school, committed to students and program
improvements.
The future will host significant changes for public
education as school reforms in New Jersey
accelerate. I am genuinely proud to share that Hope
School is well positioned to address them due to the
hard work and dedication of the BOE,
administration and faculty. Community, parents,
BOE, administration, faculty and staff working
together is the key to maximizing future success for
our students.
I am also pleased that Mr. Michel Slattery is
joining Hope and WTCS in July. He is an
experienced and successful CSA at Bloomsbury
School who is excited to begin his service to our
school districts. He will be working with me over
the next few weeks to transition to the districts.
With your support, I am confident he will be able to
continue to move the districts forward and provide
for the needs of all our students.
Mr. Slattery will quickly find the excellent people at
Hope School - an exceptionally dedicated and
superb administration, main and BOE office staffs,
high performing and caring teachers and aides, and
a knowledgeable and effective support staff to serve
our wonderful students.
Finally, congratulations to our class of 2012!! We
are very proud of you and your accomplishments.
Best wishes as you begin your secondary education.
I wish everyone a great closing to the 2011-12
school year, a healthy and restful summer, and the
brightest future.
Warm Regards,
Mr. Annunziata

June 6, 2012
Page 5 of 4