FAIR HAVEN: KNOLLWOOD’S ROLLING SEND-OFF
Rory Buckley, a member of the eighth-grade class at Fair Haven’s Knollwood School, received her diploma at home Wednesday as part of a multi-day, rolling graduating ceremony.
Rory Buckley, a member of the eighth-grade class at Fair Haven’s Knollwood School, received her diploma at home Wednesday as part of a multi-day, rolling graduating ceremony.
L-R: Former Marines Fred Dispensiere and Joe Perrotto welcome Matthew (Matt) Valko to the Wall of Honor at Knollwood School.
Press release from Fair Haven School District
Recently, Matthew (“Matt”) Valko completed his U.S. Marine Corps boot camp training and headed to the Combat Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. But before that, the native of Fair Haven had another important milestone to address, at the middle school from which he graduated in 2010.
Matt’s photo has now been added to the Knollwood School “Wall of Honor,” featuring graduates who are proudly serving their country in the armed forces. Located prominently in the main hallway of the school, the Wall of Honor was commissioned in 2011 by co-chairs Betsy Koch, an eighth grade science teacher at the school, and Joe Perrotto, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Press release from Fair Haven School District
On March 27, award-winning Young Adult fiction author Jordan Sonnenblick visited Knollwood School, and made presentations to students in sixth through eighth grades.
Sonnenblick is well-known for exploring the complicated themes of friendship, family, and real- life tragedy while still managing to be hilariously funny. His books convey a genuine understanding of life as a teenager. Titles include Zen and the Art of Faking It, Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip, Are You Experienced? and Falling Over Sideways.
After Ever After, the sequel to Sonnenblick’s Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie, was the 2011 Middle Grades winner of the American Library Association’s Children’s Literature Award.
Knollwood School Spelling Bee winner PJ Rawlins is pictured with Superintendent Sean McNeil and Principal Amy Romano.
Press release from Fair Haven School District
PJ Rawlins has been announced as winner of the Annual Spelling Bee held at Knollwood School in Fair Haven on January 31. The seventh grader correctly spelled the word “feckless” to claim first place in the school-wide competition for students in fourth through eighth grade.
Competing along with PJ were eighth grader Alex Fratto, sixth grader Will Ross, fifth grader Michael DeFazio, and fourth grader Kate Cusick.
Knollwood School graduate Joseph McGovern Jr.,USMC is pictured with his parents Joseph Sr. and Theresa, after the ceremonial unveiling of his photo on the school’s “Wall of Honor.”
Press release from Fair Haven School District
A ceremony was held on September 26 to honor Joseph (Joe) McGovern Jr., who graduated eighth grade at Knollwood School in Fair Haven in 2012. Joe’s photo has been added to the school’s “Wall of Honor” display featuring graduates who are proudly serving their country in the armed forces.
Press release from Fair Haven School District
After serving as Assistant Principal for the Rumson School District since 2013, Amy Romano will soon be featured in a new role as principal of Knollwood School in Fair Haven. Romano’s hiring was made official at the November 18 meeting of the Fair Haven Board of Education, and she will step into her new assignment in January 2016, at the conclusion of winter recess.
Romano has served as Assistant Principal in the neighboring Rumson School District since 2013.
Prior to her post in Rumson, Romano (pictured with Fair Haven Superintendent of Schools Nelson Ribon at the November 18 meeting) taught various grade levels for ten years in the Plainfield and Howell school districts. She served as Lead Teacher in the Howell schools for two years, coaching teachers on instructional strategies and curriculum. Romano also stepped in as Principal of Rumson’s Forrestdale School, during the maternity leave of current Principal Jennifer Gibbons.
Press release from Rumson School District
The graduation ceremony for Forrestdale School’s Class of 2015 was held at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School on the evening of June 17, during which Rumson Board of Education President Colleen O’Connor and Deane-Porter School Principal Shari Feeney awarded diplomas to 118 students.
SGA Secretary Ryan Champeau, presenting the Class Gift, announced that the Class of 2015 would be providing a Bulldog mat for the entryway of Forrestdale School. Speakers included District Assistant Principal Amy Romano, Forrestdale School Principal Jen Gibbons, and SGA President Maxwell Connery, who recalled his time at Forrestdale School as a new student by observing that “I was made to feel included immediately, and then I came to realize what is unique about Forrestdale…we are free to be who we are thanks to an environment of acceptance.”
Forrestdale Music Teacher John Lebitsch led the Graduation Ensemble in performances of the Processional (Pomp and Circumstance) and the Recessional (Stargate VI).
Eighth Grade ELA teacher Lori Zucker of Forrestdale School, and First Grade teacher Holly Nixon of Deane-Porter School were recently named Teachers of the Year by the Rumson Board of Education.
Press release from Rumson School District
At its April 29 meeting held at Forrestdale School, the Rumson Board of Education honored Holly Nixon and Lori Zucker as its “Teachers of the Year” for 2015. The two educators received accolades from the Board and members of the administration, with family, friends, and colleagues in attendance.
A First Grade teacher at Deane-Porter School, Nixon has taught at both Deane-Porter (Pre-K to Third grades) and Forrestdale (Fourth through Eighth grades) Schools during her 14 years with the Rumson School District. She received her undergraduate degree from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and attained her M. Ed. from Kean University in Union, New Jersey. A mother of four children — all of whom attended grade school in the district — she has been a resident of Rumson for the past 22 years.
An eighth grade English Language Arts (ELA) teacher, Zucker is a 10-year member of the Forrestdale School faculty. She received her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and her M. Ed. from Teachers College/Columbia University in New York City. She began her teaching career at John Adams Elementary School in North Brunswick, New Jersey, and spent 10 years working in educational publishing before returning to the classroom. She lives in Oakhurst with her husband, two children, nephew and dog.