School Days 7.2.14

Middle Township
Middle Township High School Announces the class of 2014
Michael Adams, Alexis Alexander, Madalyn Anagnou, Christopher Anderson, Destiny Argoe, Ashley Ayo, Bryan Bainbridge, Dara Baker, Melissa Bakley, Brielle Barbagello, Margaret Barry, Amanda Bartha, Shafai Bell, Joanna Berry, Talia Besu, Alexandra Biederman, Julianna Biederman, Veronica Biederman, Jeremiah Bland, Kelsey Blum, Annemaria Borger, Brandon Brady, Benjamin Bright, Sara Bright, Destiny Brittingham, Alijah Broadnax, Lynell Brooks, Maddison Brown, Taylor Brown, Zachary Buchanan, Jake Canter, Martharose Cappachione, Christian Carty, Breanna Caruso, Benjamin Casper, Jarred Casper, Colin Cattell, Madeline Champagne, Michael Cipollono, James Clark, Keyarria Clark, Lorin Clark, David Cline, Adriano Colombo, Benjamin Conlin, Rachel Cowan, Darby Crowding, Brandon Curtis, Chadae Curtis, Erin Dagney, Kelly Dagney, Marion Dale, Corey Daniels, Gabrielle Delgado, Hanna DeMarco, Kallie DeRose, Tapan Desai, Elizabeth Dever, Christopher DeVico, Donald Diehl, Alyssa Discepola, Anthony Discepola, Joseph Duma, Brinley Edwards, Thomas Eggermont, Kiaira Evans, Quyasia Evans, Kathryn Fagan, Taylor Fanelli, Grail Fangayen, Markell Farrow, Lauryn Fields, Aaron Flemming, Olandieu Florisma, Joseph Fowler, Emily Freeman, Rose Frye, Mark Gabriel, Samantha Geisinger, Wade Gilbert, Anna Gimeno, Noah Granigan, Crystal Green, Dillon Halbe, Natalie Hand, Stacey Hand, Steven Hand, Trevor Hand, Kiara Harris, John Hemphill, John Hickman, Wyasia Holden, Jessa Hughes, Rochelle Izzi, Jacob Jefferson, Brandon Johnson, Hannah Jones, Christopher Karimalis, Brian Keith, Marcus Kelley, Matthew Kelly, Nicole Kelly, LaShawn Kennedy, Kaitlin Kenney, Tanner Kerr, Jeffrey Keyes, Scott Kurkowski, Lauren Legler, Gina Lehner, Yaffa Moriah Lim, Drake Lloyd, Regan Lloyd, Aqi Love, Michael Madden, Samantha Mallous, Kaitlin Manson, Lauren Marshall, Amanda Mayerson, Justin McAnulty, Danielle McCann, Megan McClintock, Morgan McClure, Zac McDonald, Britney McGovern, Holly McKaig, Sara McKinley, Laura McLaughlin, Francis McTaggart, Deborah Mead, Michael Mendes, Colin Milio, Sarah Miller, Sarah Morano, Jonathan Mulligan, Brianna Mutter, Danielle Neville, Jennifer Ney, Joseph Noddin, Ryan Orzech, Cairah Cheyenne Parke, Morgan Pattison, James Pearson, Madison Peteani, Marinna Peterson, Zachery Peterson, Montel Pitt, Kevin Plitnick, Rachael Purdy, Victoria Raffaele, Haley Reef, Carli Reiss, Dylan Rhile, Nicholas Rhinesmith, Gabrielle Rice, Elijah Riebel, Julianna Riggitano, Emily Risko, Leeza Roberto , TaKeara Robinson, Joseph Rodgers, Luis Rodriguez, Erin Ruskey, Jacob Russo, Olivia Salvo, Alex Sanchez, Cesar Santiago, Ciara Sarmiento, Edward Scanlon, Savannah Schafer, Ellegra Schenerman, Shayne Schmidt, Caroline Seitziner, Victoria Sekula, Victoria Sittineri, Eric Smith, Haley Smith, Quyasia Smith, Cody Stanford, Dorothy Stump, Alyssa Sullivan, Gerae Tatum, Brandon Tauscher, Alexander Terenik, Olivia Tighe, Blodin Ukella, Christian Unruh, Micaela Urquhart, Will VanTrieste, Stanley VanNote, Adam Vaul, Angelo Velazquez, Patrick Vendetta, Rachel Waddington, Matthew Waldron, Brett Wescott, Sydney Wheaton, Brianah Whitlow, Charles Williams, Derrick Wilson, Alexis Witkowsky, Gavin Woodrow, Harry Wozunk, Denay Wyatt, Jacob Wyman, Wade Zohlmann
The top 4 graduates are:
Zachery Peterson, Dorothy Stump, Noah Granigan, and Danielle McCann
Glenwood Avenue
Second grade students at Glenwood Avenue Elementary School had a swimmingly good time as they learned water basic skills and water safety June 11.
As part of a brand-new initiative to teach students to swim and be safe in the water, over 60 students made their way to the Montego Bay Resort for a fun-filled morning with members of the Wildwood Beach Patrol.
“The emphasis of the program is self-preservation, floating, kicking and paddling,” said Wildwood Beach Patrol Chief Steven Stocks. “Students were also taught how to help others – reach, throw and go get help.”
The impetus for the program came when school officials learned of researched that showed many children who lived in urban communities did not know how to swim.
“These children live on an island,” Stocks said. “We also have large water parks and many pools in Wildwood. Being safe and comfortable around the waster is an important part of growing up in a seashore community.”
Over a period of four weeks, children were taken to the Montego Bay Resort in small groups for an hour-long lesson. Pool time was donated by the resort’s owner, Adam Youschak. Beach patrol lifeguards Jack McGinnis and Pat Buckley served as instructors. John Lynch, director of the Lunch with Lynch program, was also part of the initiative.
Instructors, along with second grade teachers Erin Ridgeway and Cathy Elsey, took to the water as students sat at the pool’s edge. As they entered the water, students held on to the side. As the lesson progressed students went from simply putting their heads under water and blowing bubbles to floating to doing the doggy paddle. The lesson ended with a spirited relay race of the newly-minted swimmers using their newly found skills by zipping across the pool on boogey boards.
“I learned how to swim,” exclaimed 8-year-old Norkis Lopez. When asked about her favorite part of the lesson, Lopez responded, “Floating. It feels like you’re in bed.” She added that now that she knows how to swim she hopes one day to become a lifeguard.
With the program’s maiden voyage completed, school officials hope to institute the program on an ongoing basis next year. According to Ridgeway, program officials hope to increase the number of swim lessons from one hour per student to six to eight hours.
“We hope to make it an annual event,” said Mike Marano, Montego Bay manager. “We like to help our community. These kids wanted to learn to swim and we enjoyed having them.”
“The hope is that the program will grow to allow every second grader to receive a beginner swimmer certification next year and to sustain the program for many years to come,” said John Kummings, Glenwood Avenue Elementary School principal. “The need is obvious, as our students live on an island.”