Schools

Young Council Members Among Students Honored

Recognition comes from a variety of activities

At Wednesday's meeting of the a group of seventh grade students were recognized for their work at the recent Student Government Day event at . They joined a large group of their peers who were honored for a variety of skills including writing, technology and successes in various contests.

Student Government Day has been held by the township for nearly two decades and this year's group from Middle School North got the chance to see how the municipality functions on a daily basis. The day included not only the chance to talk to township employees but also meet the administration and several special guests. 

Among those who spoke to the students were State Sen. Robert Singer and Assemblyman Dave Rible. The two state representatives told the students about the role they play in their daily lives while working for them in Trenton. 

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At night a group of students from the grade were selected to join members of the council at the dais and work alongside them at the regular meeting. The students selected wrote essays for the event and Nick Pavincic was selected as the mayor for the evening. 

Sitting alongside Deputy Mayor William Gotto, Pavincic read his essay which laid out his plans for his first day in office. That plan, he said, would include funding for community sports and facilities, improving school lunches and working on the town's historical preservation efforts.

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When it comes to school lunches Pavincic said he would like to see them "transform school lunches into something healthy, fresh and enjoyable for all students in the town." He said upgrading lunches would "promote students desire to purchase school lunches and enjoy them as well."

With more students buying lunch the young mayor said that would provide additional funding for the schools. 

The other council members for the night were Toni Hynes, Alexis Louis, Alanna Petrucci and Dominick Scalia.

Deputy Mayor Gotto credited representatives from the district for making the day a success. He also recognized members of the administration including Township Clerk Penny Wollman who spearheaded the program following the retirement of former clerk Bruce Davis. 

At Wednesday's board of education meeting there was even some discussion of expanding the program in the future so that students from all three middle schools could come together for the event. That will be among the topics discussed for future events. 

In addition to the Student Government Day recognition students from across the district were honored for a variety of efforts. The awards came from Kids Tech Day, a wildlife essay contest, an essay contest celebrating New Jersey and a Spirit of Community Award. There was also recognition for entering the National Geography Bee and a winning entry into a Favorite Teacher Essay.

After the students were recognized the board made one big change when they decided to move their regular meeting start time from 8 p.m. to 7 p.m. Board member Mary Cerretani said she suggested the move with the hope that it would allow more members of the community to take part in the meetings. 

The change will be effective as of the June 6 meeting


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