Several students from Cherry Hill High School East’s ethics bowl team were on hand for a special presentation at the Jan. 15 Board of Education meeting.
The students, according to District Spokeswoman Susan Bastnagel, placed second at the national qualifying event late last year.
A range of issues was debated, she said, including the role of the SAT in college admissions and social media passwords in the workplace.
Frank Lodge, a retired East science teacher and the team advisor, spoke at the meeting of the team’s teamwork and determination.
“If I wanted to say one thing of the team, the kids did it themselves,” he said. “We would like to thank you for your support of the Cherry Hill East debate team.”
The 40-year-old team, Lodge said, has been supported each year by the Board of Education.
Staff recognition
Scott Goldthorp, a sixth- and seventh-grade math teacher at Rosa International Middle School, was recognized for his accomplishment of winning the Rosenthal Prize for Innovation in Math Teaching.
The cash prize of $25,000 was presented at the Museum of Mathematics in Manhattan on Dec. 17, said Bastnagel.
His lesson plan will be shared with math teachers across the country, she said.
On the elementary level, Principal George Guy of A. Russell Knight School, was recognized for being the recipient of the 2013 Camden County Freedom Medal.
Students and staff at Knight have participated in service projects for Martin Luther King Day in recent years, Bastnagel said.
“That’s what Martin Luther King was all about: what you could do for others,” said Guy of the service learning projects the school embarks on.
Energy plan
Representatives from Concord Engineering presented a detailed Energy Savings Improvement Plan at the meeting with options suggested to the board.
The presentation came after more than a year of due diligence through energy audits.
The next big hurdle, said Tom Xenakis, vice president of commercial engineering, is the engineering design portion.
Over five years, the district may spend $8.2 million for energy improvements.
The project deadline is Oct. 15, said Xenakis, with construction hopefully occurring over the summer in classrooms that are not being utilized.
The company would work with building principals for logistics, he said, to ensure a feasible schedule.
Boiler replacements are on the agenda, and he said they would be in use by the heating season in the fall.
“Now we can go back and look at our budget work that we’re doing for the 2013–14 year,” said Superintendent Dr. Maureen Reusche.
According to Jim Devereaux, assistant superintendent and business/board secretary, said that there are a few different ways to attack the plan.
If the board decides on the $8.2 million plan, he said, it will be binding itself to a 50 percent usage of the annual capital program to the project.
Look for more information in The Sun as it develops.
Next meeting
The next meeting of the Cherry Hill Board of Education is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Malberg Administration Building.
Visit www.cherryhill.k12.nj.us for district updates.
