The class of 2025 is a group of talented and amazing individuals. The graduates tonight remind us what it means to persevere, learn new things, and thrive even when life is difficult. During challenging times, sometimes you have to look a little bit harder for the good, but it's still there. The class of 2025 is a reminder to all of us that challenges won't last forever and good times are still ahead. I want to encourage this graduating class to keep moving forward. Just like our school mascot, the cheetah, there are many ways that we can learn from cheetahs and apply their instincts to our own lives. Cheetahs set goals and pursue them with intensity and speed. Cheetahs are the only non-domemesticated cat that purr, which indicates its kindness and connection with other people. Cheetahs also tend to lay around in trees and sleep when nothing interests them.
And each year we honor him with an uh scholarship and on that we have Paulie and this year happens to be his birthday on July 12th. So if any of you families would like to join us, we're going to have you come out and play golf at Greenwood Country Club. John uh graduated from Manchester College and continued his graduate degree at Ball State and this year's recipients are heading to Ball State in the fall and we're so happy to present two scholarships to Raven Henry and Samara. Uh-huh. Yeah. Each year, Greensburg Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 104 for scholarships to seniors. This year, Greensburg Lodge 104 is proud to announce the 1000R scholarships to Savannah Danfor, Ariana Hamilton, and Tiffany [Music] Gr. Heat. Heat. Good morning. My name is Amy Swain and I have the privilege of serving as the staff development coordinator at Peter County Memorial Hospital.
All of these efforts, big and small, are helping us build a school culture that is positive, student center, and student centered and full of opportunity. Thank you for your continued support, and we're excited to see what next year will bring. I have to have a couple reminders that I want to share out. Kindergarten enrollment is open for both Bailey and Hamilton. Um, if you know of a child that turns five um after August 1st, let them know to enroll. Um, and then last but not least, North American Games is next Friday. Hamilton and Bailey will be fighting. I'm sorry, not fighting, competing for the bell. Hopefully, it stays here. Okay. And then I do have several a um certificates that I like to pass out. Um, kind of recognizing some of our students. I will start off with our spell bowl students. So, if you are in Spellbable, if you want to come on up here and line up and then I'll call out your names and we'll pass out certificates.
And so we now have uh two assistant town managers. And I think I explained uh to to everybody just kind of what some of the rationale was behind that and what we hope to accomplish with this new structure. Um and I can get into that uh a little bit later if we want to. But um without further ado, I I really uh am pleased and proud I really proud to um announce that uh Beth Reynolds is our new assistant town manager for community development and community affairs. Um Beth, I won't steal too much of your thunder here, but Beth has been uh working for the town for um almost 10 years. I'll let her say the exact number that um and uh so she'll be handling um you know certain aspects of the organization. I can let her get into that a little bit more.
She has that's her 36th career goal against the Brownies over the last four years. So a lot of girls don't even get 36 goals in her high school career. Addie Jordan has 36 goals just against the Brownies and the Knight is still young. Balls up. Addy Jordan comes away with the draw. Gets the ball over to Marino. Marino to Lucas. Kasich just off Calib's stick and Awam looks to start their offense. Calibris. Show show that to Kim. Awam getting up the field. Nice check by Addy Jordan. Addy Jordan up to Calibies. This is where the Spartans are really, really tough. She'll look to get Angelina Trulio if she can get that to an No, she goes by the defender. Turns around. Tries to take a shot. Goes out just wide. Angelina Trulio with the ball over to Calibris. Calib always shifty back there. She turns around, finds Trulio.
A second. Hopper gets the second base and the runners with a blazing speed down the line gets it safely. Right. on the corners for Chassen Blanchel. Over two with two strikeouts, but he has a chance to drive in a run with nobody down. First off is outside for a ball. [Music] One count to Blanchel as Shurro looks over to first. Runner's not going high for a ball. two count and that's in there. Shark one. 2-1 to Blanchel in there. Strike two. Two two low for a ball. Full count. Full count to Blanchel and low for a ball. And the check swing is not a swing. So Blanchel will make his way over to first to load the bases for Jack Vicilian. Picilian is one for one with a single and a walk that drove in a run as he fouls it off. [Music] Slider outside for a ball.
Um, so the next item on the agenda is uh written correspondence. Stephanie, what do you have for us? Excuse me. The following people have emailed the board of ed since May 7th. Andy Korea, five emails. Sherry Styonowski, apologies if that's incorrect. Jennifer Akerly, three emails. Jessica Tanganger, two emails. Brian McGovern, and Leslie Rogerio. Okay, let's move uh to item seven, approval of board minutes. I move that the board approve the minutes listed below as recommended. Special meeting 542025. Regular meeting 572025. Special meeting 5162025. Second.
And since we built this out um to the best of our ability by location, I can then take that report and give it to the individuals in charge of that location and they can look and say, "Yes, this person is mine." Correct. Correct. Correct. I'm hopeful that next year with all of the work and as what you just said that the next year's statements would be more reflective of current statements and not out of a backlog as we have in the past three years of cleaning up of stuff. Uh Teresa, well I wanted to ask in the um this type of uh assigning uh positions and grants uh doesn't this uh um maneuver continue on as grants expire and they have to be moved into other areas. So it's like a neverending battle. Yeah, it it is. But I I think um a majority of uh of the reclasses that we're going to do on the whole, if you look at the number we're doing this year versus what we're going to have to do just to maintain it once it's correct, uh I I think it'll probably be maybe a tenth of the entries, I'm assuming.
Similarly, if you ask the advisory opinion uh and you don't follow it, if an ethics complaint is filed, it's likely that your penalty will be harsher because they they asked you asked and they told you and you said, "Nah, I'm not going to follow that." Um and these are advisory opinions that um and and one of the things we do this this uh training is updated every year so that it reflects the the the more recent opinions and ethics complaints um uh for review. Keep in mind that if you go to the school ethics commission which is on the uh NJDOE website, you can go year by year and look at all this information. Um, and it it really is even with these these are are several um that that we found are are pertinent. I will tell you that if you see the number that starts with A, A represents an advisory opinion, uh those numbers are linked and um you go ahead and send out this email, this uh PowerPoint tomorrow so that you can go in and click and um everything that's in light blue um the numbers are all linked so that you can find that.
Um today when we were out at the county, one teacher from Bergen County is recognized and uh the teacher was able to get up there and and talk about um what shaped her life as an educator and why she became an educator um amongst the rest of all of the teachers of the year and educational specialists. And as she was explaining what it was that was um so you know uh what made her become an educator. It was she said it was the village and it was the community that she was brought up in and that was the community of Cliffside Park. That's a testimony to our community. She said she was properly mentored by her guidance counselors, by the nurses, by the teachers, by her mentors, by her principles. and we were so proud that she gave such a big shout out to Cliffside Park.
From the day I stepped into preK at all schools, I've grown with this town and its people. I've watched classmates become lifelong friends, teachers turn into mentors, and a community shine brighter than ever. This town has shaped who I am, and I'll always carry a piece of awe with me wherever I go. Standing here, graduating as your saludiatorum is surreal. It feels like it was just yesterday we were in this very auditorium, dancing to a million dreams from The Greatest Showman, completely dramatic and probably with two left feet, but most importantly, happy and youthful. We were younger then, couldn't wait to grow up and explore the world, even if we didn't fully understand what that meant. And now we're here on stage in our caps and gowns, flooded with memories of laughter in the hallway, stressful planning, and random texts in our class group chats.
But we're not going to focus on that tonight. Overall, cheetahs are one of the most awinspiring land animals around when they display their strength, their speed, and their focus. At MCAT, the three A's, academics, attendance, and attitude, have helped you keep a sharp focus on your goals. I hope that you will remember the power of having a positive attitude, how it can help you achieve the impossible, and how a belief in yourself is something that no one can take away. I hope you will go out into the world with that same determination and belief that you will accomplish great things, just like the cheetahs that you are. A blink of an eye ago, I was sitting where you sat, wondering what the future held for me. Who knew it would bring me here, retiring after 25 years in the Morirana district. As an educator, the blessings I've received in this role are too many to count.
We would like to take a moment to congratulate the entire class of 2025 on their hard work over the past 12 years. Amazing futures await you. It's my distinct pleasure to be with you today to recognize and reward some outstanding future healthc care professionals with a $1,000 scholarship made possible by DCH. At Pier County Memorial Hospital, we're deeply committed not only to serving our community today, but to also investing in the future leaders of the healthcare industry right here in our own community. The students being honored today have each shown a clear passion for healthcare. And more importantly, they've embodied DCH's core values of integrity, quality, community, and compassion. As you begin this exciting new chapter, we applaud your hard work, perseverance, and dedication. Your commitment to your academics, your school, and your community make each of you and your candidates for this award. And now it's with great pride that I ask the following scholarship recipients to come forward and receive their award.
Mrs. Scartozi. Sorry, I think Mrs. Ellenburgger's here tonight. You girls can come over here. I'm going to hand over the microphone to Mrs. Gartosi and she's going to say some wonderful things. wonderful things. No, they were awesome. The kids were great this year. Um they worked very hard every week. We worked with the words and um they did very well. We're very proud of them. Congratulations, girls. Thank you for coming. So, I'm going to hand out the awards that we have here. So, we have Jose Flores Cvantes. Awesome job. Ruth [Music] Alcarez. I have Ava Ellenburg. Oh, here it is. Ava Ellenburgger. And then the students that were not able to join us tonight, I would just like to recognize their names. Alexis Coleman, Jonathan Lassard, Cassidy Bridgewwater, Naa Prince, and Silus Clark. A round of applause for all of our spell team. Thank you.
And then um Katherine Bird who has worked with us a little over two and a half years. She is now our and as the HR director um is now our assistant town manager for administration and operations. Um and again I just can't reinforce how proud I am uh of the fact that we do have these two qualified capable people here ready to step up in these roles. Been very very impressed with them and their work since they've been here. um not just the work that they've been assigned to do and what they're responsible for, but what they have um initiated and what they've taken on on their own accord and the growth that they have um they have sought and have worked hard towards. Um both of them you will find them in meetings taking notes, looking up things afterwards. Um it's just like they have not only talent but they also have a very very strong work ethic.
Trulio pulls it all the way back over to Mckne. Keney back to Julio. Gets the ball over to Marino. Marino just has one. She'll go by her. Turns around. Oh, smartly. Nice pass. Oh, just off the stick of Lucas. Lucas quickly there to get the ball. Pick it up. Looking for a cutter in the middle of the net. Nobody there. She turns around, looks to go by one. She'll goes in and out. smartly doesn't take the shot and she'll get herself an eight meter. So Kasich will be having an 8 meter with just under six minutes to go in the first quarter. Caroline goes in off the post. Ball bounces all the way up. Awam quickly making headway as they get the ball over the 50. Twoon two. Good defense by Kylie Marino to push the ball all the way back. I go on temporary loses it.
Come on. Let's go. Hit on the ground up the middle for a base hit. Driving one. The runner's coming around third. The throw to the plate is not in time. The runner gets over to second and two-run score. [Music] Hey in a 10 nothing game. Gus Luff up the bat. Looks at a ball inside. [Music] Nobody down. Still doesn't score in position. Fast ball in there for strike one. Come on. [Applause] [Music] Slider hide. Ball two. [Music] Back from the pitchers meeting with the catch and the pitcher. Gus Luff is late on that fast ball. Strike two. Two two count to left and a 10 nothing game. Hey ground foul. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Swinging a miss. Strike three. And the Spartans will get one down. for Domi. First offering to Galleti is just low. Ball one. 10 count way up high. Ball two. [Music] Shimmer would now be up to the 24th pitch of the inning.
Is there any discussion on this item? Um well I think um given information that has come across my email um I think we definitely table the minutes of the regular meeting on 57 to investigate if it's true that under Connecticut foyer law one once an item is placed on the public meeting agenda the public body is obligated to address it or formally vote to remove it or table it which I don't believe that we did. Did you or did you not receive the email from our board attorney with the password protected secure file? I'm I'm referring to our agenda the with the minutes that were the action during the meeting which was to not go into executive. Right. I don't believe that we formally voted to table it or remove it. We didn't go into executive. We addressed it with the board's direct email to you.
Thank you, Mike. The other question I have is in your narrative there's an occasion about the sign rebate. Can you explain that? Because to my knowledge, I've never heard about this before and as much as it is a very pleasant surprise and the amount of money is extraordinary uh as a surprise that I do want to ask you more about what it is and if it's happened before and if it has happened before, is there a way that we could find out sign or if you have the information on this at least for the last 5 years what the amounts have been um you know I'm not saying I know everything but you know this is a big number and what I'm going to suggest is and the reason they asked for the last 5 years is in the preparation of next year's budget I would like to see depending on what your answer is to to the last 5 years this is just a shut deal but if it's something that continues uh that there be some sort of a placeholder in budget line so that with the change in board members possibly happening um you know they would be alert alerted to the fact that this money may be coming in it won't be such a you know a surprise to them as well.
But for example, I'll just go through the first one. the um a school board member asked if they could review the resume of candidates before voting on the superintendent's recommendation for that candidate. And the school ethics commission said it's not really in their jurisdiction to determine whether you can or cannot review them. But if your district if if that happens in your district, if you are allowed to review, the role is very limited. you can only um look at it for observation um or assessment. Uh and you have to keep in mind this that the superintendent is the only one responsible for making a recommendation. So even if you look at it, you can't act on anything unless the superintendent makes a recommendation. And then if you look at the the fourth one which sometimes which is helpful, the uh bottom one A0724. So, a board member co-owns a business in town and they want to participate in fundraising requests to support the PTO and clubs through hosting events at the hosting events and advertising.