MANASQUAN — The Manasquan Board of Education honored a half dozen retiring teachers during its meeting on Tuesday, June 13.
“I just want to thank the teachers that are retiring this evening for their dedication and commitment to Manasquan School District,” said Superintendent Frank Kasyan.
“You’ve made such a difference to the students’ lives, by making us a part of your family.”
The six retiring elementary and high school teachers are: Donna Mead, Joanne Lobosco, Ann Marie LaMorticella, Kathleen Stonaker, Patricia Gallant and Desiree Niemasz.
Donna Mead, served as a second grade teacher at the elementary for almost 20 and a half years. She was especially recognized for encouraging exceptional thinking and hands-on education throughout her classroom and forming bonds with her students by advising them academically, mentally, socially and emotionally.
Next honored retiree was Joanne Lobosco, who has worked in the high school Social Studies Department for 21 years.
Over her career, she has shared abundant knowledge and love for history and civics with her students, and has a strong interest in the United States Constitution and government. Ms. Lobosco assisted at sporting events and extracurriculars and has led a few of her former students to also teach within the Manasquan School District.
Ann Marie LaMorticella began teaching elementary school Spanish in 1999, and has been a critical part of the English Language Learner [ELL] program for individual students.
Ms. LaMorticella was the communicator with Spanish-speaking students and their families, translating during family meetings with teachers and guidance counselors, parent-teacher conferences and eventually went on to translate for those families working with Social Services and other government agencies, and acted as a source of support during those times.
Kathleen Stonaker served as Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant in the elementary school’s Child Study Team Office since 2015.
Ms. Stonaker closely and thoroughly understood a student’s strengths and weaknesses and created a routine that was best suited to each one’s needs. Her enjoyment of traveling, writing and painting outside of work allowed her to connect and support her students from all backgrounds.
Patricia Gallant worked as Administrative Assistant for the Child Study Team and for the Special Education program since 2003. Her past as a legal secretary paved the way to success from her first role as confidential secretary to the Superintendent of Schools right through until the end. Ms. Gallant was spoken on for her strong ability in computer software and how she paid close attention to detail.
Desiree Niemasz served as a fourth-grade teacher at the elementary school for 19 years. No matter what, Ms. Niemasz was present and available to her students, and was particularly recognized for the skillful, safe and nurturing qualities she possessed in the classroom. She was also a member of the school’s Sunshine Committee and constantly worked with colleagues to uplift the teachers.
“You always put our staff and our students first,” said Mr. Kasyan. “Thank you for that.”
AWARDS
Four high school students, one from each grade, were presented with Student of the Month awards.
Senior Taylor Hamarich, junior Finnegan Dougherty, sophomore Alyssa Forrester and freshman Jake Romano and elementary school Student of the Month Aiden Del Salto were chosen for being role models to their peers, doing well in their academic endeavors and involvement in extracurricular activities.
“I just want to thank you all, you’ve done an amazing job representing yourselves and your classmates. You’ve showed up, you’ve kept us in the loop with everything that is going on, and you should be proud of yourselves,” said Mr. Kasyan.
The high school Teacher of the Month John Driscoll, elementary school Teacher of the Month Juliana Rieth and National History Club Advisor of the Year, James Fagen were also recognized for their commitment, time, care and the individual dedications and work to their classroom and students.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the board went into executive session to discuss personnel matters.
NEXT MEETING
The next Manasquan Board of Education meeting [board retreat] will be held on Tuesday, July 18 at 6 p.m.
Manasquan High School graduation will be held on Wednesday, June 21 at 6 p.m. at Vic Kubu Warrior Field.
For more on this story, read the next edition of The Coast Star—on newsstands Thursday or online in our e-Edition.
[more_manasquan]
Subscribe today! If you're not already an annual subscriber to The Coast Star, get your subscription today! For just $38 per year, you will receive local mail delivery weekly, with pages and pages of local news and online access to our e-edition on Starnewsgroup.com.
