Hopewell Valley school board honors six district professionals

A luncheon in their honor is being hosted by Educational Testing Service on April 29.

   Two guidance counselors and a nurse are among Hopewell Valley’s winners of the 2005 Governor’s Recognition Award, expanded this year to honor more of the professionals who contribute to the quality of student life.
   Receiving this year’s awards are Cynthia L. Glover, biology teacher at Central High School; Joann Guellnitz, media specialist at Timberlane Middle School; Kevin F. Kirwan, counselor at Bear Tavern Elementary; Cecelia T. Cardano, counselor at Hopewell Elementary; Mary Lou Ferenchick, nurse at Stony Brook Elementary; and Constance E. Cloonan, third-grade teacher at Toll Gate Grammar.
   A member of the CHS faculty since 1978, Ms. Glover holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in biology education from Trenton State College. Nominators wrote of her exceptional skill for reaching and inspiring students.
   "Miss Glover knows how to get to the heart of the material and is outstanding at increasing student awareness so they know what they need to learn to understand," wrote colleague Karen Lucci.
   Parents Daniel G. and Mary Agnes Mannix credited Ms. Glover with inspiring their once-science-shy daughter, now headed for the University of Notre Dame to major in science. "As parents we were very pleased by Mary Kate’s academic success, but even happier that she had a teacher who recognized her abilities, challenged her and rewarded her efforts," they wrote. "Her positive influence and confidence encouraged Mary Kate as she proceed(ed) with honors and AP science courses."
   Science supervisor Trudy Iwanski called her a "master at classroom management" and role model for teachers and students alike. "Cindi has been an unsung hero for many years, often overshadowed by the more flamboyant members of our department and also because she basically teaches freshmen," she wrote. "It is the quiet things she does that few people know about and she has not taken credit for that make her a role model for our students."
   An accomplished athlete in college, Ms. Glover began her coaching career in Hopewell Valley in 1977, serving as assistant girls varsity basketball coach. Last year she logged her 250th win as a field hockey coach.
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   Ms. Guellnitz started her Hopewell Valley career in 1967 when she was hired as an English and social studies teacher assigned to Timberlane. She became librarian there in 1985.
   Longtime advisor to Student Council and a leader of Model Congress, Ms. Guellnitz has been credited with expanding library services and working to make it an inviting and comfortable space for students.
   Acting Principal Patricia Coats, who early in her career was mentored by Ms. Guellnitz, described her as "one of the most respected and admired staff members" at Timberlane. "Her deep understanding of good instruction and the interests of middle school students provided a solid background for me which has stood the test of time," wrote Ms. Coats.
   Added colleague Cheryl Rigel, "With her various certifications and her devotion to our school, Mrs. Guellnitz is one of our most priceless assets."
   Ms. Guellnitz is a 1967 graduate of Trenton State College with a bachelor’s degree in social studies and a minor study in English.
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   Mr. Kirwan worked for nine years in industrial arts, teaching woodworking and architectural drafting to CHS and Timberlane students before shifting his attention to guidance counseling.
   After collecting a master’s degree in guidance counseling from Rider University in 1996, he was appointed school counselor at Bear Tavern. He was transferred briefly to Timberlane to work in guidance before moving back to Bear Tavern for good in 1999.
   Nominating colleague Amy Parker believes that Mr. Kirwan’s classroom experience enhances his effectiveness and creativity as a counselor. "He has set up friendship teams to help children who struggle socially while empowering them to create and sustain new relationships," she wrote. "His use of positive language helps even oppositional students to de-escalate as well as helps bridge the communication gap that sometimes exists between parents and teachers."
   Ms. Parker, also a counselor, called Mr. Kirwan "one of the most exceptional people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. His ability to consistently suspend judgment and consider where someone else is coming from is something I aspire toward in my own personal and professional life."
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   Like Mr. Kirwan, Ms. Cardano spent years as a teacher before switching to school counseling. She worked in physical education in suburban Washington, D.C. schools for 16 years, most of them as a specialist in motor development/adapted physical education at an elementary school, where she worked with severely disabled students. She supervised more than 25 special education teachers providing adapted physical education to more than 100 special needs students and, in the late 1990s, organized workshops on adapted physical education for all Prince George’s County public schools.
   She organized her school’s first Special Olympics competition, with over 90 student athletes participating year-round in a variety of sports, and coached county and state championship teams. In 1997 she was nominated for The Council for Exceptional Children’s Outstanding Special Educator Award.
   Ms. Cardano was also a high school girls’ basketball and track and field coach in Maryland, winning a state title and several conference and regional championships in the mid-to-late 1980s. She is a four-time winner of conference Coach of the Year awards.
   She had just finished her first year as a crisis intervention resource teacher in an elementary school in Greenbelt, Md., when she was hired to serve as the guidance counselor at Hopewell Elementary in 2000.
   While at Hopewell, Ms. Cardano is credited with being a creative and committed counselor, working with both students and parents to improve relationships. She campaigned for a "Peace Path," which was painted last summer on the school playground and is designed to encourage conflict resolution.
   "This year’s fourth-grade class began as kindergartners the first year Ce came to Hopewell," wrote nominating colleague Ellen Davis. "They have worked with each other for four years. It really shows! These students are well-versed in "I" messages, conflict resolution, peer mediation, coping with each other and their daily situations in school. This leads to greater achievement academically as well as socially and emotionally."
   Added colleague Linda Bradshaw, who teaches art, "She generates enthusiasm and caring for our children like no one else does."
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   Ms. Ferenchick has served as school nurse at Stony Brook since it was opened in 2002. She transferred there from Toll Gate Grammar, where she had worked as school nurse since her arrival in Hopewell Valley in 1996.
   A former elementary school nurse in Trenton, Ms. Ferenchick worked for many years with mentally and physically impaired children and adults in private facilities in Pennsylvania. She also worked briefly as head nurse in a Maryland hospice.
   While in Hopewell Valley, she has actively sought professional development, completing workshops and seminars on a wide variety of topics, including, child abuse, psychopharmacology, asthma management in school settings, dealing with public tragedy and youth diabetes.
   "Hierarchies of human needs do not start with learning – they move toward learning as more basic needs are met," wrote nominating colleague Linda Hagerty. "How does she discern which child with a sore tummy or headache needs to go home or receive medical attention and which child needs TLC before returning to the classroom? Years of experience, a sixth sense and her personal connections with the children probably tell her as much or more as the reading on a thermometer or what she sees in a child’s ear. But, most importantly, she knows."
   A graduate of the Pottsville Hospital School of Nursing in Pottsville, Pa., and the school nursing program of Trenton State College, Ms. Ferenchick holds a bachelor’s degree in health specialization from Thomas Edison State College.
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   Ms. Cloonan has taught third grade at Toll Gate Grammar since 1996. She has extensive urban public and parochial school experience and is a longtime activist for community-school partnerships. As a Trenton schoolteacher, she successfully sought grants to help increase parent involvement and in 1989 won a grant for a school-wide "Partners in Learning" program. At Toll Gate she runs the Science and Newspaper Clubs.
   One set of Toll Gate parents credits Ms. Cloonan for inspiring their son’s love of learning. "When he comes home from school he is already thinking about how he will approach the next day," wrote Philip and April Toussaint. "What he is learning is important to him and Mrs. Cloonan makes that possible."
   Another wrote of Ms. Cloonan’s perception and intuition. "She has an amazing ability to identify a student’s strengths and then celebrate it within the class while also supporting the student to make strides in other areas."
   Award winners were honored at a reception prior to the school board’s meeting Monday. A luncheon in their honor is being hosted by the Educational Testing Service on April 29.
   They also will be recognized at the Hopewell Valley Foundation’s sixth annual E-Squared Awards Dinner on May 6 at the Hopewell Valley Golf Club. The semi-formal event is open to the public. Tickets are $75 for district employees and their guests and $100 for the general public. Reservations may be made by calling Barbara Kirsh at 737-1827 or Carol Jackson at 737-0821 or by visiting the Foundation’s Web site: www.hvrsd.k12.nj.us/HVF.