FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – The Board of Education recognized students at a meeting held June 13. Middle school cheerleaders, chorus members and wrestlers were recognized for winning various state competitions.
The Barkalow Middle School cheerleaders, consisting of 22 girls in sixth through eighth grade, placed first in the New Jersey State Championships.
According to cheerleading coach Deidre Lisi, the girls achieved the highest score of the competition among high school junior and varsity teams.
“Words cannot describe how proud I am of this team’s hard work and dedication,” she said.
Five Barkalow Middle School and Eisenhower Middle School wrestlers were also recognized during the meeting for becoming champions in Monmouth County, Middlesex-Monmouth, and Tri-County Shore Conference Tournaments.
“Their accomplishments have been amazing and exemplifies their hard work,” said Tom Foreman, district wrestling coach. “I look forward to watching their progress on the high school level.”
Speaking on behalf of the Eisenhower chorus, Jesse Ryan, music teacher, thanked the board members for their support of the music program before describing the winning efforts of his students.
The chorus was honored for placing first in its division at the Music in the Parks Festival held at Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, on May 12 among more than 1,500 students from New Jersey and New York.
The chorus also won an Esprit de Corp award in which all high school and middle school bands and choruses competed. It is an overall award based on the group that displays the most character, spirit and sportsmanship throughout the day.
“We are very proud to honor our students; they are what we are all about,” said Superintendent of Schools Catherine Snyder.
Marking her retirement, Snyder was also honored by the board and the Freehold Township schools’ PTO.
Linda DiStasi, Catena School PTO president, spoke about the establishment of the Dr. Catherine M. Snyder Language Arts Achievement Award which will be presented annually to eighth-grade graduates of the middle schools.
It will award deserving students demonstrating leadership in the language arts area by thinking critically, using language effectively for reading, writing and speaking, and excelling academically.
This year’s winners are Danielle Roenthal and Kevin Andreasen from the Barkalow Middle School and Michael Warnock from the Eisenhower Middle School.
Plaques will be displayed at the Barkalow and Eisenhower middle schools stating that the award was established in 2006 by the Freehold Township PTO to honor Snyder for her work, passion and commitment in the teaching and learning of language arts.
It also reads, “Dr. Snyder has touched the lives of countless students and leaves a legacy of excellence to the Freehold Township School District.” In addition, a donation will be made to the middle school media centers to purchase books in Snyder’s name.