By Mary Ellen Day, Special Writer
Three retiring school employees and a lifelong resident who has served in Iraq and Bosnia were honored at the Manville High School graduation ceremony June 20.
Longtime teachers Steve Kane and Sharon Liszczak and resident Mark Malinowski sat on the dais as guests at the commencement ceremony. Louise Upshaw, a secretary in various positions in the district, also was honored but could not attend.
Manville High School Principal James Brunn read a biography of Mr. Kane, a music teacher in the elementary schools for 38 years.
Mr. Kane taught music to students who now are parents of current students. Over the years, he has taught grades K-6 and at one time organized concerts in three different buildings.
As a child, Mr. Kane went to concerts in Los Angeles and New York with his mother and father. His love of music came from his maternal grandfather, who was a strings player in the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Mr. Kane graduated from Westminster Choir College in Princeton and has performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. He traveled with the Westminster Choir.
While Mr. Kane was teaching in Manville, he gained a master’s degree in music education from The College of New Jersey. He also performed with the Graduate Chorale for two years.
Former students of Mr. Kane’s now are teachers in the district, and he said he was honored to be invited to share in the graduation celebration of students he had taught many years ago.
After a round of applause, the Class of 2012 honored him by singing the “Weston School Song” written by Mr. Kane.
Assistant Principal Steve Venuto read the biography of Mr. Malinowski, who served in Bosnia and Iraq as well as the Manville Fire Department.
He was born and raised in Manville and went through the school district. In 1976, Mr. Malinowski left high school in his junior year and joined the Army as a diesel mechanic at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He was stationed in Germany from 1976-1979.
Having graduated in the top of his class in 1977, Mr. Malinowski received a General Education Diploma in the Army. He left the Army in the 1980s and enlisted in the New Jersey Army National Guard. While there, he changed jobs to become an artillery forward observer.
Mr. Malinowski joined the local Fire Department in 1980 and is still a firefighter today. He was called to active Army duty in 1996 in Bosnia for the peacekeeping mission as a forward observer trainer and instructor.
He was called again to active Army duty from December 2003-March 2005 for his first tour in Iraq as a military policeman and contractor liaison. He served his second tour in Iraq from June 2008-August 2009 as a noncommissioned officer in charge of buildings and urban planning. He worked with the other soldiers to begin the process of returning properties back to the Iraqi government.
With the rank of sergeant 1st class, he retired from the National Guard this January.
After returning from his first tour of Iraq, Mr. Malinowski served as chief of the Manville Fire Department from March to December 2005.
“I just want to say congratulations, Class of 2012,” Mr. Malinowski said. “Your life is in front of you, and I wish you the best of luck. I hope the ones who do choose the military that your career is long and prosperous. I also want to thank my wife, Kathy, for the last 25 years. Being in the military have been more enjoyable with her by my side. Most of you know her as Mrs. Mal.”
Dr. Brunn said Ms. Upshaw, a graduate of Manville High School, was an employee in the district for more than 20 years. She worked in various secretarial administrative aide positions, recently helping out in the Roosevelt School and the substitute hotline.
“She is a trouper herself and battles many things,” Dr. Brunn said. “She will really miss the Manville School district and the students. Mrs. Upshaw asked me to wish every graduating senior the best and to thank you for all you have done for this great town.”
Ms. Liszczak taught at Weston School for 25 years. Ms. Liszczak had worn many hats, from teaching third grade for 12 years, Reading Recovery and other subjects, including Spanish, to what would become the Class of 2012. Ms. Liszczak taught kindergarten for three years and came full circle this year to teach literacy intervention to third-graders.
Ms. Liszczak held an office in the Weston PTA for 20 years and was awarded a life membership. She was Weston’s Teacher of the Year in 2011.
Ms. Liszczak has lived in Manville for 31 years with her husband and their three children. All the children went through the Manville schools, graduated from Manville High School and sat in the same courtyard, she noted.
She said she loved the Manville community and watching her former students grow up. Some of her former students are now her colleagues and parents of her current students.
Her advice to the graduates was a phrase from her favorite Beatles song — “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

