SAYREVILLE – A longtime mathematics teacher at Sayreville War Memorial High School (SWMHS) will be retiring from the Sayreville School District next year.
During a recent meeting, members of the Board of Education approved the retirement of high school mathematics teacher Richard Nemshick. His retirement will become effective on Jan. 1, 2021.
“This one’s probably going to hurt for me because I’ve established such a great friendship with this person,” Superintendent of Schools Richard Labbe said. “He’s a person that I met when I first came in.”
Noting the hazing incident involving the SWMHS football team that occurred shortly after becoming superintendent, Labbe described how he met Nemshick through the matter.
“This is a person who I had a chance to work with to some degree in that matter as he was representing some of our teachers and so forth,” he said. “I got to know real quick that this was a man of great integrity and a man with a great sense of caring for the human beings in this industry, not only the students, but the adults too, and someone who I admire greatly for those attributes.”
The superintendent described Nemshick as an integral part of the high school teaching staff and a role model to many of his students who always put his students first and made sure they learn in a variety of ways. He also described Nemshick as energetic, enthusiastic and honest.
“One of the things that I admire most about Mr. Nemshick is his candor,” Labbe said. “He has been an inspiration for all students and staff, especially me. He has left many memories behind in SWMHS. We are going to miss you very much, Mr. Nemshick, especially everything you have done to support the high school staff over the many years. It’s hard to believe that the time has come to say goodbye.”
Labbe concluded his comments by calling Nemshick the definition of a Bomber, the nickname for those associated with SWMHS.
“If you ever spent 10 minutes with Rick Nemshick, you would know what a Bomber is,” he said. “He exemplifies what a Bomber is. When the pandemic wasn’t here, he was at every football game, every activity. One the most special moments of last year was when we were doing Operation B Strong and delivering lunches, Mr. Nemshick would come out of his apartment waving a Bomber flag every time we went by. That is Richard Nemshick.
“He is an amazing person who I am going to miss dearly,” the superintendent continued. “Mr. Nemshick, we thank you so much for all you have done for your students, first and foremost, and, of course for this district and this entire community.”