SCHOOL BELLS
STARS
Star Student
Eric Gilpin
Washington Township
Orchard Valley Middle School’s Gilpin took top prize at the National Geographic Bee, an annual geography contest sponsored by the National Geographic Society. Open to students grades four through eight, the seventh grader now qualifies to participate in the State Geo Bee, held on April 1 at Rowan University.
Star Student
Jennifer Wenzel
Washington Township
Washington Township High School senior Wenzel was named a finalist in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program. She was one of only 15,000 finalists nationwide, coming from an original pool of 1.3 million students took the entrance test this year. Wenzel was honored by the Board of Education for her accomplishment.
Star Citizen
Patrick Dolgos
Washington Township
Captain Dolgos was sworn in as the township’s new fire chief on March 16. Dolgos has served the Washington Township Fire Department for 32 years, and replaced former fire chief John Hoffman, who retired after 17 years in the position.
Star Citizen
Lorelie Juntti-Heese
Woodbury
Juntti-Heese, an Evergreen Avenue Elementary fifth grader, competed in the Garden District Spelling Bee and took second place. Sponsored by the Women’s Club of Woodbury, Juntti-Heese faced off against more than 20 students in the area at a competition in Haddonfield to take the second place win. This is her second time competing for the Women’s Club of Woodbury at the competition.
SCHOOL DATES
March 21-26 Washington Township Spring Break
March 28 Washington Township Board of Education Meeting,
7:30 p.m. at the Eileen Abbott Central Admin. Building
March 29-Apr. 2 Washington Township High School Senior Trip
April 7-9 LRHSD Board Meeting,
7:30 p.m. at the Lenape District Administration Building
April 28 Bunker Hill Middle School Presents the Annual School Musical,
7 p.m. at Bunker Hill Middle School
BULLETIN BOARD
Updates and announcements from your local school board
Washington Township teacher Theresa Pietrowski has been named the district Middle School Executive Vice Principal. It’s a new position that will coordinate between all middle schools.
The Board of Education also announced the promotion of Washington Township guidance counselor Jonathan Strout. Strout will now serve as executive assistant principal of the 11/12 wing, replacing Theresa Pietrowski.
The Washington Township Board of Education voted for a resolution that will ask the Department of Education to ban the minimum PARCC passing score students need to graduate high school. It’s the third county in the state to do so.
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
News from around Gloucester County
The Margaret E. Heggan Free Public Library just celebrated its 50th anniversary at the start of March. The library opened as the Washington Township Public Library on March 2, 1966 and was renamed after volunteer Heggan in 1992.
The associates of the Zallie’s ShopRite of West Deptford won a recent competition—sponsored in conjunction with General Mills—and will be featured on a new Cheerios box. The store competed against other ShopRites to collect donations, and because of their success they were awarded $3,000 and two employees will now run on special edition Cheerios boxes.
Gloucester County was ranked 16 out of 21 New Jersey state counties in a health rating released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The report looks at factors like smoking and obesity rates, access to recreational resources and more to determine the rankings.
POLICE BLOTTER
State police removed an unidentified body from the Mullica River near Hog Island after it was discovered by two fishermen. The cause of death is yet to be determined.
Following a three month investigation at the Woodlake apartment complex on North Evergreen Ave. in Woodbury a search warrant led to the arrest of a Woodbury man on drug and weapon related charges. The 23-year-old man is barred from re-entering the apartment complex. Bail was set at $100,000.
A college-aged pedestrian was struck by a car while skateboarding along Route 322 near the Rowan University campus in Glassboro. There was no information on her current condition.
THE LOCKER ROOM
STARS
Star Athlete
Zach Firestone
Clearview
Firestone capped a perfect senior season and amazing four-year career on the Clearview wrestling team with his first state championship. He won the 132-pound title at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall with a 3-1 decision over Phillipsburg’s Brandon Paetzell, finishing the season with a 39-0 record. A Bucknell recruit, Firestone went 153-7 in his career and was a three-time state medalist.
Star Team
Washington Township Boys Basketball
The 2015-16 campaign was a memorable one for the Minutemen, who went 25-4 to set a program record for wins. Matt Kiser’s squad also posted a 7-1 mark in the Olympic Conference American Division to claim its first division championship since 1999. Washington Township earned the No. 1 seed in the South Jersey Group 4 playoffs and advanced to the sectional semifinals before dropping a 49-47 loss to Atlantic City.
ROSTER BEAT
Team, player and coach news
Zoe Hahn of Kingsway and Brianna Capacchione of Washington Township were both selected to play in the Al Carino Girls Basketball Club of South Jersey Senior All-Star Game.
Clearview senior wrestlers Mike VanBrill and Stanley Atkinson each won titles at the Region 8 Tournament before going on to place at states. VanBrill reached the state final at 138 pounds before finishing second. Atkinson lost in the quarterfinals at 145 pounds to eventual state champion Mekhi Lewis of Bound Brook, but came back to take fourth in the bracket.
Matt Grubb, a senior on the Clearview boys swimming team, took fifth place in the state in the 100-yard breaststroke with a school-record time of 57.32 seconds.
Kingsway sophomore wrestler Quinn Kinner enjoyed another outstanding season on the mat, as he won district and region championships for the second year in a row.
Four boys basketball players from Gliucester County were chosen for the Al Carino Basketball Clun senior All-Star Game. Spencer Cook of Washington Township, Delsea’s Kaleb Morton and AJ Kittles of Glassboro will all represent the East team, while Paulsboro’s Tyrique King will suit up for West.
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Family Magazine, Volume 7, Issue 2 (March, 2016).
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