Schools
School Board Recognizes District Employees Who Helped in Derecho Aftermath
The 14 staffers were honored Monday night.
The Galloway Township Board of Education recognized more than a dozen employees for going above and beyond the call of duty by helping in the aftermath of the June 30 derecho storm at its meeting Monday night, Aug. 27 at the middle school.
The 14 staffers did not stay after school, tutoring students at the end of the 2011-12 school year. Instead, they stepped forward and helped out at the Galloway Township Middle School following the derecho.
"This room," Superintendent of Schools Dr. Annette Giaquinto said of the middle school's cafeteria, " was used a shelter."
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The room, as officials termed it, was a "cooling station" for local seniors and other residents who needed a cool place to come to following the June storm. Many people were without power; thus, they were without air conditioning for up to a week after the storm.
Many of the 14 district employees volunteered hours at a time—including one who stayed the entire time—helping those who came to get cooled off.
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"We were pleased to have been able to have served" as a cooling station, Giaquinto said, noting that the district wanted to recognize those individuals who did volunteer their time at Monday night's school board meeting. They were: Harry Albrecht, Kim Albrecht, Linda Albrecht, Steve Bolli, Christine Butterhof, Charles Hathaway, Marguerite Hoffman, David Josephsen, Tim Kelley, Sharon Kutz, Butch Massey, Marilyn Moore, Dan Payne and Larry Timberman.
In other business, Giaquinto provided an update and overview of the district's initiatives and state mandates for the upcoming school year; two of the district supervisors provided an overview of the curriculum, instruction and assessment updates.
Giaquinto also noted that one of this coming school year's initiatives is to promote the importance of eating breakfast among the district's school children.
"I'm thankful to hear about this," Board member Beverly Evensen said. "I think it'll affect (educational) achievements in the long run."
