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May 21, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 9
FLOW Area
Teachers recognized for outstanding performance
by Frank J. McMahon
Teachers from the Franklin Lakes School District and
the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District
were recently recognized for outstanding performance by
their boards of education.
Superintendent Frank Romano of the Franklin Lakes
K-8 School District recently advised the school commu-
nity that this year’s Bergen County Teacher Recognition
Award/Education Service Professional recipients at the
K-8 level are Janet Henry from Colonial Road Elementary
School, Michele DePalma from High Mountain Road Ele-
mentary School, Lorraine Preziosi from Woodside Avenue
Elementary School, and Katie DeRosa from Franklin
Avenue Middle School.
Ramapo Indian Hills Interim Superintendent Ernest
Palestis announced that the Ramapo Indian Hills recipients
are Greg Hudak from Ramapo High School and Patricia
Wehran from Indian Hills High School.
Hudak is a science teacher who also teaches honors biol-
ogy, horticulture, and crime scene investigation. He has
been in the regional high school district for 15 years and
has spent 20 years in education.
Wehran is a world languages teacher. She also teaches
Advanced Placement Spanish 5, Spanish 3 CPE, and Span-
ish 1 CPE. She has been in the regional high school district
for 15 years and has spent 30 years in education.
Each year in the Franklin Lakes School District, recipi-
ents receive a letter from the district, flowers, and a gift
card from the PTAs and prime parking spaces near the
schools. The recipients from the regional high school dis-
trict receive gifts of $100 for educational materials of their
Franklin Lakes Scribe
Board of education to meet
The Franklin Lakes Board of Education will meet on
Tuesday, May 27 in the music room at Franklin Lakes
Middle School located at 755 Franklin Avenue. The meet-
ing will begin at 8 p.m. All are welcome.
Library hosts children’s programs
The Franklin Lakes Public Library hosts free programs
for children. Registration is required and may be made by
calling (201) 891-2224 or in person at the library located at
470 DeKorte Drive.
Children in kindergarten through fifth grade are invited
to Science Tellers Presents: Dragons & Dreams on Wednes-
day, June 18 at 4 p.m. Everyone in the room will be part of
the story. Enjoy interactive science experiments that will
highlight the Summer Reading Club theme. This program
is sponsored by the Friends of the Library.
On Wednesday, June 11 at 4 p.m., children in kindergar-
ten through fifth grade are invited to Pop Goes the Easel.
Participants will color a ceiling tile design that will really
make the Children’s Department pop.
National recording artist Patricia Shih will kick off the
summer reading program, Fizz, Boom, Read! on Wednes-
day, June 7. Science and music will come together at this
7 p.m. concert. Children of all ages are welcome. This
program, sponsored by the Friends of the Franklin Lakes
Library, is open to Franklin Lakes children only.
Panel to discuss truth and lies
Temple Emanuel of North Jersey in Franklin Lakes will
host an interfaith panel discussion on Tuesday, May 27 at
7:30 p.m. Coinciding with the 40 th anniversary of Water-
gate, the panelists will examine a range of issues on the
topic of “How Much Truth is Enough?”
The panel, moderated by Temple Emanuel’s Rabbi
Joseph Prouser, will consider several questions. Is there
such a thing as a harmless lie? Does the public deserve the
whole truth from its leaders? What does the Bible really say
about truth and lying? When is falsehood a virtue? What is
the difference between honesty and integrity?
Panelists represent a wide variety of backgrounds and
religious perspectives.
(continued on page 22)
choice for use either in their classrooms or their libraries.
The Teacher Recognition Program was developed in
1985 for the purpose of acknowledging teachers who exhibit
outstanding performance. The rationale for this program
is based on the premise that teaching excellence is one of
the most significant factors impacting student achievement
and the quality of public schools.
Acknowledging excellence encourages teachers to con-
tinue to strive towards that goal and for the purpose of this
year’s program, teachers are defined as those whose pri-
mary responsibility is classroom instruction.
Romano explained that the Franklin Lakes recipients
happen to be classroom teachers, but educational ser-
vices professionals have been recognized in the past. He
explained that the Educational Services Professionals Rec-
ognition Act was enacted on Jan. 9, 2004 for the purpose
of acknowledging those who hold educational services pro-
fessional certificates and who exhibit outstanding perfor-
mance. “The recognition of educational services profession-
als is based on their contributions to the success of public
schools,” Romano stated, “and the important services they
provide outside of the classroom environment that improve
students’ academic opportunities, workforce preparedness,
and overall quality of life.”
Some examples of educational services professionals
include library media specialist, nurse, counselor, read-
ing specialist, occupational therapist, physical therapist,
psychologist, school social worker, and speech/language
specialist. All the teachers will be formally recognized at the May
board of education meetings and will be further recognized
at a Bergen County luncheon held at the Fiesta in Wood-
Ridge.