On May 18, 2020, Dr. Burton and the Board of Education met virtually to conduct the business of the district.

Superintendent’s Report

• About celebrating the milestones for students

I would like to start my report with a message about the important milestones in our students’ lives. Whether they are in Grade 4 and moving from their elementary school, Grade 5 to the MS, Grade 8 to the HS or our seniors as they take on the title of Millburn graduate, students will remember these moments in their lives and how we’ve made them special. We want to be sure that we have marked this time with events that they will want to remember and forget the portion that they felt they have missed out on. I want to let the Board and the community know that we are working with the administration and our parent groups to make these milestones both big and small, unique for our students as they take the next step in their educational journey. These celebrations will include virtual elements and will include other additions as we are able to mark their notable accomplishments and accolades with their families and their school communities.

• Finn Foundation and Rec. Dept. Donation

On the agenda, this evening is a donation from the Finn Foundation (named in memory of the heavyweight champ, Paul J. Finn Jr.) to the Millburn High School Athletic Department in the amount of $5,000.00 towards the purchase of new wrestling mats for the Millburn HS Wrestling program. In addition, there is a donation from the Millburn Recreation Department to the Millburn High School Athletic Department in the amount of

$2,000.00 towards this purchase.

• National Merit Scholarship Winners

Two Millburn High School seniors were named as National Merit Scholarship winners. Congratulations to Amanda Huang and Ethan Zhang for this honor which gives them a scholarship worth $2,500 from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for their selection. Scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.

• Parent Wellness Series

Our Parent Wellness Series Consortium is offering 2 presentations this week during Mental Health Awareness Month:

o On Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00 pm, a special Webinar, “Managing our Mental Health During These Uncertain Times,” will be available for parents and students. This timely presentation with mental health professionals from “Minding your Mind,” will provide viewers with strategies, coping skills and concerns about navigating today’s challenges. The webinar link is posted on our website. Join in Q&A for an opportunity to join the discussion on this timely and important topic.

o On Thursday, the presentation of the movie “Angst, Raising Awareness Around Anxiety” that had been scheduled in Berkeley Heights in March, will now be available for viewing online. The link for registration is also posted on our website.

• Voter Registration Reminder

Governor Murphy announced that all registered voters will automatically receive a Vote by Mail ballot for the July 7 New Jersey Primary Election. If you are not registered to vote, apply now so that you will receive your ballot in time for this primary election, and for the November election. All students who will be 18 at the time of the primary and in November should be sure to register now. You can find the registration form on our website under News, and also at the website of the Essex County Clerk.

• Students Making a Difference

Vikram and Vishal Ganti, 2 HS students made a very important stop at the Youth Consultation Services (YCS) offices last week. Their visit was to drop off a donation for $1500 that they raised for At-risk special needs children. They also collected and donated baby supplies and board games. The employees graciously presented them with a large check in recognition of their donation and generosity in support of these students in need.

Board President, Alex Zaltsman, made the following statement:

It’s Teachers Appreciation Week! I’d like to thank all our teachers for their dedication to our children! This is a special year to appreciate teachers because overnight their world changed...and our world changed. They had to adapt quickly to teaching our kids from remote, learning new tools they haven’t used before, and being innovative in delivering as close to the Millburn education experience as possible.

The Millburn Education Foundation posted a great video to their YouTube channel, it’s on the Millburn Schools Facebook page as well. I highly recommend everyone go there and watch it!

Assistant Superintendent, Kate Diskin reported on:

• Scholastic Art Competition

Our Art Students continue to earn accolades, even remotely.

Two Millburn High School seniors have been nationally recognized by the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition for their outstanding achievement in visual art.

Kate Lama has received a Scholastic National Gold Award in Printmaking, and Gabrielle Stoller has won a Scholastic National Silver Award in Sculpture.

Both young women completed their AP Art and Design portfolios last year, and are enrolled in Art Consortium this year. Both will be continuing their art studies at the collegiate level. Ms. Lama will be attending Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia, and Ms. Stoller will be attending the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston.

The Scholastic Art and Writing National Award Ceremony is traditionally held at Carnegie Hall in New York City in the spring. But, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the ceremony this year will be held virtually on June 4th.

The public is invited to view all National winning works at the Scholastic Art and Writing website.

https://www.artandwriting.org/explore/online-galleries/

• Art Advisory Committee Scholarships

The Millburn-Short Hills Art Advisory Committee is proud to announce its 2020 Art scholarship awards. Now in its 15th year, the program honors outstanding Millburn High School Senior and Junior AP Art students. This year, eight students were chosen for the honors. The committee views every AP junior and seniors student’s portfolio and selects those that contain not only impressive individual pieces, but demonstrate an overall progression and high achievement. Winners are encouraged to remember their artistic roots in Millburn Township and previous winners return to share their stories and receive continued support from the committee.

Senior Awards: Jordyn Axelrod and Ishani Juneja earned the top award this year.

Award of Merit went to Eden Elder and Gabrielle Stoller

Honorable Mention to Betty Zhang

Junior Awards:

Olivia Regan earned the Award of Merit,

Honorable Mention went to Isabella Ries, Katherine Regan

These artworks are usually on display at the Millburn Library. This year they can be viewed online at https://mshartsadvisorycommittee.wordpress.com/

• Millburn Strong Kids

We are so proud of the multiple charitable and community activities being undertaken by our students. This week we are highlighting an effort by MHS Junior Mason Handwerger to have kids from Millburn/Short Hills share some positive, child-related, stories within our community during this unprecedented time. How have you been occupying their time. Have you learned something new? Are you keeping up their sports training, learning to play an instrument, creating new art? What are the siblings doing together?

Share your experiences and photos/videos with Mason at masonhandwerger@gmail.com or his dad Barry Handwerger. They will share your stories with the community.

Business Administrator Cheryl Schneider reported on Business Agenda items:

Tonight’s meeting includes two separate action segments; the first being the organizational

action items that took place at the beginning of the meeting. The Board re-organizes in January when newly elected Board members are sworn in and organizational resolutions are approved by the newly re-organized Board. Many of these resolutions are repeated, or updated, at this organizational meeting, when resolutions are approved for the Board’s operational components for the new 2020-21 fiscal year.

In addition to the regular monthly financial resolutions, the second set of action items this

evening includes resolutions approving a number of maintenance projects, some referendum

projects and the purchase of a replacement school bus for next school year. We are also

canceling a number of stale checks associated with the old bank accounts. This will allow us to close out the final balances in the old accounts and move the remaining funds to the new

Investors accounts.

A special thank you to the Millburn Recreation Dept and to the Finn Foundation for their

donations towards new wrestling mats. The balance of the purchase will be paid for through

the Athletics Dept operating accounts. We appreciate the partnerships with the Rec Dept and

the Finn Foundation allowing us to make this purchase happen.

Answers to Comments and Questions can be found on our website: https://www.millburn.org/apps/pages/BOE_Questions

The Board meeting will be held virtually. Login information will be shared with the community.

2019-2020 Board & District Goals

Find additional Business, Policy and other AGENDA items from recent meetings. You can always read minutes from Board Committees here.

Questions and Answers from Public Comments at Board of Education meetings are posted before the next BOE meeting.

Watch full Board meetings now on our website at: https://www.millburn.org/apps/pages/BOE_Meeting_Recordings

If you have questions, please email us at webmaster@millburn.org

All Board of Education meetings are held at the Education Center at 7:45 p.m., 434 Millburn Avenue, unless otherwise noted.