Students and parents were honored last week during the Lenape Regional High School District Board of Education meeting.
Four students, Alexa Potts, Jessica Keller, Nick Maricondi and Shawnee student Matthew O’Rorke, were awarded the Volunteer Service Award.
O’Rorke was awarded the Shawnee Volunteer Service Award for his volunteerism and impact on the school and community through time working at The Food Bank of South Jersey and Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Center.
Earlier in the year, O’Rorke was awarded the Presidents Volunteer Service Award, a national recognition for hundreds of hours of community service.
“It’s pretty cool to be recognized for trying to help people who need food, but I would think most people would try to do the same thing if they had the opportunity to help,” O’Rorke told The Sun in February.
“I knew how many local people are in need of basic things, especially in tough economic times. The most important thing to me is that hungry people in this area are getting food.”
A video commending the students chronicled what they do during their hours volunteering. In addition, teachers spoke of the students’ impact on the community.
“Going through the process of selecting one student for the award is a daunting task considering the caliber of students we have at Shawnee,” said Matt Campbell, Shawnee High School principal, noting that O’Rorke volunteered more than 300 hours at multiple local organizations. “Matt talked about the impact of his family on him.
“These kids don’t just wake up one day to serve. It’s a common thread these students share.”
“I’m truly honored to be superintendent of this wonderful school district,” said Carol Birnbohm, LRHSD superintendent of schools. “We have parents who involve themselves in our school district.”
In other news:
• Students from the Heads Up, Eyes Forward! campaign presented their project to members of the board.
This is the third year LDTV entered the U Got Brains competition, hosted by the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey.
“One of the main reasons we entered the U Got Brains Champion School Project three years ago was because the LRHSD already had the Stay Alive! Don’t Text and Drive campaign in place.
“We thought U Got Brains was a great way to get our message out to a larger audience,” John Donaldson, director of television services at LDTV, told The Sun in January.
The 10-minute video entered in the competition chronicled the team, made up of students from all four LRHSD schools, doing speaking engagements, getting community members involved through social media, showing a victim’s impact following an accident and providing statistics to drivers.
Students from the campaign blindfolded peers to walk through the hallways, demonstrating the dangers of texting and driving and the full effect of its distraction.
Additionally, students from the campaign had their peers text and drive on a simulator, which measured the level of distraction.
The top two campaigns, selected by a panel of judges, will be awarded a driving simulator donated by New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, according to Jon Kinsella, spokesman for the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey.
The project was submitted on May 15, and according to Donaldson, the team is determined to win.
Judging will be finalized June 7, and the students will find out the results during a banquet.
• Parents from Lenape’s booster clubs and associations were awarded for volunteerism and treated to refreshments following the ceremony.
• Birnbohm announced the One Book One School selections for the upcoming school year. Shawnee High School will be reading “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson, Lenape will be reading “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein, Cherokee will be reading “A Fault in Our Stars” by John Green, the same book Seneca read this year, and Seneca will be reading “Divergent” by Veronica Roth.
The next LRHSD Board of Education meeting will be held June 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the district building at 93 Willow Grove Road in Shamong.
