The Evesham Township Board of Education cited this year’s Elks Essay contest winners at its June meeting and recognized students who participated in the fifth grade student council fundraiser.
The theme of the essay contest was, “What does it mean to love your country?” It was open to students enrolled in fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth grade during the just-ended school year. The winners are:
- Marlton Elementary School: Students Luke Corson, Eshaan Nandy, Adriana DiBartolomeo and teachers Emily Atlee, Shannon MacLachlan and Kelly Durham-Jones.
- DeMasi Middle School: Students Nupoor Wajge, Shreena Vemulakonda, Alexa Dolores and teachers Wendy Metzger and Sandra Groff.
The board also recognized the following elementary-school student councils and their advisors for planning, promoting and participating in the student council fundraiser, which raised nearly $4,000 for the Evesham police K-9 memorial:
- DeMasi Elementary School: Advisor Barbara Militch, students Robert Beinecke, Erin Gallagher, Casey Leisse, Avery Raymond, Madison Thiemann and Holdyn Treiber-Millili.
- Jaggard Elementary School: Advisor Hope Phillips, students Marcus Boyd, Sydney Carroll, Abigail Escalante Gonzalez, Riyansh Gajghate, Anya Intelisano, Chloe Janove and Carly Ridley
- Marlton Elementary School: Advisors Emily Atlee, Kelly Durham-Jones and Shannan MacLachlan, students Nadia Alaba, Nicholas Alaba, Lucille Amato, Aaron Benjamin, Ella Betts, Lucy Brennan, Adeline Christiansen, Jocelyn Cohen, Adriana DiBartolomeo, Ava Guarini, Nicholas Hopp, Asher Miller, Eshaan Nandy, Benjamin Nettleton, Ryan Niederberger, Gavin Quinn, Carter Reeve, Rebecca Shapiro and Jack Thompson.
- Rice Elementary School: Advisors Stephanie Duthie and Lindsay McLeod, students Matthew Acciani, Jr., Grace Bouchard, Luke Cheesman, Karly Dougherty, Olivia Franks, Gavin Johnson, Gavin Kimble, Skylar Lord, Lorenzo Musto, Isaias Santiago, Ryan Shultz and Madison Smith.
- Van Zant Elementary School: Advisors Christine Keltos and Cheryl Naurath, student council, students Kayden Busarello, Dylan Coburn, Gianna DeAngelis, Angela Feeney, Tristan Hall, Kaden Hejaz, Ellison Kennedy, Charles Liu, Callie Moore, Brynlee Rogers, Paige Rosenkowitz and Henry Swain.
Jerrolyn Covely, a district kindergarten teacher, explained how the idea for the fundraiser came about.
“(My husband) saw a really cool idea with a canine memorial in Gloucester Township and we thought, ‘What a great thing to do for Evesham,’” she recalled. “So Jaggard (Elementary School’s) supervisor for the student council reached out to the other student councils, and we thought, ‘Could we do this?’
“Well, together we raised $3,708.68 – with all the kids (help).”
Superintendent Dr. Justin Smith emphasized the importance of the district’s partnership with police and commended the schools for their work.
“We’re so grateful for all the collaboration and support we get from our Evesham police,” he said. “It feels good for our students to be able to be changemakers and give back in this way.
“Thank you so much to our schools.”
The next board of education meeting will take place on Aug. 18 at DeMasi Middle School.
