Outstanding students, teacher earn honors

Talented students and staff members from around the Freehold Regional High School District are bringing in awards and distinctions to the district.

Superintendent of Schools James Wasser said the diversity of the awards highlights the talent in the FRHSD.

“I am extremely proud of the talent of the students and the accomplishments of the teachers in this district,” Wasser said.

Among the award winners is Freehold Township High School senior Jeffrey Fox, who has been named one of approximately 3,000 candidates in the 2010 Presidential Scholars Program.

The candidates were selected from the nearly 3.2 million students who are expected to graduate from high schools across the United States in 2010.

Being included in the Presidential Scholars Program is one of the highest honors bestowed upon graduating high school seniors. Scholars are selected on the basis of their superior academic and artistic achievements, leadership qualities, strong character and involvement in community and school activities, according to information provided by the FRHSD.

Among Fox’s many achievements is that when he took the ACT for the first time he scored a perfect 36. He was one of only five students in New Jersey and 268 nationwide to achieve that distinction.

Fox also earned a perfect score on the critical reading section of the SAT. In his first two years of high school, Fox earned a 5.03 grade point average.

The young man has been a member of numerous clubs and teams, and he serves on the executive board of some of those clubs. In addition, Fox has received numerous awards in science and math.

A panel of educators will select 500 semifinalists in early April. Then the Commission on Presidential Scholars will make the final selection of the scholars.

The commission will select one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. students living abroad; 15 students atlarge; and up to 20 students from the creative and performing arts.

The U.S. Department of Education will announce the scholars in May.

In other news, Freehold High School student Erica Kawas, a junior, will have her artwork displayed at the 40th annual Monmouth Festival of the Arts in Tinton Falls.

Kawas was one of more than 40 students from a dozen schools throughout Monmouth County who competed for the honor of having his or her work displayed at the festival. Kawas received one of five honorable mentions for her work.

The 40th annual Monmouth Festival of the Arts, New Jersey’s largest art invitational, will take place from April 17-21 at the Monmouth Reform Temple, Tinton Falls.

For more information, visit www.monmouthfestivalofthearts. com.

Also making a name for himself in the FRHSD is David Rinder, a senior at Marlboro High School. Rinder was named one of the top three winners in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the “Being An American Essay Contest” conducted by The Bill of Rights Institute.

This year more than 50,000 students nationwide participated in the contest, a record number, the Bill of Rights Institute noted.

Rinder’s essay discusses the entrepreneurial spirit of America and relates it to his own experience of starting an SAT and PSAT preparation tutoring service, according to the FRHSD.

The Mid-Atlantic Region covers New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. Rinder’s essay was picked as the best entry from New Jersey and one of the three best from the region.

The young man will be recognized at the “Being An American Essay Contest” awards gala celebration on March 23 in Washington, D.C.At the gala the first-, second- and thirdplace overall winners of the national contest will be announced.

Rinder’s winning essay can be viewed on the FRHSD’s Internet website at www.frhsd.com.

Colts Neck High School student Cory Storch was surprised on Feb. 17 when he was presented with the first-place trophy in the statewide InvestWrite national essay competition, which is part of the Stock Market Game program.

Founded in 1977 by the SIFMA Foundation for Investor Education, the Stock Market Game is a teaching tool in which students are given the chance to invest a hypothetical $100,000 in an on-line portfolio. Through this simulation, students learn important economic and financial concepts.

The InvestWrite essay challenge, which Storch’s class entered, asked students to construct a pilot episode for a hypothetical new program on MTV about financial literacy.

Students are challenged to create programs that can deal with current domestic and international events, such as changes in consumer spending, interest rates, the Federal Reserve, prices of oil and other resources, government regulation, jobs, the housing market, congressional legislation, or economic recovery funding.

Finally, Freehold Township High School teacher Kristina Guttadora has been nominated to compete in the National FFA Agriscience Teacher of the Year program.

Guttadora was selected by state education leaders for excellence in preparing young people for careers in agriculture.

The Agriscience Teacher of the Year program recognizes outstanding agriculture instructorswho emphasize agriscience and new technologies in their curriculum. The program is sponsored by POTASHCORP as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.

FFA is a national youth organization of 495,046 student members preparing for leadership and careers in the sciences, business, and technology of agriculture field.

The top four teachers in the nation are selected in early August. Each of these four national finalists receives a $500 cash award, a plaque and a $1,500 grant for their school to purchase agriscience equipment.

The four finalists will travel to Indianapolis, Ind., to attend the national FFA convention and compete for National FFA Agriscience Teacher of the year. The convention will be held from Oct. 24-27.