To the Editor:
On Feb. 27, students from Bayonne High School’s Honors Program were treated to a visit from Mr. Joseph McNeil, one of the Greensboro 4 and a civil rights icon. This event, sponsored by Cablevision’s education department, Power to Learn, and the Smithsonian Museum gave, our students a unique opportunity to study the civil rights movement and to learn about a true American hero. It also gave students from Ms. Hurley’s and Mr. Maset’s US2/English Honors classes an opportunity to showcase their amazing talents. In a video produced for the event with help of their teachers as well as teachers Mr. Ianacci and Mr. Pondillo Jr., students combined images, video, audio, music, and original poems to tell the story of the civil rights movement and the story of our nation. It was a remarkable presentation. In fact, it led Mr. McNeil to say that our students gave him faith in the future. I would like to thank those students and their wonderful teachers for making this day so special. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. McGeehan and Principal Baccarella for making this day possible. Their support and guidance were invaluable.
As wonderful as these students and their teachers are, I would certainly be remise if I did not also sing the praises of some of our other wonderful students and teachers. First, my sincerest congratulaitns to Ms. DeLuca’s and Mr. Freiser’s sophomore honors classes on their third place finish in New Jersey’s “We the People Competition.” Competing against seniors from some of the finest schools in the state, our students thoroughly impressed the judges with their depth of knowledge of the U.S. Constitution, case law, and current events. The entire city should be proud of how well these young people represented the school and our town. Second, I’d like to thank Mrs. Zervoulis, the members of her poetry class, and all of the other students who participated in December’s Poetry Out Loud competition at Bayonne High School. Thanks to Mrs. Zervoulis’s boundless energy and can-do attitude, over 35 students performed poems from the likes of Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Shakespeare. I’d also like to congratulate senior Monique Daniels on the fine performance she recently gave at Poetry Out Loud’s regional competition at the Bergen PAC in Englewood.
Students and teachers such as these are the backbone of Bayonne High School. They are, in fact, the people that help to make it such a special place. It is truly my pleasure to work with them.
DAN WARD
Director of Language Arts, Social Studies & Service Learning
Bayonne Public Schools