LITTLE SILVER: BUSY MONTH FOR RBR’S VPA
By JULIE MEROLA
The various programs of the Visual Performing Arts academies had a packed winter filled with activities at Red Bank Regional High School, as well as around Monmouth County.
RUMSON: LUNCH BREAKERS BAKE A WINNER
Lunch Break children’s cooking class students Emily and Jack Pearsall with, from left, Oceanic Free Library Board President Carolyn Miller; Cups & Cakes owner Denise Kelleher; and Cups & Cakes pastry chef Maggie Condon.
It wasn’t just the luck o’ the Irish that helped the Lunch Break children’s cooking class take first place in the Oceanic Free Library’s Irish soda bread-making competition.
LITTLE SILVER: RBR HONORS SCHOLARS
RBR students gathered at the recent awards program, where they were awarded varsity letters for scholarship.
At Red Bank Regional, Varsity Letters are awarded for scholarship as well as athletic achievement.
The Red Bank Regional Board of Education recently honored over 70 students for academic distinction. The largest number of honorees received an RBR Academic Letter, similar to the Varsity Letter given to student-athletes.
RED BANK: EX-CHEF FOUND NEW WAY TO SERVE
With his son, Aydin, looking on, Jorge Torres embraces his wife, Lauren, after being sworn in as a police sergeant. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A former chef became the newest sergeant on the Red Bank police force Wednesday night.
The promotion of Jorge Torres was one of several ceremonies that led the borough council’s semimonthly meeting Wednesday night.
RED BANK: NEW NAME FOR MERGED YMCAs
Laurie Goganzer, below, will lead the merge operations.
Press release from The Community YMCA
The Community YMCA and YMCA of Western Monmouth County are uniting on Sept. 1 to become the “YMCA of Greater Monmouth County” with funding from the Jay & Linda Grunin Foundation and the state of New Jersey.
RED BANK: FIREFIGHTERS KEEP FREE Y ACCESS
The Red Bank nonprofit says no families of kids now in a free membership program will be turned away. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s volunteer firefighters will get to keep their free memberships to the local YMCA, the organization announced Wednesday.
Police will still have to pay, though now at a discount, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit said. But there’s no change to the plan unveiled last week to end across-the-board free memberships for borough schoolchildren.
RED BANK: MENNA ‘IRATE’ OVER YMCA ACTION
Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna speaking at the the Memorial Day ceremony last month. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna on Thursday blasted a decision by the Community YMCA to end free memberships for borough schoolchildren and emergency first-responders.
Menna went on the offensive after the Y’s “unilateral” action, which he said was made without any advance notice to or discussion with his administration.
RED BANK: KIDS, RESPONDERS LOSE FREE YMCA
The Red Bank YMCA says affected families can apply for subsidies to replace the free memberships. Below, the letter sent to parents of children in the Healthy Kids program. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s schoolchildren and emergency first-responders will lose their free access to the borough YMCA in September.
The Maple Avenue nonprofit’s executive director, Katie McAdoo, tells redbankgreen the change was driven by its need to be “accountable” to funders.
RED BANK: PROMWEAR GIVEAWAY
Olivia Diana of Marlboro High School, above, and Jack Geary of Ocean Township High were among those taking advantage of a promwear givewaway Monday at the Woman’s Club of Red Bank.
RBR: CHEERLEADER PUSHUPS AT ISSUE
Red Bank Regional cheerleaders in an undate photo on the school website. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
In the wake of a complaint, Red Bank Regional High has temporarily halted cheerleader pushups after every score by the football team, redbankgreen has learned.
RED BANK: BASIE AWARDS FOR H.S. THESPIANS
Christian Brothers Academy’s ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ presentation at the Basie Awards Wednesday night.
Winners were announced [Wednesday] evening at the 13th annual BASIE AWARDS, honoring excellence in high school theater in Monmouth County.
RED BANK: NORTH POLE CALLING
RBR students Stacy Osorio, on the phone above, making pre-Christmas calls with Stacey Tepoz from Santa’s workshop (borough hall) earlier this month. Below, Heather O’Donnell cracks up after calling a wrong number with Emily Maier. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Press release from Red Bank Regional High:
Little Silver: A big part of the Christmas season for little girls and boys is visiting Santa Claus and reciting him their Christmas wish list. That is not always possible for some boys and girls in the Red Bank community, especially those whose families do not own or drive cars and can’t take them to visit the local mall, where Santa usually sets up shop. So nine years ago, community leader David Prown, assisted by his good friend Enrico Ciabattoni, facilitated a special communication with Santa Claus and those kids in Red Bank he might have missed.
LITTLE SILVER: GRAD KEYNOTES HISPANIC FETE
Dance majors from the RBR Visual and Performing Arts Academy onstage at the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. Monica Urena, classe of 2014, below, was the keynote speaker.
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
Red Bank Regional High School (RBR) welcomed its students to its fifth Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. Principal Risa Clay stated in English (with RBR junior Esperanza Minyety translating in Spanish), “Hispanics have had a profound and positive influence on our country through their strong commitment to family, faith, hard work and service. They have enhanced and shaped our national character with centuries-old traditions that reflect the multiethnic and multicultural customs of their community. We are proud to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and recognize the achievements of a culture that is prominently represented in our school and community.”
RBR: NO MINOR FEAT FOR TEEN PLAYWRIGHT
Red Bank Regional senior Willow Martin of Little Silver will have her short play “Late Shift” performed by the professional actors of New Jersey Repertory Company October 8.
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
When New Jersey Repertory, the acclaimed professional stage company in Long Branch, inaugurates its new West End Arts Center facility in October, it will be with a multi-media Theater and Arts Festival organized around the theme “All About Eve.” At the heart of the eight-day festival will be the world premieres of 28 short plays — a select group winnowed from over 450 submissions — and a collection that includes a one-act drama authored by a 16 year old high school senior who attends the Visual and Performing Arts Academy at Red Bank Regional.
AN RBR SR. GOES TO HARVARD AND RUTGERS
Brad Chavero of Red Bank, a student at RBR’s Academy of Engineering, stands in front of Harvard University, where he was able to attend a very competitive camp for advanced math students this summer. He also spent a month at the Rutgers’ campus for the Governor’s School of Engineering and Technology.
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
While the American Dream may seem a futile quest for some today, first generation American Brad Chavero, a top student and member of the Academy of Engineering at Red Bank Regional High School, is determined to take advantage of every opportunity presented to him to succeed.
This summer, Brad was able to attend not just one, but two very prestigious programs to further his educational experiences. In July, Brad was selected as one of only 72 students in New Jersey to attend the Governor’s School of Engineering and Technology at Rutgers at B.E.S.T. (Busch, Engineering, Science and Technology) Hall. No sooner had Brad returned home from his Rutgers’ camp than he and his father set out the next day to attend a second two-week camp for advanced math students — this one on the Cambridge, MA campus of Harvard University.
RED BANK: ROCKIT & A RASCAL TO ROCK BASIE
The classic-rock conservatory kids of the Count Basie’s Rockit! program hit the Basie boards Saturday with a salute to the Summer of Love.
It goes without saying that none of the dynamic young vocalists and instrumentalists of Rockit! at the Basie were around for 1967’s fabled Summer of Love — and chances are excellent that few if any of their parents were, either. So perhaps their grandparents could tell them a thing or two about life a half a century ago, when the air was charged with ready-or-not change and momentum, not to mention patchouli oil.
Of course, you didn’t have to be there with flowers in your hair to recognize that the year was a pivotal one for the popular culture in general, and a fast-maturing rock music in particular. So when the kids from Rockit! take to the famous stage of the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank this Saturday evening, they’ll be channeling the spirit of the era’s most game-changing album — and welcoming an in-the-flesh veteran of a genuine hit-making institution.
RED BANK: BIG SPLASH FOR CYMCA SWIMMERS
The Community YMCA’s Aquarockets swim team celebrates their second place finish at the 2017 YMCA Long Course National Championship meet.
Press release from The Community YMCA
The Aquarockets swim team of The Community YMCA captured second place overall in combined team standings at the 2017 YMCA Long Course National Championship, which took place from July 31 to August 4 in Greensboro, NC. The men’s team took fourth place, and the women’s team finished in fifth place.
“We are so proud of the team’s outstanding efforts,” said Head Coach Jack Caucino. “This was our best finish ever at the national long course championship,” he added, noting that 20 swimmers earned All American status by placing in the top 20 of an event.
In all, 45 swimmers on the team, which practices both in Red Bank and Wall, qualified to compete at the YMCA national meet. They are: Hunter Adams, Ryan Burke, Caylie Cardona, Leo Carnevale, Matthew Chang, Nicole Dado, Gabriella DeVirgilio, Ben Dupree, Ryan Foreback, Morgan Fuerbacher, Ginger Hansen, Natalie Heim, Joseph Huber, Victoria Ireland, McKenna Johnson, Megan Judge, Shannon Judge, Arabella Lee, Mary Mahoney, Mitchell Malakhov, Dimitri Maldonado, Taylor Marjamaa, Kaitlyn McCarthy, Caroline McGann, Ryan Meng, Caroline Monaghan, Maile Mora, Brianna Mulcahy, Julia Nappi, Madelyn Piasecki, Sammy Rennard, Theo Rennard, Paul Retterer, Meghan Schienvar, Marie Schobel, Skylar Shafritz, Emma Shaughnessy, Abigail Shaw, Haley Stamberger, Richie Trentalange, Max Walther, Joseph West, Katie Wright, Connor Wright and Jessica Zebrowski.
RBR: HELPING FRESHMEN DROP ANCHOR
Led by KYDS principals Rodney Salomon and Mychal Mills, incoming RBR freshmen learned to lean on one another in a contiguous circle swaying back and forth in a yoga tree pose. (Photo courtesy of Red Bank Regional. Click to enlarge)
(Press release from Red Bank Regional High School)
Little Silver: “What is stressful to you about high school?” Rodney Salomon asked rising Red Bank Regional (RBR) ninth graders.
The students responded with a variety of answers, including: “friendships—breaking ones apart and finding new ones,” “school work,” “the upperclassmen looking down on you.”
A HOMECOMING FOR RBR EAGLE SCOUT
Recent Red Bank Regional graduate Kent Hottmann of Shrewsbury returned to his Monmouth Day Care Center alma mater to complete his Eagle Scout project, a music wall.
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
In a July 15 ceremony held at Shrewsbury Presbyterian Church, recent Red Bank Regional High School graduate Kent Hottmann of Shrewsbury was honored as an Eagle Scout, becoming the 111th scout with Shrewsbury’s Troop 50 to earn Scouting’s highest award since the Troop’s inception in the 1930s.
To satisfy the requirements for the rank, Kent performed over 100 community service hours, and provided service and leadership as an Assistant Senior Patrol Leader for his troop. For his Eagle Scout project, Kent went back to his earliest days of pre-school, to improve the children’s playground at his Red Bank “alma mater,” Monmouth Day Care Center.
RBR GRAD INTERNS WITH LOCAL SURGEON
Recent Red Bank Regional Chase Hintelmann of Little Silver will soon head off to John Hopkins University, where he will study on a pre-med track preparing for a career as a medical surgeon.
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
Class of 2017 Red Bank Regional High School graduate Chase Hintelmann can remember talking with his parents about his grandfather’s early passing. At only 61, a heart attack stole his family’s patriarch. Chase was in preschool at the time.
“They say that he may have been saved if he had heart surgery.” He recalls, “I remember saying, ‘I wanted to be one of those people who could have helped him.’”
LITTLE SILVER: RBR SOURCE HONORS ITS OWN
SOURCE Director Suzanne Keller (left) with Corey Van Huff, first recipient of the Sean Macon Memorial Scholarship, presented to him by Sam, Tiaunna and Lynn Macon.
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
Recently, The Source in-school program at Red Bank Regional High School hosted its 17th annual year end reception, a celebratory event to award student scholarships and honor the Community Partnerships that enable its mission, “To remove all obstacles that impede the success of young people in our community.”
RED BANK: BOOKMARKS MARK FAVORITES
St. James first-grader Declan Duffy chose to draw Red Bank’s Molly Pitcher Inn as his favorite place in town, above. Below, the other winners by grade. (Click to enlarge)
[Press release from the Friends of the Red Bank Public Library]
The Sixth Annual Friends oft he Red Bank Public Library Bookmark Contest has announced this year’s winners! At a well-attended party on May 20, the Friends presented the winners with certificates and gift cards to local businesses.
LITTLE SILVER: RBR TEENS BRAVE SHARK TANK
Pictured left to right at the first RBR Shark tank competition are Red Bank Rotary Club President Ken Scaggs; first place winners Bryce Barnes, André Van Der Linde, and Ryan Humelsine; Third Place winner Moises Orocio, and second place winner Jaydah Diaz.
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
The tension was palpable on May 30, as Red Bank Regional High School student finalists presented their invention, product or service to a panel of judges during the school’s first annual RBR Shark Tank event. The competition was sponsored by the Red Bank Rotary Club, which offered a total of $5,000 to the top three winners.
First place and $2,500 went to EZ Keyboard, a year-long engineering project by Academy of Engineering seniors Bryce Barnes of Shrewsbury, Ryan Humelsine of Neptune Township, and André Van Der Linde of Belmar. All three young men, who intend to continue their engineering studies in college, are also musicians. They presented a prototype which allows amputees or disabled people with severe arthritis to play full chords with the use of just one hand.
LINCROFT: RANNEY SCHOOL GRADUATES 82
Press release from The Ranney School
The setting was the Collins Arena on the Lincroft campus of Brookdale Community College, as The Ranney School Class of 2017 celebrated its commencement on May 25.
The Tinton Falls-based school graduated 82 seniors, of which 31 were known as “Ranney Lifers,” or students who had attended the school for 10 or more years. Next fall, the entire group will head off to attend some of the most prestigious colleges and universities across the country, including Columbia, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, and Notre Dame, where they will pursue their individual passions and interests in fields ranging from the visual arts and theatrical production to finance, law, and medicine to robotics and information technology.
RED BANK: BASIES GO TO RFH, RBC, RBR
Phoenix Productions exec director Tom Martini — pictured fifth from left, during the 2015 ribbon-cutting of the troupe’s new Chestnut Street headquarters — was honored with the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award during the 12th annual Basie Awards on Wednesday night. (photo by Rich Kowalski)
Students and faculty from five high schools in the greater Red Bank area were honored for excellence in high school theater productions — and the co-founder of a favorite borough-based performing arts company received a Lifetime Achievement recognition — when the 12th annual Basie Awards ceremony took place at the Count Basie Theatre on the evening of May 24.
The big winner among local schools was Red Bank Catholic High School, whose nine nominations for the spring production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Cinderella resulted in three Basie wins: for Shawn Mack (Outstanding Musical Direction), Samantha Siriani (Outstanding Supporting Actress), and Kelly Gemellaro (Outstanding Choreography, shared with Jacqui Fisher for the Middletown High School South staging of The Producers).