On Monday night, the Pascack Valley Regional High School District Board of Education formally recognized student and staff achievements from the 2022-23 school year.  

In December, the annual recognition of Teacher of the Year and Educational Services Professional of the Year was announced. From Pascack Hills, Physical Education Teacher Lorrie Sandhage and Learning Disability Teacher Consultant Marissa Watters were selected for these awards, respectively. Both were recognized at the meeting. 

In April, Special Education Paraprofessional Ellen Doyle was selected as the 2022-23 Outstanding Support Staff Member of the Year. She was also recognized by the BOE. 

The BOE also recognized retiring staff members, including Deborah Alt, Hills Part-Time Nurse; James Devaney, Hills Custodian; John Dinkey, Hills Art Teacher, and Frank Eufemia, Hills Physical Education/Health Teacher. 

“It is always with mixed emotions that we announce those that are retiring during the [2022-23] school year. We thank them for their service,” BOE President Joseph Blundo said.  

Several students were also recognized by the BOE for their achievements. 

From Hills, the following students were recognized for their awards in the Chemistry Olympics Competition. 

• Lysandra Pinto, Navdeep Bhalla, Hyunjun (Fred) Lim: Silver Medal – Chemical Engineering Fuel Cell Event, Platinum Crucible (most Outstanding Team)
• Seoyeon (Clara) Kim, Alexa Ornstein, Cayla Solomon: Bronze Medal – Analytical Lab – Percent of Copper in a Penny
• Dylan Barrett, Ashley Chun, Olivia Ge, Suhani Mahale, Prisha Mehta, Thomas Rottinger, Gowri Santhosh, Kuman Rekha, Victor Urumov: Platinum Crucible (Most Outstanding Team)

Junior Samantha Freed was recognized for receiving the Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Award. Seniors Giuliana Balboni, Madeleine Bell, and Ava DeFazio were also congratulated for receiving the Coccia Foundation Italian Studies Student Award. 

Another recognition was given to freshman Eva Friedman, who was selected to be a member of the 2023-24 All-State Treble Choir. Other students recognized for their choral abilities were sophomore Reina Aliko, freshman Camilla Ambrocio, freshman Colin Barry, freshman Elijah Chen, and junior Hadyn Hopper, who were accepted to the 2023-24 All-State Mixed Choir. 

Earlier in the meeting, Superintendent Sarah Bilotti gave her monthly report. She congratulated students who won awards in the Seton Hall Sister Rose Thering Essay Contest and members of Echoes Literary Magazine for publishing their spring edition. 

BOE student representative Olivia Ge gave her final report of the 2022-23 school year. She discussed the first annual International Day, which was held on May 22, recent sport achievements, and college sports commits of graduating seniors. Her efforts were also recognized at the meeting. 

Later in the meeting, the BOE approved new hires and athletic appointments for the 2023-24 school year, such as a new Spanish teacher and art teacher. 

At the end of the meeting, the BOE discussed old business. BOE member James Stankus discussed curriculum updates such as summer reading, the math curriculum change, and new courses. BOE member Kristin Martin also thanked Michael Sherman and Paul Zeller for their help to the board. 

Due to auditorium renovations at both schools, Bilotti said that summer BOE meetings will be held in the Pascack Valley Media Center. For the same reason, all meetings during the 2023-24 school year will be held at Valley. 

Towards the end of the meeting, Blundo extended another congratulations to the recognized students for their achievements. 

“Once again, congratulations. Well-earned. We appreciate all your hard work that took you to win these awards and represent our school district in such a positive light,” he said.