District marks school’s opening with ceremony
Pupils, administrators
admire Wemrock Brook
By dave benjamin
Staff Writer

DAVE BENJAMIN Pupils at the Wemrock Brook School, Manalapan, celebrate the opening of their school during recent dedication ceremonies. More than 500 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders make up the student body at the new building on Millhurst Road.

MANALAPAN — After years of planning, building and waiting, the students and faculty of the Wemrock Brook School, Millhurst Road, along with members of the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education and district administrators, dedicated the school in a special ceremony held Feb. 20.

Wemrock Brook is home to more than 500 pupils in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades.

Principal Jacqueline Martin welcomed the honored guests to the event. She noted that everyone in the room — from the architect who planned the building to the school board members, the parents, the staff members and the students for whom the building was constructed — had to wait for the school doors to open.

The school’s planned opening in September 2001 was delayed due to construction issues. The school opened about two weeks ago.

Assistant Principal Melissa Foy said each class had elected a representative to the first Wemrock Brook Student Council. The new council will select the school’s colors and mascot and will have the opportunity to create traditions for the school. Additionally, the student council will have the honor of being the school’s first color guard.

After the Wemrock Brook choir and concert band led the singing and playing of the national anthem, architect Lewis E. Myerson presented a symbolic ceremonial golden key to James Mumolie, school board president.

"To have all of you in front of me makes it a great, great day," Mumolie said. "May the school be consumed with the spirit of knowledge and be overwhelmed with the spirit of joy."

Joseph Scozzari, the district’s former superintendent, who retired in December, said he saluted the students, parents and teachers for their patience while waiting for the school to open.

Prior to the opening of the Wemrock Brook School, the pupils who now make up the building’s student body were attending classes together at other district schools.

Scozzari acknowledged the administrative efforts of Martin and Foy, particularly during the last few months before the opening of the new school. He also praised board member Diane Padlo for her tireless efforts throughout the project.

"Mrs. Padlo worked days, nights and weekends," Scozzari said, adding praise for the district’s administrative staff, particularly business administrator Joseph Passiment.

"It’s a magnificent building, one that you can be proud of, " the former superintendent said. "It’s a place where you can open up your minds, develop your bodies and develop your spirit. It’s a place that many countries in the world don’t have."

He reminded the students to work together, to work for freedom and to work for "our fellow man."

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Maureen Lally agreed that Wemrock Brook is a beautiful building, but said it’s what happens within the walls of the school that makes it special. Lally said that just in the two weeks since the students arrived, she has seen Wemrock Brook become "a home for learning."

"The beauty of any school is the learning that goes on," the superintendent said.

PTA President Lori Coccaro told the students there are plans for a March 15 carnival, a movie night and several other events.

Students presented an original skit, Finding Our Way Home, and concluding the dedication ceremony the choir and instrumentalists sang and performed the new Wemrock Brook School song for the first time.

After the dedication ceremony, students expressed their thoughts about the new school.

"I like the way it’s designed, the architecture," said sixth-grader Rachel Breton. "I think it’s really done well. I like the gym. It’s nice. I like the basketball nets, and the floors are built well. There are six baskets."

Rachel said she had already used the new gymnasium to play five-a-side basketball.

Looking at the new art room, Rachel said, "I like the new entrance that you walk through. I liked the paintings."

She noted that her favorites included the paintings by Edvard Munch and Salvador Dali.

The new media center is also a hit with the students.

"I like the J.R.R. Tolkien books," Rachel said, as she began describing the new media center. "I like the reading area. They have chairs and magazines there, and you can look out and see the courtyard. It’s really pretty."

Fifth-grader Dylan Burst agreed.

"I like the media center," Dylan said. "It’s huge, and there’s a wide selection of books — just every kind you can imagine. The reading center has humongous chairs that are so comfortable."

Dylan noted the high-tech level in the media center.

"It has a whole bunch of iMacs that you can [use to] look up your books," he said. "There are magazines. It’s just like the public library."

The students explained that any topic could be looked up by author, subject or title with the help of the new computer system. They agreed that it was much faster than searching through a card catalog.

Dylan said he liked the color design of the school and the size of the new building.

"It’s huge!" he exclaimed. "I like the windows. They’re all different shapes and sizes. It’s really cool. Everyone is so nice; the lunch aides, the cafeteria ladies and everybody else throughout the school are really nice."

"The computer lab is awesome," Dylan added. "It has 25 iMacs in just one room. I love that. It’s the best, and we all have Internet access. I think the school is going to do really well. It’s a good school."

Sixth-grader Felicia Camme liked the school’s bright colors and said the size of the school was overwhelming.

"There are so many extra rooms," said Felicia. "Other schools are short of rooms. This one has extra rooms. The lunchroom is really cool. You walk through on either side of the kitchen and (then) you can buy lunch."

She noted that there is a new stage in the lunchroom, or cafetorium.

"I like that idea," Felicia said. "The gym is huge and beautiful. The floors are so cool. The classrooms are really big and there are computers in every room. It’s really cool. I was really looking forward to being here."

Felicia said she thought it was "really cool" to be a member of the first sixth-grade class at the new school.

"We have a lot to look forward to," she said. "We get to set the background (tone) for the school. I’m really happy to be here. I think they did a really good job. It was worth the wait."