Mount Olive schools honor retirees and student programs; 58 students earn Seal of Biliteracy

The Mount Olive Township Board of Education’s superintendent’s report on June 2025 centered on year-end recognitions: the district honored 20 retirees, presented awards to student groups and recognized academic and extracurricular achievements across the district.

Student recognitions included a report from student liaison Nora Riske, who congratulated the class of 2025 and summarized senior awards, noting that “over $65,000 in scholarships were awarded to the class of 2025.” The board also presented a resolution honoring Ms. Riske for her service as student liaison.

The board and administration recognized a broad set of school programs:

- Best Buddies and Unified: Advisors and student leaders described year-round activities that pair students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. Best Buddies advisors said the program’s mission focuses on “1-to-1 friendships, integrated employment, leadership development and inclusive living.” Unified Club leaders highlighted inclusive sports (bowling, soccer, basketball, track), whole-school engagement and leadership development. The board praised both programs for promoting inclusion districtwide.

- Seal of Biliteracy: Veronica Cruz, World Language teacher and co-adviser, announced that 58 students (34 seniors and 24 juniors) earned the district seal for demonstrated proficiency in languages other than English. Languages recognized included Bengali, Bosnian, Czech, Filipino, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Marathi, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Telugu, Turkish and Urdu. Cruz said the Seal “reflects global citizenship, cultural understanding, and academic excellence.”

- Performing arts: The district highlighted the drama program’s season (including Grease and The Prom), festival nominations and awards, and scholarship distributions at the drama banquet. The superintendent and advisors listed multiple festival honors and regional awards achieved by students and staff.

- Robotics: Don Burry and program leaders presented a summary of a successful year for the district’s K–12 robotics teams. The FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) team won district and regional honors, received an Impact Award, advanced at the world championship in Houston, and was recognized as a “global first recognition school.” The program secured a $56,000 grant to support K–12 programming; leaders noted over $2 million in scholarships have been generated from the program over recent years.

- Athletics: The district honored spring championship teams, coaches with 20-plus years of service and student-athletes recognized for academic and athletic achievements. The athletic department also reported data from a new health-and-roster system, including the number of diagnosed concussions and other injury statistics for the year.

Administrators encouraged community members to attend and support upcoming events, including graduation exercises scheduled for June 18 with a rain date on June 19. The superintendent’s report was largely celebratory and informational; no formal policy decisions were taken during these recognitions.

Quotes from the meeting capture the tone: student liaison Nora Riske said it “has been an honor to represent the student body at this board of education meeting,” and world-language adviser Veronica Cruz called the Seal of Biliteracy “a distinction that reflects global citizenship, cultural understanding, and academic excellence.”