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Ridge student reports on sports successes, phone-free pilot and wellness efforts
Summary
Aria Bridal, Ridge High School student representative, updated the Bernards Township Board of Education on athletics, a phone-free pilot at Ridge, recent wellness-day programming and the district's use of the Panorama data platform.
Aria Bridal, student body treasurer at Ridge High School, told the Bernards Township Board of Education on the night of the meeting that Ridge student-athletes and activity teams have had a number of recent successes and that a phone-free pilot and wellness programming are under way.
Bridal opened by identifying herself: "My name is Aria Bridal, and I'm the student body treasurer at Ridge High School." She reported that boys basketball was 17-4 and 8-1 in conference play, boys wrestling was 18-5, boys ice hockey was 11-8-2, girls swim was 6-1 and both boys and girls track won the Skyland Conference championship. She also highlighted individual milestones, including Gavin Duran reaching 100 career wins, and noted Ridge's Unified Sports athlete Luke Wenzel signed with the New Jersey Special Olympics team as an alternate.
The student representative said the district is piloting phone-free practice days at Ridge High School as part of a broader "restoring focus" effort. "Students should plan ahead by bringing wired headphones, checking school email, and carrying cash for vending machines," Bridal said, and added the pilot collected feedback from nearly 200 students and about 75 parents via Google forms.
Why it matters: the pilot and related wellness programming affect student routines, communication practices, and family expectations for contacting students during the school day.
Board materials discussed at the meeting and committee reports show the wellness committee is reviewing school-level data from the Panorama platform to guide professional development and targeted student supports. The board heard a summary that Panorama brings together academic, attendance, behavior and social-emotional learning survey data for use in identifying trends and small-group interventions.
Bridal also summarized career-panel programming held during the most recent wellness day and previewed Ridge's spring musical (Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella) and other upcoming student events.
No board action was taken on the student report itself; the items Bridal described (the phone-free pilot and wellness activities) were informational and to be monitored by administrators and the wellness committee.
