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Students honored at board meeting with ShopRite Stars and VFW essay awards
Summary
Students from Montville schools were recognized at the board meeting: ShopRite Stars winners were announced and VFW Post 5481 presented patriotic essay awards and a citizenship education teacher award.
The Montville Township Board of Education meeting on Nov. 18 featured student recognitions and community awards alongside regular business.
Nora Natural, a special education teacher at Montville Township High School, presented ShopRite Stars for the first marking period. ShopRite donated $1,000 to the Class of 2026 as part of the program. Winners included Oscar Chen (academics), who was described as a National Merit semifinalist and AP Scholar with Distinction, and Lila Baker (athletics), noted for leadership as a varsity captain and commitment to community service.
Ken Hansel, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5481, presented the VFW patriotic essay awards for local elementary and high school students. The commander explained the multi-tiered competition that advances winners from post to district, state and national levels; the national top award can be a scholarship up to $35,000. Local winners read their essays during the meeting; one student described patriotism as "respecting the flag," "helping my community" and learning from history.
The VFW also presented a citizenship education teacher award to Christopher Butchko of Montville Township High School in recognition of his work teaching Holocaust and genocide studies and fostering civic responsibility.
The recognitions concluded with photos and applause. The meeting then recessed briefly before returning to agenda business.
