2023-2024 Year-in-Review
Mountainside School District is proud to present our 2023-2024 Year-in-Review. Students participated in a variety of unique educational opportunities to enhance classroom learning, foster healthy competition, and boost confidence. Middle School students submitted Patriot’s Pen essays as part of our annual Veteran’s Day celebration. Science came alive at our annual Science Fair and Robotics competition, and others challenged themselves in a national Noetic Math competition earning high honors.
Our students are also encouraged to be responsible, good citizens, and to be kind to others. Principals Mrs. Vierschilling and Mrs. Jenks incorporate positive reinforcement with weekly shout-outs of students who demonstrate these desirable traits. They “catch” kids doing the right thing, and children feel a sense of pride when they receive their “Caring Cubs” and “Helpful Huskies” spotlights. We lead by example and are proud to support many local organizations. This has included Mr. Gormly’s “Soup”erbowl donations to benefit Community Options, Student Council’s cereal challenge to support a local food pantry, PTO’s Angel Tree gifts for the Salvation Army, and Beechwood’s Heart Challenge raising over $29,000 for the American Heart Association.
Mountainside Schools are proud to support the arts and have amazing, dedicated staff who engage and encourage students to challenge themselves as they explore new opportunities in art and music. When students have an outlet for their creativity and can showcase their talent, everybody wins. Talented students participate in the annual Union County Teen Arts program, Jazz Band, Choir and Band concerts, School Musicals, Art Shows, and much more.
The District uses a variety of tools to analyze the data of student growth. Benchmark and NJSLA State testing have proven that our students are grasping and mastering concepts, and the district routinely exceeds state expectations for proficiency. We proudly share our annual NJDOE School Performance Report, with Deerfield School receiving a summary score of 98.02% (out of 100)!
Mountainside students; success would not be possible without the dedicated efforts of our staff who elevate students, both educationally and emotionally. Mountainside Schools and the Board of
Education would like to thank our incredible community, especially the PTO, MEF, and Watts Foundation, for their ongoing generous support. These partnerships provide meaningful opportunities including grief awareness training for staff by Imagine, educational assemblies and workshops for students, grants to expand instructional areas, and Sensory Hour events for special needs students.
Our schools partner with the local community through annual Veteran’s Day celebrations, shared use of our facilities with PAL and Recreation Departments, and a Senior Citizen Reception with a special performance of the annual musical, to name a few. Our students learn the importance of good citizenship and to appreciate the wonderful community of Mountainside. Indeed, it takes a village and we look forward to more good things happening here in Mountainside Schools and throughout our community in 2024-2025.
