Manchester High Team Wins OCC Cardboard Canoe Race Honors

MANCHESTER, NJ — The Manchester Township High School entry in the Ocean County College Cardboard Canoe Race was honored Wednesday by the district's Board of Education for its success at the STEM competition.

The team was among the students honored by the board at its monthly meeting, where students across the district are recognized for their achievements.

The other students honored are as follows:

The Manchester Township Environmental Commission invited the elementary schools in our district to participate in an Earth Day Challenge titled, A Promise to the Earth. Ewaade Aderogba of Ridgeway Elementary School composed an essay that highlighted her passion for creating games with recycled materials and organizing neighborhood garage sales to reduce the amount of items thrown away. Her essay was chosen as one of the winners.

To commemorate National County Government Month occurring in April and to promote awareness of the work accomplished throughout New Jersey’s 21 Counties, the Ocean County Clerk sponsors a poster contest called “My County.” Fourth graders are invited to design a poster for the contest. Four top posters are selected by the public by casting a vote for a favorite poster on the County Clerk’s Facebook page and Manchester Township Elementary School’s Abigail Garcia came in second place! Abigail will receive a plaque and be invited to meet county Officials in Toms River. Congratulations!

The Township of Manchester recently held an Earth Day Environmental Challenge coloring contest. Whiting Elementary School fourth grader Melanie Mauer and kindergartner Jack Petito were their respective grade level winners from the School District! They were recognized by Mayor Robert Arace at the May Town Council meeting.

Juan Solis-Corona is Regional Day School’s student of the month! Juan arrives at school every day with a can-do attitude and work ethic. He is an enthusiastic and determined learner who continues to work hard every day. He is a natural-born leader and the perfect role model for his peers. He is caring, kind and thoughtful to all of his friends. He goes out of his way to help his friends and to comfort and care for them when he thinks they need it." We are so proud of the progress Juan has made and of how good of a friend he is," school officials said.

Jacob Hadley and Aiden King for took first and second in the American Legion’s 2023 Dr. Richard Stockton Safety Poster Contest at the county-level competition. Jacob Hadley’s poster was awarded a 2nd place honor at the state-level competition. We are all extremely proud of these talented students and their accomplishments!

Manchester Township Middle School eighth grader Matthew Frenz was honored for his as "a true leader among his peers. He helps and guides his classmates." He is part of the class that runs Mustang Joe's, a school-wide coffee cart, and Matthew is a group leader while baking "102 Made" treats in class to sell on the cart. Matthew loves being one of the baristas and also enjoys being the greeter on the cart. He always makes others smile, school officials said.

Evan Beam and Ariana Baranyay were honored as the Manchester Township Middle School Student/Athletes for the month of June. Evan is on the track and field team in the spring, the basketball team in the winter and the cross country team in the fall. Ariana is on the track and field team in the spring and plays soccer in the fall. "They both work just as hard in the classroom as they do in the athletic arena and serve as an excellent example to our younger student/athlete," officials said.

Manchester Township High School’s Jade Carter was recognized as the ROTC Cadet of the Year for 9th grade. Two cadets from each grade level receive one of the following awards: Cadet of the Year or Senior Naval Science Instructors Excellence Award. These cadets are recognized for numerous occasions of uniform wear and inspection that were exemplary throughout the year as well as espousing the Navy’s core values of “Honor, Courage, & Commitment”

The canoe race team was honored as the Manchester Township High School Athletes of the Month. The Ocean County College Cardboard Canoe Race is a STEM competition, where the students design and build canoes out of cardboard and other materials then race them in a swimming pool.

Manchester's team received the following awards:

• Master Builders, for presentation of the canoe;
• Overall Showboat Time Trial Winner, where they received an OCC scholarship, certificate and priority registration for OCC STEM events;
• Overall Follow the Dotted Line, which earned them a certificate and priority registration for OCC STEM events;
• and the Student Choice and Innovative categories.