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Students Entertain Gloucester City School Board

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

By Linda Boker-Angelo

NEWS Correspondent

Members of the Gloucester City Board of Education were pleased last week to hear comments by students representing each of the district’s schools.

Justin Ly, a fifth grade student at Mary Ethel Costello School, spoke about the winter activities at Costello School.

An honor student, Ly has perfect attendance and delivered a standout performance in the school Christmas play, “Santa Goes Green.”

Ly said he is interested in music and enjoys learning to play different instruments in his school music class. He added that he likes to read and is learning to play the piano.

Third grader Matthew Purden, 8, represented Cold Springs School. Principal Martin O’Connor said Purden is a good student who enjoys school, particularly math, and playing baseball.

“I like the students and teachers at Cold Springs School,” Purden said.

Representing Highland Park Program for Success was Thomasina Wentzell, “Nina,” who is currently attending classes while raising her son Dominick, who was born last year.

Wentzell, a student at Gloucester City High at the time, was advised by her doctor in January 2008 that she could no longer attend classes for the remainder of her pregnancy.

Wentzell credits the program with allowing her to continue her education.

“I would have had to drop out to raise my son if it hadn’t been for the Highland Park Program for Success,” she said.

Wentzell said she plans to attend a technical school to learn to be a pharmacy tech and eventually hopes to get a job with a company that will pay for her schooling to be a pharmacist.

In other business, School Superintendent Paul Spaventa recognized the staff, students, City businesses and organizations and all the volunteers who selflessly gave donations of toys clothes, money, time and talent to make the local Christmas Drive a great success, and helped to make Christmas a special day for a lot of local children and their families.

Spaventa said he was “literally touched” by the amount of donations and volunteers within the City who worked to make the event a success.

“I’ve been involved with a lot of organizations, and I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said, referring to the mountains of toys and clothes deposited at the City Swim Club, the collection site for the event. “I was really touched.”

“Welcome to Gloucester City,” one Board member told Spaventa.

“A town the takes care of its own,” said Board President Louisa Llewellyn.

The Board will meet again at 7 p.m. on February 5 for a caucus session. The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, February 10, at 7 p.m. in the media center of Gloucester High School.