WOOLWICH TWP. – Four Kingsway Regional Middle School eighth-graders were presented with certificates of achievement during the Woolwich Township Committee meeting on June 6 to recognize their victory in a national mathematics challenge sponsored by the DoD STEM Education Consortium.
Students Haley Blair, Madelyn Benjaminson, Mason Corey, and Luca Lentini worked under the team name “Dragons” to create a five-minute video that incorporated elements of theater, video production, and the geometry problem the students set out to explain.
Their video, titled “Pary Moppins,” follows a frazzled theater director as she realizes that she forgot to build a set piece for the show. Thankfully, her students step in to explain the measurements of the set piece she needs and were able to build it in time for their production of “Pary Moppins.”
“[The video,] it was spectacular,” Mayor Craig Frederick said. “Except for the part that I got lost because I couldn’t quite figure out the mathematical formula.”
Led by their advisor, Edward Heil, the students each received a $1,000 college scholarship for their victory in the 2022 MATHCOUNTS Math Video Challenge.
“This team’s creative video is the perfect example of what students can achieve when they’re given the chance to think outside of the box with math,” Kristen Chandler, executive director of MATHCOUNTS, said.
This meeting also saw the introduction of the 2022 Municipal Budget, which announced that there would be “no local tax increase” and that the budget would be increased by $700,000 from last year’s budget. According to the township CFO, this increase is comprised of 511 one-time charges meant to help the community.
“I certainly want to thank our finance team – this committee as a whole,” Frederick said. “Certainly, this is not a 90 day maintenance. This is a multi-year effort.”
This meeting also raised concerned about the overall safety of Mill Road, specifically the section of it leading up to Hendrickson Mill Pond and Garwin Road. Mill Road has been considered a priority for the council in discussion the 2023 NJDOT Project application, which, if approved by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, would give the township grant money to improve Mill Road and several others.
“This afternoon, I went out there and stuck a tape measure into a hole,” Woolwich Township engineer Rick Alimo said. “One went down 13 feet, and one went down 16 feet.”
The committee agreed to further investigate this road and, although it is not considered a major hazard at this time, consider it a top priority in the community’s infrastructure.
By Berry Andres
