BRICK – St. Dominic School was recognized during a recent Township Council meeting after being selected as one of the few national schools to receive a 2018 Blue Ribbon School Award.
Mayor John G. Ducey said that since 1982, the US Department of Education (US DOE) has been recognizing outstanding public and private elementary, middle and high schools based upon their overall academic excellence and exemplary high performance.
Each year public schools are nominated through the NJ Department of Education and private schools are nominated by the Council of American Education, he said.
“In 2018, the council nominated only 50 schools around the country based on applications they received,” Ducey said during the council meeting. “For more than 50 years, Brick Township is fortunate to be home to one of those schools selected, St. Dominic School.”
A total of 349 schools were selected by US DOE to be a National Blue Ribbon School, and of those, 300 were public schools and only 49 were private schools, the mayor said.
“On October 1, 2018, St. Dominic School learned from the US DOE Secretary Betsy DeVos during an assembly with students and staff, that they were one of the private schools chosen to receive their prestigious Blue Ribbon School Award,” Ducey said.
The students and staff have been celebrating ever since, he added.
“If one drives past St. Dominic School and church, you will see dozens of blue ribbons proudly displayed,” he said.
St. Dominic School was invited to the 2018 awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on November 7 and 8, where all the national Blue Ribbon school honorees were presented with a special plaque and flag to signify their exemplary status, Ducey said.
He then presented St. Dominic Principal Carol L. Bathmann with a proclamation naming November 21 as St. Dominic National Blue Ribbon School Day.
“We are very, very lucky to have St. Dominic’s here in Brick Township. They provide a quality education, and to be recognized nationally is a tremendous accomplishment,” Ducey said.
Principal Bathmann credited hard work, a “fantastic” faculty and hardworking students with winning the award.
She said that in order to become a 2018 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, students must score in the top 15 percent of the country in math and language arts.
“So, we did it, we’re very proud, and I want to congratulate all 464 students and a faculty of about 50,” the principal said. “They come to school every day with a smile on their face. Our teachers give 200 percent and I thank them for everything that they do each and every day. They give a faith-filled education to our students,” she said.
St. Dominic’s Father Brian Patrick Woodrow credited the faculty, volunteers and staff at St. Dominic for making a difference for the future.
“This is our future here,” said Father Brian, pointing to the students. “The future is bright, and it’s because they do it with academic prowess, the likes of which is nationally recognized with a blue ribbon. But more importantly, they teach these young boys and girls how to get to heaven and bring others with them,” he said.
“Faith, knowledge, and love of this world,” Father Brian said. “A blue ribbon and a golden ticket to Heaven at St. Dominic’s.”
In other news, Mayor Ducey said the township has been getting a lot of noise complaints since the state Department of Transportation has been dredging township channels 24/7
“It’s very noisy, this dredging project, and we were told specifically by the state that there’s no authority that covers water-based projects, so they can go 24/7 from July 1 through December 31,” he said.
The DOT has a complaint line is 609 530-2110, Ducey said.
“So, if anyone is being kept up at night, or during the day, whatever the case may be, please call that number,” he said.
