West Long Branch Public School District Serving Eastern Monmouth County, NJ - Real Estate, Homes For Sale, School & Community Information

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West Long Branch Public School District Area Insight

Elizabeth Justin

RE/MAX Elite

West Long Branch Public School District

West Long Branch and Oceanport School Students Work Together

According to the Frank Antonides Middle School Facebook page, West Long Branch and Oceanport Schools collaborated and have raised almost $10,000 for Pediatric Cancer Research. Pediatric Cancer, specifically brain cancer, touched the Oceanport and Shore Regional community when a student at Shore Regional High School was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer a few years ago. He passed away last year before he was able to graduate. If interested in learning more information, go to The Champ's Corner Facebook page. Raising money and awareness for cancer research is money and time well spent. Great job students!
Elizabeth Justin

RE/MAX Elite

West Long Branch Public School District

ARTivity Night

Each April the West Long Branch Education Foundation puts on a night of fun and art and crafts called ARTivity night. One of the main draws is the display of a piece of art created by every student in Art Class. The entire Media Center/Library becomes an art gallery. This year they also had on display framed artwork that could be purchased. All money raised from this event goes to funding teacher grants

In addition to the art, the cafeteria becomes a carnival of arts and crafts for kids of all ages. Buy your tickets and then you pay with your tickets to do the craft. The crafts vary from year to year but face painting is always a favorite. Other tables include crafts like making a wind chime, decorating a tote bag, and making a headband.

Another favorite activity is the Cake Walk. All kinds of cakes are donated. For your ticket people walk around to music, and then similar to musical chairs, a lucky winner will win a cake. Dozens of cakes are given away. We've been there three years and have only won a cake one time. Guess there's always next year!
Elizabeth Justin

RE/MAX Elite

West Long Branch Public School District

Spring Break and Other Stuff

Spring break vacation officially started on Good Friday/Passover April 2 and extends through the week after. I personally know several friends who have taken their families on vacation. It might be a bit lonely for your kids in town this week - glad mine aren't there to find out! Plus many of them are traveling mid-week to mid-week due to otherwise exorbitant plane fares. Could be a half-full school those first days back.

Easter - The WLB Recreation committee hosts an Easter Egg Hunt every year at the community center. This year it occurred the Saturday before. If you have kids 6 and under they will really enjoy it. Older kids will find it a little silly as the eggs are just thrown out on a field; there's really no hunting involved.

On March 10, there was a town vote for a referendum asking for $8,990,900 for new heating and cooling systems for both the Betty McElmon Elementary School and the Frank Antonides Middle School. The systems in place now are not energy efficient, according to officials. The new system will include automatic shut-offs. This vote was the second attempt to get it passed, as the first vote was not successful. But after that failure, there was much more information shared with the town in order to show and explain the need and why taking care of it now makes sense. The contribution to taxpayers is yet to be determined but the state is covering 40% of the cost.

Just a few more examples of how West Long Branch is focused on students and families!
Elizabeth Justin

RE/MAX Elite

West Long Branch Public School District

Community Drug Education for Prevention of Drug Epidemic

No, not in West Long Branch but there is a growing use of heroin in New Jersey. For the past 2 years, the WLB and Shore Regional School Districts have been active in raising awareness among parents by holding presentations at both schools. These presentations are lead by police officers who give first hand accounts of the detrimental effects of using heroin. We all think its not our kid, but ignorance isn't always bliss.
Elizabeth Justin

RE/MAX Elite

West Long Branch Public School District

WLB PTA Annual 8th Grade Fashion Show Fundraiser

Whoa! This is the first year I've experienced this event from the inside, as this year I have an 8th grader, I'm the PTA Treasurer, and I was the chair of getting volunteers. I saw first hand, from the periphery, what it takes to pull off this event. And it's amazing everyone involved who had a main role also has a full time job! Planning this event starts the year before, begins to rev up in the fall then really starts to take off with the new year. So much had to be coordinated, I'm still in awe that it happened, and very well indeed it was!

The kids, even my shy son, all got dressed up in borrowed clothes and walked down a runway, strutting their stuff, in front of about 200 people made up of family members and teachers, while being videotaped and photographed. There were almost 200 gift baskets to bid on and two 50:50 auctions. There was food as well but who has time to eat when we're watching the kids and checking ticket numbers!

Personally, I was exhausted just making sure my part was carried out successfully. But I probably would have found some extra energy had I won something! Looks like the PTA pulled in about ten thousand dollars so still worth it overall.
Elizabeth Justin

RE/MAX Elite

West Long Branch Public School District

West Long Branch PTA Book Fair

This week is the Scholastic Book Fair at WLB Public Schools. What is so great about this event is that parent volunteers make it happen. And it is no small task! Besides the one parent (she's amazing) who is the point person with Scholastic, several parent volunteers are needed to receive the books, set it all up in the library, help the kids pick and purchase their books and then to take it all down, pack it up and coordinate with Scholastic to pick it all back up. And this event takes place twice per school year.

This is just another example of the top notch school system that is West Long Branch Public Schools. It's not just about the teachers who are all (mostly all) excellent educators, but also about the families that make up this town, and the parents who value a high quality education for their children. I consider myself one of those parents, but there are others who are much more involved than I am. All the children of WLB benefit from their time and expertise, not just their own kids. That’s the quality of character of a majority of the residents of this small town.

I'm not trying to imply that other towns don't have a lot of parent involvement. They do. It’s just the whole picture of what is West Long Branch - a cozy town where families and children are first and foremost. It’s a great place to raise a family. Here is a fact. Couples who buy into the town don't leave once their kids are grown, because those kids come back to raise their own families. There are so many extended families that live in West Long Branch. It’s a great quality. But that means that sometimes it’s hard to find a house for sale!
Elizabeth Justin

RE/MAX Elite

West Long Branch Public School District

West Long Branch PTA Fashion Show

Oh my! I have just come from my first WLB PTA Fashion Show, which has been an annual event for many years, to honor the 8th graders and it was a huge, well-done production. Each 8th grader, boys and girls, dress up in outfits from area clothing stores that they can either buy or return, and they each walk down a runway while the announcer tells us what is special about them and what they want to do when they grow up. It was so sweet! Kind of like a graduation, but with a personal touch that you wouldn't get at a formal graduation ceremony. It took place at Jumping Brook Country Club for a catered lunch. Its a very nice venue location and the food was good. And of course with any PTA event, there is the fundraising basket prizes, where you buy a load of tickets to take a chance on winning one or more of the prizes. There were 140 prizes! (No, I didn't win any.) As PTA treasurer, I know this is the biggest annual PTA fundraising event and this year did not disappoint. Kudos to those who actually made this event happen since there are several different aspects of it that all needed to run smoothly together. Next year I will have an 8th grader and I look forward to having an even closer connection to the event than I did this year.
Elizabeth Justin

RE/MAX Elite

West Long Branch Public School District

Sweet Charity at Shore Regional High School

Twice a year, the drama students at SRHS put on a musical. Sweet Charity opens this weekend and it is sure to be another spectacular high school production. The costumes are authentic and the sets are professional, the music is live and the performances are excellent. Of course, there some students that stand out above the others, but overall, for high school students, who already have a full course load and other after school activities, the fact that they can get all their work done plus take part in a play that has practices every day and into the night, is amazing. Those are the glasses you need to be looking through when you go and see it. For $12 a ticket, it will be a great night of entertainment. Yes, you can buy tickets at the door.