Ocean Township students and principals recognized; student wins county photography contest

The Township of Ocean School District board opened its regular meeting with student activities updates and two recognitions: a student photography award and formal appreciation for the district’s five school principals.

A ninth-grade student from Ocean Township High School was recognized after winning first place in the 2025 Monmouth County High School Photography Contest. The student’s entry featured a black-and-white photograph of the Sandy Hook Lighthouse; the caption submitted with the entry described the site’s colonial-era role and the student said the black-and-white treatment was intended to evoke the “harsh time” of British attacks during the Revolutionary War. A photo was displayed for the board by staff during the recognition.

The board also recognized the district’s five principals for National Principals Month and invited them to stand to be acknowledged. The president urged the school community to find ways to express appreciation for principals before the end of October.

Student representative remarks summarized recent and upcoming extracurricular activities: a football game and senior-night events, recent achievements in girls soccer and cross-country, a boys cross-country meet to be scheduled, the high school spirit week and fall pep rally, the eighth-grade open house where clubs and sports promoted programs to incoming freshmen, DECA field trips and celebrations, and an upcoming drama production.

Those recognitions and the student report were delivered during the opening portion of the meeting and drew praise from board members in a later old-business segment. No public commenters addressed these items during the public-comment period.