Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 3

COURIER-POST, Thursday, December 21, 2000 3AA SCHOOLS Lenape principal slated to open new district high school By MIKE DANIELS Courier-Post Staff WWH! it mump TJtlifTTy Lib mgu. mcsgfc mtsmt students to Lenape. Once Furgione officially begins at Seneca on July 1, he plans to attend community meetings, athletic contests and other events in Tabernacle and Shamong. "I'll be spending a lot of official time on the job and a lot of unofficial time," he promised. Furgione will spend the 2001-2002 school year hiring staff, overseeing construction of the school, building a curriculum and ordering books, computers and other supplies.

"It's going to be a lot of work and there's going to be a certain pressure because of the deadline for the next school year," Furgione said. He expects many teachers to switch to Seneca because they can obtain leadership positions, such as head coaching jobs and advisors for student clubs. "We're really not going to have to hire that many new teachers," Furgione said. In terms of building a curriculum, Furgione was director of curriculum and instruction at Gateway High in Wenonah before coming to Lenape. He spent seven years at Gateway.

For the first 14 years of his career, Furgione taught social studies at Vineland High. He envisions Seneca as the final stop in his educational career, but noted he has a affection for Lenape which will linger. "I still agonized over the decision to leave," Furgione revealed. "I'm happy here. The students and the staff are great and I really love this school." MEDFORD When it opens in September 2002, Seneca High School will be the newest addition to the Lenape Regional High School District.

It will be led a current employee, however, Lenape High School Principal John Furgione. "It's going to be a challenge I'm going to try to be as hands-on as possible," said Furgione, 51, of Medford. The move, effective in July so staff and curriculum can become well established, will most likely mark the last major challenge of Furgione's career. Furgione's replacement has yet to be named. Now in his ninth year as principal at Lenape, Furgione has been in education for 29 years.

When Cherokee Principal Donald Stecher retires at the end of this school year, Furgione will become the district's most experienced principal. "When you open a new school, you want someone experienced as principal," Superintendent Daniel Hicks said. "It's not something you want to have someone without experience doing." Hicks said Furgione was chosen for many reasons, including his varied background in education, his attention to detail, his personality and his record at Lenape. "Lenape is a very student-oriented high school and welcomes parents through its doors," Hicks declared. "I'm sure (Furgione) will also make Seneca part of the communi- i 1,1.1 I I Hit I Lmr n.riir,.n Mk iift'iiiiUMtiiinhiiiri wwiahi iiiiiiriMiim TINA MARKOE KINSLOWCourier-Post Lenape High School Principal John Furgione was tapped to open the district's new high school, Seneca, in part because of the student-friendly atmosphere he has created at Lenape.

Here he chats with students in a Latin honors class. ty." people in these communities," Southampton, Woodland, Taber- Furgione is already familiar "I feel it's a personal obligation Furgione noted. nacle and Shamong will attend with Southampton and Woodland that I spend time getting to know About 1,500 students from Seneca. since those townships send their New Lenape district high school being named after peaceful Indian tribe By MIKE DANIELS Courier-Post Staff Furgione said he'll wear Seneca apparel when it's available. "I'll wear some selectively i probably not here (at Lenape)," he said with a laugh.

Voters in the eight towns that make up the Lenape district approved a bond referendum in 1997 to build the $34 million school in Tabernacle. But some Tabernacle residents and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance challenged the project legally. In October, the district finally received court permission to build the school. "I think the name is great, the mascot and colors are great," said Lenape High School Principal John Furgione, who will become Seneca's principal. "Although they were skilled in warfare," distinct spokeswoman Pat Milich said of the Seneca Indians, "they were gifted at peace and that's something that appealed to us." Seneca keeps alive the district's tradition of naming schools for Native American tribes, but breaks the rhyming pattern of the district's other schools: Lenape, Shawnee and Cherokee.

tive connotations. It couldn't be turned into a negative cheer or chant." During the Colonial era, the Seneca Indians populated several mid-Atlantic states, especially New York. The tribe was one of six Indian nations in the Iroquois Confederacy, formed in the 18th Century. According to the Seneca Nation Website, there are three Seneca reservations, all in New York state, and the tribe still has more than 6,700 members. The nickname, the Golden Eagles, also departs from tradition.

The other three schools all have Native American-based nicknames the Lenape Indians, Shawnee Renegades and Cherokee Chiefs. Hicks said for Seneca, the board considered only animal nicknames. "We were out of the other kind of names," Hicks said. The schools' green and gold colors beat out cranberry and gold, dark green and gold, dark blue and gold and black and gold, officials said. Although no shirts, hats or other paraphernalia with the new colors and logo have been produced yet, "It's been almost a three-year process picking the name," Milich reported.

Milich said finding a tribal name with regional roots was important. Apache, for instance, would have rhymed with the others, but it was never considered. "We wanted the name to be appropriate in that it had some association with this area," said Milich. District Superintendent Daniel Hicks said the rhyming factor was unimportant. Seneca was chosen, Hicks said, because "it was a nice simple name and it had no nega MEDFORD Chippewa, Blackhawk and Mohican were just a few of the names batted around for the fourth high school in the Lenape Regional High School District.

In the end, Seneca was chosen for the high school to be built on Carran-za Road in Tabernacle and slated to open in September 2002. School teams will be nicknamed the Golden Eagles and school colors will be green and gold. Cherokee inducts National Honor Society students tfr -Wr III: JCL Medford police purchase gear The Medford Police department purchased two police cars, computers for the vehicles and a speed trailer recently through a state grant, police Chief Steven Addezio said. The department has already received one of the 2001 Ford Crown Victorias and the speed trailer. The trailer will be a useful educational tool for the township, Addezio said.

The $60,000 Special Legislative Grant was awarded to the department in July, Addezio said. Pictured above alongside the new police car are (from left) Lt. Edwin Wood, Chief Addezio and state Senator Martha Bark, R-Burlington. Mark Finley, Kelly Fletcher, Lia Forman, Lindsay Freedman, Colleen Gaffney, William Gallagher, Stephanie Gilford, Kathleen Grady, Diony-sios Haloulos, Meredith Harrison, Kyle Hart, Christopher Henderson. Suzanne Henry, Kristen Jenniss, Kevin Kelly, Patrick Kilcoin, Caroline Kim, Adam Kress, Brian Lau, Diana Lim, Ji Lim, Quincy Magee, Lauren Mandilian, Victoria McFad-den, Karen McLaughlin, Alison Morgan, Matthew Mueller, Michael Mul-lane, Claire O'Brien, Kimberly Overbrook, Aarif Rassiwalla, Brian Reyes, Steven Ridenour, Larue Robinson, Lyndsay Robinson, Michael Sandora, Jonathan Santos, Joshua Scheinberg, Daniel Schules, Laura Schules, Kate Sherlock, Gina Tam-burello, Pansy Tsang, Deena Tur-ano, Nicholas Vacirca, Stephen Var-ga, Michelle Vendetti, Jennifer Vondran, Erin Wells, Alia Wolfson, Stephanie Yuen and Jennifer MARLTON Eighty three students were inducted into the Cherokee High School National Honor Society, Adawehi Chapter, recently, school officials said.

Induction ceremonies were held Nov. 21 in the school auditorium and included remarks by Principal Donald J. Stecher and Adawehi members. The senior inductees were: David Carullo, Kevin Hurley, Daniel Lan-glitz, Elizabeth Maul, Irene Fong, Gregory Hughel, Tina Lau, Matthew McCormick, Rebecca Hager, Joshua Joseph, Jaimie Masino, Erin Piper. Uuniors inducted were: Richard Baliban, Jennifer Becker, Amy Benedetto, Sarah Blask, Jennifer Bollinger, Ashley Bothel, Ted Box, Brandeis Brockman, Carolyn Bruey, Christy Burg, Jenny Chan, Victoria Conte, Andrea Courtland, Lauren Costello, Kathryn D'Onofrio, Michael Delo, Kristen Doelp and Nico lette Dugan.

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