The first three weeks of school have gone by quickly, and I want to take a moment to share a couple of critical items that may be of interest. First, thank you to every parent and guardian who came out to Back-to-School Night over the past few weeks. Turnout was excellent across the District. It was a pleasure to welcome families into our buildings to meet our teachers and district leaders and to see our newly renovated learning spaces.

I also want to address transportation, which has been a real concern for many of you. We have fixed most of the late-morning arrivals that students and families experienced in the first weeks of school. I am happy to report that as of Friday, October 2, all but a few buses were on time for their morning runs. In the afternoons, the vast majority of routes are running on time, though a few, mostly at the high school, are still a challenge, and we are working to correct them. I know transportation let many families down in the opening weeks. We are putting together a plan so that what families went through this fall does not happen again. Until then, I hope your children are enjoying the start of the year. We are glad to have them back in our buildings.

We are thrilled to announce that the new cafeteria addition at Bradley Gardens Primary School is officially open for our students and staff! Having secured all final approvals, both the state-of-the-art dining facility and modern kitchen are now fully operational.

Financed through our 2023 district-wide referendum, this transformative project included constructing the spacious new cafeteria addition and repurposing the former kitchen into dedicated spaces for small-group instruction. We are deeply grateful for the community's support and hope you take great pride in this wonderful addition to our school.

The creation of new rooms to further enhance STEM education for its students has been one of many initiatives encouraged by the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District. These facilities demonstrate our district's commitment to STEM education in grades K-12. Evidence of that commitment is demonstrated through new courses and facility updates.  

A multi-classroom robotics lab in the 200 building at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, newly renovated classrooms at the middle school, and a technical laboratory at Adamsville Primary School are just a few examples of the district's commitment to our students that opened at the start of the 2026-2027 school year.

The FIRST Robotics Competition District event will return to Bridgewater-Raritan on April 10 and 11 in 2027.

Bridgewater-Raritan High School's Team 303 T.E.S.T. Robotics was selected to serve as the host in the final district competition before the FIRST Robotics Mid-Atlantic Championships are held a week later at Lehigh University from April 14 to 17 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

This coming April, an estimated 30 robotics teams from New Jersey, Delaware, and Eastern Pennsylvania will compete in districts at Bridgewater-Raritan High School's spacious Vaughn Stapleton Gymnasium.  Best of luck to Team 303!

For the fifth straight year, the number of semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program has increased at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.

The National Merit Scholarship Program announced in September that 18 Bridgewater-Raritan High School students have been named semifinalists. That total was an improvement over last year's 16 semifinalists named at Bridgewater-Raritan High School. There were 13 students named in 2024, 12 in 2023, and 10 in 2022.

Congratulations to our students and staff who made this prestigious honor possible.

An ambassador program comprised of 43 dedicated and energetic 8th-grade students has been created at Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School for this school year.

These Peer Leaders were assembled and are directed by Lisa Lattarulo, the Supervisor of Counseling and Wellness for K-8 at the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District, and Alyssa Carothers, the Student Assistance Counselor for the Middle School.

According to Ms. Carothers, Peer Leaders serve as positive role models and leaders within the Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School community. Throughout the school year, they will lead classroom lessons for 6th-grade students once per marking period, welcome and support new students, and assist with school counseling initiatives and schoolwide programs.

Their first order of business took place at the Middle School's Back-to-School Nights on September 14 and 15, when the Peer Leaders greeted and assisted parents and families in locating classrooms, while answering questions, and sharing their knowledge of the Middle School.

The Niche Best Schools report ranked the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District No. 34 among 244 public K-12 school districts in New Jersey, according to an announcement sent on Tuesday, September 29.

According to Niche, the 2027 rankings are based on rigorous analysis of key statistics and millions of reviews from students and parents using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Ranking factors include state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, teacher quality, and school ratings.

Meanwhile, in another Niche report, Bridgewater-Raritan High School earned the No. 49 overall ranking among New Jersey's Best Public High Schools. Bridgewater-Raritan High School received the 47th ranking among 411 public high schools in the Best College Prep Public High Schools category and the No. 65 ranking among 310 public high schools in the Best High Schools for STEM in New Jersey category.

These ratings reinforce the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District's commitment to academic excellence and a high-level student experience in all of our buildings. 

 Congratulations to our teachers, administrators, parents, and students who made this possible.