A Fiftieth Anniversary Edition of Alumni Day – Harbor School Style!
Approximately 50 alumni/parent/guardians attended the event this year. Alumni and parents/guardians enjoyed subs, chips, pastries and coffee together.
After lunch, it was time to share the best news in our business. Each young adult in attendance shared the news we’ve been waiting to hear since last year’s celebration. What are they currently doing for work? What program were they in? Are they in a program now? What is their living situation?
You would be surprised how much a simple session of catching up means to us here at Harbor. We never grow tired of hearing things like “my time at Harbor were the best years of my life,” as one young adult stated. We don’t keep them to ourselves for too long, though. Socializing with other graduates, current Harbor high school students and staff was next on the agenda. Fun activities, like bingo, karaoke and a dance party are how we do it.
While the good times carried on, parents and guardians met with returning attendees, Blanche Stetler and Melissa Wong, to share ideas and resources for students. Blanche is the Parent Consultant for our PrimeTime adult program. Melissa Wong is one of the support coordinators from Skylands Family Support agency. Together, the roundtable discussed the guardianship process, Medicaid applications, housing needs(group home list), transportation and legal services. All of this information is relevant to the transition process of our students.
The end of the day was reserved for some special acknowledgments. The first was in regards to the hard work that one alum, Margaux Paulus, has been doing for the Keep Achieving Program at Brookdale Community College. Then, our principal, Anne Gunteski delivered the most important message of the day. You might say it is the theme of this very special 50th anniversary:
We are in this together. Everyone gathered at Alumni Day are a part of the fabric of Harbor School. All must remain committed to helping one another through the many daily challenges that still face our former and current student families.
At the end of the day, the alumni, parents/guardians and Harbor staff joined together to acknowledge one of the alumni, Margaux Paulus, for her hard work at Brookdale Community College in the Keep Achieving Program. Anne Gunteski, Principal also shared that as Harbor School celebrates its 50th anniversary as a school that all those gathered today are a part of its fabric and stressed that we all must remain committed to helping one another through the many daily challenges facing our former and current student families.
Harbor School a private special education school in Monmouth County, New Jersey
Our mission at Harbor School is to help all of our special needs students with learning, social, language, behavioral, and other disabilities. Our highly skilled staff are committed daily to helping each student reach their full potential.
We would be more than happy to discuss your child's specific needs and challenges, so please call us at 732.544.9394, or request a tour at Harbor School in Eatontown, NJ. We are located just minutes off of the Garden State Parkway at exit 105 and conveniently located off of Route 35 and Route 36 in Monmouth County, NJ.
Erik Glazner,
Principal-Harbor School, Eatontown, NJ