High School Newsbite: September 29th, 2025

Posted Date: 9/29/25 (8:21 AM)

Biology Teacher Scott Ward is celebrating 25 years of service at South Hunterdon. Outside of the classroom, Mr. Ward has also guided student-athletes as the head spring Track & Field coach. We caught up with Mr. Ward to learn more about his treasured experience at South.

Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect of working with South Hunterdon students?

SW: In my 25 years at South the most rewarding aspect is the response from grads that they felt like my classes prepared them the most for college. All the hard work that I put in may actually have paid off for my former students.

Q: What continues to inspire you in the field of education?

SW: To be an educator you must always strive to learn and you can't be successful if you stop trying to learn more about your subject matter. In science, especially in biology, there are always new advances in our knowledge of how life works. How can you not be inspired to want to pass that information on?

Q: How have students shaped you into the person you are today?

SW: As I have become more experienced, just another way of saying as I have gotten older, I want the experiences that my students have in my classes or on my sports teams to be a positive, memorable experience. If that happened or continues to happen, that is the most important contribution I have made to South as an educator.

Q: What is the most important thing you hope students learn from you?

SW: I say this all the time, "You may not remember that exciting lesson on photosynthesis, but I hope that you remember how you felt when you succeeded in biology when you didn't feel like you would."

Q: What makes South Hunterdon a special place to work?

SW: All of my experiences, from the spring peeper project to outdoor ed at fairview lake for a decade + to building the track and field program and watching my kids at track practices play in the sand pit. To think that I had a role in any of that makes me come to work every day.

Q: How do you define student success in the classroom?

SW: Overcoming the mental obstacles that you feel like you can't hurdle but you do. When that happens, you have succeeded and you can do it again!

Thank you, Mr. Ward, for your many years of service to South Hunterdon!

September Student of the Month

Congratulations to Key Club President Trevor Lingerfield for being named the September Student of the Month! When asked how it feels to be recognized for his hard work in and outside of the classroom, Trevor responded that the honor shows his efforts matter. "It proves that all students should make efforts to work hard in the classroom, as that devoted mindset will subconsciously carry over to being a contributing member of your overall community."

Q: Why is it important to you to be involved at your school?

TL: It is important to me to be involved at my school because I want to leave South Hunterdon on a positive note and be remembered as a contributing factor to our school's community after I have graduated. Being a part of sports teams, clubs, and other extracurricular activities (i.e Night at the Nest) have created memories I will never forget and have brought me closer with social groups I wouldn't have ever become friends with if I wasn't active in the school.

Q: What motivates you to succeed as a South Hunterdon student?

What motivates me to succeed as a South Hunterdon student - the school and area that I have been a part of ever since I began my schooling career - is to represent the school in the professional world after I have graduated. Once I am done with my career in South Hunterdon, I will be proud to say I am a graduate from this school.

September Athlete of the Month

Congratulations to Cheerleading Co-Captain Tess Cathey-Jordan for being named the September Athlete of the Month! When asked to describe Tess, Cheerleading Coach Shannon Gallagher said the following:

"Tess is an integral part of the cheer team. She goes above and beyond in her role as captain by teaching dances and issuing corrections when needed. We have many new cheerleaders and underclassmen, and Tess has taken them under her wing and shown them what it means to be a cheerleader at South.

Outside of cheer, Tess takes on a rigorous class load that includes many AP courses and is active in many clubs. Tess is an amazing role model for what a cheerleader at South should be!"

Every month, we will be recognizing and celebrating one Student of the Month and one Athlete of the Month. The Student of the Month is voted on by the staff and the Athlete of the Month is voted on by the coaches and the athletic director. Students will get a poster to take home with them. There will also be a poster displayed in school. Congratulations to our September honorees!

Student Spotlight

The Lambertville Area Education Foundation (LAEF) kindly supports South Hunterdon students in a variety of ways each year. The LAEF Summer Scholarship Program is just one example of this by giving eligible students the opportunity to pursue educational opportunities on college campuses. Thanks to an LAEF grant, Anika Balog was able to attend The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill this past summer to explore her interest in a nursing career.

What's Coming Up?

October 2 School Closed - Yom Kippur
October 13 School Closed - Staff In-Service
October 17 Homecoming Football Game @ 7pm
October 18 Homecoming Dance @ 7pm