MATES Students Win State 'Envirothon' Competition

Students from Brick, Toms River among the winners

For the fourth year in a row, a team of high school students from the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Sciences (MATES) in Manahawkin was the winner of the New Jersey Envirothon, held Saturday, May 4 at Girl Scout Camp Kettle Run in Medford, the state's Department of Agriculture has announced. The team, consisting of  Emily Golembiski of Little Egg Harbor, Jillian Hubbard of Toms River, Gillian Schriever of West Creek, Michael Signorelli of Toms River and Megan Tumpey of  Brick, will represent New Jersey in the 2013 North American Envirothon at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana in August.  The Ocean County students competed against 33 other teams on knowledge of natural resources-related topics, including soils, …

• Photos (1)

Hurricane Sandy

OCVTS Closed This Week

No spring break in 2013

Like many other area schools, the Ocean County Vocational Technical School district will be closed until Nov. 12. The district includes the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Sciences (MATES), in Manahawkin, the Performing Arts Academy (PAA), in Lakehurst, and many other instructional programs offered at multiple sites throughout the county. A recorded phone call made to parents of students at the academies said the closure is due to the many sending districts that are closed this coming week due to damage from Sandy. The message also said that the time off will be made up during the spring break in April, so students will not have off at that time.

•  9 Comments
• Photos (1)

MATES Student, Sister, Killed in Jackson Collision

Girls recalled as 'making everyone laugh.'

Students and faculty at the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Sciences in Manahawkin and Jackson Memorial High School were grieving this morning after learning of the loss of two friends and classmates.   The girls, identified as 17-year-old MATES student Jaime Nicholson and her 15-year-old sister Francesca, died in a crash on South Hope Chapel Road in Jackson yesterday.  Both girls were in the color guard of the Jackson Memorial High School Band.   A person who knows the girls well, but did not wish to be identified, recalled the sisters as "full of life."  "Jaime was the captain of the color guard, and she made everyone laugh. She would always be silly with the girls and make them smile," the person told Patch, through tears…

•  24 Comments
• Photos (1)

LORI

9:56 pm on Tuesday, October 16, 2012

To the What a joke person......your comment to JD is what a joke.......NOT APPROPRIATE at this family's time of tregedy......   more ›

An Unlikely Ally in the Fight Against Water Pollution

Chemicals found in laundry detergent help detect more dangerous types of contaminants

Certain chemicals found in laundry detergents have been finding their way into major waters across the country. But while these chemicals, known as optical brighteners, may be considered a contaminant, some environmentalists say they actually help detect other, more dangerous ones. Optical brighteners are being found right here in Toms River, which is near the Barnegat Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Over the last few years water sampling groups like the MATES program at the Ocean County Vocational Technical School in Manahawkin have been finding high levels of optical brighteners in rivers and storm drain runoffs.  Water testing has proved that optical brighteners are also found in connection with other contaminates like E. Coli and fecal …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Family: Whiz Kid (Student Spotlight)

Students Receive Grant to Study Storm Water, Present Findings to Public

MATES students have been working on a project to monitor the bay’s water quality

The recent multi-million dollar bill signed by Christie addressing water quality management can be used to fix what recent water testing has found. Water quality due to stormwater runoff has been raising some eyebrows lately. More and more water sources are showing elevated levels of pollution and fecal waste. Students at the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Sciences (MATES) have been working on a project to monitor the bay’s water quality. On Friday, Aug. 5, five students from the program gave a PowerPoint presentation to display their results at the MATES Building at 195 Cedar Bridge Road in Manahawkin. Four students received the Barnegat Bay Student Grant Program and worked with the state Department of Environmental …

• Photos (9)