Chances are, if you’re reading this article right now, you live in Shamong. And if you do live in Shamong, then there is also a good chance that new Shamong Home and School Association President Scott Caloiaro would like to speak with you.
“We want the entire community to be involved in the Home and School Association. We want to welcome everybody, moms, dads, those without kids in the district,” Caloiaro said. “It’s our goal to make the HSA a point of community pride and spirit.”
Caloiaro has lived in Shamong for “the better part of 20 years” and has a son starting first grade at Indian Mills School this year. His work as an officer and now detective with the Lawrence Township Police Department showed Caloiaro the value of community involvement in the schools.
“Through the department, I was partially a liaison to the schools in the area. You could really recognize the importance of parental involvement in the schools. It’s important to have a parent, male or female, in and a part of the school,” Caloiaro said.
To spark that community involvement, Caloiaro said the HSA would focus on community outreach through events. And he stressed “not just fundraising events.” “My goal is for the HSA to become a social club. Parents and those in the community coming together and meeting with each other, talking about things,” Caloiaro said. To the theme of more community involvement, the HSA will host its inaugural “Back to School BBQ” for both Indian Mills Elementary School and Indian Mills Memorial Middle School on Sept. 5 and Sept. 12, respectively. The HSA, along with IMS Principal Nicole Moore and IMMS Principal Timothy Carroll, will kick off the school year with hot dogs, hamburgers, music and water ice while also revealing the new line of school spirit items. Caloiaro said the HSA partnered with local business owner John Rath to design a new logo for the association and its school products.
“We formed a new logo that will be the same for both schools. I want our logo to engulf the community and become a symbol of our community’s commitment to our schools,” Caloiaro said.
Another focus for the HSA will be partnering with small businesses in and around Shamong.
“They have a stake in the community. These are the businesses I want to work with and they want to support the schools as well,” Caloiaro said.
The HSA will continue to fill the community social calendar, as Caloiaro said the association will sponsor an event around Halloween as well as a visit from the Harlem Wizards basketball team next spring.
