Calls the students “polite, well-mannered and high performers.” When Eugene Hewitt was attending a public grammar school in Rockland County, N.Y., and walked into town at lunch, he would play tennis on courts adjacent to St. Peter’s Catholic School. He recalled his friends making fun of the students’ uniforms when he got his first teaching job at St. Peter’s. Teaching wasn’t his first choice of careers. At St. Thomas College, he originally majored in gerontology. During his first experience working with the aged, he was yelled at and changed his major on the spot. His new major was psychology and education. After only three years of teaching at St. Peter’s, Hewitt was offered a principalship at another school. He declined, feeling he wasn’t ready, but took a teaching job at St. Ann’s in Nyack. His nine years there were rewarding, both because with his colleagues he was able to turn the school into a much better place to learn and because he met his wife while she was also teaching there, too. Of St. Ann’s, he recalls: “Looking back on the school today, I still am most proud of our accomplishments in bettering the school. One of my associates was Monsenior Edmund Netter. He had an incredible reputation as a shepherd and a priest and was a mentor to me.” He carried a heavy workload until the principal decided to assign some of his classes to Robert Chomiak, another teacher. “I wasn’t happy about another teacher taking over some of my work, but by the time we had finished getting some more chairs needed for a meeting with the principal, we connected, and it was the beginning of a long and valued friendship.” When Chomiak was offered the job as principal of Saint Mary’s in Yonkers, he told the board Hewitt was a much better candidate. Hewitt accepted the job. During that period he and his wife, Alicia, had their first child and she decided to stay home with the baby. After five years at St. Mary’s, Hewitt switched to Sacred Heart in Newberry, N.Y., to be closer to home. After two and a half years, Sacred Heart closed and Hewitt was back with Chomiak in Danbury, Conn., and a very long commute of two and a half hours. Comes to New Jersey He had several interviews in both the Metuchen and Newark Diocese and was close to taking a job in East Brunswick in the Diocese of Metuchen. However, when the Hewitts returned from three days in Lancaster, Pa., he was contacted by the search committee of Our Lady Queen of Peace. “I had already been through the screening process and they felt I was right for the job, Hewitt said. “I was treated with such respect during my interview and was very impressed with the school. I felt it was a testament to the Paterson Diocese and I wanted to be a part of it. After my second interview, I was hired and it was a dream come true. “Our Lady Queen of Peace School is the best kept secret in West Milford,” he added. “There’s a 50-year history here and the teachers and staff are incredible. They impressed me immediately with their wealth of experience and knowledge of the different nuances of education. They are dedicated to the Catholic School traditions and are devoted to the environment they teach in.” One of the changes Hewitt brought to OLQP is a values infusion program which enables the teachers to discuss values as they teach each subject. Each month, the children are required to remember a different scripture that coincides with the value of the month. “We embrace core values in unity and solidarity, for the best interests of our children. The school has an incredible attitude toward children, small classes and individualized instruction, dedicated and talented teachers who go above and beyond, and creative and innovative ideas and plans for the future.” Hewitt is meeting with all the parents to review testing strategies and to talk about how to work with children at home. He feels the teachers are becoming more cognizant of the needs of the child in specific subjects. In the future, he said, the school is looking towards cultivating a language program. “Our hope is to offer three foreign languages. We are close to the goal of having smart boards in every classroom and are working on a complete sports program, buying new software, learning video conferencing on the smart boards, installing a new science lab and giving the school a face lift. “These children are well behaved, and that speaks volumes to their families and teachers,” Hewitt said. “I am grateful for the opportunity I have been offered here at Our Lady Queen of Peace School.”