PRJHS Parent Newsletter
September 2021 Edition
#weareprjhs
Progress Report/Marking Period Dates
Progress Reports:
10/7/2021
12/21/2021
3/7/2022
5/17/2022
End of Marking Period Dates:
11/16/2021
2/1/2022
4/6/2022
6/21/2022
Pinelands Experience Informational Presentation
Pinelands Experience Camp Overview Presentation
Pinelands Experience
This is just a friendly reminder that this Friday, October 8 is the 8th grade edition of the Pinelands Experience. The administration and the staff at the Junior High School are so excited and joyous that our 8th grade students will have the opportunity to participate in this event.
Important Reminders for October 8:
- Due to the home football game on Friday night and limited access to the JHS parking lot, the student pick-up location has been moved to Frog Pond Elementary School.
- Staff and students will report to the JHS just like a normal day. Departure for the camp will be around 8:30 am. We are anticipating returning to Frog Pond between 8:30 and 8:45 PM.
- As of today the weather is looking favorable but it will be a good idea to dress in layers as the morning may still be a bit cool. In addition, please be sure to pack warm dry clothes and an extra pair of sneakers as students will be participating in activities in and around water.
- Also may be a good idea to have something like a trash bag to put wet clothes and sneakers in.
- Label backpacks, water bottles, etc.
- Leave all valuable items at home.
- Students not attending the Pinelands Experience are expected to be present in school and attend the home program. Any student not present on October 8, will be considered absent from school.
Any questions regarding the Pinelands Experience please contact:
- Michele Maleski - mlmaleski@prsdnj.org
- Toni Ann DiFrancia - tdifrancia@prsdnj.org
Students in Good Standing
In accordance with the Pinelands Regional Student and Family Handbook:
At the beginning of each school year or upon enrollment, a Pinelands student is regarded as a Student in Good Standing. Under this status, the student can enjoy many privileges such as Pinelands Experience, attendance at school dances and other school sponsored activities. A student can lose his/her “Good Standing” status for up to 30 days, and forfeit their opportunity to participate in these activities/privileges if they do not meet the following criteria in their academics, attendance, and behavior:
Academics - The student has not earned two “F”’s in the previous marking period.
Attendance - The student does not have excessive absences (NC) in any of their classes.
Behavior - The student has not earned 4 or more discipline points in the previous marking period. Certain disciplinary infractions result in an immediate 30 day loss of Good Standing.
Week of Respect
The first full week in October is designated “The Week of Respect” by the NJ Department of Education. School districts are required to observe this week by organizing and promoting school activities to prevent bullying in our schools.
Pinelands JHS will be observing this year’s Week of Respect, October 4th through October 8th, through various activities. Please be sure to take note of the anti-bullying homeroom/cafeteria messages that will be shown as well as various prevention posters that will be placed in the hallways. We will also be doing a pledge in homerooms asking students and staff to participate in writing down words of empowerment/positive messages. Wildcats In Action students will then be creating something special with those words in the cafeteria.
SBYS helped bring to our students an incredible speaker from AIR (Attitudes in Reverse). The presenter came to speak to our students this past Wednesday regarding empathy and kindness towards all and breaking down the stigma to help identify our students who may be at risk. We also have a few more surprises that you will be seeing throughout the whole month to help continue the R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Below you will find a list of websites that deal with bullying and offer information, resources and forums. Additionally, there is a list of “Facts on Bullying” to provide you with further information. Please visit the school’s webpage for more information as well. Under the Student Services section, you will find a tab with Anti-Bullying information. Here, you will be able to review our District’s policy in addition to other resources and information.
Websites About Bullying
- Jared’s Story (www.jaredstory.com)
- National Association of School Psychologists (www.nasponline.org)
- Stop Bullying (www.stopbullying.gov)
- The Pacer Center (www.pacer.org/bullying)
- Pacer’s Center “Teens Against Bullying” (www.pacerteensagainstbullying.org)
- Violence Prevention Works (www.violencepreventionworks.org)
- Edutopia (http://www.edutopia.org/blog/bullying-prevention-tips-teachers-parents-anne-obrien)
- Bullying Statistics (http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/)
- NetSmartz Workshop (www.netsmartz.org )
- Identifying Bullies and their Victims (https://www.aft.org/identifying-bullies-victims)
- Create a Safe Environment (https://www.aft.org/create-safe-environment-which-bullying-unacceptable)
- Teaching Tolerance (https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/texts)
- Anti-Defamation League (https://www.adl.org/what-we-do/promote-respect/bullying-cyberbullying-prevention)
Facts on Bullying
· An estimated 160,000 students miss school every day due to a fear of bullying or harassment.
· Bullying causes fear and creates a climate of disrespect in schools. It has a negative impact on student learning.
· There appears to be a strong relationship between bullying as a youth and experiencing legal and criminal problems as an adult. One study showed 60% of those characterized as a bully in grades 6-9 had one or more criminal convictions by age 24.
· The National Threat Assessment Center found that the attackers in more than two thirds of 37 mass school shootings felt “persecuted, bullied, threatened, attacked, or injured by others.”
· Recent surveys show that American children 8 to 15 years of age rate bullying as a greater problem than racism, sexual pressure or the use of drugs and alcohol.
· Bullying takes place most often at school and where there is no or little adult supervision.
· Bullying peaks in middle school and starts to decline in high school. However, it never disappears completely.
· Boys tend to bully boys and girls. Girls tend to bully other girls.
· In middle school, boys who are more passive or less physically mature than their peers are most often the target of bullies. Girls who physically mature early are most often the target of bullies.
The above information was adapted from 101 Bullying Prevention Activities from the Bureau of At Risk Youth (2007) and the KeysToSaferSchools.com website and newsletter.
Types of bullying:
- Verbal. This type of bullying usually involves name calling and or teasing
- Social. Spreading rumors, intentionally leaving others out of activities on purpose, breaking up friendships are all examples of social bullying.
- Physical. This traditional form of bullying involves hitting, punching, shoving and other acts of intention physical harm.
- Cyberbullying. This method of bullying involves using the Internet, texting, email and other digital technologies to harm others.
Facts on bullying:
- Imbalance of power. Typically, those who engage in bully-like behaviors use their strength, popularity or power to harm, control or manipulate others. They will usually target those who are weaker in size or may have a difficult time defending themselves.
- Intent to cause harm. A bully is a person who does not do things by accident. The bully intends to physically or emotionally injure a person or group of persons.
- Repetition. Typically, incidents of bullying are not a one-time thing. Bullies target the same person or group over and over again.
The above information was taken from www.BullyingStatitics.org.
Should you have any questions, please contact Melissa Thompson at mthompson@prsdnj.org
PRJHS Fundraising Information
PINELANDS REGIONAL JR HS
Dear parent or guardian:
This program offers a NEW way to fundraise via our organization's secure site! Helping is easy as 1-2-3!
- Please take a moment to review your fundraising materials
- Join the Clubhouse by simply registering online
- Set a goal to send at least 10 messages
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Attention 8th Grade Parents
If your child is interested in attending one of our Academies for next year, please read below,
Information sessions for the academies will be virtual again this year, and the application will also be online again. Interested students will need to register for an information session. The dates and registration link can be found here: www.ocvts.org/preregister Students MUST attend an information session in order to receive the application link!
(Please note: students from ANY grade level can attend an information session, but only current 8th and 9th grade students may submit an application this year.)
If you are a parent of an 8th grade student and have questions regarding the Academies, please email Christine Papernik at cpapernik@prsdnj.org