Please follow this link to take you to an interest survey regarding spring baseball and softball.

December 8, 2022: 8th Grade - High School World Language Presentation

December 14, 2022: Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00

December 15, 2022: Chef's Day @ Conley

December 16, 2022: North Hunterdon High School Show Choir & Jazz Ensemble @ Hoppock

December 23, 2022: Early Dismissal - Winter Break

December 24, 2022 - January 2, 2023: School Closed for Winter Break

January 4, 2023: BOE Reorganization Meeting - Hoppock School @ 7:00 PM

January 13, 2023: Early Dismissal - Staff Inservice

January 16, 2023: School Closed - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Dear Families,

I hope that this letter finds you well and that you enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends! As we approach the midway point of the second quarter of the school year, I wanted to remind parents of the importance of student attendance and the impact it has on school performance and success. The faculty, staff, administration and Board of Education of the Bethlehem Township Schools are dedicated in providing an outstanding educational opportunity for each and every student. Research shows that student achievement and excellent attendance are inextricably linked. Not only does attendance affect student achievement, but it also sets the stage for excellence once students are old enough to enter the workplace.

For more information about our policy on student attendance, please refer to the BOE policy which is based on state law and regulations. Click here to access the adopted policy. If you have any questions about this or need assistance with your child's attendance, please do not hesitate to reach out. We have many resources here that can assist you in getting your child to school each day.

I want to wish everyone a very happy and healthy holiday season!

Sincerely,

Ed Abato

Chief School Administrator/Hoppock Principal

Please be sure that your child comes to school dressed appropriately for the weather. Students will go outside for gym and recess as long as the temperature is above freezing and there is no inclement weather.

The Bethlehem Township School District is currently looking to fill the following positions:

F/T Facilities Manager

• Approximate start date: on or about December 23, 2022

• Must possess NJ Certification as Education Facilities Manager or working towards completion and Black Seal license.
• Manage all facility related vendors including but not limited to security, HVAC and Boiler PM’s and building maintenance.
• Understanding of AHERA, IPM, ADA, NJQSAC, Lock Out Tag Out, Right to Know, SDA, IAQ, Lead Testing.
• Must possess a valid NJ driver’s license.
• Possess leadership and management skills necessary to oversee the Building and Grounds staff, outside contractors and facilities.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to use computers and database software, internet software, spreadsheet and word processing programs. Update work order system daily.
• Ability to physically lift packages, move furniture, office supplies, etc.
  
• Willingness to be on-call 24/7 for all emergencies.
• Required criminal history background check and proof of U.S. citizenship or legal resident alien status.

F/T Middle School Special Education Teacher

• Approximate start date: ASAP
• Orton Gillingham Trained - preferred
• Must have proper TOSD Certification
• ELA and/or Math Certification preferred

F/T Elementary Special Education Teacher

• Approximate start date: January 2, 2023
• ABA experience preferred

F/T Spanish Teacher Grades 6-8

• Approximate start date: ASAP
• Spanish certification required

F/T Elementary School Paraprofessional

• Approximate start date: ASAP

If interested in any position, please submit your cover letter, resume, and certification(s), along with a completed application to:

Margaret Andrews, Secretary to Mr. Edward Abato, CSA

mandrews@btschools.org

Bethlehem Township School District

280 Asbury West Portal Road

Asbury, NJ 08802

Do you love working with Children? Do you have a day (or four) a week free? Are you looking to make a positive impact in children's lives and help our community? Then come join our family!

The Bethlehem Township School District is looking for dedicated substitute teachers and paraprofessionals to work in our schools. All substitutes are required to apply for and obtain their county substitute certificate.

Requirements & Compensation

Teacher:

• Sixty (60) college credits
• Fingerprinting & background check
• Mantoux test

• $120 per day
• Paid training (half day)

Paraprofessional:

• High school diploma
• Fingerprinting & background check
• Mantoux Test
• $105 per day
• Paid training (half day)

If you are interested in either opportunity, please reach out to Peggy Andrews, Administrative Assistant to the CSA. She can be reached at (908) 479-6336.

The Hoppock Middle School Student Council organized and ran a food drive to help a local food bank increase their stock for the holiday season. We are so proud of our students for the selfless act they demonstrated by initiating a program to help our larger community. The representative from the food bank was blown away by the generosity shown by the students and staff at HMS! Way to go Student Council!

It is that time of year again...Flu season! Please click here to access a notice from our school nurses about steps to take in order to keep your child and family healthy as well as guidance as to when to keep your child home from school.

We also have free Covid-19 tests available to families. Click here for more information.

We are thrilled to announce that we are working with an outside company who will be redesigning our current website. As a new employee of the district, I know how important a well organized, user friendly website is for a district. It is the "face" of our schools and is the place where parents, staff, students and community members should be able to go to easily access accurate information. More information will be coming soon regarding the launch of the new site!

If you have any suggestions as to what you would like to see on our new website, please email me at eabato@btschools.org with the subject line "New Website Suggestion."

On December 15th, Maschio's will be hosting another Chef's Day at Conley School. Students will enjoy a breakfast bar with a variety of breakfast menu items to choose from. Who doesn't love a good brunch!

The fourth grade students at Conley have been exploring poetry in their language arts class. They created this bulletin board to highlight their work. The leaves contain little poems and many examples of figurative language!

As a part of Veterans Day, students at Conley School had the opportunity to try on some authentic uniforms and gear brought in by a staff member who served in the Marines.

Thank you again to all that served in the military to keep our country safe and secure! We appreciate you!

The North Hunterdon High School Show Choir and Jazz Ensemble will be visiting Hoppock Middle School on the afternoon of Friday, December 16, 2022 to perform a one hour concert for our middle school students. We are excited to have these ensembles join us and look forward to the performances!

Safety and security of our students and staff are our number one priority. Over the next several months, we will be doing an audit of our safety procedures and protocols and will be making changes, as needed, to them. We will be working with law enforcement throughout this process to understand from their perspective what is needed to ensure the safety of everyone who attends and visits our buildings.

While we are unable to share specifics to our security plan with parents and the community, there are things that you can do to help us keep our schools safe.

• Appointments are required for any visitor to the building. If you need to meet with a staff member, please schedule an appointment with them in order for your name to be added to the appointment sheet that is shared with our office staff.
• When you get to the building, you will need to state the reason for your visit prior to be allowed into the building. PLEASE ONLY USE THE FRONT ENTRANCE NEAR THE OFFICE.
• Once in the building, all visitors are required to sign in & wear a visitor's badge that must be worn for the duration in which you are in the building.
• When you are ready to leave, please return your visitor's badge and be sure to sign out so we know who is still in our building.

Thank you for helping to keep our students and staff safe within our schools!

This year, the Hunterdon Hills Ballet presents, The Clinton Nutcracker. Some of the members of the ballet company are alumni of the Bethlehem Township Schools. Support them and the community through purchasing your tickets and seeing this show live. What a great way to get into the holiday spirit!

One of my initiatives as the new Chief School Administrator for the Bethlehem Township School District is to be more visible on our school's social media pages as well as through the use of this newsletter platform. I would like the community to see all of the amazing things that are taking place within the walls of our school. This includes photographs of our students and staff, with no names attached. Currently we have no parents that have requested to not have their child photographed for these purposes and with these parameters. If you would like to request that your child's photograph NOT be used for these purposes, please reach out and let me know. Again, only photos will be used and no names will be posted, unless permission has been given for certain circumstances.

Click here to view an overview of the Chef's Day and the Food Advisory Meetings that took place during the month of November. Thank you to Maschio's for always being willing to listen to the feedback of parents, teachers and students! Chef's Day was a huge success!

• This week, Conley students in grades K, 3, and 5 are participating in the NJCAP (Child Assault Prevention) Program.
• On Veterans Day, November 11th, Conley students in all grades will be making cards for Veterans that they will be sending to Operation Gratitude to disperse to Veterans across the Country, as well as service members overseas.

• On Wednesday, November 2nd, 8th graders went to see Mykee Fowlin at CTMS and really enjoyed the experience
• Peer Leaders will have their training in Character and Leadership Skills the week of November 14th
• The high school process is underway! Registration Forms due November 9th and 8th grade students will have HS powerpoint presentations on November 4th.
• Teen CAP (Child Assault Prevention) for 7th graders starts next week on Monday, November 7th and ends Wednesday, November 9th.

The BTSD students participated in Unity Day in October! If you're not familiar, it's a prevention day that aims to unite students in kindness, acceptance, and inclusion to send a visible message that no child should ever experience bullying. All students at Conley watched a video about Unity Day and everyone was asked to wear orange in some way. One of our 5th grade students had an awesome orange shirt made just for the day!

Our BT sports teams enjoyed a very successful fall season.

The Lady Longhorn volleyball team showed tremendous improvement throughout the season and finished with a winning record of 5 wins and 3 losses. The girls brought great energy and excitement to the championship tournament at North Hunterdon. In the first match, the Longhorns defeated Holland 2 games to 1 and advanced to the league semi finals against Clinton Public. The girls came from behind to garner a dramatic 26-24 victory in the first game of the match. Unfortunately, CPS captured the next two games and the Lady Longhorns had to settle for third place.

The Longhorn cross country team continued their recent dominance of the league in the league championship race. The boys team, which only included five members, finished a very respectable third out of 12 teams. The girls team, which was undefeated in the regular season, captured their 4th straight league crown by edging out their closest competitor Clinton Public.

Finally, the Longhorn co-ed soccer team enjoyed the best season in school history. The team barreled through the regular season and finished as the #1 team with a perfect 11-0 record. After disposing of Lebanon 2 to 0 in the semifinal game, the Longhorns took on an equally skilled Franklin team in the exciting championship game at North Hunterdon. Despite showing a lot of heart and effort, the team eventually fell by the slimmest of margins, 1 to 0.

All of our teams should be extremely proud of their success and display of good sportsmanship. Special thanks go to the coaches who dedicated their time and energy. Coach Race and Coach Poltrack for volleyball, Coach Wyant for cross country, and Coach Harvey for soccer.

The BT Winter sports season will begin on Monday, November 21st.

• The boys basketball team will conduct tryouts on Monday, November 21st and Tuesday, November 22nd at Hoppock School from 2:30 - 4:30.
• The girls basketball team will have tryouts on Monday, November 21st and Tuesday, November 22nd at Conley School from 3:30 - 5:30.