The COnnection
MARSD Central Office Newsletter - January 2017
From the Superintendent - Dr. Majka
One of my favorite things to do is to read. For as long as I can remember, I have always had a book or three, on my night table. It started with Green Eggs and Ham and has grown from there. I am old school, and have a hard time reading books electronically. I hold steadfast to books. However, I realize that Millennials do most of their reading electronically. Along those lines, I have found that there are hundreds of children and young adult books for free online. The following are a few sites where you can download books for free:
http://en.childrenslibrary.org/
Go Explore!
Congratulations to MARSD
Presidents' Day Holiday
From Curriculum & Instruction - Dr. Karen Jones
Now that the holidays are behind us with warm memories of joyous times with family and loved ones, we turn our attention with a renewed focus for a healthy, happy and productive 2017. For many of us, it is a New Year’s resolution that will be setting our course for the coming year. This New Year’s celebration is a wonderful time for families to be together during these cold winter months and rededicate their focus on learning and growing together.
The New Year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals. Melody Beattie
There is a very “teachable moment” inherent in setting New Year’s Resolutions. It is a great time to work with children on goal setting, study skills, and taking specific action to achieve their dreams.
Please see P. Salter’s (2016) article: Study Skills Tip #72 – It’s Goal Setting time
The start of the year is a great time to have students set academic goals along with any personal goals they might plan to achieve this year.
There are lots of great reasons to set goals:
• Setting goals gets students to think about possibilities.
• Goals give students a direction to work towards.
• Goals give students a clear picture of where they want to go.
• Goals help students to push themselves just that little bit more.
• Goals help students have a more fun and fulfilled life.
• Goals can give students motivation and focus.
• Setting goals helps students do all the things they want to do in life!
• Goals give students the motivation to do things that are difficult and challenging in order to reach a particular desired state.
• Goals help students achieve dreams, hopes and desires.
• Goals help students look for an achievable balance between the different areas of their life.
• Goals make students feel good about themselves and their achievements and help students to increase their self-esteem and sense of self-worth.
• Goals give students a greater feeling of control over their lives and experiences.
• Goals allow students to prioritize and create action plans.
Guidelines for student goal setting
Specific: Make goals very detailed and specific. Exactly what do you want to achieve?
Measurable: You want to be able to know when you have achieved your goal so make sure there is some way to measure your success.
Action-Oriented: Your short-term goals should really be the action steps you need to take to achieve the medium and longer term goals.
Relevant & Realistic: Goals change, so if your goal is no longer relevant, you need to change it.
Time-Based: Your goals need to have a ‘to complete by’ date to give you something to aim for.
Interesting: Make your goals about things that you find interesting and worthwhile.
Emotional: Use powerful language to express the emotion behind the goals.
Success oriented: Express your goals in a positive and success focused way.
Other Parent Resources
http://www.thelearningcommunity.us/resources-by-format/tips-for-parents/setting-goals.aspx
http://www.scholastic.com/parents/blogs/scholastic-parents-raise-reader/reading-goals-new-year
http://northtexaskids.com/ntkblog/index.php/helping-your-teens-set-smart-goals-for-the-new-year/
Wishing you all a very happy and healthy New Year!
The Office of Curriculum and Instruction
From the Business Office - Mr. Alex Ferreira
The subject of closing schools or delaying opening due to weather events is an annual concern. There are many sources of information that are considered prior to recommending the closing of schools. Here are some of the steps that the district takes in making a decision:
Closing/delayed opening of school prior to the normal school day operation
- A status report from the Aberdeen Township Public Works Road Department and the Police Department are received indicating general conditions, if needed.
- The Director of Facilities gives a report on the status of clearing roads, parking lots and sidewalks at all schools and the general geographic area.
- The final decision is made by the Superintendent. If the decision is made to delay or close school, the Superintendent notifies the Matawan-Aberdeen Board of Education of the decision and contacts the following media outlets: Huskievision, News 12 NJ, and WCTC 1450. The school website is also updated with any delay/closing information and a Real-Time call to all staff and students goes out to the public.
- Every conceivable effort is taken to make the decision prior to 5:30 a.m. in the best interest and safety of all concerned.
Avoiding the closing of schools after the normal day has begun
- The subject of closing schools after the normal school day has begun is a serious concern for all of us. Every effort is made to weigh the impact on not only the schools, but the community as a whole.
- Many complex matters are considered. Are parents/guardians home to meet their children? Are buses and drivers available? Can crossing guards get to their posts?
District-wide early dismissal – Emergency
- In the event weather conditions require that our schools be dismissed according to a special time schedule, a minimum of two hours is usually necessary to alert bus drivers, crossing guards, schools, parents, and radio stations.
- Consideration of all non-public and out-of-district special education students, as well as the wide geographical area in which students are sent out of district are also taken in to account as part of our master dismissal schedule.
From Special Services - Mrs. Nelly Perez
A huge thank you to Parents of Special People (PoSP) for supporting our special education programs at the Matawan-Aberdeen Middle School. The organization provided food for the food pantries in our Autism and Cognitively Impaired classrooms. With their support, students are able to strengthen life and academic skills with real-life experiences. Staff place food orders with the students who then utilize their cooking and baking skills to prepare the meal. Teachers integrate both literacy and math skills with new vocabulary and math concepts (i.e., measuring) while students prepare the food.
Classroom Highlight
This month many classrooms throughout our Elementary schools celebrated writing by holding Author’s Days in student’s Language Arts classrooms. Students researched topics, wrote about them (following a provided rubric), and presented to their peers and staff. Mrs. Perez and Mrs. Lazur had the pleasure of visiting Mrs. Werner’s class at Cliffwood Elementary School where her students researched animals. It was amazing! Students were so excited to share their learning. The end product was a written report which they read aloud and presented visuals. All students were actively engaged and posed several questions about each animal! The level of engagement, confidence, and knowledge on these animals was truly amazing!!! These third graders could be our future reporters!
Peer Buddy Program
Our Peer Buddy Program is in full swing! At each school we have a Peer Buddy Advisor who coordinates and organizes activities in a safe environment where our special needs students can engage in activities with other students. Some activities include playing a board game, practicing gross motor activities, socializing at lunch, etc. These activities are structured so ALL students can actively participate and have fun! It’s amazing how a peer buddy can make such a positive difference in the life of a special needs child and how much a peer buddy can learn and grow from this amazing experience!
If your child is interested, please reach out to your building administrator for details.
From Human Resources - Mr. Brian Walsh
In May 2014, the United States Department of Education and the United States Department of Justice released guidance to school districts to reinforce that school districts must provide all children with equal access to public education at the elementary and secondary levels. Recently, several NJ school districts were recently involved in legal action for allegedly denying enrollment of immigrant students. We also understand there may be immigrant students living within our community and may need to register immigrant children in our schools.
School districts may not deny the enrollment of students in public schools on the basis of immigration status. In a 1982 Supreme Court decision, it was determined that undocumented children living in the United States could not be excluded from public elementary and secondary schools based upon their immigration status. School districts are prohibited from requiring students to disclose or document their immigration status, making inquiries of students or parents that may expose their undocumented status, or engaging in any practices that hinder the right of access to public schools. Furthermore, NJ Administrative Code 6A:22-3.3 also prohibits the barring of any student from public elementary and secondary schools on the basis of immigration or visa status. Public school districts are required to enroll all students over age 5 and under age 20 years of age who are domiciled in the district or who are otherwise entitled to attend school.
School districts are required to annually review the immunization records of all students. Students entering a New Jersey school for the first time are required to have an entry medical exam, screening of vision, hearing, blood pressure, height, weight, and a scoliosis screening at age 10 and 18. These requirements are in effect for all students, regardless of immigration status.
School districts must admit any student upon registration and submission of proof that the child has received the necessary immunizations. School districts must not deny or delay attendance based on non-receipt of the following items: 1) A certified copy of the child’s birth certificate, required within 30 days of enrollment, 2) medical information, although attendance at a school may be deferred while awaiting immunization records, and 3) the child’s prior educational record.
Upon registering immigrant students, our school officials will work with families and students and will consider the plight of children fleeing from their birth country; consider ways to support these students; address concerns dealing with medical or immunization records, eligibility in federal grant programs, and appropriate instructional strategies for these students.
For more information on registering immigrant students, do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have specific questions or concerns.
Information for this article is from NJDOE’s correspondence, “Enrollment Considerations for Immigrant Students”, issued on December 13, 2016.