Superintendent's Corner
Bernard F. Bragen, Jr. October 1, 2016
Exciting Times in the Hazlet Township Public Schools-REFERENDUM!
As Superintendent of Schools, I am requesting your assistance in enhancing the learning environment for our students for years to come. On December 13, 2016 a referendum will take place that secures funding through a 20 year bond that will enable our district to update our facilities.
These improvements will include:
• new heating systems and air conditioning for all of the classrooms in the district
• replacing older roofs on many of our schools
• new windows for any classrooms that have not been already replaced
• updating the doors, lighting and ceilings in our classrooms
• parking lot and other needed site renovations
A complete breakdown of projects by school is available on our website.
There are two key factors to this referendum. The first is that by structuring the funding of these facility improvements in this way the State of New Jersey will fund 40% of our bond payments, approximately $25.4 million over the 20 year period, thereby significantly reducing the impact to the district. While in the past we have been able to secure over $2.6 million in construction grants, we can only access state funds via a referendum.
The second and maybe more important key component is that the net annual cost of the referendum, approximately $1.8 million, will be less than our current annual capital cost outlays used to maintain and upgrade our facilities. What this means is that the net impact of this referendum to our taxpayers will be ZERO. Again, the net impact of this referendum will be ZERO increase in real estate taxes.
For more detailed information please visit our website or contact the central office.
I encourage you to come out and vote on December 13, 2016 from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm at your regular polling location and as always, thank you for all of your support in enabling us to be true to our mission of, “Educating our students…to achieve their maximum potential.”
School Happenings
Ozobots Are at Lillian Drive School!
Students in the Grade 3/4 multi-grade class at Lillian Drive Elementary School used scientific experimentation and the on-line program Blocky to design an original maze for an Ozobot robot to navigate. What is an Ozobot? An Ozobot is a one-inch robot which comes with a photo sensor array for recognition of patterns, lights, colors, and codes, and an automatic detection functionality for physical and. digital playing surfaces, as well as color sensing technology. With the arrival of the Ozobots, students were able to further enhance their technology and problem solving skills when they charted and planned a course for the robots to follow. Students used a chrome book to input the maze program and then ran trials until set scientific objectives were met. Students utilized vocabulary words such as optical and calibration in their peer discussions to properly program and engage the robot in a series of planned activities. Mrs. Clark, our computer teacher, and Mr. Maglione, the classroom teacher, have collaborated to plan future Ozobot activities which will challenge and expand students’ technology skills: Students will continue to utilize the Blocky program on an iPad or a chrome book to code and design future activities.. Stay tuned as Ozobots learn to do more through the successful and evolving programming skills of our students.
¡Hola from Señora Rada at Cove Road School!
Do you want to get better grades in school? Do you want to be more creative? Would you like to make twice as many friends? Would you like to land an awesome job one day? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions then learning a second language is for you!
With some 400 million speakers, Spanish is the fourth most commonly spoken language in the world. Spanish is an official language on four continents and is the mother tongue in 21 countries.
All Cove Road School students are having fun recalling and utilizing the Spanish they have acquired in addition to learning different themes for their new grade level this year. All learning is done in a student-centered, positive way while having fun and developing a love of language learning. Each student is unique and learns differently so Spanish language instruction is geared to all of the students’ multiple intelligences. Some new themes that Grade 5 students will be learning about are clothing and fashion in the Spanish language. Students in Grade 6 will be able to tell time in Spanish and will “travel” to and learn about all the Spanish-speaking countries in the world. Both 5th and 6th grades will have grade appropriate and culturally relevant lessons regarding Hispanic Heritage Month noting those Americans from Latino heritage who have positively impacted our country. In addition, all students will be learning about “El Día de los Muertos” a holiday celebrated in several Spanish speaking countries that many confuse with our Halloween. Grade 6 students will be working hard to earn a much anticipated and fun culminating activity at the end of the Spanish cycle…a “Fiesta” in which they can sample foods and beverages from the diverse and beautiful Spanish speaking countries. As you can see, learning Spanish is good for you all around!
HMS Welcome Chromebooks
Hazlet Middle School students are excited to be using one-to-one Chromebooks this year! Teachers are organizing their classes within Google Classrooms and are working to personalize instruction, using many different websites, apps and extensions. Some highlights include: English students are using Google Slides to keep their daily reading journals and are using DocHub to complete assignments electronically; Art students are researching famous artists' self-portraits to compare with their own self-portraits; World History students have created self-paced assignment plans using Google Sheets, with which they set learning goals and track their own progress; Science students are using Playposit to view and interact with TEDx educational video talks; Italian students are using FlipGrid to record and critique their oral language; and, Pre-Algebra students are using Khan Academy for self-assessment and review. Teachers and students alike are learning new things every day, to best use the Chromebook as a tool for connecting our classrooms to real-world learning!
The Campaigning has begun at Beers Street School!
Move over Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the students at Beers Street School are in full campaign mode. Posters with catchy phrases are decorating the hallways and students are beginning to prepare speeches for the upcoming School Election to be held on November 2, 2016. Whether you support the Democratic or a Republican party, this election will address important issues pertaining to the students at Beers Street School. The excitement is definitely in the air as the candidates are ready to make promises that they can keep. Being a part of the Student Body Government provides the opportunity for students to voice their opinion on important issues pertaining to the school. The students are empowered to solve problems and make changes by taking ownership of their decisions. The students will gain a better understanding of the important role that they will play as they represent their fellow peers in the process. Get the White House ready, the future President of the United States may come from Beers Street School.
Hazlet Township Public Schools
Email: bbragenn@hazlet.org
Website: www.hazlet.org
Location: 421 Middle Road, Hazlet, NJ, United States
Phone: 732-264-8401 1101
Twitter: @hazletsupt