BHMS Principal's Update 1/24/2022
STAR Testing, Hoagie Sale, Upcoming Events
Keeping Up with What is Going on at the Hill!!!
I hope this newsletter finds you and your family healthy and having had a good, restfull weekend. I can tell you with absolute certainty that Officer Hamilton was excited as his 49ers are advancing in the playoffs. Hopefully the surge this time in COVID cases will continue to lesson and we can soon move back into the Orange Status. We all continue to remain optimistic that we are moving in a positive direction. Your children continue to remain resilient in this process. Our Bulldogs are an impressive bunch. In this newsletter we have some repeat information, but important new things, especially with the Hoagie Sale and STAR Testing. Please see below. Check out the happenings this week as the Basketball teams finally begin their games. Also important is the 9th grade information session for students entering 9th grade at the high school in the fall.
Sincerely,
Mike D'Ostilio
In this Newsletter:
- New and Important Information
- 8th-9th Grade Orientation
- "Paws" and Talk
- STAR Assessments
- New Restroom Procedure/Scanning ID Cards
- Hoagie Sale
- Fruit Sale
- COVID-19 Update
- Monitoring Social Media
- What it Means to Be a Bulldog
- Bulldog Bash
- Picture Info and Yearbook Update (Buying personal ads)
- PTO Information
- Signing Up for Remind Text Notifications, Facebook, and Twitter
- Building Better Bulldogs Mission and Vision
New and Important Information
Some Important Dates:
January 25...3:30 PM...Girls Basketball at OVMS and Boys Basketball Facing CRMS at Home
January 26... "Paws" and Talk Club Begins
January 26...7pm...PTO Meeting
January 27...6:30 PM...8th to 9th Grade Orientation at the Investor's Bank Performing Arts Center at the High School.
January 28...End of the Semester and Grades Finalized
January 31...STAR Testing for ELA begins
January 31...Coat Drive Ends
February 7...STAR Testing for Math begins
Februay 9...Girls Basketball Dine and Donate...Pat's Select
February 7-15...Washington Township Schools and Liscio's Hoagie Sale
Information from Mrs. Costello, 2022-2023 9th Grade Assistant Principal
Dear Rising 9th Grade Students:
We are looking forward to holding our 8th grade Orientation on Thursday, January 27 at 6:30pm. During this evening we will invite 8th grade parents and students to WTHS to highlight academic information and showcase our clubs, activities and sports. All 8th grade parents, and students who are currently enrolled in 8th grade and will be part of the freshman class at the high school for the 2022-23 school year, are invited.
The program will begin at 6:30pm in the Washington Township High School Investors Bank Arts Center with a presentation from School Counseling on Academic/Academy programming, followed by Mr. Kevin Murphy (Assistant Principal for Athletics) on Athletics.
At approximately 7:00pm, attendees will be dismissed to participate in visitations in our Academic Symposium, Activity Fair and Athletic Showcase. This will be an informal chance for incoming students/parents to leisurely walk three different areas of the 9/10 building to interact with Department Supervisors, Activity/Club Advisors and Coaches.
- Academic Symposium: 9-10 Cafeteria
- Activity Fair: 9-10 Gymnasium
- Athletic Showcase: 9-10 Auxiliary Gymnasium
Sincerely,
Angela P. Costello
Washington Township High School
Assistant Principal – Grade 9 2022-23
856.589.8500 Ext. 7606 / 856.218.0991 (Fax)
Polar Plunge (fundraiser for all 11 Wash Twp PTOs:)
On February 26, 2022, Bells Lake will hoast a Polar Bear Pludge to benefit all Twp PTOs. Each participant will pay $25 to participate.
Proceeds will be divided up evenly. Chamber of Commerce is putting this event together for our schools
Spread the word! The sign-up link is at the bottom. You may also donate money or purchase the polar plunge gear.
Team name is BHMS BULLDOGS
Students Must Carry IDs with Them Throughout the School Day.
We are continuing to iron out this procedure, but your children have adapted quickly to this. If they forget their ID, students simply give their 6 digit ID/Pin number. This new procedures promotes safety and the preservation of instructional time for the students. This allows to keep track of students, how long they are out of class, and the frequency by which they are out of class. This new program allows us to sort using an excel spreadsheet and then address only those individuals who are frequently out of the classroom. There is no additional change or procedure your child has to do except get into the habit of bringing their ID cards.
Click on the link below for more information.
Looking for Student Opinions for the Yearbook
Recent Updates
The NJDOH recently adopted guidance in line with the CDC regarding quarantine and isoloation recommendations. Those recommendation are being adopted and adhered to by the public schools. Please see the following letter from Mr. Bollendorf: Mr. Bollendorf's January 12, 2022 Letter. This letter references the new protocols. It goes into detail about when exposed to COVID-19 the procedures to follow if you are asymptomatic vs symptomatic and the timeframes that must be adhered to.
The following document references the new changes. It is the most recent update released January 19, 2022. Updated Guidance
Reminders about Protocols Updated 1/9/22
As a state, it's likely that we will spend most of January in the "Red" status. Please click on this link to see the latest NJDOH Cali Score. This means that the state's positivity percentage and transmission percentage are very high. With that comes some recommendations from schools. The best way to mitigate this spread is to encourage and stress to your children the importance of wearing masks. While we have had some in school transmissions over the last few years, that number is very small. What helps us immensely is the proper wearing of masks (coving nose and mouth). Consequently, we will be working with the students and mandating the proper use of the mask in school. We will be more vigilant on this, especially while we are in the "Red".
Please encourage your children to make use of the sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer in every classroom. Students should be washing their hands and using hand sanitizer regularly to help offset the spread of surface to surface germs.
When in the cafeteria, if they are not eating, they should have their masks on. This is important as all the students at the table become close contacts should a student test positive from that table.
The Superintendent Keeps the Community Update about Different Protocols for Quarantine. Beginning, on 12/17/21, the district will follow the quarantine and testing regulations that recently came out by the NJDOH. That guidance is listed here: NJDOH Guidance. This information was recently posted on the district website.
Please Help Us Combat the Behavior over Social Media. Please Monitor Your Children's Accounts
Recently, we have had a counseling lesson on social media etiquette in the 8th grade with the support of Officer Hamilton and will continue to have these talks with the entire school in the upcoming year.
Some things you should know:
1. Snap Chat: Please check and ensure parent filters are enabled on your children's snapchat and especially set to private so only your child's friends can "snap" each other. We've had situations where random people infiltrated our students' snap chat with inappropriate images or messages. Also with snap chat, people can send pictures or message that quickly erase. Unless your child screen shots things, these messages are hard to retrieve and the hate or bullying has already been done.
2. Tik Tok or Discord: Again these platforms (like snap chat and if the parental controls and privacy settings are not enabled) students can be met with an onslaught of negative information. Most of our country's threats of violence are happening on Tik Tok. The vandalism that was going on in the fall was a result of Tik Tok challenges. Tik Tok is highly unregulated content. The challenges and threats in Tik Tok can have felony or misdemeanor charges With Discord, we had a recent threat on that platform as well.
3. Instagram: With Instagram, we have had our own students make fake pages, especially talking about students. The owners of these pages make fun of students, make lies about students, antagonize drama between people, or make up that students are in relationships with each other. Regardless of the content, the sole purpose is to tear people down. Please ensure that your children do not follow anything like this. By following these pages, it gives credence to these students who seek to emotionally harm their peers.
Shoot For the Bulldog Bash
Building Better Bulldogs (3Bs) Mission and Vision
This pandemic has created so many questions and concerns for students that are well beyond academics. We are committed to providing a safe environment where students can express themselves as they question the ebb and flow of their world around them. Please see below our affirmations about Buidling Better Bulldogs and the people we as Bulldogs aim to be.
Bunker Hill Middle School: Home of the Bulldogs
Email: ddijohn@wtps.org
Website: https://www.wtps.org/bunkerhill
Location: 372 Pitman Downer Road, Sewell, NJ, USA
Phone: 856 881 7007
Facebook: facebook.com/OfficialBHMS
Twitter: @Official_BHMS