Well, not a bad start to the year as we welcomed two snow storms. I enjoyed the student and staff discourse on the potential participation rates. Our in-house weather person, Mr. Konopka, predicted the storms with impressive accuracy!

Our Covid numbers are on the rise and do not appear to be slowing down. We will continue to follow our school safety protocols to ensure safe operation throughout the day. I ask our parents to remind our children of the importance of wearing your mask properly, washing your hands regularly, and avoiding close contact scenarios.

There appears to be confusion regarding Covid protocols between the information being disseminated between the CDC, OCHD, and the NJDOH. However, to ensure complete understanding of how we are moving forward, please refer to our website for guidance!

Our Leader's Committee met on Thursday to discuss our December initiative to promote extracurricular activities. Each club/organization leader was tasked with developing a morning announcement and QR code to promote their respective group. We furthered our discussion on setting goals for our respective groups for the year. Each leader was tasked with completing a Google Doc highlighting their club/organization's direction for the remainder of the year and the process of accomplishing their target(s).

Our school expectation is that we will promote a sense of involvement and belonging in our school community. Statistically, students who are active in school extracurricular activities are more likely to attend school, demonstrate pro-social behavior, and achieve academically.

Our Climate Committee convened on Thursday and developed activities to promote a positive school culture for our students and staff. We will be implementing activities that are designed to make connections between school stakeholders. For our staff, we are looking to participate in our Snow Bowl (predicting potential snow days), Milestone Month (highlighting staff milestones), Friday guest DJ (staff plays their music 'type' between periods), Book Club (discussion of 7 Husbands by Evelyn Hugo), and bringing our snack and coffee cart back.

We are in the process of creating our student Climate Committee, which will hold our first meeting on January 27, 2022. Our first task will be to discuss the topic, "What does our building say about us?" Essentially, students will evaluate our physical environment to articulate the message we are sending school stakeholders. We will assess what changes are necessary to ensure we are promoting tolerance, respect, and excellence. Our committee will be comprised of a representative group of students. I look forward to reporting out to you on our progress!

Hello parents and guardians. I would like to hold a brief workshop on January 25, 2002 at 6 pm in the Cafeteria for parents interested in adding their value to our school in support of our mission. I am going to talk to the parents about our goals and current strategies to best prepare our students for their college and career endeavors. I would like to discuss avenues that you may be able to help and to gather your feedback on your needs. Examples of parent support opportunities include (but are not limited to):

• Career guest speaker
• Volunteer for school events/activities
• Academic Tutor
• Life skills workshops (time management, stress management, organizational skills)
• Writing college essays
• Interview skill development and resume building
• School advocacy committee to develop and promote school expectations
• Guidance and Main Office activities
• PTO
• School safety monitoring (traffic/duties)

Mrs. Rodriguez and I will be presenting to a panelist for best practices in Equity from schools around the nation on Thursday afternoon. We were selected as a finalist in this competition for our inclusive mindset and practices that ensure all students deserve and equal and equitable education. We shared on our progress improving our social and academic standings from our Hispanic population over the years. We did this through our commitment to connect the school to the home, give a voice to all students, show pride in our diverse backgrounds, and belief in our future goals. I will inform you of our outcome!