Principal's Message
September 2020
Kingsway Regional Middle School
Ed Dubbs, Assistant Principal, 7th & 8th Grade
Website: krsd.org
Location: 203 Kings Highway, Woolwich Township, NJ, United States
Phone: 856-467-3300
A Message from the Principal's Desk:
Greetings members of the Kingsway community!
We hope you enjoyed your summer with your family and friends. I certainly had a blast hiking and fishing in the Poconos with my wife and kids. At the beginning of each month, I will be sending out my "Principal's Message." In the Principal's Message, you will receive pertinent upcoming information that will keep you well-informed in addition to providing points of pride and pictures that capture the month's happenings. We look forward to working with you and your child this year at Kingsway Regional Middle School!
Sincerely,
Brian Tonelli
Principal
Renaissance Celebration
Back to School Essentials
Monthly Message/School Messenger: Each month you will receive a link to the monthly “Principal's Message” via email through our School Messenger system. Please make sure that your information in School Messenger is up-to-date. Log into your PowerSchool account to access School Messenger. The email addresses and telephone numbers stored in this system will provide us with the contact information that we use to send emails and text messages.
The First Day of School: When reporting on the first day of school (September 8 for Cohort A, September 10 for Cohort B), students should know their bus number, remember their homeroom room number, and report directly to homeroom upon entering the building. Our staff will be prepared and eager to assist them in finding their way not only on the first day, but for the first few weeks. We got this!
Involvement: Whether your child is attending school in the virtual capacity or as a member of one of our A or B cohorts, we ask that you emphasize and encourage your child to be involved in our school-wide activities and challenges. Students will be asked on numerous occasions this year to post videos, submit pictures, join clubs, participate in polling, wear red and black, complete Principal's Weekly Challenge....All of these things help to create a sense of belonging for your child, and their participation and involvement is key. Please join us in this effort.
Health Screening Form: Please be sure to fill out a daily health screening form for your child prior to 8:45 on the days he/she will be reporting to school. The completion of this form will be checked each day by your child's homeroom teacher. This is another safety measure that we have put in place for the benefit of all. Please click here to access the form.
Back to School Night: Back to School Night will be virtual and will take place on Wednesday, September 23rd.
Voicemail/Teacher Email: All voicemail and email contact information is available on our website---www.krsd.org.
Parent Conferences: Please contact the guidance office to set-up parent conferences. Conferences occur with your child’s entire team and can be scheduled on Tuesdays or Thursdays throughout the entire school year.
Parent Communication Protocol: In order for your concerns and questions to be handled in an effective and efficient manner, we encourage parents to first contact the classroom teacher prior to contacting administration and guidance in regard to student concerns. Please view our communication protocol which is outlined in the online student handbook on page 3.
Clubs and Activities: KRMS will be offering nine virtual clubs this year. Please click here for a list of clubs that will be offered. If your child is interested in joining an offered club, he/she must sign up and join the club via Schoology. Each club offered will be accessed through Schoology as its' own "group".
Masks: From the bus stop in the morning until they reach their home in the P.M., all students and staff are to wear masks the entire day. This health and safety precaution will be taken very seriously, and those students who do not adhere to this expectation will face disciplinary consequences as they will be compromising the health of others.
Water Bottles: Due to health concerns, all water fountains will be shut down until further notice. Students are permitted to carry water bottles. No glass water bottles are permitted, and the water bottles are to be concealed during the transition from one class to another. Midway through the day, our food service will be selling water for $1.00 in each of the classrooms during lunch.
Back Packs: Student lockers will not be utilized initially in September as we begin school. Therefore, students are permitted and encouraged to use a bookbag or a back pack to carry books from class to class.
Supply List: Our general supply list can be accessed here. A couple of changes this year to the list include a daily book to be read for pleasure during our arrival/homeroom time and only two binders (AM/PM) are needed as opposed to five.
Cohort V and Cohort B: Both Cohort V and Cohort B should access their schedules in Schoology before September 8th. On September 8th, both Cohort V and B are expected to access and complete class assignments from each of their classes.
Schoology: Beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, Kingsway Regional School District is adopting Schoology (pronounced "Skoo-luh-jee") as its Learning Management System (LMS) to support teaching and learning and to streamline student, parent, and faculty interactions in an all-in-one virtual environment. Schoology replaces Google Classroom and serves as a convenient one-stop shop for students to access courses, assignments, teachers, grades, school counselor support, and more. Schoology will also host our virtual student clubs!
Schoology: On Friday, September 4th, you will receive an email from Schoology. That email, entitled “Schoology Registration”, will contain a link to access your Schoology account and to setup a preferred password (view sample). These Schoology parent accounts are based on your existing PowerSchool parent account. Therefore, students linked to your PowerSchool account will also be linked to your Schoology account. If you do not receive the Schoology email on September 4 or do not have a PowerSchool Parent Portal account yet, please contact Mrs. April Burger, our central registrar at registrar@krsd.org or at (856) 467-3300 ext. 4283.
Student Access to Schoology: Beginning September 4th, students may access Schoology at https://kingsway.schoology.com/ and sign in using their Kingsway Google Apps credentials. Students should review the student resources posted here to familiarize themselves with Schoology prior to the first day of school on Tuesday, September 8th.
Tech Support: For technical support or assistance with a Kingsway issued device, please visit www.krsd.org/technology.
"No Caller ID/Private Call": In order to support our students in a variety of ways, our teachers have been encouraged to reach out to parents via phone. Many staff members may be using their personal cell phones and may opt to use the *67 function. This function will result in you seeing a "No Caller ID or Private Call" pop up on your cell phone. Please know that it may be a Kingsway employee trying to reach out to you when you see this message.
Guidance Department: Our Guidance Department is here in order to help support our students and parents. Please do not hesitate to reach out to them with any concerns regarding your child's schedule, social/emotional well being, academic performance, additional supports that may be available.... Mrs. Kupsey is our 7th grade guidance counselor, and Mrs. Henry is our 8th grade guidance counselor. Both can be reached at ext. 3095.
Teaming: As you know, Kingsway Regional Middle School is organized into teams. The K,I,N and G teams are our 7th grade teams. The S,W,A, and Y teams are our 8th grade teams. Please note that in some instances due to certification and scheduling, your student may have a math teacher from another team or grade. When schedules are released on day one, teachers will alert students of these instances.
Live Meetings: On Wednesdays, all live meetings whether conducted in Zoom, Google Meet, or any other forum will all be recorded.
Work Space: Whether your child is in Cohort A, Cohort B, or Cohort V, please consider having your child create his or her own home workspace. A workplace free from distractions and equipped with all the necessary tools for schoolwork completion will certainly set your child up for success.
Student Behavior in Virtual Meetings: Students are reminded that the Student Code of Conduct applies when participating in synchronous, live meetings, breakout sessions, and discussion board dialogue/posts. The dress code applies to the virtual setting as well.
Expectations for Virtual Learning: The district has put together student expectations and guidelines for students in all cohorts. Please click here to review the Student Learning Expectations and Guidelines.
Student Expectations: Student Expectations for Learning in a Hybrid and Virtual Environment, our new learning programs, present a unique set of challenges and opportunities for our students and necessitates a clear definition of guidelines to ensure an effective learning environment. Please take a moment to review these expectations prior to the start of the school year.
Student Requirements for Learning in a Hybrid Environment
Student Expectations & Procedures for Live Virtual Meetings in a Hybrid Schedule.
Netiquette: When engaging in virtual instruction (synchronous and asynchronous), regardless of the cohort, there are four standard expectations that apply to all students: A. Be Scholarly--Use proper language, grammar, and spelling. Credit the ideas of others. B. Be Respectful--Respect the diversity and opinions others and communicate tactfully. C. Be Professional--Represent yourself well at all times. Type in black font and limit emoticons. D. Be Polite--Address others by name/title and be mindful of your tone.
Virtual Meeting Attendance: On live, synchronous days (Wednesdays), all students are required to attend virtual class according to the bell schedule. Student are expected to log into Schoology to access the meeting link and must arrive on time to each class. Period attendance will be maintained.
Community Service Club helping with Book Smiles
Renaissance Program
Renaissance Program: We are proud to announce that we will be entering the seventh year of our Renaissance Program at KRMS! This incentive program recognizes students who thrive in regards to their academics, behavior, and attention to community service/school involvement. With the emphasis on health and staying home for medical treatment if you are sick or not feeling well, attendance will not be a part of the program requirements for this year. For more information about the Renaissance program, click here.
Renaissance Program: On September 18th and September 21st, all students will be given more information about how to get involved in our Renaissance Program. One hundred and thirteen 8th grade students qualified for the program as we closed out last school year. Those students will be entered into a mega raffle with a ton of great prizes! Last year we set records in the first three marking periods with over five hundred members each marking period.
Parent Volunteers: We will be looking for parent volunteers to be a part of our PAC (Parent, Achievement, and Community) committee. More detailed information is forthcoming. We hope you are able to participate!
Mathcounts
Transportation
Dismissal/Student Pick-Up: If you plan to pick up your child at the 2:51 p.m. dismissal time, please use the parking lot in front of the middle school. Parents who are picking up are not permitted to use the main access road directly in front of the building while buses are loading (2:51 p.m. to 2:55 p.m.). Please pull as far forward in the parking lot as possible. This will ensure the buses have plenty of room to line up for afternoon dismissal.
Bus Assignment: Students often times want to ride the bus home with their friends. This is prohibited due to space on our buses and the need to keep students in consistent seats and on correct buses for health reasons. Only in extreme emergencies will permission be granted. Social conveniences will not be acknowledged as such. If an emergency arises, please have both students provide a note signed by each of the parents, and the request will be reviewed by an administrator.
Late Bus: There will be no late bus available after school this year. Students will all be expected to board the bus or get picked up at 2:51 P.M. All clubs will be held virtually.
Morning Drop-Off: As always, we encourage your child to ride the bus each day in order to limit the traffic on and around our campus. If you do drop your child off, please note that the doors will not open until 9:10 A.M. each morning.
Morning Drop-Off Procedures: When dropping your child off at 9:10 A.M., please access the road directly in front of the school. When stopped between the orange cones, please let your child out of the car. Please do not wait to drop your child off directly in front of the main entrance; this will cause a traffic back up for everyone.
Week of Respect - Red and Black Day
Miscellaneous
Cell Phones: Before arriving into the building each day, each student's cell phones should be turned off and placed in their bookbag, purse, or backpack. Cell phones may be used in class as a learning device with teacher's approval only. Students who do not follow these expectations will be subject to the code of conduct. There is a phone in the main office that students are permitted to use with teacher permission.
Dress Code: The detailed middle school dress code is located in the online handbook . Please review this with your child after the first day of school. Your child will be asked to change if the outfit does not adhere to the dress code, and he or she will be subject to the code of conduct. Please help us enforce this rule.
Online Payment System: My School Bucks, an online payment system, is available to view cafeteria purchases and schedule automatic payments to your child’s meal account. There is a link to this system on the Kingsway website under the "Parent" tab on the right hand side of web page. More food service information is also available on the District’s food service page under "Departments".
Universal Screener: A universal screener (The Behavioral and Emotional Screening System or BESS) will be utilized in the fall and spring to proactively capture the social, emotional and behavioral needs of our students. The 5-10 minute web-based questionnaire will be completed in students’ Physical Education classes in September. The results will tell us where we are as a district and help to inform the development of appropriately tailored interventions and supports.
Office Hours: On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, teachers' office hours run from 8:20 A.M. to 8:45 A.M. in the middle school. On Wednesdays, teachers' office hours run from 8:14 A.M. to 9:35 A.M. Office Hours refer to those times within the day in which teachers are available for students virtually. Office Hours are used to review a brief lesson component with the students, build relationships with students, or provide support or enrichment for students based upon their needs. Please encourage your child to be his/her own advocate and utilize this time as needed. Please note that there will be no office hours the first two weeks of school.
Rise and Read: Each morning students will report directly to homeroom after arriving in the building. Once students arrive in homeroom (between 9:10 to 9:35), the expectation is that students should be reading a book of choice for pleasure until the morning announcements at 9:35. Please help ensure that your child is equipped with a reading book or magazine to read for pleasure daily. Our media specialist will be available daily (via cart) during this time promoting some of our books from our media center and allowing students to check out the books. Students in Cohort V are encouraged to read for pleasure each day for twenty-five minutes; there is certainly flexibility as to when that occurs. The benefits of students reading for pleasure daily are countless and are certain to pay long term dividends in regards to your child's development; please help to support "Rise and Read".
Program Enhancements: Kingsway is dedicated to the continuity of instruction and supports while we respond to COVID-19. For the 2020- 2021 school year, the district has updated its Virtual Learning Program to include the following components that impact teaching and learning. We have made enhancements from our spring 2020 Virtual Learning Program as we transition to the fall 2020 program. These enhancements are noted on our website at Virtual Learning Program Enhancements. Click here.
Random Testing for Alcohol and Drug Use: According to adopted District Policy 5536 regarding random drug testing, in order to attend KRMS after school clubs and wellness activities, parents must provide consent to participate in our random testing for alcohol and other drug use program. This can/shall be done as part of the on-line registration.
Upcoming Events
9/8 First Day of School
9/23 Back to School Night @ 6:30 p.m.
Renaissance Sponsors: Thank you to the following 2020-21 Renaissance sponsors.
Premier Sponsor
Botto's Italian Line Restaurant
Creamy Acres
Landmark Home Builders
Nathaniel Boerlin Scholarship Fund & Dragon Run
Major Sponsor
Innovative Orthodontics
Ray’s Pizza
Swedesboro Diner
Sweetsboro Pastry Shoppe
Spicy Affair
Contributing Sponsor
Marriott Philadelphia Downtown
Apel Psychological Services
Logan Super Fitness