Mine Hill BOE Winter Report
February 2018
Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. ~John Dewey
Mine Hill Board of Education Members
Re-Org 2018
Bridget Mauro was re-elected Board President, and Jill Del Rio will remain Vice-President.
See approved 2018 BOE meeting schedule below:
Bronze Level Certified
Mine Hill Presents at the NJ DOE Lighthouse Convening
Mine Hill Techspo 2018 Presentation
From the Superintendent
It's hard to believe that we are already in the second half of the school year! I am pleased to announce that the Green Hall HVAC project has been substantially completed, and all classes have been returned to their rooms. When the warm weather returns, we look forward to enjoying the air conditioning and climate controlled environment! The next project will begin shortly, giving the EMC (Library) a much-deserved facelift. During the EMC renovation, library classes will utilize the Transition Room. The Transition Room has been designed to include contemporary furniture, flexible seating, and an interactive board. This model classroom will allow staff and students a chance to test new furniture and technology, and give feedback to drive future purchases and/or renovations throughout the building.
Mine Hill is continuing its quest to become a model for innovative teaching strategies by shifting mindsets towards a student-led classroom featuring problem-based learning, choice assignments, and seamless technology infusion. The residual effects of consistent professional development in this area led to strong student growth over the past three years. Learner Active-Technology Infused Classroom (LATIC) techniques are becoming prevalent in our classes, and our teachers are continuing their training this summer and throughout the school year. In addition, our focus and commitment to the Readers and Writers Workshop model have resulted in significant gains in Language Arts. We are regularly visited by a variety of school districts to observe our classes, and been invited to speak at several events. On January 31st, Mine Hill presented a workshop during the first ever Lighthouse Schools Convening at Middlesex County College along with six other districts. We are so proud of our teachers, staff, students, and administration for the numerous accomplishments achieved.
I want to thank the Mine Hill Board of Education for their continued support of initiatives that enhance the quality of education for our students! As always, if you have any questions, concerns, great ideas, or accolades, reach out to me anytime!
Best Regards,
Mr. Nittel
Upcoming Events
Feb. 8: Honor Roll Ceremony @ 8:45 am
Feb 8: Lip Sync Battle @ 7 pm
Feb 9: Grades 1 & 2 Fun Night
Feb. 15: Wax Museum
Feb. 16 & 19: NO SCHOOL
Feb 21: PTA Founder's Event
Feb 21: PK and Kindergarten registration for NEW students only! Please spread the word to any new families. Students currently enrolled in PK or K do not need to register.
Feb 26: BOE Meeting w/ 7th and 8th-grade update
Fostering a Culture of Growth: Lighthouse Districts Convening
Thank you to Mr. Nittel (Superintendent), Mr. Zygmunt (Principal), and Mrs. Pyrzynski (Teacher) for presenting and representing the Mine Hill Board of Education.
Today's Menu is... Choice!
Our goal is to create student-centered classrooms that give students choice. It sounds wonderful to give students choice in class; creating a system to do so is the challenge. Central to our instructional shifts in the Mine Hill Township School District is providing students more choice through a menu of activities they use to schedule class time. We call these menus, activity lists. These activity lists embed technology, offer multiple ways for students to learn, connect practice activities with formative assessment, and present challenge activities. We shared how CAS is building choice in our classrooms through creating relevant activities, linking technology, connecting activity lists to problem-based curriculum, and connecting activity lists to other structures in our student-centered classrooms.
Middle School Update
Meanwhile, the Board of Education, administration, and staff are hard at work researching, planning, and developing NEW academic programs for middle school learners. There will be a brief update on the progress so far at the February 26th board meeting, and a full presentation is scheduled for March 19th, pending the commissioner's direction.
CAS wins Farm to School Mini-Grant
Thanks to the efforts of our MD teacher Mrs. Champagne, CAS is one of only nine schools in New Jersey that will share $10,000 in competitive mini-grants, made available through the New Jersey Farm To School Program.
Canfield Avenue School has been awarded $1,992.25 to support Farm to School activities to enhance agricultural education in our academic programs and support the school's garden project.
This year the 3rd and 6th grades have partnered to work on activities highlighting the positive traits we value at our school. Earlier this year, students partnered on activities showcasing empathy and optimism.
This month the students focused on flexibility. Working with Mrs. Pyrzynski, all the 3rd and 6th grades discussed the many meanings of flexibility.
In these photos, students from 3Me and 6R demonstrated their physical flexibility. The students extended the meaning of flexibility to other aspects of their lives. Students gave examples of being flexible at home, at recess, at lunch, and in class. The focus was on using flexibility as a means to work better in groups, improve cooperation and ultimately increase achievement for everyone. The students had fun demonstrating their flexibility and enjoyed working with their cross-grade buddies.
Check out the latest issue of Mrs. Champagne's Student Newsletter!
Mine Hill Township Board of Education
Email: lnittel@minehillcas.org
Website: www.Minehillcas.org
Location: 42 Canfield Avenue, Mine Hill Township, NJ, United States
Phone: 973-366-0590
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MineHillCAS
Twitter: @MineHillCAS