I cannot believe February is coming to a close, the school year seems to be flying by. I am so proud of the work we are all doing to strengthen our community this year. We are seeing a large turnout of students and parents/guardians at Bartle and Irving's evening family events. If you also want to see strong school spirit and the community coming together, consider attending the middle school and high school sporting events (click here for the schedule). The students benefit significantly when parents, teachers and community members come together to provide support and encouragement.

Additionally, our staff have been going above and beyond to create classroom and school environments to provide students with a sense of belonging. On February 17th, during the staff in-service, they engaged in different team and community building activities. In one session, staff participated in team building activities led by LEAD U. Click here to see some of the pictures on their instagram account. The staff had so much fun playing games, acting goofy and laughing. In the other session, staff signed up for a service project to give back to the school community. This included, but not limited to, painting murals, cleaning out rooms, gardening, working with Zone 6 staff, and making Valentine cards and participating in a Zumba class at the Senior Center!

Lastly, last week I got to spend some time with Highland Park's new Mayor, Elsie Foster. Her enthusiasm is infectious and we had a great conversation on ways we can collaborate. The Borough and District have always had a strong partnership and this is something I look forward to continuing. We are stronger when we work together!

Very truly yours,

Dr. Nicosia