The Point Buzz
Somers Point School District Newsletter - Spring 2019
Somers Point School District
We are so excited to share all of the wonderful things going on in the Somers Point School District. Should you have any questions about anything in this newsletter, please reach out to your building principal with questions.
Email: mcarneyray-yoder@sptsd.org
Website: www.sptsd.org
Location: 121 West New York Avenue, Somers Point, NJ, USA
Phone: (609) 927-2053
Facebook: facebook.com/SPTSchools
Twitter: @spsSTRONG
TRANSLATION OF THE POINT BUZZ
Hatian Creole - Pou tradiksyon Hatian kreyol la, desann epi klike sou bouton TRANSLATE ki anba paj bilten sa a.
Vietnamese - Đối với bản dịch tiếng Việt, cuộn xuống và nhấp vào nút TRANSLATE ở cuối bản tin này.
Albanian - Për përkthimin në shqip, shkoni poshtë dhe klikoni butonin TRANSLATE në fund të këtij buletini.
Chinese - 对于中文翻译,请向下滚动并单击本简报底部的“翻译”按钮。
CELEBRATING OUR STUDENTS & STAFFULTY
Congratulations to our STEM Fair Winners
Fourth Grade
- First Place - Geoffrey Lovett - TOPIC: What is the best design to make the tallest and most stable building?
- Second Place - Amelia Otto & Mackenzie Homig
- Third Place - Caitlin Eucogcan
Fifth Grade
- First Place - Talia DiDomenico, Nina Schwachter, Macie Brown - TOPIC: Turning an Eggshell into a Geode Crystal
- Second Place - Giovanni Alvarez - TOPIC: Batteries
- Third Place - Jack Dougherty - TOPIC: Which material will keep ice in its form the longest?
Sixth Grade
- First Place - Travis Vennel - TOPIC: Electricity
- Second Place - Nola Lookenbill - TOPICS: Cymatics
- Second Place - Gary Williams, Noah Fontana, Jolyon Porto - TOPIC: Germs
Seventh Grade
- First Place - Gillian Lovett - TOPIC: Concentration and Technology
- First Place - Johanna Schwachter
- Third Place - Angelina States
Eighth Grade
- First Place - Tomas Cervantes
- Second Place - Alexis Shanks, Kha’nyah Vaughan, Shaniya Rivera
- Third Place - Shannon Donnelly, Delaina Carey, Sam Sanchez - TOPIC: Testing How Strong An Eggshell Is and How Much Weight It Can Bear
Top 3 Individual Scorers:
1. Gillian Lovett
2. Johanna Schwachter
3. Tomas Cevantes
Congratulations to our Governor's Teachers & Educational Service Professionals of the Year
Mrs. Ford - Special Education Teacher
Mrs. Moses - School Nurse
DAWES AVENUE
Mrs. Stafford - Media Specialist
Ms. Rosa - Paraprofessional
NEW YORK AVENUE
Mrs. McGhee - Preschool Teacher
Mrs. Tobiasen - School Social Worker
THANK YOU SHOPRITE FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATION OF $25,000 for BOTTLE FILLING STATIONS FOR ALL THREE SCHOOLS
STANDARDS BASED REPORT CARD UPDATE FOR GRADES 6-8 for the 2019-2020
As we examined the implementation of the standards based report cards for Grades 6-8 this year, changes were needed based on feedback from students, teachers, parents, and our administrative team. Committee meetings were held with the teaching staff to discuss what would be a proper fit for our students, their parents and the District. We consulted with neighboring districts and Mainland Regional. It was decided that a hybrid model for report cards was best for the Somers Point School District students in grades 6-8 for the 2019-2020 school year.
In addition to a hybrid model of report cards, students grades will be available on the district’s new parent portal through OnCourse Systems for Education. This should make communication easier for families to access and understand.
Here are some of the changes for next year:
The standards have been broken down into skills that are clearer and easier for students and families to understand.
Another evaluation category has been added to further clarify student performance.
The categories are:
MS = Meeting Standards
AS = Approaching Standards
PS = Partially Approaching Standards
NY = Not Yet.
Grades 6 – 8 will use a hybrid approach. In addition to the standards evaluations, students will receive a percentage grade for each content area at the end of each trimester.
Our hope is that these changes provide students and families with the feedback needed to understand progress toward grade-level standards.
SCHOOL UPDATES FOR MAY and JUNE 2019
Jordan Road Middle School Update
- 5/24: Band Trip to Hershey
- 5/28 - 5/31: BOGO Book Fair
- 5/29: Science Club Trip to the Cape May Zoo
- 5/30: 5th Grade Field Day
- 5/31: 4th Grade Field Day
6/6: 6th grade field day
6/7: 8th grade field day & 4th grade orientation
6/11: 7th grade field day
6/12: 8th grade awards ceremony at 6:00 pm
6/14: Early Dismissal for Students
6/17: Early Dismissal for Students
6/18: Early Dismissal for Students
GRADUATION at 6:00 PM
6/19: Last Day of School - Early Dismissal
NOTE: 8th Grade National Junior Honor Society Students will be honored at the 8th Grade Awards Ceremony and receive their Honor Cords.
7th Grade students who received application packets for NJHS will receive communication from NJHS Advisors shortly.
JORDAN ROAD MIDDLE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION
- Mrs. Carleena Supp, Principal - csupp@sptsd.org
- Mrs. Eileen Ward, Assistant Principal and Bilingual/ ESL Supervisor - eward@sptsd.org
Dawes Avenue Elementary School Update
UPCOMING EVENTS
- 5/24/2019 Kindergarten Zoo Trip
- 5/27/2019 School Closed
- 5/28/2019 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM 3rd Grade Trip Cape May Point
- 5/28/2019 3:05 PM - 4:00 PM POWER SAVERS CLUB
- 5/28/2019 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Dedication of New Dawes Playground
- 5/29/2019 2nd Grade Field Trip
- 5/30/2019 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM Integrated Arts Show Gr 1-3
- 5/30/2019 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM COMMUNICATION CLUB
- 5/30/2019 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM NO GARDEN CLUB MEETING
- 5/31/2019 DYNAMITE Dolphin Day - Wear your Shirts!
- 6/4/2019 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM HSA Mtg / Volunteer Luncheon
- 6/11/2019 3:05 PM - 4:00 PM POWER SAVERS CLUB
- 6/12/2019 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM Grade 3 Walking Trip of Somers Point
- 6/14/2019 Early Dismissal for Students
- 6/14/2019 FUN DAY! Volunteers Needed - Early Dismissal for Students
- 6/17/2019 Early Dismissal for Students
- 6/18/2019 Early Dismissal for Students
- 6/19/2019 Last Day of School - Early Dismissal
DAWES AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION
- Mrs. Doreen Lee, Principal - dlee@sptsd.org
New York Avenue Preschool Center Update
The New York Avenue School is excited to have received an AtlantiCare Grant to start a vegetable garden! This garden will complement the Butterfly garden that was created thanks to a Sustainable Jersey for Schools Grant in 2018. The new garden will allow students to plant, grow, and eat vegetables and further understand the life cycle.
The District's Early Childhood Advisory Council is made up of teachers, administrators, and community members that serve students in pre-K to grade 3. In addition to district personnel, the council also includes an early childhood teacher from the St. Joseph School in Somers Point and the owners of Son Catchers. The purpose of this advisory council is to share and align teaching to developmentally appropriate practices and help ease transitions between grades from Pre-K to grade 3. Parent and community participation in this advisory council is welcome, and interested participants should reach out to Kim Tucker at kimtucker@sptsd.org.
NEW YORK AVENUE PRESCHOOL CENTER ADMINISTRATION
- Mrs. Kimberly Tucker, Principal/ Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction - kimtucker@sptsd.org
NATIONAL JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY at Jordan Road - UPDATE with Standards Based Report Cards
National Junior Honor Society
Charter Rules and Regulations
Jordan Road School 2019-2020
Is your child/student interested in being a part of the National Junior Honor Society? Being apart of this organization is honorable and will be highly regarded upon entering high school. NJHS prides itself on the 5 pillars: character, scholarship, leadership, service, and citizenship.
Requirements for Membership:
- Per national guidelines, at a minimum, students must have a cumulative GPA of 85, B, 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, in all subject areas, in order to be eligible to apply. The GPA will be calculated using the following conversion:
Exceeding Standards - 4.0
Meeting Standards = 3.0
Approaching Standards - 2.0
Not Yet = 1.0.
Students should also maintain Meeting Standards (3.0) on all College and Career Readiness Standards.
- Discipline will be reviewed for administrative approval.
- Apply for acceptance which includes letters of recommendation, list of current activities and community service, and essay of interest.
- Attend induction ceremony in the fall of 8th grade year.
Any questions or concerns? Please contact one of the NJHS advisors:
Ms. Cowley
Room #123
609-927-7161 (ext: 1123)
rcowley@sptsd.org
Middle School Math
Ms. Cassaro
Room #110
609-927-7161 (ext: 1110)
mcassaro@sptsd.org
Middle School ELA
BPAC - BILINGUAL PARENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The goal of the Somers Point Bilingual Parent Advisory Council (BPAC) is to continue to support programs that serve the English Learners (ELs) and to advocate for the development of bilingual and biliterate students. The Somers Point BPAC provides family support, information, communication and learning activities that will assist in ensuring our students have equal access to education as they grow into global citizens.
The Somers Point School District established a Bilingual Parent Advisory Council (BPAC). BPAC is comprised of parents or legal guardians of students enrolled in the English Language Program, teachers, administrators, and other community members. The council meets at least four times per year and participate in the planning, operations, and evaluation of the English Language Program.
The ESL Achievement Night, our final Somers Point School District’s Bilingual Parent Advisory Council (BPAC) Event of the year, was held on May 15th at 5:30PM at the Dawes Avenue School. We treated our families to Mexican cuisine provided by Somers Point’s very own El Tipico Restaurant. The highlights of the night included our ESL teachers, Mrs. O’Brien, Ms. Wiemer and Mrs. Beagan presenting Achievement Certificates acknowledging our ESL students for a year of dedicated work in their endeavor to become bilingual. We also provided our families with a BPAC Phone Book in order to open the lines of communication between families who speak the same native language at home. Whether their child has an issue with homework, or if they want to carpool together to the Free English classes that will be offered after school during the months of May and June, the Phone Book will make it more accessible for families to stay in touch!
Back in November, we held our Hispanic Cultural Celebration with authentic Hispanic food prepared and served by our very own BPAC parents, who had excitedly met earlier in the school year with the ESL team to plan out the event! Families enjoyed crafts, face painting, games, music, dancing, and of course, to go with our theme, piñatas! A Night of Biliteracy was later held in February, where students and their parents read to each other in our Family Reading Circles in one of several languages, provided by multilingual books that were also purchased through a NJEA grant. The importance of biliteracy was discussed that night, and the ESL team shared research showing what positive academic and occupational impacts of speaking more than one language can have (and on a side note, it is never too late to learn another language! Your brain will thank you in the long run!).
Our ESL Achievement Night held on May 15 capped off our ever-expanding commitment to serving our growing ESL community in Somers Point.