All About Alloway
Alloway Township School's E-Newsletter - September 2018
Welcome Back!
This year we had three events to welcome students and families back to school. The 2nd annual 'Welcome Back Open House' for all students and their families was on Wednesday, August 29. We had many students and families (returning and new) come out for this event. Based on favorable survey responses, we had a new event the night before the first day of school. The 'Meet & Greet' for our Pre-K through 2nd grade students and their families was held on September 4. Our youngest and newest students had the opportunity to become familiar with the school and their classroom. Students and parents also got to meet teachers and the administration. The traditional 'Back-to-School Night' was for grades 3 through 8. Parents followed their student's schedule in order to learn about their forthcoming year. We are grateful to our SACC leaders Katie Handte and Cindy Tarry for facilitating child care during this event. We had about 30 kids stay to play, so we are very appreciative of our student volunteers. We had 7 of our 7th and 8th graders help our SACC leaders with child
care. Thank you, Future Educators of Alloway!
We are looking forward to an exciting year at ATS. Welcome back!
Welcome Back, Mrs. Gaburo, our interim assistant principal!
Standardized Assessments
State statute requires that schools provide parents and guardians with information about state and commercial assessments that will be administered during the school year. At Alloway, the state assessment is Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College (PARCC), and the commercial assessment is Measure of Academic Progress (MAP).
PARCC
Subject Areas: Math & ELA
Grade Level Tested: 3-8
# of Administrations: 1 (Spring)
Mode of Testing: computer*
Testing Time Allotted: 4 hours
Testing Window: April 8-May 28
Results Arrive to District: Summer
Additional Information: http://understandthescore.org/
http://www.nj.gov/education/assessment/parents/
Required? Yes, by state
MAP
Subject Areas: Math, Reading, & Language for 3-8; Math and Reading for K-2
Grade Level Tested: K-8
# of Administrations: 3 (Fall, Winter & Spring)
Mode of Testing: computer*
Testing Time Allotted: untimed **
Testing Window: Fall (September) Winter (January) Spring (May)
Results Arrive to District: Next day
More Information: nwea.org/parent-toolkit
Required? Not by federal or state (but for diagnostic purposes—yes)
* - accommodation & accessibility options available
** - typical time per area– less than an hour & less than a half hour for K-2
This year the New Jersey Department of Education has notified ATS that our school has been selected to represent schools across the nation by participating in the 2019 administration of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAEP is the largest nationally representative assessment of what students across the country know and can do in core subjects. It is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the US Department of Education. Information will be forthcoming to 4th grade parents prior to the administration.
NAEP
Subject Areas: Math and Reading
Grade Level Tested: 4
Testing Time Allotted: approximately 90 minutes
Testing Date: March 7, 2019
More Information: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/schools.asp
We Welcome New Staff for 2018-19!
Friendly New Faces
Mr. Cody Bowen – Instructional Aide
Mrs. Brittany Chan – Special Education Math Teacher
Ms. Aly Gilmore – Instructional Aide
Ms. Lauren Granate - Business Office
Mrs. Hope Mortimer – 3rd Grade Teacher
Mrs. Tara Reinerth – Middle School Science Teacher
Familiar Faces in New Places
Mrs. Deanna Bowling – CST/Guidance
Mrs. Kim DeFebo – Pre- K Teacher
Mrs. Alison Derenberger – Kindergarten Teacher
Ms. Shannon DuBois-Brody - Business Administrator
Mrs. Bethany Garrison – 3rd Grade Substitute Teacher (year)
Mrs. Libby Lodge – Main Office
Mrs. Karen Murphy – SOAR Math
Improvements in Title 1 Programs
Grades K-5 have a period called "Tiger Time" for individualized instruction during the school day. Students who need support in math and/or language arts will receive SOAR during this period. SOAR is provided by two teachers: Mrs. Strawderman for language arts and Mrs. Murphy for math. Students who are performing at grade-level standards and students who need to be challenged to extend beyond the grade level standards will be tasked to do so by the classroom teacher during the “Tiger Time” period.
SOAR students in grades 6-8 receive supplemental support daily in their math and/or language arts class. Our SOAR instructional aides are new this year.
If you child meets the criteria to be served by this program, you will receive a letter as notification. If you do not want your child to receive this support, please indicate your wishes in writing to Kristin Schell. There will be an informational meeting for parents of students receiving Title 1 services on September 27 @ 6:30.
“Gold Standard” Curricular Materials/Resources - NEW for 2018-19!
- Pre-K: Fountas & Pinnell Shared Reading
- K-2: Fountas & Pinnell Guided Reading, Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study
- 2-4: NJ Ready Writing
- 5: NJ Ready Reading and Writing
- K-5: McGraw Hill My Math
- Additional texts for science & SS from TCI
- SOAR K-5: Fountas & Pinnell LLI (Literacy)
- SOAR K-5: McGraw Hill Number Worlds
- 6-8: Glencoe Math
- Pearson Algebra I
- 6-8: TCI digital science
- 6-8: TCI digital social studies
- 6-8: Daily 5 Balanced Literacy model
Also NEW for 2018-19!
8 Period Schedule - many benefits for all
Grade-Level Wings - developmentally appropriate
Departmentalization in 4th Grade- best practice
Cameras- 19 total for our campus
Chromebooks - 144 for Middle School
Semester VPA (Visual & Performing Arts) Courses - for Middle School
30 Keyboards - for performing arts courses
School Security Information Night
Monday, Oct 15, 2018, 06:00 PM
ATS Media Center
About This Event
To ensure safety in today’s world, we rely on: controlled access measures (procedures that screen visitors), locked doors, drilled responses, and now cameras to ensure safety and security.
Mr. James Corbley from the NJDOE will be here to present information on school security in today's world. Parents and community are invited to attend this informative session during Violence Awareness Week.
Strategic Planning
The School Improvement Team (SIT) has been planning for the school to go through the strategic planning process during the 2018-19 school year. The actual 3-year plan will go in effect for the following years: 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22.
The process involves getting parents, community members, grandparents, community leaders, BOE members, and other stakeholders in the school to meet. The meeting discussions will cover the following topics: Points of Pride, Hopes for the Future, and Action Planning. The input gathered from students, staff, parents, and community informs the 3-year plan. Everyone has a voice in establishing our school's "North Star" and charting a course to get there, too.
The projected timeline for meeting was intended to be this fall. The SIT has decided to collaborate with a facilitator, and this will affect the projected dates for the night meetings. Since the SIT will need some time to work with the facilitator, we will meet in the new year – 2019. It is important to note that this will not impact the timeline of the 3-year plan. As originally stated, the plan will take effect starting with the 2019-20 year.
School Funding Reform Act (SFRA) & Recent Funding Reduction
Many school districts in Salem County are labeled 'overfunded' - including Alloway Township School. This label is best understood by going back to 2008. SFRA was passed as a funding formula that was neither funded nor executed. Though SFRA passed, school funding from the state essentially remained status quo based on enrollment at that time. Through the hold harmless clause, funding was not reduced at ATS even though enrollment throughout the county and town has steadily declined. In 2015-16, Alloway was reported to be funded at 136%.
School funding in New Jersey is a complicated issue involving schools, politicians, and taxpayers. If you conduct a Google search for education in NJ using the key words 'fair funding' or 'SFRA 2008', you will find many articles and perspectives on this issue.
Media Release Consent Form 2018-19
FYI: Emergency Alert Test - Oct. 3, 2018 @ 2:18 PM
This emergency alert test is a nationwide test of the same system that broadcasts public emergency messages like AMBER alerts. Presidential alerts are for national emergencies only. FEMA is testing to ensure it will work in the event it is needed.
Butterfly Parade - Friday, Sept. 28 1:30
About ATS
Email: contactus@allowayschool.org
Website: allowayschool.org
Location: 43 Cedar St. Alloway, NJ 08081
Phone: (856) 935-1622