Superintendent’s Monthly Report to the Board of Education and Community March 2013

B. Bernice Young Elementary School

1. February 4 -8 Jump Rope For Heart Every year Young School students participate in Jump Rope for Heart. The students come to the gym and jump rope with their classmates on the day of their event. The students learn a short lesson about heart health and also see a short presentation from the American Heart Association. The students learn about all the great prizes they can receive depending on their level. Every student in class receives a jump for heart sticker as a thank you from the American Heart Association. Since the year 2000 Young School has raised more than $54,000 for the American Heart Association.

2. February 8 – The Brain Show Assembly The Brain Show was as close as you can get to play in a live TV game show. With audience participation and interaction all students were educated while being entertained. Flashing lights, buzzing podiums, music and dance were all included in the show. Our host engaged approximately 50-75 students to participate in the fun filled interactive assembly. Students, teachers, parents, and administration enjoyed participating in the competition of challenging questions. The evening family event was rescheduled due to inclement weather.

3. The Arts at Young School - Young School Art Show at the PAC On the evening of February 5th B. Bernice Young School hosted an Opening Night Gallery Exhibit at the PAC. Over 300 students from grades Pre-School to 2nd grade proudly displayed artwork. Mr. Giannetto and Mrs. Prisco-Fitzpatrick organized and hosted the event. The event was well attended with many families and community members viewing the artists masterpieces displayed.

4. Art at the B.O.E. Offices Over 30 Young School artists currently have artwork on display at the Board of Education Offices. Each child received a certificate and special recognition. This program further emphasizes the importance of students displaying artwork in various venues to promote the arts and student pride.

5. Family Art Night Family Art Night has been held twice this winter at Young School. Parents and children have enjoyed working together to create multicultural art. The night focused on Art from Around the World. The families were happy to create origami animals, paper bag tepees, and African masks. Two additional Family Art Nights are scheduled for the spring. The nights are hosted by Mr. Giannetto.

6. February 11-15 – Random Acts of Kindness Week The Word on the Street for the month of February is Kindness. All cafeteria students were provided assemblies on 2/6 and 2/8 by the guidance counselors, highlighting how to be kind and show kindness toward others. During Random Acts of Kindness Week, we were able to launch the Kindness Wall of Hearts in the cafeteria. With assistance from Mr. Tom, the school custodian, the wall continues to be decorated with colorful hearts as students are recognized for being kind. We are hoping to cover the wall with kindness and are off to a great start!

7. February 12 – Masonic Home Visit Mrs. Marino’s class (K-2) and Ms. Zacharkow’s class (3rd -5th) visited the Masonic Home February 12th. Many classes from Young School helped by making a variety of Valentines. Mrs. Marino’s class handed out Valentines while Ms. Zacharkow’s class read their Valentines. Both classes had a wonderful experience bringing joy and love to the senior citizens at the Masonic Home. We plan on making another visit soon!

8. February 14 – Valentine Parties The YSFA hosted our classroom parties in celebration of Valentine’s Day. Many parent volunteers contributed to this special day of love.

9. February 19-21 – I Am Special Week Students recited the I am special Pledge over the loud speaker. Counselors scheduled classroom visits with prekindergarten and kindergarten students along with their friends, Seymour and Sally, the hand puppet seals. Counselors collected first and second grade papers and were in the process of making classroom books for all friends to see why a classmate was special. By the end of February all of our children knew that they were special. Thank you to the parents/guardians so very much for your continued support with the “I Am Special“ activities. We believe that all children are special and take pride in recognizing each one of them at Young School!

10. February 21 – 100th Day of School Students also recognized the 100th day of school with different activities. All students received a special bookmark identifying 100 ways to enjoy school.

11. Read Across America Week Feb 25- March 1st Our students engaged in a fun-filled learning week of Read Across America activities. Everyone seemed to have a great time especially the students. During the week the students celebrated Dr. Seuss with many activities that were planned to inspire the love of reading and to encourage family reading. Activities included:

Monday, February 25th – Who is your favorite author? What is your favorite book? Students will ask parents, grandparents, teachers and other adults about their favorite author/book, write them down and share with classmates to be used as a future inspiration for a great book collection. Please share your ideas of “good books” for the little ones to read.

Tuesday, February 26th – DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) Day – Young School students participated in a school-wide DEAR reading time in their classrooms and hallways. In addition, students in every classroom created an original story through creative writing with pictures (activities varied by classroom).

Wednesday, February 27th - WRITING IS FUNdamental. All students will write a KIND note to someone to celebrate our February “Word on the Street” which is KINDNESS.

Thursday, February 28th - DISNEY DAY Dress up as your favorite DISNEY character. Everyone: students, teachers, parents, visitors are encouraged to think fun in the sun - Disney Day @YS.

12. Thursday February 28th – many staff donated themed books and contributions to support the Ladybug Bookshelf in memory of Megan. A special moment with all staff was shared as her memorial plaque was unveiled and we remembered this special young lady never to be forgotten.

Fountain Woods Elementary School

1. February 4th & 7th - Breakfast with the Counselors Parents were invited to join us for a special breakfast. Mrs. Bolling and Ms. Dietrich presented their programs to those in attendance. These events serve to kick-off National School Counselors Week.

2. February 4th through the 8th - National School Counseling Week We recognized and celebrated school counselors all across the country as part of National School Counseling Week. This year's theme, "School Counselors: Liberty and Learning for All", strives to focus public attention on the unique contribution of professional school counselors within U.S. school systems. National Counseling Week, sponsored by ASCA, highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. The children of Fountain Woods school are very lucky to have two wonderful counselors.

3. February 13th: 2nd Marking Period Report Cards Given The Fountain Woods students received their 2nd set of report cards, signaling the official mid-point of the year. As always, students receive number grades (translating into letter grades) in the four core content areas – language arts, math, and science. (Social studies is taught in the 1st and 4th marking periods.) In addition, students receive letter grades (O, S, N, U) in their related arts classes – physical education or health, art, music, and Spanish. Finally, comments regarding the students’ social and work habits are included, with a place for comments from both the teachers and the parents.

4. February 14th: 2nd Marking Period Renaissance Rallies Three separate assemblies were held, with students and teachers (at each grade level) coming together to recognize and celebrate students who are new transfers into the district and Fountain Woods, are on Honor or High Honor Roll, were chosen as Renaissance Stars, and have demonstrated outstanding citizenship (1 from each homeroom). In addition, a class at each grade level was selected for the “Golden Spork Award” for cafeteria conduct, and the “Golden Sneaker Award”, given to a class for displaying outstanding sportsmanship in their physical education classes. Games and competitions were held, as the students were given an opportunity to celebrate, release some energy, and re-connect with their teachers.

5. February 14th: Valentine’s Activities and Parties Students in classes throughout the building participated in a variety of activities and parties, all with a Valentine’s Day theme. In many classrooms, students learned the history of the observance and how it has changed over the years, followed by various arts and crafts activities. In the afternoon, the children held their class parties, sponsored by our wonderful FWFA and chaperoned by our terrific parents. As always, the children played games, enjoyed various holiday treats, and had a wonderful time!

6. February 15th – FWFA Family Winter Luau This year’s FWFA Family Dance Night featured a Luau theme. Students and their families enjoyed a fun evening of dancing and listening to their favorite music. Approximately 165 attended this fun-filled family event.

7. February 21st - Trenton Thunder Assembly Representatives from the Trenton thunder visited FW for two assemblies focusing on the organization’s commitment to literacy and to support our schools. Team mascot, Boomer, also stopped in, much to the delight of the children. Organized by the FWFA and co-coordinators Mrs. McDonald and Mrs. Hirt, the program also promoted our upcoming family baseball game at the Thunder stadium on Saturday, April 13th. Students purchasing tickets are entered into a drawing to go onto the field as a pitching coach for Mr. Johnson (throwing out the first pitch). All students will be invited to lead the crowd in the traditional singing of “Take Me Out to the Game” during the seventh inning stretch. This annual family event is always very popular with our children and their families with over 400 tickets already sold.

8. February 21st – Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader? The Renaissance Committee held their annual “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” game show. Staff participants included Mr. Bergren, Mrs. Kerstetter, Mrs. Galuchie, and Mr. Johnson. This year’s top winners were Mrs. Galuchie and Mr. Johnson, who answered the final question correctly and did not have to say those famous words, “I am NOT smarter than a 5th grader!” Over 80 raffle prizes were won and this successful event raised over $3,000 for the Renaissance Program.

9. February 25th – March 1st – Read Across America FW celebrated Read Across America (RRA) Week with a number of fun, reading-related activities. A great deal of planning and hard work goes into something like this. As always, it takes a team effort. Mrs. Whartenby, Ms. Puglisi, Mrs. Calderone, Ms. Barenbaum all pitched in. The FWS community and family would like to thank the ladies for everything they did to make the week’s activities a terrific success! Monday - Crazy Hat Day Tuesday - Crazy Sock Day Wednesday - Mismatch Day Thursday - Places T-shirt Day Friday - Favorite Color Day

10. February 28th & March 1st – Wax Museum Mrs. Michael's 5th grade classes held their annual Black History Wax Museum. Mrs. Michael has been doing this for seven years now, and each year the event gets bigger and better. Classes at all three grade levels had the opportunity to visit and listen to the children as they made their presentations, literally bringing history "to life". Family members and classmates alike were extremely impressed with the great job the young people did. All were amazed at how well prepared the students were! Great job to Mrs. Michael and her wonderful fifth grade actors!

11. February 29th: February Students of the Month Announced The Fountain Woods February “Students of the Month” in all three grades were announced via the intercom system. A total of 39 students were recognized, one from each homeroom. Those students then came to the main office to receive a certificate and a pencil, as well as to have their pictures taken. The pictures were displayed in the main hall for all to see. We are very proud of the accomplishments of our wonderful students!

Burlington Township Middle School at Springside

1. Congratulations to February Students of the Month: Sean Musterer, Cagla Bolat, Eduardo Petru-Ortiz, Macie Werynski, Brandon St. Omer, Kaylea Clark, Matthew Stahl, Selim Cakair, Elizabeth Squares, William Moore, Jordan Ellzy and Laura Slinkard. Students were treated to cookies and juice along with their pictures displayed in the front lobby showcase. Sean Musterer attended the February Student of The Month Rotary Luncheon.

2. Congratulations to Rikhin Bhuta who was the champion at BTMS table tennis tournament. Russell Gawlak took 2nd place.

3. The BTMS Junior Honor Society led a school-wide food called the “Souper”Bowl of Caring. This is a national event that coincides with the NFL Super Bowl, and encourages young people involved in supporting their local food banks. This is the middle school’s third year running the event. Each Spotlight team was assigned an NFL team name under which they competed. Every Spotlight team contributed to the food drive and approximately 1,800 items were collected. Third place was Team Accountability, second place was the New England Patriots and the Super Bowl of Caring lll champions for the 2012 2013 was Team Trustworthy making the New York Giants, the winner for the third year in a row. All of the benefit the Burlington Township Food Pantry.

4. The middle school MD class took a field trip to ACME to learn the layout of the store. The students completed a scavenger hunt individually and located items, found prices, items on sale and wrote down what aisle to find things. The students learned a lot on their trip about how to shop in a grocery store, where to find items, and what to do if they can’t find what they need.

5. The middle school MD class joined in the Yellow Ribbon Club’s efforts to provide baked goods to our soldiers overseas. The class decided on what two types of cookies they wanted to bake for the soldiers. Then throughout the week, they followed the recipes and baked the cookies. The class also wrote the soldiers a letter thanking them for their courage. The students also included hand drawn and colored pictures for the soldiers to decorate their tents or barracks. The students learned about giving thanks, giving to those who protect us. They also learned about hygiene, safety in the kitchen, and how to follow a recipe. Fun was had by all and important life skills were learned.

6. The BTMS Student accounts have been re-uploaded successfully. All of the BTHS (including Hopkins) and BTMS students are available to contact via a group email for each school. All student profiles have been hidden from the auto-populate feature in Gmail/Compose.

7. In honor of the achievements of many black scientists and inventors, Mrs. Thompson’s and Mrs. Glass’ science students created a Black History Science Museum in their classroom. All of the students did research on a black scientist or inventor and created a diorama that illustrated their achievements. Each student created a fact sheet to accompany their diorama giving a brief history of their subject. The students then took part in a scavenger hunt activity. They all did a gallery walk through the museum in search of answers. The students enjoyed the experience and the projects were fantastic.

8. Spotlight was held on Friday, February 15. The students completed two activities in the classroom. The first one was a cyber bullying activity, the second one deals with quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the third one was a lesson dealing with tolerance. During their related arts period the students attended the Spotlight Bowl of Caring Spring training event.

9. Student Council sold carnations with a card for $1.00 for Valentine’s Day. The carnations were delivered to staff and students on Valentine’s day. All proceeds benefited a book project for the media center.

10. In celebrating Black History Month, every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday selected students will be reading a short passage during morning announcements. The readings will include African Americans who have made a significant contribution in many areas.

11. Twenty-two 8th grade girls were selected to participate in the Alice Paul Lead-A-Way program. This exciting program was founded in memory of Alice Paul, the women’s rights activist. Lead-A-Way is a series of workshops to guide 8th grade girls in developing leadership skills to help them achieve their personal goals and to advance women in American society. On February 14th the girls visited the Alice Paul Institute, Paulsdale in Mt. Laurel. The students had the opportunity to tour Alice’s original house and play a scavenger game. They learned about Alice’s journey on achieving one of the most political achievements on behalf of women in the 20th century. In addition, the girls learned about other important women figures such as Condaleeza Rice and Shirley Chisolm. The Alice Paul Institute strives to promote and encourage women to continue to take leadership roles in their schools and communities. The 8th grade girls will be developing leadership skills and prepare a team project to present to the 5th graders.

12. The following Chorus students recently auditioned in New York and were accepted for a Summer Workshop Program where students work with professionals to create junior versions of scripts. Congratulations to Emma Rulli, Lindsey Macrae, Charlie Nicolini, Samantha Savage and Jessie Feoli.

13. The YSA sponsored a “Nothing But Nets” tournament for the fourth consecutive year. Students paid $2 each to participate in a “round-robin” basketball tournament throughout the month. “Team Elite” won the tournament championship, and the victory ice cream sundae party, but the big winner was the Nothing But Nets . They are the recipient of the $160 raised by the tournament. They will use the funds to send insecticide treated mosquito netting to Africa to help prevent malaria, one of the top killers of children on the continent.

Burlington Township High School

1. Jazz Singers participated in our first outside event ever, representing vocal jazz at the NJ State Music Educators Convention. Mr. Bishop presented a clinic/workshop on teaching vocal jazz, and followed that session with a short concert program.

2. A meeting was held on the 28th with Riverside High School to explore a cooperative ROTC program. This program can be explored again in the future. Riverside is willing to share the program with us.

3. The following students attended the Model Congress Leadership Day. Daniel Turcich, Daniel Komiskey, Mikaela Morcombe, Kaylie Mazza, Abigail Tootell, Sergio Collazo, Colton Nutbrown, Taylor Nutbrown, Regan Gillespie, Benjamin Aloi, Michael Randolf, Alexis Arnell, Daniela Munoz, Andrew Giletto, Jennifer Ejiofor.

4. The Jazz Singers attended nationals in Boston. The team finished 5th overall. Students said they had an outstanding time. The list of singers includes: Taylor Arney, Alexis Belton, Katherine Bigelow, Brooke Clariday, Jarahn Cosby, Andrew Costello, Thomas Densten, Marc Dicintil, Maria DiCioccio, Emily Doherty, John Ejiofor, Julia Farnan, Lauren Fleming, Michelle Foster, Madelyn Geltch, Jason Hampton, Jared Keyes, Zachary Manno, Tanner Mead, Rachel Multer, Karlee SanGiovanni, Mackenzie Tansey, Patti Zappone, Arielle Zoppina.

5. Eleven high school students attended the student liaison committee meeting with the Board of Education

6. A preview of Rent was seen by 325 students. The play officially opened Friday, March 15th. Over 1300 people came to see the play during the opening weekend. It has been met with rave reviews.

7. Students returned from the senior trip. They had a great time and represented our school well. There were no discipline issues. Three students did get the flu while in Disney and Mrs. Cochran treated them. District Director of Pupil Personnel Services

Young School

1. February was identified as a month of kindness at Young School. The counselors developed a “Wall of Kindness” in the cafeteria. Students who were “caught” being kind had their names added to the wall.

2. The counselors worked with the members of the Young School SFA to develop a yearbook coloring contest.

3. The counselors celebrated national School Counselors Week by copying and delivering “I Am Special” letters to each classroom.

4. The counselors assisted with planning for the Young School Multicultural Day. They developed a powerpoint, enlisted the assistance of the Young School ESL teacher, and coordinated with Mrs. Bost to determine the number of countries that would be represented.

Fountain Woods

1. National School Counseling Week was celebrated at Fountain Woods with a “Breakfast with the Counselors” program held on February 4th and 7th. Parents were invited to attend and Mrs. Bolling and Ms. Dietrich presented information about the Counseling Program at FWS.

2. Renaissance rallies were held to close out the 2nd marking period on February 14th. Ms. Dietrich coordinated recognition for students on honor roll or high honor roll, as well as for students who demonstrated good citizenship, most improvement, good conduct, good conduct in the lunchroom (Golden Spork), and good sportsmanship in gym class (Golden Sneaker).

3. The 6th annual “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader” game show was held on February 21st. TheRenaissance Committee coordinated a very successful program that raised $3,000 for future Renaissance activities.

Middle School at Springside 1. The Middle School Counselors visited Fountain Woods School and made presentations to the fifth grade classes on the course options available to students at the Middle School. The students were provided a list of courses with descriptions. Students were asked to take the information home, discuss with their parents, complete and return a copy of the form to their fifth grade teacher.

2. Dr. Garris-Sha and Mrs. Eck assisted in coordinating the high school orientation sessions for eighth graders. A total of four sessions were held. The smaller sessions allow the presentations to be much more effective.

3. The counselors facilitated the Alice Paul program. There are 22 young ladies from the eighth grade participating in this leadership program. Weekly sessions have begun and the students took a trip to “Paulsdale” in Mt. Laurel.

High School

Hopkins Building

1. Mrs. Roman is facilitating a group for some of our female freshmen students. Two members of the Teen Pep class are serving as mentors for the group. An introductory session was held at the end of February. The group will be running through the spring.

2. Mrs. Roman participated in the orientation meetings held for the 8th grade students the first week of February. Following these meetings she began scheduling the 8th graders for their high school courses. In her meetings with the students she has been walking them through how the online scheduling process works so that they will be prepared to select their classes online next year.

3. Mrs. Roman assisted Mrs. Porter in the test examiner training for the high school staff scheduled to administer the ACT PLAN and EXPLORE. She also assisted in facilitating the administration of the ACT EXPLORE to the ninth grade.

Main Building

1. The High School Counselors met with all students in grades 9-11 to distribute scheduling information and review procedures for completing their course selections for 2013-2014 online. The window in PowerSchool for students to complete their online schedule requests was open from February 21st through March 11th. Approximately 75% of the students completed their schedule requests online. The counselors will be following up with each student individually to review their requests.

2. Three scholarship bulletins were published in February. Thanks to the diligence of Mrs. Porter and Mrs. Ellie Brown, the scholarship bulletin has continued to expand and increase the listings of available scholarships.

3. The High School Counselors have continued to meet with seniors to assist them with their postsecondary plans. They have been trying to focus on those students who have not completed any applications and do not seem to have any specific post-graduation plans.

4. Mrs. Porter chaperoned students attending a “Women in Business” program at Widener University. The program included a panel discussion by women working in a variety of careers, talks from professors, and business and leadership games.

5. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was administered to a group of randomly selected seniors on February 11th. The results of the NAEP test will be published as, “The Nation’s Report Card”.

6. The High School Counseling Department sponsored a FAFSA Completion Workshop on February 21st. Representatives from the Financial Aid Office at BCC came out to the High School to assist parents and students in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The program was especially beneficial to those families who are sending their first child to college. Fifteen families came out and were able to complete the application online.

7. Mr. Scott continued his work as the Anti-Bullying Specialist in the High School Main Building. He completed initial and follow-up investigations with the alleged victims and perpetrators, mailed letters to the parents of the students involved, and filed reports on HIBster.

Athletics and Activities 1. February, 2013 – Burlington County Scholastic League Winter Athletic All-Stars

The Burlington County Scholastic League (BCSL) head coaches selected the first team BCSL All-Stars. The following Burlington Township High School students were selected to first team all-star teams.

Wrestling First Team: Aaron Lambert, Luis Carreras

Boys’ Basketball First Team: Kenny Davis, Curtis Thompson

Girl’s Bowling First Team: Brielle Garon, Josette Eckhardt, Kaylie Mazza