Clinton Township Newsletter

1 7 m a y 2 0 1 9 Patrick McGaheran School Thank you, PTA! Throughout the school year, the Clinton Township PTA has funded and brought additional learning opportunities in a fun and exciting way through assemblies. The Clinton Township PTA sponsors enrichment programs to enhance the educational experience for the students of all Clinton Township schools each year. The programs are funded by the proceeds of PTA membership dollars and fundraising efforts done throughout the year. We are grateful for the their support, and hope our families will consider being involved with our PTA! During the 2018-19 school year the students of Patrick McGaheran School have enjoyed the following PTA-sponsored enrichment programs, and are looking forward to the upcoming assemblies, as well: • Aesop's Bops – In December students enjoyed a visit from a storyteller, who enabled a zoo full of animals to come alive in a performance that taught children about sharing and friendship and offered positive lessons for social growth. • Ball in the House – In February students learned the history of a cappella singing from chant to doo wop through contemporary and classic cover songs as well as original works. The elements of teamwork and collaboration were highlighted as students learned how various vocal parts create harmony and beats, working in unison to produce a multidimensional piece of music. • Franklin Institute Traveling Science Show – Motions & Machines – In March students learned how we use simple machines such as the lever, wheel, pulley and inclined plane to overcome these forces and get things to move. • Author Visit – In April author Laura T. Barnes taught students how the real-life story relates to creation of each book and how a book is made. • Child's Play Touring Theatre – In May students will see the stories written by classmates come to life in this exciting and interactive program. I N O U R S C H O O L S : c o n t i n u e d Superintendent's Leer – Summary – To recap, the 2019-2020 budget: • Minimizes the impact to our taxpayers with a 0.000% Local Tax Levy Increase 0.0113% Overall Levy Increase – Local Tax Levy + Debt Service Levy • Maintains academic offerings, extra-curricular activities • Improves transportation time • Improves upon instruction through professional development • Increases in staff salary & benefits built into budget • Addresses safety and security needs • Responsibly maintains and modernizes district buildings and grounds CTSD has been fiscally responsible while maintaining the highest level of education possible to our students that includes maintaining our current class sizes, advancing our curricular and co-curricular programs and providing ongoing professional development for our staff. The district has faced declining enrollment, continued loss of state aid, and rising health care and salary costs. We have been able to manage by right-sizing staff according to student need and enrollment numbers and undergoing a reorganization of the district. Thank you, Dr. Michele Cone Superintendent of Schools A L e t t e r f r o m t h e c t S d B o A r d o f e d u c A t i o n Dear Clinton Township Community Member: In this political environment, which is punctuated by the fast-paced flow of information, it is important to step back and take the necessary time to evaluate carefully, in light of the current circumstances, any decision that will have a lasting impact on the district. Clinton Township residents understand this and are willing to take the time to look at the facts so that we can think before we decide. The Clinton Township Board of Education has the highest level of respect for each and every district staff member and we appreciate all that they do for Clinton Township's students. The Board understands the importance of negotiating this contract with the Clinton Township Education Association (CTEA) in the most efficient and effective way. As part of this decision- making, we want everyone in the community to have the same factors that we do, so that you can understand how we have arrived at our positions in the negotiations. There are four primary factors that we must confront together: • Declining enrollment in the student population – from 1,800 students in 2000 to 1200 today • Drastic reductions in state aid – the state won't pay the same amount of aid when a town's enrollment declines by a third • Rising healthcare costs – something affecting everyone • Increases in special education costs All of these challenges add difficulty to the negotiations. Of course, Clinton Township is not the only school district in Hunterdon County or in the State of New Jersey to experience these challenges and extended negotiations. The Board and the CTEA's negotiation teams both agreed on two occasions that their negotiations had reached an impasse and accepted the assistance of a neutral third-party mediator to help bring them to a mutually beneficial contract. The Board is working very hard to be creative in finding options that would aid in formulating a common ground, with the help of a mediator and along with the CTEA. That is where we are right now, with the primary issue being a sustainable healthcare benefit package. The Board is highly motivated to resolve this contract because lengthy negotiations only distract us from our fundamental role of serving Clinton Township's students. We got through a major reorganization this past year which will save the District a significant amount of money, some of which could be used for the contract. Coming up with cost saving ideas is essential in this environment because our revenue simply has not kept up. As members of the Board, we all live in this community and we truly want to find a mutually acceptable resolution to this contract negotiation that is both fair to the staff and to our taxpayers. We are hopeful that this contract negotiation can be completed very soon. Sincerely, Maria Grant President of the CTSD Board of Education Round Valley School Junior Solar Sprint Competition: 5th grade members of RVS's Solar Sprint Team are very excited to see the results of their hard work as they compete in the regional Junior Solar Sprint competition on May 17. Students interested in engineering signed up for STEM enrichment and worked through their lunch periods each week to design and build a solar-electric powered vehicle. Each vehicle is powered using a single solar cell panel provided by TransOptions and goHunterdon who sponsor the competition. Students are provided with wheels, axles, gears, motors and solar panels to build the skeleton of their car. Students provided additional materials to make their car's chassis and to make their cars unique to stand out on the race track. This team is facilitated by Jessica Heuer and Aly Pfenning. Go Round Valley! Diversity Night at RVS: Round Valley School Families recently participated in the school's annual Diversity Night! The Food Showcase invited guests to sample foods from Peru, Ireland, Poland, India, Paraguay, Germany, Japan, Italy, Spain and many more countries. In the gym we had a game from Kenya called Mancala, a card game from Sicily, Bocce Ball from Italy, a spinning wheel facts game called "A trip around Germany" and a soccer challenge. In the hallway there were two tables offering traditional henna and temporary tattoo henna from India. At the end of the night for the Talent showcase there was a soccer demonstration from Spain, taekwondo and a beautiful Indian performance. The 5th and 4th grade members of the World Cultures Clubs, facilitated by Señora Correia and Señora Beatrice, had a tremendous part in the planning, preparation, set up and running of this event. Students from the clubs decorated the hallways, made signs, set up the tables, greeted the guests, made announcements, presented the talent show, worked backstage and helped with cleanup. One of the 3rd graders at Round Valley was our official photographer and could be found taking pictures through out the night. So much hard work was put into this event; what a successful, fun night!

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