Clinton Township Newsletter

1 4 a u g u s t 2 0 2 0 W W W . C L I N T O N T W P N E W S L E T T E R . C O M C L I N T O N T O W N S H I P S C H O O L N E W S www.ctsdnj.org A L e t t e r f r o m Melia Goad, Judi Hammond, Alexa Ingram and Mary Postma This certainly has not been a typical summer for our CTSD families. We hope that our families from all of our schools are staying healthy and safe, and enjoying the summer weather in a socially distant manner! It has been a different summer, as well, for our CTSD schools and staff. Our faculty and staff, parents and administrators are collaborating to prepare for our September opening based upon "The Road Back Restart and Recovery Plan for Education" from the NJ Department of Education. Families, please take some time to review this document from the NJDOE: www.nj.gov/education/ reopening/NJDOETheRoadBack.pdf Thank you to our families for your input on our surveys, and for asking questions and providing suggestions during the planning. Our wonderful custodial and maintenance staff have been working diligently to paint, clean and sanitize our buildings. Secretaries have been organizing materials and assisting with purchases. Our teachers and staff have been sharing input to assist with re-opening. We truly have a wonderful team to support our students. Our Virtual Extended School Year program wrapped up on July 30 and we are still feeling energized by the curiosity and focus of our students who participated. A huge thank you to each family for your support and to our dedicated teachers and support team. Our team turned a challenging summer program into a special virtual opportunity for our students. Information will follow regarding School Visitation Days, as well as back to school information, including any possible changes based upon the current guidance. We miss our students and families! We wish you a safe and happy rest of your summer, and we look forward to welcoming all of our students when school resumes for the 2020- 21 school year. Melissa Goad: Principal, PMG Mary Postma: Principal, RVS Judi Hammond: Principal, CTMS Alexa Ingram: Director of Special Services, CTSD Dear Clinton Township Community Members: Preventing the "Summer Slide" We all look forward to the relaxing days of summer but it's important that families still set time aside for learning. Here are some fun ways to help children avoid summer regression. • Reading is a great summer activity. Using the extra time available for reading can help to strengthen fluency and comprehension. Children should be encouraged to read for a minimum of 15-20 minutes each day. Summer reading activities could include going to the public library to check out books of interest or books for any summer reading groups a child may join. Books on CD are a great way to pass the time during long car trips and reading aloud with a child is a great bonding experience. • Children should also continue to work on math facts. There are many websites that can be used or families can simply practice facts while riding in the car. Children can help with recipes or b u d g e t i n g and calculating during shopping trips, both of which increase mathematical know-how. • There are many opportunities for summer writing. Children can send postcards from destinations, write letters to friends and family or keep a summer journal to memorialize their fun. They can also practice creative writing or answer prompts about their summer activities. Parents can help children with revising and editing. Working on capitalization, punctuation, and spelling is a basic way to start. When September arrives families will be thankful that they helped their child be prepared, confident and ready to start the school year in a new grade-level! I hope you are all well and have been able to find time to enjoy the summer. Some things are constants in our society. "SEPTEMBER" the start of school, it happens every year. This year the First Day of School may look different, but it is still time for new renewal - a "fresh start." The summer has been focused upon planning for our children, faculty/staff and the community. The Administrative Team and faculty/staff have worked diligently to plan for the opening of the Clinton Township School District's 2020 – 2021 school year. The past year has confirmed the need to be prepared for anything and everything. Our educational community is ready. Please monitor our district website for all updated information - http://ctsdnj.org/home . Thank you for the opportunity to serve the children, faculty/staff and the community – let us all begin. Sincerely, Johanna S. Ruberto, Ed.D. Interim Superintendent A L e t t e r f r o m Johanna S. Ruberto, Ed.D., Interim Superintendent of Schools Dear Clinton Township Community Members:

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