Clinton Township Newsletter

1 4 s e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 2 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 Looking to Make a Difference? Substitute Teach or Be a Substitute Nurse at CTSD! The Clinton Township School District, in partnership with the community, achieves excellence for each child by ensuring a meaningful and challenging educational experience in a supportive environment; developing life-long learners who are responsible and productive citizens. This summer, make a great leap forward to serve the children in our community by signing up to be a substitute teacher*. You'll have flexibility and great pay! Whether you are retired, in between jobs, or just want to work occasionally, substitute teaching allows you to support students in the community while maintaining a flexible schedule. CTSD pays substitute teachers $140 a day and $70 for a half day. We would love you to join our district! To apply to sub in CTSD, please use this link: https://bit.ly/3DYG4WZ. Someone will reach out to you after you complete your application.*To serve as a substitute teacher, you need at least 30 college credits and a substitute teaching certificate. 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 Hello Clinton Township School Community, As we begin the 2022-2023 school year, we are excited about welcoming back our students, focusing on instructional goals, and looking at each student's personal growth. This summer, our administrative team and our board of education worked on creating the following goals for the 2022- 2023 school year: n Renewing Focus on Academic Achievement and Growth Through Instructional Practices n Developing Common Language Around Whole Child Development n Creating a Three Year Plan Based on Data and Diverse Stakeholder Input For those who are not educators, this basically means we are working together as teachers, support staff, and school leaders to make sure we are spending our time and taxpayer dollars where both will have the greatest impact. By looking at these three goals, and developing short and long term actionable plans, we can monitor and celebrate our growth as a district. As part of our growth, we also looked more closely at how we welcome our new teachers and all staff back in late August. We strongly believe what we spend time on shows what we value. This means, for both events, we focused on celebrating the moments in education that positively impact our students. While we always have lots of mandatory training that is required to keep staff and students safe, by carving time out of the schedule to help everyone remember "why" we are in the field of education, we wanted to demonstrate that why we choose to educate children is just as important as how we educate children. As a community, the last few years in education have been filled with unknowns, which can create a sense of insecurity for some. We are confident that moving into the 2022-2023 school year, we will be able to once again look forward to the possibilities of the unknowns, and create a path to excellence. We continue to appreciate the support of the amazing families, people, and staff that make up the Clinton Township School District School Community. – Sincerely, Dr. Melissa Stager Superintendent, CTSD A MESSAGE FROM DR. STAGER, CTSD SUPERINTENDENT: Prepare mentally • Set your kids' sleep schedules back to "school time" two weeks before the first day of school. • Use an egg timer to get your kids used to focusing for specific periods of time. • Encourage your kids to read at least one (or one more) book before the school year begins. • Discuss what your kids can expect on the first day of school so they feel more prepared. • Talk openly with your kids about their feelings about returning to school and be ready to answer any questions. • Reminisce about your own back-to-school memories. P u t t i m e a n d s c h e d u l e management plans in place • Let kids choose a planner or scheduling tool they're excited to use. • Help your kids put together a rough outline of their school and activity schedules. • Create a family calendar that tracks everyone's activities and commitments. • Set up weekly meetings to review your kids' schedules for the week(s) ahead. • Set a time each week to sync up individual calendars with the family calendar. • Schedule blocks of time to check in with each child to see how things are going. Make arrangements for before- and after-school hours • Have a backup transportation plan in case your kids miss the bus. • Keep track of existing extracurricular activities to prevent overscheduling. • Refresh your rules about screen time for the school year. What's allowed and when? • Work out an after-school schedule that allows time for snack, relaxation, play and study. Set up a system for making or buying lunch • Discuss the different pros and cons of bringing versus buying school lunches. • If they choose to take lunch some or all days, let your kids get involved in creating and preparing their daily lunch menus. • Purchase lunchboxes or reusable bags to help save the environment. Organize school supplies and gear • Inventory your kids' wardrobes and toss/donate things they've outgrown. • Repurpose and relabel plastic tubs to organize all school supplies. • Create a dedicated space at home for your kids to store their school supplies and technology. • Make a plan for organizing those supplies – and keeping them that way. Organize your entire home for the busy season Set up a hanging organizer in your child's closet with five slots for clothes, one for each day of the week. • Add some kid-friendly organization solutions, like low hooks for kids' coats and shoe baskets or cubbies to your entryway. • Establish rules for where kids should put lunchboxes, etc. when they come home. • Create an "inbox" for kids to leave things that need your attention, like permission slips. Do everything you can the night before • Encourage your kids to lay out their school clothes before going to bed. • Have kids pack their school bags. • If they bring their own lunch, have the kids pack their lunch boxes. • Have kids pack their gym or sports bags. • Make sure any bags, equipment or must-bring items are left by the door. Set the stage for a good night's sleep • Set an alarm or notification thirty minutes before bedtime. • Establish r e g u l a r b e d t i m e r o u t i n e s , u s i n g printable checklists for preschoolers and elementary school kids. • Set – and enforce – regular weekday and weekend bedtimes. • Remove tech devices, such as phones and tablets, from kids' bedrooms to focus them on sleeping. Plan for smooth mornings • Set your clocks forward ten minutes. This makes it easier to be on time. • Map out a bathroom schedule to avoid family fights for bathroom time. • Set and enforce regular weekday and weekend wakeup calls. Take care yourself • Schedule at least one 30-minute block in your calendar each day for self-care. • Do something fun to diffuse this stressful time of year for all of you. Take a breath. You've got this. Back-to-school tips for kids and parents

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