Clinton Township Newsletter

1 5 J a n u a r y 2 0 1 5 s P r u C e r u n s C h o o l Preschool and Kindergarten Information Night: Although the weather is still cold outside, we are making plans for entrance to our preschool and kindergarten programs in the Fall of 2015! To be eligible for kindergarten during the 2015-2016 school year, a child must be 5 years of age on or before October 1, 2015. To be eligible for preschool during the 2014-2015 school year, a child must be 3 years of age on or before October 1, 2015. We would like to invite parents of incoming preschool and kindergarten students to our Information Night on January 22, 2015. The preschool session will run from 6:00-7:00 pm and the kindergarten session will run from 7:30-8:30 pm (snow date on February 10.) Please RSVP for our Information Night using the link on our website or at: http://goo.gl/bjLIwI.* We hope to see you there! Kindergarten Round-Up! Kindergarten Round-Up is now occurring at Spruce Run School. A child must be 5 years of age on or before October 1, 2015 to be eligible for kindergarten during the 2015-2016 school year. If you have a child who will be eligible for kindergarten next year, please notify our school as soon as possible by visiting our SRS website at http://www.ctsd.k12. nj.us/schools/spruce-run/* to download and return the Kindergarten Round-Up Survey or completing the survey online at: http://goo.gl/forms/5uziBjyVfH.* Kindergarten Registration will be held by appointment during the week of March 16, 2015. If you should have any questions regarding the kindergarten registration process, please contact Mrs. Paul at: npaul@ctsd. k12.nj.us* or 908.735.7916 ext 9208. Thank you! Child Assault Prevention Program: The Clinton Township School District has once again received a grant from the New Jersey Child Assault Prevention Program to present workshops for our parents, children and teachers in Kindergarten at Spruce Run School. The CAP Project is a comprehensive primary prevention program. CAP utilizes a three-pronged approach to community prevention education: training of staff, parents and children. CAP strategies include self assertion, peer support, effective communication and reporting skills. CAP programs are presented with a view of assault as a violation of the basic human rights to be 'Safe, Strong and Free'. During the week of February 9, 2015 kindergarten students at Spruce Run School will be participating in the Child Assault Prevention (CAP) Project. We are all concerned about the safety of our children. K I N D E R G A R T E N C A P w o r k s h o p s a r e designed for children ages 5 to 6. Classroom workshops consist of one-hour sessions, presented on two consecutive days by three CAP facilitators. Time is included for individual review of the program following the workshop each day, within the classroom. Children's rights and personal safety issues are taught through the use of pictures, dolls, songs and role plays. The classroom workshop trains children to recognize potentially dangerous situations, and to make effective use of the options available to them in these situations. ADULT CAP programs precede the children's programming and cover the prevention and empowerment strategies used in the children's workshops. Suggestions will be provided for the most effective ways to support those strategies at home, school and in the community. Kindergarten parents are invited and encouraged to attend our Parent/ Guardian CAP training on February 4, 2015 at 6 pm in the SRS library. Please join us! *Or, just click on any web or email addresses on the CTSD pages on the online version of the Newsletter at: www.ClintonTwpNewsletter.com. r o u n D v a l l e y s C h o o l This is the 28th year that Clinton Township Schools have partnered with a school in Camden to celebrate generosity and the holidays! Fourth grade students collected hats and gloves, 5th grade students collected games such as Uno, Trouble, Connect 4, etcetera. Our 6th graders collected kick balls, soccer balls, and Nerf balls. All told, students collected these gifts for 130 students in Camden. This is truly the spirit of our December Word of the Month: Generosity! Teachers will be delivering these gifts to the students in Camden! December 18 was our Winter Concert featuring our 5th and 6th grade bands. What a wonderful way to welcome winter! The music was delightful, and the background provided on the composers allowed us all to learn more about how and where songs have been created. L o o k f o r u p c o m i n g n e w s r e g a r d i n g t h e Geography Bee! Students are participating in answering questions that are announced daily over the PA system. The school wide Geography Bee will take place in January, we will keep you posted. Our CTMS Quiz Bowl Team competed against middle schools around the country. It was a challenging online competition and we are awaiting our results. Good job Quiz Bowl Dream Team! The CTMS fifth annual Relay for Life will be held on Friday, February 20 from 6:00-9:00 pm. We've raised over $117,000 for the American Cancer Society's efforts to find a cure and help out cancer patients and their families. Would your family or organization like to be involved? Contact Diane Cormican at: dcormican@ctsd.k12.nj.us. T h e C T M S P T A s p o n s o r e d s e v e r a l s c h o o l assemblies for our middle school students. A traveling scientist visited us from the Franklin Institute and also the dance group called IllStyle and Peace. Thank you, PTA! We invite you to join us at a special parent presentation "Smash the Stigma" January 7 in the CTMS Auditorium at 7:00 pm. This program provides real answers and solutions about the addiction epidemic in our society. It is a fact that we are more likely to lose a loved one to accidental overdose than a car accident. Prescription drug overdoses and overdose death have dramatically increased, as have deaths from heroin. In the past three months three young adults in Hunterdon County died as a direct result of heroin drug overdoses. It is vitally important that we start the conversation earlier. We must get beyond the stigma that it cannot happen in our families and this community. We must be more proactive than ever before. The Program Will Provide Parents: • With better knowledge as to how we got to the situation where accidental drug overdose is the number one cause of accidental death in America • With being better equipped to speak with their children • With not being scared, but concerned about current drug trends • With tips and advice as how to better prevent drug and alcohol use from affecting their children • With resources for advice, help with a family member and sources for ongoing and continuing education C l i n t o n t o w n s h i p M i d d l e s C h o o l I N O U R S C H O O L S : This past summer I was very fortunate enough to be asked to come back to Patrick McGaheran School after a 10-year hiatus. Ms. Mary Postma, the Principal, was having a baby and an Interim Principal was needed. It's now been nearly six months, and by the time you read this Ms. Postma will have returned. Someone asked if Patrick McGaheran School had changed over the 10 years. In so many ways it did not. There are still dedicated teachers who work long hours to make learning rigorous, practical and fun. Patrick McGaheran School is still a place like the Clinton Township Board of Education's motto says, "Where Children Come First". All different kinds of personalities and levels of skill, but all working together towards the same goal. It is a place, as the McGaheran motto goes, "Where Friendships Begin". Children enjoy learning here. The teachers and students are joined in the learning process by their parents. Parents still take time out of their busy days to come into school to teach art in Gallery Time or to be a "Mystery Reader" in their child's class. The PTA still works tirelessly to support student activities. They even put treats in the teacher's mailboxes during Teacher Appreciation Week to say thanks for a job well done. Years ago, parents formed the Foundation for Educational Excellence to further support and encourage teachers' creative ideas in the classrooms. This year, students at McGaheran will be growing marigolds in the school's greenhouse, learn about the healthiness of walking all the while keeping track of their steps each day in school. Hissing cockroaches will also arrive to amaze students during a cross-curricular lesson on bugs. Patrick McGaheran School is still a wonderful place where all the participants work together with the success of the kids as their goal. It was great being back! – John Scott, Interim Principal P a t r i C k m C G a h e r a n s C h o o l . . . a f t e r 1 0 y e a r s a wa y

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