Clinton Township Newsletter

1 4 J a n u a r y 2 0 1 7 www.ClintonTwpNewsletter.com 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 check out our new website: www.ctsdnj.org I N O U R S C H O O L S : Su R Scho Preschool and Kindergarten Information Night: Although the weather is cold outside, we are making plans for entrance to our preschool and kindergarten programs in the Fall of 2017! To be eligible for kindergarten during the 2017/2018 school year, a child must be 5 years of age on or before October 1, 2017. To be eligible for preschool during the 2017/2018 school year, a child must be 3 years of age on or before October 1, 2017. Children must be toilet-trained upon entrance into the program. We would like to invite parents of incoming preschool and kindergarten students to our Information Night on January 26, 2017. 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 9, 2017.) Please RSVP for our Information Night using this link: goo.gl/qMQge7. 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, 2017 to be eligible for kindergarten during the 2017-2018 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 https://goo.gl/92yOFX to download and return the Kindergarten Round-Up Survey or completing the survey online at goo.gl/G8NTpK. Kindergarten Registration will be held by appointment during the week of March 13-17, 2017. If you should have any questions regarding the kindergarten registration process, please contact Mrs. Paul at: npaul@ctsdnj.org or 908.735.7916, ext 9208. Thank you! Paick McGah Scho J anuary's W ord of t he M ont h at Pat ric k McGaheran is Courage. Students recently shared what courage means to them. Below you will find a few examples from our second and third graders: "I think courage means don't give up, don't be afraid to try something new, and be brave." - Ryan "When you are courageous it means that you speak up for yourself or get over a fear." - Julia "You don't give up when something is hard you make sure you don't stop. You fight yourself to keep doing it." - Paige "To do things not a lot of people would do." – Gavin Students also shared examples of times when they were courageous: • When I rode an upside down rollercoaster for the first time. • When I tricked or treated at a house that was very scary. • Jumping in the pool by myself for the first time. • Riding my bike down a crazy steep hill. • Tower of Terror for the first time. • When I had to have an operation. Throughout the month of January students will learn more about courage. Rd V Scho At Round Valley School we are practicing our Word of the Month ~ Perseverance. How do we keep going and never give up even when things are hard? By setting goals, building a 'Can Do' attitude, and understanding that we learn from our mistakes. Each morning we have staff and students who share a "Words of Wisdom" message with the entire school. Take a moment to read one of our recent messages on Perseverance: "In the story The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy falls asleep during a terrible storm. She wakes up in the Land of the Munchkins. For the past couple months, the Board of Education, School Business Administrator (SBA), and I have been planning for the 2017/2018 school budget. We have been working collaboratively with administrators and staff members to identify our needs. Clinton Township School District staff members create a zero-based budget. This means that the budget is built based upon need, not through a straight increase in the current year's budget. The budget process is continuous throughout the year. It includes the creation and management of the budget. For purposes of this article, I will outline the process as it begins in the Fall of each school year. O c t o b e r : A t t h i s t i m e , t h e S c h o o l B u s i n e s s Administrator disseminates information to the building and district administrators regarding budget requests for the following school year. Administrators work with the staff members in their buildings or departments to determine needs. Principals look specifically at building needs while department administrators assess curriculum, program, technology and maintenance needs. They also speak with each other to ensure that there is not overlap in the budget requests. This is the time in which we also consider new or increased initiatives for the upcoming school year and how we will need to account for them. November: Budget requests are submitted from the administrators to the School Business Administrator by the end of the month. December: The Superintendent and the School Business Administrator meet with each administrator. They review the budget submission and discuss district and building initiatives, ensuring that necessary items were included in the budget requests. The School Business Administrator is also beginning to build the budget based upon recurring and known expenditures such as salary, benefits, insurance, utilities and transportation, to name a few. The Superintendent and School Business Administrator begin conversations with each of the Board committees. The initial conversations center on the specific function of the identified committee as it pertains to budget. Board members have the opportunity to review the budget information and formulate questions. January: The School Business Administrator continues to outline and finalize the budget. The Superintendent and School Business Administrator continue meetings with the Board committees. After the initial opportunity to review proposed budget information, the Board committee members can ask questions or provide comments about the proposed information. February: The Superintendent and School Business Administrator also plan for a public presentation at the February Board meeting, which outlines general budget information and how a budget is created. March: The preliminary budget is presented publicly at the March Board meeting. Public questions and comments are received at that time. The Board approves the preliminary budget so that it can be submitted to the Office of the Executive County Superintendent for review and approval. April: The budget is returned from the Office of the Executive County Superintendent this month. The Superintendent, School Business Administrator, and Board members review any comments made by County personnel. The final budget is approved at the April Board meeting. May and June: The School Business Administrator puts the approved budget into the budgeting system. Administrators prepare requisitions for submission for July 1. Once a budget is completed and approved, it continues to be monitored throughout the school year. The Superintendent and the School Business Administrator also meet with the Executive County Superintendent and the County School Business Administrator mid-year (December or January) to review the implementation of the budget. The school budget is also reviewed by the school district's auditor twice a year. Also, each year the auditor makes a public presentation at a December or January Board meeting on the health of the school district's budget. Budget information will be communicated to the public through the district website and with budget presentations at upcoming Board meetings taking place in February, March, and April. The Board Meeting Calendar for 2017 will be approved at the Reorganization meeting being held in the Clinton Township Middle School Auditorium on January 4, 2017 at 7:30 pm. The next regular meeting of the Board is tentatively scheduled for January 23, 2017. Information regarding the meeting dates and times for budget presentations, as well as budget documentation following each presentation will be available on the district website at www.ctsdnj.org. Please check our website often for meeting dates and budget materials. Thank you, Gina M. Villani, Ed.D Superintendent of Schools A L e t t e r f r o m Gina M. Villani, Ed.D, Superintendent of Schools Dear Clinton Township Community Members:

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