Clinton Township Newsletter

1 4 O c t O b e r 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 www.ctsdnj.org I N O U R S C H O O L S : Su R Scho We are so pleased to welcome the following new staff members to our school! Michaela Glover is excited to be joining Spruce Run School as a speech-language pathologist. She graduated in December 1999 from the University of Nebraska with a Master of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology. Since graduating, she worked as a speech-language therapist in the school, hospital and private pediatric clinical settings in Nebraska. In September 2014, her husband accepted a job at Rutgers University, and her family made the cross-country move from Lincoln, Nebraska to Basking Ridge, NJ. For the past three years she has been working as a part-time contracted employee with different school districts. She has two girls, ages six and three. Mrs. Glover is so happy to be a part of the Spruce Run School and to work with a great team of professionals! Kelly Oakes is also very excited to be part of the Spruce Run Family as a preschool teacher. Mrs. Oakes is originally from Maplewood, New Jersey, and she attended college at Southern Connecticut State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Liberal Studies, with a minor in psychology. She continued her education at Caldwell College, where she earned NJ P-3 Certification in Education, and she later applied for her Teacher of Students with Disabilities Certification. Since graduating from college, she has had eleven years experience teaching young children and has loved every second of it. Mrs. Oakes currently resides in Long Valley with her husband, two children and their dog Rex. She is delighted to begin the year at Spruce Run School working with the preschoolers. Preschool is fun, exciting and all hands-on – she is already having a fantastic year learning together! Please stop by our back SRS parking lot with a ball or skipping rock to enjoy our newly painted hopscotch and four-square games! A special thank you to our first grade teacher, Julie Snee who, with the help of her husband Jim, supervised Garrett Snee, James Vallay and Mark Walling in painting recess games on the blacktop. The students earned leadership service hours for their work, as well as the intrinsic reward of knowing that they made a contribution to the elementary school they all had previously attended. Thanks to all involved for your dedication and hard work – our students at Spruce Run School will enjoy it for years to come! DISTRICT NEWS: Week of Respect – The Anti- Bullying Bill of Rights Act (P.L. 2010, c.122) requires that the week beginning with the first Monday in October of each year be designated as a "Week of Respect" in New Jersey. During this week each school in our district recognizes the importance of character education, and observes the week by providing age-appropriate instruction focusing on preventing harassment, intimidation or bullying (HIB), and deepening our understanding of the power of respect. Paick McGah• Scho Fire Safety Week is October 8-14! PMG third grade students annually participate in the St. Barnabas Fire Safety House, learning valuable information to stay safe should a fire arise. The visiting firefighter empowers the children with tips and techniques for fire safety. Prevent, Practice, and Plan are the "Three Ps" of fire safety. To "prevent a fire" means to stop a fire before it ever starts. Never play with matches, do not plug in too many items into a single electrical outlet and never cook without an adult present are a few important facts children must know. In order to prevent getting hurt by a fire, avoid playing around a stove, heater, or fireplace, and do not play with matches. Everyone should also remember to check smoke detectors, change batteries twice a year, test the smoke detectors once a month, and replace smoke detectors every ten years. The "I like spring, but it is too young. I like summer, but it is too proud. So I like best of all autumn, because its leaves are a little yellow, its tone mellower, its colors richer, and it is tinged a little with sorrow... its golden richness speaks not of the innocence of spring, nor of the power of summer, but of the mellowness and kindly wisdom of approaching age. It knows the limitations of life and is content." ~ Lin Yutang A L e t t e r f r o m Pamela C. Fiander, Ed.D., Interim Superintendent of Schools Dear Clinton Township Community Members: Ah, autumn – its annual arrival of colorful splendor -- with cooler weather, shorter days, lingering fireplace embers, and longings for weekend drives in the country. There is something about the fall that ignites our collective imagination, while calling us to draw closer together in work and in play. As October arrives in the Clinton Township School District, we are ever-guided by our goals to help children achieve their dreams – to come to know their passions and to celebrate their unique gifts. Learning here is intentional and child-centered. Teachers make it colorful, musical, thoughtful, dramatic, hands-on, innovative and inspiring. Our students experience real-world problem-based learning that piques curiosity, triggers inquiry and sparks collaboration – all 21st century learning skills that will serve them for a lifetime. A s a s c h o o l d i s t r i c t , w e v a l u e t h e advancements made possible for students t h r o u g h a c t i v e a n d a p p r o p r i a t e u s e o f innovative technology. By empowering students with today's prevalent learning devices, we are instilling a lifelong aptitude in mastering what are "yet-to-be" tomorrow's technologies. While academics are taken very seriously, we are equally devoted to cultivating good people. Through our closely-knit community, we promote collaboration, conflict resolution and problem-solving. We believe in nurturing a respectful and inclusive environment where everyone, children and adults alike, can learn, can grow, and can ultimately become their very best selves. As the colorful richness of autumn unfolds, we look forward to "the kindly wisdom" that learning and being together will surely bring. Happy Fall! Pamela C. Fiander, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools Former CTSD students leadership service hours i n t e g r at e D p r e s c h o o l p r o g r a M s r e g i s t r at i o n & e n r o l l M e n t i n f o r M at i o n f o r t h e g e n e r a l e D u cat i o n s t u D e n t s Fall 2017 registration is currently available. Clinton Township School District children who are 3 years of age on or before October 1, 2017 are eligible to register for our preschool program. Our program is developed for 3 and 4 year olds. Children must be potty-trained upon entrance into the program. We will accept any child that does not meet the cut-off for October 1 for Kindergarten. If your child meets the Kindergarten cut-off and will be five years of age on or before October 1, 2017, then they are not eligible for our preschool program. Cost: Tuition is currently $275 per month/$2,750 per year. Transportation is provided by the parents. Deposit: A one month's tuition deposit, $275 must be submitted with your registration form. This will be applied to your last month's tuition (June). All registration forms and health records must be returned to the Office of Special Services. Students will not be permitted to start school without all proper documentation. For registration forms, please visit: www.ctsdnj. org/resources/parent_resources/parent_forms/ new_student_registration. For more information please contact: Clinton Township School District Office of Special Services 128 Cokesbury Road, Lebanon, NJ 08833 PH: 908.236.6341, x 9595 | FAX: 908.236.0188

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