Clinton Township Newsletter

1 5 O c t O b e r 2 0 1 7 other's work. This fun, culminating activity also helps to build community among our third grade students who thoroughly enjoy being a part of "Kidsville!" R•d V•• Scho Welcome to our new teachers at Round Valley School! Dawn Cifelli is excited about starting her first year in the Round Valley Media Center/Library. Mrs. Cifelli earned a Bachelor's Degree from Rider University and completed her media specialist certification at Rowan University. She lives in Hunterdon County with her husband, two children, two dogs and two cats. She loves to read, go to the beach and travel. Brittany Dvorscak is very excited about this upcoming school year as Round Valley's health teacher. Last year she taught physical education grades for students in pre-K-three to eighth grade. She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Physical Education and Health from Montclair State University. Brittany loves to be outside and travel. She enjoys swimming, surfing, rock climbing, volleyball and snowboarding. Someday Brittany wants to be able to say she's been to every state in the United States! Fifth graders are already busy in their c l a s s r o o m s . T h e i r Figure Me Out activity c h a l l e n g e s s t u d e n t s to use their previous m a t h k n o w l e d g e t o c r e a t e m a t h e m a t i c a l e x p r e s s i o n s a b o u t t h e m s e l v e s t h a t c a n only be answered with a number. Sixth grade students decorated the steps with some c h a l l e n g i n g m a t h f a c t s . W h a t a f u n way to remember! t To•hip Midd Scho CTMS New Staff Biographies: We are excited to welcome a number of new staff members to our CTMS Community and we're very pleased that they chose to join the Clinton Township School District faculty! Tarra Bendorf is starting the school year as a Spanish teacher at Clinton Township Middle School. She graduated from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, with her Bachelor's Degree in Secondary Education and Spanish. Tarra taught at Westside Middle School in Omaha, Nebraska for five years until relocating to New Jersey with her husband. She taught Spanish for one year at West Morris Central High School. In addition to teaching, Tarra enjoys hiking, playing sports and reading. She looks forward to a great year at CTMS! Stephanie Feo is thrilled to begin the 2017-2018 school year as a speech language specialist at Clinton Township Middle School! Stephanie graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She then earned a Master of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Seton Hall University. Since graduating, Stephanie worked in a public school and pediatric hospital. The past four years she worked in an outpatient pediatric neurorehabilitation program, helping patients transition from the hospital setting back to their school and community. Although this was a wonderful learning experience, Stephanie is excited to be next P, "practice" is very important. Take the time to practice what to do if you see or smell smoke, or if your smoke detector sounds. React fast, get out and stay out, stay low and go! Plan your escape. It's so important to know what to do if a fire starts in your home. One of the most important things to do is create a family escape plan. Include two escape routes from every room, and decide on a safe meeting place for your family to gather once outside your home. Check out: www.firesafekids.org/ safety for more fire safety tips. 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). At Patrick McGaheran, classroom lessons focus on kindness, friendship, respect, and becoming a caring citizen of our school and community. We have an All-School Morning Meeting to learn more ways to be a respectful member of our school community. Students are taught the first of six anti- bullying lessons, which continue throughout the school year. Our goal is to help our students build character, so that they can learn and thrive in a kind and caring environment, consistent with our school wide theme that, "PMG is a place where friendships grow!" Second Grade Teachers Welcome New Students! As a school, we are thrilled to see our third graders return to us in September, and are always especially excited to meet our incoming second graders. We love new faces! As a second grade team, we work hard acclimating our new children and to make them feel as secure and happy as possible. Our special area teachers, as well as some beloved staff members, help our new students find their classrooms on those first few days. Our second grade staff takes their learners on a tour of the school to find important places like the office, cafeteria and special area classrooms. We work hard to become a community of learners who support each other from the very first day. Our teachers follow the Responsive Classroom philosophy, beginning with the development of rules and expectations based on children's hopes and dreams for the year. Each class discusses how we can achieve those hopes and dreams and then develop rules to help us be our best. Classes create a classroom community by enjoying a morning meeting each day. Morning meetings consist of a greeting, where students learn important life skills such as eye contact and how to appropriately shake hands. The meeting continues with two educational activities, practicing current skills being taught and also cooperative. Among other things, this helps students develop sportsmanship. Then, news and announcements allow students to know what is going to happen in their day and helps to take away anxiety. Days are planned to follow a familiar routine so students know what to expect. Lastly, sharing allows students to practice public speaking and learn more about each other. This helps them make connections and build relationships. We are already enjoying another year of learning! Kidsville in Grade 3: As part of the social studies curriculum, third grade students at PMG are learning about communities. In September, students explore the features of urban, suburban, and rural communities. Then they brainstorm a list of buildings and facilities that are found in each type of community. Each student creates a shoebox-size model of a building found in either an urban, suburban or a rural community. All six classes display their buildings, and students have the opportunity to walk around and view each WOW, are we excited about our new gymnasium floor! It sparkles, it shines, and it's ready for physical education fun! back in the public school helping students to achieve their academic, personal and social goals. In her free time, she enjoys quality time with her friends and family, cooking, and caring for her five month old daughter. She is happy to be a part of the Clinton Township community! "My name is Jeffrey Dunker, and I was raised predominantly in New Jersey. Upon graduating from Watching Hills Regional High School in 1995, I moved to Hilton Head Island South Carolina, then to New Orleans Louisiana, Denver Colorado and New York City – where I learned about various cultures and ultimately completed a degree and worked as a teacher's assistant for the New York Film Academy. The years I spent teaching at the film school (in both NYC and Princeton University) helped guide my return to college with the goal of seeking a degree in education. In addition to my film degree, I currently hold a Bachelor of Arts in History from Rutgers University and a Master of Arts in Social Studies Education from Rutgers Graduate School of Education. I am married to a wonderful woman named Ashley, who works as the Bernards Township Board of Education District HR/Benefits Coordinator. We have three amazing daughters named Charlotte (5), Julia (2), and Mae (10 months). We also have a fun-loving golden retriever named Sophie-Alice. My hobbies include playing music (as I can play nine different instruments), filmmaking, photography, cooking (my wife, daughters, and myself are all vegetarians), writing, reading, traveling, exercising and, of course, teaching. I couldn't be more thrilled to have become a part of the Clinton Township Middle School team, as I have already made some marvelous and lasting connections with both the staff and students. I wholeheartedly agree with and adhere to the school's motto, 'Community and Teamwork Motivates Success!' " Charlie Schade is a seventh grade special education teacher at Clinton Township Middle School. Mr. Schade worked as a special education teacher at Somerset County Vo-Tech, as well as a middle school teacher in Bridgewater. He graduated from Kean University in 2001, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Physical Education/Health and earned teacher certification in both. More recently, he received his Masters of Arts Degree in Special Education from Centenary University in 2012. Mr. Schade holds multiple teaching certifications, including: PE/Health, K-6, Middle School LA and Social Studies, as well as Teacher of Students with Disabilities. Charlie enjoys spending time with his family and friends. Besides a passion for teaching, he also enjoys music and sports. Mr. Schade is excited to join Clinton Township Middle School, and he is looking forward to becoming a part of the community! Lauren Smith is excited to be joining the team at CTMS as a school psychologist. She graduated from Rowan University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology and then went on to receive her Master of Arts Degree and Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in School Psychology from Georgian Court University. Completing an internship in the South Brunswick Public School District, she worked with students from preschool to the high school level. Lauren has a passion for helping children succeed socially, emotionally, behaviorally and academically. She's looking forward to starting her new position and becoming a part of the school community!

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