Clinton Township Newsletter

1 6 J a n u a r y 2 0 1 8 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 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 2018! To be eligible for kindergarten during the 2018-2019 school year, a child must be five-years of age on or before October 1, 2018. To be eligible for preschool during the 2018-2019 school year, a child must be three- years of age on or before October 1, 2018. We would like to invite parents of incoming preschool and kindergarten students to our Information Night on January 25, 2018 (snow date of February 1, 2018.) The preschool session will run from 6:00 - 7:00 pm., and the kindergarten session will run from 7:30 - 8:30 pm. Please RSVP for our Information Night using this link: https://goo.gl/ ExGmhG. We hope to see you there! Kindergarten Round-Up! Kindergarten Round- Up is now occurring at Spruce Run School. A child must be five-years of age on or before October 1, 2018 to be eligible for kindergarten during the 2018-2019 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/jkL3SQ to download and return the Kindergarten Round-Up Survey or completing the survey online at https://goo.gl/4Tecqv. Kindergarten Registration: Kindergarten Registration will be held by appointment during the week of March 5-9, 2018. 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 COURAGE: January's Word of the Month at Patrick McGaheran is Courage. Students recently shared what courage means to them. Here are a few examples from our students: Dylan: Being brave and believing in yourself Lily: Believing in yourself and standing up for yourself and others Caiden: Bravery, being yourself, and being unique Evan: Doing what is right, even in hard times Paige: Having faith in yourself, and doing the right thing even when everyone around you is doing the wrong thing. Kevin: Never giving up Harrison: Doing something that you are scared of Second Grade Class Trip: Our second grade students visited the Red Mill in Clinton to enhance their learning of cultures and traditions. Students learned about community life in the 1800's including schooling and commerce. Students visited the blacksmith's shop and carriage shed to learn more about transportation. Activities such as shelling corn, carding wool and candle making were also explored. Rd V Scho 4th Grade: During the immigration unit in social studies, students had the opportunity to explore Google Expeditions. The students visited Ellis Island right from their seats. Using virtual reality, they gained a better understanding of what immigrants went through upon entry to America. 5th Grade: Fifth grade students are reading closely in partnerships to determine the themes of different stories. They are then using Google Drive to share and analyze their development, as well as summarize the key supporting details and ideas. 6th Grade: In anticipation of the sixth grade's annual Bear Hunt debate, students had bear expert and Chief Naturalist, Tom Sheppard, visit from the Hunterdon County Division of Parks and Recreation. Mr. Sheppard gave an informative presentation on the challenges of the growing bear population in New Jersey. Following the presentation, students befriended Tom's "furry assistant" around the building from the gymnasium to the cafeteria! Unified Arts (Specials): Sixth grade physical education students are running a floor hockey tournament within their classes. Not only are the students playing in the games, but when their team is not on the "rink," they are in charge of face- offs, scorekeeping and refereeing. After the class tournament concludes, the top team from each class will play each other to name a grade level winner! t Tohip Midd Scho On Friday, December 1, CTMS hosted the North Hunterdon Debate Finals, and our debate team made us proud! Participating this year were middle school students from Bethlehem and Union Townships and Califon Public Schools. All students debated through two preliminary rounds, and five of our teams made it to the finals! Winning final teams were Anneliese Johnson & Madison Thomas, and Bella Cuppuccio & Alisa Kozhukhov. Way to go, CTMS debaters! The Relay for Life Kick-off concert, PURPLE RAIN, will be held on Friday, January 5 from 6:30 - 9:30 pm in the CTMS auditorium. Come out to hear amazing student and teacher bands, featuring Full House and Captain Eric and the Shipwrecks... and more guest performers. This is a great night out for music lovers of all ages! The 8th annual CTMS Relay for Life will be held on Friday, February 23 from 6:00 - 9:00 pm. The student committee is busy planning for the event, and we want YOU to get involved! Here are some things you might consider: 1. Sign up or donate online at www.relayforlife. org/ctmsNJ 2. Volunteer to help! Contact dcormican@ctsdnj.org ... CTMS continued next page A L e t t e r f r o m Pamela C. Fiander, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools Dear Clinton Township Community Members: The idea of new beginnings – with each New Year bringing just that -- 365 "empty" calendar pages waiting to be filled with endless possibilities is, to me, simply energizing. While I'm not one for making resolutions, I am becoming a fan of gratitude lists. Recently I read that we could actually "rewire our brains to be happy" if we simply write three things for 21 consecutive days for which we are grateful. Journeying more than half-way through this "experiment," I confess, it is working. And, while I am not the resident brain expert, Carol Dweck's research on a "growth mindset," meaning the power of believing you can become smarter (https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_ you_can_improve?language=en) illustrates beautifully that we can also grow our brain's capacity to continuously learn and to solve problems. The brain does not have a fixed aptitude, as was for so long believed. Each time we introduce a new concept, a new activity, a new problem, or risk a new challenge, the neurons in our brains change, they create new neurotransmitters, and they get stronger. In short, we can all become smarter. Ascribing to this "growth mindset," you will find evidence of this prevalent in the classrooms across the school district, with learning designs that build brain capacity in our students. At Spruce Run School, young learners are eagerly engaging in the "Hour of Code," at RVS, a student-developed service learning project raised funds and gathered shoes for those in need, at PMG during "extensions," teachers and students work on interest-based projects and, at CTMS, students are using virtual reality to fully examine a human lung, among other Google Expeditions on their itinerary. Happy and smart. Such great goals. So, here's to the New Year – with all its possibilities! – Pamela C. Fiander, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools Happy New Year! from CTSD

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