June 27, 2017
A great school year has come to an end. Thank you to all of our hard working staff who made it another awesome year at Califon Public School. There are not many places where a student can receive a public school education that is similar to a private school education as far as student to teacher ratio is concerned. I also want to thank the community for their ongoing support as well.
Some items to highlight as we closed the school year out were certainly some of the items covered by the press. The Hunterdon Review and Hunterdon Democrat both covered some of our events this school year. Our Science Family Night was covered back in January. TREP$ was covered in March, along with a visit from the co-founder of the program. More recently, Our DI team was in the news for their participation in the state finals. However, even more impressive was coverage of the Global Finals where they were able to bring home a third place finish in the Fine Arts Team Challenge and a first place finish for an Instant Challenge! In addition, our community service class of middle school students received some recognition for some of their projects, which included coverage of one group’s project, the Color Run, which raised money for the Califon Fire Company.
We did submit a press release for coverage on our recent middle school science trip to our local branch of the Raritan River. I always maintain that the more real we can make learning for our students, the more true learning will take place. Ms. DeAngelo was in contact with one of our community members, Mr. Kibler, who put her in contact with the Raritan Headwaters Association. A few representatives came out to our school to present a classroom lesson about watersheds, groundwater, and macroinvertebrates. Students were then led by two instructors to look at the topics learned while actually visiting the South Branch Raritan River in Califon!
Look for a possible news article on Califon winning the Golden Sneaker Award for Hunterdon County. We participate every year in the Walking School Bus sponsored by New Jersey Safe Routes to School. This year, during Hunterdon County’s Walk to School Week, we had the most student participation!
A couple of my goals for next year are to increase the bond between family and school, and to continue to increase learning experiences outside of the regularly scheduled school day. In order to accomplish this, I have a few evening functions planned. Ms. Marcine, Mrs. Parisella’s maternity leave placement, will be leading a summer reading program for our incoming kindergarten through second grade students in July. We will also be offering additional after school activities, which will be led by our Califon staff!
Teachers will be setting individualized learning goals for your children and this will be discussed at conferences.
Recently, it has come up in conversation about some of the ways that the staff here provides cross grade level interactions. The teachers put together a Google Doc of all of the different ways that this occurs throughout the school day over time. It is truly amazing at just how many there are! To name a few: preschool worked with third grade in buddy math and alphabet activities; grades 3, 4, and 5 participated in a book club with a focus on a Roald Dahl author study; some students in kindergarten through grade 5 attended Science Explorers Club after school; and the middle school students assisted younger students with a variety of academic endeavors.
Finally, I would like to to take the time to thank a couple of community members who have helped out around the school in a number of ways, but I focus on two specific responsibilities. Mike Medea does his part to assist in beautifying the school grounds. He graciously plants flowers in the area around our school sign and takes care of them as well! Thanks Mike. Speaking of our sign, over the past four years that I have been here and nine more beyond that, Cindy Stoter (aka “sign lady”) has been keeping our signage current on an ongoing basis! We truly do appreciate both of their support and we will all miss Cindy, as her daughters are now both out of Califon Public School. We wish you and your family well!
I would like everybody to have a safe and awesome summer! Enjoy vacations and “staycations” alike! I will see everybody at the end of August.
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