April 3, 2018
Well, it has been a crazy finish to winter and start to spring to say the least! Thank you for bearing with us with all of the schedule changes that have occurred as a result. We are getting ready for the final stretch and, of course, for a strong finish to the school year.
Hopefully, you were able to communicate with your child’s teachers if necessary due to conferences being cancelled. As always, we strive to keep the lines of communication open between school and home on an ongoing basis in order to make the learning experience valuable for our students; your children.
New Jersey schools across the state will be administering the PARCC test with the testing window opening April 16th. In order to minimize scheduling conflicts and maintain consistency, this year we are testing grades 3 through 8 at the same time beginning May 7th. Aside from makeups, this will give us a finishing date of May 14th for language arts and math. The science test will be for grades 5 and 8 on May 22nd and 23rd.
Our middle school and special area teachers continue to articulate with the high school in all subjects. We also continue to have a great partnership with two teachers from the high school in language arts and math. Each teacher has been collaborating throughout the year with Mrs. Charleston, Mrs. Heuneman, and Ms. Heyduke. They visit most of the sending schools but I have to tell you, they absolutely love working with our teachers and love coming to Califon. The reason being a three word answer: positive school climate! The main goal of this collaboration is to be sure that our students are ready for the work at the high school level, and as a result, their insight has proven invaluable. The teachers work together on a number of topics. Over the next two weeks, I am looking forward to meeting with the high school teachers to discuss progress.
Speaking of collaboration, we had visitors from another school in the county collaborate with Mrs. Charleston on best practices in middle school language arts. It was great to hear that other schools are looking for ideas and that those ideas come from some best practices at Califon! In a nutshell, how do you keep middle school students engaged in reading and writing? The answer: move away from lecture, give students choices, utilize technology in an engaging way, allow students to lead discussions, and keep it fluid and dynamic.
Our TREP$ event was another huge success with fun had by all. It truly is a real life learning adventure and challenge for our students who participate, as they learn just how hard one needs to work to be successful in owning and operating a business. Thanks to all of the parents for assisting, as it does become a family affair! Thank you also to Ms. Heyduke and Mr. Zimmerman who continue to organize and lead the event every year!
Don’t forget to clear your calendar for Seussical STEAM Night on Friday, April 20th at 6:00 pm. Everybody is sure to have a great evening. There will be activities in which to participate, STEM challenges to tackle, books to read, and prizes to be won! Two other dates of importance: our Creative Arts Night will be at 6:00 pm on Monday, May 21st. Our upper grades production of The Wizard of Oz is tentatively set for Thursday, June 14th at 7:00 pm.
Keeping the community and school connection strong is important to me. This is why we have expanded evening events to include science nights as well as the aforementioned STEAM Night along with dividing the music show to include two evenings of arts and drama! I am pleased to say that we have continued and expanded after school opportunities for our students including the Debate Club, Art Club, Creative Crafters Club, and Drama Club. I hope to continue this moving forward.
Please don’t forget to check out our website, as it includes information on a number of items, including our Virtual Backpack, which advertises a number of upcoming local events and includes forms you might need. We recently added a new link under “News, Events, and Information” entitled “WinterFall Grant”. Gloria Winter has donated more than $25,000.00 to Califon teachers and staff over the past several years! Please check it out.
On a final note for now, we have begun meetings about the 100th Day Celebration, which will take place next October. It’s sure to be a great weekend with a number of activities scheduled, with the school as one of the focal points. Stay tuned for more info to follow.
Congratulations are in order to some of our students and a staff member! I will be writing another Principal’s Corner shortly to recognize all of these awesome individuals so be on the lookout!
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