April 3, 2020
Good Afternoon:
District Communication and Web Page
The web page is the central point where information will be posted as the school closure and home instruction continue. www.nburlington.com
Revised Academic Calendar: New Date for End of Marking Period 3
NB’s 2019-2020 academic calendar has been revised as follows:
Marking Period 3 extended until Thursday, April 9
Marking Period 4 will begin Monday, April 20
Students should submit any assignments for the third marking period by April 9.
Spring Break
Spring break will be held as originally scheduled. There will be a half day on Thursday, April 9 and virtual schooling will resume on Monday, April 20. The school buildings will not reopen on April 20, 2020. Federal social distancing restrictions remain at least until April 30, and the State of New Jersey is expected to provide additional guidance by April 17. Therefore, the school buildings will remain closed and students will continue with our remote learning protocols until the Governor revisits that order and takes further action.
Student Emails
Earlier this week, this announcement went out regarding student emails:
In light of the long term school closure and the virtual instruction that is underway, the district has created student e-mail accounts that are now available. These accounts are for school business and students should not regard them as private. Furthermore, they are governed by the Acceptable Use Policy. These email accounts are ideal for communicating with teachers and for other school related matters. Students should check these accounts routinely for communication to and from their teachers as well as for other school announcements.
The student email address is the students’ network login @nburlington.com, which is the same as their Google login. The student's login name is the last two digits of their graduation year plus full last name. If there are students with the same last name in the same grade, then the user name is appended with the number 1, 2 and so on (those students will know who they are because it is the user name they were assigned in school).
For example, Johnny Smith who is a senior graduating 2020.
Student Name: John Smith
Grade: 12
User Name: 20smith@nburlington.com
Password: same as network password
Student emails can be accessed through the Student Parent Resource page that is part of the district web page at this URL: https://www.nburlington.com/o/nbc-rsd/page/student-parent-resources--18
Also, the email access page can be accessed directly using this URL: https://outlook.office.com This is not a Gmail account. Rather it is a Microsoft 365 account.
If a student is experiencing difficulty with his/her email account, middle school students should email Mrs. Paulette Russo at prusso@nburlington.com and high school students should email Mrs. Wendy Gupta at wgupta@nburlington.com. They will coordinate contacts with the technology department.
Virtual Donuts with Directors
NB’s Directors will continue the Donuts with Directors program meetings virtually via Zoom on Wednesday, April 8, 8am-9am. Zoom meeting ID: 872-319-4666 or url: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/8723194666. We look forward to collaborative discussion about virtual learning, course selection, and college/career planning.
FAQ
On our district web page (www.nburlington.com) there is a FAQ section regarding school closures. As questions arise, please forward them to NBSCPP@nburlington.com.
Counselors and Support for Families
During this challenging time, there are students who may wish to speak with their school counselor. If a child needs access to his or her school counselor, they are available and can be contacted by email or by using this link. Furthermore, there are a variety of resources posted by our counseling department for families at this link. These are updated as more become available.
NBCRCSD Health Office
The Northern Burlington County School District School Nurses & Health Office Secretaries are thinking of all in our school community at this difficult time & miss seeing our students! We want to share the official New Jersey Department of Health website with important and credible information: www.covid19.nj.gov.
Please also note: the school nurses & health office secretaries in the MS & HS Health Offices are available via email and would love to hear from you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us. Stay well!
Mrs. Pugliese | |
Mrs. Nocon | |
Mrs. Crane | |
Mrs. Greene | |
Mrs. Clark |
Clinical Corner Spotlight
Thank you to all the parents/guardians that have been helping their child(ren) through this abrupt transition to remote learning. We at Northern are proud of all that you are doing and we know that it is not easy. You are not alone! We are here to support you! Please take some time for yourselves throughout the day and read the articles below for some helpful tips:
https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/parenting-during-coronavirus-you-are-enough
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/little-house-calls/202003/parenting-during-covid-19
Virtual Schooling and Communicating with Teachers
The primary platform for home instruction is Google Classroom. The students use Google Classroom regularly during school and it is something they should be familiar with as we conduct virtual schooling. Students should check into their different google classrooms and complete assignments, discussions, etc that are there within the due dates. Generally, there are not specific times that students need to be on Google Classroom in the event there are limited devices in your home and students need to share. However, students are encouraged to create a schedule of the various assignments to complete. Teachers are available to contact via email and they have “office hours” organized by department.
State Shut Down and School Building Closed
Consistent with Governor Murphy’s order, the school buildings are closed until further notice. Students who had wanted to retrieve anything from a locker are no longer able to do so. Students are to continue social distancing to limit the possibility of the transmission of the coronavirus and limit contact with their friends to online transactions rather than in person meetings.
Free and Reduced Lunch
Meals are available for any Northern Burlington high school or middle school student. Please visit our website for more information or follow this link.
Course Selection for Students in Grade 8
Last week there were several live sessions by the Directors of Instruction regarding course selection for students entering high school. For those who were unable to join the Zoom meeting, there is a recording available here.
The following information may be useful as a reference to course selection. Here is a link to the slides HS POS Presentation 2020-2021 and the high school program of studies. In addition, there are a series of videos describing the different course options that can be found here.
NJSLA-Standardized Testing
State standardized testing has been cancelled. Students will not need to complete the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment (NJSLA) that had been scheduled for May.
Social Media
There are more tools being implemented to provide a broad overview of what’s happening at Northern Burlington, both on campus and virtually. Many of our parents and students are on Twitter. There are over 3,000 people following @NBCSuper and #NBNation is managing over 50 Twitter accounts specific to school programs. Are you and your children following us on Twitter? If you don’t have an account, this is the perfect time for you to start one. If you are having trouble your children can help you get started. Simply click on this link.
Have a good weekend.
Andrew Kearns, Ed.D.
Principal