Middle School Parent Message 

January 8, 2021

Important Dates:

Week of January 11:  All Students Remote

Week of January 11:  Spirit Week

January 11:  Sports Jersey/Favorite Team

January 12:  Superhero Day

January 13:  Tie Dye Day

January 13:  Early Dismissal of Students/Staff Development

January 14:  Crazy Hair/Hat Day

January 14: Virtual High School Program of Studies Information Session 

January 15:  Blue and Grey Day

January 18:  Martin Luther King, Jr. Day:  School Closed

January 19: Hybrid Schedule (In-person Classes) Resumes

January 20:  Cohorts A&B Report for In-Person Classes (This is a Wednesday)

February 5:  End of Marking Period 2/Semester 1 Classes

February 8:  Marking Period 3/Semester 2 Classes Begins

February 15:  President’s Day:  School Closed

Good Afternoon:

 

2021 Underway:  The New Year is upon us. I hope everyone had a good winter break.  We will be operating remotely through next week and we will resume our hybrid instruction on Tuesday, January 19.

 

The Parent Engagement Committee:  The Parent Engagement Committee is hosting a virtual evening event for parents called “Distance Technology At A Glance” where parents will be guided on how to navigate the school website, PowerSchool, Google Classroom, and other various resources.  Please join us on Wednesday, January 13th from 7 to 8pm via zoomRSVP is required to receive the Zoom link the week of the event:  Click here to RSVP no later than January 8th.

 

Spirit Week:  The student government is sponsoring a virtual spirit week beginning Monday, January 11.  Admittedly, we could all use a boost in spirit.  The dress themes for each day are listed below and homeroom teachers will be taking pictures and counting participants as part of our Blue-Grey competition.  The Blue Grey competition is where every student is assigned to either the Blue team (last names beginning with the letters A-K) or the Grey team (last names beginning with the letters L-Z).  Points are awarded to each team based on participants.  In a normal year we would have further competitions throughout the year between these two teams, and we hope to do so this year.  We will announce a winner at the end of the year.

 

Spirit Week Dress Up Themes

Monday, January 11 Sports Jersey/Favorite Team

Tuesday, January 12 Superhero Day

Wednesday, January 13 Tie Dye Day

Thursday, January 14 Crazy Hair/Hat Day

Friday, January 15 Blue and Grey Day

 

Message from the School Nurse: The New Jersey Department acknowledges the state is in a "second wave" of coronavirus infections with transmission among school children often being without any symptoms.

Therefore, the NJDOH recommends no student should attend school with any COVID-19 like symptoms until they have either received a negative viral test (molecular or antigen) for SARS-CoV-2 or they have completed an isolation period of at least 10 days since symptom onset and at least 24 hours after resolution of fever without fever-reducing medications with symptom improvement. 

A Doctor's medical note without testing is no longer acceptable.

Please continue to share any COVID-19 cases or exposures with our school nurses. We ask that you directly contact your student’s nurse as this information is critical for monitoring community incidence & planning for safely keeping our school open.

 

Middle School:  Mrs. Theresa Pugliese :  tpugliese@nburlington.com 

 

Moving into the New Year, we will release any information about COVID-19 cases on Monday and Thursday as opposed to daily notifications.  

 

Ordering School Lunch for ALL Students 18 Years and under:  Please note that Lunches are FREE FOR ALL YOUR STUDENTS through the month of June 2021.  All NB students are remote through the week of January 11th 2021.  PLEASE CONSIDER ORDERING LUNCHES

Use the link below to place an order:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdSCfgxym6WPcJofHaCxJa5lS1jTZzsRyr2-UUxGsXWCpnxbg/viewform

 

NB has established MONDAY and TUESDAY for pick up of meals. We will extend our pickup window  to 10 am through 12:00 pm on Monday AND Tuesday as per the following schedule:

 

  • Monday 1/11

  • Tuesday1/12

The pick-up location is near the Middle School’s rear entrance (Middle School Door C-3 that leads into the teachers’ lounge) via the Island Road entrance and taking the 1st left to go toward the back of the school. Masks must be worn at all times and for social distancing purposes, NB will limit the number of people entering the middle school facility at one time.

 

From the Yearbook Staff:  The yearbook staff needs YOUR help in gathering photos from this year. Please consider helping us by uploading a photo or two each month to https://images.jostens.com/415623968.  Thank you!  

 

Don't wait, order your 2021 middle school yearbook before the end of the year. (The price increases to $55 on January 1, 2021.) Link to order a 2021 yearbook: http://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A09873596 

 

Do you shop on Shutterfly?  Introducing a great way to shop that also gives back. Create unique home decor and photo gifts through our custom storefront and Shutterfly will donate 8% of all purchases to our yearbook. Simply go to our Storefront before you start shopping. 

 

 http://nbcrmsyearbook.shutterflystorefront.com/

High School Program of Studies  and Course Selection for 2021-2022: The 2021-2022 High School Program of Studies is now available on the High School Counseling Department web page.  Additionally, we are excited to announce that course selection will occur electronically via PowerSchool. The High School Counselors will be meeting with students in January to facilitate this new procedure. 

SAVE THE DATE: Thursday, January 14, 2021

Who: Parents/Guardians and Students to prepare for high school Course Selection 

What: HS Program of Studies Information Session

When: Thursday, January 14th at 6:30 p.m

Where: Virtual

RSVP required to obtain meeting code

The Offices of Academics and Counseling are hosting a Virtual HS Program of Studies Information Session on Thursday, January 14th at 6:30 p.m to answer your questions about the Program of Studies and course selection for next year.  We ask that participants review the Program of Studies and view the video series BEFORE the meeting. 

Please, RSVP via this form, and submit any questions so that we tailor the presentation to meet your needs. 

Travel Advisories: Just a reminder that if your family traveled outside the immediate region (New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Delaware), please plan to have your student quarantine for 10 days.

Students are able to attend all of their classes virtually during that time, even if they are in the hybrid model.  In the event your child will be quarantining and attending school virtually during that time, please notify your child’s counselor. Please do not hesitate to contact our school nurse with any questions regarding the quarantine process.  A link to travel advisories is included below:

NJ Travel Quarantine Information.

 Health & Safety Reminders:

COVID-When to get tested 

COVID Cannot test out of Quarantine   

COVID-How-Long-Isolate-Quarantine

 

BCIT Presentation:   Students in 8th grade saw a video presentation about the Burlington County Institute of Technology (BCIT).  Application to BCIT is one of the options our students have for high school.  After the presentation, students with interest were encouraged to contact their school counselor.  The link to the presentation is here.

Calendar for Second Marking Period:  The calendar for the second marking period can be found at this link.  

National Honor Society Tutoring:  Is your child in need of some extra help?  NHS tutoring is here to assist!  Virtual tutoring will take place every Tuesday and Thursday from 1:30-2pm.  All you need to do is have the student who is in need of help email the NHS adviser at jnewman@nburlington.com and then the student will receive a link to the virtual tutoring session.

Parent Teacher Student Connection (PTSC):  Please remember to become a member of our organization this year. If you are already a member, thank you! You can access our link through the Northern Burlington site. Payments of $10 per family are accepted via check or through Paypal. It is important that we receive your contribution as this money is channeled back to our students in the form of mini grants, awarded to teachers for use in their classrooms,  as well as Scholarships granted to seniors. If you have a senior graduating in 2021 please make sure that your membership is received by us no later than February 26th, 2021 in order to be eligible. We can always be reached via email at nburlingtonptsc@gmail.com. Please stay safe!

***NOTE: We are hopeful that we may be able to have a clothing drive in the Spring of 2021***

From the Yearbook Staff:  The yearbook staff needs YOUR help gathering photos from this year. Photos of students working from home. Photos of students relaxing at home.  Please consider helping us by uploading a photo or two each month to https://images.jostens.com/415623968.  Thank you!  

Link to order a 2021 yearbook: http://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A09873596 

Health & Safety Reminders: 

It is important to emphasize a few points with regard to health safety.  Most importantly, students should not come to school if they are sick.  The remote option is available on a day to day basis if a student has any symptoms on the day he or she is supposed to attend school in person but can still attend school at home.  If you have any medical questions, please contact our school nurse at extension 4030. Covid Informational Flyers.

Winter Sports:  

Today, the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association, in coordination with the NJDOH and the NJDOE, released new start dates for Season 2, Season 2A, and Season 3. Northern Burlington plans to continue to follow the guidelines and recommendations established by the NJSIAA, for both our middle school and high school athletic programs. Please take time to read the following link, as it relates to our upcoming sports programs. 

We are now accepting Athletic Participation packets for the Winter Season.  A link to the packets can be found here.  The tentative start date for winter season practices is January 19th, 2021.

If your child’s physical exam is current and does not expire prior to 1/11/21, please complete pages 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 of the packet and submit them electronically to middleschoolathletics@nburlington.com   If your child is in need of a new physical, please contact your physician’s office at your earliest convenience to secure an appointment.  Please take page 3, 5 and 6 of the packet with you so that your doctor can complete the physical forms.  Please submit the entire packet (pages 1-7) electronically to middleschoolathletics@nburlington.com 

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. O’Neill in the Athletic Office at moneill@nburlington.com  or 609-298-3900, ext. 2093.

 Enjoy the weekend. 

                           

Andrew Kearns, Ed.D.

Principal