Middle School Parent Message
January 29, 2021
Important Dates:
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
February 17: Student Picture Make-up Day
February 18: Student Picture Make-up Day
Calendar for 3rd Marking Period can be found at this link.
March 19: Early Dismissal of Students/Professional
Good Afternoon:
Winter Storm: The weather forecast calls for the possibility of snow on Sunday night/Monday morning. While no decision has yet been made, please know that one possibility is that the district may operate entirely remote on Monday if the weather conditions warrant that step. If we are remote on Monday, then remote lunch pickups will be available on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.
Students and families should be prepared for this possibility as well as more traditional school responses to winter weather.
Student Pictures: Student pictures were distributed this week. For students attending in person, the pictures were distributed in homeroom. For those students attending all remote (Cohort E), the packages were mailed home.
For those students who missed having their picture taken or need to have them retaken, the dates are February 17 and 18. Students attending in person will receive a pass/email with the day and time to have their photo taken. (Those wishing retakes will need to bring their unwanted photo package with a letter from their parents requesting the retake to the main office on February 17 or 18 to receive a pass.)
Students in Cohort E will need to make an appointment to come to the school in the afternoon of February 17 or 18. The appointments will be between 12:40 pm and 3 pm. Cohort E parents who would like to have their child’s picture retaken, will need to sign-up for an appointment. Cohort E students will need to bring the unwanted photo package with a note to give to the photographer at the time of the appointment. Here is the link for Cohort E parents to sign up: https://tinyurl.com/Remote-Makeup-Picture-Day
Semester 2 Begins February 8: The second semester will begin on February 8. For most classes there will be no change. However, for semester classes such as ELA Composition, Geometry and Probability, and many of the electives, there is a change in courses. Students should be sure to check their school email accounts late next week for a message from their new teacher and directions for how to join the new Google Classroom.
Third Marking Period: Surveys for preferences the third marking period were due this week. Thank you to those who responded. If you did not have a chance to respond, it will be assumed you wish to continue your status from the second marking period. Students in Option A (Hybrid) who do not consistently attend school for in-person instruction will be transferred to the remote cohort for the remainder of the marking period. In addition, please note that students enrolled in Option B (100% Remote) will remain in that model for the entire third marking period and will not be allowed to switch to Option A (Hybrid). This is essential for the school district’s ability to plan.
A significant change for the third marking period will be in the structure of Wednesdays. All students will remain remote, however, there will be an expectation that they attend all of their classes virtually, just as they would on other days of the week and attendance will be taken for all classes. There will be a special schedule for Wednesday where all eight classes will meet and the schedule is noted below:
Middle School | Wednesday ALL STUDENTS REMOTE |
7:30-8:05 (35) | Homeroom Period 1/2 |
8:10-8:40 (30) | Period 3/4 |
8:45-9:15 (30) | Period 5/6 |
9:20-9:50 (30) | Period 7/8 |
9:55-10:25 (30) | Period 9/10/11 |
10:30-11:00 (30) | Period 12/13 |
11:05-11:35 (30) | Period 14/15 |
11:40-12:10 (30) | Period 16/17 |
12:10 -12:40 (30) | Lunch |
12:40-2:38 | Independent Work/ Teacher Office Hours |
Physical Education Classes: Beginning Monday, February 1, our physical education classes will begin to use sports equipment for our in-person students. The Physical Education department understands that health and safety are extremely important and have developed a plan to facilitate distribution, usage, sanitization, and collection of equipment throughout each school day. Students who do not yet feel comfortable handling equipment will be given an alternate activity/assignment that corresponds to the lesson of the day.
New medical guidelines have been issued at local and nationwide levels recommending any person who has been Covid-19 Positive or presumed (suspected) Covid-19 Positive must be medically cleared after COVID-19 infection and before participation in sports, gym, or any school physical activity to rule out the risk of potentially dangerous post-Covid cardiac complications.
If the above pertains to you, please have your parent/guardian reach out to the school nurse.
Yearbook Deadline: The yearbook staff needs to submit the number of books for the 2021 yearbook at the end of January. Once we submit our number of books, it cannot be changed. In order to make an informed decision, we need your help. The 2021 yearbook is a 116-page full-color hardcover book with a 16-page world events insert. This student-created yearbook includes student and faculty portraits, submitted pictures from remote students, pictures of students on campus, sports action photos, and quotes from students. Link to order a yearbook: http://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A09873596
The students of the Yearbook Club have put together a brief Survey about purchasing the yearbook that can be found at this LINK.
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!
Start of Winter Sports: Winter Sports at the middle school started on Tuesday, January 19th. Schedules, cohorts, procedures, and schedules are communicated via the sport-specific google classrooms. If you have any questions regarding boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, or cheerleading, please visit our coaches’ contact page - https://www.nburlington.com/o/nbc-ms/page/contact-coaches.
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.
New medical guidelines have been issued at the local and nationwide levels recommending any person who has been Covid-19 Positive or presumed (suspected) Covid-19 Positive must be medically cleared after COVID-19 infection and before participation in sports, gym, or any school physical activity as there is a risk of post-Covid cardiac complications. Please contact the school nurse with any questions.
Ordering School Lunch for ALL Students 18 Years and under: Please NOTE: Our pickup window is 10 am through 11:15 am on Mondays and Tuesdays.
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. PLEASE CONSIDER ORDERING LUNCHES. Use the link below to place an order:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdSCfgxym6WPcJofHaCxJa5lS1jTZzsRyr2-UUxGsXWCpnxbg/viewform
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.
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.
New medical guidelines have been issued at local and nationwide levels recommending any person who has been Covid-19 Positive or presumed (suspected) Covid-19 Positive must be medically cleared after COVID-19 infection and before participation in sports, gym, or any school physical activity to rule out the risk of potentially dangerous post-Covid cardiac complications.
Middle School: Mrs. Theresa Pugliese : tpugliese@nburlington.com
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 Cannot test out of Quarantine
COVID-How-Long-Isolate-Quarantine
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 or tpugliese@nburlington.com . Covid Informational Flyers.
District Technology Presentation: For those of you who could not attend the virtual parent event on January 13th here is a link to the recording of the presentation. It will also be available on our website.
District Technology at a Glance
NB Greenhouse Fundraiser: Fresh Honeybell tangelos have sold out, but there are other varieties to order until 2/5. Or, Valentine's gifts from See's Chocolates (ends 1/29). Just click the pics and thank you for supporting our NB Greenhouse Club. If you should have any questions, please contact Keith Dannucci at Kdannucci@nburlington.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 Grade 8 during early March.
Here is the recording of the High School Program of Studies Information Session hosted by the Offices of Academics and Counseling on Thursday, January 14th which will also be posted on the HS Counseling page of the website.
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***
Clinical Corner Spotlight: How to Be a Good Enough Parent in Stressful Times: Live Discussion with Betsy Brown Braun - The election. The pandemic. The shorter, colder days. The grief. The uncertainty. It seems that EVERYTHING is stressful right now. How can we get through the next few months (or even this week?) without completely losing it? How can we prevent the cycle of yell-guilt-grump? How can we possibly continue to show up for others when it feels like everything is crumbling in our lives? Watch/listen to the discussion with author and parenting legend, Betsy Brown Braun, for her no-nonsense tips and perspective on how to keep going as a "good enough" parent. Tune in for information, validation, and her signature humor to get us through the next few days, weeks and months. Please click the link to access the recorded discussion: https://vimeo.com/476367941
Community Request for Emergency Services Volunteers: Please take a moment to review the following request from our local fire departments and EMTs.
January 14, 2021
Dear Community Members:
I hope this message finds you well. I am the Fire Chief of the Franklin Fire Company No. 1 of Columbus, New Jersey as well as a resident and taxpayer in Mansfield Township. Our regional community has a long history of volunteerism in the Fire and Emergency Medical Services. However, we are in a period of extreme need for volunteers in these services and I am asking for your help. We need members! We all know how important our front-line medical personnel and first responders have been, and still are, during this pandemic. I am reaching out to you in hopes that we may work together to fill this need while providing opportunities for our young local citizens.
In years past, our Emergency Services members were able to participate in career day at Northern Burlington County Regional High School. Additionally, in the past we have solicited for volunteers at homecoming carnivals. Unfortunately, with the changes the School District has experienced due to COVID-19, those opportunities have gone away. We have all learned that we must think outside the box and get creative during these times and we have asked the school district to assist us with communicating the needs of each township’s volunteer Fire and EMS service by posting this letter on the district’s Facebook page and sharing this letter with parents and students. Many of our students may not know of the opportunities that may open for them by joining us and beginning a potential career as a volunteer Firefighter or Emergency Medical Technician.
Furthermore, creating a larger volunteer base will provide a financial benefit for the community as we are all fighting for local funding. While career personnel will create even more of a need for local government tax dollars, volunteers are VERY cost effective. The local governments may save money while providing opportunities for community members.
We are asking you to reach out to your students and family members to communicate our needs and the opportunities that are available. Each Department has a website and email address for potential members to read about our services and reach the appropriate contacts. A list of those agencies is listed below.
I have confidence that by working together and reaching out to the entire local community to solve our goal in keeping our community safe and healthy, we will not only help the local emergency services, but our students and community alike.
Respectfully,
Douglas J. Borgstrom
Fire Chief, Fire Official, Fire Sub code Inspector, Emergency Management Coordinator
609-298-5325x102 Office
http://www.ctfd1.org/ Chesterfield Township Fire
recruit@jacobstownfire.org North Hanover Fire and EMS
http://www.springfieldtownshipnj.org/departments/fire/ Springfield Fire
http://www.mansfieldfire.com/ Mansfield Township Fire
http://wrightstownborough.com/index.php/government/public-safety
Enjoy your weekend.
Andrew Kearns, Ed.D.
Principal