NBCMS

March 4, 2022

Dear Parents and Guardians:

Here are the weekly updates from the middle school:

Middle School Student Course Selections:  DON’T FORGET! All course selections are done electronically through PowerSchool.  The Parent Portal opened on Wednesday, February 23rd for current 7th grade students (Class of 2027) to select their courses and will close on Friday, March 11th. The instructions for course selection can be found here.

For our current seventh graders, the middle school counselors will begin meeting with students individually on Monday, March 14th to finalize their selections.  Students will be sent a pass from their counselor with an appointment time.   

Middle School Program of Studies 2022-2023: Next year’s Program of Studies is now available on the Counseling webpage.

AF JROTC Information for Grade 8 

Northern Burlington County Regional High School has a nationally award-winning Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AF JROTC) program, Unit NJ-20171. Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, NB AFJROTC expanded its program enrollment to include students in Grade 8; it has been a TREMENDOUS success!  JROTC combines classroom instruction with service to the nation, school, and community; extracurricular and social activities; and opportunities to take on leadership roles.  AFJROTC class includes three components - Aerospace Science, Leadership Education, and Health and Wellness. A retired Officer, the Senior Aerospace Science Instructor (SASI) and retired Non-Commissioned Officers, the Aerospace Science Instructors (ASI) share the teaching, administrative, and supervisory responsibilities of the AFJROTC program. Upper class cadets manage the unit including planning, organizing, coordinating, and decision-making, under the supervision of the AFJROTC instructors. 

 

Please watch this video introduction https://bit.ly/NBAFJROTC to learn more about enrollment for Grade 8.  Please send questions to the program contacts: Captain Sean P. Hoggs (Ret.) at shoggs@nburlington.com or Dr. Amy Stella at astella@nburlington.com  

 

Book Fair: Thank you to the PTSC for sponsoring this week’s book fair.  A special note of appreciation to all the volunteers who gave of their time so the students could have a book fair this spring.

Revised District Calendar for 2021/2022 as of February 22, 2022.

PTSC Meeting: All parents are invited to a PTSC Meeting on Wednesday, March 16th from 6:30pm-8:00pm in the Middle School Cafetorium. The purpose of this meeting is to review and discuss the most recent revisions to NB’s “Safe Return Plan,” NB’s NPFH Club, and NB’s Health Curriculum.  Dr. Sarruda will join district administrators and faculty to discuss concerns and recommendations.

COVID Precautions:  This was the last week where masks were required in our school.  Beginning Monday, March 7, masks will be optional.  In addition, as a result of new guidance issued last Friday by the CDC, masks will also be optional on school buses.  (This last note about buses is a change from what we shared last week.)  In concluding this phase of pandemic precautions, we want to acknowledge the cooperation and support of our students in implementing the masking requirement for the last year and a half.

As we move toward this next stage it is important that students recognize that each will make their own choice regarding whether they wear a mask or not, and it is important that we respect each others’ choices without bullying, harassment, or other unkind actions.

The school district has ceased contact tracing tracing in school.  Of course, students who contract COVID should still remain home for the required isolation period.  

While we look forward to the decreasing incidence of COVID-19 infections in our community, it is critical to maintain our basic prevention strategies as reinforced in the latest NJDOH Guidance:

Parental Symptom Screening 

Parents/caregivers must continue to monitor children for signs of illness every day prior to leaving for school as they are the front line for assessing illness in their children. 

Students who are sick should not attend school.

COVID-19 Compatible SICK Symptoms that indicate school absence and a COVID Test:

• At least one of the following symptoms: new or worsening cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste and/or smell OR

• At least two of the following symptoms: fever, chills, shivers, muscle aches, headache, sore throat, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, congestion, or runny nose

Any questions, please contact our school nurse, Ms. Pugliese tpugliese@nburlington.com.  

 

Burlington County COVID Vaccination Sites: The CDC continues to recommend vaccination as the best way to prevent the spread of COVID.  Please see this LINK regarding more information on vaccination sites in Burlington County.

If you need it, the Burlington County Health Department is offering walk-in testing for COVID.  Please follow this LINK for location and information. 

Looking to Spring Sports:  We are past the due date to accept spring sports packets.  Any submitted after this point may not be cleared in time for students to participate in tryouts or practices.  The anticipated start date is March 14, 2022 for spring sports.  

 

Organizational meetings were held over the past two weeks for the various spring sports.  Students were given information about how to join Google Classrooms for the teams as well as information on the start of practices.

Clinical Corner Spotlight

  • Building Character in Teens by Dr. Ken Ginsburg.  People with strong core values make the greatest contributions, have the best sense of self, form the most secure and healthy relationships, and build the strongest communities. They are also happiest and often feel gratified and successful in life. People with strong character strengths are more resilient because they have the ability to return to a set of core values during trying times. Adults must notice and nurture adolescent’s inherent character strengths and can teach and reinforce others. We do so best when we model good living. And with good modeling, we can be pretty sure our children will develop strong character strengths themselves. We are positive role models when we show our young people that we constantly work to improve ourselves, and that it’s okay to have flaws.  At the Center for Parent Teen Communication (CPTC), we are committed to helping parents support the development of the 7 Cs.  Click the link to access a quick video on Character (The Seven C's of Resilience) Character video or use this link to access the full article: Building character in teens link

  • The Nurtured Heart Approach (NHA) trainings are being held through Partners For Kids and Families, in 2022.  Please see link for the flyer - NHA calendar link.  All trainings are virtual.  For those who need a refresher on what NHA is: “The Nurtured Heart Approach consists of a set of strategies that assist children and adults in further developing self-regulation and has been found to be effective with individuals of all ages. It focuses on transforming the way someone perceives themselves, and the world around them.”

  • Care Solace helps our Northern Burlington community find mental health care providers and substance use treatment centers. Their Care Companion™ team is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and 365 days per year to quickly connect you to carefully verified providers in your community. Students, staff, and families may access Care Solace services in two ways:

  • Call (888) 515-0595 at any time. Support is available in 200+ languages. A dedicated Care Companion™ will help you every step of the way to research options, secure appointments, and follow up to make sure it is a good fit.

  • Are you or your children in need of winter coats? Generations has new winter coats available in sizes 2T to adult XL.  Please call 609-267-4001 to make an appointment to come in & pick up coats.  

  • Looking for parent support for your child with special needs? The Mom2Mom Helpline connects parents of children with special needs to our trained counselors who are also parents.  Talk to someone who understands you and your family.   Call 1-877-914-MOM2 (1-877-914-6662).

Looking for financial assistance, food pantries, medical care, and other free or reduced-cost resources: https://www.findhelp.org/

Important Dates:

Revised District Calendar as of February 22, 2022.

March 7:  PTSC meeting MS Main Office Conference Room, 7pm

March 14: MS Spring Sports Begin 

March 15, 16 & 17:  Regular School Day for Middle School Students

March 16:  PTSC General Meeting, MS Cafetorium, 6:30 pm (see article above)

March 18:  Early Dismissal of Students/Staff Development Day

March 31:  End of Q3

April 1:  Beginning of Q4

April 14:  Early Dismissal/Beginning of Spring Break

Have a good weekend.

Sincerely,

Andrew Kearns, Ed.D.

Principal