High School Parent Message
September 16, 2022
Important Dates
Sept 19-22: Senior Portraits by appointment only - see below
Sept 28: PTSC General Meeting, 6:30 pm, HS Media Center
Sept 29: College Planning Night - see more information below
Oct 3-7: Spirit Week & Week of Respect
Oct 6: Open House
Oct 8: Homecoming Carnival, Game, Dance
Oct 10: No school for students - Staff PD
Oct 13: Financial Aid Night Presentation - see more information below
Oct 21: Early dismissal for students - Staff PD
Thank you!
Thank you to all that were able to attend our Back to School Night last night. It was great to see everyone in person this year. We had a wonderful turn out and were pleased that so many of you had the opportunity to meet the staff at NB. It truly does take a village and we look forward to working with our community. Please remember to join us on October 6th for our Open House. You should be receiving a “save the date” postcard shortly.
No Place for Hate
Hispanic Heritage Month takes place from September 15th-October 15th. Throughout this month, we will be celebrating the contributions Hispanic and Latinx people have made to our society. Spanish music will play in the morning leading up to homeroom, and our students will be posting a bulletin board highlighting famous figures, popular books, local Hispanic businesses, and resources where you can get more information. Our teachers were also given resources about Hispanic people who have made great contributions within their specific subject matter. Thank you for helping us celebrate this national month.
Message from the Cafeteria
In the event your student needs to charge lunch, the cafeteria will provide a basic lunch for them where the balance will be applied to the account for reconciliation at a later date. A complete basic lunch meal includes: the Main Entree, Fruit, Vegetable, Milk, and Juice. Please be advised that we do offer ala carte items that are not part of this lunch benefit but can be purchased if desired. Meal balances not fulfilled by the end of the school year will be treated as financial obligations for non-free and reduced lunch students.
College Planning Night
Please join the Northern Burlington School Counseling Department for the Annual College Search Night. Learn how the Counseling Department collaborates with your child to search for and apply to colleges. There will be an opportunity for Q & A.
College Search Night 2022 Flyer
Financial Aid Night Presentation
Seniors/Parents: Attend our Financial Aid Night on October 13, 2022, at 6:30 PM. This evening presentation is for our parents of the Class of 2023, we will have a speaker from HESSA (Higher Education Student Assistance Authority) who will provide a one-hour overview of the financial aid process and answer questions about grants, scholarships, and loans offered by the State of New Jersey. This session will help families feel more comfortable with the financial aid process and help with an understanding on how to apply for federal and state financial aid.
College Accelerated Program (CAP) Information
The Northern Burlington County Regional High School District has an agreement with Rowan College at Burlington County which enables our students to earn college credits for selected courses in which they are presently enrolled.
The DualEnroll system will open for the 2022-2023 academic year by the end of this month. Once DualEnroll opens, NB will be notified and share the updated instructions for the registration process.
The application deadline for credit for courses taken during the 2022-2023 academic year will be extended until mid to late November. Please visit the RCBC CAP Program page of NB’s website for information and directions.
Clinical Corner
Transitioning back to school can be anxiety provoking. A new environment, new responsibilities, and new people can be overwhelming to your child at this time. This can mean more unknowns, which can be scary. However, using some positive affirmations to keep you and your child calm and feeling more confident such as ¨This is hard, and I am getting through it¨ or ¨I am capable enough to handle anything that comes my way¨ can be helpful. Another antidote to anxiety is staying in the moment and focusing on just the task at hand. An example of this would be to say to yourself, ``Right now I just have to get to my locker or Right now, I just have to make my lunch for tomorrow." This article explains the benefits of mindfulness in more detail. : verywellmind.com
COMING SOON in October 2022 - Group Counseling for students after school - Northern Burlington School District has collaborated with First Children Services (FCS) to provide therapeutic mental health services in-person to our student via group counseling. This is a free 8-week group in-person after school support group for students to engage with a licensed clinician and their peers to discuss various topics in a safe space setting. The main topics will include mental health concerns, emotional regulation, gaining self-awareness, communication skills, and coping skills. If you are interested in having your child participate or have questions about the group, please contact your child’s School Counselor. Spaces are limited. Dates to be determined.
Advanced Placement Exam Registration
The portal for registering and ordering AP exams is now open. Please review this FAQ sheet for answers to the most frequently asked questions.
Assessment Schedule
During the course of the school year, students will participate in various standardized
assessments. Assessment Information and NB’s Assessment Schedule is available on the Office of Curriculum and Instruction website in the Student Assessment section.
Start Strong Assessments
This school year, the New Jersey Department of Education is again requiring school districts to administer the Start Strong Assessments. According to the NJDOE, “As a result of the disruption to education due to the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities to deliver instruction and support for learning acceleration remain a critical priority at the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE). Pursuant to the Commissioner's regulatory authority, local educational agencies (LEAs) are required to administer the Start Strong assessments as part of the overall Statewide assessment system.”
The Start Strong Assessments will provide teachers, students, parents and schools with meaningful data at the beginning of the school year that complements the data our teachers are already collecting, so that we may best educate our students in the 2022-2023 school year.
The Start Strong Assessments will measure the prior grade level standards. The following grades/subjects will be tested October 12-14 with make up testing to follow.
Grade 7: ELA 7, Math 7
Grade 8: ELA 8, Math 8, (ALG or GEO if applicable)
Grade 9: ELA 9, Math (ALG, GEO, ALG2), Science 9
Grade 10: ELA 9, Math (ALG,GEO, ALG2)
Grade 11: Math only if enrolled in ALG, GEO, ALG2
Grade 12: Science 12
The district will administer these tests in the first 90 minutes of the morning on October 12-14 and then will follow a modified schedule for the remainder of the school day. The assessments are digital and can be completed within 60 minutes. Students must bring their district issued charged Chromebooks to complete the assessments. Students who are testing are encouraged to get a full night’s rest, eat breakfast and arrive promptly at the start of the school day.
Please click on the link for further information about the Start Strong Assessments: New Jersey | Start Strong (mypearsonsupport.com)
NJ Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA) Results - Spring 2022
The district has received the Individual Student Reports (ISRs) from the Spring administration of the NJSLA. These will be mailed within the next week and the scores will also be available in PowerSchool.
Student IDs
It is very important for students to have their student IDs with them at all times during the school day. Student IDs are required for buying lunch, and other various reasons.
Chromebooks
We had significant issues with students not bringing their Chromebooks to school and not bringing them charged. We also had many students who reported that they lost their Chromebook chargers.
Please be aware of our updated protocol for the 22-23 school year:
Students are expected to bring their school issued Chromebook & charger to school
every day.
It is the students’ responsibility to have their Chromebook charged every day.
If a student does not have their Chromebook/charger, they will be sent to the main
office to call a parent/guardian to bring what they are missing.
Students who have non-working Chromebooks should report to the main office for a
loaner. When students receive their repaired Chromebook, it is expected that they return the loaner. Students will need their school ID for this process.
The cost to replace a charger is $35.
The cost to replace a Chromebook will depend on the age of the Chromebook.
Dress Code
Please be reminded that there is a dress code. Please review the following with your children and reference page 26 of the student handbook for the following information:
NO sheer clothing
Undergarments may NOT be exposed
Bottoms MUST touch tops
Bottoms MUST cover personal areas
Students in violation of the dress code will be asked to change their clothing. If they have nothing in their locker, they will call a parent/guardian to bring them appropriate clothing.
District Expectations:
How we treat one another at Northern Burlington is important and we want all of our students to feel welcome. We want to create a safe and orderly environment to promote the best opportunity for learning.. To that end, we have three key expectations in our school community. At Northern, our students will
Be Ready
Be Respectful
Be Responsible
As school begins we will be talking to the students about how those expectations apply in all the classrooms. Throughout the year we plan to revisit these concepts and reinforce them.
In addition, eliminating bullying is another key part of our expectations for student conduct. We will be setting up a variety of student activities throughout the school year to better educate our students on how to stop bullying.
Finally, our school has been recognized as a No Place for Hate school by the Anti-Defamation League. We look forward to continuing to earn this distinction through organizing different activities related to No Place for Hate throughout the school year. Look for updates in the weekly parent message that comes out every Friday via email.
Parent Email:
The school uses email communications on a regular basis so it is essential that the school has an accurate email address. Parents should log into PowerSchool to review the email address shown and update as necessary. Parents may enter more than one email address. Please note that adding an email address in the Parent/Student Portal does not change the email address on file in PowerSchool demographics, to do this you must email the school registrar your request.
School Lunches:
We have three cafeterias: West Cafe, East Cafe, and Main Cafe.
Students must stay in their assigned cafeteria & remain at the same lunch table.
Minimal outdoor seating will be available
Every day there are four lunch periods and each is 30 minutes long.
LUNCHES ARE NO LONGER FREE FOR ALL STUDENTS, The federal waiver allowing free meals for all students due to the coronavirus pandemic expired on June 30, 2022. We encourage all parents and guardians to complete a new 2022-2023 Application for Free and Reduced Price School Meals prior to the first day of school. The application can be found on our webpage under parent/student resources and at this LINK.
The cost for the regular school lunch is $2.90. Students will use their school ID to move through the lunch line. Parents are welcome to establish an online lunch account through the lunchtime parent portal found under Food Services on the parent/student page and at this LINK.
Students are welcome to pack their lunch, please no glass bottles.
Senior Parking:
Seniors are eligible to apply for parking on campus. Please find the link below for the 2022–2023 Senior Parking Application that can be accessed in Google Classroom.
All documents for parking should be emailed to wgupta@nburlington.com
If you have already applied and have been approved, you should have received a parking decal pickup information email from Ms. Gupta.
Senior Portraits
If your senior needs to schedule their portrait session for the first time, view this Senior Portrait Flyer for a session the week of September 19th - September 23rd. Students who have previously had their portraits taken and need to “retake”, each student is assigned an individual code. The codes only work once so retakes have to be scheduled over the phone with the number provided on the flyer.
If you need more assistance call the Prestige/Lifetouch support number 1-800-687-9327
COVID
Most of the COVID restrictions have been lifted. Masks are optional and there are no social distancing guidelines or contact tracing. However, students who are sick should remain at home. For those students who have symptoms that might indicate the potential of COVID, they will need to be tested before returning to school. COVID Testing can be done in the Doctor's office, community testing site or an at-home test with results provided to the School Nurse. If negative, a student may return when feeling well and has no sick symptoms. In cases where students do test positive for COVID, they will need to remain home for a minimum of five days. Students who test positive for COVID and return to school after five days are to wear a well fitting mask around others through the tenth day. Please contact our school nurse with any questions.
Other Important Information
Several important pieces of information are available on our district website at www.nburlington.com, explore, students & parents resources:
· District Calendar
· Free and Reduced Lunch Application
· Student Handbook
· Parent Teacher Student Connection (PTSC) Announcement: This is the parent group for
the school district.
· Medication at School Form: Must be completed in order for a child to take any medication
at school.
· Acceptable Use of Technology Policy
· Anti-Bullying Policy
· Asbestos Abatement Notification (AHERA) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Plan
· Health Insurance Brochure/Application
· Vaccine Information
Sally López, Ed.D.
Principal
Follow the Principal on twitter @nbc_hsprincipal
Follow the Superintendent on twitter: @AZUCK1
Webpage at www.nburlington.com