April 28, 2023
Middle School Parent Message
Good Afternoon,
Here are the updates from the middle school:
Spring Concert Season: The spring concert season is nearly upon us. Both the choral and instrumental music programs will be holding their annual spring concerts. Both are open to the public and will be held in the middle school cafetorium with a start time of 7 pm.
Chorus Thursday, May 11
Band Wednesday, May 17
Hope to see you there.
Take Your Child to Work Day: Last Thursday, April 27, was Take Your Child to Work Day. If your child participated, please be sure to contact our attendance secretary, Ms. Comisky, at ycomisky@nburlington.com Any documentation related to an absence on that day should be forwarded to her electronically or it can be dropped off in the main office.
NJSLA Testing: Next week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, middle school students will be participating in the state New Jersey Student Learning Assessment or NJSLA. The assessments will be in the areas of Math and English Language Arts. Just a few reminders:
Students should be sure to get a good night’s sleep and a good breakfast to be well prepared for the assessments.
Students should bring recreational reading for use after their room has completed the testing.
Students need to bring their CHARGED Chromebook since the testing will be done on these devices.
Those three days will be early dismissal for students (12:05 pm) and there will be no after school activities.
No Place for Hate Activity: Next week, mainly after testing and in social studies classes, we will be doing a school wide No Place for Hate activity. The focus will be on the concept of stereotypes. Activities include watching the Disney movie, Zootopia and follow up discussions about stereotypes, especially as they relate to the movie and common gender stereotypes. The materials for the activities can be found at this LINK. Any questions, please contact me.
Clinical Corner: Teen Depression Part II: In the last entry, symptoms of teen depression were discussed. I wanted to elaborate more on that. According to last week’s article from the Mayo Clinic, “teen depression isn’t a weakness or something that can be overcome with willpower-it can have serious consequences and requires long term treatment. Some behavioral changes not mentioned previously are social isolation, frequent complaints of body aches, poor school performance or attendance, risky behavior, and lastly self-harm such as cutting. For most teens, depression symptoms ease with treatment such as medication and psychological counseling.” If symptoms are persisting and are interfering in your teen’s life, your family doctor is a good place to start, or the school may be able to recommend an outside provider who can help. If you are concerned for your child’s safety, you can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As for causes, Dr. Meeks states that it’s amazing more teens are not depressed based on the challenging transition they must all navigate from childhood to adulthood. His book, High Times, Low Times: The Many Faces of Adolescent Depression goes into more detail about the developmental struggles teens face.
The good news is that it can be treated and the earlier it is caught the better the outcome.
IN-PERSON WORKSHOP: YOUR MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID
Presenter: Dr. Bobbie Downs
Target Audience: All School Staff, Parents/Guardians
PARENT/GUARDIAN/COMMUNITY TRAINING: May 16, 2023 5:00-9:00 pm
About the Workshop: Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health of addiction challenge or is in crisis. Youth Mental Health First Aid is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people. The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 50 step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance abuse, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD), and eating disorders.
All participants that attend will receive a nationally recognized certification and will be registered in the Youth Mental Health First Aid national database.
About the Presenter: Dr. Bobbie Downs is currently the Director of the Child Study Team, Related Services, and Educational Services Unit of the Burlington County Special Services School District. She also facilitates the Burlington County Professional Development Institute and Burlington County School Crisis Response Team. Dr. Downs decided to pursue a career in education after serving as a teacher and administrator in a school for Sudanese refugees in Cairo, Egypt. Since that time, Dr. Downs served in the role of teacher and administrator at the Burlington County Alternative School before being named Director of the ESU. Dr. Downs received her Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Master's Degree in Teaching from Drew University. Later, Dr. Downs earned her Master degree in School Leadership and her Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from Rowan University. Dr. Downs also holds a Graduate Certificate of Autism Education. She is a certified mindfulness instructor for Mindful Schools and an instructor for Youth Mental Health First Aid. Dr. Downs is an active member of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association and the Council for Exceptional Children. She also works for the Korean War Legacy Foundation and the World History Digital Education Foundation with the goal of helping educators teach more about the war and the past, present, and future development of Korea.
PARENT/GUARDIAN/STAFF TRAINING: May 16, 2023 5:00-9:00 pm
BCSSSD Media Center
Offered at no cost to parents/guardians in Burlington County
Please click here to register.
A Message from your Northern Nurses: With the onset of Spring, hopefully we will continue to see declining numbers of sickness in our community. Please continue to carefully monitor your student and keep him/her home for any sick symptoms.
Please do not send students with sick symptoms to school.
Even though the community incidence rates are lower, the state requires that we track the number of COVID and Flu cases in our community and we will work with you and Administration to ensure students that are home sick have excused absences.
The Burlington County Health Department has announced their next round of immunization clinics. Please see the information HERE for times and location.
Contact our school nurse with any questions, tpugliese@nburlington.com.
PTSC: Family Color Blast Run originally scheduled for Saturday, April 29 has been postponed until the Fall.
We are still looking for volunteers for the Senior Citizen Prom (scheduled for May 6). The sign up genius link for activities is on our website or email us at nburlingtonPTSC@gmail.com and check out our website (www.nburlington.com/page/ptsc) for more information.
Northern FFA Spring Plant Sale: The Northern FFA Chapter will be holding its annual Spring Plant Sale days during the month of May. Horticulture students have been hard at work seeding, planting and transplanting in the greenhouse. This year we are happy to offer an expanded selection of plants to our customers. We look forward to seeing you again during this year's plant sale days!
Click HERE for more details. To see the price list, click HERE.
Relay for Life: From May 20th at 6:00 p.m. to May 21st at 6:00 a.m. we will gather on the football field to raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society! The night is spent celebrating survivors, supporting cancer patients, and remembering friends and family. There are also events and games all night long, and you can spend the night hanging out with your friends and family. All are welcome!!!!
Meeting Schedule:
May 9, 2023 - 6:00 PM (Room 110)
May 20-21, 2023 - Relay for Life (6:00 PM to 6:00 AM)
If you have any questions or you would like to be a part of the Relay for Life of Northern Burlington Committee, please contact Lori Nadolny (lnadolny@nburlington.com ) or Dr. Sally Lopez (slopez@nburlington.com ). If you would like to participate in Relay for Life by creating a team or joining a team, please visit the website: https://relayforlife.org/NB
Reminders:
Student Pickup: In the event that a student must leave school before the conclusion of the school day they may only be picked up by a person that is listed in PowerSchool as a parent, guardian or emergency contact. All persons will need to present picture identification prior to the release of a student. Any changes to this information must be completed IN WRITING PRIOR to the day of implementation.
From the Athletic Department: Online registration is now open for the Summer Fitness Club. Any student, grades 9 through 12 in the 2023-24 school year, wishing to participate in Summer Conditioning must complete the online registration form. https://northernburlington-ar.rschooltoday.com/
Please contact Mrs. O’Neill in the Athletic Office at moneill@nburlington.com if you have any questions.
Important Dates:
Apr 29: Band Booster Designer Bag Bingo Flyer
Apr 29: PTSC Color Run (postponed until Fall 23)
May 2, 3, & 4: NJSLA/Early Dismissal of Students
May 8 through 22: PTSC Clothing Drive
May 11: Middle School Choral Concert
May 17: Middle School Instrumental Concert
May 25 & May 26: NJSLA/Early Dismissal of Students
May 29: School Closed for Memorial Day
Have a good weekend!
Andrew Kearns, Ed.D.
Principal