September 15, 2023
Good Afternoon,
Here are the weekly updates from the middle school:
Mark Your Calendars for Important Dates:
Sept. 21: MS Back to School Night: In person, 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Oct. 9: No School for Students
Oct. 12: High School Open House (open to 8th graders, the class of 2028)
Oct. 17: Middle School Picture Day
Back to School Night: The middle school Back to School Night is Thursday, September 21, from 6:30 pm to approximately 9:00 pm. This is a night for parents to visit with the teachers who are working with their children and learn about the different courses and programs offered at Northern. The schedule for the evening will be as follows:
6:30 pm to 7:00 pm: Welcome and program overview in the cafetorium
Bell Schedule for Classroom Visits
Class Period | Starts | Ends |
1/2 | 7:05 | 7:14 |
3/4 | 7:19 | 7:28 |
5/6 | 7:33 | 7:42 |
7/8 | 7:47 | 7:56 |
9/10 or 10/11 | 8:01 | 8:10 |
12/13 | 8:15 | 8:24 |
14/15 | 8:29 | 8:38 |
16/17 | 8:43 | 8:52 |
In order to prepare for the evening, you will need to access your child’s schedule on PowerSchool for the order of classes and the room numbers. For the evening, during the classroom visits, you will follow your child’s schedule and simply skip the lunch period. So please take a few moments to ensure you can access your child’s schedule on PowerSchool and are able to identify the room numbers. Of course, the best person to ask for assistance will be your child if you are not sure of the schedule and location of the different classes.
We look forward to welcoming the parents of our students at Back to School Night. Please note that this is a program for parents. To ensure enough space in the classes, we prefer that students remain at home.
Breakfast & Lunches: We are concerned that students who might qualify for free or reduced breakfast/lunch have not submitted an application to receive this assistance. We do not want any children who might need this service to have any difficulties in getting their breakfast/lunch. If there is any doubt, please be sure to complete the application. The application can be found on our webpage under parent/student resources and at this LINK.
After School Activities: After school clubs, activities, and sports are underway. We encourage all of our students to find something to get involved with as they begin the school year. The primary method of communication for club and activity meetings is through the morning announcements and these same announcements are posted on PowerSchool in the Daily Bulletin and their respective google classrooms. Students should listen carefully to the daily announcements for information on these events.
For students participating in a fall sport, they need to have submitted both the sports participation information and physical online, and been cleared by our school doctor. Parents received an email indicating that their child has been cleared to participate. Unless students are cleared, they cannot stay for an athletic practice or play in a game. Any questions, please contact the respective coach.
NHS Tutoring: Is your child in need of academic support? Members of the National Honors Society provide tutoring to all Northern Burlington students. Middle School students can attend tutoring after school on Mondays and Wednesdays starting on September 25 in the Greyhound Learning Center. Interested students simply need to sign up during lunches..
Clinical Corner: Like it or not September keeps rolling and with it comes all the activities, sports and schoolwork to balance! It is so easy to get overwhelmed. Encouraging your teen/student to talk about what they have to manage and making a visual list and calendar can help break that mountain of obligations into chunks. Acknowledging their stress and then going into action mode can be very helpful. You might say, “Ok this is a lot! Let's see how you can chip away at it. Everyone gets the same 24 hours so how do you need to spend yours in order to feel good?” Supporting your teen or student by letting them know that you have confidence that with the right tools they will figure it out is very validating. Here is a list of organizational apps for students from William and Mary College. They sound like they would be good for adults too, especially the ones that help you put your phone down and focus for greater productivity. This list is just a sample of what’s out there. Ideally, we all want time to work for us not against us. And if we could slip some sleep into those 24 hours that would be great too but that’s for another time!
COVID Updates: Our school guidelines, with regard to infection control and preventing illness in school, have not changed. Please continue to keep students home for any sick symptoms. Please continue to report any positive COVID infections and Flu infections to your school nurse. Nursing will work with you and Administration to ensure that students home sick have excused absences. While COVID infection incidence is low, boosters are still reformulated for variants and recommended.
Layered COVID Protection Strategies:
Vaccination
Testing when COVID Compatible sick symptoms occur
Masking when exposed and/or recovering.
*IF COVID Positive:
Individuals who test COVID Positive should: Stay home & isolate for at least 5 full days from onset of symptoms or 5 days from date of positive test if asymptomatic.
May return Day 6 if fever free for 24 hours and have no symptoms/improving symptoms but are recommended to wear a mask when around others for an additional 5 days or until they test negative using two antigen tests collected at least 48 hours apart starting on day 6.
*IF EXPOSED to someone with COVID:
Quarantine is no longer recommended for people who are exposed to COVID-19 as long as they remain asymptomatic.
COVID testing is recommended for anyone who is symptomatic. Please see the guidelines below for anyone experiencing sick symptoms."
Students/staff with sick symptoms should stay home.
If symptoms are COVID Compatible, student/staff should have at least one negative COVID test result (recommended 2 negative COVID tests 48 hours apart) and improvement/resolution of sick symptoms before returning to school.
Reminder of what is still considered "COVID Compatible" sick symptoms for which individual should have a COVID Test:
• At least two of the following symptoms: fever, chills, shivers, muscle aches, headache, sore throat, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, congestion or runny nose; OR
• At least one of the following symptoms: new or worsening cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or sense of smell.
A Message from FEMA: September marks National Preparedness Month, the annual recognition to remind our New Jersey communities how important it is for individuals, families, and communities to prepare for disasters and emergencies that can happen at any time. The Office of School Preparedness and Emergency Planning (OSPEP) has partnered with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 2 to host a webinar on September 19, 2023, from 5 PM – 6 PM focused on basic preparedness steps, including building a kit, family communication, pet preparedness, financial preparedness and building community resilience.
Webinar Details: Date: September 19, 2023 Time: 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM Registration: https://fema.connectsolutions.com/getprepared/event/registration.html
Northern FFA Fall Plant Sales: The Northern FFA Chapter will be holding 3 Fall Plant Sales during the month of September & October. Please see the flier for sale dates & times. Horticulture students have been working hard over the summer propagating, planting, and growing fall crops - including mums & pansies! This year we are happy to offer a unique selection of plants to our customers. We look forward to seeing you during the plant sale days! In addition to the sale dates below, the greenhouse will be open for plant sales during the High School Back-to-School Night on Thursday, September 14th from 6:30 pm-8:30 pm and at the HS Open House on Thursday, October 12th from 6:30pm-8:30pm.
Address: Northern Burlington County Regional High School, Greenhouse Complex, 160 Mansfield Road East, Columbus, NJ 08022
Have a great weekend and see you at back to school night next week.
Andrew Kearns, Ed.D.
Principal