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MONROE TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Falcon Flyer Newsletter
DECEMBER 2018
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A Message From Mr. Robert Goodall
Monroe Township School District Acting Superintendent
On behalf of the Monroe Township School District, we extend the warmest of holiday greetings to all of our Monroe Township and Jamesburg community members. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and continued interest in our school district. The students continue to demonstrate success in and out of the classroom, achieving in the most rigorous of coursework, competitive success on our athletic fields and thrilling performances in marching band and drama productions. Our seniors at the high school are completing their college applications and we expect them to gain acceptance to some of the finest colleges and universities, allowing them to prepare themselves for success in the global economy. The investment by the community in our school district continues to allow our teachers and staff to engage our students, resulting in increases in student achievement and a preeminent education for all of our students.
As Acting Superintendent of Schools, my greatest joy is to visit our teachers and students in the classroom throughout the district. Teaching is a very challenging profession that requires a passion for working with all children and a committed patience to allow for each child to grow at their own pace and readiness. I want to applaud the efforts this month of our dedicated special education teachers, especially in our early elementary autistic programs. The district is committed to providing all of the support and inclusive learning opportunities for students with autism to succeed in their own neighborhood schools. The dedication of our teaching staff and the incredible collaboration with parents of these students resulted in our district providing in-district programs aimed to address the needs of our students with autism.
The success of our district continues to encourage young families to live in Monroe Township. The Board of Education and the administrative team continue to prepare for the influx of more students each school year. The overcrowding at our middle school and high school mandates an expansion of our school facilities. The Board of Education passed a resolution to seek a referendum vote for our community on March 12, 2019. Residents will be asked to vote on a two-question referendum, a choice between a combined new middle school/high school addition or support only the new proposed middle school.
The new middle school proposal remains unchanged on the previously mentioned Applegarth Road site. This referendum would also include the needed addition to our high school, which opened at capacity in 2011. This would allow the district to house the projected high school population of over three thousand students.
We are seeking your support for the new middle school and high school addition for the spring referendum on March 12, 2019.
Details for the referendum will follow shortly, upon the completion of all required NJDOE submissions and final cost determination to assess the tax impact for township homeowners. The administrative team and Board of Education will provide a list of public presentations on the referendum. If you or your organization is interested in hosting a presentation please contact me at (732) 521-1500.
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Download the MTSD District Mobile App TODAY!
Stay up to date with Monroe Township School District Events and Information!
Use the links below to download the
FREE
mobile app to your mobile device.
IOS App Store:
Monroe Township School Dist. by SchoolInfoApp, LLC
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Stay connected & up to date on information, events and happenings!
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REGULAR SCHOOL DAY SCHEDULE TIMES:
| Applegarth |
9:05 am - 3:34 pm |
| Barclay Brook |
9:05 am - 3:34 pm |
| Brookside |
9:05 am - 3:34 pm |
| Mill Lake |
8:50 am - 3:19 pm |
| Monroe Township High School |
7:27 am - 2:00 pm |
| Monroe Township Middle School |
8:10 am - 2:39 pm |
| Oak Tree |
8:55 am - 3:24 pm |
| Woodland |
8:10 am - 2:39 pm |
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| December 21, 2018 |
4 Hour Session - All School |
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December 24-31 2018
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All Schools Closed
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January 1-2, 2019
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All Schools Closed
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Monroe Township School District
BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING DATES
December 19, 2018
January 3, 2019 (
Reorganization meeting)
Board of Education meetings are held at
Monroe Township High School in the Media Center at 7pm
*Additional Board of Education meetings will be scheduled in January 2019
Committee meetings will be held on December 11, 2018
Committee meetings are held at the Board office
Personnel - 4:00pm
(*Not open to the public)
Building Grounds & Transportation - 5:00pm
Policy - 6:00pm
Finance - 7:00pm
Curriculum Committee Meeting-December 19, 2018 at 5:30pm
held at Monroe Township High School
in the
Media Center conference room
For more information about the Monroe Township Board of Education
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Monroe Township High School Booster Club Calendar Raffle
The Monroe Township High School Booster Club awards over $5,000 each year to graduating Senior Athletes. Our goal is to increase the number of scholarships awarded each year. In order to help us achieve this goal we are running a
Calendar Raffle.
Each raffle costs $15 and you have 90 chances to win between January 1
st
, 2019 and March 31
st
, 2019. One winner every day! Prizes range from $25 to $75. Over $2,900 in prizes will be awarded. If you win, your ticket will be put back in so you can win again!!!
They make great stocking stuffers, holiday gifts or just some fun for you. Get them before December 26
th
, 2018.
We would really appreciate your support!
If you would like to purchase a
Calendar Raffle
respond to this email or contact:
When you receive your raffle, complete the bottom portion and return with payment to Nancy Schieda at MTMS. Checks can be made payable to MTHS Booster Club.
Thank you for your support!
Happy Holidays!
Monroe Township Booster Club
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Jamesburg Recreation Floor Hockey 2019 Registration
Come join t
he fun as it's time to sign up for the Jamesburg Recreation
Floor Hockey
league, which is played at the Grace M. Breckwedel middle school gym in Jamesburg. This is for ages K-8
th
grade. No experience required. We have extra equipment if needed. Registration will be at the Jamesburg Borough Hall (131 Perrineville Rd) on Thursday, 11/29/18 from 7pm-9pm. If you can't make it on that date, you can sign up at the Jamesburg Borough Hall up until December 31
st
during business hours. The league will start on Saturday, January 5
th
and end on Saturday, March 2
nd
. The cost is $35. Don't miss it! Any further questions please contact Greg at [email protected].
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Oak Tree Students Celebrate World Kindness Day
By Dawn Marie Kappus
Tuesday November 13th marked World Kindness day. On this special day, teachers and students took the time to express how someone showed them kindness or how they showed kindness to someone else by using kindness cards. The students really enjoyed this so we are extending it throughout the whole month of November. What a great way to show how kindness can positively impact those around us.
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Oak Tree Highlights Dyslexia Awareness Month
By Dawn Marie Kappus
Oak Tree created a special display to recognize Dyslexia Awareness Month during October. It served as a way for teachers and students to gain more information about something that affects so many people.
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BALLOONS OVER OAK TREE
Have you heard of Tony Sarg? Ask any third grader at Oak Tree Elementary School and they will tell you who he is. This past month, Oak Tree third graders learned about the magic behind the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Students participated in several read-alouds, including "Balloons Over Broadway, the True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade," written by Melissa Sweet. Students learned about Tony Sarg, the puppeteer who has helped create magic on Broadway each year for Thanksgiving. Students learned how the floats evolved from marionettes to the high flying balloons sailing down the streets of New York City each year on Thanksgiving.
After learning about Tony Sarg, students were then presented with a STEAM challenge created by third grade teacher, Bryanna Kirner. Students watched a short informational video about how the floats are engineered, from a drawing to the finished product you see each year on TV. Students discussed how the floats were modeled after current and popular book or movie characters, so that the audience would be interested year after year. Students were then asked to help design and build a scale model of a balloon float for the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Certain guidelines were placed on the challenge. For example, the float had to be between 18 and 22 inches tall, which integrated measurement skills. Floats also had to have at least one part that moved or could be operated like a puppet, integrating science concepts.
Some of the materials for the challenge included construction paper, string, a balloon, tin foil, brass fasteners, and cardboard. The students were sent off to design their ideas for a new float. Students worked together in small groups to then construct the float. Throughout the engineering process, students changed their float designs until they found what worked just right, as real engineers do.
The third grade teachers at Oak Tree were so impressed with the ideas the students came up with! To show off their hard work and creative designs, third grade teachers displayed the students' floats in the hallway for our second annual "Oak Tree Thanksgiving Day Parade." Classes took turns walking through the hall to view the floats created by themselves and their classmates. Third graders here at Oak Tree have a lot to be proud of. Awesome job, third graders!
"Every little movement has a meaning of its own." - Tony Sarg
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MTMS NEWS
MTMS, Mrs. Lubrani's TV Production 7
th and 8
th grade students volunteer after school hours and hit the fields to practice their hands on camera skills creating LIVE to tape FALL SPORTS coverage. Next stop for their footage will be the lunch room TV's! Athletes and TV students alike love to see their accomplishments rolling during lunchtime!
MTMS 6th Grade Halloween Dance
Happy Halloween from the MTMS evil queen and her staff!!!!!!!!
On November 6, 2018 the MTMS Veterans Committee hosted a school wide Veterans Assembly. We were honored to have five veterans from different branches of the military present as our guest speakers, including our very own Mr. Patrick Nortz. Mrs. Schmetterer and her talented chorus students kicked off the assemblies with an exceptional performance of The Star Spangled Banner. Each veteran shared stories and experiences from their years of serving our country. During the question and answer session, students asked many thought provoking questions of these brave men who described the sacrifices they made, as well as the life lessons they learned along the way. After the presentations, each grade level was sent to "boot camp" in the gym, coordinated by Mrs. Misty Corbisiero and the Physical Education Department at MTMS. The students were able to participate in exercise and obstacle course activities similar to those performed by military in training. Chef Patrick Baez and his group of culinary arts students created, prepared and served a scrumptious feast for the veterans. We are looking forward to having our guests join us once again on June 6 for a culminating activity in saluting our military veterans. Our very special thanks to our committee organizer Mrs. Pauline Amabile and her team, Mrs. Ashley Buehler, Mrs. Mary Jo Giancola, Mrs. Tracy Campbell, Mrs. Christine Viszoki's AVID students, Mrs. Casey Scasserra and her students, and so many others for making this such a wonderful day!
Congratulations to Mrs. Nina Schmetterer's chorus students, Gargi Chitre, Anjana Kottaiveedu, Nidhi Nimmala, Ishani Rameshbabu, and Jordan Viszoki for being accepted into the OAKE National Choir. The conference will take place in Columbus, Ohio, March 2019.The mission of OAKE, the Organization of American Kodály Educators, is to support music education of the highest quality, promote universal music literacy and lifelong music making, and preserve the musical heritage of the people of the United States of America through education, artistic performance, advocacy and research.
A special thank you to MTMS Paraprofessional, Ms. Lisa Nelson, for her tireless efforts in the pop tabs collection campaign, "A Million for Michelle," a popular slogan throughout Monroe Township. This past summer, Monroe Township Schools collected ONE MILLION Pop Tabs!
The First Lego League (FLL) Robotics competition took place on November 17 for MTSD 5th and 6th graders, coached by parents, Ravi Saxena and Arun Tripathi. The rookie team took the Championship Runner Up title, the first for MTSD. Congratulations! MTMS sixth graders, Krish Saxena, Shaan Thaper, Sanya Thaper, Madison Chen and 5
th grade teammates will be moving on to the States, December 8 and 9. The students worked relentlessly to make it happen. During the course of this journey, they had a chance to interview the Astronaut Scott Kelley via Video Conference and visit the NASA facility in Long Island for a private learning session. It has been a very enriching experience for the team. We are excited for their achievement and wish them success in their future competition!
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MILL LAKE SCHOOL
In honor of Veterans Day, the students in Ms. Papandrea and Ms. Pandolfi's first grade class usually write letters and make pictures for our nation's veterans. This year, in addition to letters and pictures, their class invited the veterans of Monroe
Township's
American Legion Post 522 to Mill Lake School. The students shared their knowledge and admiration of the veterans through pictures and songs including The Grand Ole Flag, God Bless America, and Thank You, Veterans. They also presented the veterans with an American Flag they created.
The veterans answered questions from the students about the American flag, the Constitution, and of course, their uniforms! The veterans demonstrated the symbolic folding of the American Flag and then surprised the class by giving them a brand new American Flag!
The first grade students worked very hard and were extremely eager to share a special morning with Monroe Township's veterans. A huge thank you to American Legion Post 522 for participating in such a meaningful celebration!
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NEWS FROM BROOKSIDE SCHOOL
Circular ABC
There is a new magazine at Brookside! It is a themed monthly publication, full of student-written articles, interviews, puzzles, poems, stories, contests, and more! The first issue was a big hit in October, and now all fourth graders have a chance to contribute! The November issue will go home just in time for Thanksgiving (the theme is gratitude), and many talented students will get to see their names in print!
BROOKSIDE'S HALLOWEEN ASSEMBLY
Brookside's Halloween fundraiser assembly was another SMASHING success! Mr. Pepe, Ms. Canzano, Ms. Levinson, and Mr. Tortoriello bravely volunteered to get a pie-in-the-face to help Student Council raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House of New Brunswick. Throughout the month of October, Brookside students filled jars with teachers' names on them with spare change, raising more than $300 to help provide a home-away-from-home for families of children who are in the hospital. Those teachers getting pied raised the most money for the cause. The assembly took on an extra-spectacular note this year, as Ms. Griffin led the entire room in Mindful Movement to Brahms' Waltz in A-flat and Kovalevsky's Pantomime in which students became zombies rising from the grave!
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APPLEGARTH ACHIEVES ONE MILLION POP TOP TABS
Monroe Township hits the million! A few years ago Mrs. Michelle Furnari, a beloved 5th grade teacher, introduced Applegarth Elementary School to the Ronald McDonald House Pop Tabs Program. These tabs come from something as simple as soda cans, soup, and other canned goods. They are then converted into money to help pay for the housing and food for children needing medical attention with family by their side. At every Ronald McDonald House (RMH), families are able to enjoy home-cooked meals, private rooms, and play areas for children. Mrs. Furnari had a strong belief that spending quality time with family helps in the healing process of any child battling an illness so she was determined to help make a difference.
When Michelle brought this wonderful program to AES, she encouraged all students and staff to collect pop tabs throughout the year, even in summer months. Everyone helped to make this a success, especially Mrs. Bonnie Essig and Ms. Stacy Fleisher who aided in the weighing process.
After Michelle's passing, Ms. Lisa Nelson spread the word to all other schools and assisted in the collection of pop tabs throughout the district. "A Million for Michelle" became a popular slogan seen all over schools. This past summer, with the donation of an anonymous friend of the Furnari family, Monroe Township Schools finally collected ONE MILLION pop tabs!
Ms. Nelson and Mrs. Voza coordinated a special visit from NJ RMH representatives. In recognition of Mrs. Furnari's accomplishment, she and her family were honored with a plaque at an assembly at Applegarth School on October 23, 2018. Chris Furnari, Michelle's husband, presented a heartfelt speech thanking all who participated in the collections. The collection of pop tabs will continue throughout Monroe so Mrs. Furnari's legacy lives on as we strive for another "Million for Michelle."
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MTHS CHEER
Congratulations to Captains
Nicole Ryan and Paris Harrington
for being selected the NJCDCA All State recognition. Making them two
of the top 20 cheerleaders in the state and
MTHS firsts in over six years.
Way to Go Ladies...... Go Falcons!!!!!!
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In celebration of American Education Week, parents of Woodland Elementary School were invited to the school for various activities such as STEM, math Thanksgiving, reading and Lenape Wigwam projects & activities.
Below are pictures from Mrs. Cote / Mrs. Hoskins & Mrs. Rutherford /Miss Matacchiera's class participating in the Lenape Wigwam projects with their children.
Student Council and Character Crew have coordinated several different fundraisers such Thanksgiving Food Drive and Pennies for Patients to name a few. In addition, Mr. Schultz and Ms. Freedman coordinated Thanksgiving Holiday Poppers for the FEEDing Frenz Soup Kitchen.
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"Save the Turkeys" Escape Room at Oak Tree
By Bryanna Kirner and Angela Winther
This Thanksgiving, third graders were challenged to use problem solving skills and multiplication strategies to "save the turkeys" from being eaten! Mrs. Winther and Miss Kirner's classes paired up to complete this challenging math puzzle. Since the two classrooms are just across the hall from one another, students were put in mixed class groups with 3-4 kids, and then were challenged to search for clues in both classrooms during the 45 minute long "escape room."
Each of the 11 groups started off with a story card that explained the goal of the challenge. After that, they solved multiplication problems that they found in their first "clue envelope." The answer from their first multiplication problem gave the students the clue they needed to open the second envelope, and so on.
Some of the clues required students to use critical thinking to solve a riddle. The riddle gave a hint as to where in the classroom the next clue was hidden. For example, one of the clues directed children to look "under the place where unwanted things go." Students reasoned that this probably meant underneath the trash can, since unwanted things get thrown away, and looked there to find their next clue envelope.
T
he students had a lot of fun working with students from other classes, moving between the "turkey trail" connecting classrooms, and practicing their multiplication skills! We loved celebrating Thanksgiving with this activity, and are looking forward to more themed escape room activities in third grade! Happy Thanksgiving!
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SAVE THE DATE for the
10th Annual Oak Tree/Applegarth PTA TRICKY TRAY!
April 12, 2019 at Forsgate Country Club
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Check Out What's Happening At The
MONROE RECREATION CENTER
DECEMBER 2018
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Check out FALCON ZONE
School Store for all of your FALCON merchandise!
Order Online & Pick-up at MTHS!
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MTHS College & Career Counseling Center (CCCC)
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STAY CONNECTED with ATHLETICS
Get the latest information on the
Monroe Township School District Sports Programs
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MTHS ATHLETICS ON "SCHEDULE STAR"
View
"SCHEDULE STAR" to keep current with upcoming athletic events at Monroe Township High School!
Enter Monroe Township HS in the search box for daily, weekly & monthly schedules.
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Student Registration & Documents
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Stay up to date on
township/district concerts, sports & special events!
Check out the Monroe Township PEG Channel with videos on demand!
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Monroe Township School District | 423 Buckelew Avenue | Monroe Township, NJ 08831
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