MTPS Pride Newsletter: A Learner-Centered Community Newsletter.

Community members interested in learning about the registration process for the Middletown Township Public Schools' Kindergarten Program are invited to the MTPS Kindergarten Registration Information Meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. via the District Zoom platform.


MTPS Preschool Open House  Please Attend... Parents with children who will be three years old by October 1, 2023 may be interested in enrolling in Middletown’s Preschool Program. Please join us for an open house where we will provide information about our program. ● Meet our Preschool Staff ● Hear about enrollment procedures ● Learn about our engaging activities and curriculum ● Take a virtual tour of one of our preschool classrooms.

Obszarney Wins Monmouth County Swim Championship

During the Jan. 7 Monmouth County Championship meet, High School South junior swim sprint specialist Amelia Obszarny finished atop the field in the 50-yard freestyle race with a time of 24.79. Obszarney was the only swimmer in the competition to break 25 seconds, outpacing the second place finisher from St. Rose, Molly Cullen (25.35). Obszarney followed up her championship victory with a second place showing in the 100-yard freestyle event with a time of 55.40. Eagles sophomore Siara Celentano notched a pair of second place finishes in the long-distance 500-yard freestyle event (5:17.88) and the 100-yard backstroke (1:00.19).

High School North Thespians Earn State Recognition

Earlier this month, High School North Drama Club troupe members Ava Giglia, Rebecca Grodek, Sealth Grover, and John Martin were honored during the New Jersey Thespian Festival for performances that earned superior ratings. After earning the mark, the group is now invited to compete at the national competition on the campus of Indiana University.


The New Jersey Thespian Festival is the state’s largest annual theatre event. Students have the opportunity to participate in a number of technical and performance-based workshops, audition for collegiate scholarships, observe main stage performances and compete in a multitude of individual and group events.

Bayshore Band Completes

Annual Winter Tour

The Bayshore Middle School Band recently completed its 14th annual winter tour, in which the ensemble’s 60-student musicians loaded up their gear and hit the road, bringing songs of the season to Bayshore’s four sending elementary schools: Bayview, Fairview, Leonardo and Navesink.


“Our performers received a warm, homecoming welcome at each school, and all the young audiences displayed stellar concert etiquette,” said Bayshore Band Director Monica Alexandre.

On behalf of the Bayshore Band, Alexander extended a special thanks to the volunteers who supported the musicians, as well as to each school’s administrative team, educators, support staff, and custodial staff for helping to bring this tour to fruition.


“The Winter Tour is one of our program’s highlight events, and we look forward to many more years of rocking the house and inspiring future generations of fine arts supporters,” said Alexandre.

MTPS Resource Center:

School & Community Mental Health

This space is dedicated to the promotion of mental health resources in our schools and local community. Please refer to the district site for a comprehensive list of resources: Mental Health & Community Resources


Are you concerned about your child’s screen time?  Are you interested in ways to cultivate healthier habits regarding the use of technology? Dr. Delaney Ruston, MD has some practical suggestions for families, such as establishing time limits of use, tracking usage, and tech-free periods of time throughout the day. For more information and insight, read Dr. Ruston’s article "New Year, New Tech Habits."

MTPS Food Services Sesame Allergen Information

The official implementation of the FASTER Act on January 1, 2023 raised many questions and concerns for food manufacturers, specifically bread companies, in response to this new regulation. As communicated in May 2022, Whitsons proactively added the 9th allergen of sesame as a call-out in Dine Central. All products that already contained sesame as an ingredient had sesame tagged as a major allergen. At the same time, we also removed sesame oil as an option from our recipes to further reduce the occurrence of this allergen in our meals.


The addition of sesame as a major allergen posed a problem for several bakery manufacturers. Due to certain production and processing procedures, many bakery manufacturers concluded that they could not effectively eliminate the risk of cross-contamination with sesame and/or sesame-based ingredients.


While there are several operational and food safety steps that can be taken to eliminate the risk associated with food cross-contamination, these steps and expenses are at the discretion of the manufacturer to take if they so desire.

  

At this time, Whitsons partners with Rockland Bakery to supply the District’s bread products, and was informed that the vendor has decided to reformulate its products to contain sesame as an ingredient so that sesame may be claimed as an allergen on its labels.


For more information about how the FASTER Act is impacting food services in our District, please review these Sesame Allergen FAQs.

Board of Education Introduces New Members at Reorganization

During the Jan. 5 Board of Education Reorganization meeting, Leonora Caminiti, Joseph Fitzgerald and Gary Tulp took the oath of office, formalizing their general election victories in November.


This year will mark Mrs. Caminiti's 19th year of service as a Board of Education member, while Mr. Tulp and Mr. Fitzgerald will sit on the dais for the first time.

Mr. Tulp is an attorney by trade, who represents large organizations in high-stakes litigation, and manages sizable operating budgets. Mr. Fitzgerald is a United States Marine veteran and an entrepreneur, who founded and manages several technology-based organizations. Both have elementary-aged children attending school in the district. Mrs. Caminiti has served as a real estate agent in Monmouth County for nearly three decades, and has helped implement a multitude of successful programs for the district during her time on the Board, including our full-day kindergarten program.


During the meeting, the Board voted for Frank Capone and Jacqueline Tobacco to retain their positions as president and vice president, respectively.


"My highest priority this year is to continue to be the pioneering board for board of educations across the state," said Mr. Capone. "We will ensure that we continue to deliver the quality, Middletown-approved education for all of our children. We will remain an advocate for all of all children, parents, and tax payers, and we will continue to fight for the aid that we deserve to educate our children equally. We have great things on the horizon for 2023. I am humbled and honored to lead one of the largest and greatest school districts in the state of New Jersey, and will always put our children first."

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