Superintendent's Spotlight

March 2023

Superintendent Update


Spring is Almost Here!



Spring will arrive on March 20 and we have been very lucky to avoid any emergency closing days so far! If our luck holds out, our last day of school for both DLCs will be Monday, June 12, 2023. Our extended school year is from June 28, 2023 through Wednesday, August 9, 2023. You can always find our 2022 - 2023 and 2023 - 2024 school calendars here and on our website.


 DLC Warren’s Aquatics Center Closed for Repairs


A supply grill for the ventilation system fell down in the Aquatics Center. Out of an abundance of caution, the MUJC has closed the DLC Warren’s Aquatics Center until all the grills have been inspected and resecured, if necessary. We know how much your children enjoy the pool, however, the safety and security of your children and our staff is our primary concern. Thank you for your understanding and we apologize for the disappointment this may cause your children. We will keep you informed when the pools are likely to reopen. If you have any questions, please contact your principal or me.

What’s Happening at the DLCs


Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Week March 6 - 10, “Uplifting Hearts, Connecting Minds”


During the week of March 6, DLC - New Providence students will be making their own emojis related to the zones of regulation and naming their feelings! They will also experience some calming/reset strategies as part of the DLC- New Providence toolbox.


There will be a variety of activities at DLC - Warren during the week of March 6 leading up to SEL day on March 10. A daily morning announcement will be read by a student that connects to SEL. A  list of planned activities at DLC - Warren is below:


  • Students and staff will write SEL skills on leaves and create a SEL Tree, which will be displayed on Main Street.


  • Dance-A-Thon SELebration -  The performing arts facilitator and students have been working hard to practice their dance moves for our Dance-A-Thon. Students will be dancing to SEL songs, such as  “The Sound of Sunshine” and  “Can’t Stop the Feeling.”


  • Buddy Art - The creative art facilitators will be working with students in creating pictures to brighten another classmate/friend’s day. Students will then deliver their drawing to a classmate or a friend in the school.  


  • Mindful Minute - at the end of each day students and staff will participate in a mindful minute.


DLC - New Providence


Read Across America, March 2


To celebrate Read Across America on March 2, speech language specialists will create reading activities related to selected books for students. Older students will be reading to younger classes. Each classroom will focus on a book for the month and will dress up like the characters in the book for the culminating activity at the end of the month.


Pajama Day, March 3


On Friday, March 3, DLC - New Providence will have Pajama Day. Students can wear their favorite pajamas and read books related to snow days for our in-school Snow Day! 


Arbor Day Tree Planting Program, March 15


Some DLC-New Providence students will be attending a training session on trees while other students will be participating in planting an Eastern Redbud Tree on the DLC - New Providence property.


Irish American Heritage Month Celebration, March 17


Students are invited to wear green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Students will be making shamrocks and drawing pictures or writing words to represent their favorite activities, food, or toys.

DLC - Warren


Spring Transition Fair, March 9


DLC - Warren’s Transition Coordinators are proud to present this year’s Spring Transition Fair on Thursday, March 9, from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. in the MUJC’s Professional Development Center located at 340 Central Avenue, New Providence. Please refer to the flyer for further details. On behalf of Matt, Ray, and the attending organizations, we look forward to seeing you there!


Nutrition Week, March 13-17


Students will be participating in activities such as completing nutrition puzzles, reading and watching videos about healthy and unhealthy eating habits, food groups, and food pyramids. 

vegetables_basket.jpg

Digital Learning Day, March 15


Digital Learning Day celebrates teaching and learning through digital media and technology. Students will participate in a digital scavenger hunt, virtual pictionary games, virtual musical chairs, and virtual puzzles.


Beach/Luau Theme Selected for Prom, May 25, 2023


The votes are in and this year's theme for the Prom is beach/luau. Our prom will be on Thursday, May 25, 2023 and will be held in the cafeteria at DLC- Warren. More information will follow.


Technology Tips


Safeguarding your identity online should not be as hard as it is, but it’s easy to get lazy when coming up with passwords for all the different websites that we encounter — at least the ones that require us to open an account. In an age where it’s no longer safe to establish accounts through our social media profiles, the odds of password reuse will only go up.

This is a mistake.



Tech-savvy individuals have built programs that can crack a simple password in a matter of minutes. If you use the same password for all your accounts and you bank online or pay any kind of bill online, that can leave your data incredibly vulnerable for misuse.

To safeguard your identity and maintain control over all your accounts, you should use complex passwords for every site where opening an account is a prerequisite. Additionally, you should use something called two-factor authentication so that any access to an account requires another form of verification through a device that you keep on your person.


With two-factor authentication, it becomes much more difficult for hackers and identity thieves to do their thing, and most won’t even bother because they realize there are easier targets more worthy of the time expenditure.


Additional tips to safeguard your identity:

  • Don’t let people look over your shoulder when entering a PIN number at the point-of-sale in a brick-and-mortar store.
  • Never click a link sent to you through an email.
  • Never open a file if you’re not sure where the source comes from.
  • Limit access others have to your computers and devices.
  • Shred all documents that have an account number or social security number.

Transition Talk


Self Advocacy and Its Importance

Self-Advocacy may include the ability to do the following: learning how to speak up for yourself, making decisions about your life, or learning how to obtain information on items that are of interest to you. It may also involve the ability to find out who will support you on your life’s journey, knowing your rights and responsibilities, problem solving, listening and learning, reaching out to others when you need help, friendship, and learning about self-determination.



Self-Advocacy skills are learned and practiced daily by all students at both DLC sites. Students are provided choice making opportunities within the school, in community settings, while creating daily/vocational task schedules, and with individual student lunch options. DLC staff members strive to help their students understand and use this life long concept in their everyday situations. Families are encouraged to use role playing scenarios/contrived situations that prompt a student’s need to ask for help or communicate for a desired item as a simple way to reinforce a students self -advocacy skills and abilities. The more our school community works together on building and growing each student’s self-advocacy skills across all environments, the more confident and independent our students will be in their communities.

Important Reminders:


March 30, 2023 Parent Teacher Conferences-12:45 p.m. dismissal for students



April 3 - 7, 2023 Spring Vacation



Dr. Janet L. Fike

Superintendent

Morris-Union Jointure Commission

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