NOTE: This survey is ONLY for families of students currently receiving full-time remote virtual instruction. Please complete a survey for EACH of your students receiving full-time remote virtual instruction.
We are looking ahead to Phase 5 of our Reopening of Schools Plan in which those families who initially chose for their student(s) to receive full-time remote virtual instruction will have the option for their student(s) to return on campus for in-person instruction.
Please be advised, the anticipated date of Phase 5 is on/around Nov. 16. Advancing to Phase 5 would occur after a study of community and regional data trends related to COVID-19, and careful consideration of any new guidance provided by the Department of Health.
To assist administration and teaching staff with planning for additional students participating on campus in-person in Phase 5, we are asking families of full-time remote virtual learners ONLY to indicate their intention upon a transition to Phase 5.
Please be aware that students participating on campus for in-person learning may always pivot to full-time virtual learning at any time. Students who are participating in a full virtual model may resume on campus in-person instruction at the start of Phase 5 OR wait until the next scheduled re-entry date of February 1.
Survey Deadline: Wednesday, Oct. 28th at midnight.
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NJSIAA Allows for Two
Post-Season Football Games
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In addition to the six-game regular season football schedule permitted under the State of New Jersey's Return to Play plan for the fall season, the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) has permitted football teams to participate in two post-season games.
These two additional games brings the full season total to eight, which matches the number of games in a traditional regular high school season.
According to District Director of Athletics, RichCarroll, groupings for what is titled the "NJSIAA Post Season" will consist of four teams of similar competitiveness.
The NJSIAA grouping committee will announce matchups for the "NJSIAA Post Season" on Nov. 8th, and games will be played the following two weeks on Nov. 13th and Nov. 20th. That schedule is listed below.
Nov. 13 Group Games
Team A vs Team B
Team C vs Team D
Nov. 20 Group Games
Winner of "Team A and Team B" vs Winner of "Team C and Team D"
Loser of "Team A and Team B" vs Loser of "Team C and Team D"
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District Earns NJSPRA Recognition for Reopening of Schools Website |
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On Friday, Oct. 16th Middletown Township Public Schools was recognized by the New Jersey School Public Relations Association (NJSPRA) during the organization's annual School Communications Awards presentation.
"Our School Reopening Website provides extensive, up-to-date information to our school community on our phase-in reentry plan, progress toward our goals, resources, and much more," said Superintendent of Schools, Mrs. Mary Ellen Walker. "I thank Mr. Chris Rotolo for his work creating and maintaining this valuable information hub for our parents, students and staff."
When the site was launched in August, it served as a pivotal information hub for district families and personnel, offering the school community a user-friendly format to analyze and interpret the many facets of our Phased Reopening of Schools plan.
As we prepare for Phase 5 of the reopening plan, the site continues to evolve with new information, district communications and additional updates made in real time.
Be sure to check the MTPS Reopening of Schools Website as we continue to progress toward Phase 5.
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Elementary Special Area Classes Return for In-Person Learning on Oct. 26th |
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Our students have done an outstanding job acclimating to the health and safety measures included in our district’s reentry plan, including building tolerance and stamina for mask wearing.
Therefore, students will begin to participate in live special area classes during previously scheduled “Wellness Breaks”, beginning Monday October 26.
Teachers will continue to bring students outside to the greatest extent possible and have them maintain social distance so that students can remove masks. However, the primary use of the time will be for instruction in special area classes. A separate recess/snack period will continue to be scheduled for all students.
Lessons done during in-person specials will complement what is posted on the PE/Health, Art, Music and Spanish teachers’ Google Classrooms each week. Students who attend school on campus will be scheduled for in-person instruction for Physical Education, and either Art or Music, until we return from winter recess.
Asynchronous elementary Spanish lessons will be posted for all students as has been the routine since the start of the school year. Full virtual students can continue to complete asynchronous special area lessons for all classes as posted on the special areas teachers’ Google Classrooms.
The District plans to implement our regular six-day rotating special area schedule after winter recess. Between January and June, all students will participate in Health/PE, Music, Art, Spanish and Digital Literacy & Design classes. More details about special area schedules will be communicated as we get closer to Phase 6 and winter recess.
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Access the Oct. 28th
Board of Education Meeting
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Please join us on October 28th for a Board of Education Workshop/Voting Meeting. Executive session is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. The public meeting is scheduled to begin at approximately 8 p.m.
Please follow the link, or the U.S. dial-in phone option, to attend.
YouTube: If you do not wish to participate via the Zoom platform, the meeting will be streamed live on the district YouTube channel.
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Relaunch of MTPS LinkIt Student and Parent Portals |
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The District is extremely excited to announce the re-launch of the MTPS LinkIt Student and Parent Portals.
Many parents created accounts through the Student/Parent Portal in the Spring of 2020. LinkIt has since changed how they present data to students and parents, and have created separate Student and Parent Portals.
Over the following weeks, LinkIt will directly email all parents/guardians whose email addresses are stored in PowerSchool. These emails will include a unique registration code, link to the Parent Portal, and instructions for creating an account.
If you need assistance upon receiving your new registration code, or if you don’t receive an email with a registration code by November 9, please contact Director of Staff Development and Special Projects, Devyn Orozco, at orozcod@middletownk12.org.
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District Resolves Intermittent Connectivity Issues |
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The district administrative team would like to thank our staff, students and families for persevering through intermittent connectivity issues experienced earlier this week.
On October 21st, District Network Administrator David Siwiak reported that "the changes we made (on Oct. 20) to address the conflict between Google Chrome OS 85 and our wireless controller were effective."
Following the implementation of this fix, Mr. Siwiak and members of the district technology team continued to monitor the District's network throughout the school day, and reported that our wireless connectivity remained 100 percent stable.
"To ensure that this is the only issue that has been causing our connectivity
disruptions, we will be gradually adding all the equipment and services that have been altered during the course of the troubleshooting," said Mr. Siwiak.
District technicians, as well as the support engineers involved, will continue to monitor our network for any anomalies each day until all systems are brought back online.
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North News Scores Interview with Acclaimed Filmmaker Kevin Smith |
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High School North News anchor, Sophia Haber-Brock, recently ventured to Red Bank to provide coverage of the pop-up restaurant Mooby's, a fictional fast food burger chain in Kevin Smith's cinematic universe.
Smith is a native of the Borough of Highlands, and filmed his breakout 1994 film Clerks at the the Quickstop convenience store located in the Leonardo section of Middletown. He has also filmed portions of followup feature films at sites in Red Bank, Fair Haven, Asbury Park and Brick Township.
While on site at Mooby's, Haber-Brock spoke to Smith about coming back home to launch his pop-up restaurant, as well as the opening of SmodCastle, a podcast production hub situated next to the Quickstop convenience store.
The SmodCastle project is spearheaded by Smith and longtime collaborators Ming Chen, a fellow podcasting star and television personality, and Eddie O'Donnell, an actor, writer and director. Haber-Brock discussed with all three the challenges of developing this venture in the midst of the COVID-19 health crisis.
Watch the full episode of North News to see Haber-Brock's time with Smith, as well as additional segments related to the opening of the new school year.
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Social-Emotional Wellness Website Developed for MTPS High Schoolers |
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This digital library of resources and supports for high school students and their families is designed to offer aid to individuals navigating a multitude of social, emotional and health-related experiences.
The MTPS High School Student Assistance Website is an extension of the support offered by our district's student assistance counselors, and includes helpful resources related, but not limited to, the following topics:
- Mental Health
- COVID-19
- Vaping
- Grief
- Alcohol
- Heroin/Opiates
- Social Media Awareness
- Intervention Resources
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MTPS Educators Get Big Lift for Small Group Work with Breakout Rooms |
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Earlier this week Middletown Township Public Schools, a Google Suite Enterprise for Education district, supplied its staff with a digital tool to enhance the learning experience of students during our phased reopening plan.
Breakout Rooms for Google Meets is a new feature that allows educators to create and engage with students in multiple meeting rooms within a single Google Meet.
By assigning specific groups of students to these virtual rooms, teachers can encourage collaboration and small group work between peers that are working both on-campus or from a remote location.
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Fairview Garden Yields 100 Pounds of Food for Donation to Backpack Crew |
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What began as a passion project for students and families of Fairview Elementary School has transformed into something greater.
In recent years, the school's community garden has served as just that; a means to help feed local residents in need.
The garden took root in 2016 with grant funding provided by nearby supermarket Whole Foods.
In its earliest days, the produce yielded was offered to those families who helped tend the patch. Since then the school has supported non-profit community partners like Lunch Break, and now the Back Pack Crew of Red Bank.
To learn more about the cultivation of Fairview's community garden, pick up this week's edition of the Two River Times Newspaper at your local market, deli or convenience store, or visit TwoRiverTimes.com.
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Nut Swamp Bird Watchers Receive Special Message from South Africa |
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Located in the lobby of Nut Swamp Elementary School is a high definition monitor focused on a colorful array of exotic birds native to South Africa.
The display features a live feed of the Allen Birdcam, a static video camera shot of a feeding station in a suburban garden situated in Peoria, South Africa.
The garden attracts birds and other small wildlife like wild bushbabies (Galago primates), large spotted genets (similar to a mongoose in the wild cat family) and night time visits from families of fruit bats.
Recently, the curator of the garden sent a special message to Nut Swamp students, as you can see in the top right corner of the featured photo.
Nut Swamp earned the certification following the transformation of its campus into a sanctuary that supports the health and wellbeing birds, butterflies, bees, frogs and other local wildlife.
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WATCH: Oct. 6th Parent Information Committee Meeting Video |
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On Tuesday, Oct. 6th the District's Parent Information Committee met with members of the administrative team and Board of Education President Pamela Rogers to discuss various topics, including procedures and practices regarding positive cases of COVID-19 in our schools.
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Tech Tips: Best Practices for
Improved WiFi Connectivity
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- Reboot Your Chromebook nightly to clear the memory by pressing and holding Refresh, while tapping the Power key one time. Finally, release both keys
- Close any unnecessary tabs to free up resources.
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Check your router location. Walls, appliances, additional connected electronics, ductwork and distance of your student's Chrombebook from the device will all reduce signal strength.
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Run a bandwidth speed test. If upon completing your bandwidth test you find your download speed is less (<) than 100Mbs, or that your upload speed is less (<) than 10Mbs, please call your Internet provider for assistance.
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Update your Chromebook operating system (OS) to the latest version.
- Remove unnecessary Chrome extensions
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Reset your Chromebook to fix a number of issues
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State of New Jersey Launches
COVID Alert Phone App
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COVID Alert NJ is New Jersey's free and secure mobile app that anonymously alerts users if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. The app also provides users with up-to-date information on New Jersey reopening news, key COVID-19 metrics, and a user-friendly symptom tracking tool. COVID Alert NJ uses Bluetooth proximity technology. The app will never record any identifying data. All users will remain anonymous. |
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How it Works:
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Download COVID Alert NJ on the App Store or Google Play Store. Opt-in to receive "Exposure Notifications"
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As you go about your day, the app will use Bluetooth to sense any "close contacts"—other app users who are within 6 feet of you for more than 10 minutes
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When your app senses a close contact, your phone will exchange a secure random code with the close contact's phone. It's important to note that your location and name are never disclosed
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If you test positive for COVID-19, a public health representative will call you and ask if you're willing to anonymously notify your "close contacts" by uploading your app's close contact codes
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Each day, the app will compare your list of close contact codes to the list of codes associated with positive COVID-19 app users. If there's a match you will get an Exposure Alert, along with appropriate next steps
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High School South Trio Recognized
as National Merit Scholars
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Earlier this week a trio of High School South students were recognized as National Merit Commended Scholars.
Seniors David Bedetti, James Burns and Andrea Lopez were presented with their National Merit Commended Scholar certificates for their outstanding performances on their preliminary SAT exams.
Only the top 3-4 percent of PSAT scorers in the country are named National Commended Merit Scholars.
Congratulations to David, James and Andrea on their wonderful achievement.
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MTPS Accepting Applications for Substitute & Leave Replacement Teachers |
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The Middletown Township Public School District is now accepting applications for Substitute and Anticipated Leave Replacement Teachers for all Pre-K to 12 positions. To apply, please visit middletownk12.org/employment and follow the prompts for Contracted and Substitute openings.
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On Friday, August 13th the district launched its MTPS Reopening of Schools Website, an information hub complete with Frequently Asked Questions and additional resources regarding the district’s reopening of schools plan.
As a follow up measure, the District recently developed a page on its Reopening of Schools Website dedicated to documenting a timeline of new updates and resources for our phased reopening plan.
As the Reopening of School's website is updated, the "Latest Updates" page will offer parents, guardians, staff and students easier access to this information.
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You can review the Board of Education's Sept. 9th Special Meeting by following the link to the right. |
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The Middletown Township Public School District requires that a daily health screening form must be completed each day before your student(s) enters the building. Please visit the home page of your school's website to access your school's unique screening form, or follow the links below.
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Follow Along for District News and Announcements |
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