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Superintendent's Spotlight
February 2022
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Superintendent Update
Capital Improvement Plan
Ever wonder why the MUJC is always working on construction projects? The Morris-Union Jointure has a five year plan for improvements and updates of our facilities. Please see the video produced by Jason Parenti, MUJC’s Acting School Business Administrator, for details on our progress to date and what future projects are planned. Lots to look forward to!
Health and Safety Update
We continue to provide staff and parents with the CDC’s and New Jersey Department of Health’s updates on COVID-19. Please watch for these written updates which are sent to your email and uploaded on the MUJC’s website, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also always find out more at the CDC’s or New Jersey Department of Health’s websites.
Revised Calendar
The revised 2021 – 2022 school calendar was approved at the Board of Education meeting held on January 13, 2022. To view the revised DLC calendar, please click here. Please take note, that the last day of school for DLC – New Providence is Tuesday, June 14, 2022. The last day of school for DLC - Warren is Thursday, June 16, 2022 if there are no further emergency closing days.
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What’s Happening at the DLCs | |
Virtual Learning Groups are a Hit for DLC-Warren and New Providence!
As a complement to their in-class, in-person programming, students at the DLCs will continue to be invited to Virtual Learning Groups to expand their daily opportunities. Activities have consisted of mindfulness, social/emotional learning, yoga, sensorimotor stories, martial arts, virtual dance parties and more! We will continue to offer this programming through the month of February.
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Valentine’s Day, February 14
DLCs will celebrate Valentine’s Day on Monday, February 14, by wearing red or pink to school! Students from DLC – New Providence will be participating in kindness activities in their classrooms and will be making cards. DLC – Warren is excited to announce that Valentine’s Kiss-O-Grams are back! It can’t be any easier to spread some Valentine wishes than with our Kiss-O-Grams! Each Kiss-O-Gram will consist of a bag of 5 Hershey kisses tagged with a personalized Valentine’s tag. Orders will be distributed to both DLC schools prior to Valentine’s Day. DLC families can order the Kiss-O-Grams by clicking here. Deadline to order is Tuesday, February 8. Payment for purchases made online must be by credit card only. More information can also be found in Electronic Bookbag!
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DLC – New Providence
February is Heart Healthy Month
In celebration of Heart Healthy Month, students from DLC-New Providence will be learning about healthy foods and exercise in class as well as in adaptive physical education. Also, students will be encouraged to wear pink or red on February 14 in conjunction with Valentine’s Day.
100 Days of School
On February 9, DLC - New Providence will celebrate the 100 Days of School along with Special Persons Day! Parents and special persons will be invited to join us on February 9 to help celebrate. A schedule will be sent out to students so that social distancing may be maintained. Our theme for the 100 Days of School Celebration is “100 Ways to Use Your Noodle.” There will be fun activities scheduled including a Go Noodle Stage during the day for parents and special persons to participate along with their children. Please join us!
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Black History Month
February is Black History Month. Each DLC - New Providence class will be assigned a famous person who is African American to research and highlight. This research will be shared on the DLC - New Providence’s bulletin board. Music and art classes will also highlight famous musicians and artists who are African American.
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Community Service at DLC – New Providence
During STEAM class, students will be involved in different aspects of putting together lunches to donate to Be the Change, a non-profit organization dedicated to community service, that will distribute the lunches to people in need. Students will participate in various parts of the project, including purchasing the items needed to make the lunches, making the sandwiches, placing snacks in lunch bags, and decorating the lunch bags.
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Multi-Cultural Day
During the week of February 22, classes will choose countries and share music, dances and games from the various cultures. Once the class chooses the country to study, students will be hard at work to learn all different aspects of that country’s culture.
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DLC Warren
Self Love, Self Care and Boundaries
The EAGLE Program at DLC-Warren’s theme for February is self love, self care and boundaries. As part of this month’s activities, our students will be creating a daisy chain with positive affirmations and self talk statements. They will be hung up in each classroom as a force field and boundary to give a visual to connect self love with healthy boundaries.
Black History Month Celebrated at DLC-Warren!
Led by our Speech and Occupational Therapy Departments in collaboration with our classroom staff, DLC - Warren will be celebrating Black History Month with multiple activities including art projects of inventions by African Americans, posters of famous historical figures and significant events, trivia, poetry, books, coloring pages and more.
DLC-Warren Community Service!
DLC – Warren is always seeking ways to help our community! Community service projects help our students not just develop vocational and life skills, but these projects help them develop stronger bonds with a sense of belonging to various community organizations and groups. We are currently accepting donations for St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, New Jersey. Collections for the animal shelter consists of pet supplies, blankets or towels, and paper towels. More information can be found in our Electronic Bookbag.
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Technology Tips
Evaluate your Screen Time
Spending too much time on your phone can be bad for your eyes and your well-being. If you spend six hours or more in front of a screen, studies have shown that you’re at a higher risk for depression. That's why you should limit your screen time each day.
The first way to do this is to check your screen time analytics. Your smartphone keeps track of how much time you spend staring at your screen, as well as which apps take up the most time. Here’s how to find these resources.
On an Android:
- Head to your Settings menu.
- Select Digital Well being & parental controls.
- Tap Show your data to see your activity.
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On an iPhone:
- Head to Settings.
- Select Screen Time.
- Go to See All Activity.
This shows a graph of your activity, from daily average time spent on your phone to your most popular apps. It even tells you how many times you picked up your device. Best of all, it lets you set time limits for apps and even schedule time away from the screen.
You’ll find many built-in apps designed to help you detach from the screen. Work Profile helps you turn off your work apps, Bedtime helps you unwind and Focus mode cuts out the constant notifications that draw you back to your phone throughout the day.
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Transition Talk
Self-Advocacy
At the DLC, self-advocacy is implemented daily with all students. Making choices is incorporated in school and community settings while creating daily/vocational task schedules. Self-advocacy is an important part of every person’s life. DLC staff members strive to help their students understand and use this life-long concept in their everyday situations. DLC students will are able to develop a greater sense of self and self-advocacy the more our school community reinforces these skills across all settings including the DLCs, the home environment, and the community. Families are encouraged to use role-playing scenarios or contrived situations that prompt a student’s need to ask for help or communicate for a desired item, as a simple way of reinforcing an individual student’s self-advocacy skills and abilities. Strong self-advocacy skills will lead to greater self-esteem and build self-confidence.
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Congratulations
The following staff members will be honored at the February 10, 2022 MUJC Board of Education meeting in recognition of their excellence:
2021 New Jersey Exemplary Elementary Educator Award-
Danielle DeCroce, former DLC teacher, was chosen as a 2021 New Jersey Exemplary Elementary Educator. Winners of this award are selected for their demonstration of exceptional teaching and leadership abilities as well as having a positive impact on students, colleagues, and the school community. Congratulations, Danielle!
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Governors’ Educator of the Year Award
Congratulations to the DLC staff members selected for the 2021 – 2022 Governor’s Educator of the Year Program! This celebratory program honors our exceptional teachers and educational services professionals.
DLC – New Providence recipients are Kim Spurlock, teacher, and Sandra Miller, physical therapist.
DLC – Warren recipients are Stephanie Crudup, teacher, and Lauren Lupton, behavior analyst/BCBA.
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Reminders
February 11, 2022 – Early Dismissal at 12:45 p.m. for students. Staff Inservice.
February 21, 2022 – Schools Closed. Mid-Winter Recess
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Dr. Janet L. Fike
Superintendent
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Morris-Union Jointure Commission
Website
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