Bordentown

Regional

School District

The Bordentown

Bulletin Volume 2 ~ Issue 2

October 2016

Superintendent’s Office Dr. Edward J. Forsthoffer III

Summer vacation is a vanishing memory and the routine of attending class, for our

students, already seems like it has been occurring for months. Autumn has officially begun and

spectators are beginning to bring blankets to the Friday night football games. Of course with the

warm weather we expect this week, students are dressing in short sleeves and shorts during the

day and bundling up for evening activities.

At the September 21st board of education meeting, the board members were introduced

to many of our new faculty members. If you had the opportunity to meet any of our newest

faculty, I am sure you are as impressed as I am with the breadth and quality they bring to the

district. For some, this is their first teaching assignment, but many of our newest class have

taught elsewhere. There is also a balance of experiences with some coming from local

communities while others have learned in other states. Hiring a quality staff and faculty remains

one of our primary goals. The charge that I have given the administration of the Bordentown

Regional School District is to recruit the very best so that they can join the ranks of the very

best.

At tonight’s (October 19th) Board of Education meeting, Mr. James Lymper will give his

annual presentation on the standardized testing that is occurring in our school district. This will

be a summary of the scores from last year and what those scores are telling us about the school

district.

Please remember to closely monitor our district webpage at www.bordentown.k12.nj.us

for updates and information. It is also a rich resource where you can find everything from

curriculum standards to athletic schedules to contact information. There are also links to the

webpages of our five schools.

Visit us on the web at www.bordentown.k12.nj.us

Administration

Dr. Edward J. Forsthoffer III Superintendent

Mr. Eloi Richardson, CPA Business Administrator

Board Secretary

Mr. James Lymper Director of

Curriculum and Instruction

Ms. Vanessa Bekarciak Director of Special Services

2015 ~ 2016 Board of Education

Mr. Mark Drew

President

Mr. William Mercantini Vice President

Mr. Kevin Creegan

Mr. Joshua Fausti

Mr. Stephen Heberling

Mr. Mark Roselli

Mr. Salvatore Schiano

Mr. Edward Tyler

Ms. Kimberly Zablow

Curriculum and Instruction Mr. James Lymper, Director and Ms. Michele Henry, Assistant Principal of Curriculum Page 2

Teacher Learning

On Monday, October 3, as students enjoyed the third day of a long weekend, BRSD teachers became

students during our professional development day.

On that day, our high school and middle school teachers chose from a list of topics designed to add strategies their

teaching repertoire and further hone their craft. For those interested in using technology in education, sessions on google

classroom, ipads in the classroom, and designing teacher websites were amongst the most popular. In addition to these

topics, teachers also participated in sessions focused on setting goals for students, engaging students in learning,

developing their questioning skills, and establishing effective learning environments.

At the elementary level, teachers were focused on the critical subjects of reading and mathematics. Through their work that

day, teachers further developed skills to assist students who have reading disabilities, including dyslexia, while also

discussing strategies to assist and support readers as they move through levels of text. Working with a consultant,

teachers delved more deeply into the resources available through our Everyday Math program and how to implement them

to further student understanding. During this session, teachers looked specifically at the manner in which the open

response lessons lead to higher mathematical thinking and problem solving strategies.

Family Learning Series 2016-2017

Our Family Learning Series will be held again this year, and we have already set aside dates and topics we hope will help

to support our families and students at home. Remember that parent/family involvement helps to improve student

achievement!

Dates and topics are listed below. For more information, visit the District Curriculum Page to download the complete flyer

and register for the events by clicking here.

Topic/Event Date/Location Everyday Math Night Grades K-5 Monday, November 14th, 2016 @ Clara Barton School

Supporting Readers Through Comprehension And Life Long Reading Habits

Tuesday, March 21st, 2017 @ MacFarland Intermediate School

Preventing the Summer Slide Wednesday, May 31st, 2017 @ Clara Barton School

Kindergarten Readiness Night Thursday, June 8th, 2017 @ Peter Muschal School

Bordentown Regional High School Mr. Robert Walder, Principal Page 3

Deborah Heart and Lung Center would like to recognize Leah Walme, Miranda Krause, Erin Caltiere,

and Kristin Stetther for their assistance in screening over 105 people for peripheral arterial disease and

abdominal aortic aneurysm on September 24, 2016. The students were commended for displaying

teamwork, service before self and community pride.

Congratulations to the Math Club for earning 6th place in the Burlington County Math League

Competition. Kudos to Quielle De la Rosa for a strong performance. Way to go team!

The Bordentown Regional Marching Scotties competed in a stand-still rainy competition at Jackson

Memorial High School. The students competed against three other bands and achieved a score of

80.6. They were recognized for Best Overall Effect and Espirit de Corps for the competition, thus

winning first place. Great job by all!

Bordentown Regional Middle School Mr. Joseph Sprague, Principal Page 4

BORDENTOWN REGIONAL MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS AND NOTES OCTOBER 2016

STOKES TRIP 2016:

On October 5th thru 7th our 7th grade students attended the annual Stokes Trip at the New Jersey School of Conservation.

This was a rewarding and educational trip for the students. They participated in activities such as archery, fish ecology, rock

climbing, boating, a confidence course, and many other interesting activities. The trip would not have been successful without

the dedication of the staff who were there to chaperone. For all 6th grade parents, please keep an eye out for information on

next year’s trip!

SEPTEMBER STUDENTS OF THE MONTH:

The following students were selected by their teachers as Student of the Month for the month of September. Congratulations

to the students on their hard work and starting the school year off on the right foot:

6th Grade: Curtis Romas

7th Grade: Joseph Pollard

8th Grade: Dedra Dadzi

ELKS: Joscelyne Delgado

UPCOMING DATES:

October 20th- Picture Retake Day

October 21st- Team Fad Dance, Pretzel Sale, Pink Out Day (All staff and students wear Pink)

October 31st- Half Day for Students/ Full Day for Staff

MacFarland Intermediate School Ms. Megan Geibel, Principal Page 5

MIS NEWS

Upcoming Events at MIS:

October 26th –Book Fair Family Night 7-9pm

October 21st- Pink Out! Supporting Breast Cancer Awareness

October 31st- Halloween Parade

November 4th- Halloween Dance

MacFarland Intermediate just celebrated the “Week of Respect” with many

activities to highlight how we show respect. Our students created posters

demonstrating what respect means to them. We honored each other’s

respectful behavior and filled our respect buckets. The week ended with a

fabulous assembly from Mr. Jake Ballentine reminding us to be kind, respect

ourselves and the “golden rule” respect others. Thank you to the PTO for

helping fund this great opportunity.

We would also like to say thank you to Mr. Kurt Hvasta for donating his time with his daughter Emma to beautify our

school grounds. It looks great and we appreciate all the time spent to make our school look beautiful. This is a

perfect example of respecting our schools.

Clara Barton Elementary School Ms. Louisa Kenny, Principal Page 6

CBS October News

Clara Barton students have been extremely busy this month. Our Kindergarten classes went to Shadybrook Farm on Friday, October 7th and are going to the Consolidated Firehouse and the Book Fair the week of October 10th. We will also be having a "Scarecrow Day" on Friday, October 21st featuring a scarecrow book, writing response, craft, math activity, and creation of a real scarecrow for the CBS garden.

Our second grade classes have been working hard on their boat float projects. All of the 2nd graders will get to see each other's boats by visiting all homerooms and then testing each other's boats in water to see which boats float. The purpose is a basic exercise in learning to think and build like an engineer.

The third grade science classes have been learning about Owl diets. How better to learn what an Owl eats than to dissect Owl pellets!

We are also celebrating the Week of Respect Monday, October 17th -Friday, October 21st. We will kick off our celebration with a presentation by Mrs. Raynor’s RCS class at BRHS teaching us about respect for ourselves and others. To continue our celebration, our students will participate in a different dress up day every day of the week.

Monday- “We’re tired of bullies”- Wear pajamas to school Tuesday- “Hats off for Respect”- Wear your favorite hat to school Wednesday- “Respect for the environment day”-Wear green Thursday- “Team up against bullying”- Wear team clothing Friday- “Stop, Think & Wear Pink- Wear pink today

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony… Grand opening of our classroom library after learning about different genres, usage of class

library, ect…

Students are dissecting owl pellets in third grade Science as part of the

Owl Diet Unit

Peter Muschal Elementary School Mr. Daniel Riether, Principal Page 7

Character Education Rock Project

The second and third graders at Peter Muschal Elementary School will be participating in a fun Character

Education Rock Project, led by Health and P.E. teachers Jason D’Annunzio and Kelly Gray.

The PMES Rock Project encourages students to use positive character traits each and every day, in school and at

home. The project will begin by introducing various character education traits, such as respect, loyalty and generosity,

and discussing how students can demonstrate each trait in their daily lives. After discussing character education traits,

students will then choose one trait and paint their rock, making it unique. They may decorate their rock with their

favorite color, favorite Disney character, or favorite sports team. Students will write their trait and #pmesrocks on their

rock.

During Health class, students will place their rocks in and around Peter Muschal

Elementary School, in an open place. The students will try to locate their peers’

rocks. If they locate a rock, they may take a photo and post it on the Instagram

account @PMESROCKS for their classmates to view. Students will then be

directed to place their rocks in another location in the Bordentown Community,

such as Joseph Lawrence Park, ShopRite or LaGalleria, for everyone to enjoy

and pass along as a reminder to always display positive character traits.

If you find a #pmesrocks character rock, feel free to spread the creativity and kindness around our community!

Second Grade ROCKS at PMES !

Second graders, Mrs. Gold, and Mrs. Kiley recently participated in the Bordentown Rocks community project. The

students read a book titled Stone Soup. They discussed the importance of working together within the community

towards a common goal. After the story, they painted their rocks. Bordentown Rocks is an artistic scavenger hunt

where kids paint rocks with pictures or positive messages and hide them in places around town (playgrounds,

businesses, restaurants, schools, neighborhoods, etc...). Children also hunt for the rocks in hopes of finding these

hidden gems!

If they happen to find a rock at any point in time, they have the choice of keeping it as a treasure, or re-hiding it in a

new location. If they keep a rock, the hope is that they will replace it with another that they create. The students took

their rocks home to hide in the community. Students also gave clues to their friends in hopes of finding their rocks.

Important Upcoming Dates Page 8

This Month

October 3 – Staff In-Service – No school for all students

October 5 – Board of Education Meeting

October 12 – Yom Kippur – SCHOOL CLOSED

October 19 – Board of Education Meeting

October 31 – ½ Day for all students – Staff Workshops

Next Month

November 10 & 11 – NJEA Convention – SCHOOL CLOSED

November 16 – Board of Education Meeting

November 23 – ½ Day students/staff

November 24 & 25 – Thanksgiving Break – SCHOOL CLOSED

“All our dreams can come true,

If we have the courage to pursue them.”

Walt Disney

Thank you for checking in with The Bordentown Bulletin!