Mark your calendars for the following dates:
|
Teacher Appreciation Week – May 7th – 11th
Since 1984, the National PTA has designated one week in May as a special time to honor the men and women who lend their passion and skills to educating our children. Little Silver teachers provide so much to our students—inspiration, motivation and, ultimately, their futures. From May 7-11, 2018, we would like to show our gratitude to our staff by thanking them because their impact on the children extends far beyond the classroom walls.
Markham Place Student Government Day
celebration spans well over 40 years!
On Wednesday, May 16th, the Markham Place 8th grade students will take part in the Annual Student Government Day. Every 8th grade student will be assigned a job in the local municipality and/or as a Little Silver Board of Education member. Teaching the functions of government, and providing our students with an opportunity to learn how to have an appropriate voice in their own affairs is important. 8th Grade Social Studies Teacher and former Little Silver student, B.J. Olsen, carries on the annual tradition of Student Government Day affording the students of Little Silver the opportunity to learn about the workings of local government including the job responsibilities of both elected and appointed positions. Mayor Robert Neff will swear in the acting Mayor, and the morning will be filled with a learning opportunity that few school districts experience.
REMINDER:
Snow Days Alter 2017-18 School Calendar
including GRADUATION date!
As a result of the snow days, the revised calendar has pushed Graduation to Wednesday, June 20th at 7:00 PM. The last day of school will be Thursday, June 21st (also RBR’s revised Graduation date). June 18th & 19th are now FULL DAYS of school and both June 20th & 21st are HALF DAYS.
Advocate for Fair Funding
by Contacting Our Local Legislators
Little Silver is in dire need of funding reform. Support Little Silver by contacting your District 13 Legislators: Senator Declan O’Scanlon ([email protected]); Assemblywoman Amy Handlin ([email protected]); and Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso ([email protected]). For a sample letter, click here: Sample letter
Defend Title II Funding for Our Schools
Despite the proven impact of principal and teacher quality on student achievement, President Trump's proposed FY 2019 budget has called for the complete elimination of Title II, Part A funds. The bipartisan 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) authorized this critical funding to states for the purpose of preparing, training, recruiting, and retaining high-quality teachers, principals, assistant principals, and other school leaders. Please contact your members of Congress today and urge them to stand with America's students and educators by negotiating a spending package that funds Title II, Part A at no less than $2.295 billion - it’s authorized level under ESSA. Little Silver receives so little funding from the Federal Government; we need every cent we receive. Send an email by clicking this link.
News from the Garden State Coalition of Schools
The Garden State Coalition of Schools presented budget testimony to the Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee on Monday, April 9, 2018. To read the entire testimony, click here: testimony.
Annual PARCC Testing
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a consortium of states that collaboratively developed a common set of assessments to measure student achievement and preparedness for college and careers. The PARCC Assessments are aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and were created to measure students' ability to apply their knowledge of concepts rather than memorizing facts. The PARCC assessments require students to solve problems using mathematical reasoning and to be able to model mathematical principles. In English Language Arts (ELA), students will be required to closely read multiple passages and to write essay responses in literary analysis, research tasks and narrative tasks. The assessments will also provide teachers information on student progress to inform instruction and provide targeted student support.
Markham Place is administering the test during the week of April 30th-May 3rd and Point Road is administering the test during the week of May 7th-11th.
Markham Place is administering the test during the week of April 30th-May 3rd and Point Road is administering the test during the week of May 7th-11th.
New Jersey Student Learning Assessment –
Science (NJSLA-S) Spring 2018 Field Test Administration
The NJSLA-S assessment is a computer-based test that is being field tested this year to determine knowledge of the new Science Standards. The assessment will be administered to 5th and 8th grade students on Thursday, May 17th.
Civil War Day
On Wednesday, May 23rd, Markham Place 7th grade students will travel back in time when they participate in the annual Civil War Day. The annual event has been a tradition at Markham Place School for over 20 years. Seventh grade students will be visited by re-enactors from the 7th NJ Regiment of the 2nd NJ Brigade. These men are re-enactors who share their love and expertise of Civil War history with students. The Regiment sets up various stations that the students visit and learn about life during the Civil War. Special thanks to the LSPTO for their generous support of this special event every year. Also, thank you to Kati Brower and the members of the Living History group, Local Commotion, who will conduct an interactive activity with the 7th graders about women spies during the Civil War.
Point Road Students Take Care of Our Environment!
On Friday, April 27th, the Kindergarten classes celebrated Arbor Day with a wonderful program teaching all of us the importance of planting trees and taking care of the Earth. Thank you to Little Silver Shade Tree Commission for providing all Point Road students with seedlings to plant at their own homes. Also, for the past eleven years Point Road School has partnered with Sickles Market to deliver Earth Day (April 22, 2018) messages to their customers. Mr. Sickles not only donated lettuce plants to each student, he also donated 500 paper bags to PR for a special project. With the help of Ms. Dvorak, each student from Point Road School had the opportunity to decorate a bag with an environmental message. Sickles Market then shared the bags with their customers on Earth Day. Thank you Mr. Sickles!
Little Silver BOE completes requirements to become a MASTER Board of Education!
Just two years ago, The Little Silver Board of Education completed their final credit to receive Board Member Certification. To receive this certification, board members were required to attend programs in at least four of the CBM (Certified Board Member) core areas. Core areas include: 1. Sustainability, 2. Advocacy, 3. Communications, 4. Labor Relations, 5. Finance, 6. Leadership, 7. Governance, 8. District Savings, 9. Student Achievement, 10. Legal/Policy, and 11. Technology. The CBM program gives members comprehensive training and essential skills needed to carry out their responsibilities. The Little Silver Board of Education became a “Certified Board” after accruing 18 professional development hours. To receive “Master Board” certification, the Little Silver Board of Education needed an additional 10 credits/hours of professional development in the core areas previously noted. As dedicated community volunteers, we congratulate the Board of Education for their achievement and continued dedication to the children of Little Silver. They will be formally recognized at the Monmouth County School Boards Association Meeting on Monday, May 7th!
Did you know that three members of the Little Silver Town Council are collaborating with three members of the Little Silver BOE to form an Ad-Hoc Committee to lobby for fair school funding?