Dear Parent(s) and/or Guardian(s),

Happy Thanksgiving. Next week is Thanksgiving week. Students will have two full days of school on Monday and Thursday and an early dismissal on Wednesday. Thanksgiving provides a valuable opportunity for families to come together, take a break from the demands of school/work, and appreciate each other's company. It's a time to reflect on the many things we are thankful for and share gratitude for the support received. I hope this holiday allows for a much-needed pause in everyone's routine, giving us a chance to recharge and return to school and/or work with renewed energy and focus. Hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

With that being said, please take a quick look below at some important items around OTS!

On Wednesday, we are running a shortened schedule to fit in our annual student-faculty volleyball game. Last year the staff lost to the students and will be looking to avenge that loss Wednesday at 11am! Let's go!!

Also on Wednesday are picture retakes!!!!! Please don't forget.

We want to take a moment to welcome back Yahna Fiscarelli from maternity leave. She will be teaching 5th grade social studies and science. We also want to thank Mrs. Scardelli for filling in for her while she was on leave.

Thanks to Ms. Mendralla for running our 5th and 6th grade Medieval Times field trip this week. Students had a great time on Thursday and we are thankful for this experience.

Speaking of field trips, this spring our school has two overnight trips scheduled. The 7th grade students will go to Camp Mason and 8th grade students will go to Washington, D.C.

The total cost of the Washington, D.C. trip, is approximately $750. However, students have the opportunity to fundraise to decrease the costs of the trip. In addition, the profits from our 8th grade musical usually lessens the total cost of the trip by around $200 per student if they participate in this musical. Participation can mean on stage, off stage, and other tasks related to the musical production.

The total cost of the Camp Mason trip is approximately $200. Advisors for these trips will be following up with more information when needed.

It's important for students and parents to know that while these overnight field trips are wonderful opportunities for our students, trust is essential for our teachers and chaperones when running these overnight trips. Please read this letter if your child is a 7th or 8th grader about our expectations for overnight trips.

Winter sports tryouts are concluding and we now look forward to the girls and boys basketball seasons as well as our cheer squad. Best of luck to all of our student athletes.

Class of 2024 presents Aladdin, Jr. as this year's musical. Auditions will be December 6th and 7th and callbacks will be December 8th. The musical will be March 21-23 with a matinee on the 23rd in addition to the evening show.

The Tewksbury Schools and Tewksbury Police Department are hosting a food drive to help those in need. Please click here for more information.

Dr. Mitchell

November 22 Picture Retakes

November 23-24 Thanksgiving Break/School Closed

“teaching kids that failures, insults, and painful experiences will do lasting damage is harmful in and of itself. Human beings need physical and mental challenges and stressors or we deteriorate.”
― Greg Lukianoff, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure

Clubs starting dates and times will be placed under their flyers. Please know that all clubs end at 3:30pm unless otherwise noted by the club advisor.

Click here for Winter Physicals - Due November 1 for Winter Sports

Click here to check out our sports website.

OTS offers 10 sports throughout the school year. Physicals and Health Forms are due prior to the start of all seasons. Contact the school nurse kcullen@tewksburyschools.org for the sports physical forms.

Fall Sports

Open to students in Grades 5-8 - Girls and Boys Soccer, Cross Country (coed)

Open to students in Grades 6-8 - Field Hockey and Girls Volleyball

Winter Sports

Open to grades 5-8 - Spirit Squad

Open to Grades 6-8 - Girls and Boys Basketball

Spring Sports

Open to grades 5-8 - Girls and Boys Lacrosse, Track and Field (coed), and Softball

Open to grades 6-8 - Baseball

Practices run until 4:15pm unless designated by a coach

All home games/meets start at 4:00pm unless otherwise stated

All winter physicals must be returned to the OTS school nurse by November 1, 2023

One of the ways Mrs. Cutri-French, the school counselor, connects with our students is through "Guidance Lunches". These are one time, small group lunches organized by homerooms which are casual, low-key "getting to know each other" experiences for every student. Students may talk about their school year, outside activities, offer opinions, explore objects in the guidance office or even play a game of (magnetic) darts!

A few students may initially be reluctant to participate, typically 1) because they don't want to be away from the social scene in the cafeteria, 2) because they won’t be with their best friends or 3) because it is unfamiliar.

Most students, though, come away telling others that it was fun! We encourage you to help your child push through any initial discomfort because of the overall benefits they get when they are comfortable accessing this school resource. If you have any questions, or want to discuss this further, feel free to call Mrs. Cutri-French at (908) 439-2010 ext 4230.

THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HAS OPENED THE APPLICATION PROCESS FOR THE 2023-2024 GOVERNOR'S EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR PROGRAM. PLEASE TAKE SOME TIME TO NOMINATE A TEACHER AND/OR EDUCATIONAL SERVICES PROFESSIONAL THAT HAS MADE AN IMPACT ON YOUR FAMILY OR THE SCHOOL.

A selection committee will select one teacher and one educational services professional from Tewksbury Elementary School and one teacher and one educational services professional from Old Turnpike School.

Please see the link below for the nomination form.

Nomination Form

To nominate a teacher and/or an educational services professional, please complete the nomination form and return it to the building Principal by November 8, 2023.

Our school management software program is called Realtime. The data contained in Realtime is used as the preferred method of communication for mass emails from the district, text messages, and voice messages. This information is used for emergency situations like weather delays, school closing, etc. Please keep this information updated. You will be requested to review and update your contact information and to whom and how you want information sent.

Please know you cannot access your child’s schedule without having completed all necessary forms. If you are having trouble accessing the portal, please contact our front office; dkrowl@tewksburyschools.org

To create or make change to your Maschios account, please go to the main OTS website.

The school lunch menus have been completed for OTS and are published on our district's website.

They may be viewed here: https://tewksburyschools.nutrislice.com/

Dress Code

I want parents to be aware of our updated Board of Education policy 5511. Please review the following examples of unacceptable attire with your children and cooperate with our staff in helping enforce this policy. Parents may be contacted to make the required changes for dress code violations:

1. Clothing that is too revealing;

2. Clothing that may damage school property including, but not limited to, cleats, shoes, or boots that leave black marks;

3. Clothing that may be unsafe such as flip-flops, thong sandals, untied sneakers or boots, un-strapped straps or suspenders;

4. Clothing that has designs, wording, or patches that are offensive, including, but not limited to, alcohol/drug advertising and obscenities or sayings that are offensive to certain groups;

5. Clothing that is too short;

6. For health and safety reasons, students are to refrain from marking on themselves or each other with pens, pencils, etc.; and

7. Jewelry must be removed prior to entering the gymnasium for physical education class. This includes earrings, stud earrings, watches, necklaces, rings, bracelets, and anything else that the teacher feels could be considered a potential safety hazard.

FOR THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR, HOMEWORK WILL NOT BE ASSIGNED TO STUDENTS DURING THE FOLLOWING DATES AND NO ASSESSMENT WILL BE GIVEN ON THE DAY THEY RETURN TO SCHOOL

• Rosh Hashanah (September 15 through September 17)

• Yom Kippur (September 22 through September 25)

• Thanksgiving Recess (November 22 through November 26)

• Winter Recess (December 22 through January 1)

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 12 through January 15)

• Presidents’ Day weekend (February 16 through February 19)

• Spring Recess (March 28 through April 5)

• Memorial Day Weekend (May 24 through May 28)

As a reminder, Tewksbury Township Schools uses our Virtual Backpack to share things happening in and around our community. Click here to see what's going on!

Every OTS student will have a locker this year. We expect students to keep their lockers locked with their own lock or a school provided lock.

Students should not leave any food or water overnight in their lockers.

Students will not be getting changed for Physical Education (PE) and should wear comfortable clothes they can run around in as well as sneakers on the days they have PE. PE is three days a week for each student at OTS.

All students taking home devices must purchase insurance. The cost of insurance for your child’s Chromebook for the year is $25. Please bring a check made out to Tewksbury Township Board of Education or TTBOE. For more information about the insurance policy, please click here.

Please go through the Handbook and Code of Conduct with your children and pay special attention to:

Social Media, Cell Phones, and ECRD (Electronic Recording Device) Technology

According to the most recent research, Old Turnpike School encourages parents to delay use of social media apps for their children. Many of the social media apps middle schoolers like to use can not be monitored effectively and messages and photos can be easily hidden or deleted. Furthermore, according to the United States Surgeon General, who issued an advisory warning in the Spring 2023, social media can carry “a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.” For these reasons, we ask parents to be careful what students download on their cell phones.

Cell phones, cameras, smart watches, and/or any other ECRDs may only be used on school grounds with the permission of the student’s teacher and/or school administration and used for curricular and/or school-sponsored co-curricular activities. Each teacher and/or administrator shall determine if the use of these devices may be used by students under their supervision. At all other times, the following devices:

• Cameras

• Tablets

• Smart watches (Apple Watch and other wearable technologies and other ECRDs) should be turned off and stored in their lockers or phone cubbies.

Student cell phones will be placed in phone cubbies in student classrooms for the entire day of school so they can’t be distracted by them while learning. If a student is seen using their cell phone in school, the staff member will ask the student to either put their cell phone in their respective cubbie or give it to the teacher or Principal who will return it at the end of the day. Students who continue to violate the cell phone procedures will receive disciplinary action and parents may be contacted.

Additionally, the use of any camera for recording video or taking pictures during school hours, including on a school bus, without teacher and/or administrative permission is a violation of privacy and is not permitted pursuant to Policy 5516- Use of Electronic Communication and Recording Devices. School teachers and/or administrators reserve the right to confiscate any such device. Any student who inappropriately uses these devices will be subject to disciplinary actions.