HTPS EXCELLENCE SPOTLIGHT

What a wonderful feeling it is to have our HTPS family together again! There is nothing quite like seeing our classrooms, hallways, playgrounds, and fields once again filled with the energy and excitement of our students.

A tremendous thank-you to our teachers, staff, and administrators for the care, creativity, and dedication they bring each day to creating magical learning environments for our students. Our Back-to-School Nights have also been wonderful opportunities to reconnect with families and continue building the strong relationships between home and school that are so important to student success. To our parents and families, thank you for your partnership and for the trust you place in our educators each day to teach, support, challenge, and care for your children.

I also appreciate everyone's continued patience and flexibility as we move the district forward, particularly as we navigate the transition to Genesis and other new systems and initiatives. Change can bring a few bumps along the way, but we are excited about where this work is taking us and grateful to have our families alongside us on the journey.

As we settle into the year ahead, let's continue bringing our new mission to life: Learn with Purpose. Foster Curiosity. Build Character.

The energy is here. The relationships are growing. The learning is underway.

That's Excellence in Action!

A new school year is here, and we are excited to welcome everyone back to Bee Meadow School! A new year brings new opportunities to learn, grow, connect, and create lasting memories together. As we begin the 2026–2027 school year, we look forward to building on the traditions that make BMS such a special place while embracing new ideas, new challenges, and new opportunities. Our students are at the heart of everything we do, and it is our collective commitment, energy, and dedication that helps make Bee Meadow a place where every child can thrive. Here’s to a fantastic year filled with learning, laughter, curiosity, kindness, and school spirit!

At Bee Meadow School, we believe students learn best when they are actively engaged in the learning process. Hands-on learning provides students with opportunities to explore, create, experiment, collaborate, and apply their knowledge in meaningful ways. From interactive classroom activities and science investigations to problem-solving challenges and creative projects, students are encouraged to learn by doing. These experiences spark curiosity, build confidence, and help students make connections between what they learn in the classroom and the world around them.

Starting the school year with strong connections sets the stage for a successful year ahead! Our team-building activities give students opportunities to work together, build relationships, practice communication, and develop a strong sense of belonging within their classrooms and across the BMS community. Through fun, interactive challenges and collaborative activities, students learn the importance of teamwork, cooperation, respect, and supporting one another. These experiences help create positive classroom communities where every student feels welcomed, valued, and ready to learn.

Many BMS students showed their school spirit by wearing red, white, and blue in recognition of Patriot Day. It was a great way for our school community to come together, remember the events of 9/11, and honor those who were affected.

A huge thank you to our amazing BMS PTA for welcoming our staff back with a delicious breakfast! It was the perfect way to start the school year and gave everyone a chance to enjoy some good food, catch up with colleagues, and begin the year together. We truly appreciate all that our PTA does to support our staff and students. Thank you for helping make the start of the school year extra special!

Mrs. Camean’s annual Summer Reading Party may have had to move indoors when the weather didn’t cooperate, but that didn’t stop the reading fun! Though attendance was light, the students who were able to join us enjoyed a cozy morning of reading, coloring, and reconnecting with their MTV friends. And the summer reading celebration didn’t stop there! Mrs. Camean also challenged her students to show off their Reading Superpowers over the summer. We are so proud that more than 30 MTV students participated and shared their love of reading! Their hard work, dedication, and reading accomplishments are proudly showcased on our Main Entrance bulletin board for everyone to enjoy. A HUGE shout-out to all of our summer readers! Whether you read one book or many, spent time exploring new worlds, learning something new, or simply enjoying a great story, you kept your Reading Superpowers strong all summer long! Keep reading, MTV Eagles! The best adventures are found between the pages.

On August 26, our newest MTV Eagles and their families came to school for a very special Kindergarten Meet & Greet! Students had the opportunity to meet their teachers, explore their classrooms, and learn more about what to expect on the first day of school. This event serves as a “dress rehearsal” for the first day and our Kindergarteners did GREAT! They walked through the doors with excitement and curiosity, reading to begin their MTV journey! A HUGE thank you to our wonderful MTV PTA for welcoming our families, providing delicious snacks, and sharing helpful information to make the transition to Kindergarten a little easier. Additionally, kudos goes out to our Kindergarten teachers, as well as other support staff, who helped out and made the event a success.

And just like that… we’re BACK! Our MTV families and staff brought the sunshine on the first day of school, filling our morning with music, smiles, photo opportunities, excitement, and many happy faces! A shout-out to our Kindergarten crew who absolutely ROCKED it! Our newest Eagles were ready to take on the big day, and we are thrilled to report a tear-free entrance! From our youngest kiddos to our returning students, it was wonderful to see everyone so excited to reconnect with friends, meet new teachers, and begin another year of learning and growing together. What a GREAT way to start the school year! Here’s to a year filled with learning, laughter, friendship, and great character.

One week after the first day, MTV families and staff came together for Back to School Night. The students were so excited for their families to visit their classrooms. The home-school connection is a vital partnership, and we were so excited to have such a great turnout. A big thank you to our MTV PTA and Maschio’s, who had representatives to answer parent questions. Mrs. Camean introduced the staff to families, and then parents had the opportunity to visit with staff.

There are so many ways our incredible MTV PTA brings joy, excitement, and support to our school community—and these photos capture just a few! We were thrilled to welcome the brand-new Hyperbolix Climber to our playground, generously purchased by our PTA through support from our families! When the rain canceled the PTA’s Chalk Walk the night before school, they didn’t let a little weather dampen the spirit! Instead, they welcomed our students on the first day with beautiful, colorful signage that helped make the morning extra special. Our staff also felt the love! The PTA welcomed us back with a delicious breakfast and stocked our staff lounge with goodies to help keep us fueled and smiling throughout the school year. From our students to our staff and families, the MTV PTA is always finding ways to make our school community stronger, brighter, and more connected. We are incredibly grateful!

Our MTV Eagles showed their USA pride on Patriot Day by filling our school with red, white, and blue! While this day is an important day of remembrance, it is also an opportunity to reflect on the strength, courage, unity, and resiliency our country has demonstrated in the face of tremendous challenges. We reminded our students that being proud of our country means recognizing the ways people come together, support one another, and continue moving forward—even during difficult times. We are so proud of our MTV students for helping us honor the day with respect and spirit.

The first week of school is about so much more than getting settled into a new classroom—it’s about getting to know one another, building connections, and becoming a classroom community! During the first week, our MTV students participated in engaging community- and teamwork-building activities designed to help them learn more about their classmates, share ideas, practice communication, and discover the many strengths each person brings to the classroom. Through collaboration, creativity, laughter, and a little problem-solving, our students learned an important lesson: we are better when we work and learn together! These first-week experiences help lay the foundation for a school year filled with respect, kindness, cooperation, and a shared commitment to learning. Together, we learn. Together, we grow. Together, we SOAR!

Kindergarten Signing Day was the perfect way to wrap up our orientation experience and officially welcome our newest Jaguars to Salem Drive! Each student had the chance to “sign on” as a Jaguar and make a special promise to smile, be kind, show respect, and always do their best.

It was a fun and memorable way to help our youngest students understand that being a Jaguar means more than simply coming to school. It means being part of a community, taking care of one another, and doing your best each and every day.

We are so excited to officially welcome the newest members of our Salem Drive Family!

There’s nothing quite like the first day of school at Salem Drive! Our staff lined the building with smiles, waves, and plenty of excitement as we welcomed our Jaguars back for another great year. From the moment students arrived, our goal was simple: make them feel welcomed, supported, and excited to be here!

Our morning loop crew was also ready to roll, with a special guest appearance from Mr. Wasserman! A huge shoutout to Mr. Nak, Mrs. Karlok, and Officer Cardella, who are out there rain or shine helping our students arrive safely and making sure every morning starts with a smile.

That’s the Salem Drive way: great people, great energy, and a great start to the day!

Lunchtime at Salem Drive is about much more than fueling up for the rest of the school day! On the first day back, our students enjoyed catching up with old friends, making new ones, sharing plenty of laughs, and simply enjoying time together.

The cafeteria is an important part of the school experience, giving students a chance to relax, socialize, and build and strengthen friendships outside of the classroom. Those connections help create the sense of belonging and community that makes Salem Drive such a special place.

Good food, great friends, and plenty of smiles made for a perfect first day back!

Our fifth graders are ready to make their final year at Salem Drive their best one yet! They have worked hard, grown together, and created so many memories along the way. This year is their chance to put the finishing touches on their Salem Drive experience, take on new challenges, lead by example, and enjoy every moment of this special final chapter.

We are so proud of how far they have come and can’t wait to see all that they accomplish as the Class of 2027!

Our Salem Drive Family came together for a special schoolwide assembly to kick off the year and introduce our students to Jagger’s Promise, our new Salem Drive book! Through Jagger’s story, students learned what it means to be TRRFCC and how being trustworthy, respectful, responsible, fair, caring, and a good citizen can help make our school an even more special place.

But the promise didn’t end with Jagger! Following the assembly, every student created their own promise describing how they will contribute to our school community this year. With hundreds of individual promises and one shared commitment, our Jaguars are ready to make Salem Drive a place where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and proud to belong.

Together, we all play a part in making Salem Drive special!

Salem Drive School enjoyed a wonderful Back to School Night as our teachers welcomed families into their classrooms, shared a glimpse into the year ahead, and highlighted the learning experiences planned for our students. Families also had the opportunity to meet our dedicated staff and learn more about the people who help make Salem Drive such a special place.

A special thank you to our PTA for providing a snack cart to help keep our teachers fueled throughout the evening. It was another great example of the support, partnership, and sense of community that make Salem Drive so special.

It was a wonderful night of connection, school pride, and coming together as one Salem Drive Family.

Our fifth graders are beginning the year with an important message through their reading of Wonder by R.J. Palacio. As students follow Auggie’s story, they are exploring powerful themes of kindness, empathy, acceptance, courage, and the importance of looking beyond first impressions.

The book is giving our students meaningful opportunities to think about how their words and actions affect others, how to stand up for what is right, and how small acts of kindness can make a big difference. It is a wonderful way for our fifth graders to grow not only as readers, but also as leaders and role models in our Salem Drive community.

The halls of Memorial Junior School came alive on Wednesday, September 2, as we welcomed our students back for another exciting school year! There was plenty of energy throughout the building as students reunited with friends, opened their lockers, met their teachers, and began getting comfortable with their new routines. The first days of school are always filled with a mix of excitement, anticipation, and a few questions, but our students did a wonderful job getting settled and starting the year on a positive note. We are excited about all that lies ahead and look forward to making 2026–2027 a fantastic year at MJS!

We were excited to welcome our MJS parents and guardians into the building on Thursday, September 10, for Back-to-School Night. The evening was very well attended and provided families with an opportunity to meet their children's teachers, learn more about classroom expectations, and gain a better understanding of the experiences their children will have throughout the school year. We were especially impressed with how well everyone navigated the MJS hallways and classroom locations! For those who needed a little assistance, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Ziegler were happy to provide directions and make sure that no one was marked tardy along the way. We appreciate our families' strong attendance, enthusiasm, and continued partnership as we begin another school year together.

On Friday, September 11, the Memorial Junior School community came together to honor the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001. Students and staff proudly wore red, white, and blue throughout the school as a meaningful symbol of remembrance, unity, and respect. Although our students were not yet born when the events of September 11 occurred, it remains important that we teach them about this historic day and the lasting impact it had on our country and our world. Our hope is that through remembrance, we continue to honor those who lost their lives, recognize the courage of the heroes who responded, and ensure that future generations never forget.

Even though we are only a few days into the new school year, our classrooms are already filled with meaningful learning experiences. Across MJS, teachers are intentionally providing students with opportunities to collaborate, communicate, problem-solve, create, and engage with one another through more traditional classroom activities. As part of our continued effort to provide balanced learning experiences, we are working to minimize unnecessary computer use and ensure that technology is used purposefully when it enhances instruction. Students need opportunities to put the screens away, interact with their peers, engage in hands-on activities, and experience the value of learning together. We are excited to see these experiences continue throughout the school year as we work to provide our students with the best of both traditional and technology-enhanced learning.

Interested in accessing the Genesis Parent Portal from your smartphone? Click HERE to view the instructions on how to download the app.

We kicked off the 2026–2027 school year with an inspiring opening-day keynote from Andrew Marotta, who challenged our educators to “Be the ONE” for their students, colleagues, and school communities. His message emphasized the power of mindset, relationships, intentional choices, and the impact one person can have on another.

One of the messages that resonated was E + R = O: Event + Response = Outcome, a reminder that while we cannot always control what happens, we can control how we respond.

To continue the learning, every HTPS teacher and administrator received a copy of Dr. Marotta's book, The Magic Acronyms, Formulas & Impactful Stories of Leadership. Throughout the year, we will continue drawing upon these messages and strategies as we grow together and put Excellence in Action.

A powerful way to begin the year and a great reminder that our mindset, our response, and our relationships matter.

*Please note that the calendar reflects the revised version that was Board-approved in August 2026.

Our 2026–2031 Strategic Plan is officially underway! After a year of collaboration and planning, we are now focused on turning our shared vision into action through the first year of implementation.

At this evening's Board of Education meeting, Mr. Toomey will provide a special presentation highlighting our five-year roadmap, the priorities that will guide our work, and the specific actions and benchmarks we are focusing on during the 2026–2027 school year. If you can't join, we'll post it on the district website.

We invite our community to tune in to learn where HTPS is headed and how we plan to get there.

Our Strategic Plan defines where we’re going. Excellence in Action is how we’ll get there.

Are you following Hanover Township Public Schools on social media? Stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to see Excellence in Action across our schools!

Throughout the year, we'll share student and staff accomplishments, school events, important updates, and everyday moments that showcase the great things happening throughout HTPS.

Follow along, join the celebration, and help us spread the good news by liking, commenting, sharing, and tagging us in your posts from school events!

Stay connected—there's so much to celebrate! #HanoverTwpSchools #HanoverProud

Tuesday, September 15

Board of Education Meeting @ 7pm

MJS Media Center

Monday, September 21

Schools Closed - Yom Kippur

Monday, October 12

Schools Closed - Columbus Day

Teachers/Staff Professional Development

Tuesday, October 27

Board of Education Meeting @ 7pm

MJS Media Center

Friday, October 30

Halloween Observed

Tuesday, November 3

Election Day

Thursday, November 5 – Friday, November 6

Schools Closed - NJEA Convention