OTS Updates

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

Welcome to Spring 2024. School is closed this Friday and Thursday is an early dismissal as our Spring Break has finally arrived. I can’t believe we are in the 4th marking period. 3rd marking period ended last week and grades will be viewable on the Parent Portal on March 28. This is another reminder to reach out to your child’s teacher if you have any questions about grades.

Aladdin Jr. performed this past weekend at OTS and it was an amazing performance. I want to thank all of our parent and teacher volunteers who put in so much time to help make this show so special. These shows aren’t possible without our committed volunteers. I also want to thank our directors Ms. Krowl and Mr. Mortenson who did a tremendous job getting our students ready. Lastly, I want to thank our 8th grade students for their hours and days of rehearsals. It was a massive time commitment but worth it in the end. They all shined this past weekend and have a memory of a lifetime!

Sports tryouts begin the week of March 25th for the following sports: Track and Field, Softball, and Boys Lacrosse (grades 5-8) and Baseball (grades 6-8)

Monday, March 25 - 2:30 - 4:15pm or as the coach(es) shared

Tuesday, March 26 - 2:30 - 4:15pm or as the coach(es) shared

Wednesday, March 27 - 2:30 - 4:15pm or as the coach(es) shared

This week on Wednesday we are excited to bring in licensed psychotherapist Lauren Muriello to speak with our 7th and 8th grade students about social media and cyber bullying. Her presentation will explore the following in regards to social media:

• How does screen time and social media impact how kids feel about themselves?
• What's the right amount of time to spend on screens?
• Why is it easier to be a bully on social media?
• The increases in cyberbullying, feeling left out, and more troubling mental health symptoms.

Camp Mason trip is the week after we come back from Spring Break. I know our 7th graders have been looking forward to this trip. Thanks to Mrs. Caruso and Ms. Krowl for helping to organize the trip. Let’s hope for some great spring weather! Until that time, I hope everyone has a safe and fun Spring Break.

Thank you,

Dr. Mitchell

March 28th - Early Dismissal

March 29th - April 8th - School Closed - Spring Break

“Since the 1980s, a growing body of research finds that mattering—the feeling that we are valued and add value to others—is key to positive mental health and to thriving in adolescence and beyond. “Mattering” offers a rich, almost intuitive framework for understanding the pressure assailing our kids—and how to protect them from it. It is as profound as it is practical. It doesn’t involve spending more money on tutors or coaches or adding another activity to an already overpacked schedule. Instead, it offers a radical new lens for how we as adults—parents, teachers, coaches, and mentors—see our kids and communicate to them about their worth, potential, and value to society.”
― Jennifer Breheny Wallace, Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic-and What We Can Do About It

“Nurture parent-teacher relationships. When students feel that parents are talking negatively about their teacher, it undermines that critical relationship, akin to the acrimonious divorce of parents, notes Suniya Luthar. Students learn best from teachers they feel close to, and teachers play an essential role in buffering against achievement stress. Show respect and appreciation when you speak about or interact with their teachers. Actively build a partnership with educators so that a child can be best supported.....Teach kids how to think gratefully. Point out when someone goes out of their way to find a present for them, or when they do something kind that makes your child’s life better. Researchers find gratitude is the glue that binds relationships together.”

― Jennifer Breheny Wallace, Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic-and What We Can Do About It

“Avoiding triggers is a symptom of PTSD, not a treatment for it.”
― Jonathan Haidt, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure

When It Comes to Online Grade books, Some Parents are Flunking

“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

“A culture that allows the concept of “safety” to creep so far that it equates emotional discomfort with physical danger is a culture that encourages people to systematically protect one another from the very experiences embedded in daily life that they need in order to become strong and healthy.”
― Greg Lukianoff, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure

“From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted. I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either. And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship. I hope you’ll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion. Whether I wish these things or not, they’re going to happen. And whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon your ability to see the message in your misfortunes.”
― 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 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.

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 as well as parent/student expectations, 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.