The Weekly Update #36
May 16, 2025
PRINCIPAL GREETING
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Next week is a big week at NB. In addition to the kick off of Concert season and the end of the regular season for many of our sports teams, we will have state testing for our 9th and 11th grade students. This is a great time for our students to show what they have learned- please be sure your student is resting each night and charging their chromebooks so they are prepared for the morning. For our sophomores and seniors (non-testers), there are many exciting activities planned for them as well. This information has been posted in the grade level Google Classrooms, but we ask that you review this information with your student. The most crucial piece of information is that students will report directly to their testing or activity room each day and not to their homeroom.
Have a great weekend,
Dr. McCann
IMPORTANT DATES
May 17: Relay for Life
May 20-23: NJSLA Testing
May 22: HS Band Concert
May 28: HS Choir Concert
June 5: NJLI Senior Signing Day
June 6: Prom
June 16: Senior Send Off (directly after school)
June 17: Graduation 5:30 pm
Student Assemblies: May 22, 2025
Michael DeLeon will present Vaping me Crazy to students. Please see the flyer for more information. All presentations will occur in the West Gym.
10th grade presentation- 7:45 (report directly to the West Gym/ during testing)
**12th grade students are invited to attend during this time.
11th grade presentation- 9:45-11:15 (during period 1-2 class)
9th grade presentation- 12:45-2:15 (during period 3-4 class)
Important Update: NJSLA Testing and Activities
New Jersey Student Learning Assessment
Math/ELA-Grade 9
Science-Grade 11
On May 20-23, students in Grade 9 and Grade 11 will be administered the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment (NJSLA) for Math, ELA and Science. Make up testing will occur May 27-30 for students who are absent during the initial testing window following a regular schedule. Students who need to test during the make up window will miss class time to test.
The NJSLA includes two 90 minute units of ELA, two 90 minute units of Math and four 60 minute units of Science. The ELA assessment is aligned to the ELA 9 content. Students in High School will take a math assessment aligned to Algebra 1 if they are enrolled in an Algebra 1 class or Geometry if they are enrolled in Geometry or Algebra 2 class as a ninth grader. Students who are dually enrolled in Geometry and Algebra 2 will take the Geometry assessment. The Science assessment is aligned to standards within the grades 9-12 grade band of the NJSLA standards for Science.
Students who are testing should report directly to their assigned testing location for daily attendance. Grade 9 and 11 should check with their respective Class of 2028 and 2026 Google Classroom for their testing room assignments beginning May 9.
Students who are testing are encouraged to be prepared by being well rested and fed, arriving on time, bringing their fully charged school issued chromebook, sharpened pencils, and recreational reading if they complete testing early. Students will not be permitted to work on schoolwork in their testing room. An online calculator is in the testing platform, but students may bring their own hand held calculator if desired. Students may also bring their own wired headphones with a traditional jack for use with their chromebooks.
Students in Grade 10
Students in grade 10 have signed up for activities on 5/20, 5/21 and 5/23 during the Sign Up Genius link provided. Students will receive a copy of the activities they are scheduled for in their homeroom on Monday 5/19. 10th grade students should report directly to their first activity each of these days for attendance and remain there until the testing block has concluded.
Students in Grade 12
12th grade students will have online assignments that can either be completed at home on Tuesday 5/20, Wednesday 5/21 and Thursday 5/22. The assignment list will be shared with seniors in the Class of 2025 Google Classroom.
Seniors completing online assignments at home must report to school by 9:35am and report to their first period class. Students arriving in class after 9:40am will be marked late.
Seniors who are coming to school at normal time should report to Room 107 to select their programming 5/20-5/22.
Senior Assignments for the Week:
Culture and Climate Survey
FAFSA Form
Senior Time Capsule
Class of 2025 Graduation Program Consent and Final Transcript Release Form
This is in the PowerSchool Parent Portal and should be completed along with your Parent/Guardian.
AP Students: Complete the AP Course Exit Survey
Please log into your Naviance account and complete the Class of 2025 Exit Interview and Final Transcript Request.
On Friday May 23, seniors have a mandatory After the Fire Assembly and should report to the auditorium by 7:20am. Attendance will be taken.
Prom Reminders: Attendance
Students who are planning to attend prom must be in school for the entire school day on June 6, 2025. Students may not leave early on this day and still attend prom. Please be sure to schedule appointments so that students can remain in school until our 11:55am dismissal.
Fall Sports: Registration is open!
Athletic Registration is open for the 2025 Fall Season.
https://northernburlington-ar.rschooltoday.com/
Click on the link above.
If you already have an account, please sign in with your username and password. Please DO NOT create a new account. If you are having problems signing in, please contact Mrs. O’Neill in the Athletic Office – 609-298-3900, ext. 2093 or moneill@nburlington.com
If new to Northern Burlington Athletics, please create a new account.
Reminders
NORTHERN BURLINGTON RELAY FOR LIFE 2025
NORTHERN BURLINGTON RELAY FOR LIFE IS HERE!!! We have raised over $50,000 so far, but our goal is MORE! The event has been moved inside due to weather, enter through the main entrance. Please make sure that your student has registered and turned in their permission slip if they plan to attend. To find out more, please contact Lori Nadolny (Lnadolny@nburlington.com) or Shelley Guevara (rguevara@nburlington.com).
RELAY EVENT - Saturday, May 17, 2025, from 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Northern FFA Spring Plant Sale
The Northern FFA Chapter will be holding its annual Spring Plant Sale days during the month of May 2025: 17th, & 24th
Horticulture students have been working hard since January in the greenhouse seeding, planting & growing out bedding plants to prepare for our sale!
This year we are happy to offer new varieties and colors of flowers as well as an expanded selection of vegetables including various types of tomatoes, and sweet peppers & hot peppers. Please see the sales dates and times below. We look forward to seeing you again during this year's plant sale days!
Stay tuned for the Sale Flyer and Price List in the coming weeks!
Click here for the Save the Date reminder.
Northern FFA Spring Plant Sale Dates and Times:
Saturday May 17th, 2025 - 8am-1pm - Farmer Appreciation Day
Saturday May 24th, 2025 - 8am-12pm - Military Appreciation Day
Contact: Brian Hayes, Teacher of Agriculture
Email: bhayes@nburlington.com2025 Fall Cheerleading Tryouts
Join us for the Fall 2025 HS Cheerleading try-outs being held June 3 & 4, 2026. Try-outs on June 3rd will be from 3 - 5 pm. June 4h will be the actual tryouts - time slots will be assigned. Both days are mandatory.
Mark your calendars, if you are interested in cheering during the fall season! Join the Google Classroom - CODE: L35R5LJN - for more information and to join the interest meeting on May 13th at 6:30 pm. This is the ONLY try-out for current NB students for Fall cheerleading at the high school. Cheerleaders are responsible for their own transportation during try-outs.
Athletic portal is open to submit forms and physical documents. Please do this as soon as possible - even before the interest meeting if you think there is a chance you will try out.
If you have any questions, please email Coach Ballinger - kballinger@nburlington.com
Message from Technology Regarding Powerschool Access
If your child is currently in 9th, 10th, or 11th grade, please log into the Parent Portal and review or update the contact information listed under the STUDENT CONTACTS form. This form will be available from May 12 through May 30.
Updating this information helps us streamline communication and ensure we have the most accurate contact details on file.
We appreciate your prompt attention to this important task. Thank you for your cooperation!
NLI Signing Day Celebration – June 5th, 2025
Northern Burlington will celebrate our DI, DII, and DIII college-bound student-athletes on Thursday, June 5th at 3:30 PM in the High School Stadium. Join us as we honor their incredible athletic and academic achievements!
Parents/Guardians & Students: If you are attending college and participating in athletics at the next level, we want to celebrate you! All you have to do is contact your coach and tell them you are interested in participating!
Schedule:
- 3:00–3:25 PM: Parents decorate student tables (no early arrivals please!)
- 3:25–3:30 PM: Student-athletes arrive
- 3:30–3:50 PM: Player announcements & signing celebration
Let’s make this a memorable day for our future collegiate athletes!
Construction
Mission Statement Update
Hoping you can join us! We're holding a brief but important community meeting to discuss the results from our recent ThoughtExchange and collaboratively begin crafting a new mission statement for Northern Burlington. Your voice is invaluable in shaping the future of our students' experience.
The meeting will take place on Thursday, May 22nd at 6:00 PM in the High School Media Center, conveniently scheduled just before the high school band concert. We encourage you to attend this engaging discussion and then stay to enjoy the wonderful musical talents of our students! The presentation will be available afterward for those unable to attend.
Clinical Corner
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and I came across an article about athletes and mental health that I thought would be beneficial to be aware of. While the article is titled “Student Athlete Mental Health: Tips for Parents and Coaches”, there is no doubt that teachers that work with this population should know about this too. To summarize the article, the author, Valerie Valle, Psy.D., writes that playing sports is a two-sided coin. On one side, sports can improve self-esteem, increase physical activity, and even improve sleep and dietary habits. Student athletes can be more motivated to do better academically too as they are setting goals for themselves.
However, on the flip side, there can be negative effects from sports on athletes’ mental health. Some negatives include associating winning with self-worth, having an unhealthy sense of perfectionism, experiencing stress and anxiety when they make a mistake and overall feeling overwhelmed trying to balance the demands of the sport with the rest of their lives. Depression can also develop and if you see your child/student/player losing interest in their sport along with a change in appetite or sleep they may need to be monitored. Another red flag to watch out for is burnout-going to practice without the usual enthusiasm or expressing a desire to quit can be some symptoms.
Valle reports that the best thing adults who support athletes can do is listen and acknowledge their feelings. “I’ve noticed that …” is a great place for supportive adults to start. Just a couple of the many coping skills she recommends are making time for breaks and trying to keep fun as part of the equation of sports. For the full article click here.2024-2025 Yearbook
Yearbooks are sold out online. However, they will be available for purchase in person during the distribution days in June. The cost is $95 CASH ONLY.
PTSC
Parent Teacher Student Connection (PTSC):
Please visit our website, www.nburlingtonptsc.org.
End of Year Events
If you would like to volunteer for some of our end-of-year events (8th grade class night, senior send-off, staff appreciation sundae bar), please sign up here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0849A9AC2BA0FB6-56240219-2025
Clothing Drive
The PTSC is running a clothing/household items drive from May 1 - May 19 (by 10:00am). This is an opportunity to clean out your closets and declutter, and help out our PTSC. See the picture for details on donations. Bagged donations can be dropped off at the middle school pole barn (accessed via
SENIOR SECTION
Graduation Program Consent and Final Transcript Release Form
Senior Walk
On June 17, Seniors will be dismissed from graduation practice so they may visit their elementary school. There will be a Google Form shared that they can sign up if they plan to participate.