District Newsletter
GREETINGS!
The close of January also marks the close of the first half of the school year. High school students are completing midterms, and our elementary school community is zeroing in on the hundredth day of school. Some tend to look at the time between now and June as a downhill ride; however, many elements of district activity demonstrate the opposite, which should be highlighted.
Although our relatively new content-area supervisors have hit the ground running, their critical work has just begun. As a reminder, they are:
- Matthew DiDonato: Math and Science
- Rob Fox: Health & Phys. Ed., Fine and Performing Arts, World Language, HIB, Safety
- Katy Roussos: English/Language Arts and Social Studies
Under Mr. DiDonato’s leadership, the elementary school math pilot, a significant change resulting in an improved curriculum, will be completed in March, with implementation planned for the fall. You can read details about it and access a link to his recent Board presentation below. Mrs. Roussos has worked with her team to do the heavy lifting of realigning our curriculum to match the newly released NJSLA standards in ELA. As highlighted earlier, the work and feedback provided by our teachers to the NJ DOE impacted the final version of those new standards. Mr. Fox has been busy re-envisioning and reinvigorating our performing arts department. Guests in attendance at our fall and winter concerts have seen the positive outcome of this effort in energetic and enthusiastic student performances. He has also worked diligently to utilize safety programs and training, including increasing our awareness of cyber dangers, information that was shared through assemblies at the middle school and via a community presentation last night.
The Board of Education policy committee has been collaborating with the administration and students to review policies that impact student life. The most notable would be practices surrounding the code of conduct and, specifically, suspensions; they are exploring whether out-of-school suspension is the best way to handle certain conduct violations. This exploration has resulted in rich conversations about when suspensions are appropriate and when other kinds of consequences may be more beneficial and may address behaviors more meaningfully.
Plans are underway for Tatem Elementary’s one hundredth anniversary this spring, extending their year of celebration after being named a US DOE National Blue Ribbon School in the fall.
On a final note, the Board of Education plans to have a committee of the whole discussion on February 8 about the status of the potential referendum as they revisit the project’s scope. We welcome all community members to participate by attending in person or watching online.
Here’s to a successful second half of the 2023-24 school year! Thank you for your continued collaboration and support.
Chuck Klaus, Superintendent of Schools
Tatem Community Celebrated NBRS Status
On Thursday, December 21, all Tatem staff and students met in the all-purpose room in recognition of the school's status as a NBRS (National Blue Ribbon School). It was a spectacular celebration!
PTA President Lauren Zonies, Haddonfield Mayor Colleen Bezich and Congressman Donald Norcross were honored guests; the Tatem chorus sang three songs including the school's theme song "Eye of the Tiger;" first-grade teacher Marc Hanna led the children in an uproarious game of "Guess the Teacher;" and Superintendent Klaus and Principal Beatty made sure the children and staff knew that THEY are the reason Tatem has been identified as outstanding!
In a video presentation, students shared their reasons for believing that Tatem is a wonderful school. Additionally, to illustrate the fact that everyone had a "hand" in Tatem's success, all children wrote their reasons on colorful hands that decorated a large banner.
It was a great day! Read the Haddonfield Sun's story about the celebration here.
Central Students Study Predicate Expanders
Second-grade students at Central Elementary have been learning about "predicate expanders" from their Framing Your Thoughts writing program and are applying this skill to their "small moment writing" stories.
A "how expander" answers the question "How?" and adds detail to their stories. Children may use three starter words to add a how expander, "like," "with," or "without," or they may add a word ending in "ly." For example, if the sentence originally was "I ran," the student may add a how expander such as "like a cheetah" or "quickly."
Similarly, students use "where expanders" such as "to the park" or "through" to add detail to the sentence "I ran." Well done, budding writers!
Take Advantage of ParentSquare, our School and District Communications App
Parents, we use ParentSquare to communicate with you via text or email.
We encourage you to download the app and register with ParentSquare so that you can take advantage of settings such as how and when you will receive school communications. For example, you may choose to receive them immediately or late in the day when you have time to digest the message.
Here are some helpful tips and instructions:
Click here to download the mobile app.
Click here for instructions how to register for PS from the app.
Watch the "getting started" video here.
Manage PS account settings here.
Thank you!
2023-24 Updated COVID-19 Guidelines
Due to an uptick in cases nationwide, we have posted updated COVID-19 guidelines to our website.
- Testing is recommended for students/staff with COVID-19 Symptoms.
- If you test positive for COVID-19, you are encouraged to contact your school nurse.
Specific information and more details can be found on this single-page document. Thank you!