OTS Updates

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

I hope everyone is enjoying our mild winter. OTS is three weeks into the 3rd MP and I can't believe February is already here. Our boys basketball team finished their season by winning three games in a row to make it into the A playoff bracket where they faced Holland Township. Our boys played a great game but wound up losing a close contest. Our girls basketball team hosts the 1st round of the B playoff bracket today after school. They too finished the season strong and we hope they can make a nice run like they did last year. Go Tewks!! Please check out our new website's homepage for important weekly news and announcements as well as updates providing practice and game information and spring sports information.

Rehearsals for our 8th grade musical are in full swing. The class of 2024 will be performing Aladdin, Jr. as this year's musical. The musical will be March 21-23 with a matinee on the 23rd in addition to the evening show. Thanks to all the 8th grade parents who have volunteered to support this production! Lastly, if your child does not participate in the musical, they don't receive any of the benefits towards their DC trip in June. Please encourage your child to seek out Ms. Krowl or Mr. Mortenson to get involved. There are still opportunities to be part of this great production.

Speaking of 8th grade, we want to thank TEF for sponsoring the annual 8th grade broadway show. This past Wednesday, the 8th grade students and teachers attended Back to the Future in NYC. The kids and teachers truly enjoyed the show and are thankful to the generosity of TEF.

A week from tonight, Friday, February 9th from 6-9pm, is our first school dance. We will have teacher and parent chaperones. Student phones will be collected at the door and all parents are asked to refrain from taking pictures of students other than their own during the dance.

Clubs are on-going at OTS and we are happy to announce that we will once again be having Whittemore providing a club for OTS students. Please click here to learn more about the photography club and register.

In my last newsletter, I wrote about a team of OTS students who would be participating in the first annual bridge building competition at North Hunterdon High School. Well, we are happy to announce that the champions of this competition were an OTS team whose bridge held over 350 pounds! Congratulations OTS and thanks to Mr. Berg for making this happen!

Speaking of field trips, this is another reminder that 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 lessen 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. Below see the letter we will be sending to all our families in the coming weeks. Please read this letter and talk with your child about our expectations.

Thank you,

Dr. Mitchell

February 9th - OTS School Dance 6-9pm

February 12th - Strategic Planning 7pm OTS

February 16th - Early Dismissal

February 19th - School Closed

“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.