The Weekly Update #9

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Today was a great day at NBCHS! Our 10th and 11th grade students did a great job completing their PSAT. Our seniors participated in an alumni panel with six amazing Northern alumni as participants and our freshman learned the ins and outs of Naviance (our college and career software) as well as participating in a presentation about the Dangers of Vaping.

As we move into our final days of October, please pay special attention to our upcoming events. Please read the information below related to Halloween, Parent Teacher conferences and upcoming school closures. Additionally, the first quarter ends on November 12th- please encourage students to complete all work for quarter one prior to this date!

As always, please let us know if you have any questions.

Dr. McCann

Principal

Follow the Northern Burlington events and activities on Instagram and Twitter @nbc_hsprincipal

Follow the Superintendent on twitter: @AZUCK1

Webpage at www.nburlington.com

Question: I'm confused about lateness. If I am dropping by student off by 7:20am, are they on time?

Answer: Each morning homeroom teachers take attendance for the students in homeroom at 7:20am. If a student is not in the room at this time, they are considered late and must sign in on one of the kiosks in the main hall foyer or the 300 hallway entrance. Teachers will send students back to these locations if they enter after 7:20am without a valid pass.

Each morning, the main office updates student attendance based on the reports run from these kiosks. Mrs. Brittingham, our attendance officer, manually updates attendance. She can be contacted to confirm a student’s attendance or with any potential concerns.

Students with a modified schedule, and therefore a modified start time, should contact Mrs. Brittingham or your child's Assistant Principal directly with questions or concerns about their specific start time.

It is important to note that students who are late consistently will accrue disciplinary consequences based on our code of conduct, in addition to missing time from their homeroom or classes, therefore timeliness is crucial.

As Halloween approaches, we want to remind everyone that students are not permitted to wear costumes at school this year. This policy helps maintain a safe and focused learning environment for all students. Here are a few key reasons:

1. Safety: Costumes can sometimes pose safety hazards, whether through trip risks or restricted movement.

2. Distraction-Free Learning: Our goal is to ensure that all students can concentrate on their studies without distractions that costumes may bring.

3. Inclusivity: We aim to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable and included. Costumes can sometimes lead to feelings of exclusion or discomfort among peers.

Starting today, you will be able to schedule parent-teacher conferences, which will be held on the following dates and times:

Tuesday, November 5th - 7:30 AM to 10 AM (IN PERSON)

Tuesday, November 5th - 12:00 PM to 2:40 PM (VIRTUAL VIA GOOGLE MEET)

Thursday, November 14th - 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM (IN PERSON)

To sign up for conferences, follow this link (HS Staff Appointment Calendars) to a Google Sheet where you can view each teacher's individual sign-up links. Please note that you will need to schedule appointments with each individual teacher that you would like to meet with. Next to each teacher's name, you will see three links to sign-up, one for each of the three conference windows. When you click the link, you may need to navigate to the correct date. You can do this easily by clicking the "Jump to the next available date" option, as pictured below.

If a date is showing no availability, that teacher's schedule may be full. You are welcome to reach out individually with any questions or concerns you may have.

Once you schedule your appointment(s), you will receive email confirmations with room locations for in-person appointments and Google Meet links for virtual appointments. These email confirmations will also have instructions should you need to cancel your appointment.

Recently, the CDC conducted a study on Adverse Childhood Experiences, known as the ACE study and they found that there are direct correlations between unresolved childhood emotional trauma and several physical conditions like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, bone fractures, depression and drug use. Compared to a person with an ACE score of 0, a person with high numbers of ACES is nearly three times more likely to smoke and 30 times more likely to attempt suicide. Many of the participants were older than 60, showing that these childhood events were still affecting the physical body decades later. But here is where it gets interesting…

-Childhood physical abuse–increased risk of lung cancer

-Childhood sexual abuse–increased risk of cardiac disease

-Childhood neglect–risk of diabetes and autoimmune disorders

More than ⅔ of the population report at least one ACE and nearly a quarter have experienced three or more. The maximum is 10. Each type of trauma counts as one, regardless of how many times it happened. For the complete list of ACES and to take the quiz click this link.

While this can seem daunting and out of our control, there is hope, even with these kinds of challenges. There are ways to heal some of these ACES through POSITIVE Childhood Experiences with connection and empathy and there is more about this included in the link above as well as in the flyer below:

Flyer for PCANJ CM Trainings.pdf

Did your child lose something at school? If so, please encourage them to check the lost and found. We have quite the collection of apparel, drinkware and more and would love for it to be reunited with its owner. Items can be found on the table outside West Cafeteria. Please be sure to check the lost and found by November 1. After that, the items will be bagged up and donated to the clothing drive.

To start the school year, students were utilizing bathrooms in the Main Hallway and the 600 hallway. This allowed us to ensure safety, oversight and monitoring of these spaces as well as minimizing student vaping and has led to a successful start of the year. Beginning Monday October 28th, students will also be able to use the bathroom in the 300/400 hallway intersection closest to the West Gym. This bathroom will be added to SmartPass and students will have access via their chromebooks to make passes to all of these locations. We hope this will reduce wait times in bathroom pass creation. Please continue to encourage your children to make good choices in the bathroom and to use the bathroom located closest to their classroom as this will minimize the time they are missing instruction.

New Jersey's Governor's Educator of the Year program promotes a culture that recognizes excellence, creates a sense of pride and brings public attention to the work of outstanding educators.

Classroom teachers and educational service professionals are recognized through this program.

Administrators, staff members, students, parents and community members are encouraged to participate.

Eligibility Criteria-Requirements

Any educators nominated for this award must meet all of the following requirements:

• An exceptionally skilled and dedicated classroom teacher where teaching is the primary responsibility or an educational services professional (ESP) in one of the eligible categories (see list below)

• An expert in the field who inspires students of all backgrounds and abilities to learn

• Actively collaborate with colleagues, students, and families to create a strong culture of respect and success

• Demonstrate leadership and innovation in educational activities at the school, district and/or state and national levels that take place both within and outside the school setting

• Have the respect and admiration of students, parents and colleagues

Note: There is no requirement for a minimum number of years in the classroom, however as an ambassador for education, this is an award based on merit and leadership and not to be given out solely based on years of service, like a retirement award.

To nominate a certified staff member for the Governor's Educator of the Year, please follow the appropriate link:

• Governor's Educator of the Year (GEOY) Form to nominate Teachers

• Governor's Educator of the Year (GEOY) Form to nominate Educational Service Professionals which at NB include:

• Anti-Bullying Specialist

• Athletic Trainer

• Child Study Team: Social Worker, School Psychologist, Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant (LDTC)

• Counselor: At-Risk, Clinical, School

• Interventionist

• Media Specialist

• Nurse

• Reading Specialist

• Speech Language Specialist

• Student Assistance Coordinator (SAC)

Nominations are accepted until Tuesday, October 29, 2024

https://secure.acsevents.org/site/STR?pg=entry&fr_id=109671

Please join us in the fight against cancer and register for Northern Burlington Relay for Life 2025 (link above)! You can create a team or join a team! To find out more, please contact Lori Nadolny (Lnadolny@nburlington.com) or Shelley Guevara (sguevara@nburlington.com). Please also consider joining us at one of our meetings at 6:00 pm in Room 110 in the high school on the following dates:

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

The High School Store is selling pink t-shirts, hoodies, and PJs. All proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society. They can be purchased in the store or online at: https://nbhsstore.square.site/

Team On Fire for Brian is selling beef sticks. If you are interested, please contact Mrs. O'Neill at moneill@nburlington.com or stop by and purchase them from the High School Store. All proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society.

We are excited to announce that the 2025 high school yearbook is now on sale! Our students and staff are working hard to capture the events, activities and memories of this school year. Place your order for the yearbook at https://shorturl.at/REICG. This is one you won’t want to miss!

The deadline to pay & register for AP exams without penalty is November 8, 2024. Late registration fees will apply after the deadline. Visit our website at www.totalregistration.net, or take a look at this FAQ document for more information. Contact Dr. Puente-Ervin at Lpuente-ervin@nburlington.com with any questions.

Dear NB Parents: The Middle School's Buddy Club needs your support. We are collecting gently worn, used, and new shoes (sneakers, sandals, boots, dress shoes, cleats, etc.) for our Shoe Drive Fundraiser! We will be collecting shoes from Oct 7 - to Nov 15, 2024. Now's the perfect time to clean out your closet of old shoes! Fall sports ending soon....we will take any used cleats from athletes!

Students can put the shoes in the collection box located at the main entrance. We appreciate your support of the Middle School's Buddy Club. Any questions please contact Heather at hevert@nburlington.com or Tracy at tnagy@nburlington.com.

Our district food service provider is looking to fill open positions. Anyone interested should check out this Flyer or go directly to the NutriServe Website here.

The Parent Teacher Student Connection (PTSC) is Northern Burlington's version of a Home and School/PTA group. All parents are invited to join and meetings are held throughout the year. Membership Form

Yeti Fall Raffle: Last day to buy tickets is Homecoming Saturday. Winning tickets will be drawn after the game.

Holiday Dessert Fundraiser: Our A&M Dessert fundraiser is over 40 pies, cakes, cheesecakes, and more. Order now through Nov. 19. Pickup will be Nov. 26 at the Middle School.

Fall Clothing Drive: Our annual fall clothing drive is from Nov. 1 - Nov. 18.

See our website at https://sites.google.com/view/nbptsc for more information about all of these events.

During the course of the school year, students will participate in various standardized assessments. Assessment Information and NB’s Assessment Schedule is available on the Office of Curriculum and Instruction (Academics) website in the Student Assessment

section.

Registration for May 2025 exams opens September 3, 2024. The deadline to pay & register for exams without penalty is November 8, 2024. Late registration fees will apply after the deadline. Visit our website, www.totalregistration.net, or contact Dr. Puente-Ervin at Lpuente-ervin@nburlington.com for more information.

Athletic Winter registration IS NOW OPEN for both the High School and Middle School.

If you already have an account, please sign in with your current username and password. DO NOT CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT!

If you need assistance, please contact the Athletic Office at 609-298-3900, ext. 2093 or email moneill@nburlington.com