Good Afternoon, Maple Place Families,

There was certainly a lot to celebrate this past week at Maple Place with our first Night of the Arts on Tuesday evening, followed by the Board Recognition meeting on Wednesday night where we honored our district Teachers and Ed Services Professionals of the Year as well as our district's retirees. Additionally, our Charger and Jazz Bands continued their week of performances by attending the Music in the Parks Festival where they did quite well!

We also finished NJSLA testing with the fifth and eighth grades completing the Science sections. This coming week we will be pulling students for any make up sessions they need to complete.

Just a reminder as the weather gets warmer, and the students' clothing choices begin to change to meet the needs of the weather, we do have a dress code that is outlined within our student handbook and should be followed in order to prevent any dress code infractions. Additionally, it is important to remember that the school is air conditioned, so students are reminded to keep a sweatshirt or light sweater in their lockers as some classrooms are cooler than others.

The following items are impermissible to wear to school:

• Flip flops or strapless shoes (shoes must have backs and/or straps)

• Clothing MUST cover undergarments and waistbands.

• Extremely short shorts or skirts (the length of shorts or skirts must meet the student’s fingertips with arms extended straight at their sides.)

• See-through clothing

Enjoy your weekend,

Melissa Keiser

At Wednesday night's Board of Education meeting, we honored the Maple Place Teacher of the Year and Ed Services Professional of the Year. Congratulations to Corey Billy (Teacher of the Year) and Andrew Becker (Ed. Services Professional of the Year) on their wonderful accomplishments. Additionally, although he couldn't be with us on Wednesday, we also honored Anthony Grassi on his upcoming retirement. A special thank you to Mrs. Bach and the Wolf Hill and Maple Place chorus members who sang the National Anthem as well as a special tribute to their teachers!

The Baseball and Softball regular season has come to an end.

The Softball team was set to play Little Silver in the playoffs this week, but it was postponed due to the ongoing dreary weather. Hopefully the game will be played this coming week. More information is to come!

Monday, May 20th:

None

Tuesday, May 21st:

Advanced Art - Grade 8 - 3:00-4:00pm - Art Room

Wednesday, May 22nd:

Creative Writing Club - 2:45-3:45pm - Room 105

Thursday, May 23rd:

Debate Club - 7:20am - Room 109

Friday, May 24th:

None

On Friday morning our Debate Club had an insightful and engaging meeting with Alex DeSevo, Esq. from Falcon Law Firm, who discussed crucial elements of the judicial system, including civil and criminal court cases. As we explore the world of Mock Trial, Mr. DeSevo shared his extensive experience, explaining key terms such as prosecution, plaintiff, defendant, witnesses, evidence, and alibis. He showcased various types of evidence such as forensic diagrams and police reports, elaborating on their admissibility in court. We also explored different career paths that could stem from participation in Debate Club or Mock Trial (in high school) such as Court Clerks, Paralegals, stenographers, and court police officers. The students were captivated by Mr. DeSevo's dynamic and entertaining presentation. Thank you, Mr. DeSevo for joining us and sharing your expertise! Special thanks to Mrs. Pugliese for helping to organize this informative session!

On Tuesday, May 14th, Maple Place hosted it's first Night of the Arts. During this amazing evening of music and art, we showcased the many talents of our students. Guests were able to take a walk through the halls checking out the Art Show while stopping in to see some wonderful student performances in our Media Center Coffee House. Then it was time to head into the cafeteria to check out the Maple Place Chorus, Charger, Cadet, and Jazz Bands. It was certainly a wonderful evening. A special thank you needs to go out to Mr. DiTommaso, Mrs. Bach, and Mrs. Jakubowski for their amazing work with their students throughout the year. Thank you to Mrs. Confessore for helping to plan the evening. Please take a look at the pictures as well as the movie below. Thank you to Mrs. LaSalle for putting together the movie of the students' art work!

Join the Oceanport and Monmouth Beach Schools for a night of singing and baseball. Watch the choruses perform and then take in a game! Tickets for the Blue Claws Game on June 11th are now available. Please click on the link below to get yours!

On Friday, the Charger and Jazz Bands performed in the annual Music in the Parks festival. The students performed and also received a short 10 minute clinic with the judges. Then it was time for some fun at Great Adventure while they waited for the awards ceremony. The Charger Band took home second place while the Jazz Band came home with first place as well as soloist awards for Bass Clarinet (Emme Testa) and Mallets (Ollie Torbert). Congratulations to Mr. DiTommaso and all of the Maple Place band members in attendance!

The Oceanport Education Foundation is selling lawn signs for both our fourth and eighth graders who will be moving up and moving on at the end of this school year. The proceeds from the signs will benefit the 8th Grade Class of 2024. Please see below for more information. To order - click the link HERE or scan the QR code below.

Wednesday, May 22nd - 7th Grade Class Trip to Philadelphia

Friday, May 24th - Monday, May 27th - NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day Weekend!

Thursday, May 30th - 8th Grade Dance - Jumping Brook Country Club

Friday, May 31st - 5th Grade Class Trip to Bayshore Waterfront Park

Monday, June 3rd - Advocates for Diverse Learners - Maple Place Media Center - 7:00pm

Tuesday, June 4th - PTO Meeting - Maple Place Media Center - 7:00pm

Thursday & Friday, June 6th-7th - 8th Grade Class Trip - Hershey Park & Lancaster

Tuesday, June 11th - OP Chorus performs at the Blue Claws Game!

Save the Date!

May 20: Mermaid Tea for 1st & 2nd grade girls and their special adult lady

June 9: Annual Wiffleball Tournament for Boys in Grades 1-8 and their adult baseball buddy

June 13: Pickleball Event for girls in Grades 3-8th and their adult lady pickleball partner

The PTO is sponsoring the Maple Place Field Day on Tuesday, June 11th. Each grade level has been assigned a neon color to wear that day. If you have not ordered your field day t-shirt, please do so by Monday!

As summer approaches, I wanted to make sure to send out information about the new procedure for working papers, as students no longer need to obtain their working papers from the school. Minors under the age of 18 are required to have working papers to be employed in the state of New Jersey, and now these papers can be obtained online. The steps to follow are listed below:

1. CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR JOB OFFER! You only apply for Working Papers after you get an offer of an employment. If you're still looking for a job, check out our resources here.
   
   
2. CREATE AN ACCOUNT. Enter your name and email address at myworkingpapers.nj.gov. We’ll send you a link to confirm your email address. Remember: You only need to do this once, even if you need to submit more than one Working Papers application. (See step #5 for more information.)
   
   
3. COMPLETE THE APPLICATION. You’ll need your employer’s unique 8-digit code and your caregiver’s name and email address to submit your part of the application. Helpful hint: If you don’t have the employer’s code, you can search for the business by keyword. If your employer hasn’t registered with us yet, you can give us their email address and we’ll send them a link to create an account.
   
   
4. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS. You may need to follow up with your caregiver and employer, who need to submit their parts of the application before you can start working. If your application is rejected for any reason, you can’t work until you submit a new application that is approved.
   
   
5. GET TO WORK! Once your application is approved, you can start working at your new job. Don’t forget: If you add or change jobs, use your existing account to submit a new Working Papers application for every new employer. Use the "Apply for Working Papers" link after you log in.

Click on the attachment below for more information regarding the Shore Regional Blue Devils Basketball Camp offered to boys and girls in grades 3-8 running from June 24th to June 27th, 2024. Hard copies of flyers were sent home with the students earlier in the week.

The Monmouth County Sheriff's Office is sponsoring the 31st Annual Sheriff Youth Week from July 8th to July 12th at the Monmouth County Police Academy. This opportunity is open to students who are graduating from 8th grade and have an interest in law enforcement. Please see the attached letter and application for more information.

Be sure to follow Maple Place on our social media outlets. We can be found on Twitter at @MaplePlaceMS. You can also check us out on Instagram at @mapleplaceop.

Email: mkeiser@oceanportschools.org
Website: https://www.oceanportschools.org/Domain/8
Location: 2 Maple Place, Oceanport, NJ, USA
Phone: (732) 229-0267
Twitter: @MaplePlaceMS

Instagram: @MaplePlaceOP