Spring has definitely arrived. After a long, very gray winter - it is nice to feel the warm sun on our faces. Spring is such a great time, reminding us all that all things come full circle, that new possibilities always present themselves, and that there is so much joy in the world for each of us.

This month, we have much to share. Please take some time to review all of the great information that we have included in this newsletter. From updated and new school calendars, to end-of-year excitement, to summer programming, the Butler School District continues to work hard to provide our children with the best educational experiences possible.

I look forward to seeing many of you this Spring, either at the concerts, our Spring Musical, a sporting event, or at promotion/graduation. Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership.

Be Well

Dr. Johnson

At the March Board of Education meeting, the Board of Education approved an updated calendar for the '22-'23 school year. With one emergency closing day remaining, we will not have school on Friday, May 26, 2023. Please see updated calendar below:

Additionally, the Board of Education voted to approve the School Calendar for the '23-'24 school year. Please see that calendar below:

In the summer of 2021, the Butler School District began offering our community summer programming. We started small, focusing on intervention and a STEAM Camp. We had such good feedback from these efforts that we worked to expand them last summer, offering Art, Games in the Gym, and Theatre along with our STEAM Camp. This summer, we look forward to continuing these efforts and spending time with our students in such a way that brings joy to their faces as they continue to learn. Please see below for more information.

Upon returning from Spring Break, the Butler School District will begin preparations for the mandated standardized testing, NJSLA. The New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA) are statewide assessments that assess students’ progress toward the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in English Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, and science. This assessment is administered in a computer-based (CBT) format. ELA assessments will focus on writing effectively when analyzing text. Mathematics assessments will focus on applying skills and concepts and understanding multi-step problems that require abstract reasoning and modeling real-world problems, precision, perseverance, and strategic use of tools. Science assessments will focus on applying scientific concepts and practices within the domains of Earth & space, life, and physical science. Students will demonstrate their acquired skills and knowledge by answering selected-response items, constructed response items, and technology-enhanced questions.

The Butler School District uses the data from these tests for a number of things. First and foremost, we use these assessments to gauge the effectiveness of our programs, curriculum, and teaching. Additionally, we use this data as part of our identification protocols for our Response to Intervention (RtI) efforts. In combination, the data helps us provide the best education possible. As such, we ask that you please work with your student(s) to have them be present in school on the days of testing, and to encourage them to do their best on these assessments, as it is not only a reflection on their learning, but on our District as a whole.

Testing dates to remember:

Butler High School - May 15 through May 18

Richard Butler Middle School - May 1 through May 4

Aaron Decker Elementary School - Grade 3: May 1-5; Grade 4: May 8-12.

In the coming weeks, you will be receiving additional information about the NJSLA for your child from his/her principal. Until that time, please see some information below to help you plan for the administration of the tests:

Recognition of Students Demonstrating Honesty

Honesty is being truthful in what you say and do.

Congratulations to students for being recognized for their Honesty:

Pre-K: Nicholas Marcaida

Kindergarten: Massimo Anello, Colton Cusano, Lincoln Harvilla, Matias Rodriguez, Mason Hedenhag, Shravan Patel, Brayden Rivera

1st Grade: Dylan Castillo, Henry Leucht, Adrianna Ramautar, Ella Ramautar, Claire Young

2nd Grade: Lilana Caputo,Lucas Hopper, Steven Natale, Adrianna Neira, Shimpei Obata, Nathaniel Scognamiglio, Renata Urquia Sanchez, Freddy Sherwood

3rd Grade: Adrianna Blaine, Aria Esposito, Ashton Krowska. Chase Kennedy, Mia Niciejewski, Zoey Pappas

4th Grade: Kylee Baumgart,Juliana Budesheim, Kayla Cusano, Logan Frasca, Madelyn Hopper, Angel Silva, Steven Totyik, Chloe Zomera

Butler High School Students Visit ADS

ADS students were so excited to have the High School Peer Leaders come to read to the classes. Partnering with the High School students demonstrates our commitment to Butler School district's Portrait of a Graduate. The portrait demonstrates how our graduates are Collaborative Communicators: I cooperatively work with others to accomplish goals and tasks while appreciating individual contributions. Thank you Ms. Bocchino, Mrs. Szabo, and Mrs. Ventrella for organizing this great experience.

Kindergarten Registration

Please click on link for more information on Kindergarten Registration for the 2023-2024 school year; Kindergarten Registration/Welcome letter

ADS Bulldog of the Month Award

We would like to congratulate Mr. Dan Clark as our recipient of the April ADS Bulldog of the Month Award. Our students and staff have benefited from Mr. Clark’s professionalism and commitment to Aaron Decker School throughout the years. His work as a PE teacher, Anti-Bullying specialist, and key member of the Culture and Climate Committee is valued and appreciated. Mr. Clark is a true role model for our students and exemplifies what the Bulldog Award is all about. Thank you for everything that you do!

NJSLA Testing

The New Jersey Student Learning Assessments for English Language Arts (NJSLA-ELA) and Mathematics (NJSLA-M) measure the extent to which students are, or on track to being, college or career ready in each of the respective areas. Additionally, assessments are designed to provide critical instructional data to educators.

Aaron Decker School will be administering the NJSLA ELA and Math assessments to students in Grade 3 from May 1-5 and students in Grade 4 from May 8-12.

Upcoming Important Dates at ADS in April:

April 4- Kindergarten Screenings (Registrants for 2023-2024 school year)

April 7-14 - Spring Break

April 26 - Spring Concert and Art Show - 6:00pm

We have several ways for you to stay connected to ADS. Follow us on Twitter at @ADS_Bulldogs and Instagram at @ads_bulldogs for news, announcements, and celebrations. A weekly update will be sent out for upcoming events and important information through Blackboard Communications. As always, thank you for your continued support!

Happy Spring Everyone!

We are excited for all the upcoming events and happenings at RBS this spring! We hope you’ll join us for the RBS Drama, Channeling Grim, April 21-22. Ticket purchase information will be available soon. Thank you to the Butler PTA for sponsoring the Dialed Action Sports BMX Stunt Show coming to RBS on April 25! This incredible show will feature some of the world’s most talented BMX athletes performing incredible aerial stunts like backflips, supermans and 360 spins on their custom built ramps. In addition to the show’s exciting tricks, the team will be speaking about bicycle safety, anti-bullying, healthy decisions, and will also display some moves that even novice riders could try at home. If you’d like more information about Dialed Action Sports, please visit their website.

As we look ahead to upcoming state testing from May 1-9, we are confident that our staff have prepared our students to perform well. Please try to avoid absences during testing and remember that sleep and a good breakfast can help our students to be successful. It is important to recognize that this can indeed be a source of added stress for students. Tests can naturally be stressful, but the added focus and attention that comes with state testing can create an even greater sense of pressure. As a school, we want to do our best to help support our students who might be experiencing some test anxiety by giving some suggestions to our families on things they can do at home that can help.

Here are a few helpful tips for supporting your child(ren):

1) In any stressful situation, whether it be in competition, at work, or with tests, deep breathing is a great way to help calm one’s nerves. Remind your student to visualize something that is calming to them, and then practice taking slow deep breaths. A great strategy to help with this is called 5 Finger Breathing. Students start at the base of their thumb and trace a finger up while inhaling, then slowly trace down their thumb while exhaling. Then move on to your fingers, repeating the breathing pattern. See the images below to help!

2) Another strategy you could talk about at home is what educational psychologist Dr. Michele Borba calls the 1+3+10 Strategy. Dr. Borba teaches students that when they feel like they are getting tense, they should 1 stop and tell themselves: “Be calm,” then take 3 deep slow breaths, then count slowly to 10.

3) Don’t underestimate a good night's rest. The simple reminder to get to bed a little earlier the night before can do a lot of good to help reduce one’s stress level.

4) Remind your child(ren) that feeling anxious is normal! Anytime in life when we have something important on the horizon it is normal for us to feel nervous about it. Sometimes students can compound their anxiety if they think that feeling nervous is abnormal. Perhaps the most important thing to remind your student is that once that test starts, just “try their best and forget the rest!” It can be helpful to remind them that the primary function of state tests is to give feedback to their teachers and school. State tests help us determine what areas we can continue to improve in our instruction, as well as help us identify the learning needs of individual students.

As we look ahead to May, we’re excited for the TREP$ Marketplace, which will be held on Wednesday, May 4 from 6:30pm-8:30pm. All are welcome, so bring cash to support our students' ingenuity and entrepreneurship!

If you haven’t already, please check out our RBS Review newsletter. Helpful documents like the RBS Student Handbook, Bell Schedules, and Student Activities schedules can be found there along with current announcements and events. We’ll also continue to celebrate our students and staff on Twitter at @RBS_Bulldogs, Facebook at Richard Butler Middle School, and Instagram at @RBS_Bulldogs. We appreciate your feedback, so please feel free to contact us anytime at mpapa@butlerboe.org.

• April 7-14 - Spring Break

• April 21 & 22 - RBS Drama Club Performance of Channeling Grim at BHS Auditorium 7pm

• April 25 BMX Stunt Program

• April 25 - BOE Committee Meetings

• April 27 - BOE Meeting - Public Hearing on Budget

• April 28- PTA Science festival @ RBS

• May 1-9 - NJSLA

• May 4 - TREP$

It's hard to believe we are a week into our final marking period at Butler High School. All Shook Up was a big success last weekend and we look forward to some great events coming up in May and June. Reminder, Butler High School is closed from April 7th to April 16th. School will resume on April 17th, 2023. Here are some highlights at BHS and some important information to make note of as we move into the final months of the school year:

• English - Sierra DellaVecchia
• Math - Ciel Mendoza
• Science -Jayden Clasen
• Social Studies - Dennis Ackerman
• Physical Education - Matthew Barile
• Business - Sarah Higgins and Elizabeth McBride
• Art - Holly Bariso
• Music- Steven Keene
• Foods - Jailyn Figueroa
• World Language -Payton Brady
• ELL - Nilgun Sarikaya
• Shared-Time Student - Emir Yilmaz

• 12th grade-Tyrus Friscoe
• 11th grade-Delaney Diaz
• 10th grade-Sean Bauer
• 9th grade-Kacie Paduch

James Russnak was honored as the BHS Passaic County Unsung Hero at Clifton HS on March 13, 2023. Congratulations James!

Jayden Lewis was honored as the BHS Morris County Unsung Hero at County College of Morris on March 29, 2023. Congratulations Jayden!

Congratulations to Butler High School’s 2022 Dwight D.Eisenhower Award Recipient- Matthew Shultis

• Congratulation to Butler High School’s 2023 NJ Boys State Nominees -

Matthew Shultis, Brendan Combs, Kade Rankin, Dan Akhtar, Marc Rosania

• Congratulations to Butler High School’s 2023 NJ Girls State Nominees -

Sabrina Chen and Busra Aydin

• First Place in the Colored Pencil Category - Mia Boasso
• Second Place in the Pencil/Graphite Category - Maddie Durren
• First Place in the Watercolor Category - Emma Toledo
• Second Place in the Sculpture Category - Margaret Gryglak
• Honorable Mention in the Mixed Media Category - Katie Gallagher

Mr. Hypno visited Butler High School on Tuesday night April, 4th, 2023 and put on a great show.

Congratulations to the February/March Athletes of the Month Taylor Peters and Josh Emann. Taylor had an awesome month in Winter Track while Josh was a big contributor to the basketball team and their late playoff push. Both athletes will continue their athletic careers as they are participating in track this spring. Great job Bulldogs 💪

BHS 2023 AP, NJSLA and Final Exam Testing Letter

In March we celebrated National Athletic Trainer Appreciation month and at Butler we are lucky to have one of the best trainers in the state! Thank you Sven for all you do for our student athletes and our community.

We had a great turnout for our faculty vs seniors basketball game! The faculty pulled out a narrow victory over the gritty seniors.

• Apri 1 & 2 - BHS Spring Musical-(3/31, 4/1 & 4/2)

• April 4 - Hypnosis Show @BHS - Student Council

• April 4 - Kindergarten Screenings

• April 4 - RBS Multicultural Night 5-6:30pm

• April 7 - BHS Report Cards Posted

• April 7 through 14 - Spring Break

• April 21 & 22 - PTA Drama Club Performance at BHS 7-9pm

• April 26 - ADS Grade 3 & 4 Spring Concert and Art Show-6:00pm

• April 27 - BOE Meeting - Public Hearing on Budget

• April 28- PTA Science festival @ RBS

Memorial Field has made it to the Final Four in a competition for the best turf field complex. Please click the title above and vote for Memorial to advance to the finals, and then please check back to help us be named best turf complex!