The MLK Snapshot
Newsletter Update / November 14, 2024
A Message from the MLK Main Office
MLK Families,
Throughout this week's newsletter I wanted to give a little information about programs starting shortly here at MLK - including tutoring programs and clubs. These programs can provide additional valuable enrichment opportunities for our students. I encourage all families to give a look with your children! Please do not hesitate to reach out to my office with any questions.
All the best,
Andrew Kehoe, Principal
November Parent Teacher Conferences
The attached letter has been sent to all families regarding guidelines for signing up for our three parent-teacher conference days.
Please give this a look and reach out to the MLK Main Office with any questions. We hope you can make it for these important 1 to 1 conversations with your child's teacher.
MLK Club Offerings 2024-2025
We are excited to introduce a robust slate of after school activities for our students this year. I wanted to provide an overall picture of our clubs for this year in this week's Snapshot.
Many of our clubs will begin taking sign-ups soon, and some are on a first come first serve sign up. Please give the packet below a thorough review and be on the lookout for additional information coming home throughout the year.
Wojcik Warriors Send a Smile Toy Drive
This November and December MLK is happy to support the Wojcik Warriors Send a Smile Toy Drive. Some information provided by MLK Noontime Aide Indira Wojcik...
Every year Send a Smile raises money to donate to the children at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of NJ who are undergoing treatment. We are accepting small new toys, gift cards and monetary donations. We also started a wish list on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/19WI7SPNEKYNK.
At MLK we have set up a large donation box near the front entrance. Students and parents may drop off donations any time through the upcoming holiday season. You can also donate through the attached flyer.
Winter Weather - Recess Considerations
Please send your children to school with appropriate outdoor clothing for the expected weather conditions. Physical activity and time spent outdoors during recess is an important part of a child’s school day. The exercise and fresh air a child is afforded during this time gives them a break from the structure of the classroom and helps them develop a variety of skills. When properly clothed, preschool, elementary and intermediate students can safely participate in outdoor play in most weather conditions.
As the temperatures drop we want to emphasize how important it is to send students in with appropriate clothing for recess.
MLK Tutorial Program
Our after school tutorial program will be offered on a limited basis to students who are below grade level and in significant need of math or ELA supports. Invitations for identified students for this program will be sent shortly.
Due to scheduling considerations, we are unfortunately not able to offer after school tutoring to all students. However, please know that we are always looking for ways to support every student academically. This can begin with a dialogue on your child's individual needs. If you feel your child may need additional supports do not hesitate to reach out to my office for a discussion.
The PTO Newsletter
Great News! Our wonderful PTO is consolidating all of our PTO initiatives into one easy to read Newsletter each month. This will be your one stop shop for many school initiatives and events, including sign-ups for many great volunteer opportunities. Please give this a look each week to stay involved in everything at MLK!
I strongly urge all of our families to become involved in any way possible!
MLK's Passionate Penguins Program
Do you feel your child's teacher is doing an exceptional job and you would like to give them a shout out? Feel free to click the link below and we will provide the feedback to them!
MLK Spirit Days
Each week you'll notice that on Friday we have designated Spirit Days. These are fun, festive days where students and staff are able to dress up and participate together in a cool theme. For students with picture permissions - we take pictures of our great outfits, put them up on school bulletin boards, and include them in the yearbook and on the school website as well!
Families are encouraged to check the monthly calendar and go all out for our Spirit Days!
iPad Repairs
You can fill out a repair ticket for your child's iPad at any time! Coming to school with a working device is important. If your child's device has been damaged in any way please use the following link to bring this to the attention of the district IT department.
Other Important Communication Tools
You can find much more information at our school website!
https://king.piscatawayschools.org/
You can stay in touch with your child's academic information through the Genesis Parent Portal!
You can keep up with your child's classes through the Schoology Parent Module.
MLK Birthday Procedures
We love to celebrate our students! If you would like to have your child’s birthday recognized in school, please be aware of the guidelines in place at MLK:
- Recognitions are brief and are scheduled at a time of the day that is convenient for the teacher’s classroom schedule.
- Recognitions are for students only (guests/family members do not attend)
- Please pre-schedule the date with your child’s teacher.
- If you would like to send in a snack:
- Store-bought
- Individual serving (nothing to cut, etc.)
- Ingredients must be visible
- No candy
- Please do not send in goodie bags or additional items for your child to distribute
- Please let your child’s teacher know if your child is not permitted to participate in their peers’ birthday celebrations.
Social and Emotional Supports at MLK
I wanted to take an opportunity to further touch on our school-wide Social Emotional Supports at King. In addition to individual and group counseling, we provide schoolwide support to all students through two initiatives - the Second Step SEL Program and our Pillars of Penguin Pride Positive Behavior Supports (PBIS) Program.
The Second Step Program:
We want your child to be successful in school and that means supporting and encouraging their whole development. While excelling in academic classes is important, children also need skills to take on learning challenges, make good decisions, manage strong emotions, and get along with others.
The Second Step Program is a research-based social-emotional learning program designed to improve children’s social-emotional skills. Second Step skills and concepts are designed to help children both in and out of school. Four units will cover the following:
- Growth Mindset & Goal-Setting: Children learn how to pay attention and manage distractions, develop a growth mindset, and apply goal-setting strategies to their social and academic lives.
- Emotion Management: Children learn how to identify and label emotions and use emotion management strategies—including stress management for older students—to calm strong feelings.
- Empathy & Kindness: Children learn how to recognize kindness and act kindly, have empathy for others and take others’ perspectives, and recognize kind acts and empathy as important elements of building and maintaining relationships.
- Problem-Solving: Children learn how to identify and state a problem, recognize if a problem is an accident, and use the STEP problem-solving process.
The Pillars of Penguin Pride PBIS Program
We also want to continually recognize and celebrate our students. Positive Behavior Supports programs identify desired behaviors and recognize students that practice them around the school.
At King, we have identified a core behavior each month and are providing every staff member with recognition tickets to encourage and promote schoolwide positive behaviors. Students can then turn in their tickets by our counseling office to be entered into raffles for fun prizes. Beginning in October students will be focusing on "Respect." This provides a fun schoolwide way to recognize our students.
Counseling and Behavior Supports
Throughout the year we offer "lunch bunches" focused on specific social-emotional needs, individual counseling, and in class lessons along targeted themes for our students. Mr. Kaiafas, our wonderful school counselor, is always here to respond to any student needs. If you feel your child would benefit from any specific programming he can be emailed at nkaiafas@pway.org. You can also call the main office any time if looking for supports for your child.