Tenakill Times

Dear TMS families,

Happy New Year! As we step into January, I hope this message finds you refreshed from the holiday break and ready for an exciting second half of the school year. The new year brings new opportunities for growth, learning, and connection, and I am thrilled to embark on this journey with our students, families, and staff.

This month, we are focusing on goal-setting, perseverance and self-management. In our classrooms, teachers are guiding students to reflect on their progress so far and encouraging them to set meaningful goals for the months ahead. I encourage you to have conversations at home about your child’s aspirations for the second half of the school year—whether they are academic, personal, or extracurricular. Together, we can help our students build the habits and mindset they need to succeed.

We also have some wonderful events coming up in January, including our Lunar New Year Assembly hosted by the KPG and our anti-bullying prevention programs for students in grades 6, 7, and 8. We are continuing with our PAW print positive referral system, and would like to congratulate our 15 December award recipients for their positive contributions to the school community.

As always, our doors are open, and we welcome your feedback and involvement. Thank you for being an essential part of our school community. Wishing you and your family a joyful start to the year!

Warm regards,

Christi Cipollini

Principal

In January, we’ll focus on the SEL core competency of Self-Management. Building on Self-Awareness from earlier Character Strong lessons, students will learn techniques like goal setting, emotional regulation, and stress management to help them navigate challenges.

Parents can reinforce these skills at home by guiding their children in emotional regulation practices. Two examples are box breathing and positive self-talk.

Box breathing, a simple technique that calms the breath using counts of 4, can help calm students in moments of panic or stress. Learn more here: WebMD Box Breathing.

Positive self-talk supports emotional resilience by helping to reframe negative thoughts, easing stress. It encourages children to focus on their strengths and past successes, helping them face challenges with confidence. For example, a child feeling anxious about a test might say, “I’ve studied hard, and I can do this!”. Learn more here: The Pathway 2 Success.

For more helpful strategies you can read this article from edutopia: Emotional Regulation Activities for Tweens and Teens

Eighth-grade families should have received an email directly from NVD on 12/10 titled 8th Grade Scheduling Communication. This included information on how to register for our regional high school as well as information and links for an upcoming High School Scheduling Q & A night on January 8. If you did not receive this email, please email Ms. Kohler at NVD at kohler@nvnet.org to make sure you are on their list. For students applying to high schools out of district, all requested academic records have been submitted.

January begins a time of increased discussions and information as all 8th grade students and families prepare for the Northern Valley Regional High School (NVRHS) scheduling conferences which will occur at Tenakill from February 3-14. Instructions on how to sign up for a conference for you and your child will be sent from Tenakill in early January. Students will be receiving more information about placement and scheduling in school and will be given time in advisory to prepare for their scheduling conferences by picking elective and world language choices and reflecting on their interests and goals. Your child’s course placements for their Math, English, History, Science and World Language, will be released on Realtime on Friday January 24, 2025.

Ms. Earle and Ms. Cipollini will be hosting an informational session on HS scheduling for parents and guardians on January 14, at 2:15 on Zoom. We will be reviewing what to expect in the upcoming NVD scheduling conferences as well as discussing the course placement process and course levels in more depth. This session will be recorded and shared for those that cannot attend live. To submit questions prior to the session, please use this link. Parents can submit questions, even if they are unavailable to attend the session. Should you have additional questions after the informational session, please reach out to Ms. Earle via email at earlea@nvnet.org.

As you help your student navigate this exciting time of planning for their first year in high school, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Ms. Earle (earlea@nvnet.org) if you have any questions.

Upcoming 8th Grade Dates: (all dates/info is regularly updated on the At-A-Glance Document)

January 2 - Special Education Orientation - by invitation

January 8, 6:00pm - online- NVRHS Scheduling Information Q & A

January 13 - Algebra Criterion Referenced Test (CRT) - just for Students Taking Algebra

January 14, 2:15 pm - on Zoom -TMS Scheduling Info Session for Parents (will be recorded)

January 15 - through link from HS - registration through Genesis is due

January 24 - NVD Course Placements will be released on the RealTime portal after school

Students in Grades 7 and 8 who are currently enrolled in Algebra will participate in the Northern Valley Algebra Criterion Referenced Test on Thursday January 13, 2025. Students in Grade 7 will also take the Science reference test on Thursday January 23, 2025. These tests are given each year through the Northern Valley Curriculum Center to students in all Northern Valley districts. These tests compare each child’s performance directly to the standards rather than comparing their performance to other students. These tests are intended to assist schools in diagnosing gaps in learning and also provide an additional data point that teachers take into account when making decisions about placement for high school.

On January 28th, students in grades 7 and 8 will get to experience the Free 2 Be Program sponsored by the State of New Jersey. This research-based interactive program, developed in partnership with experts from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Violence Prevention Initiative, leverages advanced technology to engage students meaningfully on the topic of bullying prevention. Through an interactive 3-D experience, students will have the opportunity to engage with real-life stories, learn strategies to cope with different forms of bullying, develop empathy and perspective-taking, and be empowered to make a positive difference when they witness bullying behaviors.

Each year the NJ Child Assault Prevention (CAP) program provides interactive bullying

prevention workshops for our students in grade 6. During Social Studies classes on January 30-31, all sixth grade students will be participating in the CAP program that aims to explore the problems and consequences of bullying to all members of the community. It also gives students strategies for dealing with bullying and helps them to identify why it happens and how to prevent it.

1/1 – School Closure / New Year’s Day

1/2 – Board of Education meeting @ 7:30 PM

1/13 – Gather for Good Student Assemblies (In School)

1/14- 8th grade Parent Information Session (High School Scheduling- 2:15pm via Zoom)

1/20 – School Closure / Martin Luther King Jr. Day

1/24 – Lunar New Year Assembly (In School)

2/1 – Yearbook & Yearbook Ads Ordering Deadline