Principal's Weekly Update

Do you want to know how you tell if something is successful ? We opened up the “Panther Play Day” sign ups at 6am on Friday. Within minutes there were 410 responses–students can spring out of bed in the morning when properly motivated– now the key is for us to partner to figure out how we can make that the case each and every day. I should add that as of this writing, over 700 of our students have made their selection. We are beyond happy with the degree to which our students embrace this chance to engage in some high interest activities/ hobbies with their teachers. If your child has not yet signed up they can still review this menu and sign up for something until Tuesday, February 4th at 1:00 PM.

There was similar enthusiasm from both students and parents this past Saturday, as Panther fans filled the THS gym for the annual “Crosstown Showdown”. You can see several photos below, to include one which captures the spirit of our fans on that day. Though we did not get the results we hoped for, it was a great day to showcase our basketball program. We are most grateful for the work which coaches Jordyn Nappi (Girls) and Spencer Smolinsky (Boys) have put in to guide our student athletes. The regular season has now concluded. The girls host a playoff game at Madison on Thursday. We would love to see you come out to support our girls.

** 8th to 9th Grade Transition Update **

8th graders: Please see this letter with information about the 8th to 9th transition event at THS on Wednesday, February 5th.

Our Library Media Specialist shared some good news with me this week. To this point in the school year, students have checked out 1,676 books from our Learning Commons LIbrary. This already surpasses the total from all of last year, which was 1,569. We designate every Friday ELB as an SSR (pleasure reading) period. We are always looking to promote literacy and the joy which some of us derive from reading. Thank you for anything that you do to support reading at home– there is no surer path to knowledge.

Reminders:

Running through Friday, February 7th, NJHS is sponsoring a Toiletry Drive to benefit ImpacTrumbull. We will be collecting travel- and full-sized toiletry items to help fill Blessing Bags and Care Caddies for those in need. Please donate if you can!

Attention 8th Grade NJHS Members: Reminder to bring your TWO toiletry donations to Mrs. Pacelli’s room (227) by Friday, February 7th.

Clubs & Activities:

Madison Make Over Club will meet Monday, 2/3 in Room 220. Once again the downstairs murals and the stairwell painters should attend.

Chess Club will meet Monday, 2/3 in Room 122.

SAVE Club will meet on Thursday, February 6th in Room 103. New members welcome!

Robotics Club is open to all students. We need members who enjoy designing and building with lego style pieces. No coding experience required. We will meet on Thursday, February 6th in Room 215. Join us!

Period 8 Lounge will be open for students to finish assignments this Thursday, February 6th.

Read & Roar book club will meet Friday, February 7.

In a bonus "final photo" below, you see some of Mrs. Cerulli's social studies students enjoying a board game which they created which tests knowledge of the law making process. All students were tasked with creating a game, or something similar, which would provide both fun and a review of key concepts from class. Her students really embraced this outstanding example of project based learning. As we are still in the midst of the "winter doldrums", perhaps your family might enjoy some time with a classic board game-- if you are struggling to find one, apparently you can ask your child to just create one. Enjoy the weekend !!

Take care,

Peter Sullivan