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LPS Spotlight
News for the Livingston Public Schools Community
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The LHS Jazz Band recently performed a special concert for Burnet Hill Elementary School students and staff!
SCROLL OR CLICK ON THE TABLE OF CONTENTS TO THE LEFT FOR INFO ON...
- CALENDAR REMINDERS: Spring Break, Snow Make-Up Day, Solar Eclipse, EID
- TONIGHT! Board of Ed. & Town Council to Hold 5-On-5 Meeting
- Middle School Forensics Teams Earn Top Spots
- Liu Finishes in Top Ten of Harvard Tournament
- Kindergartner Places at Chess Tournament
- LHS Senior Games
- Lancer Featured in NY Jets Flag Football Promo
- Register for "Play Date" Fundraiser
- COMMUNITY NEWS: Intergenerational Prom, Shine a Light on Autism, LPD Junior Police Academy & More!
CALENDAR REMINDERS
SPRING BREAK & SNOW DAY MAKE-UP
- Schools will be closed from March 29-April 4 for Spring Break. Schools will have an EARLY DISMISSAL DAY on Friday, April 5 to make up for a snow day.
- *IF YOUR CHILD IS GOING TO BE ABSENT ON APRIL 5TH, PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR SCHOOL IN THE GENESIS PORTAL UNDER THE "NOTIFY OFFICE" LINK ON THE SUMMARY SCREEN.
SOLAR ECLIPSE EARLY DISMISSAL
- Due to health and safety considerations regarding the solar eclipse, Monday, April 8, will be an early dismissal day. All outdoor activities on Monday, April 8, 2024 will be halted from 2:30 - 4:30 p.m.
EID
- Schools will be closed for students on April 10 for EID. This will be a Professional Day for staff.
5-ON-5 MEETING: MARCH 27, 2024
The Livingston Board of Education and Livingston Township Council will hold a public "5-on-5" meeting at today. Wednesday, April 27, 2024, at 7PM at Mt. Pleasant Middle School, 11 Broadlawn Drive. All are welcome to attend. The meeting will be livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/LivSchools.
MIDDLE SCHOOL FORENSICS TEAMS EARN TOP SPOTS
The Mount Pleasant Middle School and Heritage Middle School forensics teams recently competed in the Essex County Steering Committee for Gifted Education Forensics Interpretive Reading Competition at Montclair State University. The Heritage team took first place in the Varsity division and the Mount Pleasant team won second place at the junior varsity level.
The Heritage Team consisted of Rebekah Dorozhkin, Shubhada Bhoyar, Gauree Chakraborty, Sanaya Jhaveri, and Kori Wertheim. Cooper Mandala and Maysoon Venjara served as alternates and timers. Kori was a finalist in the competition, while Shubhada earned second place.
The Mount Pleasant Team consisted of Nakshita Gupta, Joyce Yan, Arohan Bhattacharya, Akansha Goyal and Laura Chiparus. Laura was a finalist in the competition. Kevin Rao, Angela Mujoski and Rashmika Choudhury served as alternates.
Congratulations to both teams on their accomplishments!
LIU FINISHES IN TOP TEN OF HARVARD TOURNAMENT
Livingston High School junior Joanna Liu recently participated in the 50th Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament and turned in an impressive performance finishing in 9th place out of a pool of 325 competitors! As one of the largest and most prestigious speech and debate tournaments, it attracted about 5,000 students from over 450 schools this year.
Joanna was successful in the highly competitive Original Oratory category (an original argument-based speech), facing off against 325 other talented high school speakers from across the country and even beyond. Despite fierce competition, she advanced through multiple elimination rounds, including the double-octofinals (96 qualifiers), octofinals (48 qualifiers), quarterfinals (24 qualifiers), and ultimately reached the semifinals (12 qualifiers).
KINDERGARTNER PLACES AT CHESS TOURNAMENT
Alia Derbaremdiker, a kindergartner at Riker Hill Elementary School, won 6th place (out of 10) at the New Jersey State Grade School Championship this school year.
Congratulations, Alia!
LPS SUMMER ACADEMY 2024
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Livingston Public Schools is committed to providing students with excellent educational experiences for students of all ages this summer! Check out the district's offerings for Summer 2024!
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
Just a reminder that kindergarten registration for the 2024-2025 school year is open!
- Children must be 5 years old on or before October 1st of the current year to enter Kindergarten, or 6 years old by October 1st of the current year to enter 1st grade as per Entrance Age Policy 5112. View Entrance Age Policy #5112.
- Any Livingston resident who completes the kindergarten registration process by May 15th will be notified of their child's school placement by June 1st.
- If your child currently attends the Livingston Public School Pre-School program you DO NOT have to complete the pre-registration online. Please contact Amy Ennis at aennis@livingston.org for instructions.
- We are only accepting next school year 2024-2025 registrations for students in KINDERGARTEN at this time. We will be opening the other grade levels after April 1st.
- Click here to visit our Registration Page.
SENIOR GAMES!
The Class of 2024 had a great time at the Senior Games! Purple was victorious!
💜😃💜😃💜😃💜
LANCER FEATURED IN NY JETS PROMO VIDEO
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... LHS junior Ella Cocuzza is featured in this promo video from the NY Jets, which introduces some players from New Jersey's girls' flag football teams! #flagfootball #GoLancers #empowHER!
LHS THEATRE SPONSORS "PLAY DATE" FUNDRAISER
The LHS Theatre is holding another "Play Date" fundraiser on Friday, April 19th. This exciting fundraiser gives local elementary students (K-5) an opportunity to create a short piece of theatre with current LHS students, in addition to performing on the LHS stage! And all proceeds go to our award-winning theatre program!
"Play Date" includes an evening of childcare so that parents can have a night out, while their children are taught a short scene and song by high school theater students. This time the theme is Disney movies! Parents get to see the performances when they return to pick up their children.
PARENT CONCERNS • LOCKDOWN TIPS • EMERGENCY TEXTS
PARENT CONCERNS
Livingston Public Schools strives to respond to concerns and/or questions as quickly and effectively as possible. In a school system, as in any organization, the “chain of command” refers to communication levels of authority in the school district. Please use the link below to determine who can best solve any concerns or questions that may arise.
SCHOOL LOCKDOWN TIPS
EMERGENCY TEXT MESSAGES
LOOK FOR 54968 OR 60680!
Please be aware that text messages that are sent from LPS will be sent from short code 60680 for non-emergency messages, and 54968 or 60680 for emergency messages. This is to ensure timely delivery based on code traffic.We wanted to remind everyone so that LPS community members do not inadvertently block or unsubscribe from future school messages!
COMMUNICATION TOOLS • SUICIDE LIFELINE • MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT
STAY CONNECTED
LPS is committed to building strong relationships with students, families, and the community, and as such, we strive to provide accurate and timely information to our stakeholders.
988 SUICIDE & CRISIS LIFELINE
The 988 line operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for calls, texts, and chat. Learn more about the new nationwide 3-digit dialing code for crisis and suicide prevention.
MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT
LPS students, staff members, and their families can use Care Solace to quickly find verified mental health, behavioral health, and substance use treatment options matched to their needs, regardless of circumstances. Care Solace’s team is available 24/7/365 and can support you in any language. This is a FREE and CONFIDENTIAL service provided by LPS. Learn more about Care Solace.
EQUITY UPDATES
Livingston Public Schools’ Equity Goal seeks to improve the culture and community with LPS by enhancing inclusiveness, cultural awareness, anti-racism, and acceptance of individual differences through mandated curricular programming, extracurricular programming, and district operations.
JOIN YOUR SCHOOL'S EQUITY TEAM!
If you are interested in learning more about and/or joining the Equity Team at your child's school, please visit one of the following pages for more information:
LEF TO PARTICIPATE IN COLOR RUN
The Livingston Education Foundation will participate in a Color Run celebrating Holi and Songkran on April 28th! See the flyer for details!
STAFF NEWS: FOLLOW US!
EMPLOYMENT
COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
INTERGENERATIONAL PROM
There is still time for senior citizens to register to attend this year's Intergenerational Prom! This year's event will be held on Thursday, April 11, from 5:30-8:30PM in the Livingston High School cafeteria.
A long-standing Livingston tradition, the Intergenerational Prom provides an opportunity for high school students and the township's senior citizens to socialize, have fun, and get to know one another. Check out LTV's video of Intergenerational Prom 2023!
Traditionally, the Board of Education and Township Council, as well as school district and township administrators, volunteer to serve dinner at the event.
FREE MUSIC PROGRAM FOR SPECIAL NEEDS FAMILIES
The Livingston Advisory Committee for Disabilities (LACD) and the NoteWorthy Project will present a free music program for people with special needs and their families on Saturday, April 13, 2024. This special event will be held at the Livingston Senior/Community Center, 204 Hillside Avenue, in Rooms T2 and T3 from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm.
We invite you to come enjoy music played by a small orchestra whose members are students at Livingston High School and call themselves NoteWorthy Project. They will be playing songs most people are familiar with from movies such as Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. In addition, they will be bringing craft supplies for everyone to create their own instruments to play, such as maracas and drums. The NoteWorthy Project members will teach the attendees a simple beat or rhythm so that they can make some music! Please RSVP by April 1st by texting Kayla Fang at 973-619-8029 or emailing kayla.k.fang@gmail.com. You may visit LACD online at www.facebook.com/lacdnj or www.livingstonnj.org/LACD.
SHINE A LIGHT ON AUTISM
The Livingston Advisory Committee for Disabilities (LACD) will be sponsoring its annual Shine a Light on Autism Night on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. This free event will take place from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the Gazebo at the Oval, Robert Harp Dr., Livingston, NJ. (The rain date isThursday, April 25, 2024 at the same time and place as the scheduled event.) To check on the status of the event due to inclement weather, call Ana Millan at 973-535-7961 Ext. 7102.
Guest speakers will include Mayor Al Anthony, a representative from Autism New Jersey, and a group of Livingston Public School students. The Oval will be turned blue for autism awareness. We invite you to show your autism awareness support by wearing blue and taking a lap around the Oval with us. You may purchase autism awareness merchandise at the event with the proceeds going to Autism New Jersey. Free drinks and snacks will be provided, as well as deejay music. We suggest you bring your lawn chairs and blue lanterns or lights. For more information contact Bob Gebroe at gretto12@aol.com. You can visit us online at www.facebook.com/lacdnj or www.livingstonnj.org/LACD.
2024 LPD Junior Police Academy
The 2024 Livingston Police Department Junior Police Academy will be held from July 8-12 at Livingston High School located at 30 Robert Harp Drive and Livingston Police Headquarters at 333 S. Livingston Avenue.
Applications will be accepted starting March 1, 2024 via email to jklapal@livingstonnj.org with a deadline of April 30, 2024. Priority will be given to students who have not attended the academy previously
LIVINGSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Livingston Public Library has something for everyone! Learn more about the library HERE.
LPS Spotlight
2023-2024 School Year / No. 14
Michelle Bent
Manager of Communications
Livingston Public Schools
(973) 535-8000 ext. 8036
Email: mbent@livingston.org
LPS Spotlight is the official e-newsletter of the Livingston Public Schools.