No Name-Calling Week

Next week we will be doing buddy activities to go with No Name Calling Week. See below if your child would like to coordinate their outfits with the themes on those days.

Portrait of a Graduate Student Survey Written Notification

Our district is engaged in a Portrait of a Graduate project that involves input from staff, alumni, families, community members and students. We aim to survey students in Grades 5-12 during the week of February 3, 2025 to get their impressions of their educational experience and what the district can be doing, and will share the data internally with our committee. The principals will have hard copies of the student survey available for review in the main office of each building; parents who would like to do so should contact the principal to arrange a time to meet. The content of the surveys is benign and focused exclusively on learning dispositions, but parents can request not to have their children participate in the survey by notifying the principal. Otherwise, we appreciate the opportunity to learn more about how we can create the best possible school experience for our students and their families.

Important Dates

If you are looking for the date of a future event at NB, please check our website calendar. There are dates for music shows, moving up ceremonies, and HSA meetings, etc for your planning purposes.

Please scroll for additional information about the upcoming events and activities.

Since the stores are already set up for Valentine's Day, I know our students will be getting excited soon. If you are planning on sending in valentines on 2/14, please keep the following in mind:

** If your child is bringing any valentines, please make sure there are enough for the entire class.

** New this year: Please do not send in any valentines that include food. We have many children with different food allergies and it is just not possible to keep everyone safe by checking every single candy or treat that is sent in on that day.

** As with other holiday and birthday celebrations and as outlined in the student handbook, please do not send in goody bags for each student.

Food and goody bags will not be distributed if they are sent in. Thank you for your cooperation!

For the 2024-2025 school year, NB is on a Corrective Action Plan for our attendance rate, which is required by the state when more than 10% of a school's population was chronically absent in the previous school year. During the 2022-2023 school year, NB's chronic absentee rate was 15%, according to state reports. Last year, we seemed to have slightly reduced the rate to 13% and we hope to make more strides this year. Not only do recurring absences affect a student's progress in school, but NB is also penalized in state rankings due to the higher absentee rate.

We ask for your partnership in bringing students to school each day when they are well, and scheduling vacations around school days. Please note that the state still counts all absences, even those with doctor's notes or a parent phone call. To help keep you aware, at the beginning of each month, we have been notifying parents of students who have been tardy or absent 5, 10, or more days thus far. At 10 or more days absent, we will request a conference where we can help develop personalized strategies to improve your child's attendance. Please reach out if you notice any signs of school avoidance, or if you have questions about whether to keep your child home. As always, thank you for your support!

Please see the link below for more information from Pomptonian, our food service provider.

Please take a look at the following link to see whether you may qualify for free and reduced lunch:

https://www.pequannock.org/services/food-services/free-reduced-lunch

See this video for more information about the Pomptonian Healthy School Lunch Challenge.

Please visit our webpage for more information: www.nbshsa.org

Handwashing is the best way to prevent illness by using soap, singing the Happy Birthday song or washing for a 2 minutes duration

Staying home when sick and waiting a 24 hour period until fever free without taking any medication to reduce a fever

Rest, plenty of fluids, blocking coughs and sneezes are other behaviors too.