Winter is fully upon us, and we are excited about the holiday season, the winter athletic seasons, the concerts, the play, and all of the great things in our school district that come with this time of year!

As always, we hope that this newsletter continues to keep our learning community connected with our schools - a partnership that has benefited our students and helped us continue to navigate the pandemic while focusing on providing our students with the best, comprehensive educational program possible.

Be Well

Dr. J.

During the past week, we have seen an increase in positive COVID cases in our area and across the State, setting our CALI score higher and increasing the NJDOH risk factor to High. With this change to the High Factor group, schools need to adjust their response and criteria according to guidelines presented to us.

Updated Criteria and Protocols for the Butler School District

Symptomatic students who have not undergone testing will be strongly encouraged to undergo testing to determine health status. During this time, until a positive test result is attained, we will not require close contacts to be identified and excluded from school.

Exception for household contacts: In all risk levels, students and staff who are not fully vaccinated and who are household members of a student/staff member with COVID-19 compatible symptoms that meet COVID-19 Exclusion Criteria will be quarantined from school until the symptomatic individual

receives a negative test result.

Parents should not send students to school when sick. For school settings, NJDOH recommends that students with the following symptoms be promptly isolated from others and excluded from school:

• At least two of the following symptoms: fever (measure or subjective), chills, rigors (shivers), myalgia (muscle aches), headache, sore throat, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, congestion or runny nose; OR
• At least one of the following symptoms: cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, new olfactory disorder, new taste disorder.

For students with chronic illness, only new symptoms, or symptoms worse than baseline should be used to fulfill symptom-based exclusion criteria.

COVID-19 exclusion criteria for persons who have COVID-19 compatible symptoms or who test positive for COVID-19:

• Ill individuals with COVID-19 compatible symptoms who have not been tested will be asked to quarantine for 10 days after symptoms have passed since symptom onset and at least 24 hours have passed after resolution of fever without fever reducing medications and improvement in symptoms;
• Individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 will be asked to quarantine for 10 days after testing positive;
• Persons who test positive for COVID-19, but who are asymptomatic should stay home for 10 days from the positive test result;
• An alternate diagnosis (including a positive strep test or influenza swab) without a negative COVID-19 test is not acceptable for individuals who meet COVID-19 exclusion criteria to return to school during periods of moderate, high, or very high community transmission.

Aaron Decker School will be holding In-Person Parent/Teacher Conferences for the first trimester on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 from 3:30 pm - 6:30 pm, Thursday, December 16, 2021 from 12:45 pm - 3:00 pm and Friday, December 17, 2021 from 12:45 pm - 3:00pm.

Parents will be able to sign up for a conference with their child’s teacher through the Genesis Parent Portal beginning on Monday, November 29, 2021 beginning at 3:00 pm. You will log into the Genesis Parent Portal, click on the conference tab, and enter your name by a time slot. Teachers will need to keep to a strict schedule so as to not keep other parents waiting for their conference. We ask that you please understand this and work with our staff.

Related Arts Teachers/Related Service Providers will also be available during these times of conferences. You will be able to visit them before or after your scheduled conference. There will be no sign up times for related arts teachers/related service providers.

On all three of the days (12/15,12/16, 12/17) Aaron Decker School will be dismissing students at 12:10 pm.

We will continue to try to get students outside during their recess times. We ask that you please partner with us to ensure that your child has the proper attire for colder weather.

Character Strong - Gratitude

During the month of November, ADS students were recognized for their attitude of gratitude.

• Preschool: Kyle Semtak
• Kindergarten: Felix Figura, Rebecca Goddard, Adrianna Ramautar, Ella Ramautar
• First Grade: Abigail Coiro, Emma Kennedy, Mason Jendryczka, Oliver Kaetzel Rivera, Chloe MacDonald, Cali Rodriguez, Kieran Santagelo
• Second Grade: Luka Begovic, Arianna Blaine, Dominik Drasheff, Filip Figura, Alexander Gonzalez, and Zara Tailor
• Third Grade: Blaesy Acuna Garcia, Jeiren Alburquerque, Ekrem Aydin, Erin Khieu and Lindsay Gaona Hernandez, Gavin Gawronski, Micah Lombardo
• Fourth Grade: Samantha Ahmuty, Carlos Bardales, Jayden Barrios, Ahmed Ebrahim, Ariana Herrera, Maxwell Olsen, Bromley Sieradzki

ADS Congratulates Mrs. Janine McFadden as Bulldog of the Month

Mrs. McFadden is a kind, dedicated teacher who truly cares about Aaron Decker School and the students she works with. She has been a consummate professional through all her years at ADS. Mrs. McFadden will be retiring at the end of December and we wish her the best of luck in her retirement.

Thank you to the ADS community for their generous donations of toys, gift cards, and food during our holiday donation drives. Your overwhelming generosity is much appreciated by those families in need.

As we closed out the first Trimester, RBS students have been experiencing tremendous success and are really enjoying how the school year has been progressing. The School Climate and Culture survey revealed that students feel extremely supported by our staff and that they would like to continue with activities that promote peer to peer relationships. We participate in our Character Strong advisory sessions bi-monthly; these sessions focus on building community, exploring values, understanding emotions, and planning for the future. Additionally, with our students’ feedback in mind, we have scheduled the incomparable Keith Hawkins to deliver his program “Stand for Something” in late-January. We look forward to hosting Mr. Hawkins as his message will positively impact our school community!

Richard Butler Middle School ELA and math teachers administered Star360 benchmarks during the week of December 6. These assessments provide our staff and students with reliable information so that we can adjust instruction to provide individualized learning experiences; additionally, students are able to reflect on their progress. On December 10, students participated in the National Hour of Code during academic assistance periods. They used the Hour of Code activities at code.org and reflected on their learning all while having fun! As we look to the new year, we will also be conducting class spelling bees and a school-wide contest in preparation for the Scripps County Spelling Bee this spring.

We are so proud of our music program at Richard Butler Middle School. I am sure everyone who was in attendance will agree that the Winter Concert was just spectacular! Special thanks to Ms. Lowndes, Ms. Bocchino, Dr. Nishimura, RBS staff chaperones, & our families for all of the support. We are always accepting students in our Band and Grade 8 Choir, so if your child is interested, be sure to contact us.

We greatly value the feedback from our families as we seek to foster partnerships with you throughout your child’s time at RBS. Therefore, please consider taking the time to complete the Richard Butler Middle School First Trimester Family Survey. Be sure to follow us on social media, and please reach out anytime. We wish you and your families a happy and healthy holiday season and winter break!

Our Students of the Month for Kindness are:

Grade 5 - Cali Marion & Valerie Kutsup

Grade 6 - Daniel Faber & Emily Yearwood

Grade 7 - Lucas Colon & Yarid Pichiya-Chonay

Grade 8 - Gianna Rossi & Cristhian Avila Barraza

• A big shoutout to BHS English teacher and National Honors Society Advisor Beth Nash and her students for their efforts in the annual food drive. Over 40 families were able to receive a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. NHS was able to raise over 1500 dollars to help support our community. The additional food was donated to food pantries at St. Anthony’s Church. Thank you NHS!

• Congratulations to BHS Science teacher Laura Conkling for receiving the November Bulldog of the Month Award. Mrs. Conkling is a kind and patient teacher who is always prepared and works tirelessly to help her students. She is a role model for our students and staff and continues to push her students to challenge themselves. We are lucky to have such a caring and dedicated teacher. Congratulations Mrs. Conkling!

• Congratulations to our BHS First Marking Period Top Dawgs. (Students of the marking period) Math - Julia Fiorenza, Science - Catrina Morgan, Social Studies - Veronica Brynczka, World Languages - Bin Shen Hou, Language Arts - Aidan Ricker, ELL - Bin Shen Hou, Art - Declan Hickey, Music - Julia Fuzy, Foods - Morgan Napoli, Physical Education - Katherine Gallagher, Business - Sophia Febbraio, Shared Time - Franchesca Africa.

• A huge shout out to Ms. Daniels and the entire cast of Stage and Screen for their performances over the weekend. What a show!

• December 15 - 17: ADS/RBS Parent-Teacher Conferences
• December 15: ADS Night Conferences
• December 15: BHS Winter Concert
• December 16: RBS Night Conferences
• December 20-23: BHS Spirit Week
• December 23: BHS Winter Pep Rally
• December 23: HALF DAY
• December 24 - January 2: Winter Break - No School

Please note - the calendar for this school year has been updated. The new calendar has an amended last day of school. The last day of school will be Wednesday, June 22, 2021. RBS Promotion will be on Tuesday, June 21st and BHS graduation will be on Wednesday, June 22nd.

Please see link below for the updated calendar.