NEW MMS YEAR MEANS A LONGER DAY, AND A FAMILY PICNIC

From Maplewood Middle School:

August 28, 2015
Dear MMS Families,

Greetings from Maplewood Middle
School! 

I hope that you had an enjoyable summer and 

I look forward to welcoming
your child back to school next week. 

Today we are mailing your family a letter stating where your child will 

report on the first day of school. 

The letter will contain the exact start date for each grade and the designated
entrance points. Additionally, the student emergency forms and the health forms
must accompany your child back to school on the first day with all corrections
and additions that you would like to bring to our attention.
We will have full days of school on September 3rd and 4th. 

Students should come to school with a bagged lunch or money to purchase lunch.

A book bag, a notebook, and a pen/pencil are the only required items needed 

for the first day. 

All studentswill receive a complete list of supplies from their various teachers, 

along with their schedule on the first day of school.

Please note that our school has a new dismissal time. School starts at 8:20 am 

and ends at 3:05 pm (doors open at 8:12am). 

The after school conference period will take place between 3:05-3:15.
This is an excellent opportunity for students to ask for clarification about
daily homework assignments.

 Please visit your Home School Association (HSA)website, www.mmshsa.org,

for more information about upcoming events and theweekly newsletter. 

We look forward to seeing your child on the first day of school and hope 

that you can join us at our first annual MMS Family Picnic on
Saturday, September 19th from 3:00-6:00pm. This potluck style picnic will 
take place at Memorial Park, so bring a blanket, lay on the grass, share lawn games,
and enjoy a day of community building and bonding for the whole family as we
spread the MMS school spirit!

Together We Can,

Jerrill M. Adams, MS.Ed,
M.A.
Principal

CHS WELCOMES YOU, AND SORRY IF THAT SCHEDULE CHANGE DID NOT HAPPEN

From Columbia High School:

Hello and Happy Almost the Start of School!

On behalf of the CHS Administration, I hope you have enjoyed your summer and are ready to start the 2015-2016 school year. Soon the halls will be buzzing with chatter about summer vacations, jobs, volunteer experiences, and more. We will embark on another year of learning, development, and discovery. To get things started, here is some important information about your official schedule(s).

• The Power School Parent Portal will open TONIGHT at 6:00pm.
• Final Schedules are available to view at that time.
• We will not be distributing paper copies of schedules. Schedules are being shared ELECTRONICALLY.
• Please print out your schedule and bring it with you on the first day of school.
  • If you are unable to print your schedule, Ms. Goldsmith, guidance secretary, will be available to assist you.  Students unable to print their schedule should visit the guidance office on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, (8/31, 9/1, or 9/2) from 8:30 – 10:30 and 1:00 – 3:00 to obtain a paper copy.

• We are committed to starting the school year with students in classes ready to learn.
• If you are in need of information regarding your login to Power School Portal, please email Mrs. Voorhees at rvoorhee@somsd.k12.nj.us prior to 3:00 on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
• Students interested in signing up for an independent study should see Ms. Goldsmith in the guidance office between Tuesday, Sept. 8 and Friday, Sept. 11.  Sign up forms should be signed and returned to her no later than 3:30 on the 11^th.

We feel strongly about the first day of classes representing students’ academic program for the year. We appreciate all of your cooperation with guidance staff over this summer to accomplish our scheduling goals. Thank you for your support and flexibility throughout the process.

All changes that were possible within the limitations of the master schedule have been made.  Should you find that your final schedule has an error, such as a duplicate class, a missing class period, or a class you have already taken, please email your assigned guidance counselor and they will address the correction.

The following requests do meet the criteria for change:

• Teacher change
• Elective course change
  • When a requested elective does not appear on the schedule it is result of scheduling constraints that prohibit enrollment.
• Lunch period change
• Preferred start time (period 1 vs. period 2)

• Physical Education course change
• Level change
  • All level change requests should be directed to the content area supervisor or department chairman.  Contact information is available on the CHS homepage.

We certainly understand that schedules do not always meet students’ desires. We are proud of the diversity of CHS course offerings and know that over a four-year high school experience your student should be able to take advantage of a wide variety of those offerings.

So, as the summer rapidly comes to a close, we hope all students are gearing up for a happy and health school year. We are eager to see their smiling faces, hear their social chatter, and share the 2015-16 school year with them.  Please note the following first day details:

• 9^th grade students (Cougar Cubs!) will begin their year on Thursday, September 3^rd at 8:00 am in the Auditorium. 
• All 10^th -12^th graders will report to CHS on Friday, September 4^th. 
• Reporting time is 7:20am for Period 1 and 8:15am for Period 2.
• Please remember that only our main front door is used for morning bell entry.

See you next week.

ROCK THE GAZEBO TONIGHT

Maplewood Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs

present

Roots Rock and Pop

Sad About Girls

&

Deena and the Laughing Boys

Tonight at 7:00 pm.

Springfield Avenue Gazebo

1688 Springfield Ave Maplewood

Next to the Hilton Library

DEENA SHOSHKES's of Deena and the Laughing Boys songwriting has been called "direct and artful," by the New York Times.

Her songs have been recorded by Jackson Browne and Dar Williams and featured in films and on network TV.

“Pop music needs SAD ABOUT GIRLS. The fast melody, the slow groove,

the timeless urgency all “come together” to bridge generations and speak the truth.” (Tyler Goodwin)

TUSCAN THIRD GRADE PARENTS AGAIN DEMAND ANOTHER CLASS; RAMOS UNDECIDED

The issue of a potential class size problem for Tuscan's incoming third graders was brought up again Monday night as several parents raised their fears about plans to place students who had comprised six classes in last year's second grade into five such classes this coming year for third grade.

The move that would increase class size was first opposed in June at a time when then acting Superintendent James Memoli said no decision had been made.

Newly installed superintendent John Ramos noted the issue during his first address to the board Monday, stating, "We are watching enrollment closely, including third grade at Tuscan." He later said only, "We will determine if additional sections are necessary before school starts."

After his remarks, several parents spoke out.

 

THE PSE&G BUILDING IS FINALLY COMING DOWN

We gave you an inside look and showed you the fire department training there last week, but now the former PSE&G site on Boyden Avenue is being reduced to rubble.

Coming soon, a 235-unit apartment complex.

MAPLEWOOD VILLAGE WANTS YOUR VOTE

From the Township:

 

Vote Maplewood Village Best Downtown in NJ!

​Maplewood Village is competing for best downtown with 15 other towns in NJ Monthly's inaugural Downtown Showdown.  

On Tuesday, September 1st go to njmonthly.com and vote for Maplewood Village. The 16 towns will be cut down to the top 8 after the September 1st votes are counted. We need your vote! Vote on the train, while at work or when at home. 
Please vote for Maplewood Village on Tuesday, September 1st.

MORE MMS POLICE TRAINING TODAY

From Maplewood Police today:

The Maplewood Police Department will be conducting a training simulation exercise in and around Maplewood Middle School today. There will be emergency vehicles and emergency personnel operating in the area for training purposes on each of the dates. There may be brief traffic interruptions resulting from the training activity.
​
Please do not be alarmed when you see or hear Maplewood Police officers or other emergency personnel operating in, around the school building or in the immediate area of the school on those dates. The activity that will be conducted is only a training exercise.
No MMS students are to be involved in the planned exercise.
Thank You

THE SCHOOL BOARD'S JOHANNA WRIGHT SHOW

Johanna Wright

Two policy changes related to teacher evaluations and the school district's health care plan that were set for a routine vote became the subject of heated discussions at the school board this week, with Board Member Johanna Wright leading the opposition.

Wright, who has made something of a name for herself since joining the board two years ago for voting against most items, ended up voting against the entire "action item" list of dozens of routine measures after opposing the health care and evaluation policies.

"As usual," she said after the action item vote.

Since she was elected in 2013, Wright has received some praise for being a contrarian view on the board, in several cases raising valid objections to spending plans and other proposals. But it did not seem to sit well with many on the board this week.

The first item Wright opposed and asked to be severed from the "action item" list was a change in evaluation policy via a request to the state to be exempt from the new requirement that teachers be evaluated three times rather than two as previously stipulated.

Prior to the meeting, we reached out to the district to ask about this policy change. District spokesperson Suzanne Turner emailed this response:

Tenured teachers used to receive only 1 observation per year. Under the new
teacher evaluation requirements in AchieveNJ, the number of mandatory observations
for tenured teachers was increased to 3 per year. We are asking for a waiver to
conduct only 2 per year, as have other districts.We can always do additional
observations where needed and appropriate.

Reducing the number of mandatory observations provides administrators with more
flexibility in how they use their time to best support and improve instruction in
our schools. For example, principals will have more time to spend with new teachers
who need mentoring and guidance, will have more time for informal walk-throughs and
classroom visits, and more time to work with individual teachers on specific
instructional or classroom management issues.

When the item was severed, Wright, a former teacher, attacked the move claiming it was wrong and stated, "great teachers need to be evaluated, too. Even teachers such as myself."

Assistant Superintendent James Memoli explained the reasoning behind the change, similar to Turner's explanation: "We feel if you have a cadre of very, very strong teachers and you are able to evaluate them twice, the time you are saving you can use now to help those teachers who are more in need."

Memoli also stressed that non-tenured teachers would still be evaluated three times, or more if needed.

But Wright did not accept his answer, even hinting at some unclear ulterior motive: "There has to be some other reason you don't want these people to be evaluated."

Board President Wayne Eastman then weighed in, taking strong exception to Wright's claims, stating, "It is a waste of the teacher's time and the administration's time," to conduct unnecessary evaluations. "Time is expensive, everybody's time."

The board ended up voting, 6-1, in favor of the evaluation change request, with Wright the lone opposing vote and Board Members Jeffrey Bennett and Maureen Jones absent.

The next issue that Wright opposed and sought to sever from action items was a change in health care plans for the district, from the state health care system to a new agreement with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield. District officials said it would save more than $600,000 and not affect coverage for any workers.

"This needs to be tabled until all of the information is presented instead of just slipping it in this way," Wright complained, accusing the district of not providing the plan change information to the board's Finance, Facilities and Technology Committee, upon which Wright serves and under whose responsibility the health care plan falls. 

But Board Member Beth Daugherty, who also serves on that committee, reminded Wright that the information was reviewed at the committee's April 6 meeting. "We are following the recommendations of the task force back in April," Daugherty said.

A review of the agenda for the April committee meeting indicates that the board's Health Care Task Force, which was tasked with reviewing other health care options, had made a presentation that day. But Wright claimed she had not received any such information until last week's committee meeting.

"This memo is incomplete," Wright said. "It does not include all of the (health care) models we requested."

But other board members disagreed and, as the hour passed midnight, revealed their objections to Wright's position.

"We have before us the opportunity to save us more than $600,000," said Board Member Elizabeth Baker. "$600,000 that we can invest in our classrooms. There will not be a single reduction in health care, it has been transparent."

Board Member Madhu Pai agreed: "I don't understand why we would wait a minute to vote on something that will save us money."

Paula Bethea, president of the South Orange Maplewood Education Association, questioned the health care change during public comment, stating, "I had no idea we were going to move this fast or this is the model we were going to move to," she said, but noted she would not oppose it, adding only that, "employees get nervous when they hear the change."

Wright, who has publicly stated she wants the district to self-insure, responded, "what's the rush?" District officials and some board members have opposed self-insurance citing the liability it opens the district up to.

In the end, the board voted again, 6-1, with Wright opposing, to approve the change, which will result in a 14-month health care agreement with Horizon beginning in November.

The board later voted, 6-1, on the rest of the action items, which included such routine matters as leasing photocopying equipment and accepting state textbook funds. Wright voted against all of them.