Nixon School - Family Check In

Portrait of a Graduate Theme: Active Citizens

SEL Theme: Inclusion

Inclusive Celebration Theme: Hispanic Heritage Month

Our Nixon School Open House is planned for Tuesday, August 23, 2022, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Please keep in mind that teachers may or may not be present for this open house time; however, I will be here and will offer a story time every hour beginning at 10:30 AM in the Library Media Design Room. Families are welcome to visit during this timeframe for a self-guided tour of the school. Please note: During the self-guided tour, families will be able to "sneak-a-peek" of the classrooms through the windows on the interior classroom doors.

Please also be sure to check out the following:

• Back to School "Photo Booth" as you walk into the main lobby (butterfly themed). If you snap a picture and would like to share it with me so that it can be displayed on one of our bulletin boards, please email it to me as an attachment (dlynch@roxbury.org).
• Table of Freebies (Thank you to STAPLES for the donation of individualized boxes of writing tools! Each student is welcome to take ONE of these boxes).
• Maschios Highlights with Ms. June!

Every August, our district hosts a new teacher orientation. This year as a way to kick-off the series of training days, the district invited two students from each of the schools to share with the new hirees "what it means to live and go to school in Roxbury?".

Based upon the community all-call that I shared in various Family Check-Ins, Bradyn Skomial and Lindsey Cammarata volunteered to be a part of this special welcome.

Bradyn and Lindsey proudly represented Nixon School today, as the district welcomed approximately 40 new staff members at the New Teacher Orientation. Bradyn and Lindsey's planning, preparation and effort were clearly evident, as they did an outstanding job sharing their thoughts and ideas to the question above. They will be sharing a highlight from their presentation during a livestream morning announcement in Sepetmber.

Thank you to Bradyn and Lindsey, as well as their families, for being a part of such a special welcome event for our new staff!

At this evening's Board of Education meeting, additional Nixon School Staff are being recommended. As a result, below is an updated list of new staff to Nixon School...

Mrs. Rebecca Hutsebaut - PreK Teacher (moving to NES from JES)

Mrs. Tracy Ehrich - PreK Teacher (moving from FES to NES)

Mrs. Courtney Meaney - Kindergarten Teacher

Miss Elizabeth Vespucci - Kindergarten Teacher

Miss Juliana DeAngelis - Kindergarten Teacher

Mrs. Amanda Wyckoff - Second Grade Teacher (previous Title 1 Paraprofessional at NES)

Mrs. Kim Casillo - Third Grade Teacher

Mrs. Christine O'Connor - TIDES Teacher (transitioning from NES Para to Teacher)

Mrs. Melissa DeBlock - TIDES Teacher

Ms. Kelsey Bolling - In Class Resource Room Teacher, Grades 3 and 4 (ICR is new to NES)

Ms. Jennifer Babus- Occupational Therapist (will replace Mrs. Russo who is retiring in Oct.)

Mrs. Debrorah Krog -- ESL Teacher (previous Leave Replacement Teacher at JES)

Mrs. Catherine Bethon - Art Teacher (replaces Ms. Calabro Leave Replacement Art Teacher)

Mrs. Colleen Murphy - Permenant Sub. Teacher (previous Leave Replacement Teacher at NES)

I am excited to have these individuals join the Nixon School Staff and our school community! Each individual brings with them a desire to make a difference in the lives of children... making Nixon School a perfect home for them!

Based upon additional Kindergarten registrations coming in over the course of the past two weeks, we have added a THIRD SECTION of Kindergarten at Nixon School! Since Genesis went live with teacher assignments on Friday, some Kindergarten students are seeing "New Teacher" listed as the teacher's name. Please know that on tonight's Board of Education agenda, we do have a successful candidate being recommended for the position - Miss DeAngelis. It is anticipated that Miss DeAngelis will join Mrs. Meaney and Miss Vespucci to complete our Kindergarten team.

If your child will be a CAR RIDER EVERY DAY, please take a moment before Friday, August 26th and fill out the DAILY PICK UP RELEASE form in your Genesis Parent Portal. In the text box of that form, please note that your child will be a car rider every school day. Once you do this, we will make note of the fact that your child will be dimissed as a car rider everyday. The only way we will adjust your child's dismissal is through the submission of an updated Daily Pick Up Release form.

The following is a reminder of our pick up and drop off procedures for Car Riders / Walkers. The information below is a copy and paste of what appeared in the NES Welcome Back Letter.

Children are admitted through the SIDE CAFETERIA door beginning at 8:50 AM and will be dismissed through the same SIDE CAFETERIA door. There is NO supervision in front of the building, on the side of the building, or in the building for children before 8:50 AM, so please do not drop-off your child prior to this time. Although instruction starts at 9:10 AM, you are strongly encouraged to have children enter the building at 8:50 AM, as the children need time to unpack and get ready for the school day, as well as participate in our school wide Live-Stream Morning Announcements at 9:05 AM.

If you are driving your child to school, you must enter the parking lot on the side of the school via YELLOW BARN ROAD, park in one of the two lower lots and walk your child to the side of the building. A staff member will be waiting at the side CAFETERIA door to welcome your child. As a parent/ guardian, you will NOT be permitted to enter the building via this entrance, even in inclement weather. Any business with the office will need to be addressed via the front entrance linked with the security vestibule. The same protocol will be followed for dismissal beginning at 3:20 PM. Parents/ Guardians will be asked to wait in the driveway along the side of the building. Suggestion: Keep an umbrella in your car and dress appropriately, as even in inclement weather, parents/guardians will not be permitted to enter the building. The staff member at the door will pair parents/guardians with students. If the individual picking up is not a familiar face to our staff, please have the individual have their license ready to show.

For our families who are a part of the NES preschool program, school hours for your preK students are 8:50 AM - 2 PM.

If your preschool student is going to be a car rider, the same procedure identified above is utilized for morning drop off. However, for the 2 PM dismissal, the PreK car riders will be dismissed through the double doors at the beginning of our driveway. As a result, families picking up their preschool student at 2 PM can line up their cars along the front walkway, remain in their cars and a staff member will bring the child to the vechile. Families are responsible for securing their child in their car seats.

Please note: The NES driveway is very busy with buses in the morning. As a result, morning car rider drop off cannot be accommodated at the same double doors that dismissal will be in the afternoons. Thank you for your understanding.

Special thanks to the Nixon School PTA for organizing the Popsicles in the Park event for our incoming Kindergarten Families! What an awesome way for our future Kindergarteners to get to know each other before school even starts!

The Paper Store (Succasunna) is scheduled to open on Saturday, September 3, 2022 and will have its Grand Opening on Saturday, October 15th and Sunday, October 16th.

As part of The Paper Store's effort to give back to the community, 10% of sales from the Grand Opening on Saturday, October 15 and Sunday, October 16 will be donated to Roxbury Public Schools. Teachers and Students who show a valid school ID can also receive 15% off their entire purchase during the Grand Opening weekend.

Happy Shopping!

Nixon School if fortunate to receive Title 1 Federal Funding that enables us to develop targeted programs for students that need support in developing their academic readiness.

Over the course of the past eleven years, our school has developed a variety of programs to address these needs. For instance, our Title 1 SAIL Summer School program helped just over 90 Nixon School and Franklin School students maintain and strenghten skills during the summer months. Now as we look to launch the school year, we will also launch our Title 1 Kinder STARS program for Kindergarteners and our Title 1 Pathways to Learning program for First Graders. Within these programs, Highly Qualified Paraprofessionals provide supplemental academic support in the classroom setting. With this, I am pleased to introduce you to the Title 1 Paraprofessional team:

Mrs. Randel and Mrs. Batsch - Kinder STARS Paraprofessionals

Ms. Murr - Pathways to Learning Paraprofessional

Together these individuals, under the guidance of our teachers, provide supplemental support in the classroom setting. Depending upon the academic content being presented and your child’s readiness for it, your child may experience the benefit of this additional personnel over the course of the year.

We look forward to providing your child with a rich learning experience. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this information, please feel free to touch base with your child’s teacher or me. We are looking forward to working with you, so as to provide your child with a wonderful learning experience at Nixon School.

Last year, as a result of State funding that our district received relative to Covid-19, we were able to introduce the position of Teacher Assistant at the four elementary schools. We are fortunate to have this funding available to us again for this school year. Mrs. Strauss, a familiar face to Nixon School, will serve in this role for the 2022-2023 school year. Her primary focus will be in second grade; however, as students need academic support elsewhere at NES, we will be sure to flex her schedule to accommodate such.

After reflecting upon our routine for securing breakfast, Miss June and I have decided that any student wishing to purchase breakfast OR secure a breakfast (for those qualifying for FREE breakfast) will enter school upon arrival and go straight to the cafeteria food service line (just like lunch). They will secure their food and drink and then bring it to their classroom to enjoy. If you do NOT want your child purchasing breakfast, please reinforce this at home otherwise you may be surprised with a bill for breakfasts that they have taken without you knowing. Thank you!

Linked here is the Alternate Bus Stop Request Form. This form MUST be completed if your child needs to be picked up and dropped off to a location other than the bus stop location associated with your home address. Since forms were due by August 1, if a form is submitted this week, please know that the request may not be ready to implement on the first day of school, but you will receive notification from the Transportation Department when the request has been accommodated. Forms can be submitted via an email scan of the Alternate Bus Stop Request form sent to me or by faxing the completed form to our school's Main Office at 973 398 3341. Thank you!

Following are the NES Supply Lists for the 2022-2023 School Year:

Kindergarten

First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Mrs. Molnar's Class

TIDES

There will be a cost for breakfast and lunch this year. As a result, if you believe that your family may qualify for free or reduced school breakfast and lunch, you MUST complete the respective application in your Genesis Parent Portal beginning on August 12, 2022. Even if your family has qualified in the past, an annual application is necessary to qualify / re-qualify for benefits. If you have any questions regarding the Free or Reduced Breakfast and Lunch program, please feel free to email me at dlynch@roxbury.org.

RCS B.A.S.E.S. is a tuition-based program of Roxbury Township Public Schools operated by the Roxbury Community School. RCS B.A.S.E.S. provides high-quality care for children in grades Kindergarten through Sixth. All programs offer an enriching, nurturing care for children during out-of-school hours between 7:0 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Choose the program and schedule that is right for you (see tabs on the left for more detailed information).

• Before School - 7:00 a.m. to the start of school
• After School - school dismissal to 6:00 p.m.

In all RCS B.A.S.E.S. programs, experienced and qualified staff provide stimulating healthy physical and academic activities, social and emotional development, and artistic opportunities for students that promote a child's physical, social, emotional, and intellectual growth. RCS B.A.S.E.S. goal is to help children reach their potential by improving self-esteem and acquiring the skills needed for cooperation and problem-solving. Developmentally appropriate, appealing activities are made available as the children's interests and needs guide the selection of activities. Homework time, outdoor play, indoor organized games, crafts, science, nature explorations, and special guest visitations are just a few of the activities that are part of our program.

For more information, please visit this link. Questions can be directed to Ms. Ann Rhodes, Director of the Community School - arhodes@roxbury.org.

Fill Out our Bucket Filler Nomination Form and we will recognize that individual (student or staff member) during Morning Announcements. Click the button below for the nomination form.

Email: dlynch@roxbury.org
Website: www.roxbury.org
Location: 275 Mt Arlington Blvd, Landing, NJ, USA
Phone: (973) 398-2564