April 27, 2018 - Footloose Edition

Footloose - Photo credit Robin Hickman 

Greetings all,

Yesterday around the District, children of staff members spent the day learning more about what their parent does each day when they leave for work. I would like to thank those who organized the various events across each building so the children would have a memorable day. From the creative science experiments routinely observed this day at the MSHS, Memorial High School to the inaugural ‘tie dye t-shirt’ making right here at the Culver Center. As I shared in my prior email, we all spend so much of our lives together it is important to take a moment and share our work family with our at home families. Great job by all!

This week across the District we are underway for the PARCC testing. So far, great job to all involved in proctoring the assessment under Pat Wulk’s leadership. In addition, this week the School Development Authority or SDA, came to give a public presentation on the High School construction project well underway on Wade Blvd. It is amazing to see the various renderings and images of what the final project will look like. Although it is going to take great patience, flexibility, and cooperation during the build process the final High School is truly going to be something worthy of being home to the BOLTS! New science labs, auditorium, new gymnasium with a Cross-fit Gym, and many more state of the art elements will bring the Thunderbolts into the 21 Century and beyond.

This week the BOE approved submission of the 2018-2019 School Budget. Noting once again that the funding out of the State’s capital for public education remains far below the current needs of this community. Despite the funding shortfall, the District has kept job reductions relatively low by raiding the District’s rainy day maintenance reserve. Without going to far down this path, it just is a last resort move as paying for recurring positions with money saved for one-time repairs of roofing or boilers is not best practice. It is for this reason I again plead that we all write our decision makers and share the plight of this City. We are located in the poorest county in the great State of NJ. Millville relies heavily on the support of outside revenue funding because of the current economical status of the vast majority of its residents. For 8 long years, we have creatively found ways to do more with less but the breaking point is upon us. Something has to change in Trenton and school funding for the better for this community to continue to grow.

Last and on a much brighter note, Footloose the school musical, is underway. Opening Thursday evening, the reaction so far has been overwhelmingly positive. Make sure you come out this weekend and catch our rising stars before they leave us and become major Hollywood players. So this weekend, ‘cut loose, Footloose, kick off the Sunday shoes’! Break a leg students!


SHOUT-OUTS!!!

"I wanted to thank Charlotte Richardson for organizing the Bubbles for Autism Event at Lakeside. Each year Charlotte coordinates the event which is dedicated to raising awareness of Autism."
~Spike Cook, Principal

"Along with providing good customer service Rob Smith works in infrastructure as a systems engineer where he is always looking for ways to make things more efficient. When we need someone to automate tasks that could take hours or days doing it manually, Rob is always willing to research and implement new ways to make our lives easier here in the IT department."
~Dan Wright, Communications Manager

"As I look forward to my final day before retiring, I want to look back and express my thanks and appreciation to all MPS staff I have had the pleasure for working with over the years.  Thanks for everything you do on a regular basis that's good for kids, especially the ones who need your care and attention the most!"
~Debbie Homan, Supervisor

"Mt. Pleasant School is so thankful to have Linda Cox and Eileen Breslin in our front office. They are pleasant, helpful, and full of laughs. They also have a special knack for pulling substitute teachers out of thin air. They keep everything in order. Thank you both for all you do every day."
~Arlene Jenkins, Principal

"Debby Broe has been a wonderful addition to the Silver Run Family.  Going the extra mile to make learning fun for her students seems to be the norm.  My favorite activity might be the Candyland Sight Word Game where the kids are hopping across the floor having fun all the while learning their sight words.  Great Job!"

"Thank you to Cheryl Ismail for taking the lead for Silver Run at this years' Franklin Institute Traveling Science Show.  As usual you went above and beyond by recruiting teachers and organizing the experiment tables.  You Rock!"
~Eric Reissek, Principal

"Amy Gandy is a hardworking, dedicated, caring individual who does nearly anything we need her to do.  She's great with the students and staff, and she doesn't hesitate to jump in and make a difference.  Amy, thanks for being so awesome!"
~Mike Coyle, Principal

"Shout-out to the counseling staff who supported the Holly Heights family in their recent time of need. It is difficult to understand loss of a child – impossible really, but during such a horrific time it was comforting to see our staff step up to support each other and the child’s family. I would like to specifically shout-out my cabinet members for joining with me to provide a special gift to assist the family in their time of need. Your generosity is appreciated deeply."
~Dr. David Gentile, Superintendent

 Warm Regards,

Dr. G.
Dr. David N. Gentile
Superintendent of Schools
“Lead Learner”
@drgentile_mps (Twitter)
856-327-6001

#MPSWC (MPS World Class)
#greatdaytobeabolt

Published by Spike Cook, Millville, NJ

April 20, 2018

Maddy the Therapy Dog - @MaddyTherapyDog

Greetings,

I hope you are having an outstanding Friday and preparing for an even better weekend. It is so important to have a positive attitude everyday. Whether you focus on some part of each day that you are looking forward to or simply focusing on the fact that every morning your eyes open is a blessing – it is all about your state of mind. Your outlook and perspective on each day will largely make it so. Your hustle and tenacity make everything else possible.

Gary Vanyerchuck, or "Gary V”, has a large online presence. He is an entrepreneur, thought leader, and simply a very outspoken critic of those who complain instead of celebrating each moment. Whether it is scientifically accurate I am not sure, but he says the odds of becoming a human being are 400 trillion to one. According to Gary V, you are more likely to win the Lotto 10 times in your life than to simply have a life. Knowing how rare winning the Lotto is, that is an amazing statement. Caution, before you search out Gary V’s podcasts or videos, I want to warn you that he uses explicit language. Despite the language, his messages about making the most of your life are excellent (he can be found @garyvee on Twitter).

Ultimately you can make it a great day or not, the choice is yours! Choose wisely.

Good News Comes in Three’s:
Three bits of good news for MPS:
You may recall last school year after our District budget was approved, an additional $700k was taken away. It was later returned to us but in the form of a loan. After much lobbying and advocating for MPS we were successful in getting that loan turned into a grant that does not need to be paid back.

This year’s state aid was ‘flat’ or the same as it has been for more than 8 years. Well not quite flat since when the snapshot was taken of last year’s budget to determine what we would get this year was taken after the money was taken out leaving the 2018-2019 school budget for MPS short just over $700k. After much lobbying and advocating for MPS we were successful in getting that money returned to the District’s State Aid (*although still drastically below what this community needs and deserves, it is still a victory).

Lastly, as you will recall the MPS District was in a legal dispute with the new full-time Technical School over high school athletics. Specifically, the case centered on whether another school district had the right to force our District to provide and supplement athletics for their District. We received the Judge’s decision in favor of the MPS District. We were successful in defending our position. Unfortunately it does not end here. The new NJ Commission of Education has 45 days to review the Judge’s findings and either support or overturn her decision. Stay tuned!

SHOUT-OUTS

"We would like to recognize the overwhelming love and support we have felt after the passing of our student. The response by our staff and the support from the entire district and community has helped us get through a very difficult time. We appreciate everyone’s willingness to be here to help students and staff and all of the flowers and messages of support. We are very grateful to be a part of the Millville Public Schools family."
~Steve Saul, Principal

"I would like to thank Mrs. Bacon for making arrangements for our wonderful guest speaker for our future Engineering students. This was an amazing opportunity for our students."

"I would like to thank Maddy for being her lovable self in supporting our students and especially our elementary students in a time of need."
~Stephanie DeRose, Principal

"I would like to thank Kim Hallenbeck for her perseverance and positive attitude in working with an enormous student record file with over 2000 records for our upcoming PARCC testing. Kim never gave up and found herself an ""Excel Expert"" in the end. I appreciate your ability to be flexible and work out of your comfort zone. Thanks again!!"
~Pat Wulk, Supervisor

"Thank you to Teale Carroll for assisting with coordinating the Franklin Institute Traveling Science Exhibit this week at LMS. Teale worked with our partners from the Connecting Families to Communities and the Holly City Development Center. We had over 300 visitors participate in the Science Night!'
~Spike Cook, Principal

"Amanda Schreiner, Sue Whilden, Sherry Gromes, Ashley Trovarelli:  Your dedication to our students, families, and staff helps us all provide an education for our students that is World Class. Thank You!"
~Steve Matusz, Exec. Director

"A huge shout out to our fifth and sixth grade special education teachers and case managers for their work this week during our transition meetings at Lakeside. As we go kid by kid and discuss individual needs, I hear all the love and hard work that has been poured into our classified students over the years and the preparedness of our sixth grade team to transition these students to Lakeside and make them successful in their respective programs. Thank you for being the World Class educators our students deserve!"
~Debby Sukinik, Supervisor

"Thank you to Pat Wulk, Trish Curcuru, Susan Trout, and Jackie Cruz for all of the work they have done getting Rieck Ave ready for PARCC. I'm grateful we have such a great team working on making sure everything is ready for the students to take PARCC."
~Brian Robinson, Principal

"Congratulations to Gerald Bruman , Shawn Jenkins and the MHS Robotics Team for finishing 3rd in the TSA Skills Competition at the College of NJ. Great job!"
~Joanne Colacurcio, Supervisor

Dr. David N. Gentile
Superintendent of Schools
“Lead Learner”
@drgentile_mps (Twitter)
856-327-6001

#MPSWC (MPS World Class)
#greatdaytobeabolt

Published by Spike Cook, Millville, NJ

April 13, 2018 - Spring Has Arrived Edition

LMS student, Dylan Latham, intervened in an emergency 

Hello,

I hope everyone is having a great Friday and looking forward finally to some nice weather!

Yesterday was an exciting day for sure…we had a Blackhawk Helicopter land on the practice grounds so students and staff could get an up close and personal look at this incredible technology. In addition, our military guests brought their own climbing wall. Students got a workout and an education on the Blackhawk Helicopter. Despite the copter being from the late 80’s it appeared more than ready for action. Check Twitter for the video of it landing and many pictures of students and staff aboard the Blackhawk. Thank you to our own Michael Schenck for organizing.

Also yesterday, Lakeside hosted as an AVID National Demonstration site several groups from schools across NJ. Showcasing their school wide approach to incorporating the AVID strategies, visitors were impressed with our staff as well as the students who addressed the large group of adults. The students explained to the audience, clearly and concisely, what AVID has done to help them advance. Judging by my conversations after with several visitors, the students and staff of Lakeside AVID left a lasting impression on the group. Kudos to Kim Hallenbeck and others for representing our District so well. A BIG SHOUTOUT to Rita Pettit for her comments to the AVID visitors yesterday during the debrief. I was extremely impressed with how passionately she articulated the value in using the AVID strategies as a ’non-avid’ teacher. By ’non-avid’ I mean not officially teaching the elective but Ms. Pettit is most certainly an AVID teacher. She uses the strategies in her classes and actively promotes the advantages her students have because of it. Thank you for being a leader among your peers!

These are just two of an endless list of amazing happenings across the MPS District!

One Amazing MPS Student caught being Phenomenal!!!
Subject: Student Dylan Latham

Good Afternoon Dr. Cook,
I wanted to share with you a moment that Dylan and I experienced last night.  We, unfortunately, witnessed a horrific accident.  An SUV was in front of us and went to turn onto a side road.  Upon doing so, an explosion happened in the front of her vehicle as is ripped it around almost in a circle.  Dylan and I noticed that the explosion was a motorcycle.  We ran out and just wanted to find the person.  The lady who hit him  told us to look in the woods while she called 911.  Dylan found him and went right to him without any fear and held his hand and with such a soothing voice, spoke as calmly as she could to the guy.  He was wrapped around a couple of trees.  I just tried to untangle some of the mess while trying not to cause any additional pain. 

Dylan got him talking and found out his name and tried to keep him focused on the little boy that he kept asking us to find (should he not make it) and tell him how much his daddy loved him.  She told him he could do that himself and told him he was NOT going to die.  I heard him finally talk in a normal voice and asked Dylan,  “Your not lying to me, right?”.  And Dylan spent the rest of the time she had with him letting him know that he’s going to live and that she would never lie about something like that. 

She showed such tenderness and bravery for a 13 year old.  And our intentions was to NOT let him die alone.  And she was prepared for that.  Somehow.

It took some time and effort for the shock to wear off once we were home.  She asked me, “what do we do now?”.  And I responded that she didn’t need to worry about what to do next except to know that she made a difference just being there and to know that she may have saved his life by keeping him from going into shock.  She kept him calm and spoke so sweetly that you would think she was professionally trained to do so.

I was able to find out that he made it. 

I am so proud and ever so shocked at the ability of a child to think and react in pure chaos.   Dylan is that child.  She’s constantly  amazing me!  Yes, I’m partial.  But, I thought that those who are around her and know just how special she is too would like to share in this moment. 

 This was received from the motorcyclist...

“Hi there, I’m so thankful for you and your daughter the both of you kept me together. I’m very lucky. Your daughter really gave me hope, how she handled herself talked to me, she kept me thinking. I thank her for that. Just thank you for the hands I could hold onto.”


All My Best,

Tina Latham



SHOUT-OUTS!!!!


"Kim Hallenbeck, Beth Benfer, and Sandy Lokuta did a phenomenal job with organizing an AVID Site visit at Lakeside Middle School. We hosted over 20 educators from area schools as well as from North Jersey and Pennsylvania. Thank you for your hard work!"
~Spike Cook, Principal

"A big Bacon shout out and thank you to Stephanie Muhlbaier for pulling together Hoops for Bacon (along with her team), the yearbook, and the Walk-a-Mile events.  Stephanie, thanks for all your hard work and dedication to keeping Bacon active and keeping our Bears involved.  I appreciate the time and effort it takes to make these things happen.  Thank you!"
~Mike Coyle, Principal

"Clara Lowers and Tammy Tozer were able to provide over 200 chicken eggs to be used throughout the district. These eggs will be incubated and hatched in over 20 classrooms for the students to witness and learn from. Thanks Clara and Tammy!"
~Bobby Barber, Supervisor

"A BIG shout out to our two school nurses, Karen Chamenko and Lee Tamagni, for their attention to detail and receiving a 100% compliance on all of our Child Family Center student records from the county health department.  The registration process and the record keeping for our 600 children is a monumental task!"
~JoAnn Burns, Principal

"Audrey Muller, Jackie Eppright, Ali Prevard, and Ish Jimenez: Your enthusiasm and efforts to work with our students with special needs is inspiring.  Thank you for being the light in their lives and the lives of their families."
~Steve Matusz, Executive Director

"A big shout to Marie Celestin. Thank you for another successful Reality Fair at Memorial High School. Once again Marie prepared, organized and implemented this wonderful event for our students. This fair is a great opportunity for our students to experience some of the financial challenges they will face when they start living on their own. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to the students and staff at Memorial High School."
~JoAnne Colacurcio, Supervisor

"Kristin Phelan, Patti Atkinson, Courtney Fry, Tammy Elliott, Jessica Pacana, Juanita Douglas, and Jessica Kauffman: Today, three of our high school special education classes are presenting break out sessions at the annual Dare to Dream Student Leadership Conference at Cumberland County College. The sessions are entitled "Finding Yourself in Your Strengths" and "What Does Your Future Hold?" Thank you to the teachers and paraprofessionals that have worked with these students over the last few months to prepare them for this special day. This is an opportunity for students with disabilities to realize they have bright futures!"
~Debby Sukinik, Supervisor

"Thank you to Mike Schenck for coordinating the Blackhawk Landing at MSHS yesterday. Both students and teachers were impressed with every aspect of its visit."
~Kristin McManus, Vice Principal

Have an amazing weekend!!!
Warm Regards,
Dr. G.


Dr. David N. Gentile
Superintendent of Schools
“Lead Learner”
@drgentile_mps (Twitter)
856-327-6001

#MPSWC (MPS World Class)
#greatdaytobeabolt

Published by Spike Cook, Millville, NJ

March 29, 2018 - Spring Break

Photo by ANJA KWOK on Unsplash

Happy Friday (well Thursday) Everyone,

This issue marks the start of the Spring Recess for 2018…although not technically a Friday, today is certainly Phenomenal. Like all of you, I am looking forward to an opportunity to recharge with family and friends.

Yesterday I enjoyed some time spent with the Rieck Avenue Jets 5th graders! I was fortunate to be invited in as a guest reader. The book selected was a Bad Case of the Stripes, by David Shannon. If you are not familiar with this particular story, it involves something just about all of us can relate to – trying to please others. In the story, a young female student is about to begin her first day of school and she is very nervous about what to wear in order to make everyone like her. She cares so much about being like everyone else that she even gave up one of her favorite foods, because according to her “nobody likes them”.

In her effort to do what she thinks others want her to do instead of following her own heart, she breaks out with the strangest illness I have ever heard of - ‘a bad case of stripes’. Whenever someone suggests something for her to be she can’t help but turn into it. I won’t spoil the ending but simply say that it is probably normal to care what others think of us. I mean who doesn’t want to be liked?!? If, however, you lose sight of who you are in the process of trying to be liked you may find yourself with a bad case of the stripes. If others determine how you feel about yourself, or how you view your self-worth you are going to be left very vulnerable.

For our young people they go through this in various stages as they develop. It is normal for students to struggle with figuring out exactly who they are along their journey. Hopefully, by the time you are an adult you have figured out who you are. Even once you have done so, it can be difficult at times not to just go along with the group despite your real beliefs. We have all been there, a conversation is taking place with a group of people and it turns to talking about someone mutually known to the group. The person may be the butt of a joke or some other derogative statement about them; despite you knowing it is wrong to talk badly about others and perhaps you even like the person they are talking about it but is often easier to just go along. Maybe you just don’t say anything, which condones the behavior, or worse yet you chime in. I can say truthfully that I have done both in my lifetime. The power of social pressure is something that is very strong. Perhaps while enjoying the great spring weather (that I am confident will not include anymore snow) you can give this a little thought. The next time you find yourself in that situation, perhaps you can boldly point out that it isn’t polite to talk badly about others. If you don’t maybe you will get a bad case of the stripes!

Have an amazing break!

Shout-outs:

"A big shout-out to Kristi Abel for organizing and leading the Wellness Report as well as developing ideas for improving Lakeside Middle School."

"For filling in for Scott Godfrey while he was out of the 6th grade office, Robin Roche did a great job of keeping the office running smoothly!"
~Spike Cook, Principal

"Eric Paulson and Luisa Lopez-Arbelo have been working diligently on trying to complete the required ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 English language proficiency testing on all ELLs grades K to 12.  The wicked March weather threw a couple of monkey wrenches into the overall plan, but they're making it work.  THANKS!"
~Debbie Homan, Supervisor

"For bringing enthusiasm and professionalism to the management of our Infrastructure. Jeremias Bermudez is always willing to take on any task or challenging situation as they arise."
~Dan Wright, Communications Manager

"Krystle Ammann, Bob Domico, Harry Longini, Derek Clarke, Sam Landi, Dan Lalli, Bridget Borlak, Elisa Petrini, Steve Matusz, Heather O'Donnell, Sheila Montecino, Jarrod Headley, Michele Lobaito: Thank you all for volunteering to chaperone 150 students (3 charter buses) on our annual trip to Washington, DC. Because of you we were able to visit the Holocaust Museum, eat at the United States Department of Agriculture, and see the White House, Jefferson Memorial, MLK Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and war memorials.  The students and I appreciate your time (an over 16 hour day) and dedication to preparing our students to become 21st century citizens."
~Jessica Kauffman, Dept. Chair

"Thanks to Lauren Daigle, I was able to say good bye to "My Documents" and I am now fully operational in Google Drive File Stream! She was so patient and answered all of my questions. I was on the fence for so long and after reading Lauren and Alicia's Tech Tuesdays, I decided it was time. If you haven't switched over yet, Spring Break is the perfect time!"
~Debby Sukinik, Supervisor

 "A Bacon shout out to Patti Banker for being a great Bacon Bear. In addition to the fantastic work she does with the kids in the classroom, Patti doesn’t hesitate to jump in and help others do just about anything. From helping with school events to occasionally covering classes when needed and everything in between, Patti is a great team player and colleague to all. Thanks for being awesome, Patti! We appreciate your hard work and dedication to the students and staff at Bacon."
~Mike Coyle, Principal

"We are very fortunate to have James and Bacon as our daytime custodians at Holly Heights.  They both keep our building in top shape and assist all of us on a daily basis.  They also both work in our latch key program and interact with our students in a positive manner.  Last night they both captained teams for our Games Galore and today assisted Mrs. Fryling's class by dropping their egg containers off the roof.  They are both always willing to do whatever they can to make Holly Heights a better place."
~Steve Saul, Principal

"Thank you to Jamie Burrows, John Parkin, Rick VanArsdale, and Jim McCarthy for another successful Advisory Committee meeting. You've done a fine job of showing off the wonderful programs you run for our school. Your passion for your fields was evident and appreciated. Kudos to you all for your efforts!"
~Bridget Borlak, Dept. Chair

Have an amazing Spring Recess!!

Regards,

Dr. G.

Dr. David Gentile
Lead Learner
Superintendent of Schools
Millville NJ
856-327-6001
@drgentile_mps (Twitter)

Published by Spike Cook, Millville, NJ