Moving Forward

We hope that all of you and your families are well. As a result of Hurricane Sandy, we have made adjustments to the school calendar that was approved at the August 27, 2012 Board of Education meeting. We had three inclement weather days built into that calendar. Fortunately, our recent extended closure overlapped with three days that had already been scheduled as closures: 2 days for the NJEA Convention, and 1 day for the Election Day Professional Development program. At this time, we still need to make up 4 days of school. The 2012-2013 school calendar will now reflect the following dates as school days for staff and students:

As we head into the winter, please keep in mind that any unscheduled closures will force us to utilize additional days during Spring Break to make up school days. The make-up days, if needed, are scheduled for Thursday, March 28, 2013, Wednesday, March 27, 2013, Tuesday, March 26, 2013 and Monday, March 25, 2013.

The district’s academic calendar for the 2012–2013 school year has also been revised. The new marking period and mid-term examination dates appear below. Note that Marking Period 1 has been extended to Wednesday, November 28, 2012.

Midterm examinations will be: Tuesday, February 5; Wednesday, February 6; Thursday, February 7; and Friday, February 8, 2013. Make-up midterm examinations will be Monday, February 11 and Tuesday, February 12, 2013.

The December 5, 2012 professional development activity/early dismissal and December 6, 2012 professional development/delayed opening are both cancelled. December 5 and 6, 2012 will now be regular days of school. The February 6, 2013 professional development activity and delayed opening has been postponed to February 13, 2013. February 6, 2013 will now be a regular day of school. February 13, 2013 will be a delayed opening for students.

The Parent/Teacher Conferences will remain as scheduled on Wednesday, February 20, 2013.

The dates for Marking Periods 3 and 4 are as follows:

You can find additional information on our school calendar by visiting our web site. You can also find an updated calendar here.

We are also aware that the storm and related school closures have come at a difficult time in the college application process. Indeed this situation may have delayed the submission of documents required for college admission for some of our seniors who are interested in "early action" or "early decision" options.

While we know that the colleges are aware of the impact that the storm has had on our area, and many have granted extensions to deadlines or even waived certain admissions requirements, we will coordinate our efforts in the guidance offices to ensure that all deadlines for college applications are met. Toward that effort, we are canceling guidance training previously scheduled for Tuesday, November 13th in order to provide students continued access to their counselors throughout the week. Moreover, Ms. Sharp, our Director of Guidance and Operations has drafted an official letter to be included with student applications as needed and verifying the school closures and explaining any related delays in the submission of transcripts or other documents.

All of our counselors and guidance supervisors are available to answer questions and address any and all concerns that families or colleges may have regarding student applications. We are confident that the storm will not have an adverse effect on the college application process. Our entire guidance staff, throughout all six of our high schools, is dedicated to ensuring a smooth transition from high school to college and career.

The closures may impact our through-course assessment (TCA) schedule. If adjustments to the TCA schedule become necessary, we will post prominent announcements to our website very soon.

It has been a trying two weeks. We wish everyone the best as we move forward.