Welcome Class of 2021

Readington Middle SchoolHome of the Vikings

Who is Who?Mrs. Moffat - Principal

Dr. Moss - Vice Principal

*Mr. Connelly - Class of 2021 School Counselor (6th)

Mrs. Hegstrom - Class of 2020 School Counselor (7th)

Mrs. Crielly - Class of 2019 School Counselor (8th)

Mrs. Cataldi - School Nurse

RMS Athletics

Dr. Moss, Vice Principal/Athletic Director Paul Yunos - Athletic Coordinator

Jim Casertano - Athletic Coordinator

Contact Information...Any questions, comments, or concerns can be communicated via phone or email.

Paul Yunos- pyunos@readington.k12.nj.us

Jim Casertano- jcasertano@readington.k12.nj.us

Phone number: 908-534-2113 X3101

www.cnjconference.org

Important information and communications are found on the Readington Middle School website under Athletics

Sports Offered at RMS...Fall:

Girls Volleyball

Girls Field Hockey

Boys and Girls Soccer

Boys and Girls Cross Country

Winter:

Cheerleading

Wrestling

Boys and Girls Basketball

Spring:

Boys and Girls Lacrosse

Softball

Baseball

Track & Field

Health Forms/Important Paperwork● Sport forms are found in the RMS Health Office or on the RMS website (under

quick links Nurse’s Office)

● Forms must be turned into the Nurse’s Office before the deadline. (Late forms will not be accepted. Therefore, athletes will not be allowed to try out or participate on the team for that season if their forms are handed in after the deadline).

○ Advice- start the process early to ensure you have plenty of time for a Physical and time to fill out paperwork.

Deadline for Sports Forms

Deadline for Sports Forms:

Fall 2018- Friday August 17, 2018 by end of day.

Winter 2018- Friday November 2, 2018 by the end of the day.

Spring 2019- Friday March 8, 2019 by the end of the day.

There are NO exceptions for late forms. Your child will not be allowed to try out or participate for that season.

Advice from Nurse: Get the physical now and hand the forms in early!

Tryout Dates...● Athletes must attend at least 3 out of the 5 days. ● Coaches take data on each athlete in order to evaluate each player fairly. ● At the end of tryouts, each athlete will receive a letter from their coach.

Tryout Dates:

Fall 2018- September 6-7 and September 11-13

Winter 2018- Monday November 12- Friday November 16

Spring 2019- Monday March 18- Friday March 22

Athletic Policy...● Students playing a sport at RMS are considered student athletes. Student

athletes need to adhere to the Athletic Policy or they can not participate in their sport for the day. That includes games as well as practices.

● The following most common examples will result in not participating in sports for the day:

■ Entering the school building after 11:05 ■ Not changing for P.E. Class ■ Failing 1 or more classes (these include Encore classes)

Practices and Games...Practices: (with the exception of winter sports) will end at 4:30.

Winter Sports follow an early and late practice schedule (includes H.W. Room):

■ Early Practice- 2:40-4:15■ Late Practice- 4:20-6:00

Games: During games, parents need to respect their child’s coach and following game etiquette (respectful behavior to opposing team, no foul language, etc).

There is no guaranteed playing time!

Students MUST be picked up on time from their parent/guardian from practice/games.

Website Information..Please check these websites frequently for changes, updates and your everyday needs:

Readington Middle School Website… Athletic Page

http://www.readington.k12.nj.us/page/541

Practice and Game Schedules for each sport (Sign up for “Notify Me” to receive text messages and emails)

http://www.cnjconference.org/g5-bin/client.cgi?G5genie=239&school_id=1

Readington Athletics Booster Club (RABC)● Please read the RABC welcome letter found in your child’s letter

○ Sports wear ordering information○ Fundraising information○ Learn about the booster club

● Please participate in fundraisers: ○ Fall- Car Wash (must sell 4 tickets at $5.00 each… $20.00 per athlete) ○ Winter- Pasta Sales, Pizza Sales, etc. ○ Spring- Car Wash (must sell 4 tickets at $5.00 each… $20.00 per athlete)

● RABC:○ Purchase our team uniforms ○ Purchase last minute team essentials/equipment ○ Support our Athletic Department

Conclusion...Please visit the Readington Middle School Athletic Website to obtain a copy of the Student Athletic Handbook

Welcome to RMS

you’ll like it here! we hope

6th Grade Peer Leaders Andrew Leibowitz

Kiera Spring

Juliana Amorosi

Joe Duffy

Connor Biehl

Ashley Green

Lianna Phillips

Dylan Hughes

John LoMonte

Olivia Martin

Core Classes - Andrew Leibowitz● You have Core Classes everyday.● The only Core Class you can pick is your world language.● Classes get harder.● Teachers are nice and they help you along the way.

Core Classes:

Double Period LA, Math,

Science, Social Studies

World Language

Encore Classes - Kiera Spring

● Art ● Financial Literacy● Innovation &

Design● General Music

● Language Arts Intervention

● Math Intervention

● Gifted & Talented

● Orchestra● Band● Chorus

Required

● P.E.● Health

Open to all For certain people Full Year (4 MPs)

Lunch & Academic Support - John LoMonte Lunch

● Sit where you want● Different lunch options

○ Grill Workz, Deli Day, Special of Day● Silent lunch/Working lunch● Soft Serve Days!!!!● Lunch outside

Academic Support

● Academic work ● Normal day for 20 minutes● Extended on half day, Shorten on team meeting days, Not on delayed opening ● Can get help from teachers, work on HW, get ahead on readings

Homework and school work - Joe Duffy ● Homework● You have more fun things to do at home than in school.● Everyone has the same work● Remember the homework gets harder in the middle

school, as they did moving up all the other grades● Listen in class so that the work becomes easier ● You can also stay after school for

homework room to do your homework● You can also locate the homework

on Genesis

Lockers and Hallways - Jules Amorosi● Locks● Location● Returning to locker● Decorations/materials● Decorating lockers, adult supervision● Sports lockers● No running, be quiet● Walk with friends● Hallways are organized● Not as hard to navigate● Work posted in hallways

Sports - Connor BiehlFALL

Boys/Girls Soccer, Boys/ Girls Cross Country, Girls Field Hockey & Volleyball

WINTER

Cheerleading, Wrestling, Boys/Girls Basketball

SPRING

Softball, Baseball, Boys/Girls Lacrosse, Boys/Girls Track

Clubs & Activities - Lianna Phillips● Art● Break the Silence ● Chinese● DestinationImagination● Enrichment ● Junior Librarians ● Mock Trial

● Readington Rhapsody● Tennis● Robotics● Ultimate Frisbee● Nature & Garden● Yearbook● Many More....

Student Council - Ashley Green❏ Way to show good charactership like leadership and

responsibility.❏ Opportunity to show love to our school❏ Year long commitment❏ Plan activities for the school ❏ Elected by leadership not popularity❏ Student Council President, Vice President,

Spirit Coordinator, Event Coordinator❏ Field trips; Conferences❏ Ms. Dahler and Ms. MacDade

Special Event Days - Dylan Hughes Field Day➢ Day-long event➢ Games➢ Group Activities➢ Snacks (Fruit and Italian Ice)➢ Teacher participation, but parent

volunteers

Assemblies➔ Usually 4 or 5 per year➔ Anti-bullying/character building (Oct.)➔ Another usually before or after

Winter Break (Fun assemblies)➔ PARCC week ➔ Year-end assembly

Team Meetings❖ Celebrate birthdays❖ Student of the Month❖ Month-changing activity❖ Month-changing characteristic

Student Academy Day❏ Activities❏ Learn about jobs❏ Day before spring break

Myths and Rumors - Olivia Martin

➔ Being late to class

➔ Shoved into locker

➔ Getting lost in RMS

Adam ConnellyClass of 2021 - School Counselor

You are a School Counselor?What is a School Counselor?

● We are student-first advocates who provide

support in the all areas (Social/Emotional,

Academic, Career)

● We teach classroom lessons, run groups,

use moments to teach life lessons, and

provide bridges between students and

teachers as well as students and parents.

● We see ALL students whether there are

issues or not (proactive relationship

building).

What is not a School Counselor?

● We are not your traditional Guidance

Counselors.

● We are not the parent/guardians advocate.

● We do not provide therapeutic counseling

(We are Solution-focused).

A Parent’s Guide to 6th Grade Survival

Three Keys to keeping the Sanity

1. Communication

2. Boundaries/Resilience

3. Rude/Mean/Conflict//Bullying

Communication

● Student to Parent

● Student to Teacher

● Teacher to Parent/Parent to Teacher

Communication Tips● Take the time to be an active listener

○ Sometimes people (especially kids) just want to be heard; but you can always clarify

● Ask open ended questions (forces elaboration)

○ “What was something new you learned today?” - “What skills does my son/daughter need to

work on to be successful in your class”

● Limit distractions

○ Remove poor stimuli (phones, TV); add healthy stimuli (fidgets, dinner)

○ Emails are for quick communication; not lengthy dialogue

Communication Tips● Mutual Respect

○ Recognize the stress level of your kids; don’t dismiss it

○ Common goals & both experts

Resilience & Boundaries

“When you're in a Slump,you're not in for much fun.Un-slumping yourselfis not easily done.” ― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

How to Succeed?● It’s not about the grade, it’s about the skills

○ Organization, advocating, completing work, study skills, communication

● A POOR test grade is sometimes better than a great one.

○ Provides insight into study skills, test taking strategies, & a chance to build coping skills

● Build Coping skills

○ Providing opportunities to face adversity and failure creates RESILIENCY when students are

taught coping skills both in school and at home.

Boundaries● Students want independence & control, but they need structure & routines.

○ Find ways to give them control (ex. choices about schedule which are already predetermined)

● Be a Pendulum

○ Understand at different points your child needs your level of involvement

● Limiting exposure

○ Each parenting style is different because each child is different, however, developmental

students can handle only so much exposure to particular topics and experiences

Rude vs. Mean vs. Conflict

Bullying

Vs.

Rude Vs. Mean Rude Behavior

● Unintentionally saying or doing something

that hurts someone else.

○ Bragging about achievements

○ Burping in someone’s face

○ Questioning a person’s question in

class

● Spontaneous behaviors without thought or

reasoning

Mean Behavior

● Intentionally saying or doing something

that hurts someone else

○ Criticizing someone’s style or way

they dress

○ Posting on Instagram about how you

are cooler than everyone else

● Often comes from being unable to identify

feelings and emotions

Conflict● Simply put conflict is a natural process where one or more individuals have

a disagreement or difference of opinion○ Conflict can devolve into mean behavior since most often conflict rises from each student’s

inability to communicate effectively and each student’s struggle to identify feelings and emotions

● Conflict occur everyday, everywhere; So what do we do?○ Students are taught by 7th & 8th grader about conflict resolution.○ Use of a common language when it comes to conflict

Bullying● Intentionally, purposeful, repeated behavior by a individual or group people in

a position of power to deliberately hurt someone physically or emotional.

● Bullying is a learned behavior

● Physical, Verbal, Relational, Cyber

○ Victim, Aggressor, Bystanders

● Harassment, Intimidation, & Bullying - H.I.B.

● Do not take the use of the bullying word lightly