Trust me. I know what I am talking about. I missed two days of work and was sick for four days. But that's just an aggressive way to get you to read this post....
I wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone that if your child is sick, they need to stay home! I know it is not easy. You have to take off from work, use vacation days, etc... but too many times parents bring their child to school and in an offhand comment, "Well I will probably be back, _____ has not been feeling well."
They need to stay home. The memos we sent home about this Norovirus and what to think about before deciding to keep your child home are to protect everyone. Your child, the students sitting near them, staff, etc...
Please remember to keep them home if they are ill. If they are home, please call us and give us a sense of why they are home.
Thanks. If we all work together we can help keep all the students healthier.
Till next time....
Friday, February 24, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Valentine's Day thoughts
Thanks to everyone who wished me a Happy Valentine's Day today! Never having been a true romantic, I do appreciate the thoughts and kind words...it is a nice day! Perhaps that is really the true meaning of the day, just letting people know they are appreciated! I hope everyone has a happy valentine's day as well.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Thoughts on the new Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights
As some may be aware, the new anti-bullying bill of rights and all the baggage that it brings to the doors of the school was ruled to be an unfunded mandate by a state board that is asked to analyze laws set down by the state to see if they are unfunded and if they are found to be unfunded, the panel decides what the state should do about the law. In this case, the state found the new HIB law to be unfunded and therefore it will need revisions.
This law has merits. I fully applaud the idea of protecting students and designing rules that allow us to further protect our students from bullying However, what the law has done is provide that every look or word can be turned into a case of bullying. The law teaches our children and parents that any thing that might cause them discomfort, such as hard work or honest disagreements or conflicts over space, lockers, pencils, new friendships, etc... is a horrible bullying incident that must be stopped. The law overburdens teachers and administrators, costs hundreds of man hours and abrogates the responsibility of learning how to deal with others each day to the schools. A function that most educators, doctors and parents feel has been and always should be, the responsibility of the parents.
I have also seen an ugly thread within the fabric of this law... parents bullying staff and administrators. Parents yell and scream at us, curse us out, dictate to us who their children can sit next to, play with or eat with. Every difficulty that a child experiences is not bullying! Bullying is much more! Young children tend to be bullies if they have been bullied. However, just try telling a parent that their child has been a bully and it leads to accusations of ineffectiveness and even threats about our jobs!
Bullying is an issue. It is a problem that many students say they see, but none say they are or have been bullies. We have investigated more than 20 claims of bullying this year and of that number only two fall into the category of bullying. Most are code of conduct violations that are outlined in our student handbook. However, the times when staff are being bullied are far too numerous, are unacceptable and just plain uncivil!
The HIB legislation has merits. It does protect children. But in some cases it protects them from handling difficulties, conflicts or frustrations and may be turning them into a "chicken little generation."
Till next time....
This law has merits. I fully applaud the idea of protecting students and designing rules that allow us to further protect our students from bullying However, what the law has done is provide that every look or word can be turned into a case of bullying. The law teaches our children and parents that any thing that might cause them discomfort, such as hard work or honest disagreements or conflicts over space, lockers, pencils, new friendships, etc... is a horrible bullying incident that must be stopped. The law overburdens teachers and administrators, costs hundreds of man hours and abrogates the responsibility of learning how to deal with others each day to the schools. A function that most educators, doctors and parents feel has been and always should be, the responsibility of the parents.
I have also seen an ugly thread within the fabric of this law... parents bullying staff and administrators. Parents yell and scream at us, curse us out, dictate to us who their children can sit next to, play with or eat with. Every difficulty that a child experiences is not bullying! Bullying is much more! Young children tend to be bullies if they have been bullied. However, just try telling a parent that their child has been a bully and it leads to accusations of ineffectiveness and even threats about our jobs!
Bullying is an issue. It is a problem that many students say they see, but none say they are or have been bullies. We have investigated more than 20 claims of bullying this year and of that number only two fall into the category of bullying. Most are code of conduct violations that are outlined in our student handbook. However, the times when staff are being bullied are far too numerous, are unacceptable and just plain uncivil!
The HIB legislation has merits. It does protect children. But in some cases it protects them from handling difficulties, conflicts or frustrations and may be turning them into a "chicken little generation."
Till next time....
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying -- HIB
Well it has finally occurred enough to warrant my venting about it... The new HIB laws and Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights allows students to continue to identify incidents they feel are bullying. Most are not. Most end up being code of conduct violations or conflicts between two students. However, the offshoot of the new law, that many educators saw coming, is that when we tell parents that we are looking into an allegation, we are automatically branded as unreasonable, over-reacting and in some cases-- liars.
This has happened because in previous instances here at OCS, prior to the Bill of Rights, we could look into the conflicts, talk to the students and the teachers and let the parents know what we found out. Now with a different path of investigation that might take a few days to resolve, we are seen as stalling, fabricating or lying. That is the shame of this. When the previous laws allowed for us to resolve conflict, now we are investigating HIB. When told we are looking into a case that is alleged to be HIB, we are told we are blowing it out of proportion or wrong, since no one's child is capable of bullying, even though the students tell us they still see it occasionally happening.
Just a rant of disappointment from a school leader who has seen the winds of change on this issue change many, many times...
This has happened because in previous instances here at OCS, prior to the Bill of Rights, we could look into the conflicts, talk to the students and the teachers and let the parents know what we found out. Now with a different path of investigation that might take a few days to resolve, we are seen as stalling, fabricating or lying. That is the shame of this. When the previous laws allowed for us to resolve conflict, now we are investigating HIB. When told we are looking into a case that is alleged to be HIB, we are told we are blowing it out of proportion or wrong, since no one's child is capable of bullying, even though the students tell us they still see it occasionally happening.
Just a rant of disappointment from a school leader who has seen the winds of change on this issue change many, many times...
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Some pretty neat things
happen here at OCS everyday.... In one day, today, OCS students did the following:
Some travelled to the College of NJ to attend the State Student Council workshop!
8th Grade students worked with second grade students on a science activity!
Kids played outside for recess!
First grade students took part in the Read Outloud Creates Knowledge (ROCK) program!
Students learned about the important messages from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!
Students used netbooks to create essays and score them electronically!
Students learned about properties and mixtures!
Students learned about division and multiplication!
Pretty cool stuff!
Till next time...
Some travelled to the College of NJ to attend the State Student Council workshop!
8th Grade students worked with second grade students on a science activity!
Kids played outside for recess!
First grade students took part in the Read Outloud Creates Knowledge (ROCK) program!
Students learned about the important messages from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!
Students used netbooks to create essays and score them electronically!
Students learned about properties and mixtures!
Students learned about division and multiplication!
Pretty cool stuff!
Till next time...
Saturday, January 7, 2012
A new day
Friday was a busy day here at OCS. Unfortunately I had to spend many hours away from school attending meetings. Friday was also the final day here at Oxford for Ms. Martucci our School Business Administrator and School Board Secretary. I hesitate to add the second title because most people do not think of this position in the complex light that the job entails. The board secretary is the official business branch of the school board and is a very difficult position, in fact one that is included in school law as a vital and necessary position.
Ms. Martucci leaves us after fighting for Oxford students for the past six years. She was instrumental in refinancing, rebidding and restructuring our Business Office -- SAVING the district millions of dollars!! She will be missed.
She will be replaced by Ms. Christina Moskal who come to us from the Florence Township School District. Ms. Moskal will begin on January 17th. Welcome to Oxford.
Till next time...
Ms. Martucci leaves us after fighting for Oxford students for the past six years. She was instrumental in refinancing, rebidding and restructuring our Business Office -- SAVING the district millions of dollars!! She will be missed.
She will be replaced by Ms. Christina Moskal who come to us from the Florence Township School District. Ms. Moskal will begin on January 17th. Welcome to Oxford.
Till next time...
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Happy Holidays!
No matter what holiday you celebrate -- have a safe and happy celebration!
Big news.... school will reopen on JANUARY 3, 2012! THIS IS A DEPARTURE FROM YEAR'S PAST. That is the Tuesday after the New Year's day.
Till next time...
Big news.... school will reopen on JANUARY 3, 2012! THIS IS A DEPARTURE FROM YEAR'S PAST. That is the Tuesday after the New Year's day.
Till next time...
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