Mustang News
November 2012
Letter from the Principal
The Cove Road 6th grade has taken a new approach to learning. The model is “learning is our
business”. Just like adults in the “real world”, students are held accountable for completing all
assigned work by the given due date. The students’ homeroom determines which company
they “work” for. The company consists of Pasquale Partnership, The Hornacek Group,
Heagen, Inc., Ronan, LLC, and Zampella & Co.
Anytime a student misses work in any of their classes, it counts against his or her company’s
productivity. Teachers check students’ work on the due dates. If work is not ready by the due
date, the teacher will put his or her initials next to the student’s name on the student’s
company sheet located in the Main Office.
The amount of students who miss homework in any given month counts against the
company’s overall productivity. The number of students who completed all their work in a
given month is divided by the number of students in the homeroom. The resulting quotient is
the number used as that company’s productivity percentage. For example, 18 students out of
22 complete all their work - 18/22=.818. Therefore, that company is working at 82%
productivity. All homeroom productivity results are calculated and placed on a chart in the
hallway.
As in the business world, rewards are given for reaching goals and consequences which result
in the “overtime” room. The final result will be the company with the highest productivity
over the course of the year will be treated to a company picnic!
The creator of the program and Chairperson of the Board is Ms. Zampella. Please follow future
newsletters for company reports and announcements!
Keeping children first,
Wayne C. Ramsey, Principal
Announcements:
I would like to take this opportunity to wish ours staff and families a very happy Thanksgiving
Holiday. We also wish our Veterans a wonderful day on November 11th. The Veterans are
true heroes and great Americans.
American Education Week will be celebrated November 12 - 16. Parents may visit classrooms
on November 15th from 8:29 – 10:44 and 12:17 - 2:30. In order to accommodate everyone,
please limit your visit to approximately fifteen minutes per class period or subject. In order to
avoid disruptions, please do not bring younger children. All visitors must sign in at the front
door and sign out. Additional chairs will be set up in the classrooms.
Mustang Rewind:
Thank you for your contributions and support in making the following programs a success!
Hazlet Fire Department - Fire Safety Assembly
Teachers/Staff/Parents - Parent/ Teacher Conferences
Hazlet Alliance - Red Ribbon Week
PTO - Book Fair
PTO – Movie Day
RSH Dance Team – 5th and 6th grade Dance
HAZLET TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Stephen F. Willig – President
William J. Kolibas, Jr. – Vice President
Sameer Doshi
Carol A. Gaffney
Joseph Lamb
Francis J. McGrath
Celine McNally
Lauri J. O’Leary
Nelyda Perez
Student Member:
Leann Coppola
ADMINISTRATION
Bernard F. Bragen, Jr., Ed.D. – Superintendent of Schools
David A. Roman, Ed.D. – Assistant Superintendent of Schools
Christopher J. Mullins – School Business Administrator/Board Secretary
Heather Schwarz – Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Testing
Lenore Kopelovich, Ed.D. – Director of Special Services
Nathan Grosshandler – Director of Guidance
John DeGenito – Director of Athletics
Loretta Zimmer – District Affirmative Action Officer
Dara Van Pelt – Supervisor of Mathematics K-12/Ed. Tech. K-8
Michael Miller – Supervisor of Science 7-12
Reynold Forman – Supervisor of Language Arts K-12
Gregory Farley, Ed.D. – Supervisor of Educational Technology
Charles Hildner – Supervisor of Buildings & Grounds
Joseph Emerson – Network Administrator
Pictures Makeup and Retakes-November 20:
Makeup 12:00 PM (for students absent on the original picture day)
Retakes 2:50 PM (parents must be present to supervise students and take them home)
School Events for the month of November:

Fall recess schools closed from November 5th – 9th. Schools reopen November 12.

November 12 -16 - American Education week - Parent visitations November 15th .

November 19 - End of the 1st marking period.

November 20 – PTO Meeting – 7:00 pm.

November 20 - Picture retakes.

November 22 - 23- Schools closed for Thanksgiving break.
Wellness Policy
Please be reminded that cupcakes, munchkins, etc. are no longer acceptable during birthday
parties. If these items are observed, I will have to call you to pick them up for after school. We
would store them in a refrigerator if necessary, until you arrive. Finally, food items from
McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy’s etc. should not be brought to school for student
lunches. Thank you for your cooperation
Mrs. Haralla-Scafiddi - Music
Our Cove Road 5th graders have begun learning the songs for their concert. It is titled
"Jinglebell Jukebox." It will feature updated versions of traditional winter songs. The concert
will be on Thursday, December 13th at 7:00 pm in the auditorium of Raritan High School.
Our school band will perform first and the 5th grade chorus will follow. Students should
dress in nice holiday outfits. If you only have jeans and sneakers, please make sure they are
clean and not ripped.
If you have any questions, please send an email to jharalla@hazlet.org ,or send a note with
your child. You can stop in to see me at Cove Road on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
See you there,
Mrs. Haralla-Scafiddi
Music Teacher
Mrs. Baldini – School Counselor
There is always something to be THANKFUL for.
The successful progress of your child in school depends greatly on prompt and regular
attendance. We recognize that at times children are too ill to attend school. We also
recognize that an illness such as bronchitis, asthma, or pneumonia may have caused the
absences from school that warrants concern.
It is so important that parents make certain that their children attend school on a regular,
daily basis in order to receive the maximum benefits of instruction. Therefore, we need your
cooperation in providing appropriate education instruction for your child. We are just three
months in and there are students who have an abnormal amount of days out. The reason
unfortunately, most of the time, is . . . . no reason.
The higher up the grade level, you will find that the student will lose credit and will need to
repeat the grade or course again. Who would want that for their child and what student would
really like to repeat a course or a grade?
Have a Healthy and Thankful November.
I am so very Thankful for your support and being here for your child.
Most Sincerely,
Mrs. Baldini
RESPECT CONTEST
Mrs. Baldini would like to thank all the students and faculty for their participation in the
Respect Week Contest. The winners were:
Grade 5 -
Alexa Sadowski and Emma Joe
Grade 6 -
Muireen Medrow and Kiana Lee
Honorable Mention: Gabriella D’Antonio.
Congratulations to the winners!!
Ms. Esposito – Enrichment
Your Vote Counts
Cove Road School students participated in the National Student Mock Election; to educate
the students about the duties of citizenship, participate in the democratic process and inspire
them to exercise their right to vote.
National Mock Election Week kicked off on Thursday, October 25, and culminated on
National Mock Election Day 2012, Thursday, November 1.
Grade 5 and 6 students participated by casting their vote in the Presidential election on
Thursday, November 1. Each homeroom tallied their votes and reported the results for the
school total.
Cove Road School reported the results to the National Student Mock Election web
interface, joining the collection of millions of ballots from schools all over the country.
The results are available on the national and state level at www.nationalmockelection.org/
6th Grade Write Off
We are happy to announce the first winner of the sixth grade “Write Off” competition. This
contest takes place monthly and promotes writing outside of the classroom. This month’s
winner is Gabriella D’Antonio. Please stop by the “Write Off” bulletin board located at the
top of the fifth grade hallway to read the winning essay and next month’s writing task.
Congratulations Gabby!! Please see your Language Arts Literacy teachers to receive your
$10.00 gift card prize.
Sixth Grade Language Arts Teachers
Mrs. Burns – Grade 5
Mrs. Burns’ classes were thrilled to include the new ipad cart to their reading lesson on
utilizing text features. Students utilized the ipads to interact with informational text. The
class shared information with each other as students realized ways to look up words with
which they were unfamiliar and magnify parts of diagrams and charts which they found
interesting. The ipads brought reading to a new, more interactive level and they can’t wait to
do it again. Sign us up!!
HYAL News
Congratulations to the Hazlet Hawks Cheerleaders. The Pee Wee Cheerleaders
took 1st place in the Jersey Shore American Youth Cheerleading Competition
and are the Jersey Shore Champions.
THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE
October 9 – November 16, 2012
RAINE, Reaching All In Need Everyday, is a NJ non-profit organization
created to assist families in our community by providing them with
Food for Thanksgiving and gifts during the holidays.
This year, the need is greater than ever. Please consider donating a canned or
dried food item to be included in a local family’s Thanksgiving basket.
Food will be collected at ALL Hazlet schools
Suggested items:
canned fruit, vegetables, sweet potatoes, or cranberry sauce,
turkey gravy or gravy mix, instant mashed potatoes, stuffing mix,
shelf-safe milk (Parmalat), jell-o or pudding mix, bread/cake mixes
If you would like to donate a turkey, or help with distribution, please call 732-865-3555.
Thank you in advance for your generosity, and have a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving!
For information regarding RAINE, please visit our website at RAINEfoundation.com.
Self-
Efficacy:
Helping Children Believe
They Can Succeed
“I think I can, I think I can.” These words from the book The Little Engine That Could are familiar to generations of children
and parents. It captures a basic life attitude that all parents want their children to have: If I try, I will succeed. We all want
our children to be able to cope with adversity, learn from failure, and work through difficult challenges. This requires
Self-Efficacy—the ability to define a goal, persevere, and see oneself as capable.
Four Sources that Contribute to the Development of Self-Efficacy
Mastery Experiences: When a child attributes a success to internal, stable, and global factors (“I got an A on my test because
I am smart and I know how to study!”), he or she will experience a sense of mastery. When a child attributes success to external,
unstable, and specific factors (“That A was total luck! That teacher gives everyone good grades.”), he will not experience a sense of
self-efficacy.
Observing Others: Seeing someone who is similar to oneself working hard to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle
contributes to our belief that we, too, can successfully negotiate our environment. For example, if a first grader sees a friend climb to
the top of the jungle gym after several attempts, the student might think, I can do it too.
Direct Persuasion by Others: Children’s beliefs about their ability to master a situation are influenced by what they hear from
their teachers, parents, coaches, and friends. Children who receive strong messages that they have the skills and capabilities to
handle a situation are more likely to put in greater effort and to persist in the face of setback.
Mood: Positive emotions and mood build perceptions of efficacy and negative emotions and mood weaken them.
Help Your Child Develop Self-Efficacy
Praise the Process
Praise specific processes that yielded
success, rather than general
reinforcement: “You did so well
because you kept at it and tried
different ways to solve the problem!”
Emphasizing effort and strategy helps
children focus their attention on
variables they can control.
Teach Goal Setting
Teach children to set realistic
goals, identify or create many
different pathways to reach each
goal, and reinforce thinking that
keeps motivation levels high
when obstacles arise.
Challenge Negative
Thoughts
Help the child to first identify
the negative thought and then
to use evidence to prove why
the negative thought is
inaccurate. Replace the
negative thought with a
positive, truthful idea.
Notice, Analyze, and Celebrate
Successes
Teach youth to identify
successes and to accurately
assess their contribution.
Provide Opportunities for
Mastery Experiences
Give children the opportunity to
control their environment. Create
opportunities for children to make
decisions, use and practice their
skills, and try different paths to
reach their goals
For more information, or this complete article, please visit www.nasponline.org
Created by: Jaclyn Morrison, School Psychologist Intern & Jacqueline Hafner, School Psychologist
Honeywell Instant Alert for Schools
Parent User Interface
Website URL. https:llinstartalert.honeVwell.com
Minimum Requirements
Register and create your account
1 . Go to the Honeywell Instant Alert for Schools website listed above.
2. If you are not a staff member in the school, click on 'Parent' in the New User box.
3. If you are a staff member in the school, use the user name and password given to you by the school. 4.
Complete the student information form. Click'Submit.'
5. Complete the corresponding screen. Click'Submit.'
6. After receiving the Corlfirmation message, click'Proceed' to get started With Instant Alert.
7. Note: Remember your Login Name and Password so you@ may use it to update your profile.
View and check details about yourself and your family members
1. Uponsuccessfullogin,clickon'MyFamily' '
2' Click on a parent name to view and edit parent details.
3. Click on a student name to view details about your children enrolled in this school.
Configure alert settings for yourself
I . Click on 'Alert Setup.'
2. Click on the check boxes to select which alert type you would like to have sent to which device. Click on
'Save'when complete.
3. If you would like to add another contact device, select the device type and enter the device details. Select the
person to whom the device belongs and click on'Add.'
4. For e-mail, text messaging and pagers you may send yourself a test message. Click on 'Send Test Message'to
send yourself a message.
Additional Functions
View History of Alerts
Click on 'Alert History' to view Alerts that have been sent to you. Use the calendar icons and 'Alert Type' list to filter the
Alerts.
Identify key contacts for your children
1 . Click on 'Other Contacts.'
2. Click on 'Add New Contac@ and complete the form.
3. Click on the 'Pick Up Rights' check box if you wish to allow this person the right to pick up your child from
school. This person's na@ne will appear on a report for the school.
4. Click on!Save'when complete.
5. If you would like this person to receive Alerts from the school, return to the 'Alert Setup' page to
configure this person's alert settings.
For Assistance: https://instantalert.honeywell.com
Click on the Help Request link in the lower right hand side of the page