NBOE Teacher Talk

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Message from Dr. Reilly

Good morning Faculty and Staff,

On a Thursday night in early March, I had the pleasure of viewing the Young Artist Exhibition featuring visual art by middle school students, along with drama and dance performances. A week later, All City Dance took place at Arts High School. This coming Thursday, All City Music will happen and at the end of March, the Teen Arts Festival will occur.

After the first two shows, I had a conversation with Margaret El, the Director of the Visual and Performing Arts Office. In the first two performances, excellence

Message from Dr. Reilly

Dear Teachers and Staff,

During the last 10 weeks, I have joined the ELA office led by Jazleen Othman on site visits to elementary schools.  While there, we have been reading students’ writings posted on the walls. It’s evident that in some classrooms and schools students have been learning how to use conventions well when writing. Thank you to those teachers. Also true are classrooms where such instruction is less evident. As you know, all punctuation rules do not matter equally. Some carry far greater weight and these must be attended to explicitly. Of great

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Message from Dr. Reilly

Dear Teachers and Instructional Staff,

It was late in the evening when I opened Ms. Salerno’s email. Attached to it were samples of first-grade children’s writing about Africa. These were full-page texts with deliberate leads, a variety of details, and conclusions. Capitalization of sentences and proper nouns, along with punctuation, were not only present but correct. The texts were written in response to the curriculum and demonstrated knowledge about the African continent that the children had learned. As I read the work, I wondered about

Message From Dr. Reilly

Dear Teachers and Staff,

Superintendent León envisioned a system of experiences for each child that extended learning. The goal of these extended classroom experiences is for students to deepen learning. Three extended classroom experiences for all students have been designed. You are the bridge between the learning in the classroom and the field. The matrix that outlines these experiences by grade level can be found here.

Upcoming Event: 2nd Annual Women’s Leadership Conference

Deputy Superintendent Johnson is excited to share that she will be hosting the second annual

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Message From Dr. Reilly

Dear Teachers and Staff,

Welcome back. We hope that you enjoyed the holiday and feel unhurried and rested. I want to highlight two residencies for teachers that are upcoming and highly recommended.

1. The Office of English Language Arts, in collaboration with the Newark Teachers Union, is offering paid ($41/hour) 90-minute Guided Reading workshops for 2 to 3 consecutive weeks for K-5 teachers to design and manage meaningful small group literacy experiences in the classroom. Location will be shared with registrants. You can find more information

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Message From Dr. Reilly

Dear Teachers and Staff,

“S..L..O..W.. it all down. Pause from your full calendar and long task list. Take a moment or ten- to simply be. To remind yourself that this is life, right here and right now. To reacquaint yourself with your pulsing heart and your incredible body that allows you to do all that you do. To remember that life is precious and fragile and should be lived in love. To remind yourself that whatever is happening or wherever you find yourself in your journey, it is all as it is supposed to be.”
-Nikki Banas

The Office of

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Message From Dr. Reilly

Dear Teachers and Instructional Staff,

I had occasion this weekend to visit several high schools as they welcomed and began teaching junior year students at Saturday Academies. What struck me as being most profound was the community among students, administrators, teachers, and security guards that fueled interest and attendance. The familiarity and friendliness shown by students in cafeterias, hallways, and classrooms reminded me that the sum of teaching is always greater than what we might initially calculate. Since the report, “A Nation