The 2009-2010 academic year has begun! We are excited to open our doors to our students and another year of learning opportunities. The Board members and administrators have been working together during the summer months to prepare the schools for everyone’s return. . At the June meeting, the Board along with community members and the administrators, identified the district’s goals and mission statement, which are posted within this newsletter. We identified a motto for the Bellmawr Public Schools "Excellence Everyday for Everyone! By that we meant that our first priority is to provide an environment that is academically, physically, emotionally and socially a challenging.

Please help us in promoting a plan to raise expectations and celebrate excellence in our schools. I encourage you to become an active participant as we work toward the goal of increased collaboration and communication. We intend to work as a learning community to develop the district mission at the September Board meeting. I hope you will join us and be a part of that work. Additionally, we have identified the need for a number of committees, for which we want your input. I am hoping that I can count on you to serve on one or more of those committees as we develop action plans that will assist us in achieving our goals.

Curriculum development will be at the forefront of the work we do this year and for the next few years. As the NJ Department of Education revises and adopts new standards the district will be engaged a developing curricula to meet the NJ Core Content Curriculum Standards in all 9 areas.

Finally, the Board is committed to improving the infrastructure of each of the district’s buildings. We will be conducting a thorough needs assessment and will be looking to you, the tax payers, to help inform that process. If you are interested in becoming involved please do not hesitate to contact me through email@ acastiglione@bellmawrschools.org, or by phone @ 931-3620. I look forward to hearing from you.

Annette Castiglione