Dear Parents, Guardians, Students and Staff Members:

With the closure of school on Friday, January 21, it is important that we bring you up to date on where we stand with our emergency closing days.  As you know, we allocate four emergency closing days into our school calendar each year.  As of today, Voorhees is out of days and North Hunterdon has one day remaining (Voorhees had to use one day for a power outage on September 28).

As outlined in our school calendar, school closures that surpass the four allotted emergency closing days will have to be made up through the elimination of previously scheduled holidays when the district would be closed.  If inclement weather or other emergency forces the closure of our schools again, days will be made up in the following order:  President’s Days (Friday, February 18 first then Monday, February 21), Spring Recess beginning with Monday, April 25 and working backwards ending with Monday, April 18 (school would remain closed on April 22 for Good Friday), weekends, and then the extension of the school year thru June 30. 

We have been lucky over the years that our four allotted emergency closing days have been enough to cover most closings during the year.  Unfortunately, it seems this active winter will push us over our allotted days.

We will alert you well ahead of time if and when school needs to be in session on a day originally scheduled to be off.

Sincerely,

Charles M. Shaddow, Ph.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Dear Parents, Guardians and Students:

As was communicated to you yesterday, the closure of school on Tuesday, January 18 has caused us to shift our midterm exam schedule back by one day. At this point in time, midterm exams will be given on Wednesday the 19th, Thursday the 20th, and Friday the 21st, with make-up exams and the last day of the first semester occurring on Monday, January 24. Monday will now also be a half day for students with students dismissed at 11:55am. (On exam days, students are dismissed at 12:25pm.)

However, this schedule may have to be shifted again if we experience another snow storm early Friday morning the 21st, as is currently being predicted. In the event we have to close on Friday, January 21, midterm exams scheduled for Friday would be given on Monday, January 24. We would then cancel the half day for make-up exams, making Tuesday, January 25 a full day. Students who miss a midterm exam will need to schedule a time with their teacher to take the test.

It is hard to believe that we still have another two months of potential inclement weather to contend with. Thank you for your continued understanding and patience as we try to navigate through what is already a crazy winter!

Sincerely,

Maren Smagala
District Communications Coordinator

Dear Parents and/or Guardians:

 We are writing to inform you that we have a student with a suspected case of meningitis at North Hunterdon High School who is currently hospitalized.  The Hunterdon County Health Department is awaiting the results from lab tests before confirming if it is meningitis and what type, viral or bacterial.  We will communicate to you again once we are informed of the lab results.

 According to the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (http://www.cdc.gov/meningitis/about/faq.html), meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord.  Meningitis is usually caused by a viral or bacterial infection.  Viral meningitis is generally less severe than bacterial meningitis and clears up without specific treatment.  Common symptoms of meningitis in older children and adults are: high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, sensitivity to bright light, sleepiness, nausea or vomiting, and lack of appetite.

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