January 22 - 25

Bacon Bears,

You Matter!

This week is shortened due to the observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I have always admired Dr. King. I was fortunate to visit his home in Atlanta while in college, and this fall I saw the monument dedicated to him in Washington DC. His message still resonates today. Make sure to take some time this week to reflect on his message. Here is a good clip I found that might help.


We have a few things planned for this week at RM Bacon. On Tuesday, we are hosting a "Principal for the Day." Our guest principal will be Damear who is one of our 5th graders. He wrote me a letter about wanting to fulfill his dream of one day becoming a principal.

Mr. LaGamba, Athletic Director, working with RM Bacon students

On Wednesday, our school will be visited again by the Regional Achievement Center (RAC). They will be checking in on us, and making sure we our doing our best to encourage the students to achieve! They won't be disappointed!

Later that evening, I will be hosting a follow-up meeting for parents regarding the Safety and Security of our school. We will be touring the building, and troubleshooting any safety concerns that arise  Please join us at 6:30 PM in the Library.








Friday, January 25 we will be having our last "Bear Bucks Store" of the school year. Everything is on sale and everything must go......because in February we are re-designing our rewards system. Stay tuned for more details, and take a minute to watch this video about the last Bear Bucks Store.



Here is the RM Bacon Weekly Video update. Thanks to Mrs. Devita for filling in as guest producer!



Weekly Overview:
Monday - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No School
Tuesday - Principal for the Day; BSI cycle 2 begins
Wednesday - RAC visit;; Parent meeting 6:30 PM
Thursday -
Friday - PBIS Meeting 1:00 PM; Bear Bucks Store 2:30 PM (Everything must go)

Impossible is Nothing!

January 14 - 18

Bacon Bears,

You Matter!

Our mural is coming along nicely. Parents are assisting Mrs. Peck

We finished our first full week of 2013! Despite the flu, coughs, colds, and any other types of symptoms we have been facing, the students and teachers made the best of it. 

Students in K - 4 participated in the Universal Sweeps so we could monitor how much they have learned since September. The preliminary results are very promising!

The Basic Skills Teachers will continue assessing the students this week. They will be completing make-ups, and administering Survey Level Assessments. 

RM Bacon was one of the school's featured in the Daily Journal article Technical Education. Click this link to read the article. 

Mrs. Sinone's class will be visiting the Governor's Mansion on Wednesday. We expect that her class will make a positive impression on the staff at the Mansion like Mr. D and Mrs. Gandy's classes did!

We will be having our first staff meeting of 2013 on Thursday! 

Here is our first RM Bacon Weekly Video update in a long, long time.... Enjoy!



Weekly Overview:
Monday - Survey Level Assessments; BOE meeting, 7:00 PM
Tuesday - Survey Level Assessments
Wednesday - Survey Level Assessments; Mrs. Sinone's class trip to Governor's Mansion
Thursday - Staff Meeting; Survey Level Assessments
Friday - 

Impossible is Nothing!

January 7 - 11

Bacon Bears,

You Matter!

Happy New Year to everyone. I apologize for the delay in this post. Since my wife is a teacher, she has been working on lesson planning on our desktop. My daughter, Catherine, who really enjoys being a connected learner had the laptop until a few minutes ago... I had to wrangle it away from her, and I only have a few minutes to finish the post :) So here it goes!

Last week was an opportunity for all of us to get back into the groove of school. We had a long Winter Break, and it was really cold! Despite the conditions, we were able to have another fantastic week (even though it was only 3 days). This first full week of 2013 will be busy, but before I go into the schedule, I wanted to post a few videos that are long overdue. (Also, for those of you who have been hoping for the return of the RM Bacon Weekly Video update, I promise that we will begin posting again in 2013)

Notable Videos

One of the breakout stars from the Talent Show was Juan from Mrs. Lunemann's class. He danced to "Gangdam Style" in a way that had everyone on their feet! He even recruited two teachers to help him as back up dancers (Mrs. Nolan and Ms. Fallows).

In addition to Juan, the "show stoppers" of this year's Talent Show were Mrs. DeVita and Mr. Hudson. Take a look at their performance. You can tell that they put a lot of hard work into their dance!


The PBIS team met in December and decided to take a chance with the Bear Bucks store. They voted to have one more Bear Bucks store..... and then for February through the remainder of the year to try something NEW... Take a look at the "Going Out of Business" store video the staff put together. You won't be disappointed.


There were many classrooms that had an Elf on the Shelf in December. On December 21, 2012, Mrs. DeVita's class had a life size Elf.


Weekly Overview:
Monday - Make-Up Pictures; Home and School Council Meeting, 4:00 PM
Tuesday - I and RS Meeting
Wednesday -RTI Benchmark Assessments; 4th grade trip to Drumthwacket (Drewnowski and Gandy) 
Thursday -RTI Benchmark Assessments 
Friday -RTI Benchmark Assessments 

Remember, Impossible is Nothing!

Happy Holidays!

Bacon Bears, 

 You Matter! 


From all of us at RM Bacon Elementary School, enjoy the holidays and Happy New Year! School is back in session on Wednesday, January 2, 2013.

Talent Show

Looking for something to do on Wednesday night? You are invited to the 2012 Talent Show. Doors open at 6:15 PM.






Also, Parents are invited to a Parents Only meeting at 5:30 PM to discuss safety and security of RM Bacon School. We hope you can join us.

Impossible is Nothing 

December 17 - 21

Bacon Bears,

You Matter! 

This is a difficult post. As a Principal, I have many responsibilities, and with the recent events that happened in Sandy Hook Elementary I am struggling with words to describe how I feel. Honestly, I have not watched the news stories about the tragedy. All of the information, and this is purposeful, has been through what I have read through trusted sources. I have taken the weekend to reflect on the preciousness of life, the importance of being a father and husband, and role teachers play in our society. I also have thought a lot about why we must continue to move on, be brave and committed to our kids! 

On Monday morning our staff will begin the healing process with a brief meeting to process the events of Friday, discuss our game plan in working with the children, and to look at the safety of our school. We certainly can not accomplish everything in 20 minutes. This will be a lengthy process that will require not only the staff, but eventually the students, parents and community members of Millville. 

On Wednesday evening  prior to the Talent Show, I will be coordinating a meeting with any parents who would like to discuss the events of Sandy Hook Elementary at 5:30 PM in Room 2. The purpose of this meeting will be to discuss safety concerns at RM Bacon, and we can move forward as parents and educators. 

There will be some immediate changes to RM Bacon Elementary that will be designed to promote safety and security. We will be sending a letter home with all students on Monday that will outline these changes. In that letter we will also highlight the series of meetings set up for January so that we will all feel safer in wake of these tragic events. 

I hope you can attend our meeting on Wednesday at 5:30 pm before the Talent Show. Your attendance will be welcomed! 

In the meantime, we will continue our pursuit of the impossible as we educate our world class students! 

Weekly Overview:

Monday, Dec. 17^th  (C Day) Staff Meeting at 8:30 am, Wellness Meeting at 11:00, TREK Meeting at 1:00pm

Tuesday, Dec. 18^th (D Day)  Staff Holiday Dinner at 5:00 pm

Wednesday, Dec. 19^th (E Day) Parent Discussion Session About Sandy Hook Tragedy, 5:30 pm, Talent Show 6:30 pm

Thursday, Dec.20^th (A Day) No Staff Meeting, Progress Reports Printed, Talent Show 

Friday, Dec. 21^st (B Day) Pajama Day, Progress Reports distributed, Sing-a-long in gym,  Polar Express Movie with Hot Choc. & Popcorn, 1:45 pm Dismissal

Impossible is Nothing! 

December 10 -14

Bacon Bears, 

You Matter! 

You Matter! 

This week students in grades 3 - 5 spent time preparing for next week's Winter Concert. Our Chorus and Band students improved each day, and we are all looking forward to Tuesday, December 11, 2012 @ 7:00 PM when they show off! 

Throughout the course of the week, our Bacon Bears continued to work on the important aspects of their learning. As I walked through the building, I heard high levels of questioning, students applying their learning, and lots of technology! Each day we take a step closer to being a world class 21st century school!

So, as we prepare for this upcoming week ask yourself these questions:
- Am I giving 110%?
- Am I being safe, responsible, and respectful?
- Will I improve from where I was last week? 

I am sure I have highlighted our building in previous posts, and I hate to brag, but we have an awesome school. Want to see why? Here are some pictures I took of the building this week. 

Our entrance is beginning to look a lot like... Holiday Break?

This is in 1st grade! 

A new football field? Or an instructional tool? 

Coats for Kids winners! 

Some Chorus students preparing for the Winter Concert 

Teachers.... Want to know more about Edublogs? Check this out


Weekly Overview:
Monday - Mobile Dentist, Library 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM; BAND Practice 9:30 AM - 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM - 3:40 PM 
Tuesday - CHORUS Practice 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM - 3:40 PM; Winter Concert, 7:00 PM; I and RS Meeting 12:30 PM; Administrative Meeting 1:00 PM at Culver Center (Dr. Cook)
Wednesday - RAC training (Dr. Cook) all day
Thursday - 
Friday - Tech Friday, 8:20 AM room 2; PBIS Meeting 1:00 PM

Remember.... Impossible is Nothing!