August 24 - 28

Bacon Bears,

Keys to Character Unlock Success!

This is the last blog post of the summer. All good things must come to an end, but in the meantime we will transition into the best school year ever!!!!!

Each day we continue to check things off the summer "to do" list. Our maintenance crew has been super busy with last minute projects. Early this week the stairwell near the parking lot side will be closed due to painting.

Our front office staff have been busy preparing all of the class lists, parent letters, and first day of school packets. Please note, teachers and parents were sent welcome back letters with important information. If you did not receive this information, please contact the front office (856-327-6100).

All the technology has been set up and prepped for this year! Now all we need are the teachers and students :)

This week we will be welcoming the graduating class of 2028! Yes, this year's Kindergartners will be graduating high school in the year 2028. The orientation will take place from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM on Wednesday.

We would like to welcome two new staff members to the Bacon Family. Ms. Loni Weller will be our new Librarian/Media Specialist and Ms. Amy Miletta, 1st grade Aide.

Pictures from around the school

Staff handbook is ready to go

Stairwells have a fresh coat of paint - Bacon Blue! 

Saw this outside of Mrs. Lunemann's room - We are real! 

Dr. Cook's second book will be released this week! 

Articles worth reading
Professional Development and Collective Wisdom - Chris Lehman
8 Tips to Create a Twitter -Driven School Culture - Edutopia
5 Things Successful Turnaround Schools Have in Common - Greg Anrig


Video of the Week (Interview with Kid President's Brother in Law - The creator of the phenomenon) 


Office Hours
Monday - 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Tuesday - 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Wednesday - 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM; Kindergarten Orientation, 10:00 AM; Staff Planning Meeting, 11:30 AM
Thursday - 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Friday - 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM

August 17 - 21

Bacon Bears,

Keys to Character Unlock the Future! 


We have our new theme for the 2015-16 school year! Our staff was looking for something that talked about character and our focus on the future is always a point of emphasis.


As we start our 3rd week of August, we are still working on getting everything completed for the opening of the school. This week the custodian crew will be working on painting the stairwells, cleaning the carpeted areas, and re-tiling the basement level ceiling.


Last week, Dr. Cook and Mr. Hudson presented to the Regional Achievement Center's Summer Institute. Dr. Cook presented to teachers and administrators on the value of being "connected" through social media and how important it is to "tell your school's story." Dr. Cook told the story of RM Bacon (hope your ears were ringing) and how we have achieved so many accomplishments in the past few years!  Mr. Hudson worked in the technology lab and showed teachers and administrators the benefits of flipped learning. He showed tools such as Sofia and aspects of Google classroom to participants interested in increasing their technology use.


This week's video is a TED Education talk given by longtime educator Rita Pierson. Enjoy!

Pictures from around the school 

Our habitat is growing 

Parents will have a smoother ride into the car lane this year 

No more bumps on the way into school 

Hallways are getting prepared 

An excerpt from Dr. Cook's first book "Connected Leadership: It's a Click Away" was featured in the Rowan University Alumni Magazine this month! 

Weekly Schedule
Monday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday - Office Closed

August 10 - 14

Bacon Bears,

Source: zengerfolkman.com

Last week the district administrators had a series of summer workshops to prepare for the upcoming year. On Monday, we had an excellent workshop on Equity and Diversity by Paul Gorski of the Edchange organization. Personally, I found the workshop very fulfilling. We explored many relevant topics that can improve the climate and culture at RM Bacon. We also spent time reviewing the evaluation process for staff. This workshop, facilitated by representatives from NJPSA, was very helpful. We worked on areas that need improving and celebrated areas of current success.

On Thursday, we had our annual meeting with Dr. Gentile. In this meeting, we spent a considerable amount of time discussing Teaching and Learning (the hallmark of our district). It was refreshing to hear all of the the excellent success stories throughout the district, and to begin planning for more awesomeness this year!

Our building is getting closer and closer to completion. Currently, we have two levels that are about 75% completed. The maintenance crew will be busy preparing the cafeteria level hallway floor this week.

This week I will be presenting to the Regional Achievement Center (RAC) annual Summer Institute. The topic of the presentation is "Connected Leadership." In addition, Mr. Hudson will be presenting at the Summer Institute on innovative technology tools for the classroom.

Blog posts worth a read

• Here is a post from Todd Nesloney about assessment results - Head Held High 
• Here is a post from Glenn Robbins about transforming hallways - Welcome to Idea Street 

Video of the Week - Life is meant to be EPIC 

Pictures from Summer

Dominguez girls at Busch Gardens! 

Weekly Overview (Office Hours)
Monday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday - Office Closed

August 3 - 7

Bacon Bears,

Happy August! We are about a month away from the beginning of the 2015-16 school year. This is an exciting time as we continue to enjoy the summer and prepare for the year.

Our building is coming along quite nicely. The Office Level floor was completed last week, and the maintenance crew is now working on the Lower Level.

On Saturday, thanks to Ms. Candy, we took our kids to see Shrek The Musical at the Levoy Theater. The show was tremendous, and I highly recommend seeing it.

We took Henry and Catherine to see Shrek The Musical 

Weekly Office Schedule
Monday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday - 7:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Wednesday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday - Office Closed

July 27 - 31

Bacon Bears,

Can you believe that we have been out of school for a month and have a little over a month until the next school year? We are truly at the half way point of the summer! Be sure to make the best of your summer!!!!


The summer custodial crew is making great progress on our building. They have completed the classrooms on the Office Level floor. On Wednesday, they will be cleaning, and waxing the hallway floor which is why we are closing the office for the remainder of the week. Beginning next week they will be working on the lower level.

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the Phenom Factory located just a few blocks from RM Bacon. We are so proud of our Bacon Bears (Christine Baker, Alex Soto, Otley, Abby, Cameron) who opened the facility this summer. Please be sure to stop by and see all that they offer. I am looking forward to the Monday Yoga classes.

You can work on your hitting in a virtual game 

Otley is putting his math skills to practice as he works the front desk. Mom, Christine Baker, is supervising

We are very excited about the new interactive white board in the Library!

This device will be available to students and teachers. Multiple users will be able to use it at the same time. 

We received some vacation pictures from some of the teachers. Keep them coming (would love to get Bacon Bear pictures as well - just email spike.cook@millvillenj.gov)

Mrs. Markel working on her decorating skills :) 

Ms. Anton at Disney (Being "photobombed" by Sven from Frozen) 

Weekly Office Hours 
Monday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday - Office Closed
Thursday - Office Closed
Friday - Office Closed

July 20 - 25

Bacon Bears,

The summer is a great time for resting, relaxing and reflection! We hope that you are all taking time to re-charge the batteries!

We are very busy here planning for the upcoming school year. There are a lot of great things that are on the horizon for our school.

The maintenance crew has been busy preparing the school. They are focused on the Office Level floor this week. The paint crew are making their final touches to the hallways and classrooms.


Please make sure to email Dr. Cook any summer pictures to include in future blog posts.


Pictures from around the school

Making sure all the lights are replaced! 

Mrs. Gandy donated this class picture on behalf of her father

Mrs. Gandy donated this class picture on behalf of her father

Weekly Office Hours
Monday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday - Office Closed

July 13 - 17

Bacon Bears,

Summer is in full swing. We are very busy here getting the school prepared for the new year. Dr. Cook is planning the school year and working on the schedule. The 3rd floor classrooms are finished, and the hallway is freshly painted.


This week the summer crew is working on the office level floor. Classrooms on this floor will be unavailable.

Pictures from around the school 

Dr. Cook is planning for the new school year

Paint Crew is on the Office Level floor

3rd floor looks awesome! 

Classrooms on Office Level Floor are beginning to be cleaned

A lot of teachers and students are taking vacations. Here are some vacation pictures sent to me (we would love more submissions).

Mr. and Mrs. Devita swimming with the dolphins 

Mrs. Devita on vacation 

Dr. Cook and family on their way to Disney 

Dr. Cook's son in Disney with Lion King stuffed animals 

The Cook family also visited Universal Studios 

Weekly Overview (Office Hours)
Monday - Office Closed
Tuesday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday - 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday - Office Closed