Thomas E. Harrington Middle School

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514 Mount Laurel Rd, Mount Laurel, NJ 08054  |  P: 856-234-1610  |  F: 856-222-9754
Mount Laurel Schools - Inspiring Potential. Enriching Futures.

Welcome to Harrington Middle School!

Emergency Phone Call Procedures Altered

Our emergency phone service - SchoolMessenger - has certainly been tested this winter. Utilizing it, we are able to telephone some 5,000 parents and staff members within moments. We can also send e-mails and text messages to that same group simultaneously. Given our experience with the system and some of the feedback we have received, we have set some new perimeters for early morning notifications:
 
Effective immediately, we will not place telephone calls to homes before 5 a.m. We recognize that many of our parents need time to make child care arrangements on days when we are closed or have delayed openings; but we hear the voice of those who say a phone call at 4:30 a.m. is disruptive to the entire family's sleep.
Parents may still opt-out of phone calls all together in favor of text messages or e-mail. To do so, e-mail the Office of Communication Services with your name, students' names and the phone number you would like deleted from these calls. Add any cell phones you would like called or texted and your current e-mail address. Then, text the word subscribe to the number 68453 from your cell phone.

Help Us Honor The Upstanders Among Us!

We see it every day - the student who is consistently kind. Another who steps in when insults are hurled to stop potential hurt. That staff member who is always the first to volunteer or has an idea what can be done collectively to help the plight of another. They're Upstanders, and we have plenty of them. Now, a new program in our schools will honor our Upstanders. Find more information on our Upstander Campaign page.

School Performance 2012-13

Low Cost Preschool Program Offered Next Year

The Mount Laurel Township Public School District is offering a low cost preschool program for a limited number of typical four to five-year-old children for the 2014-2015 school year. Classes will be held in our district elementary school buildings. These Preschool Inclusion classes will enroll preschoolers with disabilities along with typically developing children in order to provide public school opportunities according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
 
Teachers will be fully certified and classes will prepare children for Kindergarten. Classes will meet five days per week for 2.5 hours per day. We are looking to recruit up to 55 typical children for these new classes. Eligible children must have been born between October 2, 2009 and October 1, 2010. No transportation or child-care will be provided for typical students. Children must be toilet trained and should have age appropriate verbal skills.
 
Selection for the program will be by lottery. Applications for this preschool program are available at all schools, the Hattie Britt Administration Office and the Child Study Team Office, in addition to the one found on this page.

The cost of this program will be $2,250 per year (September-June). A deposit of $550 is due upon acceptance in the program. Tuition payments are made in four installments of $425 each.
Harlem Wizards vs. Mount Laurel Magic • March 16 • Don't Miss Out!

Assessment of Student Skills

New Assessments This Year For Gifted and Advanced Course Placement
Effective in the 2013-2014 school year, the district no longer employs the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test as an assessment. The criteria for student placement in our Gifted Academic Program (GAP) and Advanced Courses will therefore change for the 2014-2015 school year.

A number of factors will be considered, for example, in GAP placement. This year, staff will look at the student’s Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) level, and their district writing assessment score, in addition to the new Progressive Math Initiative (PMI) final exam score at Grades 2 and 3. This chart will define the assessments used by all grade levels for GAP Placement.
Meanwhile, the criteria for Advanced Math Courses will also change for next year. This chart shows the specific criteria that will be used at each grade level. Once again, the PMI Final Exam will take the place of the MAP Test scores in this determination, along with other criteria.

In the area of Enriched Language Arts courses at Hartford and Harrington Schools, the placement criteria will include the student’s NJASK score, a strong teacher’s recommendation with focus on the student’s diligence, perseverance, and persistence (a strong work ethic) in addition to the student’s ability as reflected by grade. Students must have an A-Average in literacy learning, and must demonstrate above-grade level performance in reading and writing on the Fountas and Pinnell benchmark assessment. This assessment offers teachers both a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the student’s reading behaviors and patterns. The benchmark assessment will be administered in the spring.
 
New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (ASK) Test
It is mandatory in the state of New Jersey that all students in public schools be tested in Grades 3-8 each year via the NJ ASK Test. This assessment is created and distributed by the NJ Department of Education under strict testing guidelines. It gauges student skill levels in Mathematics, Language Arts and Science. Generally administered in our school in May, the state testing spans four to five days. Student scores are received by the district either in late summer or early fall.

PAARC Testing Begins Next Year
Beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, Mount Laurel will administer the online PAARC Assessment in place of the NJ ASK Test.
Learn more about the PAARC Test here.
Tips for Parents To Help Students Prepare For Testing
The Parents Section of our website includes a page of resources specifically geared to help parents prepare their children for testing. Access it here.

News from our Schools...

 
It's HERE! YES! PowerSchool on the GO!
Our PowerSchool Mobile App portal is now open! Now, you can view classes, schedules, grades, projects, assignment, and announcements from your phone or iPad! It's the same easy-to-use system that you know, using the same user name and password you always use. But now it's all in your hand, ready to go where you are! Click here for complete instructions on how to set-up your mobile device!
  Want to learn more about how schools are governed, the correlation between taxes and school financing, or where to go for help for your child? A new service by the New Jersey School Boards Association puts all of that and more at your fingertips! Visit the New Jersey School Boards Association's new Parent Connections Website here.

NEW! The New Jersey Educator Resource Exchange website will allow a user to navigate these standards, search for and download instructional resources, create a library of resources for later use, and establish a "resource feed" that will notify the user when new resources unique to their role are added to the site. The website is open to educators and parents. Parents will find a host of resources to help their child in school. Access to the website is free for all users and requires only a quick registration. Click here to check it out! 

Parent Text Communication @ HMS

Mt. Laurel Schools Emergency Text: Emergency text from the Mt. Laurel Public Schools: Text the word subscribe to the number 68453 from your cell phone. You'll receive an immediate reply confirming your subscription to the service. You may sign-up for text messages using this method on as many cell phones as you would like.

Mrs. Haines: School Text: Informational text about Harrington Middle School directly from Principal Haines: Text the word @harringto to the number (484) 461-5416 from your cell phone. You will receive an immediate reply confirming your subscription to service. You may sign-up for text messages using this method on as many cell phones as you would like. (* The n has been omitted from the text word.)

Okay, So What Is The Common Core Really All About?

  Mount Laurel Schools participate in the Common Core State Standards, along with other New Jersey Schools. New Jersey is one of 45 states across the country now taking part in this important initiative. Educational standards help teachers ensure their students have the skills and knowledge they need to be successful by providing clear goals for student learning. Learn more about the Common Core Standards and what they mean specifically for your child at each grade level on our Common Core Standards webpage.

Have You Visited Our Online Television Station Today?

  If you have not been to What We See TV! lately, why not take a look to see if there's anything you have missed? We have new videos going up all of the time. Look in our Featured section for the newest additions to our video library. These provide a vivid look at some of the many wonderful and enriching events that are going on in all of our schools each day.



Quick Links

Student & Parent Info

Harrington Hotline - 234-5198
School Hours: 7:30 a.m. - 2:05 p.m.
Early dismissal: 11:39 a.m.

Harrington Middle School's Anti-Bullying Specialists are MaryEllen Slott and Sharon Sheehan, 514 Mount Laurel Road, 856-234-1610

Events Calendar

 
March 14
Battle of the Books - Preliminary Competition

March 16
March Madness

March 28
Cougar Palooza
Parents: Looking for a program to keep your children safe while surfing the Internet? The program we use here in school is now available to you at home.
Here's more information.

How May We Help You?

Just looking for a quick and basic guide to specific information about our schools? The links below will provide you with a basic fact sheet on the topics listed. Don't see something you wish was here? Just yell! We'll get it up right away for you.

Registering a child new to the district
Kindergarten registration
Job Opportunities - Certified
Job Opportunities - Support and Substitute
2013-14 School Calendar
School Locations and Contact Info
Map of our schools and sending areas

Anti-Bullying

NJ DOE Self-Assessment under the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights District and School Grade Report

Countryside 66
Fleetwood  70
Hartford  62
Hillside  70
Larchmont  68
Harrington  52
Parkway  67
Springville
 66
District
 65

District Anti-Bullying Coordinator
Kelly Neiman
Mount Laurel Hartford School
397 Hartford Road
Mount Laurel, NJ 08054
Telephone - 856-231-5899

From The Nurse's Office

Local Weather

Current Conditions:
Forecast:


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