Christopher Meyrick

What do you do when you plan to be fully in-person, but your student enrollment increases by 33%? The Beach Haven Borough School District is a Pre-K to Sixth Grade School District in New Jersey. During our Restart and Recovery Meetings, I asked our students, staff, parents, and community to identify our strengths and ways we can exploit them. What initially started with using the courtyard and beach for a much-needed mask break, turned into something so much more!

Dr. Cecchini, Art Teacher

My Kindergarten Art class and I have eagerly participated in a beach-themed nature walk and exploration, in preparation to create one of a kind bird feeders during a recent outdoor activity.

Mrs. Deakyne, 3^rd Grade Teacher

During the pandemic it was my goal to create a field trip environment where students can be outdoors while easily adhering to social distancing practices.  We were fortunate to have the Director of the Alliance for a Living Ocean and members of the Long Beach Township Beach Patrol to offer a presentation on ocean/water safety and rescue.  Students participated in seining and learned about keeping the water surrounding Long Beach Island clean, protected and safe.  While seining students got to see baby crabs, shrimp, pipe fish among others up close!

Mrs. Falletta, 1^st Grade Teacher

In first grade, one of our main goals is for our students to develop a love of reading. We are able to provide authentic reading experiences for our students, not only in the classroom but outside our four walls. One way we have been able to do this is through our public library visits. Once a month, we walk to visit our local library and listen to a story from the librarian. This has always been a highlight for our students. We certainly did not want the students to miss out this year on that experience. As a result, the Library on the Lawn program was born! This year, when our students visit our local library, we met outside and listened to stories on the side lawn of the library. The library has even donated books to the students and our classroom since we cannot check out books this year! It is a wonderful community partnership and the students look forward to these special days.

Mrs. Fay, Prekindergarten Teacher

PreK loves to venture out into our community and neighborhood for a fun learning experience. Below is an example of one of our Alphabet Adventures! Finding objects in our community/neighborhood that begin with the Letter F. Everyone enjoys the adventures!

Miss Micek, 2^nd Grade Teacher and Mrs. Deakyne, 3^rd Grade Teacher

Our 2nd and 3rd grade class discovered how to continue their “book club” despite the challenges this year has brought! To kick start their book club, students met their book club groups (socially distanced) using our large school grounds! Moving forward, in weeks that students cannot meet outside on school grounds, they will have a “virtual book club” using an ongoing live Google Doc. to communicate with one another based on the weekly assignment of their book!

Miss Micek, 2^nd Grade Teacher

We created an outdoor classroom where students are able to work in an extended classroom setting. The outdoor classroom includes: a large whiteboard, chairs and a retractable awning. Students look forward to a new “setting” atmosphere where social distancing is easily attainable. During our weekly visits, my 2^nd students learn Fundations skills utilizing the whiteboard and their personal magnetic tile boards. “Although pandemic created many obstacles this year, it also has allowed for creative teaching opportunities”.

Mrs. Wiehr and Mrs. Henry, 4^th-6^th Grade Math Teachers

My fourth graders utilized the playground one afternoon as they played Multiplication Fact War and practiced multiplying large numbers on mini dry erase boards!

The Beach Haven School has been able to not only persevere through this pandemic but flourish as we created the Model School. We will continue to provide engaging experiences and rigorous instruction for all our students daily while utilizing the best teaching practices in a non-traditional setting.