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M.L. King Intermediate School

MLK Family Snapshot Newsletter 10-30-25

Posted Date: 10/30/25 (4:45 PM)

MLK Snapshot
 

October 30, 2025

 

What is the MLK Snapshot?

Clear communication and connecting with families are two of our top priorities at MLK! The Snapshot is our weekly information newsletter sent every Thursday afternoon. Our hope is that you will be able to use this Snapshot to stay connected with important calendar dates, events, and everything else related to MLK.
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Message from the Principal

MLK Families,

This upcoming week students are off for election day on Tuesday, and the NJ Teacher Convention on Thursday and Friday. We are also approaching the end of the first marking period. This may be a great opportunity to reflect on the start of the school year with your child. Schoolwork, friendships, events, and everything in between from the first two months are great things to consider. Let's use this opportunity for reflection to propel our students to success throughout the year.

All the best,

Andrew Kehoe, Principal
 

MLK's Calendar at a Glance

OCTOBER
Friday, Oct. 31st - Halloween Spirit Day

NOVEMBER
Tuesday, November 4th - No school for students (Election Day)
Thursday, November 6th and Friday November 7th - No school for students (Teacher Convention)
Monday, November 10thPTO Meeting 6PM on Zoom
Wednesday, November 12th Marking Period 1 Ends
Wednesday, November 19th - 12:25 Dismissal, Evening Conferences 6-8PM
Thursday, November 20th - 12:25 Dismissal, Evening Conferences 6-8PM
Friday, November 21st - 12:25 Dismissal, Conferences 12:30-2:30PM
Wednesday, November 26th - 12:25 Dismissal
Thursday, November 27th and Friday, November 28th No school for students (Thanksgiving)
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MLK Spirit Days

Every Friday is a Spirit Day at MLK! Here are our upcoming themes...

10/31: Halloween - Wear your costume or Black & Orange
11/14: Flannel Friday
11/21: Dress Like Your Favorite Teacher
 
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Halloween Dress Guidelines

Once again we are allowing students to dress up on Friday, October 31st in their Halloween costumes. We look forward to this fun day. Please carefully review our guidelines for dress on this day below!
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Parent-Teacher Conferences

An email was sent on Friday, October 24th with full instructions on signing up for Parent-Teacher Conferences. I have also attached this letter to the bottom of this week's Snapshot.

Please give this a look and reach out to the MLK Main Office with any questions. We hope you can make it for these important conversations with your child's teacher.
 

NJSLA Field Test - November 3rd and 5th

Next week we will be testing our technology capabilities for the NJSLA testing ahead of spring 2026. All students will take Field Tests on Monday morning and Wednesday morning next week.

Please be advised: These tests are being administered to assess the test provider's system functionality ahead of state testing in the spring. Schools and individual students will not be receiving results from this Field Test. In addition, there will be no administered makeup testing.

If you have any questions regarding this Field Testing, please reach out to my office.
 
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PTO Flyer and Website

Please continue to frequently visit our PTO website to look for ways to stay involved.

You can follow this link to check out the site, and find our flyer attached!

 
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iPad Repairs

You can fill out a repair ticket for your child's iPad at any time! Coming to school with a working device is important. If your child's device has been damaged in any way please use the following link to bring this to the attention of the district IT department.

 
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Intermediate School Birthday Procedures

Our birthday procedures at the Intermediate level have been updated for this school year. Please read carefully before planning any celebrations!

From the Intermediate Student Handbook:

Birthday Celebrations:
• Recognitions are brief and are scheduled at a time of the day that is convenient for the teacher’s classroom schedule. Please make contact with your child’s teacher ahead of time to schedule the date/time.
• Recognitions are for students only (guests/family members may not attend).
• Birthdays are exciting for our 4th & 5th graders. Our Intermediate Schools celebrate “food free” birthdays, which means no special snacks, treats, or edible items may be brought in to share with the class. Instead, a small, non-edible item may be brought in to hand out to your child’s homeroom class. If you would like to celebrate your child’s birthday in any other “food free” way, please reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher at least 1 week in advance.
• Please let your child’s teacher know if your child is not permitted to participate in their peers’ birthday celebrations.
 
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Social and Emotional Supports at MLK

Please see below for an overview of our school-wide Social Emotional Supports at King.

In addition to individual and group counseling, we provide schoolwide support to all students through two initiatives - the Second Step SEL Program and our Pillars of Penguin Pride Positive Behavior Supports (PBIS) Program.

The Second Step Program:
We want your child to be successful in school and that means supporting and encouraging their whole development. While excelling in academic classes is important, children also need skills to take on learning challenges, make good decisions, manage strong emotions, and get along with others.

We utilize resources from the Second Step SEL program, a research-based social-emotional learning program designed to improve children’s social-emotional skills. Second Step skills and concepts are designed to help children both in and out of school. Four units will cover the following:

  • Growth Mindset & Goal-Setting: Children learn how to pay attention and manage distractions, develop a growth mindset, and apply goal-setting strategies to their social and academic lives.
  • Emotion Management: Children learn how to identify and label emotions and use emotion management strategies—including stress management for older students—to calm strong feelings.
  • Empathy & Kindness: Children learn how to recognize kindness and act kindly, have empathy for others and take others’ perspectives, and recognize kind acts and empathy as important elements of building and maintaining relationships.
  • Problem-Solving: Children learn how to identify and state a problem, recognize if a problem is an accident, and use the STEP problem-solving process.

The Pillars of Penguin Pride PBIS Program
We also want to continually recognize and celebrate our students. Positive Behavior Supports programs identify desired behaviors and recognize students that practice them around the school.

At King, we have identified a core behavior each month and recognition opportunities to encourage and promote schoolwide positive behaviors. This provides a fun schoolwide way to recognize our students.

Counseling and Behavior Supports
Throughout the year we offer "lunch bunches" focused on specific social-emotional needs, individual counseling, and in class lessons along targeted themes for our students. Mr. Kaiafas, our wonderful school counselor, is always here to respond to any student needs. If you feel your child would benefit from any specific programming he can be emailed at nkaiafas@pway.org. You can also call the main office any time if looking for supports for your child.

 

Our 2025-2026 PTO Executive Board

President - Melissa Lieberman-Elimanco
Vice President - Deepna Javan
Treasurer - Jennifer DeQuattro-Haskin
Secretary - Rachel Sy
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MLK Parent Resources

Please remember that our school and district websites remain a primary source for all information related to our schools.
Piscataway District Website
MLK Website