Read Across America Week is celebrated annually by schools across the nation during the first week of March. To recognize the event, Middletown Township Public School students and staff members invited special guest readers to their classrooms, like children's Author Toni Kent, Board of Education members and Township officials.

Mystery readers were also featured throughout the week to participate in themed reading days, like Dr. Seuss Day, and Superhero Day.

Ocean Avenue Elementary even held culminating celebrations on Friday, March 3, in which Principal Cindy Wilson led her students in a reading of Stone Soup, after which she served homemade chicken soup during lunch. Ocean Avenue educators closed out the celebration with a live performance of A Big Guy Stole My Ball! and a flash-mob dance party to the song "You Can't Stop the Reading," a take on Justin Timberlake's "You Can't Stop the Feeling" from the Dreamworks film Trolls.

Watch Ocean Avenue's full event at the video link above, and check out the best photos from Read Across America Weak below.

A 37-save performance by senior goaltender Luke Chrzan, and a go-ahead goal by Jack Turner with just over three minutes remaining in regulation, propelled the Middletown North ice hockey program to 2-1 victory over Ramapo in the NJSIAA Public B Tournament Semifinals. Joseph Wall opened the scoring with a marker four minutes into the first period.

The win allows the Lions to advance to the state championship game for the second consecutive season. High School North will meet Chatham in the finals on Monday, March 6 at 3:30 p.m. at the Prudential Center in Newark.

• Tickets for the finals are now on sale.

Congratulations to the Lions on all of their success, and best of luck in the finals.

High School South left their mark at the NJSIAA Region 5 Championships as senior Jack Zaleski became the Eagles all-time winningest competitor in the semifinals, recording his 126th victory. Later in the event, Zaleski notched the third regional championship of his storied career.

Fellow senior David Hussey landed his 100th career victory, and made an appearance in the regional finals. Hussey's performance earned him a bid to the state tournament for the fourth consecutive season.

Seniors Kyle Smith, Michael Simoniello, Chris Taddeo and Thomas Whyte also earned their place in the state tournament.

Congratulations to the Eagles on their success, and the upcoming state tournament event.

Bayshore Middle School students in Mrs. Maggie Messina's eighth grade arts class are leaving their mark on the walls of their Leonardo campus by completing a colorful mural project.

"These students have been hard at work designing and bringing to life an incredible mural," said Mrs. Messina. "The mural symbolizes growth, and watching the progression has been so exciting."

We can't wait to see the finished the product! Keep up the wonderful work!

Each year in March, the Monmouth County School Boards Association hosts a number of participating eighth grade students to conduct a dialogue, in which the group of young peers vocalize and exchange their ideas about personal experiences they have had during their schooling. The event is meant for students to gain insight about the perspectives of peers from different communities throughout Monmouth County. The following students represented the Middletown Township Public School District at the event.

• Malin Carvalho, Bayshore Middle School
• Kaitlyn Pappagallo, Thompson Middle School
• Amelia Beys, Thorne Middle School

Thank you to these students for being such a positive representation of our MTPS community.

This space is dedicated to the promotion of mental health resources in our schools and local community. Please refer to the district site for a comprehensive list of resources: Mental Health & Community Resources

Have you heard of social media challenges? Many of the challenges on social media spread quickly and go viral. This can often lead to children and teens desire to participate in these activities, sometimes without thinking about the impact or long term effects. Not all challenges are harmful, but some can be damaging or even dangerous. The National Association of School Psychologists offers guidance to parents and caregivers about how to understand social media challenges and speak with your children about them. 

• Responding to Social Media Trends: Guidance for Caregivers