Dear Families,
It is hard to believe that the school year is half way over. This has been such an enjoyable year for me and I appreciate all the hard work that our students, teachers, and families have put in so far. February is a busy month filled with many enriching activities aligned to Black History Month. The third marking period brings more challenging material and we continue to encourage parents to work with their children at home to reinforce skills learned during the school day.
The flu has been particularly difficult this year, and our school nurse is keeping an especially keen eye out for our children. She asks that parents refrain from giving children with fevers Acetaminophen, Tylenol, Advil, Ibuprofen, Motrin or any medication to lower fevers prior to coming to school. Children coming to school with even a low-grade fever are far more susceptible to any illness that may be incubating in the school environment from other children.
If your child is going to be sick from school please contact the main office to advise by 9am. You can call (862) 247-8510 or email [email protected] or [email protected]
Our new drop off procedures have been going well for the past few weeks and we hope you are enjoying the convenience of dropping off in front of the school. We are noticing a large number of parents waiting until 7:55-8:00AM to drop off. This is causing a lot of congestion and back up on Banta and Madonna.
School starts at 8:00AM. Students who arrive after this are marked at tardy. We cannot excuse them because they were waiting out front. Drop off begins at 7:30. Please consider dropping off earlier than 7:55 to help prevent traffic build up.
Our lost and found area is getting very full. Various items such as coats, sweatshirts, lunchboxes, gloves, etc. are eager to be reunited with their owners. Please stop by our Hallway of Heroes at drop off or pick up to see if any of your child’s items are here. Unclaimed items in June will be donated to local shelters.
Motivating our children to read “for fun” can sometimes be a struggle. Below are some fun strategies from Scholastic magazine to help make reading fun for our children:
Map it Out: Show your child the way from your house to the grocery store or another familiar destination. Have your child write out the directions, street by street, and then read them to you as you walk or drive to the store – like a living GPS!
Card Tricks: Go to a greeting card store with your child and read the greeting cards together. Later, vote for the ones whose words convey the best birthday wish or get-well sentiment.
Picture This: During your next outing or gathering, take action-packed photos, then have your child create captions to go with each picture. Assemble the pictures and captions in a picture book or album, and add speech and thought bubbles to create a personalized – and probably hysterical — graphic novel.
Last Comic Standing: Take time to read comic strips together. Share favorites from your own childhood and have your child put his favorites on the fridge. Read them aloud, and often — repetition is a great way to build reading skills. Soon, he’ll love looking forward to the “Sunday funnies” each week.
We thank you for your cooperation and assistance. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Best,
Sheila B. Goodstein
Bergen-ASCS Elementary School Director