September has flown by and here we are in October. The cooler weather is welcome and we are now into the curriculum full force.
The official start to our Positive Behavior Supports in Schools (PBSIS) is off to an exciting start. We celebrated the students that were caught being good with an action filled assembly and recognized all the people who make Lindeneau such a great place to grow and learn. Swoop from the Harlem Wizards came to help to encourage the students to work hard and aways do their best.
As part of this initiative students and teachers are earning their tiger tickets and spinning the big wheel for prizes. Check the new sign for the names of our shout out winners. Some of the other prizes are extra time at recess, $1.00 coupon to the school store, no homework pass and many others. Please support us in this initiative and reinforce our three guiding principles of "respect, responsibility and success". Many thanks go out to the hard working PBSIS Universal team which includes Mrs. Galligan and Mr. Stokes as our PBSIS coaches, Ms. Mullan, Mrs. Bobko-Johnson, Mrs. MacIntyre-Pegos, Mrs. Gillis-Liu and Mr. Eckert. Their endless enthusiasm has made this initiative so much fun and good learning as well.
Our students began the school year by being assessed on their Language Arts and Math abilities with the Star Assessment program. This computer based program will determine where your child needs to begin learning various strategies according to their results. Additional assistance will be given to those who fall below grade level. We ask for your help by encouraging your children to strive for the best that they can do. Please call the school if you have any questions on the assessments or your child's placement.
The dedication of our new digital sign was a huge success. Combining it with our annual Ice Cream Social we, as a community, were able to dedicate the sign along with the PTO. Thank you to all who join the PTO and contribute to our fund raisers. Without your involvement our children would not have all the extras that are provided by your generosity. Many thanks to our Executive Board, Mr. Jeffreys, Mrs. Yabra, Mrs. Heller, Mr. Stryker and Mrs. Yascko. Without their unending focus on our kids many special events could not take place. Please remember to join the PTO. Every $5.00 adds up to class trips, assemblies and other supplies that are not always provided by the annual school budget. Last year alone, the PTO provided the bussing for all the class trips, purchased the new sign, bought 22 "activslates" for use with the classroom Promethean boards, carpet squares for the kids to sit on when they come together on the floor and soon our building will be graced with beautiful benches and a bicycle rack. All of these extras make our school a home, so thank you.
Our library is almost complete! Watch for the grand opening soon.
The winners and participants of our Summer Reading Challenge were rewarded with tiger tickets and our top reading students were given special prizes. The top winners were Romulo Tobon, Grade 1, Matthew Bueno, Grade 2, Nimisha Kumar, Grade 3, Aaditya Rayadurgam, Grade 4, Andrea Dominguez, Grade 5 and our highest amount of minutes reader was Haseeb Ahsan in Grade 4 with 5,372 minutes. Congratulations to all the participants and winners!
This summer I had the pleasure of getting to know the pastors from the New Beginnings Church of the Nazarene. They have generously donated school supplies to our children and their Youth Group and congregants have volunteered their time to cleaning up the blue jungle gym in the park. Thank you so much to the congregants and especially to Pastors JoAnn and Christine for "adopting" Lindeneau School.
After/during school clubs are beginning either this week or shortly after. Our 4th or 5th graders can participate in clubs such as Sports Club, Art Club, Computer Club, Newspaper-Yearbook Club and Science/Garden Club. We will also be adding Odyssey of the Mind which will be by invitation only this year since it is a pilot club. In addition, Spanish Club, which will meet during lunchtime, will be open to any 2nd-5th grade students. Check your students' backpack for details.
Just a reminder that it is time to say "cheese", October 8th is Picture Day. Be sure to check the attached calendar for any other upcoming events.
I also want to appeal to you to please follow all traffic signs and the flow of traffic when dropping off or picking up your children. It can be a very dangerous situation if the laws are not followed. Remember that there is no parking in front of or across from the school in the morning. It is for drop off only, drop off can only take place in the bus lane if the buses have already dropped off. I also want to ask that you do not stop your car in the middle of the street to drop off your children. I ask that you pull over in the designated areas and have the children safely cross with the aid of the crossing guard. Thank you for helping to keep our children safe.
Please take note: Dogs are not permitted on school property. There are many children who have allergies to dogs and some who are frightened by dogs. It is also a safety hazard since we never know how an animal will react when there are so many children around. Please leave your 4 legged family member at home to await your child's return from their school day or to say goodbye in the morning. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
This newsletter will be sent home both in paper copy and by email. This will be the last paper copy for parents who included their email addresses on the emergency cards. If you would like to have this emailed and didn’t include your email address on the emergency cards then email allison.sciarrillo@edison.k12.nj.us. Paper copies will continue to go home with the oldest child if you do not have email.
Enjoy this crisp, invigorating weather,
Rosemary Schutz
