Copper Hill Elementary School

100 Everitts Road

Ringoes, NJ 08551

908-284-7660

908-284-7671 (fax)

908-284-7665 (attendance line)

Mr. Jesse Lockett, Principal

Mrs. Tania Kelly, Vice Principal

Mrs. Rebecca Moeri, School Counselor - ext. 57669

Mrs. Lisa Fuchs, School Counselor -ext. 50007

Mrs. Lisa Maslankowski, School Nurse - ext. 57670

Mrs. Jinky Yuzon, School Nurse ext. 57670

Welcome back! We hope everyone enjoyed their Winter Break, upholding traditions, making memories, and celebrating with family and friends. Our PTO Holiday Shop in December was a great success and we hope everyone enjoyed the gifts they received from our little shoppers. Speaking as parents, our kiddos take great pride giving their gifts and it surely puts a smile on our faces.

As we move into the second half of the school year, we must thank you very much for your continued support of your children and our school community. Our teachers are conducting benchmark assessments using Fountas and Pinnell and the NWEA MAP Winter Benchmark assessments. The results of this assessment will be compared to the Fall assessment data to determine student growth and areas for teachers to target instruction. These benchmarks are critical data points that we utilize to drive instruction, support our students, and drive growth.

We are confident that our Cougar community will continue to make this an incredibly memorable and successful school year for 2025. As we say, we are BRAVE, SMART, KIND, & CONFIDENT; we can overcome any challenge and continue to flourish.

A huge thank you to our families, as we continue to see an increase in daily attendance.

With great appreciation and partnership,

Jesse Lockett and Tania Kelly

In a recent newspaper feature, Copper Hill students shared their New Year’s resolutions, reflecting on personal growth and/or academic goals for 2025. Overall, the resolutions demonstrated a thoughtful and proactive approach to making the new year a fulfilling and successful experience. Way to go, Cougars!

We are excited to introduce our new physical education teacher. Mr. O'Neill will start with us Tuesday, February 18th. Mr. O'Neill's positive approach, and passion for physical education will make him a great addition to our team.

Please note his brief bio:

Hello! My name is Jeff O’Neill, and I am thrilled to be your Health and P.E. teacher this year. With my passion for fitness, wellness, and helping students grow, I strive to create a fun, supportive, and engaging environment in my classroom and on the field. I have 3 years of experience teaching at the middle school level, and I am excited to begin my elementary school journey. My goal is to inspire students to build healthy habits and develop teamwork, resilience, and confidence. Outside of school, I enjoy playing with my dog, being outdoors, spending time with family, playing sports, and watching sports.

As we continue to work together to create a positive and respectful school environment, we wanted to take a moment to address the importance of monitoring your child’s use of group chats and social media. These platforms can be great tools for communication and connection with friends as students move up in grade levels, but they also come with challenges when it comes to maintaining kindness and respect in online interactions.

We encourage you to regularly check in with your child about their digital conversations and online activities. It’s essential that we all play an active role in fostering respectful communication and teaching our children to use these spaces in ways that are positive and supportive of their peers.

By helping your child understand the impact of their words and actions online, we can work together to ensure a safe and welcoming school environment for everyone.

Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership in this important aspect of your child’s social development.

Thursday, January 9th - PTO Community Meeting at 7:00 p.m.

Monday, January 20th - School Closed for MLK Day
Thursday, January 23rd - 4th Grade Winter Chorus Concert at 7pm
Friday, January 24th - Crazy Cougar Hat Day
Monday, January 27th - District Budget Meeting at JP Case
Tuesday, January 28th - Early Dismissal
Wednesday, January 29th - Kindness Rocks Night
Friday, February 7th - Harlem Wizards Game at JP Case featuring Mr. Lockett, Mrs. Kelly, Mrs. Chardoussin, and Mrs. Cox.

Families, now that colder weather is upon us, please be sure that your child is prepared for physical education, recess, and breaks outside. Please label your child's name on all jackets, hats, gloves, etc. The chart below is used as a tool to guide building administration's decision to have outdoor recess. In some cases, our students may do a partial outdoor recess and indoor recess.

Breakfast and lunch options are available for all students. Please visit Maschio's website for updated menus and other important information.

Lunch Information:

For safety purposes, please refrain from sending in glass bottles or glass tupperware.

• Please do not hold any doors for visitors.
• Please use the crosswalks in the parking lot.
• Please obey the 15 mph speed limit in our parking lot.
• Student drop off begins at 8:45 am. Please wait at the stop sign, until being waved on by one of our staff members wearing bright green vests.
• When exiting the drop off area please be aware of buses that may still be entering the back parking lot or leaving the school.
• If you are dropping your child off after 8:55 am, please park your car in the main parking lot and walk your child into the building and check in with the main office.
• Please DO NOT park your vehicle in the front driveway of the building.
• For the safety and security of our staff and students, monthly fire and security drills are conducted.
• Staff wear bright green safety vests during drills as well as during bus duty.

• If your child is ABSENT or TARDY for any reason, please call the Copper Hill ATTENDANCE LINE by dialing 908-284-7665 or report an absence online here. Leave a message detailing the nature of the absence, your child’s name and his/her teacher’s name. Messages may be left at any time of night or morning and are retrieved on a daily basis.
• If your child needs to be DISMISSED EARLY, please send a note to school with your child in the morning, listing the time for pick-up and the reason. Children leaving school prior to 3:25 pm will be marked as an early dismissal. Please note, three tardies or early dismissals count as one absence.
• If your child normally rides the bus but will need to be PICKED UP at dismissal time, please send a note with your child that morning.
• Please DO NOT leave information regarding your child’s change in dismissal on a teacher’s e-mail or voicemail. They often do not have an opportunity to check their e-mail during the day and your message may not be communicated.

IMPORTANT: PLEASE SEND A NOTE WITH YOUR CHILD IN THE MORNING FOR ANY CHANGE IN YOUR CHILD'S ROUTINE.

Please label all of your child’s belongings (lunchboxes, jackets, glasses, etc.) Any items that are found with a name on them will be returned. The lost and found is located in our cafeteria. Valuables (such as money, jewelry, eyeglasses, etc.) will be kept in the office. Items that have not been claimed will be donated.