Weekly Wrap-Up #31

Benedict A. Cucinella Elementary School

Week of April 17, 2023

“Anything is possible. Anything can be.” – Shel Silverstein

I hope you were all able to enjoy some time outside and enjoy the warm weather we had this past weekend. As we inch closer to the end of the school year, the days seem to be jam packed with fun and exciting learning activities, as was the case this week at Cucinella.

For our 3rd grade, it was a week full of music performances. Each homeroom had their own individual performances for their parents and guardians. It was a showcase of all the hard work they have put into learning how to play a recorder. A special thank you and a great job to Mrs. Postigo for organizing this event and getting her students ready to perform!

This past week also brought on more field trips as well. On Monday, our 4th grade visited the Stirling Mines and learned about mining in New Jersey. On Wednesday, our 1st grade explored Turtle Back Zoo. On Thursday, students in Mrs. Miranda's, Mrs. Spano's, and Mrs. Karpi's classes visited Ort Farms. All the students came back from their trips eager to share what they saw and learned. Thank you to all parents who helped out and chaperoned these excursions - your help is greatly appreciated!

On Thursday, our 4th, 2nd, and Kindergarten students participated in the 2nd Annual STEM Recycle Carnival! This event was the brainchild of our STEM PLC team members led by Mrs. Amy Casha last year. Now the 2nd and 4th grade teams have taken this event to new heights. These teachers inspired a cooperative STEM experience in which our 2nd and 4th grader students created carnival games from 100% recyclable materials! The 4th grade students used this opportunity to mentor and teach their 2nd grade counterparts about physics and the engineering design process. After creating and assembling their games, our kindergarten students were then invited to play their games and win prizes. The students did an impressive job working cooperatively to build a carnival their guests would never forget! Congratulations to all involved for a wonderful job!

Looking Ahead:

Mondays in April- Staff Dress Down Days- Autism Acceptance and Awareness Fundraiser- Join us in wearing blue for Autism

Monday, April 17th- PTO Meeting 6:30PM- BAC Library

Parent Assembly- Responsible Use of Technology 7:00PM- BAC Cafetorium

Thursday, April 20th- Talent Show Dress Rehearsal 6:00PM

Friday, April 21st- 2nd Grade Musical Performance 8:30-9:00AM; PTO Talent Show 7:00PM

Wednesday, April 26th - Administrative Professionals Day! (A day for us to celebrate Mrs. Dargel & Mrs. Varatharajan and all they do for us at BAC!)

Thursday, April 27th- ARTrageous Gallery Night 6:30-8:00PM; Bring Your Child To Work Day

RELATED ARTS SCHEDULE: Monday starts our Related Arts schedule on a DAY 4.

Looking forward to another great week,

Christopher Perruso

PTO Talent Show! This Friday!

Mark your calendar and "save the date" for the "Cucinella's Got Talent" show! This Friday evening at 7:00 PM, see the students of Cucinella show off their many unique and impressive talents in a night full of singing, dancing, laughing, and cheering! For more information and to buy tickets, click here.

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NJSLA

Students in Grades 3 through 5 will be taking the NJSLA state assessments during the month of May. Students will began testing the first week with the Math portion of the test being held May 2nd-5th. The following week, May 9th- 12th students will take the ELA portion, and May 11th through 12th, the fifth grade students only will be taking the Science section of the test.

Parents can find more information HERE including parent resources, tutorials, sample items, and practice tests. If you have any questions about the upcoming testing next week, please feel free to reach out.

Please be sure to send your children to school with their chromebooks charged as well as their headphones. Testing will start promptly after homeroom, so please be sure to get to school on time!

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ARTS-rageous

Mark your calendar to "save the date" for BAC's ARTS-rageous 2023!!!!! Families are welcome to join us for an evening of Art & Music at BAC, on Thursday, April 27th from 6:30 - 8:00pm. This special evening will feature student artwork, choral and musical performances, and make & take activities. We look forward to celebrating The Arts together with your Family!

*****ART VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY*****

ARTS-rageous 2023 is quickly approaching & we are looking for parent volunteers to assist with preparing the nearly 1,500 pieces of student artwork that will be exhibited the evening of 4/27.

~Tasks include; cataloging, matting, labeling and hanging artwork.

~Check out our Sign-Up Genius for Art Volunteers, sign up for a time slot that works best with your schedule! Click here to sign up!

~It's a fun opportunity to meet fellow BAC parents, get a cool perspective of all that goes in to preparing for an art show & snacks are provided!

~ Contact kbartnicki@wtschools.org if you have any additional questions.

Many thanks,

Kelly, Tara, & Kristyn

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KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION:

It's that time of year! We are looking to get our incoming Kindergarten students registered for the 2023-2024 school year. If you have a child who will be five years old on or before October 1st, 2023, please register for kindergarten. Early registration allows us to plan for the appropriate class size for the upcoming school year. We are hoping to have students registered by February 18th. Please follow this LINK to register your child for Kindergarten. More information can be found on the BAC Home Page. If you need assistance, please contact the Main Office at 908-850-3161.

3rd Grade Recorder Recitiels

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2nd Annual STEM Recycle Carnival

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Lost and Found

The lost and found is housed directly outside of the Main Office, and we are happy to help students if they are looking for something in particular. Thanks again to Mrs. Inskeep for keeping this updated and accurate. Please take a minute and check out the collection and see if any items belong to your child. https://www.facebook.com/cucinella.lostandfound.1/

Nellie's News Flash

Click here to get a copy of the newest issue of Cucinella's PTO's "Nellie's News Flash".

ABSENCE PHONE LINE IS PERMANENTLY SHUT DOWN, USE PICKUP PATROL FOR ABSENCES!

The next step of integration is we now exclusively use PickUp Patrol for recording your child's absences. Please click here to review how to use the program to record absences.

The absence line which was previously used to record absences has now been disconnected.

Our secretaries and nurse are no longer checking phone messages for absences. This information is now handled exclusively through the PickUp Patrol app. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to integrate this new attendance management system.

If you have not downloaded the app or set up your account yet, please do so as soon as possible.

Click here for more information about Pickup Patrol

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the secretaries, Mrs. Deanna Dargel or Mrs. Boomi Varathrajan.