Dear Wildcats,

First and foremost, an anticipated Happy Mother's Day to you all!

The beginning of our NJSLA Testing was an absolute success. Our students worked hard, did their very best, and showed respectful and responsible behavior. Grade 5 will be assess in science on Monday and Tuesday and Grade 3 will have 3 days of Math assessment and 2 days of ELA assessment starting next week.

As stated, test security is of utmost importance. Electronic devices in all forms are strictly forbidden and will levy consequences should a student be found with one during testing. This includes cell phones, iPods, Apple watches, Smart watches, Fitbits, and all other electronic devices. Our test administrators prior to every assessment will ask students to turn off these devices and place them away from the testing area if the students bring them to school. Please continue your discussions with your children about this very important topic.

Our Instrumental Concert is going to be held on May 20 starting at 6 PM. Our students have been hard at work! Please come out and support our talented students. Parking will be at the back of the school and entry will be gained using Door 12.

We honored our April Students of the Month on Tuesday at our PTO Meeting (picture above). Please help me congratulate the following students: Calvin Appice, Micah Allen, Mia Talbot, Alexander Romano, Aylin Gonzalez Rosas, Kinston Titone, Tristan Reid, Kharijen Damas, Vincent Cioffo, Daniela Diaz-Vargas, Dominic Alvarez-Sclafani, Natalie Chamie, Kimberly Valezquez, Miguel Breton, Ella Hall, Solome Cepeda Perez, Conlin Fagioli, Keyla Castro, Casey Fiore, Melina Sevilla Barrientos, Evan Hans, Alexander Jones, Stefano Saravia Lazaro, Serafina Albertino, Alex Augustensen, Yariel Castillo, Juliana Ulrich, Anyla Franklin, Stephanie Vargas, Angel Chavez Guzman, Jonathan Italiano, Allisson Luna Barrientos, Esmeralda Jarana Olivos, Erin Hempsted, Andrew Welter, Gavin Cortes, and Alejandro Vega-Chacon.

This year's 5th Grade Moving Up Ceremony will be held on June 6 starting promptly at 9:30 AM. The rain date for this event will be June 7 starting at 9:30 AM. Information about the event was sent on Wednesday via ParentSquare and a letter will also be arriving at home related to the event. We will miss this 5th grade class of Wildcats!

It is not too late to order your yearbook! Grades Kindergarten through 4th can purchase the yearbooks now. Order forms are available electronically (see below) and order forms were sent home. Our PTO is graciously buy each 5th grade student a yearbook. Please order today!

Family Movie Night is rapidly approaching! The event will be held on May 17 on our Turf Field. Please begin arriving at 7:30 PM. Our featured movie is Super Mario Bros.! Please see the flyer below to view the details. The PTO is sponsoring a school store next week on Wednesday and Thursday. Fliers were sent home this week. Our next and final PTO meeting will be held on June 3 starting at 6:30PM.

Please see student winners below PBSIS Winners below!

Some information about the school calendar. Please note the following: School is closed May 27. June 4 will be a virtual learning day. June 6 thorough June 13 will be early dismissal days. Please click here to see the revised district calendar.

For a limited time, students and families in Grades K-4 can order the 2023-24 Wildcat Yearbook online. (5th graders will receive their books courtesy of the Walnut Street PTO.) The price per book is $20. You can scan the QR Code shown on the flyer that is included in this newsletter, or visit www.ybpay.com with the yearbook ID code of: 9208724. If you wish to pay by check, please make the check out to the Walnut Street PTO.

Thank you very much!

Please see these fliers below related to the Summer EBT program. The flier is in English and Spanish and there is great information in them.

Mrs. O'Neill received a "Social Emotional Learning Library" project for her classroom from Donors Choose.

We would like to thank the following donors:

Anonymous ~ Piscataway

Berkeley Burch-Martinez ~ Dripping Springs, TX

McCall Elizabeth (Delaware)

Anonymous Supporter ~ Palo Alto, CA

The DonorsChoose Community

Mrs. Coe received a "Step by Step Barred Instruments for Music!" project for her classroom from Donors Choose.

We would like to thank the following donors:

Heather Coe ~ New Jersey

Anonymous ~ Texas

Anonymous ~ New Jersey

Monica Bartels ~ New Jersey

Amanda O'Leary ~ New Jersey

Angela Weidhorn ~ New Jersey

Bridget McKee

Janet Renda

The DonorsChoose Community

Mrs. Coe's Donors Choose Page: Barred Instruments for Music Project #2

Please click link to view Mrs. Schwietzer's Donor's Choose Page!

Please click link to view Mrs. Murray's Donor's Choose Page!

Please click link to view Mrs. DeRuiter's Donor's Choose Page!

Our next PTO meeting will be on Monday, June 3, 2024 in Cafeteria C at 6:30 PM. Please enter through Door 18. We will be honoring our May Students of the Month!

We are asking for volunteers to our Executive Board. Please consider volunteering to help lead our PTO and support the students.

Outdoor Movie Night 5/17

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4FABAE2AA6FD0-outdoor

Calling all Volunteers!

We Need You! Our PTO board is shrinking due to ageing out of the school and we are seeking highly motivated and fun volunteers to join the board! The following positions are available:

Treasurer - The money mom! Handle the PTOs bank account and balancing our QuickBooks (training provided!)

Secretary - The organized mom! Does all your kids toys have their own space and your minivan spotless? This is the spot for you! The secretary makes sure all our paperwork with the town is in order for raffles, helps out with flyers and organizing events.

Recording Secretary - The mom who documents everything! Are you constantly on IG or FB documenting everything? This role might be good for you! The secretary writes notes from meetings, handles posting to social media and makes flyers for events.

Book Fair Chair- The always reading mom! Are you attached at the hip to your kindle? This job is for you! We all know how important books are for our kids and we need someone to help organize our Fall and Spring Book fairs.

All parents (moms and dads!), grandparents and guardians are open to apply for board positions! If any of these jobs interest you or you have any questions about the positions please reach out to WalnutStreetPTO@gmail.com

Our cafeteria offers our students nutritious and tasty food items every day. The link to the food services website is below. There (along the right side), you will see menus for the month. For information on eligibility for free or reduced meals, please access the letters that are attached.

This part of the newsletter will feature important upcoming dates at Walnut Street Elementary and our district. Please see below:

• May 13 - May 17: Grade 3 NJSLA Testing (Math and ELA)
• May 13 and 14: Grade 5 NJSLA Testing (Science)
• May 17: PTO Movie Night
• May 20: Instrumental Concert, 6:00 PM
• May 27: No school - Memorial Day
• June 3: PTO Meeting starting at 6:30 PM
• June 4: Virtual Learning Day
• June 6: 5th Grade Moving Up Ceremony - 9:30 AM
• June 7: (Rain Date) 5th Grade Moving Up Ceremony - 9:30 (if necessary)
• Early Dismissal Days: June 6 through June 13
• Last Day of School: June 13 (Have a great summer!)