Wildcat Weekly!
Dear Wildcats,
Our March Madness Attendance initiative has ended. The homerooms who pulled out the victories are: Ms. Altieri's 1st grade class and Mrs. Steuer's 5th grade class. Congratulations! They will be treated with a bagel breakfast next week. As for our school attendance as a whole, the improvement from last year is stunning. We thank you all for making this incredible improvement a reality. Please see pictures below of our March attendance initiative winners.
Walnut Street has a school store thanks to the work of Ms. Adams. Please click the following link to access. https://accent.promo/walnutelementary/shop/home The school store closes on April 30th. Visit the site and take a look!
Yearbooks are on sale! 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!
Congratulations to our Drama Production students, Mrs. Steuer, and our wonderful staff volunteers on an exceptional performance yesterday! During the school day, the students delivered two outstanding performances to our student body. At night, they performed for the parents and guests in attendance. It was a successful culmination of hard work, talent, and dedication by all!
Our chorus concert will be held on Wednesday starting at 6:00 PM. Mrs. Coe's students have been hard a work rehearsing for the show!
If you haven't done so already, please consider purchasing tickets to the Jersey Shore Blueclaws baseball game on April 30th. Our chorus students will be performing the National Anthem before the game. Tickets are selling fast! Please see click here to purchase tickets and see the flier below. The deadline to purchase is April 29 so please purchase your tickets today!
Save the Date! 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. This will be an outdoor ceremony. Additional details will follow. On behalf of all of us here at Walnut Street Elementary, it has been a pleasure serving this wonderful group of students.
As stated in last week's newsletter, our school is in preliminary discussions and planning for next school year. Every year there are numerous requests by parents for specific teachers. As you know, there are many variables that go into scheduling and student placement. This makes the process challenging related to successfully balancing class sizes and adhering to student programming. While we always will respect parental input with respect to their child’s educational needs, we will be unable to honor parent letters to request a specific teacher for their child. Our goal at Walnut Street is to create balanced classes in which the students will thrive and receive the best education possible. I thank you in advance for your cooperation and support.
NJSLA Testing will begin in May for Grades 3, 4, and 5. Grades 4 and 5 will test the week of May 6, with Grade 5 completing additional testing for science through May 14. Grade 3 will be testing during the week of May 13. Grades 3-5 will complete 3 days of Math assessment and 2 days of Language Arts assessment. Grade 5 will have two days of Science testing.
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 begin discussions with your children about this very important topic.
Also related to testing, please reinforce charging Chromebooks every night prior to the test. Eating a healthy breakfast and getting hydrated prior to the test is a great idea. Let's encourage our students to do our very best!
We continue to promote and reinforce respectful, responsible and safe behavior. Today the COMPASS program came to our school to speak to our 4th grade students. The COMPASS program come to us from Preferred Behavioral Health and emphasizes social emotional learning. This hour long presentation highlights empowering students giving them the tools they need to learn, react and grow. 5th grade students will receive classroom lessons as well.
On May 3 our PBSIS committee has sponsored a fun assembly as recognition to our students for practicing safe, respectful and responsible behavior for the entire school year. A laser light show assembly will be given to our grade levels as a show of appreciation for a job well done.
Mr. Allen and Mrs. Marra won our staff employee of the week...Congratulations! Please see student 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.
Again, yearbooks are $20 per book. The sale ends on April 30th.
Thank you very much!
Toms River Intermediate North is hosting a Bingo Night for Walnut Street Families. The link to RSVP to this awesome event can be accessed here.
The event will be held on April 30th and is open to the first 100 families who RSVP.
Mrs. Coe's Donors Choose Page: We can all make music Project #1
Mrs. Coe's Donors Choose Page: Barred Instruments for Music Project #2
Please click link to view Mrs. Murray's Donor's Choose Page!
Please click link to view Mrs. DeRuiter's Donor's Choose Page!
Dates to Remember
This part of the newsletter will feature important upcoming dates at Walnut Street Elementary and our district. Please see below:
- April 25 - Toms River Excellence Expo (Featuring Walnut Street's Drama Club!)
- April 30 - Jersey Shore Blueclaw PTO Fundraiser...our Chorus performing the National Anthem!
- May 6 - May 10: Grades 4 and 5 NJSLA Testing (Math and ELA)
- 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 27: No school - Memorial Day
- 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!)
