


1/31/2025
Mr. Matthew Reiner, Principal
SCHOOL NEWS!
Upcoming Events For January / February
- February 3rd- Readathon Begins, Reading Rocks Show 6pm in APR
- February 4th- 12:40 Dismissal Day
- February 7th- "Soup"er Bowl Friday. Please wear a jersey and bring a can of soup for the Pequannock Food Pantry.
- February 10th- Wear Red for Women's Heart Health Day
- February 11th- Reading Camp Out Night in the APR
- February 14th- Valentine's Day and Lunch Time Valentine's Bingo
Lunch Ordering For February!
Remember that Monday is February. Please make sure to order your lunches for the month!
"Soup"er Bowl Friday!
With the Super Bowl taking place next weekend, we are celebrating by giving back. On Friday, we are asking all students to wear a jersey (does not have to be football) and to donate a can of soup that will go to the Pequannock Food Pantry. Let's see if we can beat our record of 200 cans of soup last year!
Valentine's Day Guidelines
Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and I wanted to share the guidelines for Valentine's Day at SJG.
Valentine's Day Cards- Students are welcome to bring in cards.
- There must be a card for each student in the class.
- NO candy can be handed out with the card because of allergies.
- NO goody bags. If a goody bag is sent in, we will kindly send them back home.
Valentine's Day Parties-
- Classes will have Valentine's Day Parties that will be planned and run by the teachers / class moms.
Valentine's Day Book Bingo
- We will have our annual Book Bingo on Valentine's Day during recess. Each student will receive a book on Valentine's Day!
Our 5th Grade Pledge Leader For The Week!
Cody did an amazing job this week reciting The Pledge of Allegiance, as well as our kindness quote for the day. Thank you for being so awesome Cody!
The Weather is Getting Chilly!
Winter is on the way to SJG, and we will go outside for recess as long as the temperature is above 32 degrees. Please make sure your children come to school dressed in layers with a coat, so they will not be cold at recess!
SJG Calendar of Events
If you are looking for future events, we update the SJG Calendar of Events as we solidify dates. You can find the calendar on our website but below is the link that we will keep in our newsletter going forward.
Late Student Sign In- IMPORTANT!
In the event that your child arrives at school late, please park your vehicle and come into the building to sign them in. It is essential for us to maintain accurate records of student attendance. Therefore, parents are no longer permitted to have students ring the bell and enter the building unaccompanied when they are late. Thank you for your cooperation.
Elementary Handbook for 2024-2025
Please see the handbook below for the school year.
Attendance Matters!
Being present in school is super important! Full days out, 1/2 days out, being late, and leaving early affect your children's learning. See below!
DISTRICT NEWS
Portrait of a Graduate Parent Survey
Our district is engaged in a Portrait of a Graduate project that involves input from staff, alumni, families, community members and students. The end goal is to align our efforts and embed key competencies that students will need for success in the future. A key component is to garner feedback from various groups in the school community as to what these broad competencies for future success should be. As parents, you are an essential part of this feedback and we invite you to take this important survey that should take 10-15 minutes to complete. Some question numbers may appear out of order; this is for data collection purposes. Simply answer the questions as they appear in the survey. Thank you and we look forward to sharing our progress with you! Just click the link below!
Portrait of a Graduate Survey
Our district is engaged in a Portrait of a Graduate project that involves input from staff, alumni, families, community members and students. We aim to survey students in Grades 5-12 during the week of February 3, 2025 to get their impressions of their educational experience and what the district can be doing, and will share the data internally with our committee. The principals will have hard copies of the student survey available for review in the main office of each building; parents who would like to do so should contact the principal to arrange a time to meet. The content of the surveys is benign and focused exclusively on learning dispositions, but parents can request not to have their children participate in the survey by notifying the principal. Otherwise, we appreciate the opportunity to learn more about how we can create the best possible school experience for our students and their families.
SJG HOME AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATION
HSA Calendar
Stay in the know with the HSA calendar below!
Mrs. Hubner's Class Wins The Pretzel Party!
Mrs. Hubner's Class won the Tricky Tray Donation Pretzel Party! The pretzels were delicious!
SJG HSA Readathon Is Coming!
SJG's Annual Read-a-thon is coming soon! During the weeks of February 3-14, students will get to read as much as they can, while winning some awesome prizes and raising money for our school!
Although most of the events will take place during the school day, we wanted you to Save the Date for two family events during those weeks-
Monday, February 3- The students will have a READING ROCKS! assembly during the day, but parents and families are invited back at 6:00 p.m. to see another show together!
Tuesday, February 11- Camp Read-a-Lot is coming to the APR! Join us for a night of reading, s'mores, bug juice, and fun!
More details to come on these and all other Read-a-thon events!
Save The Date: Dueling Pianos and Beefsteak, March 28th! A Great Night Out!
Registration is NOW OPEN for SJG's first ever Dueling Pianos & Beefsteak Fundraiser on Friday, March 28th at The Brownstone. This will be a great night of food and fun, all for an amazing cause. See the flyer for details and register using the QR code or click HERE.
NURSE'S CORNER
Staying Healthy This Time of Year!!!
We are at the beginning of cold and flu season. We can also see other childhood ailments.
These can include Covid, Strep throat, Coxsackie viruses and stomach viruses. There are
common things we can all do to lessen the spread of such illnesses. These include:
1. Proper hand washing. Reinforce to your children how and when to wash hands. Hand
washing is the number one way to protect yourself and others against all of
these childhood illnesses.
2. Remind children to cover their mouths and noses with a tissue or sleeve
when sneezing or coughing. Throw tissues away after each use. This is always
reinforced here at school.
3. The flu and covid vaccines are recommended and available.
4. Keep sick children home. If your child is ill, PLEASE keep them home for 24hrs -
symptom free. This means symptom free without medication like Tylenol or Advil.
Symptoms include temperature 100.4 or above, vomiting, diarrhea, consistent
coughing, runny nose, sore throat, new skin outbreaks or rashes etc. I will only have
to send them home if the symptoms continue at school. Most illnesses, if
contagious, are spread right before and right after the illness appears. Staying
home while symptoms persist can lessen the spread to others. It also protects your
child from picking up secondary illnesses while their immune system is already
working hard.
5. Have children get plenty of rest and eat a nutritious diet. While these are
important every day, it is even more important when children are not feeling well.
6. When your child is ill, please call or email the main office by 8:15am to report
an absence. The attendance line is available 24/7. I also ask that you let the
school know why your child is absent and be as specific as possible. If you
take your child to the doctor it is helpful to bring documentation of the illness
from the doctor. Let us know if your child has a specific illness.
HEALTH RESOURCES ALL YEAR ROUND
1. Below you can find some resources on these childhood illnesses.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/treatment/flu-guide-for-parents.pdf
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/flu-vs-cold.html
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/hfm.html?WT.ac=p-ra
2. Below is additional information on head lice, a childhood concern that can occur any time of year.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Stephen J. Gerace Elementary School
Email: Matthew.Reiner@pequannock.org
Website: sjg.pequannock.org
Location: 59 Boulevard, Pequannock Township, NJ, USA
Phone: (973) 3055615
Twitter: @SJGPride
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sjgpride/