• January 20th- School Closed
• January 21st- BOE Meeting 7pm- Honoring the Teachers of the Year

2025 SJG SCIENCE FAIR

SJG Elementary School is proud to announce our Annual STEM Science Fair, to be held on Friday, February 21st. All SJG students in Grades 2 through 5 will have the opportunity to develop a scientific experiment or display that will be showcased for the SJG community. Certificates will be given for participating.

Students may work by themselves or with one other partner in the same grade, either in their classroom or another in the same grade. Please do not request more than one partner as the request will be denied. Each grade level has a specific curriculum-based science theme:

• Grade 2: Earth Science

• Grade 3: Life Science

• Grade 4: Inventions (improve an existing idea or create a new one)

• Grade 5: Physical Science, Math, Technology

IMPORTANT:

• Science Fair Proposal Form…every child must submit a signed proposal via Google Form from their school Google account by Friday, January 24, 2025 (1 form per project).

We hope that with your encouragement and support, our children will enjoy participating in the fair with a project that will cultivate his/her interest in science. We look forward to providing this exciting experience for your young scientist!

Sincerely,

The Science Fair Committee

Science Fair Guidelines

General Guidelines*

• Students may work by themselves or with one other partner in the same grade, either in their classroom or another in the same grade.

• Work exhibited should be done by the student(s). Help from parents, teachers, or a professional is fine, but the student must do his or her own work.

• Project materials should not cost any more than $50 to build/prepare. Please make sure to provide enough project materials for both the student viewing and the parent viewing. 36 inch by 48 inch display board is required.

• All projects must be approved by the Science Fair Committee.

Safety Guidelines*

For the safety of all, the following elements will NOT be allowed:

• Projects requiring an electrical outlet. (Battery power only)

• Animals of any kind

• Dangerous/caustic chemicals, drugs

• Use of heat, flame or explosives

• Sharp instruments, blades, glass or other hazardous objects

*Mr. Reiner and the Science Fair Committee reserve the right to turn away any projects that do not meet all guidelines!

Click HERE for the Google Form!!

As we returned back to school from Winter Break, I have noticed that we have students who received Apple watches or smart watches or Gizmo tracker devices as presents. While they are awesome gifts, we find them to be a big distraction in the classroom with students turning them on and off, looking at the number of steps they have accomplished, checking for notifications, and generally just clicking and playing with them on their wrist. These items are not only distracting the students who are wearing them but they are also distracting other students in the classroom as well.

I understand that some families have purchased these devices for safety reasons so they know where their children are in case of an emergency. I understand wanting to know that our children are safe, and I assure you that while in school your students are safe. The classroom is a safe learning environment and we need to make sure that our students are paying full attention while in school. Therefore, students who have smart watches / tracking devices are to place their smart watch / tracking device in their backpack while in the classroom. The devices can be kept on silent in the student’s backpack so that they are still tracking them as they sit in the classroom. The students are allowed to put them on for recess and lunch. However, even when students are wearing them during recess and lunch, they are not permitted to make phone calls or texts from the devices; students are to ask permission to come to the office and make a phone call on an office phone as has been past practice. Students will be able to put their watches / devices back on at the end of the day prior to dismissal so that they are able to be communicated with and tracked when they leave their classroom.

With this procedure in place, students who have a smart watch / tracking device, will be required to put the device in their backpack. I appreciate everyone’s cooperation.

Luke 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 Luke!

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!

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.

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.

Please see the handbook below for the school year.

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!

Stay in the know with the HSA calendar below!

See the flyer for details and click HERE to register. This event is open to all Pequannock Families. Siblings and friends are welcome to attend.

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.

Mrs. Griffith, SJG School Nurse, will be keeping us up to date on ways to be more healthy all 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.

https://www.cdc.gov/lice/about/head-lice.html

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/