PLD October Newsletter

"Let's Grow Together"

Note from the Principal, Mrs. Allen

Dear PLD Families,

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the families who attended Back to School Night. Your presence and enthusiasm make a significant difference in your child's education, and we are excited about the positive year ahead. If you were unable to attend you can check my welcome video in English or Spanish.

As a reminder from back to school night, please accept your child's photo release in Genesis if you would like them to be featured in the yearbook, on our instagram page, and in the newsletter. All students were reset to no permission in early September.

Next week, our beloved state of New Jersey is celebrating the Week of Respect. This annual observance aims to eliminate bullying, harassment, and discrimination by encouraging dialogue, respect, and understanding. Throughout this special week, Ms. Rogers has organized various activities, as well as an assembly on Friday by Abracabully. Please see the section within in the newsletter for more information on the week’s spirit days.

I’m excited to see you all this month at the PTO meeting, Family Book Fair Night, Halloween Dance, and/or the Halloween parade. As a reminder, there is no school tomorrow, October 3rd, for Rosh Hashanah and no school on Monday, October 14th, for staff professional development.

With Drew Pride,

Jazmyn Allen

Principal

October Events

October 3rd - SCHOOL CLOSED - Rosh Hashanah

October 7th - 11th - PTO Book Fair

October 7th - PTO Meeting, 6:30 pm

October 7th - 11th - Week Of Respect Spirit Days

Monday - Jersey Day
Tuesday - Pajama Day
Wednesday - Wacky Wednesday
Thursday - Silly Hat Day
Friday - Blue or PLD Spirit Day

October 9th - Family Book Fair Night, 5-7pm

October 14th - NO SCHOOL for Students (Professional Development Day)

October 15th - Picture Day

October 18th - Halloween Dance

October 21st - School Store

October 25th - Spirit Day - Wear White for School Violence Awareness Week

October 28th - Philly Pretzel Day (Fundraiser for 5th Grade- order form will be sent home )

October 31st - Halloween Parade, 9:45 am

Week of Respect

During the first full week of October, New Jersey schools will celebrate “Week of Respect” in accordance with the Anti-Bullying Bill of Right Act. We have many exciting activities planned that will encourage students to expand their understanding of how respecting one another can create a positive environment at school, one that encourages kindness and decreases the emergence of intimidating and bullying behavior.

Monday - October 7th - Jersey Day

At Perry L. Drew we belong to the same team and we’re huge fans of RESPECT! Wear your favorite sports team shirt or jersey to school.

Tuesday - October 8th - Pajama Day
Let’s put Bullying to rest! Wear your favorite pajamas or comfy clothes.

Wednesday - October 9th - Wacky Wednesday
Show that we are all different and creative!

Wear your wackiest outfit to show your uniqueness. 🙂

Thursday - October 10th - Silly Hat Day
Wear your favorite silly hat to show that we are all united to, “Put a cap on bullying!”

Friday - October 11th - Blue or PLD Spirit Day
Wear your PLD Spirit Wear and/or our school color (BLUE) to show the importance of respecting your mind, your body, and your spirit! This will also represent that we are a united Drew Crew Family! Wear as much spirit wear and blue as possible as we participate in an assembly by Abracabully.

Halloween Parade Information

Weather permitting, our elementary schools will be hosting outdoor Halloween Costume Parades. They will be held on October 31st at each elementary school. In the event of inclement weather, the parades will be canceled and parents will be notified.

Perry L. Drew will begin at approximately 9:45 AM and activities will conclude by 10:30 AM.

We realize that not everyone chooses to celebrate Halloween for various personal reasons. If you do not want your child to participate in Halloween activities, please send a note to your child’s teacher by October 28th. Alternate activities for the children not participating will be provided with designated school staff while the parade and activities are in progress.

Please read the following letter regarding more information on our Halloween parade: Halloween Letter 2024.pdf

Important Reminders

PLD Arrival & Dismissal Times

Please be advised that school starts at 8:45 am and dismissal is at 3:30. While we understand illnesses and circumstances occurring beyond your control. We encourage students to be on time. Missing precious instruction time is a loss that cannot be recovered.

Early dismissal from PLD is at 1:25

Delayed Opening arrival time for PLD is 10:15 am

The complete schedule can be found here: https://www.ewrsd.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1561786&type=d&pREC_ID=1688531

Carpool Lane & Walker Pickups

As we move through this first month of a new school year, I would like to remind everyone about the carpool lane and walker/pickups at the end of the day. To keep the front of the building clear for carpool students, if you are picking up a student as a walker, please meet your child at the BREEZEWAY. Walkers ARE NOT dismissed at the front of the building as this area is kept open for carpool students. Regarding the carpool area, I do ask that we all work together as a community. Staff will only engage with the traffic on campus but I ask that you be courteous and mindful when entering the carpool lane. Please do not block the entry of the driveway due to the buses. Buses are unable to enter the driveway safely if it is blocked. Your support with this matter is appreciated.

Chromebooks

Please remind your students to bring their charged chromebooks daily! It is extremely important that they remember to bring them daily.

Water Bottles

Please remember to send your child in with a water bottle every day!!

PLD Lost & Found

Please remind your children that if they lose an item they should check the lost & found located in the cafeteria. They can check the rack during their lunch period and claim what might belong to them!

Outdoor Recess

Recess is a crucial part of the day, so by all means we will continue to provide this outdoor experience daily. Please be reminded to have your child properly dress for cooler weather. Coats, jackets, and hats may be needed. Checking the weather prior to the start of school would help in making sure proper attire is on daily.

Updates from Our Fine Arts Departments

Art - Mr. Roselle

Artist of the Week has started. Please see our first artist this year below. All Artists of the Week will have their picture in the newsletter monthly!

Band & Orchestra - Mr. Berkuta, Ms. Rojas & Mr. Korey

Mr. Berkuta, Ms. Rojas, and Mr. Korey are so excited to welcome our new and returning students to band and orchestra. We are looking forward to a great year filled with amazing music!

Chorus - Ms. Behrens

The year is off to a good start in the vocal music room. Many of our students have joined chorus. We are currently 358 singers strong! Parents and guardians of our chorus students will receive a letter in October with more information.

The concert dates are officially on our school calendar.

5th Grade Winter Concert (orchestra, band and chorus): January 21, 2025

4th Grade Winter Concert (orchestra, band and chorus): January 22, 2025

3rd Grade Winter Concert (chorus only): January 23, 2025

5th Grade Spring Concert (orchestra, band and chorus): May 13, 2025

4th Grade Spring Concert (orchestra, band and chorus): May 14, 2025

3rd Grade Spring Concert (chorus only): May 15, 2025

Phys Ed - Mrs. Rupp, Mr. Katzman & Mr. Vella

In Physical Education, we started the year off with our soccer unit which connects to Hispanic Heritage Month. The students worked on individual skills in addition to team play. From here, we will move into our football unit which is a school favorite! Just remember that we require sneakers in order to participate in PE class.

STEM - Mrs. Tedeschi

The STEM lab at the Drew School is up and running for another great school year ahead! I feel so fortunate that I get to be the STEM teacher for all of the wonderful students at PLD! All grade levels are reviewing the Engineering Design Process and the 4 C’s. The 4 C's are a framework of skills that are considered essential for students to learn and develop in today's world: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. It is always fun to watch the students grow in these areas over their time here at PLD. For our first round of challenges: third graders are designing a castle for Mickey Mouse, fourth graders are designing bridges for animal migration, and the fifth graders are creating catapults. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at stedeschi@ewrsd.k12.nj.us. Looking forward to a great year ahead! ~Mrs. Tedeschi

Technology - Ms. Swinarski

Welcome Back! The start of the school year in Technology has been busy with a focus on Internet Safety, Keyboarding and Google Docs.

Update from Nurse Lopatine

Parents-please update the nurse on any medical changes for your child. If your child is on any medication, please have your child's physician fill out a medication order form which can be found on the PLD web site under Health Office. If your child has asthma, a food allergy, diabetes, or seizure disorder, the doctor must also complete an action plan.

If your child is ill, please keep home and call the school attendance line and let us know he/she will not be in. If your child has a fever or is vomiting, they must stay home and not come to school until a day has passed without symptoms.

If you have any questions I can be reached via email: elopatine@ewrsd.k12.nj.us or 609-443-7820 X3006

PTO News

It is hard to believe the first month of school is already over! It was so wonderful teaming together with EMK to welcome our family communities at our Welcome Back Foam Party!! It was an absolute BLAST and the kids had so much fun playing in the sea of foam, getting their faces painted, and enjoying the balloon animal entertainers. We hope you all enjoyed the event as much as we did (be sure to check out some photos) and are looking forward to another month of fun-- especially at our Annual Halloween Dance Party coming up on 10/18! More information will be sent home soon but in the meantime, get those costumes ready and prepare yourselves for a night of SPOOK-tacular dancing fun!

Here is a look ahead for the month of October...

Upcoming Events:

10/7 - 10/11: Book Fair

Sign Up Link: https://tinyurl.com/47ddwhzk

(Teacher schedule was communicated in the PTO email from 10/1.)

10/7: Public PTO Meeting @ 6:30pm

10/9: Book Fair Family Night

10/15: Fall Picture Day

10/18: Halloween Dance

Sign Up Link: https://tinyurl.com/6rf3ahcz

Stay Connected

Remind: Text @PLDPTO2425 to 81010 for quick updates and reminders from the PTO

Facebook: Perry L. Drew PTO

Email: pldpto@gmail.com

Volunteers Needed for Events and Committees

If you are interested in volunteering, please feel free to contact pldpto@gmail.com. Your assistance would be greatly valued by our school community.

PLD Photo Gallery

3rd Grade Teachers 1st Day of School

Mrs. Mosca's class learned about Roberto Clemente for Hispanic Heritage month and completed a STEM project to go along with the story. They made a baseball mitt out of only 4 materials. Below is a picture.