I am pleased to say that we had a successful opening of our school year. While we are not and will never be perfect, these past two school days allowed us to get back into the swing of things with routines, procedures, and relationships. As is our way, we will do what we can every day to meet the needs of our students so they can thrive while under the roof of our very unique and special learning community.
I am beyond grateful to our parents and guardians for keeping the sidewalks clear at dismissal time. Your trust and adherence to our established procedures provided a clear path for students and staff to safely exit the building. During arrival time, thanks to our students in grades 3 - 5 for being safe while walking up to meet their teachers. For our families in grades K - 2, now that we know where our lineup spots are, I am certain the time it takes to get into the building will start to reduce considerably as the days progress, and it is equally important to keep the sidewalks clear at that time as well.
It is important that all families set up an account in the OnCourse Parent Portal. By creating a parent portal account, you will have access to all sorts of important information regarding your child. You can set up a portal account here:
https://www.hoboken.k12.nj.us/log-_in_options/on_course_connect_parent__student_login_portal
It is equally important to set up an account through our new food service account provider, My Meal Time. You can find more information about that here in a previous newsletter I sent to the community:
https://secure.smore.com/n/0y7vg
In your child's backpack, it is important that you find the blue communicator folder and read, fill out, and return several forms we sent home. These include a walking field trip permission form, a media release form, an emergency contact card, and a school lunch form. Please complete these over the weekend if you have not done so already and send them back to us on Monday. The emergency card and the school lunch form are particularly critical, so your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.
Also, remember that if you registered for the Passport to Learning After School Program, that begins this Monday and runs from 3:00 - 6:00 PM.
Starting next week, our weekly newsletter will be at full strength with updates from our grade levels and subject areas. We are looking forward to our first full week of school together, and we are grateful for all of the positive energy around Brandt these two opening days.
With this being the start of my 7th year as your principal, I am happy to continue my weekly tradition of a three song weekly playlist, so I hope you enjoy the first one inspired by good vibes at the start of our school year. Have a great weekend and see you Monday!
Regards,
Mr. Bartlett
Principal
Joseph F. Brandt Elementary School
- A US News & World Report Best Elementary School
- A NJDOE/New Jersey State Policy Lab/Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies at Rutgers University Positive Outlier for Student Learning Outcomes
- A 3x Great Kindness Challenge Kindness Certified School
- A Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School of Excellence
