

Catena Colts Connected
March 31, 2025; Edition # 13
Dear Catena Families,
Happy April! Spring is in full bloom and we are excited about all the wonderful things happening in our school community. We are thrilled to share that our 2024-25 Catena Mural Project is complete! This beautiful work of art, created by our students, staff, and families, is a true reflection of our school’s creativity and connectedness. It truly transforms the hallway! Thank you to all of our staff, family members, and volunteers who contributed—your hard work and dedication have made a lasting impact on our school! It was wonderful to have Mrs. Caren Olmsted and her team with us and we hope to invite her back to Catena!
We also loved seeing so many families at the our Elementary Entrepreneurs' Fair. Our JJCS entrepreneurs were so proud and all monies raised will benefit the charities selected this year: Make a Wish & NJ Counsel for Tourette's Syndrome. Special thanks to Mrs. McPartland & Miss McElroy for making this event a tremendous success! The FTEF Harlem Wizards game on March 21st was a fun night filled with laughter, amazing basketball skills, and lots of spirit. Mrs. Fern was the Catena high scorer! Thank you for coming out to support these fun and meaningful events and our Freehold Township Community.
Spring Break begins after early dismissal on April 11th. Whether you’re traveling or staying close to home, we hope you take this time to relax, recharge, and enjoy special moments with family and friends. Spring Break is a wonderful opportunity to connect with loved ones and the things we enjoy most in life. It is also a time to reconnect with what’s most important. We hope our Catena families are able to do all of these things and return refreshed and ready for the remainder of the school year.
Take Your Child to Work Day is on April 24th. If your child will be participating, please follow the school's attendance procedures to ensure their absence is properly recorded. More details regarding attendance for this day are included below.
As previously shared with families, we’ve experienced an increase in students’ use of threatening language and incidents of bullying. While this continues to be of concern, we are doing our best to teach children alternative ways to handle their big emotions. Our PBS Team has created buddy class and morning meeting lessons for classroom implementation. Teachers remind students to be mindful and use THINK strategies before reacting or responding in the moment. From March 28th through May 7th, Ms. Shaw is visiting every homeroom with a read-aloud and discussion specific to the use of threatening language. We thank families for continuing to reiterate the importance of using kind and respectful language.
Spring brings lots of opportunities for students to continue growing as learners and Colts who are respectful, responsible, safe, & kind. We're looking forward to our 1st & 2nd Grade Reading Challenge, Schoolwide Skateboard Assembly, our first PBS Disabilities Awareness Day, an Arbor Day Celebration with 3rd Grade & the Monmouth County Shade Tree Commission, Evening of the Arts, 1st Grade Patriotic Show, and more!
Families can also visit the PTO website for additional ways to connect. Upcoming are Daughter & Son Date Nights and Ladies Night Out. We'd love to see you there! Don't forget there will be PTO board nominations soon. If you are interested in working as a member of the PTO board and have questions, don't hesitate to reach out to one of us directly or the PTO via email jjcpto@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for supporting our school community.
Stay connected with us this spring, together we can make our Catena community the best it can be.
Wishing you a restful and joyful month ahead!
Ms. Shaw & Mrs. Fern
Special Spring Reminder
Please remember that students must have sneakers to participate in both Phys. Ed class and Recess. Students wearing shoes like Uggs, Crocs, slides, sandals etc. will not be permitted to play.
Partner with us and stand up to bullying & violence!
FTSD is committed to creating a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for all students, staff and families. Bullying, in any form, is not tolerated. Recently, we’ve observed that the most common forms of bullying in our building have been comments made about others' appearance and cultures. We also recently communicated with families regarding an uptick in threatening and violent language amongst students. We hope that conversations at home will focus upon this and remind students that utilizing such language and/or drawing violent scenes or items is not tolerated in school.
We encourage open communication between parents, students, and staff to help prevent bullying and address other behavioral concerns. Please remind your child about the importance of kindness, inclusivity, respect, and standing up for others. Together, we can ensure a positive school experience for everyone.
To learn more about our HIB policies please visit our district webpage and/or click here
Please share your voice with us. Together we can make our school community the best it can be.
Catena Colts are Respectful, Responsible, Safe, & Kind
We're a Positive Behavior Support School
We believe we are all connected and together we will foster our PBS core values. At home, families can help to remind students by reviewing our PBS Expectation Matrix and support them throughout the year by using our common language when talking about the school day.
We hope you'll continue to support our schoolwide PBS and behavioral expectations by reviewing with your child(ren) at home. Recently we have seen a significant increase in negative, physical, damaging, and inappropriate behaviors in school. Students would benefit from reminders around being respectful of those around them, responsible in their environment, being safe, and being kind toward others. We ask that families reinforce playing safely with peers on the playground and being safe on the school bus. Parents are always encouraged to review the importance of being kind toward others. Commenting on another's appearance, race, ethnicity, or other characteristics will prompt a HIB investigation. If you have questions regarding the district's anti-bullying policies and procedures, you can access them in the handbook or on the district website linked here. Questions can always be directed to one of us or Mrs. Senna, our Anti-Bullying Specialist. Staff are always available to support students who may be facing a challenging situation or who are struggling emotionally. Additionally, parents are encouraged to keep an eye on students with access to devices, group chats, and/or social media accounts.
Another way parents might support our PBS program is by helping us to stock our PBS school store. Students have the opportunity to visit the PBS School Store to “cash” in their Colts Cash for both tangible items and for experiences with staff.
Notes from the Main Office
Please review the items below in preparation for the beginning of the year:
Genesis Parent Portal
Support for Genesis Parent Portal is found under the log-in dialog box.
Arrival & Dismissal procedures for 2024-25 school year are linked here. All families should review these procedures and adhere to them to help us ensure the safety of our students, staff, and families.
School hours for JJCS students: 8:55 am-3:30 pm. Doors open at 8:45am. Students arriving in their classrooms after 8:55 am are considered tardy.
Students late due to transportation delays are not marked tardy.
Fridays will always be School Spirit Days. Students are encouraged to wear their Catena or Donovan spirit wear and/or PBS shirts on Fridays to show their school pride!
Free & Reduced Lunch Applications for the 2024-2025 School Year will be available on the district website.
FTS Attendance Policy
Families are encouraged to review the updated policy. Click here to review the FTS Attendance Policy.
Look what's happening at Catena!
* March 31st through April 7th - Project Eat Spring into Community Kindness Collection
March 31st: Report Cards post to Genesis Parent Portal
April 4th: PTO Son Date Night
April 11th: PBS Disability Awareness Day; Early dismissal 12:55; Spring Break begins
April 22nd: School reopens
April 24th: Take Your Child to Work Day
April 25th: PTO Daughter Date Night
April 11th is our 1st Disability Awareness Day
Take a look JJC News, Season 11; Episode #6
Here is our sixth episode of JJC News with our very own student reporters. Be sure to tune in and learn all about what's going on & stay classy, Catena!
Kindergarten Registration
It's time to register for Kindergarten! The registration link and more information is shared below. We look forward to welcoming our newest Catena Colts in September 2025! Call the Catena Main Office with questions, 732-431-4430.
Curriculum and Content Connections
Making Math Meaningful at Home
Math is all around us! This month we are focusing on the first four of the eight, Standards for Mathematical Practices. By encouraging these skills at home, you can help your child see the power of math beyond the classroom
Make Sense of Problems and Persevere in Solving Them: Encourage your child to explain their thinking when solving a problem. Ask questions like, "What do you notice?" or "What strategies could you try?"
Reason Abstractly and Quantitatively: Talk about the difference between whole numbers and fractions when dividing something equally.
Construct Viable Arguments and Critique the Reasoning of Others: If your child suggests a way to solve a problem, ask, "Why does that work?" Encourage friendly debates about strategies when playing board games or solving puzzles.
Model with Mathematics: Use math to solve everyday problems and encourage your child to draw diagrams or use objects to represent problems.
By incorporating math into real-life problem-solving situations, children will begin to see the practical value of math and develop critical thinking and reasoning skills. The more they can practice, the more confident they’ll become in their ability to solve problems in any context!
Click this link for some tips on making literacy part of your family's lifestyle!
Spotlight on ADHD
Read on for tips and information/research about ADHD
Take a look at tips for families with children who have ADHD from The ADHD Foundation-The Neurodiversity Charity. Find many more resources by following this link and visiting Understood.org.
All About FTS Breakfast & Lunch
Free & Reduced Lunch Applications
Paper applications can be found on the district webpage. This folder contains all of the information regarding applying for Free/Reduced Lunch. If you can not print it, please contact your child's school and they will send a paper copy home for you. Please note, families will need the child's school ID Number to complete the application. School ID Numbers can be found in Genesis Parent Portal.
Please send any paper applications to:
Ali McKee
Freehold Township Schools
Benefits Coordinator
384 W. Main Street
Freehold, NJ 07728
You may also send by email or fax:
Fax: (732) 462-5939
Phone: (732) 462-8400 ext.8809
Paying for meals
Payments may be made with student's MealTime account. Any cash or checks brought to school for meals will be applied to your student's mealtime account. No change can be given in the cafeteria.
Please check out the program we'll be using to share our menus and nutritional information with you. Nutrislice will be updated any time we have a menu change and will have menus prepared weeks in advance. You can even add the app to your phone for up to date information. Click here to learn how to filter your menus!
To add funds to your student's MealTime account so they may purchase items in the school cafeteria, please click here (white box) or send cash or a check written out to Freehold Township Schools in with your student. All funds submitted in the cafeteria will be deposited into your student's Mealtime account. No change will be available in the cafeteria. For more information about Mealtime, please click here.
Breakfast is now available for Preschool & Elementary School Students
Breakfast is Served!
We'd like to remind everyone that breakfast is available for purchase in the cafeteria for all elementary school students. The menus are here. Students can go directly to the cafeteria when they come to school and grab a meal to bring to their classroom. All students who receive free lunch are also eligible to receive free breakfast. Regular price for breakfast is $2.05 and will be billed through the student's mealtime account. Menus will be posted on Nutrislice.
Doors will open at 8:30am for JJCS breakfast and 8:45am for LDS breakfast. Staff will monitor Door # 28 near the parent drop-off/pick-up to welcome students. Those students riding the bus to school will grab breakfast once buses unload and eat in their classroom.
For more information or to contact our Sodexo Food Services Department, visit our district webpage linked here.
Genesis Parent Portal Help
Stay Connected with the Health Office
District Communications
From Mrs. Montgomery, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction
The Freehold Township School District will be administering both state and local standardized assessments throughout the 2024-2025 school year. All of these assessments, along with information and links to resources for families can be found on our website. You can also download this document, which lists the testing windows for all assessments. If you have any questions, please contact your building principal.
Click above for the FTS Attendance Newsletter. This picture was the message sent by Mr. Dickstein on 10/15 to clarify and answer questions regarding the district's attendance policy.
Visit the website. Make a membership toolkit account. Support our school community. Email for information: jjcpto@gmail.com
Spring Spirit Wear Online Store now open!
Online store closes on Friday, March 7th, 2025. https://www.storessimple.com/dependabilitees/groups.php
Flyer attached.
Celebrate Earth Day by planting and growing your very own tree for FREE!!! The JJC PTO is proud to bring environmental awareness and support by participating in this year’s Neighborhood Forest Free trees program! Register by March 15th and your student will be sent home a free tree to plant in April! See Flyer for more details!
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