HUBER STREET SCHOOL

Hello Bears,

Can you believe that we've already wrapped up our first month of school?!?! Autumn means that it's time for crisp air, colorful leaves, pumpkin-flavored everything, and playoff baseball!

As we dive deeper into October, let this serve as a gentle reminder to all of our Bears: kindness and effort are the keys to making this a great year. Let's encourage them to lend a helping hand and try their best.

Please be sure to come to Huber Street School at 6pm on Tuesday, October 1st for an important (and very informative) parent-only event about smart phone and social media safety. Also, please check out the important notice just below this message.

Sincerely,

Mr. Valente

PS- May the Force Be With You!

The end of the day is a very hectic time when teachers are ensuring that each student is connected with a caregiver. We respectfully ask that you do not change your student’s pick up routine on a day-to-day basis. Understandably, emergencies and last minute changes do arise, but for safety reasons we ask that you help us to keep our dismissal procedures consistent for both our staff and students.

If you need to pick up your student early for an appointment, or special reason, they must be picked up before 9th period which begins at 2:15 pm. Last period often includes special area classes and time set aside for wrapping up activities and packing up for the day which makes it difficult for our security staff to continue to monitor the building if they are also being asked to locate and get students early from their classes.

If you wish your student to be picked up by a person not on your pick-up list, you must send a note in with them in the morning, or an email to your child's homeroom teachers, in addition to Kim Pascarello (kpascarello@sboe.org) and Coleen Mason (cmason@sboe.org) in the main office.

Please make sure to state the person’s name, relationship to your student and a contact phone number for the person.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

This summer, the Secaucus Public Schools participated in a Summer Reading Bingo Board Challenge. This program was designed to help students stay engaged and excited about reading over the summer, by providing them with a fun and interactive way to track their reading progress. It also encourages students to read a variety of genres and explore new books, fostering a love for reading that can carry over into the school year.

Reading is crucial for academic success as it helps improve vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking skills. It also enhances imagination and creativity, leading to better problem-solving abilities. By encouraging your child to read regularly, you are equipping them with the essential tools for lifelong learning and curiosity. The Summer Reading Bingo Board Challenge was a great way to promote reading at home. Check out the students who took a selfie with a book. Thank you to everyone who participated. I hope you celebrated at Shake Shack!

Ms. Fasciano's Pre-K students learned about community helpers and heroes that help us each and every day.

In an effort to promote a sense of community at the Millridge School, Mrs. Leppin's class created "Millie the Rock Snake". Each student from the entire school was invited to add a painted rock to "Millie" with their family. This activity encouraged creativity, while boosting school spirit. Look at how much "Millie" has grown just in the first month of school!

Mrs. O’Connor’s Kindergarten class celebrated Johnny Appleseed on September 26th, 2024. Students had an apple tasting, made apple crowns, and completed an apple science observation.

Ms. Gasser's 3rd graders exploring math concepts and celebrating the start of school.

A big "thank you" from Ms. Gasser to her amazing families keeping up with ClassDojo! Students celebrated with donuts and smiles on September 10th!

Huber Street School 5th grader, Buddy Baker was featured in an article in northjersey.com about breakdancing. Check out the article (and accompanying video) here.

Each year, 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Kerri Stamm discusses the importance of community service and the crucial role it plays helping students grow into positive, responsible members of society. By participating in community service, children not only contribute to their town, they learn skills and values that will help shape them into positive, engaged adults.

This year, the 5th graders at Huber Street School are working together to help our local Police and Fire Departments. If you would like your child to participate, please donate single-serve packages of the following items.

• Chocolate Candies (Specifically: Hershey Kisses, Mounds, Peppermint Patty, etc.)
• Mints
• Gum
• Coffee Pods
• Lifesavers
• Smarties
• Tootsie Rolls
• Laffy Taffy
• Cool Ranch Doritos

Donations will be collected throughout the month of October and can be sent to school with your child.

Thank you in advance for helping us help our local heroes!

The artwork of many Huber Street School Bears is currently on display at the Starbucks in Secaucus. Catch a glimpse below of our gallery!

This month in Art class, students explored one of the most important Elements of Art - COLOR!

Students had a great time experimenting with color relationships, contrasting colors, and using rainbow order! Pictured are: 2nd Grade Pipe Cleaner Rainbow Clouds, 1st Grade Pencil Pals, 3rd Grade Rainbow Through the Storm, 5th Grade Realistic Paint Palette & Brush, and Kindergarten "Be A Rainbow in Someone Else's Cloud!"

New Jersey's Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act designates the week of the first Monday in October each year as a “Week of Respect.” Huber Street School observes this week by providing grade-appropriate activities focusing on preventing harassment, intimidation, or bullying. Starting Monday, October 7th through Friday, October 11th, students are encouraged to dress down for our fun themed days focusing on kindness and respect.

On Monday, October 28th, students are invited to wear red for Red Ribbon Week. Red Ribbon Week highlights the importance of living a drug-free life.

Visit here every month for an update from the Huber Street School Parent Teacher Association.

Happy October! We hope you and your families are settling into the school year. September was a busy one! Here are some of our highlights!

We held our first General PTA Meeting of the school year on Tuesday, September 24th. Thank you to those who attended!

The PTA worked hard decorating both Huber Street and Millridge Schools for the first day of school!

We welcomed back our teachers and staff with a visit from the Merry Hot Cocoa Truck! Every faculty and staff member had their choice of iced hot cocoa, iced coffee, or refreshers.

Our Bears at Huber Street and Millridge were also welcomed back to school with a sweet treat from Mr. Softee!

Our Membership Drive is underway. We currently have 200 PTA Members for the 2024/2025 school year. Thank you to those who have joined! Joining the PTA keeps us in good standing with local, state, and national PTA councils. Your participation makes a huge difference in our efforts and all our children benefit when we work together!

You can join by clicking on the link below:

https://huberstreetschool.givebacks.com/store?limit=21&live=true

The World’s Finest Chocolate Fundraiser will be starting soon! Be on the lookout for participation permission slips!

A big thank you to the Secaucus Rotary Club, the Huber Street School PTA, and the Clarendon School PTA - Secaucus for providing an informative and important training session on CPR and AED life-saving skills. Doug Tobin, from the Metropolitan Medical Corporation, a career CPR instructor, firefighter, EMT, and 911 dispatcher provided the training.

We had an amazing turnout for our first ever Huber Street PTA and Clarendon PTA joint event! The training session was a huge success and extremely informative, that we decided to host another in the Spring alongside Clarendon School PTA. We hope to see you there!

Join us for an important presentation on Smartphone and Social Media Safety for students. This ADULT ONLY event will take place on Tuesday, October 1st at 6:00pm in the Huber Street School Gymnasium. Parents/Guardians from Huber Street School, Clarendon School, and Secaucus Middle School are invited to attend.

While the subject matter is directed toward parents/guardians of students in grades 3 through 5, we welcome all parents/guardians who are interested in attending to join us. Any parents bringing children will not be admitted into the event due to the adult nature of what is being discussed. We appreciate your cooperation. We look forward to seeing you there.

On Tuesday, October 22nd, Clarendon School will host Family Science Night for Huber Street School and Clarendon School 2nd grade students. It runs from 5pm-7pm with a $16 (cash) registration fee.

The program can only accommodate a limited number of students. For questions, reach out to Mrs. Wurst at mmartinelli-wurst@sboe.org.

We will be holding our annual Costume Parade on Thursday, October 31st at (approximately) 10:30 A.M. Students will be permitted to come to school dressed in their costumes. We will follow a one session school day schedule. We will follow the parade route listed below.

• Begin in the Huber St. courtyard.

• Turn left onto Paterson Plank Road.

• Turn left onto Fairview Avenue.

• Turn left onto Elizabeth Court.

• Turn right onto Schultz Place.

• Turn right on Fairview Avenue.

• Turn right onto Paterson Plank Road.

• Return to the courtyard.

Students will walk the parade with their homeroom teachers. All parents and family members are invited to watch along the parade route. After the parade, students will return to their homerooms for classroom activities. We will have a one session day and all students will be dismissed at 12:30pm.

Note: In case of inclement weather, the parade will be cancelled but costumes may still be worn to school.

** Costume Guidelines **

• Students are NOT permitted to bring any item that resembles a weapon (guns, swords, axes, etc.) to accessorize their costume. If a student brings an item like this to school, it will be held in the main office to be retrieved by a parent/guardian at the end of the school day.

• Masks covering the entire face may only be worn during the parade as long as it does not obstruct the student’s vision.

• Costumes should be tasteful, modest, and appropriate for a school environment and follow the basic guidelines of school dress standards.

Oct 01: Social Media Awareness Night

Oct 04: Kindergarten Nursery Rhyme Olympics

Oct 11: Anti-Bullying Assembly

Oct 17: Board of Education Meeting

Oct 22: Family Science Night (at Clarendon School)

Oct 22 - Oct 24: Scholastic Book Fair

Oct 29: Virtual Title 1 Parent Information Session

Oct 29: Huber Street Soccer Tournament: Grades K-2

Oct 30: Huber Street Soccer Tournament: Grades 3-5

Oct 31: Halloween Parade

Here is a look at the breakfast and lunch menus for the upcoming month.

Student schedules, health screening, report card access, etc. can be found on the Realtime Parent Portal. If you have any questions, please contact our main office. You can access the Parent Portal via the following link. (All parent portal log-in information has been sent to you via email.)

https://www.fridayparentportal.com/Secaucus

Huber Street School Schedule

Full Session: 8:20am-3:00pm

• (Kindergarten is dismissed at 2:45pm)

One-Session: 8:20am-12:30pm

Delayed Opening: 10:20am-3:00pm

Millridge School Schedule

Full Session:

Pre-K AM: 8:20am-10:50am

Pre-K PM: 11:50am-2:20pm

Pre-K Full Day Classes: 8:20am-2:20pm

One-Session:

Pre-K AM: 8:20am-10:00am

Pre-K PM: 10:30am-12:10pm

Pre-K Full Day Classes: 8:20am-12:00pm

Delayed Opening:

Pre-K AM: Class Cancelled

Pre-K PM: 11:50am-2:20pm

Pre-K Full Day Classes: 10:20am-2:20pm

The federal government's universal free lunch program expired and our schools will return to offering free and reduced school lunch to only students who qualify based on family income. Families are encouraged to complete the Free and Reduced Lunch application if they believe they qualify.

As in previous years, if you would like to purchase lunch, please replenish your child's lunch account by logging into the Payforit.net (https://www.payforit.net/Login.aspx) website.

Huber Street School and Clarendon School will be serving a more traditional and expanded lunch menu. Please be reminded that students will need to input their Student ID number when purchasing items from the cafeteria (as no cash will be accepted.)

We will make every effort to have our students go outside for recess. Please make sure to provide your children with appropriate clothing for cold weather. Students will remain indoors during the following weather conditions.

• Snow, Rain, Hail, Sleet

• Thunder/Lightning

• Temperature and/or Windchill Temperature 32 degrees or colder

The Secaucus Board of Education requires students to wear school uniforms on a daily basis, including field trips. Students are to arrive at school wearing the appropriate clothing as defined in the dress code. The following is a list of clothing items in compliance with the uniform policy and information regarding this can also be found in the Elementary Handbook.

Please Note the Changes to the "Shoes" Section of the Dress Code

Approved Uniform Attire for Clarendon/Huber Street Schools

**ALL SHIRTS, SWEATERS, SWEATSHIRTS AND FLEECE MUST HAVE THE PROPER “SECAUCUS SCHOOL DISTRICT” EMBROIDERED LOGO

STUDENT DRESS CODE ATTIRE OPTIONS:

Tops:

• Polo Shirt - Red/White/Navy: Short Sleeve/Long Sleeve

• Turtle Neck - Red/White/Navy (NO EMBLEMS OR LOGO)

• Sweater - Red/White/Navy: V-neck, Crew neck, Cardigan or Vest

• Sweat Shirt - Red/White/Navy: Crew Neck (NO HOOD)

• Fleece - Red/Navy: Zippered Front or Pullover (NO HOOD)

• Jumper - Navy/Khaki: Cotton/Cotton-Polyester

• Peter Pan Blouse - White (NO LOGO)

Bottoms:

• Pants - Navy/Khaki: Cotton/Cotton-Polyester (NO CARGO PANTS OR LEGGINGS)

• Shorts - Navy/Khaki: Cotton/Cotton-Polyester

• Skirt - Navy/Khaki: Cotton/Cotton-Polyester

• Skort - Navy/Khaki: Cotton/Cotton-Polyester

• Capris - Navy/Khaki: Cotton/Cotton-Polyester

• Socks & Tights - Navy/Khaki/White/Red, Solid Color

Shoes:

ALL shoes must be securely fastened with a backing to the feet. Sneakers are strongly recommended for everyday use.

• Flip-flops, open toed shoes, slippers, and slide shoes are NOT permitted.

• Crocs are permitted ONLY in “sport mode”, meaning the pivoting heel strap must be utilized when worn.

• Uggs boots or shoes are permitted, but NOT slippers or slides (all shoes must have a back).

**Please note:

All students are permitted to wear knee length shorts until October 31st and again in the spring beginning April 15th, in a docker style in navy or khaki. Athletic shorts should reach the end of the finger tip in length.

Huber Street School is an elementary school in Secaucus, NJ that educates students from Kindergarten through 5th grade. The Millridge School (Early Learning Center) is a satellite school that houses our pre-kindergarten students. Huber Street School has been educating Secaucus students since 1910.

Huber Street School

1520 Paterson Plank Road

Secaucus, NJ 07094

201-974-2053

The Millridge School

40 Millridge Road

Secaucus, NJ 07094

201-974-2053

Email: kpascarello@sboe.org, cmason@sboe.org,

Email: rvalente@sboe.org.