HUBER STREET SCHOOL

Hello Bears,

November is here! I hope you’re enjoying the crisp autumn air and the changing leaves. The next two months go by very quickly, and we have a lot going on here at Huber Street School.

Fall Break begins this week. It’s the perfect time to relax and spend time with family. Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up soon. Those meetings are a great opportunity to connect and celebrate our students’ progress together. Your involvement makes all the difference.

Speaking of gratitude, Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Let’s take a moment to reflect on all the things we’re thankful for—especially our amazing school community.

Stay warm, and enjoy the cozy days ahead!

Sincerely,

Mr. Valente

~PS- Despite the heat from this week, the weather will be getting cooler each day. Please make sure that your child has warm clothes so that he/she can play outside during recess.

~PPS- All three school days during the week of Thanksgiving are One-Session Days for all Pre-K and Elementary students.

~PPPS- May the Force Be With You!

It is important to remember that the school day begins at 8:20 A.M. Our school doors do not open until 8:15 A.M. for students. Please note that prior to this time, staff is not available to supervise children in the building and therefore we are unable to allow children entrance into the school. Any student who has a scheduled club/extra-help session prior to the start of school, should arrive at their time designated by their teacher/club advisor.

If you need an earlier drop-off for your child, please reach out to the Secaucus Recreation Department for Before-Care assistance. They can be reached at 201-330-2077.

Additionally, please be courteous during drop-off and pick-up of your child, especially when it comes to our neighborhood. Please do not block the driveways of residents who live near our school. Please click on the link attached to view a message from the Secaucus Police Department.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation

I would like to take a moment to express my profound gratitude for the remarkable actions of two teachers and a dedicated staff member this week. Earlier this week, Kelly Ingenito alerted our main office about a faint smell of burning that she and her students smelled near her classroom. In a timely response, Mike Dragone rushed to investigate. He confirmed that the odor originated from outside the building, and together we ventured outside, where we detected smoke a few houses away. Thanks to Mike’s quick thinking, he contacted the Secaucus Fire Department, who swiftly addressed the situation on Franklin Street, preventing any damage or injury.

Additionally, I would like to thank Stephanie Ramos, who last week demonstrated quick thinking and skill to assist a student. Her prompt response was crucial in ensuring the child's safety. I am grateful to work with such dedicated individuals who prioritize the well-being of our community. Thank you to everyone involved for your commitment to keeping our schools safe.

The Secaucus Public Schools will be hosting the second annual Family Math Night on Tuesday, November 19th at 5pm.

Family Math Night is an interactive and engaging event aimed at promoting and strengthening family involvement in math education. It provides an opportunity for parents to participate in math activities with their children in a fun and supportive environment.

By attending Family Math Night, families can foster a positive attitude towards math, build their understanding of the importance of math skills, and support their child's learning outside of the classroom. Research shows that when parents are actively involved in their child's education, students have higher academic achievement, better attendance, and improved behavior.

This is a wonderful opportunity for parents and students to come together, learn, and have a great time while reinforcing the importance of math education.

Click the links to register for Family Math Night on Tuesday, November 19th.
English: https://forms.gle/6xYHgNWS7tcJGg9M9
Spanish: https://forms.gle/nSBpuzcruVuuNxJcA

Did your family meet Digit the Dog this month?
This school year, our first and second-grade students received access to Aleks Adventure from our McGraw Hill Reveal Mathematics.

Aleks Adventure is an adaptive, personalized learning program that provides students with an individualized path to mastery of math concepts. Through a series of engaging and interactive activities, students are able to progress at their own pace, mastering skills as they go along. The program adjusts to each student's level of understanding, providing additional support and practice where needed.

This new program will provide students with a fun and effective way to build their math skills and confidence. By allowing students to work at their own pace and providing immediate feedback, the program promotes a growth mindset and encourages a love of learning. Please encourage your child to use Aleks Adventure at home for additional support and practice. Students are encouraged to use Aleks Adventure in a quiet, distraction-free environment with a pencil, paper, and device.

Digit the Dog is excited to support your child with mathematics when using Aleks Adventure.

Huber Street School and the Millridge School are participating in the Unified Schools initiative in partnership with the US Department of Education and Special Olympics New Jersey. Our school received a $1,500 grant to participate in this initiative.

The Play Unified School Partnership aims to build a society of acceptance and inclusion for all people. We know that students, with their energy, idealism, and creativity, can be not only participants but leaders in this mission. This program will give young people the tools, platform, and empowerment to be the change-makers in helping us reach this vision. Check out pictures from our first meeting at Millridge School. Our 4th and 5th-grade students enjoyed working with our Millridge School students.

As per tradition, the Huber Street School Bears dressed up on Halloween and took to the courtyard to show off their dance moves. Thank you to Mr. Dan Amato, the Huber Street School music teacher for organizing this year's dance. Check out our students in the video below.

On Tuesday, October 29th, members of the Secaucus Police Department walked to school with Huber Street School students. Led by Police Chief Miller and Mayor Gonnelli, our students were walked down Paterson Plank Road and delivered directly to our front door. The students were accompanied by Deputy Chief Baccola, Captains Coar, Hawxhurst, and Moreda; Lieutenants Elphick, Garass, Langevin, Rinaldi, and Simone, Sergeants DeFazio and Ensmann, Detectives Bronowich and Sigmund, and Officers Bronowich, Diaz, Keegan, Kowlessar, Lyons, Miller, Minervini, and O'Keefe,

As always, thank you to Officer Eccles for organizing this fun event every year.

The faculty and staff of the Millridge School participated in the trendy Ghost Video Challenge; where people dress up as ghosts doing their normal, everyday jobs. Thank you to Ms. Alexis Mason for coming up with this fun idea. Click on the link below to see this fun video.

Special thanks to the Secaucus Fired Department for teaching our students at the Early Learning Center all about Fire Safety on Monday, October 21st.

Mrs. Leppin's Pre-K classes learned about Diwali Diyas and the importance of celebrating Diwali, the Festival of Lights.

On Friday, October 4th, our Kindergarten team hosted the annual Nursery Rhyme Olympics following their CKLA Unit on Nursery Rhymes. Check out the video below to see some of the highlights.

Huber Street School Kindergarten Classes had an amazing trip to Wightman's Farm in Morristown, NJ! The students had so much fun exploring the farm, picking pumpkins, and riding on a hayride.

The weather was perfect and everyone had a blast participating in fun activities like the corn mazes and enjoying a delicious apple cider doughnut.

Thank you to all the parents and guardians who helped chaperone the trip! Thank you to the PTA for donating $5 per student for the admission fee. Fall fun was had by all.

The Kindergarten Students of Huber Street School excitedly walked down the street to Secaucus Engine 2 Rescue 1 Fire House. The students were looking forward to seeing the fire trucks and meeting the firefighters.

When the students arrived at the firehouse they gathered around as friendly firefighters demonstrated and explained the importance of fire safety.

The children’s eyes wide with wonder as they explored the fire trucks, sat in the back seat, and even tried on helmets. A special area is set up for them to practice "stop, drop, and roll."

During the Week of Respect, Mrs. Viggiani's 1st graders dressed up in their western best for a Country-themed day, participated in Book BINGO, and attended the annual Fire Safety Assembly.

Mrs. Frank's 1st graders practiced their addition facts with fun pumpkins.

In Mrs. O’Donovan’s class, the students went on a little nature walk to collect their favorite fall leaves. Back in the classroom, they placed the leaves under a sheet of paper and gently shaded over them with crayons, watching in awe as the leaf patterns appeared like magic. After finishing their leaf rubbings, they folded the papers into cards, with some adding sweet messages inside for family or friends. It was a fun and creative way to celebrate the beauty of autumn!

Huber Street School's 3rd Grade ELA students celebrated the completion of their Classic Tales Unit. Throughout the unit, students wrote opinion paragraphs and also learned about narration, dialogue and perspective. Students enjoyed a mad tea party that included special snacks. Each snack referenced a part of the classic tales. These tales included, The Wind In The Willows, Aladdin and Alice in Wonderland.

As chairperson of the Scholastic Book Fair at Huber St. School, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of the parents, students, and staff members who visited our Book Fair this past week! It was a fantastic event, filled with excitement and discovery, and we were thrilled to see so many enthusiastic readers. Together, we raised substantial funds that will go directly toward enriching our school and supporting our students’ learning experiences. We couldn’t have done it without each of you. Thank you for making this Book Fair such a great success!

With love and gratitude, Mrs. Castronovo, Reading Specialist at Huber St. School

October is AAC (Augmented and Alternative Communication) Awareness Month. Check out this Newsletter from Ms. Penney and our Speech team to learn more about this tremendously helpful technology.

AAC Awareness Newsletter.

On Tuesday, October 15th, members of the Secaucus Volunteer Fire Department came to Huber Street School to speak to our students about the steps to follow in a fire emergency. The presentation was informative, interesting, and very helpful. Thank you to our local heroes for helping to keep us safe.

Throughout October, Ms. Mandaglio and her students helped brighten our playground with their artwork.

A Tree-tastic time was had by all at Clarendon School! On Tuesday, October 22, 2024, Clarendon School hosted Family Science NIght. First and second grade families from both Huber Street and Clarendon Schools joined us for an exciting and educational evening. This event was hosted in cooperation with the Meadowlands Environment Center. Students had the unique opportunity to rotate through three hands-on art and science learning stations.

The learning stations included:

Spatter Prints Station

In this station, students used paint and leaves to create a unique piece of leaf art.

Newspaper Planter Station

Have you ever wondered how many ways you can reuse a newspaper?

At this station, students created their own newspaper herb planters. Students chose from planting basil, mint or cilantro.

Leaf Rubbing Station

In this station, students used crayons and leaf templates to transfer leaf imprints onto paper. Students identified leaves by their distinctive shapes and matched them to trees.

Thank you to the Meadowlands Environment Center, our PTA and the parents and the first and second grade students for making Family Science Night an experience to remember!

The Week of Respect takes place during the first week of October each year. This year, our Huber Street Bears celebrated with fun activities each day of the week. The students were encouraged to dress down to celebrate different themed days for a Week of Respect Road Trip. Some of these days included visiting California to help Brighten Someone's Day, Texas to Stomp Out Bullying, and Washington, DC because United We Stand Against Bullying.

The week started with Aretha Franklin’s R-E-S-P-E-C-T playing over the loudspeaker. Every day students were given a challenge for the day that included giving compliments to others, drawing pictures for a friend or family member and writing a thank you note to someone who helped them in the past. Completed challenge boards were put into a raffle for students to win prizes. The entire school was able to enjoy a laser light show, sponsored by the Huber Street PTA, on bullying and respect. At the end of the month, PAWS Points were collected and students received certificates to recognize their kind words and actions.

Students wore red on October 28th to celebrate Red Ribbon Week. The main entrance had positive messages with chalk written by members of the Girls Circle club to greet the children. An assembly for grades 3-5 was presented by the Secaucus Coalition and students from Secaucus High School. They talked about natural highs and how to stay focused on their goals for the future. Mrs. Viggiano visited Kindergarten through second grade classrooms to talk to them about the importance of making healthy choices.

Great news! Our online Spirit Wear store is open again! In this shop you will find favorite items such as hoodies, crewneck sweatshirts, sweatpants and long sleeve t-shirts that are dress code approved!

Click on the link below to place your order!

LINK— https://huberstreetfallapparelround2.itemorder.com/shop/home

The PTA provided each student at Huber and Millridge with a $5 voucher for the Scholaistic bookfair that took place last week! Your support helps to make give backs like this possible for our students! Thank you for your efforts!

Thanks to Mayor Mike Gonnelli and the entire Secaucus Town Council for their generous donation of pumpkins, the Huber Street School Parent Teacher Association was able to host a pumpkin patch for our students at both Huber Street School and the Millridge School! A fun time was had by all!!

Every student at Huber Street School and the Millridge School will receive a trick-or-treat bag and glow necklace. Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Additionally, the World’s Finest Chocolate Fundraiser is coming to a close. If you haven’t returned the money envelope for the box(es) that you sold, kindly do so by Friday, November 1st.

Congratulations to Mrs Viggiani's 1st grade class and Miss Gasser’s 3rd grade class for being the first two classes to reach 100% PTA membership. Their classes were treated to a Pizza Party!

The Huber Street School Student Government Organization and the Peacekeeper's Club are running a food drive. We will be collecting cans, non-perishable food, and more. All donations help Secaucus families in need. Items Include canned vegetables, canned soup, canned meats/fish, canned beans, pasta, baby food, boxed stuffing, ramen noodles, and oils.

We will be accepting donations until Friday, November 22nd.

All Secaucus Schools will be closed from Monday, November 4th through Friday, November 8th. Classes will resume on Monday, November 11th.

Huber Street School will host their annual Turkey Trot Dance for 2nd & 3rd Grade students. This student-only event will take place on Wednesday, November 13th from 4:00pm to 5:30pm in the Huber Street School Gymnasium. The cost is $5 per student.

The annual Huber Street School Soccer Tournament will take place during the week following Fall Break. On Wednesday, November 14th, all Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students get to participate

Huber Street School and the Millridge School will be hosting Parent/Teacher Conferences on Monday, November 25th and Tuesday, November 26th. See your child's teacher for scheduling an appointment.

Nov 01: Veterans Day Assembly

Nov 04 - Nov 08: School Closed for Fall Break

Nov 13: 2nd & 3rd Grade Turkey Trot

Nov 19: Family Math Night

Nov 25 - Nov 26: One-Session Day & Parent/Teacher Conferences

Nov 27: One-Session Day

Nov 28 - Nov 29: School Closed for Thanksgiving Break

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.