Hello Primary Pup Families,

We are having a great start to the school year at WPS! We hope you and your children are as well! Please review this issue of the Pups Press carefully as there are some important reminders and information about the school year.

Friendly Reminders

• Our PTA is having their first meeting this week. We will have this meeting in person at 8 pm on Wednesday, September 18 at Wall Primary School. We will also offer a virtual link as well. This will be shared out on Wednesday via email.
• The PTA is hosting our first fundraiser of the year - an apparel sale through Sneakers Plus. Please visit this website to find out more information and order between now and October 2nd. https://www.spcustomgear.com/team/wall-primary-school
• Back to School Night is at 6 pm on Wednesday, September 25th. We hope to see you all there!

Drop Off and Pick Up Procedures

We appreciate your patience as we work through arrival and dismissal procedures. Please remember to wait in the back parking lot until the buses have left. A security officer or designated staff member will call you forward when we are ready. We ask that cars parked closest to the street and in the spots closest to the school pull forward first. Please be mindful during this transition.

Additionally, we ask that all families keep their student cards visible inside their car so we can call out the names of your children at pick-up to prepare for your arrival. Certainly every family is getting used to the system and taking their child in/out of a carseat. We again appreciate your patience and know that in time the process will become even more seamless.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out. We are looking forward to another fabulous year at Wall Primary School!

Sincerely,

Samantha Bagarozza

sbagarozza@wallpublicschools.org

Principal of Wall Primary School

Supervisor of Special Education, PK-5

732-556-2054

Meet our speech therapist, Mrs. Tonachio! She has been a speech-language therapist (SLP) for 24 years, including 20 years in Wall Township and 13 years at Wall Primary School! Mrs. Tonachio loves shopping on Amazon, reading, skiing, and exercising. She also loves to spend time with her family - her husband and two children pictured with her! One day, she hopes to buy an RV and travel the United States. Mrs. Tonachio's favorite food is pizza! We love having Mrs. Tonachio at WPS!

Meet our other speech therapist, Mrs. Longo. She has been a speech language therapist (SLP) in Wall Township for 11 years. She loves being outdoors and hopes to one day visit all of the National Parks. Mrs.Longo enjoys time with her husband, her two children, and her puggle, O.G. Her favorite foods are steak and sushi. We love having Mrs. Longo at WPS!

Do you know a classroom teacher or educational services professional who is dedicated, inspiring, and making a difference? If so, please take the time to recommend this person for the Governor’s Educator of the Year Program.

The meeting link for this Wednesday will be emailed out on Wednesday morning!

• WHS: Thursday, September 19th at 7:00 pm

• WIS: Tuesday, September 24th at 7:00 pm

• Allenwood: Wednesday, September 18th at 6:30 pm

• Central: Thursday, September 26th at 6:30 pm

• Old Mill: Thursday, September 12th at 6:30 pm

• West Belmar: Monday, September 16th at 7:00 pm

• Primary: Wednesday, September 25th at 6:00 pm

We will kick off the new year focusing on the mindset, EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Join us for our first Mindset Showcase on September 17th during the Board of Education meeting at 7:00 PM at Wall Intermediate School.

Dear Parent/Guardian:

Children need healthy meals to learn. The Wall Township Board of Education offers healthy meals every school day at the prices listed on the WTPS website. Your children may qualify for free or reduced price meals and Summer EBT benefits.

The printable packet includes an application for free or reduced price meal benefits/ and a set of detailed instructions. For a convenient way to fill out the meal application go to https://www.payschoolscentral.com. WTPS utilizes PaySchools as an online lunch account for children to use to purchase lunch on a daily basis.

If your child received federal free or reduced price school meals during the 23-24 school year, please remember you need to complete a new application for the 24-25 school year prior to October 15, 2024.

If you choose to opt out from completing the meal application, you may fill out the linked Google Form.

If your children receive federal free or reduced price school meals, they may also be able to receive free or low-cost health insurance through Medicaid or NJ FamilyCare. Children with health insurance are more likely to get regular health care and are less likely to miss school because of sickness.

Because health insurance is so important to children's well-being, the law allows us to tell Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare that your children are eligible for free or reduced price meals, unless you tell us not to. Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare only use the information to identify children who may be eligible for their programs. Program officials may contact you to offer to enroll your children. Filling out the School Meals and Summer EBT Application does not automatically enroll your children in health insurance.

If you do not want us to share your information with Medicaid or NJ FamilyCare, you will have the option if submitting the meal application online via PaySchools or you may fill out the printable form and send in (Sending in this form will not change whether your children get free or reduced price meals).

Thank you for your cooperation.

-WTPS Food Services Department

Questions? Please contact Joe Piddington at jpiddington@wallpublicschools.org or 732.556.2602