TollGate Tidbits

February 13, 2025

A Note from Mrs. Lauri

Dear Toll Gate Families,

Thank you to all of the parents for your support of our Day of Service. We were able to provide over 300 Jared Boxes to Capital Health Hospital and they were so appreciative of all of our efforts. We are looking to strengthen our partnership with Capital Health as it related to our service project for next year.

This month, we are celebrating Black History month both in and out of the classroom. Each morning our students are learning about a prominent Black American and the contributions they have or are currently making to the United States. Through Character Strong we discussed the importance of Honesty at our Gator Group Gathering. We are learning that it is important to be honest to ourselves and how we can prevent our emotions from getting in the way of our honesty.

This week we celebrated the 100th day of school. We are also looking forward to our Valentine's celebrations. At the end of the month, on February 21st, all of our students will participate in an assembly provided by author, Matt Phelan. Matt Phelan is an award- winning, New York Times- bestselling author/illustrator of picture books, middle grade novels, and graphic novels for young readers. Thank you to our PTO for organizing such a wonderful opportunity for our students.

Please feel free to reach out with any question.

With Thanks,

Melissa Lauri

Morning Drop Off Procedures

Parents may use the school’s front loop to drop off students in the morning. Please note this includes Kindergarten students. When doing so, please be courteous of other parents and help us to keep the process moving. We ask that, regardless of which door your child enters, that you pull up as far as possible on the section of the loop closest to the school to let them out of the vehicle. When doing so, if traffic is at a standstill, regardless of where you are on the inner roadway, please take the opportunity to let your students out of the car. This way, we will have a whole line of vehicles with students exiting at the same time, speeding up the process and keeping the students safer than having vehicles regularly stopping and going. Once your students are dropped off, and the roadway is clear, please exit the loop via the entrance to South Main Street at the end of the front loop. Please avoid using the access road at the end of the loop for southbound traffic. In the past, this has caused backups. Also, please do not park on the side of the access road closest to South Main St. It is posted “no parking”, and summonses may be issued by Pennington P.D.

Anyone having any questions or concerns can contact our Campus Safety

Officer, Joe Caloiaro at josephcaloiaro@hvrsd.org

100 Year Celebration

Toll Gate Grammar School will be celebrating its 100th year, next year during the 2025-2026 school year. In anticipation of this historic event, we will be planning some community wide celebrations and are in need of parent volunteers to support. If you are interested in serving on the Toll Gate 100 Year Celebration committee, please sign up using this survey! I will be reaching out to schedule our first meeting in March.

Socks for Sale in Support of World Down Syndrome Day- Friday March 21st

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdjUciuGr4CnvHEfqFaj9eNf8wF14-XSJRutuB3JZuxk79q2g/viewformWearing your socks is a celebration of our similarities to those with Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome).

The profits will be used to fund the Down Syndrome Association of New Jersey (DSACNJ) mission for multi-state outreach and Club Dreams, our enrichment center on Scotch Road in Ewing, NJ. Our services include free daily enrichment programming, life skills, social events and low-cost summer camps and holiday parties. DSACNJ welcomes individuals with and without Intellectual differences and their siblings and peers. Volunteer opportunities are available.

This form should be used for orders less than 50 pairs. If you need a bulk order, please reach out to dsacnj@dsacnj.org. There is discounted pricing for orders 50+.

Thank you again for your support and wearing your socks Friday, March 21, 2025.

Delivery Details:

Socks will be prepackaged and delivered to your school.
Please submit a form for each student or family individually for ease of distribution.
Payment can be combined.

Telesafe for Daily Attendance & Attendance Letters

It is pertinent that we have accurate daily attendance to ensure the safety of your children. If your child will be absent or will be reporting to school late, please call our Telesafe line at 609-737-4008, option 2. Please refrain from only emailing the classroom teacher and Ms. Smith, the school nurse, to report attendance. In the event a teacher or Ms. Smith is absent for the day, only Telesafe is checked for absences, their emails are not. Ms. Smith will continue to call home to ensure your child's safety, if your child is not in school and we did not receive a phone call through telesafe stating that would be absent.

During the month of February, we shared out letters to families to notify you of how many absences your child/children have. Any student that has accrued has more than 6 absences will be sent a letter. Please know that if you receive a letter, it is just for information purposes. You be not be required to take any action.

School Safety Reminders

Please be reminded that parents will be required to show photo identification when picking students up from school early or when entering the building. It is also required that all visitors have an appointment prior to arriving to the school to meet with school personnel. All visitors must sign in to the main office and obtain a visitors badge. In the event you need to pick your child up from school early or you have a change in pick up, please email TGMainoffice@hvrsd.org.