Wildcat Weekly!
We had an amazing first two days! Our students are already getting into the classroom routines that are going to carry us through to June. Our classrooms are alive with positivity, words and acts of kindness, and positive climate and culture. Arrival procedures worked incredibly well as the car drop off lane and bus lot were well managed and students exhibited incredible behavior and a helpful nature to other students. Thank you to the Safety Patrol!
All school openings take tons of preparation during the summer and even in the previous school year. Mrs. Norcross and I sincerely thank the front office secretaries Mrs. Dellane, Mrs. Krupinski, and Mrs. Gallagher, our school nurses Mrs. Bailey and Mrs. Vernon, our custodians Ms. Anderson and Mrs. Baxter, all of the teachers who were in our school throughout the summer setting up their classrooms and bulletin boards, the paraprofessionals who did the same, our technology guru Nick Cameron, and the many buildings and grounds staff who continue to make our school beautiful and make improvements. Thank you!!!
You may have seen on our Instagram account that Bob's Discount Furniture of Toms River gave our school a 'Random Acts of Kindness' check for our school totaling $2,500 (pictured above). This act of kindness that Bob's Discount Furniture cannot be understated. At the ribbon cutting ceremony and check presentation, we were greeted by a warm and welcoming staff and an incredibly positive environment. Walnut Street Elementary school gives Bob's a sincere Wildcat THANK YOU!
Our Kindness Campaign has kicked off and is in full swing! Please see the themed dress days for next week:
Monday, September 9: Wear Blue - Color of Kindness
Tuesday, September 10: ‘Crazy for Kindness’ - Crazy Sock Day
Wednesday, September 11: ‘Be Kind to your Country!’ - Wear Red, White, and Blue/Patriot Day
Thursday, September 12: ‘Hats off to Kindness’ - Wear your favorite hat.
Friday, September 13: Wildcats are Kind!’- Wear Wildcat gear
Our PTO is incredible. On the first day of school with our teachers, our Wildcat PTO treated our teaching staff to a welcome breakfast in the teacher's lounge. In every newsletter, you will see a 'PTO Corner'. There will be information and links to the PTO website. Please follow their Instagram handle! Please visit their website: https://www.walnutstreetpto.com/
Please fill out your free and reduced lunch forms today. The is a letter below from the district outlining our school getting universal free lunch and breakfast, but you MUST ALSO fill out the forms to determine if you qualify for additional benefits. The links come in both English and Spanish. Please see below.
- Links in English:
School Cafe Website - https://www.schoolcafe.com/
Instructions for Filling Out Free and Reduced Lunch Forms - https://www.trschools.com/parents/docs/2022/08/22_23-SchoolCafe_Eligibility_Quick_Card.pdf
Letter from District - https://www.trschools.com/parents/docs/2024/08/2024_2025-CEP-School-Meals-and-Summer-EBT-Application-_-English.pdf
En Espanol:
School Cafe Website: https://www.schoolcafe.com/
Instructions for Filling Out Free and Reduced Lunch Forms: https://www.trschools.com/parents/docs/2022/08/SchoolCafe_Eligibility_Quick_Card___Spanish.pdf
Back to School Night will be on September 19. Please view my letter on ParentSquare and stay in tune to your child's teacher's class communications for details.
Kindness and attendance will be a central theme for us, as it always is. We will begin highlighting Kindness themes all year long and we will continue our attendance initiatives for our students. Student of the Month winners will be awarded to students who show positive actions in our monthly character education themes. This month's central theme is Kindness. Next month our Kindness theme will be Respect, to go along with our Anti-Bullying Week of Respect starting in October. As you always do, please reinforce the importance of kindness and attendance to school each and every day: #kindnesscampaign2024
Download the ParentSquare app today! Please see fliers below. There are tons of opening day pics below. Have a great weekend!
Birthday Grams! A great idea to start the year!
'Birthday Grams' are on sale now and we be available for sale at Back to School Night (please bring cash to purchase). You can also purchase by viewing the flier below. Birthday Grams are a way to recognize your child's birthday. For only $5, your child will receive a birthday message from you and receive a special goodie bag filled with trinkets and a birthday message. All proceeds will support our PBSIS Committee and our many Walnut Street positive behavioral and social/emotional initiatives!
As you know, district and school communication are vitally important. Here at Walnut Street Elementary School, we use various means of communication. ParentSquare is a communication app that we use to get information out quickly to our school community. It is a great idea to download the ParentSquare app to your Smartphone and make sure you use banners, sounds, badges, and push notifications so you know a message was sent. ParentSquare also sends an email to you when something is posted and can also translate into any language. Please download the app today!
Finally, the school has an active Instagram Account that we post the many happenings at Walnut Street. This account has over 360 followers. On this handle, we post amazing pictures and video of the goings on during the school year. Please follow us on Instagram: @wsewildcats
Many Donations are pouring in! We thank the following donors!!!!!
Mrs. Yodonis received a "Engaging Through Flexible Seating" project for her classroom from Donors Choose.
We would like to thank the following donors:
Jason Richards (New Jersey)
Mrs. Parks received a "Classroom Essentials Shipment" for her classroom from Donors Choose.
We would like to thank the following donors:
Anonymous (Somerset NJ)
Mrs. Decker received a "Classroom Essentials Shipment"" for her classroom from Donors Choose.
We would like to thank the following donor:
Mehadi Chowdhury
Ms. Anello received a "Self-Sooth and Self-Regulate" project for her classroom from Donors Choose.
We would like to thank the following donors:
Rosemarie Anello
Eugene Valendo (Maryland)
Frank Valendo (New Jersey)
Marilyn Huschak (New Jersey)
Anonymous (New Jersey)
Rezoe Family foundation
Raymond James Financial services
