Bloomingdale Blast

Hello Bloomingdale Families,

It was another fantastic week at BAS! It was a joy seeing students so engaged in learning and growing each day.

We have a lot of exciting upcoming events over the next few weeks and some new updates. Please make sure to review the following:

• Monday, February 3 is a Single Session
• BAS Environmental Club Sign up for students in Grades 1 & 2
• 100th Day of School Family Volunteer Sign Up
• 100th Day of School Food Drive
• Valentine's Day Celebration Reminders
• Amended District Calendar (Important Dates)
• PTA: Variety Show Practices continue and Scholastic Book Fair (February 27 & February 28)

Wishing you all an enjoyable weekend,

Mr. Litz and the BAS Staff

On Monday, February 3, 2025, BAS will have a Single Session school day for students.

Reminders for Students in FDK, Grade 1, and Grade 2

• Arrival 8:20 AM
• Dismissal 12:20 PM
• Please remember to send water and a snack. Lunch will not be served.

Reminders for AM/PM Kindergarten Students

• We utilize an alternating schedule for our AM and PM kindergarten students on single session days
• Only students in Ms. Arana's AM session will attend school this day during the morning hours:

- Arrival 8:20AM
- Dismissal 11:00AM
- Students in Ms. Arana's PM session will not attend school this day.

Bloomingdale Avenue School is looking for students who are interested in joining Environmental Club with Ms. August! Environmental Club is open to both 1st and 2nd grade students. Each club session will run for approximately 3 weeks and students will participate in 5 meetings.

If your child is interested in joining Environmental Club, please fill out this form by Friday, February 7, 2025. First and second grade students only please! Specific dates and details to follow. Should available spots fill, a waitlist will be created.

We are excited to invite you to join us at BAS to help us celebrate the 100th Day of School with our students and staff. We are in need of approximately twenty four volunteers in the AM (AM Kindergarten and 2nd Grade) and twenty four volunteers in the PM (FDK, KPM, and 1st Grade) to assist with our 100th Day of School Celebration. Pending any weather events, the 100th Day of School will take place on Thursday, February 13, 2025.

If you are interested in volunteering, please complete the form below by February 4, 2025. If we receive more volunteers than needed, volunteers will be chosen by raffle. All volunteers will be contacted via their email listed in PowerSchool on February 5, 2025 to confirm they were selected.

In addition to celebrating the 100th Day of School, we also invite our students and families to support Cranford Family Care. Please see below for more information!

Our Valentine's Day classroom celebrations will take place on Friday, February 14, 2025. Two important reminders as this day quickly approaches:

• Please ensure you provide your child with enough cards/items for the entire class
• Cards/items may not contain anything edible per Cranford School District Policy.

Students throughout Bloomingdale participated in activities to learn more about Lunar New Year through colorful stories and hands-on crafts. By participating in such activities, students explored traditions of various cultures while discovering the holiday's significance. To all that celebrated, we wish you a prosperous and joyful Lunar New Year!

😁 Every Friday, students are invited to wear BAS gear and/or Cranford colors 😁

Week of February 3, 2025- BAS Variety Show Rehearsals Continue

Monday, February 3, 2025- Single Session *AM Kindergarten Only

Thursday, February 6, 2025- Classroom Dentist Visits

Friday, February 7, 2025- Bloomingdale Gathering for Students

Monday, February 10, 2025-Thursday, February 13, 2025- 100th Day of School Food Drive

• Kindergarten: Canned Goods
• 1st Grade: Boxed Goods
• 2nd Grade: Kids Snacks

Thursday, February 13, 2025-

• Anticipated 100th Day of School Celebration
• BAS Winter Wonderland Celebration from 2:40-4:00 PM

Friday, February 14, 2025-

• Valentine's Day Classroom Celebration
• PTA Pretzel Sale

Please note a recent change to the date of the New Jersey Primary Election has caused a change to the Cranford Public Schools calendar. School will now be closed on Tuesday, 6/10/25 instead of 6/3/25. You may access the updated calendar below.

Winter has arrived bringing colder temperatures and the possibility of severe weather. The good news is there are ways to ensure a healthy winter by dressing properly.

Layer up and stay dry. Wearing multiple layers not only keeps the cold away but also allows your body heat to remain "trapped," circulating that heat as temperatures dip. Consider wearing three layers:

1. Inner layer: holds the heat and keeps your skin dry. Fabrics like wool, silk, or polypropylene (moisture wicking material) will hold more body heat than cotton and keep you dry. Sleeves that are snug at the wrist will also help retain heat.

2. Insulating layer: helps retain heat by trapping air close to your body. Natural fibers like wool, goose down or fleece are the best choices.

3. Outer layer: protects from wind, rain and snow. It should be tightly woven and preferably water and wind resistant.

Additionally, about 10% of your body heat is lost through the head and face and an even greater percentage for children because their head size is a larger percentage of their total body. So, wearing a wool hat and scarf is helpful. Consider mittens; they are warmer than gloves since they allow fingers to warm each other.

Staying dry is just as important as layering. Once you are wet, evaporation will zap your body heat. If your layers are too warm, remove some. If your clothes, mittens or socks get wet, replace them.

Medical History Enrollment Form

Medical Enrollment Form

Classroom Allergy Information- Updated 1/28/2025

Forms for Students with Specific Health Concerns

**Kindergarten single sessions will alternate between AM & PM classes according to the following schedule:

• Monday, February 3, 2025- AM only (No PM session)
• Monday, March 10, 2025- PM only (No AM session)
• Wednesday, June 18, 2025- AM only (No PM session)
• Thursday, June 19, 2025- PM only (No AM session)

If you would like to apply for consideration, please send completed application(s) with the required income verification to your child's teacher in an envelope addressed to the BAS Main Office / Attention: Mrs. DeLuca.

Free and Reduced Lunch Letter 24-25

Free and Reduced Lunch Instructions

Free and Reduced Lunch Application

Free and Reduced Lunch FAQs

Pomptonian Food Service Menus

Pomptonian Ordering

Allergy Information

Pomptonian’s 6th Annual Healthy School Lunch Challenge is an initiative designed to treat the cafeteria as an extension of the classroom while celebrating National Nutrition Month. It’s a wonderful opportunity to get students involved in the kitchen and excited about creating healthy meals.

Here are key details of the Challenge:

• Students are invited to submit a healthy recipe by February 24th.

• Submissions will be divided into three categories: Pre-K through 5th grade, 6th through 8th grades, and 9th through 12th grades.

• For each category, we’ll select two Grand Prize Winners and one Super Grand Prize Winner.

• The top three high school contestants will compete in a cooking challenge at Driscoll Foods in their professional kitchen on March 7th from 8:30AM-2:30PM.

The BAS Climate and Culture Committee in partnership with the BAS PTA have selected the Bloomingdale Avenue School Story Walk book for January. The Story Walk book for January is, "Ruby's Chinese New Year" by Vicki Lee and supports BAS in recognizing various holidays as well as other cultures during the winter months.

Each year the PTA strives to achieve 100% membership. By joining the PTA, your dues (and additional donations) go back to the school which helps bring countless programs and experiences to BAS for students and teachers.

Click here to join!

The variety show is an annual PTA fundraiser where students perform simple dances with their classes that are taught by parent volunteers. No dance experience required – it’s about working together as a class and having some fun! We are excited for rehearsals to begin this week!

Rehearsal Information:

Who, When, & Time:

• FDK & 1F- Monday at 7:45
• 2B & 2O- Tuesday at 7:45
• 1Z & 2LA- Wednesday at 7:45
• KPM- Wednesday at 11:25-11:55
• 1C & 2A- Thursday at 7:45
• KAM & 1T- Friday at 7:45

Where: BAS Gym- All student participants and parent volunteers will enter through the Main Office doors *KPM will rehearse in their classroom and enter through the Main Office doors

Thank you!

Amanda Byrnes and Manoly Reynolds

Bloomingdale Avenue School and the PTA are excited to announce that the Scholastic Book Fair will take place on February 27, 2025 and February 28, 2025. Students will have the opportunity to shop with their class on one of these two days and also have opportunities to shop with their family before or after school. More information will be forthcoming including a sign-up for parent volunteers.

Send your original/full-size/high resolution photos to BASyearbook2025@gmail.com (please note the new address). Include the event, student names, and class/teacher of the students pictured. Please send one event per email (multiple photos are okay). It will help ensure that we are able to include as many students in the yearbook as possible.

Please send any yearbook related questions to BASyearbook2025@gmail.com.

Thank you!

BAS Yearbook Staff

Please CLICK HERE for the Cranford School District Social Emotional Learning Calendar for the 2024-2025 School Year.

Please take a moment to review our January Family SEL Resource. The article linked HERE and below is a guide for effectively setting goals - one of our Full Value Principles - in the New Year.

Thursday, February 20th, 2025

6:30pm - 8:00pm

OAS Cafeteria

For parents/guardians grades PK - 12, and Students Grade 3 and Up.

RSVP Link: https://calendly.com/willner-ccc/family-academy-bullies-to-buddies-2-20-25

Please join us on Thursday, February 20th for our Bullies to Buddies Parent Program. We will be serving ice cream! Feel free to bring your children Grades 3 and up! In this workshop, we will discuss the differences between conflict and bullying. You will learn how to teach your child how to respond to verbal issues from others in a way that immediately decreases the incidence of bullying and increases resilience.

The Cranford Board of Education is happy to announce that registration for the 2025 - 2026 school year is now open.

To begin the registration process for new students to Cranford Public Schools, regardless of grade level, please visit the district’s website, https://www.cranfordschools.org/, and click on the link for Student Registration.

Important Note: Students that attended Preschool or Kindergarten in Cranford Public Schools (half-day and full-day programs) are NOT required to register again. Thank you.

Mr. Ron Litz, Principal

Email: litz@cranfordschools.org

Mrs. Agnieszka DeLuca, Secretary

Email: deluca@cranfordschools.org

Mrs. Loreal McNeil, Clerical Assistant

Email: mcneil.loreal@cranfordschools.org

Ms. Michelle Kilbashian, School Nurse

Email: kilbashian@cranfordschools.org

Phone: (908) 709 -6969 (Main Office)

Website: https://bas.cranfordschools.org/

200 Bloomingdale Avenue, Cranford, NJ 07016

Thanks for taking a moment to click on this link for our Go Green Folder to view information about event/programs taking place across the district and town.

"Union County Safe Streets for All" is inviting residents of Union County to participate in a survey to help them assess and invest in safer roads/walkways for pedestrians. Please see below for a copy of their fact sheet and here is a link to their survey.