We are incredibly excited to welcome you to the 24/25 school year at EPS! The summer months have flown by and we have been busy preparing for the students. Our classrooms are being cared for by our custodial and maintenance staff, with thorough cleaning and many classroom moves as we welcome a full PreK class to the building! Mrs. Eggert, our Principals' Secretary, has ensured that all of our teachers and students have what they need to begin the school year. Many of our families and staff helped to keep our gardens hydrated throughout the summer and we have enjoyed watching the many flowers bloom and grow. We are grateful for the summer months as they serve us well to plan for all of the awesome upcoming events that your child will experience this year!

I am sure that many of you are anticipating when you will find out your child's classroom placement. We plan to open Genesis for parents to see class placements on August 22 for all of our students. We will also be emailing a letter to each family with this information, as well as a link to the teacher introduction. We will not be mailing paper copies home as we are trying to create a green environment at EPS as much as possible. If you do not receive this information by August 23 at 5 pm, please reach out to aamiet@ltps.org or aeggert@ltps.org and we can assist you. Please also check your spam to be sure that you are receiving our emails!

Please join our Facebook page for important announcements, updates and live videos: https://www.facebook.com/EPSRocks

We are looking forward to a few events on September 4 to kick off the school year.

• New Student Orientation for grades 1-3 will take place from 2:00-2:30 pm. You will receive a seperate email from me inviting any students who did not attend EPS last year and are new to grades 1-3. This is not for Kindergarten students.
• Classroom Visitation You will have an opportunity to come and visit your classroom and meet your teacher before the first day of school from 2:30-3:00 pm on September 4.
• PTO Meet, Greet and Have a Treat will take place from 3:00-4:00 pm on the EPS Playground-All students and families are welcome. This is an opportunity to say hello to some of our EPS teachers as well as meet the friends in your class!
• We need volunteers to help us run this event. If you are available, you can sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090D49ABAC2BAA8-meet

We truly can't wait to kick off the year and welcome everyone back. We continue to embrace inclusivity and acceptance here at EPS and we strongly believe that "We're part of a community. Our strength is our diversity. A shelter from adversity. All are welcome here". The quote comes from the book All Are Welcome Here by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman and embodies the mission and vision of our school community. In addition, we look forward to unveiling our annual school theme in October.

We are excited to welcome you all and if you have any questions, please never hesitate to reach out. You will find my contact information below.

Warmly,

Amy Amiet

Principal of Eldridge Park School

aamiet@ltps.org

609-671-5562

Please watch this video to see how to report a tip.

Arrival for Grades K-3: 8:15-8:45

Instruction Begins: 8:45

Arrival for Pre-K: 9:30

• Students who arrive after 8:45 must be accompanied to the main office by an adult and signed in
• Unexcused arrivals after 8:45 will result in being marked late/tardy
• Any Prek student who arrives after 9:30 must use the main entrance.
• As per the Board of Education Policy 6500, 3 lates equal 1 absence. If your child accrues an excess of lates, we will require an attendance meeting to assist in a plan to remedy your childs attendance

Dismissal for Prek-3: 3:30

• Dismissal ends at 3:40
• If you are not present to pick your child up at 3:40, they will be held in the main office and we will make a phone call to the contacts in Genesis

Delayed Opening Arrival: 10:15-10:45

Early Dismissal: 1:15

Arrival Locations K-3: Arrival Begins at 8:15

If your child is a….

Walker: All walking students should enter through the main front entrance doors at 55 Lawn Park Avenue. FOR SAFETY REASONS, YOU MAY NOT PULL YOUR CAR UP AND PARK ON LAWN PARK TO DROP YOUR CHILD OFF. IF YOU ARE BRINGING YOUR CHILD IN A CAR, YOU MUST USE THE CAR RIDER PROCEDURES. YOU WILL BE REDIRECTED TO THE CAR LINE IF YOU PULL UP BETWEEN 8:15-8:45

Car Rider: All car riders should use the Meadowbrook Road entrance to the playground and exit to Lawn Park Avenue. Teachers will be present to escort your child into the building. Please arrive no earlier than 8:15.

Bus Rider: If your child is a bus rider, they will be dropped off on Meadowbrook Road Playground entrance and greeted by a teacher. The teacher will escort them into the building.

YMCA Before Care Program: If your child is enrolled in the YMCA before care program, they will be dropped off to the art room. The entrance is located in the second parking lot of EPS, which is located just past the main entrance on Lawn Park Avenue.

PREK ARRIVAL @ 9:30 will take place at the main entrance doors. The teachers will meet and greet you there daily.

Dismissal Locations

Walkers: All walkers must be picked up by a trusted adult at the main entrance of the building at 55 Lawn Park Avenue.

Car Riders: Car riders will be picked up at the gymnasium door which is located by coming through the Meadowbrook Road Playground entrance. Teachers will be present to help escort your child to the car. Please do not arrive to the gates prior to 3:15. We will not open the gates until 3:25 and this creates a large back up on Route 206. In addition, please do not jump the line to exit after you have picked up your child. This is a safety hazard.

Bus Riders: Each bus is assigned a teacher supervisor and attendance is taken daily. After attendance is complete, they will escort the students onto their corresponding bus.

YMCA Afterschool Program: All students will report to the gym for supervision by the aftercare program.

****IF YOUR CHILD'S DISMISSAL NEEDS TO CHANGE FROM NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, PLEASE CONTACT THE MAIN OFFICE AT 609-671-5561 BEFORE 3 PM ON THE DAY OF THE CHANGE

Your child should bring a backpack, a refillable water bottle, a snack and lunch (unless they are purchasing lunch) to school each day. PLEASE LABEL ALL OF YOUR CHILDS ITEMS WITH THEIR FIRST AND LAST NAME AS OUR LOST AND FOUND FILLS UP VERY QUICKLY. We do recommend shoes that can be used for outdoor play and physical education class, as we do go outside on a daily basis. A take home folder will be provided to your child on the first day of school and should be placed in their backpack daily for effective communication. Once your child receives their class placement letter, you will be provided with any other items that they may need to bring in from each individual teacher. If you are in need of any supplies or items, please reach out to our school counselor, Mrs. Burns. pburns@ltps.org

Smartwatches and cell phones/smartphones are not permitted during school hours at any time. Students are discouraged from bringing them to school at any time.

Please fill out the form below, for each child who attends EPS, to indicate their dismissal plan after school. If your child is eligible for transportation, please check the Genesis Parent Portal for their bus assignment. There is also a question in this form about sharing your contact information with our families. This can be used for the purposes of arranging play dates, birthday parties and more.

https://forms.gle/seFEsZSJrgeTiuKn7

If your child needs to be absent from school, we encourage you to use the Genesis Parent Portal to report their absence. It is easy to do if you have the app!

To access this feature, simply log in to the Genesis Parent Portal:

If you don't have internet access, please call the telesafe line to report their absence. 609-671-5466

If you do not record or call your child's absence in, your child will be marked unexcused and you will receive a phone call from our automated system.

If you need to contact our nurse, please email or call Rebecca Doherty at 609-671-5563 or rdoherty@ltps.org

We encourage ALL families to complete a Free and Reduced Price School Meals application, Log into the Genesis Parent Portal, https://parents.ltps.org/ to see if you qualify. Paper applications can also be obtained from your child's school's main office or at the Board of Education Office. For application questions and determinations, please contact Jennifer Mahony at (609) 671-5435

We will be using a new online school lunch account system called Pay Schools Central. All parents will have access to this account through the Genesis Parent Portal.

The cost of lunch and breakfast this year, if you are not participating in the free/reduced program is

Lunch $3.75

Breakfast $2.50

You can add money to your child's account through https://www.payschoolscentral.com

Cash and check payments are also accepted for meals. For checks, please include your payment form and make check payable to Lawrence Township BOE

You can find the breakfast and lunch menus here as well as payment information and links here: https://maschiofood.com/eldridge-park-elementary/

Before and After Care

The before and after care program is housed at each individual school. If you need to register your child, please visit the Capital Area YMCA Website and choose Eldridge Park as your school. https://capitalymca.org/ltps/

Our EPS PTO is a tremendous organization that fundraises and sponsors activities for all of our students and families. The PTO can not find success without the help of YOU! Please visit their website here to see where you can help! https://sites.google.com/view/epspto/

The PTO will be sponsoring a Meet, Greet and Grab a Treat event at the EPS Playground at 3 pm on September 4. This is a mixer event and will be an opportunity to find out about the PTO, sign up for any upcoming events and meet other students and families from EPS! We hope to see you there. If you are able to help out at the Meet and Greet, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080F4EABAD2AA2F49-50671341-epspto#/

Save the Dates:

Handbag Bingo: 10/25/2024 ~ West Trenton Firehouse Ballroom

Lawrence Has Talent: TBA ~ LHS Auditorium

8/22-All Class Placements announced through Genesis and Email

9/3-First Day for Staff Members

9/4-New Student Visitation @ 2, Open House for All Classrooms @ 2:30 Meet, Greet and Grab a Treat-EPS Playground @ 3-4 pm

9/5- First Day of School (Full Day)

9/16- September PTO Meeting, 7 pm (Online)

9/19- Back to School Bonanza- 6-8 pm

9/30-School Spirt Day