• October 22nd- 12:40pm Dismissal Day
• October 29th- Blue and Gold Assembly at 9:20am
• October 31st- Halloween Parade at 2:15pm on SJG back field

Our Scholastic Book Fair was a huge success! Because of your generosity and support, the HSA was able to purchase all of the books on the teacher wish lists.

We couldn't have done it without the help of our volunteers-

Stephanie Andronaco, Dana Arrigo, Cara Colombo, Rachel Corbo, Erica Cote, Suzanne Elmini, Danielle Giunta, Becky Lax, Alexa Lynch, Carrie Miller, Erica Moscato, Stephanie Naser, Lori Pastena, Evelyn Sipper, Julie Stasiak, Brian Sudol, Kristy Wallis

Dear Parents,

We are looking forward to celebrating Halloween with the students on Thursday, October 31st! Class parents and teachers are working to set up classroom celebrations and our parade will be held at 2:15 P.M., weather permitting. Costume guidance is as follows:

• Costumes should be worn to school and comfortable enough to participate in all learning activities, including recess and physical education. NO gory or violent subjects (blood and/or bodily injury depictions), bodily fluids or excrement, weapons (swords, knives, guns, rifles, etc.), Covid related, and no inappropriate sayings, symbols, or offensive representations. Additionally, NO inflatable costumes for safety reasons.

• Hair and make-up should be school appropriate in accordance with the guidelines above and should not conceal a student’s identity or obscure vision. All hair and make-up should be done at home prior to coming to school. Any mask must be appropriate and follow the guidelines above and cannot be worn during the day. Masks will only be worn during the parade.

The parade will take place on the backfield. Cones will mark a large, squared off area. Parents, guardians, and family members attending the parade should stand inside the cones. Please do not set up chairs. When parking, please make sure all crosswalks remain clear and only park in lined spots. The students will exit the school through the gym doors and parade around the spectators. You may begin to arrive at 2:00 P.M. and the festivities will begin promptly at 2:15 P.M.

Once the parade has concluded, students will re-enter the building until dismissal. Please plan to pick up your child as you would any other day. If there is a change in how your child will be going home that day, please let the classroom teacher and main office know in advance. In the event of rain, the parade will be held in the gym for students only, as we cannot accommodate the large number of spectators indoors. We are hoping for nice weather and a spooktacular time!

On Friday, November 1st, we will have “Pajama Day.” It’s never easy getting up the day after Halloween, so if you can get your ghouls washed up and ready for bed that night, they can just roll in Friday morning.

Best,
Matt

If you would like to submit a nomination for the 2024-2025 SJG Governor’s Educator of the Year award for a SJG staff member, please see eligibility criteria and the nomination form. Please submit the nomination form to Mr. Reiner by 11/15/24.

How often do your children come home and give you the answers of "SCHOOL WAS FINE" or "NOTHING" when you ask them what they did today? We recognize that and now our students are informing all the parents about what they are learning by completing this section of the newsletter! Each week, different students from each class will collaborate and put together what they are excited to share about their learning. Below is a picture of our reporters for the week!

Kindergarten (Levi, Roan, Tyler): We are learning about apples. We are also counting in math. We are reading friendship books and writing about friendship and apples. We have also started Halloween books. Kindergarten is great and so is recess! We love the new gaga pit!

1st Grade (Aubrey, James, Dominic): In math we are learning about counting backwards and forwards. We use dice and other things to count. We are also finding the number in the middle. We are reading Kevin Hanke books. We read the books and answer questions about what we learned. In writing we do our weekend writing to tell about our weekend. 1st grade is going really good!

2nd Grade (Mia, Liam): We are reading a book called Cow Girl Kate and Cocoa. The book is sooo good. As a matter of fact, all the states have their own books. We have one more chapter left. In Math, we are doing double facts and also adding numbers such as 5 + 2+ 3. We just started bar graphs and picture graphs too. We are having fun in 2nd grade filling our big brains!

3rd Grade (Dante, Mariella, Molly): In Reading, we finished the book The Storm and we are writing and answering questions about the story. In Math we are subtracting three digit numbers and will do 4 digit numbers too! For writing, we are working on bold beginnings for our personal narratives. Bold beginnings make people want to read your story.

4th Grade (Eamon, Kacer, Eric): In math we are learning to add vertically using place value charts. This helps us line up our digits. For reading, we were reading Frindle and now are writing about the story. We also just finished James and the Giant Peach and are also learning about Mr. St. Helens. As part of reading, we are learning about character traits.

5th Grade (Cooper, Hannah): We are reading about matter in science and just finished a science project on who really poisoned Snow White. This project was done with Mr. Kopp, the science supervisor for the district. In math we are finishing up volume and our next unit is on two digit by two digit multiplication. We are also reading the Julian Chapter which is after reading Wonder. This gives us the perspective of Julian from the book. At the end of the day we are reading the book A Fish In the Tree. We are looking forward to starting student council.

Phys Ed (Mason): In grade 2, we are playing games that involve pins and tagging each other. This game helps us with running. You have to take the pin and put it on your side. If you are tagged the pin goes back to the other side and you have to go back to your side. It is a fun game.

Music (Ella): In grade 5 music we are learning sea chanties and Halloween songs. We learn about the history of the song and we talk about what he said in the song and how he is feeling. We learn about the meanings behind the lyrics. We are also learning the red ribbon song The Best That I Can Be for the assembly so we have pitches right.

Media (Nayan): In grade 4 media center we are learning how to take care of books and be creative. We are also reading the book Accidental Hero. We can't wait for the author to come tomorrow! We are so excited!

ESL (Emmanuel): In ESL we are learning about the three branches of the government. We are also learning vocabulary words.

Natalie did an amazing job this week reciting The Pledge of Allegiance as well as our kindness quote for the day. Thank you for being so awesome Natalie!

If you are looking for future events, we update the SJG Calendar of Events as we solidify dates. You can find the calendar on our website but below is the link that we will keep in our newsletter going forward.

In the event that your child arrives at school late, please park your vehicle and come into the building to sign them in. It is essential for us to maintain accurate records of student attendance. Therefore, parents are no longer permitted to have students ring the bell and enter the building unaccompanied when they are late. Thank you for your cooperation.

Please see the handbook below for the school year.

Being present in school is super important! Full days out, 1/2 days out, being late, and leaving early affect your children's learning. See below!

SJG's Annual Halloween Party

Friday, October 25th

6:00-7:30pm at SJG

Click the link to sign up. It will be a spooktacular night!

https://forms.gle/FuMmUVcUJdpDa11A7

Halloween Boos

Order your Boo Baskets and Boo Bags to surprise your kids or friends!

https://forms.gle/vHDRHrDLD4Yfb8TS7

Stay in the know with the HSA calendar below!

Mrs. Griffith, SJG School Nurse, will be keeping us up to date on ways to be more healthy all year.

We are at the beginning of cold and flu season. We can also see other childhood ailments.

These can include Covid, Strep throat, Coxsackie viruses and stomach viruses. There are

common things we can all do to lessen the spread of such illnesses. These include:

1. Proper hand washing. Reinforce to your children how and when to wash hands. Hand

washing is the number one way to protect yourself and others against all of

these childhood illnesses.

2. Remind children to cover their mouths and noses with a tissue or sleeve

when sneezing or coughing. Throw tissues away after each use. This is always

reinforced here at school.

3. The flu and covid vaccines are recommended and available.

4. Keep sick children home. If your child is ill, PLEASE keep them home for 24hrs -

symptom free. This means symptom free without medication like Tylenol or Advil.

Symptoms include temperature 100.4 or above, vomiting, diarrhea, consistent

coughing, runny nose, sore throat, new skin outbreaks or rashes etc. I will only have

to send them home if the symptoms continue at school. Most illnesses, if

contagious, are spread right before and right after the illness appears. Staying

home while symptoms persist can lessen the spread to others. It also protects your

child from picking up secondary illnesses while their immune system is already

working hard.

5. Have children get plenty of rest and eat a nutritious diet. While these are

important every day, it is even more important when children are not feeling well.

6. When your child is ill, please call or email the main office by 8:15am to report

an absence. The attendance line is available 24/7. I also ask that you let the

school know why your child is absent and be as specific as possible. If you

take your child to the doctor it is helpful to bring documentation of the illness

from the doctor. Let us know if your child has a specific illness.

HEALTH RESOURCES ALL YEAR ROUND

1. Below you can find some resources on these childhood illnesses.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/treatment/flu-guide-for-parents.pdf

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/flu-vs-cold.html

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/hfm.html?WT.ac=p-ra

2. Below is additional information on head lice, a childhood concern that can occur any time of year.

https://www.cdc.gov/lice/about/head-lice.html

Email: Matthew.Reiner@pequannock.org
Website: sjg.pequannock.org
Location: 59 Boulevard, Pequannock Township, NJ, USA
Phone: (973) 3055615
Twitter: @SJGPride

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sjgpride/