Dear Toll Gate Families,
I hope this letter finds you well. We have been having a great month at Toll Gate. We spent the month learning about responsibility through our Character Strong curriculum. We celebrated School Violence Awareness week with visits from and a read aloud by Pennington Police officers, a bus evacuation and a safety drill. Throughout the month of November, we look forward to learning all about gratitude.
Speaking of gratitude, I was so grateful for the wonderful turnout we had for the Halloween parade. The students thoroughly enjoyed themselves throughout the entire day. Thank you to all of the parent volunteers for planning such fun activities for the students to participate in. A special thank you to our 5th grade families for the spooky hallway surprise.
As we move into the month of November, we are looking forward to celebrating Veterans Day on November 11th. Please join us in wearing red, white & blue to celebrate our Veteran's. Our students will participate in a Gator Gathering on Thursday morning. This gathering will coincide with our participation in the Ruby Bridges Walk to School event on November 14th. Please see below for additional information. We are also gearing up for Toll Gate's 39th annual pie baking event to support TASK!
Please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Melissa Lauri
The Toll Gate community will be participating in the annual Ruby Bridges walk to school on November 14th to honor Ruby Bridges, the first black child to attend an all- white school in Louisiana. The purpose of the walk is to celebrate Ruby Bridges’ courage and inspire children to make positive change in their communities.
We invite our families and students to meet in front of the board of education office at 8:15am on Thursday, November 14, 2024 to walk to Toll Gate together. We ask that all of our participants wear the color purple, Ruby’s favorite color! Please let us know if you will be joining us by completing this form. This will help us ensure that we have proper safety measures in place.
All students and staff will gather in the gym at 9:00am for a Gator Gathering, where we will review the history of Ruby Bridges and other young children, such as Mamie Tape, Sylvia Mendez, and Alice Piper, for their bravery while integrating our schools. Our students will then have a chance to discuss a time in which they demonstrated bravery, while finding the similarities and differences they may share with Ruby Bridges.
Throughout recess, our students will have a chance to sign a banner pledging their commitment to make a difference in their school community. Students will also engage in jump roping, one of Ruby’s favorite activities!
Each year, the Hopewell Valley Regional School District participates in the Governor's Educator of the Year (GEOY) program, which recognizes exceptional teachers and educational services professionals for their hard work. Below are links to the nomination form and the eligibility criteria for nominating a teacher or educational services professional.
Please print the form and send it to Mrs. Lauri via mail or email by Friday, November 15, 2024. Each principal will form a committee to review nominations and select a winner for their building before Thanksgiving break. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the dedication and hard work of our teachers and educational services professionals who make a difference for our students, parents, caregivers, and community!
GEOY Nomination Form (pdf)
If you are familiar with Google Forms, feel free to click on the link below. You will be prompted to make a copy. Simply complete the form, save it, and then “share” with or email the link with Mrs. Lauri.
Governor’s Educator of the Year Nomination (Google form)
We will once again be recognizing support staff professionals from Hopewell Valley, for their hard work and dedication to the district. These individuals will be selected by a committee facilitated by Ms. Tana Smith and recognized by the Board of Education. If you know of a paraprofessional, secretary, custodian, maintenance worker, bus driver, van attendant, or technology specialist who is dedicated, inspiring, and making a difference in the lives of staff, parents, and students, please take the time to nominate this person. This can be done by clicking on the link below, completing the nomination form, and returning it to Tana Smith via email or interoffice mail by Friday, November 15, 2024. Administrators, staff members, parents, students, and community members are encouraged to participate.
Support Professional Nomination (pdf)
If you are familiar with Google Forms, feel free to click on the link below. You will be prompted to make a copy. Simply complete the form, save it, and then “share” with or email Tana Smith (tanasmith@hvrsd.org)
Support Professional Nomination (Google form)
For the 39th year, Toll Gate will support Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) for Thanksgiving! The new HVRSD calendar for Thanksgiving week necessitated some logistical changes for our traditional pie baking, but we also have exciting new opportunities! Here are highlights, with more details in our TASK Thanksgiving flyer.
- Donate non-perishables at TG the week of 11/18 - 11/22
Pre-K: 8 cans of whole kernel corn (15.25 oz)
Kindergarten: 4 cans of turkey gravy (10.5 oz CANS, no glass jars)
1st Grade: 6 cans of cut green beans (14.5 oz)
2nd Grade: 4 boxes Stove Top CORNBREAD stuffing
3rd Grade: 4 cans of JELLIED cranberry sauce (14 oz)
4th Grade: 2 LARGE cans of sweet potatoes/yams (40 oz)
5Kampe: 1 bag of white granulated sugar (5 lb)
5Mayer: 4 cans evaporated milk (10.5 oz)
- Donate frozen turkeys at TG on 11/21 and 11/22.
- 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th graders will bake pies at TG on 11/27. (Note: 2nd grade added since last week's update!) Parents are encouraged to join us - please sign up here.
- Kindergarten and 1st graders will help with other crafts and preparations at TG leading up to Thanksgiving. Parents are encouraged to join us - sign-ups coming next week.
- 5th graders will have the opportunity visit TASK on 11/26 as a morning field trip. They will decorate the dining room and learn more about TASK and their patrons.
Questions? Contact Valerie Buchert at valerie.buchert@outlook.com.
If you know that your child will be absent or if you are going on vacation and your child will be absent for an extended period of time, please call our telesafe line, 609.737.4008, option 2,
to report the absence.
If there are any changes to your child's dismissal, please be reminded to email tgmainoffice@hvrsd.org, in addition to the classroom teacher. If your child attends aftercare through the YMCA, please make sure that you contact them with any changes to your child's plan for dismissal.
At the end of the month of November, we will be sharing out letters to families to notify you of how many absences your child/children have. Any student that has accrued has more than 5 absences will be sent a letter. Please know that if you receive a letter, it is just for information purposes. No action will be taken.
Arrival & Dismissal Safety Reminders
When parking near Toll Gate for arrival and dismissal, please be mindful of where you park. The side street that connects between E. Welling and the TG loop has a sign posted for no parking on the west side. (side closest to the actual South Main Street roadway) Please feel free to use the bus loop in the front to drop your children off, if there are no parking spots available.
Please be reminded that dogs are not permitted on school grounds during arrival or dismissal as well as during the school day. There are children who are allergic or who are afraid of dogs.
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