Bloomingdale Blast

Hello Bloomingdale Families,

We have reached an exciting milestone—100 days of school at BAS! Our students have spent the past 100 days growing, learning, and sharing special moments together. From learning new skills to making memories, this milestone reminds us how far we’ve come and all the incredible learning still to come. A huge thank you to our amazing 100th Day volunteers who helped make this celebration extra special!

To round out the excitement, our classrooms were filled with love and creativity as we celebrated Valentine’s Day! Students shared Valentine cards and celebrated friendship with their classmates. It was a wonderful way to embrace kindness and appreciation for one another.

We are incredibly grateful for our dedicated volunteers, PTA, teachers, and families who make these moments possible. Thank you for your time, support, and generosity in helping create magical experiences for our students.

Have a great long weekend. We will see you back on Tuesday!

Mr. Litz and the BAS Staff

Our students thrived in exploring the many ways to get to 100 whether it was sorting cards as a team, a relay race, or bean bag toss. It was such a pleasure to see smiles on each of their faces from start to finish.

The results are in and each grade level met their goal of collecting 100 items for the Cranford Family Care Food Drive! Our Kindergarten collected over 100 canned goods, 1st grade over 100 boxed goods, and 2nd grade over 100 kids snacks. We are so thankful to have such a thoughtful community who made the 100th day a meaningful experience!

Cranford Public Schools will be closed for students and staff on Monday, February 17 in observance of Presidents' Day. School will resume on Tuesday, February 18.

As students visit the Media Center for Library/Media, they have an opportunity to explore various biographies and other texts that celebrate Black figures & authors. Additionally, our classroom teachers plan to highlight the Cranford Dixie Giants, an all-Black baseball team from the 1930s, musician Jon Batiste, and Mae Jemison, a scientist, doctor, and astronaut.

As a reminder when making a change in dismissal procedures, please ensure that you are notifying the teacher and the Main Office (Mrs. DeLuca: deluca@cranfordschools.org & BAS Attendance: basattendance@cranfordschools.org) via email.

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

Monday, February 17, 2025-

• Schools Closed- Presidents' Day

Tuesday, February 18, 2025-

• Variety Show practices resume

Saturday, February 22, 2025-

• CFEE Trivia Night

Monday, February 24, 2025-

• Tournament of Books Kickoff Assembly for Students

Wednesday, February 26-Friday, February 28, 2025

• 2nd Grade CogAT

Thursday, February 27 & Friday, February 28, 2025

• BAS Book Fair (Please refer to shopping details in the PTA section of this blast.)

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.

Unfortunately, illness and emergencies sometimes occur during the school day which makes it necessary for the school nurse to reach a parent/guardian. To ensure that you can be reached in an emergency, please see the following:

* Thanks for taking some time to review your contact information in PowerSchool and update as needed. (If you see information that needs to be changed, please email Mrs. DeLuca at deluca@cranfordschools.org and she will make the edit in PowerSchool.) Many parents/guardians have returned to workspaces outside the home. It is helpful to have the office/work phone number along with your personal number.

* Thanks for including an alternative contact person who is available and close by in the event you cannot be reached or you cannot pick up in a timely manner.

* Thanks for checking to be sure there is voicemail on your cell phones and ensuring that mailboxes have available space. Messages indicating mailboxes are full cause more delays in connecting.

Thank you for your assistance in these matters.

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, 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 February. The Story Walk book for February is, "Mae Among the Stars" by Roda Ahmed and supports BAS in recognizing February as Black History Month.

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!

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.

We are thrilled to offer ad space in the Variety Show to our BAS families! This is a wonderful way to wish your child good luck and have a special keepsake to commemorate the show. This is also the perfect way to involve family members who may not be able to attend the show. Remember to let any friends and family know about this special opportunity to wish our students luck on their big night.

All of the ads for families will be text only and in black and white for $15.00. Please click the link below, "Variety Show Parent Ads" to complete the Google Form to sign up. If you need more than one program ad, you must full out a new form for each one.

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

Join us for an evening of ice skating! The PTA will cover the cost of skating and rental (if needed) for each BAS student plus one parent.

Please see the flyer below for more information. Each skater will need to register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekooNzAqBSTWSyl-YobkLhEiinSy3RfMqRHvozHWUNCZzlog/viewform

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.

This month's SEL Family Resource is a guide to assist families in developing self love in children.

We hope through this resource to encourage the SEL competencies of self awareness and relationship skills, along with the Full Value Principle "Care for Self and Others."

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.