We're not fooling, it's fantastic to be at a school like Springfield Elementary. Check out what's happening and be sure to mark your calendars for the events detailed in our April newsletter!

• April 2 - Autism Awareness Day

• April 3 - Grade Six Reward Skating Party

• April 8 - H&S Association Meeting

• April 10 - Grade Two NJ State Museum Trip

• April 11 - Grade Three National Constitution Center Trip

• April 11 - H&S Bunny Bingo Event

• April 14 - Family Coding Event

• April 16 - Acrobatics Assembly

• April 18 - School Closed / Good Friday

• April 21 - 25 - School Closed / Spring Break

• April 28 - Spring Picture Day

• April 30 - Board of Education Meeting / Public Budget Hearing

On Wednesday, April 2nd all students are encouraged to wear blue in support of World Autism Awareness Day. Every April Autism Speaks celebrates World Autism Month, beginning with the United Nations-sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day on April 2. This year marks the 18th annual World Autism Awareness Day.

Join us on Monday, April 14th for a special Family Coding Event.

The coding maestros from Code Wiz will be conducting an Open House at Springfield Elementary on April 14th at 4:00 to 5:30 in the Media Center. The event is open to students in 2nd - 6th grade who want to explore Code Wiz’s programs. During the Open House, students and their parents/guardians can try hands-on coding experiences, including game development (Minecraft, Unity, Roblox), Java/Python programming, and robotics.

Click on the image below to register!

• Friday, April 4th - Rock Star Day (dress up like your favorite musician or rep your favorite band)
• Friday, April 11th - Wear Your Food Day (wear a shirt featuring your favorite food or beverage or a food mascot!)
• Thursday, April 17th - School Spirit Day

Our H&S Association is generously purchasing Field Day T-Shirts for all preschool - 5th grade students. If you've not yet completed the online form indicating your child's shirt size, please do so via the link below by no later than April 17th.

Field Day T-Shirt Size Survey

With the warmer days finally closer, please keep in mind that all students are expected to follow our dress code. In particular, please note the following regarding tops and footwear:

• Half shirts, tube tops, open arm holes, "spaghetti straps" or bare-shouldered tops are not permitted, nor are articles of clothing intended to be worn as undergarments (such as pajamas, etc.). Tank tops are permissible; however, arm hole openings must not be excessively loose (in excess of one inch from the underarm).
• Beach/shower (flip-flops) type of footwear and non-strapped sandals (sandals lacking a strap across the back of the heel)are prohibited due to safety concerns on the playground equipment and stairs.

Barring an unforeseen and unusual weather event or situation that requires the school to close, the official last day of school for students will be Tuesday, June 17th (this is also an early dismissal day). The Board of Education will approve an amendment to the school calendar to reflect this update along with the change to an early dismissal on Thursday, June 12th, Friday, June 13th, and Monday, June 16th.

Mark your calendars for a very special date, as we'll celebrate our 6th grade students and their advancement to middle school with a promotion ceremony on Monday, June 16th at 6:00 PM.

The New Jersey Student Learning Assessment (NJSLA) is the state mandated proficiency test for all 3rd - 6th grade students. The assessment includes test items for English Language Arts and mathematics, plus a section on Science for students in 5th grade. This year's NJSLA will be administered on the dates listed below:

• All NJSLA testing for ELA and math in grades 3 - 6 will be the week of May 5th and make-up testing will take place the following week.
• 5th grade students will be administered the NJSLA for Science on May 12th & 13th.

Kindergarten registration is now open for children who will turn five-years-old by September 30, 2025. The registration form is attached and can also be found on our district website by clicking here

Registration for our 3-year-old preschool program is now open (we currently have a waiting list for the 4-year-old program and are accepting names for families who wish to be added to that list). Please note that students in our preschool programs must be fully toilet-trained. The PK-3 program runs each morning from 9:00 - 11:30AM, and the PK-4 program runs each afternoon from 12:30 - 3:00PM. Each program only accepts a limited number of enrollments, and registration is first-come first-served.

Please see the attached registration form for full details or visit our website for registration and preschool information by clicking here. SPECIAL NOTE: Tuition rates for the 2025-26 preschool programs are set by the Board of Education in May.

Springfield Elementary School will be offering summer camp for our current Kindergarten through Fifth Grade students during the weeks of July 14th and July 21st (Monday - Thursday). Students will have the opportunity to attend an AM camp (9:30 - 11:30), a PM camp (12:30 - 2:30), or stay for the full day. Registration is now open via the form attached below!

All students now have the opportunity to purchase a hot breakfast during the week on the following days:

• Tuesdays - Egg, Ham, & Cheese Sandwich (on a bagel or croissant)
• Wednesdays - Mini Pancakes
• Thursdays - French Toast Sticks

Breakfast includes milk or juice plus a piece of fruit, and in addition to the hot breakfast options students can always purchase a cereal "grab-and-go" kit any day of the week.

Students interested in purchasing breakfast ($2.10) will go right from their bus to the cafeteria, and will then have the option to either eat in the cafeteria or the classroom. Students attending EDC will have the option to purchase and eat breakfast during the AM program.

The school district calendar for the 2025-2026 school year has been approved by the Board of Education. Our students will start the year on Wednesday, September 3, 2025!

For those families dropping off students in the morning, please be reminded that the drop-off window is 8:30 - 8:40 AM. If it is past 8:40, you must park and escort your child to the Main Office (for everyone's safety, students should not be let out of vehicles at the end of the bus loop).

Looking to surprise your child with a birthday treat during the school day? If so, please review and follow the guidelines below:

• Birthday treats can be purchased directly from our cafeteria using the order form attached to this newsletter. To ensure the cafeteria has ample supply of the treats you'd like to order, we ask that the form is submitted at least two weeks prior to when you'd like the treats to be given out.
• You may send in treats for your child; however, ONLY prepackaged and sealed products are permitted. Due to a number of food allergies throughout the student population, we can only allow prepackaged and sealed products so that the ingredients list can be reviewed by our school nurse prior to any treats being given out. DO NOT send in any homemade items or loose items such as doughnuts or soft pretzels.
• Whether purchased from the cafeteria or sent in as a prepackaged & sealed product, all birthday treats will be given out during the student lunch periods.

If you're in need of before and/or after school care, we've got you covered. Our Extended Day Program is run by school staff and is available each morning from 7:00 - 8:30 and each afternoon from 3:20 - 6:00. The program is available five days per week, and drop-in supervision is offered for those unexpected situations. Register online by clicking here!

The Knight School offers an after school Chess Club for interested students (Kindergarten - 6th grade) at Springfield Elementary. The program runs each Tuesday from 3:30 to 4:45 through June 10th with a fee of $100 per month, per student. Each participating student receives their own chess set, bag, and T-Shirt. The Knight School's high-energy chess classes are developmentally appropriate and cleverly targeted directly at the kindergarten through 6th-grade set, and students will no doubt have fun as they learn the game and master the skills (perhaps even to the point where they're challenging their parents/guardian in chess!).

If you are interested in having your child participate, please use the link below to register via The Knight School's website. Questions regarding the program can be directed to the following email: jon@theknightschool.com or call and chat with Coach Sierra at 609-977-5073.

Registration Link: https://tksprinceton.jumbula.com/elementary-chess

Download the flyers for these H&S Association events at the bottom of this newsletter.

The H&S Association is seeking donations for the class baskets that make up a huge part of the raffle during this year's event. Please use the link below to access flyers specific to each homeroom's theme for their basket.

Burlington County’s trolls are sticking around. The Burlington County Commissioners announced that Troll Trek, the popular outdoor exhibit featuring troll sculptures created from recycled and natural materials, will remain part of Burlington County’s landscape for the foreseeable future.

The Troll Trek exhibition was organized by the Burlington County Commissioners and Burlington County Parks System and consists of 19 troll statues in various outdoor locations throughout Burlington County. It was inspired by Big Rusty, a large troll created by world renown artist Thomas Dambo at the site of Hainesport’s future Creek Turn Park. Like Big Rusty, each troll is made from recycled or natural materials.

The locations of all 19 trolls (including GPS coordinates) can be found with an online map posted on the Burlington County Troll Trek page: https://www.co.burlington.nj.us/2076/Troll-Trek-2024 . The map will be updated when trolls move.

There's so much to do right here in Burlington County! Check out all of the upcoming Spring events - from the April 27th Earth Fair to the May 18th May Faire in Neverland - in the program guide attached (or click on the picture below to view the guide online).

The Burlington County Institute of Technology’s Westampton Campus, located at 695 Woodlane Road, will host the County’s next Paper Shredding and Plastics Collection event on May 4th.

This event will run from 9 AM to 1 PM, rain or shine. During the event, residents can shred and recycle confidential documents like bank and credit card statements, tax returns and other papers with sensitive data, such as account and Social Security information.

These items should not be placed in curbside recycling buckets or recycling containers because they can jam and damage the sorting equipment used at Burlington County’s recycling center. But that doesn’t mean residents can’t dispose of these materials in a sustainable way.

The Burlington County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling has opened a new plastic bag/film/bubble wrap drop-off site at the Burlington County Resource Recovery Complex to give residents a location where they can safely dispose of these plastics in a manner that’s safe and environmentally sound.

Clean plastic packaging labeled with “2” or “4” symbols, along with plastic grocery bags, bread bags, newspaper sleeves, salt bags, dry cleaning bags, cereal bags, ice bags, bubble wrap, case over wrap, plastic shipping envelopes (including Amazon mailers), and pallet wrap will be accepted at the County drop-off.

The Resource Recovery Complex is located at 22000 Burlington-Columbus Road in Florence. It is open weekdays from 7 AM to 5 PM and on Saturdays from 7 AM to noon. Residents bringing these materials should go to the Scale House.

This Toolkit consolidates a comprehensive array of local, national, and online resources, providing a one-stop destination for families seeking guidance and assistance. It's a compassionate guide that fosters understanding, facilitates communication, and ensures vital information is readily available to those who need it. This toolkit is designed to help NJ parents and caregivers, and users can create a free account by scanning the QR code in the flyer, clicking on the flyer, or visiting sptstoolkit.org (the Toolkit is available in 14 different languages!).

Email: cvaughn@springfieldschool.org
Website: www.springfieldschool.org
Location: 2146 Jacksonville Jobstown Road, Jobstown, NJ, USA
Phone: 609-723-2479