Dear Wildcats,

We hope you have a great Spring Recess! The weather proved difficult at times but it was an excellent week.

Please remember that the vote on Regionalization is on Tuesday, April 16 during the hours of 1:30 PM to 8:00 PM. Please see the links below for more information about this very important vote:

Regionalization Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Sheet (English)

Regionalization Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Sheet (Spanish)

Superintendent Citta's TV21 School Community Address

Walnut Street now has an online store selling school merchandise! Please click the following link to access. https://accent.promo/walnutelementary/shop/home The school store closes on April 30th. There are really great items for students and adults. Check out the shop and see what items you want to own!

Our Drama Production is fast approaching! The event will be held on April 18th. Please come out and support our young thespians!

There are two exciting events for our chorus students. First, our chorus concert will be held on April 24th from 6:00 - 7:30 PM. Finally, the PTO is sponsoring a Jersey Shore Blueclaws baseball game. The event is on April 30th and our chorus students will be performing the National Anthem before the game. Please see click here to purchase tickets and see the flier below. The deadline to purchase is April 29 so please purchase your tickets today!

At Tuesday's PTO meeting we honored our March students of the month. Congratulations to Ashley Caceres Lobo, Aisha Qamar, Elliot Maano, Charlotte Brown, Julian Kapusnyak, Julius Ardiles, Lily Desider, Hadley Kmiec, Ja'sier Sanders, Eileen Flores Nieto, Oliver Jimenez Montes, Ava Dyer, Liam Les, Aria Knight, Olivia Marron, Gabriella Davis, Brian Velazquez, Ahmed Abdelaziz, Amy Vargas, Melanie Arboleda-Espinosa, Kinley Lopes, Anthony Mexquititla, Landon Coraggio-DiMaria, Jose Morales, Angelo Commesso, Sophia Brown, Alexandro Villalba Lopez, Jeremiah Hall, Alister Coyle, Mia Olivos, Arabella Junio, Chase Inzano, Aylelen Castillo, Bernardo Merino, Alex Eckert, and Desmond Coyle.

It is never too early to start communicating about the 2024-25 school year. We are already in preliminary discussions and planning. Every year there are numerous requests by parents for specific teachers. As you know, there are many variables that go into scheduling and student placement. This makes the process challenging related to successfully balancing class sizes and adhering to student programming. While we always will respect parental input with respect to their child’s educational needs, we will be unable to honor parent letters to request a specific teacher for their child. Our goal at Walnut Street is to create balanced classes in which the students will thrive and receive the best education possible. I thank you in advance for your cooperation and support.

We have two winners of our March Madness attendance tournament! Winners announced on Monday.

NJSLA Testing will begin in May for Grades 3, 4, and 5. Grades 4 and 5 will test the week of May 6, with Grade 5 completing additional testing for science through May 14. Grade 3 will be testing during the week of May 13. Grades 3-5 will complete 3 days of Math assessment and 2 days of Language Arts assessment. Grade 5 will have two days of Science testing.

Test security is of utmost importance. Electronic devices in all forms are strictly forbidden and will levy consequences should a student be found with one during testing. This includes cell phones, iPods, Apple watches, Smart watches, Fitbits, and all other electronic devices. Our test administrators prior to every assessment will ask students to turn off these devices and place them away from the testing area if the students bring them to school. Please begin discussions with your children about this very important topic.

Also related to testing, please reinforce charging Chromebooks every night prior to the test. Eating a healthy breakfast and getting hydrated prior to the test is a great idea. Let's encourage our students to do our very best!

We continue to promote and reinforce respectful, responsible and safe behavior. In late April we have an exciting program coming to our school that promotes and emphasizes social emotional learning to our 4th and 5th grade students. This hour long presentation highlights empowering students giving them the tools they need to learn, react and grow. The presentation is titled 'Be the Change' and is given to us by the COMPASS program through Preferred Behavioral Health.

On May 3 our PBSIS committee has sponsored a fun assembly as recognition to our students for practicing safe, respectful and responsible behavior for the entire school year. A laser light show assembly will be given to our grade levels as a show of appreciation for a job well done.

Mr. Sandler and Mrs. Millington won our staff employee of the week...Congratulations!

Please click here to see the revised district calendar.

For a limited time, students and families in Grades K-4 can order the 2023-24 Wildcat Yearbook online. (5th graders will receive their books courtesy of the Walnut Street PTO.) The price per book is $20. You can scan the QR Code shown on the flyer that is included in this newsletter, or visit www.ybpay.com with the yearbook ID code of: 9208724. If you wish to pay by check, please make the check out to the Walnut Street PTO.

Again, yearbooks are $20 per book. The sale ends on April 30th.

Thank you very much!

On Tuesday the 4th graders in Kindness Club took advantage of the outstanding weather and cleaned the courtyard and school grounds as an act of kindness to our school! This group of students and advisors are doing an exceptional job!

Please see these fliers below related to the Summer EBT program. The flier is in English and Spanish and there is great information in them.

Mrs. Tomitz received a "Back to Basics" project for her classroom from Donors Choose. We would like to thank the following donors:

Anonymous (NJ)

Ms. Decker received a "Classroom Motivation and Focus Tools" project for her classroom from Donors Choose. We would like to thank the following donors:

Catherine Larsen (New Jersey)

Please click link to view Mrs. Murray's Donor's Choose Page!

Please click link to view Mrs. DeRuiter's Donor's Choose Page!

Our next PTO meeting will be on May 7, 2024 in Cafeteria C at 6:30 PM. Please enter through Door 18. We will be honoring our March Students of the Month!

Please purchase tickets for our Jersey Shore Blueclaws fundraiser on April 30, 2024.

Outdoor Movie Night 5/17

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4FABAE2AA6FD0-outdoor

Our cafeteria offers our students nutritious and tasty food items every day. The link to the food services website is below. There (along the right side), you will see menus for the month. For information on eligibility for free or reduced meals, please access the letters that are attached.

This part of the newsletter will feature important upcoming dates at Walnut Street Elementary and our district. Please see below:

• April 16 - Regionalization Vote
• April 18 - Walnut Street Drama Production
• April 25 - Toms River Excellence Expo (Featuring Walnut Street's Drama Club!)
• April 30 - Jersey Shore Blueclaw PTO Fundraiser...our Chorus performing the National Anthem!
• May 6 - May 10: Grades 4 and 5 NJSLA Testing (Math and ELA)
• May 13 - May 17: Grade 3 NJSLA Testing (Math and ELA)
• May 13 and 14: Grade 5 NJSLA Testing (Science)
• May 17: PTO Movie Night