The Wildcat Weekly

Aug 30, 2024

*Please note that additional events may be added each week.*

Tuesday, Sept 3 Orientations @ 1:30pm (PK, Kdg); @2:30pm (new students Gr 1-8).

Wednesday, Sept 4 First day of School!

Wednesday, Sept 11 PiE Meeting 7pm @ Performing Arts Room or Zoom

Monday, Sept 16 SEPAG Mts 6pm @ Performing Arts Room

Tuesday, Sept 17 BOE Meeting 7pm @ Performing Arts Room

Thu, Sept 19-Fri, Sept 20 School Picture Days (see info below)

Thursday, Sept 26 Elementary & Middle School Back to School Night (more info to follow)

Friday, Sept 27 PiE Family Movie Night

Thur, Oct 3 No School: Rosh Hashanah

Wednesday, Oct 9 PiE Meeting 7pm @ Performing Arts Room or Zoom

Tuesday, Oct 15 BOE Meeting 7pm @ Performing Arts Room

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year at DTS! We are so excited to open our doors on Wednesday for over 400 students in Preschool-8th grade! A new year always brings excitement, curiosity and even a little bit of anxiety! Encourage your children to talk about how they're feeling regarding this year-all of their feelings are completely normal!

At DTS, we are always committed to providing your children with a rigorous and meaningful educational experience. We welcome parent feedback, and we want to be partners with you as we help mold our students into productive citizens in our community and the world around us. If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to reach out to the school.

Once again, welcome back! I look forward to seeing all of your children (and you) at the start of the year!

Sincerely,

Scott Lipson

Superintendent/Acting Principal

Don't forget that September 4th is the 1st day of school!

Try to start your routine from day one! If your child is planning on taking the bus, have him/her take the bus right from the beginning!

Each year, we share a parent/student handbook with families that reviews everything our district has to offer! It can be found at the bottom right of our homepage,

but for convenience, click the link below!

24-25 DTS Parent/Student Handbook

Our Back to School forms in Genesis are open for you to complete! These forms will need to be completed before you can view your child's HR teacher.

If you have difficulty logging into Genesis, please email Britian Moore in the main office. bmoore@dtsk8nj.org

**Please note that any families new to the district have already received

an email from Genesis to set up their parent access.**

Please note the following orientations to help get you and your child acclimated to our beautiful school! You will receive specific information about your event in the next few weeks.

Tuesday, September 3 1:30pm

Preschool Orientation

Kindergarten Orientation

Tuesday, September 3 2:30pm

Gr 1-8 New Student Orientation

You should have received transportation information from Hunterdon Central. They provide bussing for all of our students. Please keep in mind that:

• buses normally run late in the afternoon for the first few days until drivers and students become familiar with each other.

• in accordance with Delaware Township school policy, students who need parents present to be dropped off will be returned to school if a parent is not at the bus stop.

• Click this link for more information about the Transportation department, including our Transportation handbook.

All Fall Athletes should have already submitted their physical forms to be cleared by the school Physician for participation in Fall athletics. Any physical forms submitted from this point forward may not guarantee clearance by the start of the Fall season.

To check your status, please refer to the Genesis Parent Portal under "Athletics".

Many families elect to drive their children to and from school, instead of having them ride the bus. While we are happy with whatever decision you make, more cars mean longer car lines in our parking lot.

To help with the flow of traffic, and to ensure the safety of all of our students, we ask that you adhere to the following:

If you plan on parking your vehicle in the Middle School parking lot to walk your younger child to the main entrance, please park in the spaces closest to County Road 604 or closest to our fields. The middle parking spaces will be reserved for DTS faculty and staff only. This will decrease the number of families walking through the middle of our parking lot.

If you are using our carline, please drive as far up the carline as possible, making sure students exit out the passenger door to ensure their safety.

Thank you all for your continued cooperation and understanding as we place an emphasis on the students' safety.

Over the summer, a group of parents, staff and even some students spent over 12 hours reviewing, discussing and revising our district Code of Conduct. This updated Code of Conduct is included in our 24-25 Parent/Student handbook, as well as a direct link on our homepage (towards the bottom right). All families should have reviewed it with their children when completing Opening Day information, but all students will review it and sign it at the start of the school year.

Click here to view the 24-25 DTS Code of Student Conduct

Research continues to show that excessive use of cell phone use is linked to increased levels of anxiety and depression among students and may impact their academic performance in school. For the upcoming school year, all cell phones must be turned off and stored in the student's locked locker throughout the school day. If a cell phone is used without permission, it will be confiscated and stored in the office for the remainder of the day. Repeated offenses will require a parent or guardian to pick up the phone in the office.

Students of all ages are still permitted to wear their smart watches, but they are not to be used as a communication device or gaming platform. If students are found using their smart watches to play games or communicate with others, discipline will be handled similar to using a cell phone.

Parents and guardians, we need your support in reinforcing these guidelines. Please do not text or message your child during school hours. If an emergency comes up, and you need to speak with your child, please call the school and we will pass the information along or send the student down. In addition, if your child is feeling ill, they MUST go see the school nurse. Parents and guardians should not pick up a child unless Mrs. Verma, our school nurse, confirms that this is the right course of action.

Thank you all ahead of time for your support and cooperation with this matter.

We'd like to welcome all of our new preschool parents to Delaware Township School! We've had full-day preschool in our district for many years, but this past year, we were granted funding to provide FREE preschool for all eligible families! We are so excited to be adding a 3rd section of PK this year, with the hopes that we continue to expand and offer universal preschool to as many families as possible in the future.

If you have any questions about our Preschool program,

please reach out to our Assistant Principal, Ms. Valerie Wheatley vwheatley@dtsk8nj.org

**Click here for a printable version**

Our incoming 6th graders arrived at their orientation with excitement and energy! They practiced walking through their schedules, had a competition to unlock their new locks, and learned all about the upcoming year! A big thanks to Ms. Mazzucco, Ms. Best, Ms. Snyder, and Ms. Bonci for leading this orientation! It will certainly turn into an annual tradition here at DTS!

We are thrilled to welcome all of our new staff members to DTS! They took part in a New Staff Orientation last week, and they are ready to meet the students!

(pictured left to right)

Allison Garofalo-2nd Grade

Jean Domurat-Preschool

Julia Soleimani-Art

Elena Rozycki-School Counselor

David Milewski-Middle School Inclusion

DTS is hoping to fill this vacancy to provide additional academic support to our Middle School students. If you know of anyone who is interested,

please direct them to our employment page to complete the application.

Delaware Township School is proud to offer many athletic opportunities

for students in Grades 5-8.

Click here for a quick reference guide to the Athletics Department.

About PiE

DTS Partners is Education was formed in 2010, when the DTS PTA and the DT Community Education Foundation merged to become a single group. It is an all-volunteer organization supporting the School's students. Learn more by visiting our website - www.dtspie.com. As a member of the PiE community, you will be part of our listserv and get these monthly newsletters as well as periodic emails reminding you of upcoming meetings and opportunities to volunteer for different activities. We look forward to a great year!

Monthly Meetings

• Our first meeting will be Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Room at the School or via Zoom (https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89539638778?pwd=0w8OZHXRM8DJV4c467qy4ieHgbHksQ.1). We will be discussing and voting on the proposed budget for the 2024-25 school year.

Upcoming Events

1. PiE will be hosting a family movie night on Friday, September 27th. More information on that event will be coming soon.
2. As the school year is about to start, we are looking for volunteers to serve as Homeroom Partners. Please email Kristen Schleiser at kristenschlesier@gmail.com to be considered
3. In the first day packet you'll see information on how to submit your Program Fee for the year. This program fee is vital to supporting PiE and all the activities we support at the school. This fee, along with money we receive from sponsorships, helps pay for in-school assemblies, after-school enrichment programs, family nights, faculty grants and so much more.
4. We need YOU to help make particular events such as the Book Fair & Holiday Shoppe successful.

• To volunteer for the BOOK FAIR:https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084EAFA92AA3F85-50875077-2024
• To volunteer for the HOLIDAY SHOPPE: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084EAFA92AA3F85-50875101-2024

Volunteer

• Want to volunteer some of your time for PiE events? Fill out the Google Form & be notified of any upcoming PiE events in need of volunteers.

• Check out the attached list of Current Committees with the Chairperson’s contacts in case there is something that interests you and you’d like to reach out directly to get involved.

• There are also some PiE committees in need of a chairperson. For more information or questions contact Debbie Lubitz at dlubitz319@gmail.com.

More detailed information on ALL of our events can be found on our website at www.dtspie.com, email us at dtspie@gmail.com or check out our social media pages (Instagram & Facebook)

To learn more about DTS SEPAG, click here.

Click here for information about YMCA program at DTS!

Sept 2024 Lunch Menu

Click here for the:

24-25 Food Allergy Packet Information

24-25 Food Allergy Packet Information (Spanish Version)

Follow us on Instagram @dt_recreation

The Wildcat Weekly is published every Friday.

In cases where it is a shortened week, the publication date may be adjusted.

If you would like something published in the newsletter, please email your submission to slipson@dtsk8nj.org by each Tuesday at 3:30pm. Please include the length of time you'd like your information to be in the newsletter.

All submissions must be approved by the school administration

before being included in the newsletter.