Cliffwood School Parent Newsletter
September 2018
Principal's News
Dear Cliffwood School families,
The new school year is right around the corner! I hope that you and your child(ren) had a great summer and are as excited for this new year as I am. The staff here at Cliffwood have been working hard to get the school ready for what we know will be a great year for our learners.
As always, I urge all parents to stay actively involved in their child's education. Research shows that there is a strong link between the amount of parent involvement and students' academic achievement. One easy strategy for improving students' performance in school is increasing communication between parents and teachers/staff. Please keep ongoing communication with your child's teacher(s) regularly during the year to stay informed about your child's academic progress, social/emotional growth, upcoming class activities or school events, and more. As the year gets rolling, talk with your child's teacher about your preference for communication (phone, email, writing notes) and keep your contact info updated in the parent portal. By working together, we can all help our students achieve success!
Please take a few minutes to read the information below. Remember that the first day of school is Thursday, September 6. Doors open at 9:10 a.m. I look forward to seeing all of our learners bright and early that morning. LET'S HAVE A GREAT YEAR...WE'RE CLIFFWOOD PROUD! Sincerely,
Welcome new staff to the Cliffwood family
- Mrs. Ruscavage (preK-3 Assistant Principal)
- Mrs. Caldwell (School nurse)
- Ms. Nicolaou (Special Ed. teacher)
- Mrs. Jaeger (Child Study Team member)
- Mr. Pruitt (Music teacher)
- Mr. Saraiva (PE/Health teacher)
- Ms. Lepre & Ms. Christie (Art teachers)
- Ms. Merced (Spanish teacher)
- Ms. Dhume, Ms. Diaz Valle, Ms. Slee-Wojnar, Ms. Vidal, Ms. Davidson, Ms. Brudner, Ms. Radonic, Ms. Fiedler, Ms. Rao, and Ms. Esposito (Instructional assistants)
Orientations for Kindergarten and G&T
Check out the Cliffwood PTO newsletter
Make sure to follow us on Twitter!
Get to know our school counselor
Mrs. Levine is our school counselor and she does a great job with all of our learners. Her school website can be accessed by clicking here. In future newsletters, be sure to read Mrs. Levine's Counselor Corner newsletter which always has lots of great info for parents. If you have any questions or concerns for Mrs. Levine, don't hesitate to contact her for assistance.
Schedules go "live" this week
Come "chalk the walk" before school starts
School supplies lists
Please be sure to check our website for the 18-19 school supplies lists. Each grade is shown on a separate page. Here is a direct link to the lists.
Join us for Back to School Night!
Parking and drop off/pick up procedures
Please follow these simple steps to make sure that all students and adults stay safe during arrival/dismissal each day:
- Do not drop off students before 9:10 AM. We open our doors at that time. School starts at 9:20 AM.
- All non-bus Kindergarten students enter/exit through door #16. All non-bus 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders use door #1 for arrival.
- Parents cannot use the bus loop at arrival or dismissal.
- Drivers please pull up as far as possible when dropping off your child(ren) and stay in your vehicles. Staff will be present to greet students and help if needed.
- Please do not leave your vehicle in a marked fire zone (yellow curb area). We must allow enough room for emergency vehicles if needed.
- The school day ends at 3:35 PM. Teachers take all bus riders to the buses. If your child does not ride the bus from school, please use the chart below to find the correct door for dismissal. Teachers bring the children to these locations.
- Our parking lot contains 4 blue-colored handicap spaces. Please do not use these spaces unless your car is properly marked with handicap tags.
- Please be patient these first few days. Everything takes a little more time at the start of school. Thanks for understanding!
Reading programs info
Key testing dates for 18-19
Please mark your calendars for these important testing dates below:
- Link-it testing (replaces Star for grades 1-3): September 17-21, January 7-11, May 13-17. These dates are only testing "windows" and your child's teacher will share specific test dates for each class during the year. Note that grades 1-3 take all 3 rounds but Kindergarten only takes a test in late May.
- CogAT testing (grade 2 only): March 19-21.
- PARCC testing for Spring 2019 (grade 3 only): April 8-10 for Reading, April 11-16 for Math, with make-ups April 29 to May 3.
New procedures for lunch and balances
The Business Office hopes that you are enjoying the summer.
Please note that the district is implementing a new policy/procedure regarding meal balances. Specifically, students will not be allowed to carry a negative balance on their meal account.
As you know, parents/guardians are responsible for providing meals for their children. Under this new policy in the event that a student does not have a meal or sufficient funds to complete a purchase in the cafeteria, the student will be directed to the Main Office to contact their parent/guardian.
The goal of the district is to provide students with the support systems necessary to make sure that students receive adequate nourishment. Therefore, please consider completing a meal application for the 2018/19 school year. Here is the link to the application. In the event that you need assistance with the application please feel free to contact your contact your child’s school Principal, School Nurse or the Business Office at 732-705-4016.
Have a great school year, and should you have any questions, please feel free to reach us at ba@marsd.org.
Does your child have an allergy?
September Dates to Remember
- Orientations for K and G&T - Wednesday, 9/5.
- "Chalk the Walk" event - Wednesday, 9/5.
- First day of school - Thursday, 9/6.
- PTO welcome breakfast for new families - Friday, 9/7 @ 9:30 in the cafeteria.
- District closed - 9/10 and 9/11.
- Back to School Night - Monday, 9/17 @ 7:00.
- District closed - 9/19.
- PTO school store during lunches - 9/20 and 9/21.
- PTO meeting - 9/20 @ 6:30 in the cafeteria.
- Garden Club meeting - Wednesday, 9/26.
Contact Me
Email: mvanhorn@marsd.org
Website: http://marsd.org/Domain/465
Location: Cliffwood Avenue Elementary School, Aberdeen Township, NJ, United States
Phone: (732) 705-5600