Lafayette Newsletter
January 8th
Winter Attire Message
A Message from the Principal
Introducing One School, One Book
Welcome to 2016 at Lafayette School. Due to the generosity of the Lafayette PTO, I am very excited to introduce to you our One School, One Book Reading Initiative. The One School, One Book Reading Initiative puts the same book in everyone’s hands. That’s right, all students at Lafayette will read the same book – and the best part is that you get to be a big part of the fun as well!
Imagine being part of a community that is all reading the same book simultaneously. How exciting will it be to see your child referring to and discussing literature with their classmates outside of school, their parents and siblings at home, and their teachers in informal class discussions?
For the next five weeks, I am asking everyone to set aside time so your family can participate in this special school wide project. Reading aloud at home is an invaluable practice to prepare your child to be an effective, life-long reader who can comprehend, enjoy, and discuss literature. We have selected a title that can be followed, understood, and relished by all students, but still captivates the adults. Today, your child received a copy of Betty B. Birney’s, The World According to Humphrey. We ask you to read it at home with your child/children following the chapter schedule below. We ask that you try not to read ahead – this will be the real challenge!
· Week of 1/11 – Chapters 1, 2, 3
· Week of 1/18 – Chapters 4, 5, 6
· Week of 1/25 – Chapters 7, 8, 9
· Week of 2/1 – Chapters 10, 11, 12
· Week of 2/8 – 2/18 – Chapters 13, 14, 15
The One School, One Book Reading Initiative continues to encourage the reading of chapter books with older children. When you read aloud to a reader it showcases your interest in reading and it helps to scaffold their thinking when you pose challenging questions and ideas. Our goal with the One School, One Book Reading Initiative is to continue the development of our community of readers.
Who will be participating? Everyone! Students, parents, teachers, and even administrative staff! In addition to family reading time at home, students will be challenged with trivia questions, as well as school wide activities pertaining to different chapters. With your help, we can continue to grow our community of readers at Lafayette School.
“When a whole school reads a book, there’s a lot to talk about.”
A related article from the Washington Post
PTO Message
Happy New Year to the Lafayette Community! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season. We are looking forward to some exciting activities at the Lafayette School in 2016!
AFTER SCHOOL ENRICHMENT
Thanks to Lauren Beegle and Cecille West for launching another semester of After School Enrichment courses. Please check out LAF PTO’s website for course listings and a registration link. Go to www.chathampto.org and click on the LAF home page.
ONE BOOK, ONE SCHOOL
Our One Book, One School initiative will begin on January 8th. All students will be sent home with a copy of the book The World According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney and students will be asked to read the book with their parents. Classroom and school wide activities will focus on themes from the book.
READ-A-THON
Our annual Read-a-Thon begins on March 1st. This event has been hugely successful in past years in getting our students excited about reading and in raising money to support our PTO and library.
HEAD SHOW
Thank you to Pam Polemeni, Gina Goodheart, Beth Tunny, and Carole Dinnhaupt for chairing the Head Show committee this year. The Head Show was held on January 6th and was a big success! Thanks as always to Janet Kraemer, our wonderful art teacher, for all the time and effort she devotes to this unique event!
GIFTS
Thanks to your generous donations, we have purchased a robot for the 5th grade students and a 3D printer for the 4th grade students to use in their STEM classes. We will keep you posted on other gift ideas as the year progresses.
GENERAL FUND
Thanks to all of you who have donated to the general fund. As mentioned above, we are putting your donations to good use. There is more we’d like to do! If you have not donated yet but would like to do so, please send in a check made out to the LAF PTO. Please address the envelope to the LAF PTO and specify that the money is going toward the general fund.
Wishing you health and happiness in the coming year!
Warmly,
Wendy Kuppenheimer
LAF PTO President
Lafayette School’s Broadcasting Club – Grade 4
“IN TRAINING”
Students, do you want to keep up with latest school news? Learn to create and narrate LAFAYETTE LIVE which is our daily video broadcast. Sound interesting? Lafayette School’s Broadcasting Club may be just what you are looking for!
When: Wednesdays 3:20-4:15 p.m.
Meeting dates: Students will be chosen by lottery and will be invited to either March, April or May (dates to follow)
Where: Tech Lab
Please fill out the permission slip and return it to the library by 1/13
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Lafayette Broadcasting Club
Student’s Name ________________________________________
Grade/Homeroom Teacher_________________________________
Parent Signature ________________________________________
Parent E-mail address _____________________________________
****** VERY IMPORTANT!!!!! ********
Deliver this signed form to the library by 3/13
LAF Salad Bar......
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Episode 1 The Non-Veggies Strike Back.
Lafayette School was being attacked by the Non Vegetable Empire and General Russo asked for help from the Resistance.
After many years preparing for a battle, The Resistance and Lafayette School is fighting back!
On January 11th, Lafayette School will launch a secret weapon to defeat the Non Vegetable Empire.
EAT A RAINBOW DAY! First time in the history of Lafayette School a Salad Bar will be born....
Drop Off and Pick Up on Dellwood Avenue
The Dellwood path continues to be a popular way to leave school but it is becoming very dangerous. In order to provide a walking area for our students,do not park on the Dellwood Path entrance and exit side of the street. Also, please take the extra minutes to proceed toward Fairview Ave instead of making a U-turn or K-turn. This will help to keep all of our students safe.
LAF Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Committee asks for your participation in resolving school pedestrian safety issues on Dellwood Ave. Parents reported in the SRTS survey and at the January 7th PTO meeting that Dellwood Ave is unsafe in the afternoons because of the 2-way traffic and parking on both sides. All agreed a simple solution would be parking on one side of the street so drivers can clearly see students walking and students can avoid walking on private lawns. In order for both municipalities to change current (and mismatched) parking rules on Dellwood, your input is needed at your respective municipality. The border between Township and Borough is midway through Dellwood Ave.
Borough residents, please write to
Mayor Bruce Harris, Traffic Safety Liaison Councilman James Collander
Cc: Officer Roy George, Traffic Safety Officer
Cc: Amanda Feeman, SRTS Committee Chair
Via the following emails:
Mayor <mayor@chathamborough.org>, trafficsafety@chathamborough.org, JCollander@chathamborough.org
Cc: Amanda Feeman <agfeeman@gmail.com>
And/Or
Please attend Borough Traffic Safety Committee public meeting
6:45 p.m. Wednesday, January 13th 2016
Township residents, please write to:
Mayor Curt Ritter, and Township Committee members Kevin Sullivan, Bob Gallop, Karen Swartz, and Mike Kelly
Cc: Lt Thomas Miller
Cc: Amanda Feeman, SRTS Committee Chair
Via the following emails:
critter@chathamtownship-nj.org, <ksullivan@chathamtownship-nj.gov>, <mkelly@chathamtownship-nj.gov>, <rgallop@chathamtownship-nj.gov>, kswartz@chathamtownship-nj.gov.
Thomas Miller <tmiller@ctpd.net>,