Sussex Star Burst Newsletter
Principal's Corner
Welcome Back
Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year! I hope your summer consisted of sun, fun, and family. Summer is my favorite season, but I look forward to the start of the school year. I eagerly await our staff and students to breathe life into our building and look forward to a wonderful school year.
This year our PowerSchool Portal will be a critical access point for important information relating to your children, such as teacher assignments, transportation information, report cards, and all required forms for the Annual Student Update. This information will not be mailed home. Adjustments over the next few weeks may cause the bus pickup and drop-off times to shift slightly. The bus reference sheet will assist in locating this information in the PS parent portal. Please note: If your child needs to be picked up or dropped off at a babysitter’s address that is different their your home address, please update the Childcare Arrangement Form in the Parent Portal. The deadline for submitting the form is August 29th for the arrangement to begin on the first day of school.
The Sussex Start Burst newsletter will be sent bi-weekly via email and text this school year. The newsletter can also be located on our school webpage.
On behalf of the entire Sussex Avenue School community, thank you for your partnership. We look forward to a wonderful school year and seeing you and your children on September 6th!
Mrs. Lorri Vaccaro
New Email Address for the Sussex Main Office
Welcome to New Staff
Please help me welcome the following new staff members to the Sussex Avenue School family:
Child Study Team: Jamie Anastasio
3rd Grade Teacher: Kelly Hollenbeck
4th Grade Teacher: Mary (Katie) Cacchio
Academic Success Teacher- Heidi Biller
Administrative Assistant: Jacqueline Herrera-Ramos
What's New at Sussex!
Mr. Kevin Knowles and Al Rapa from Buildings and Grounds, Mr. Edilson, Mr. Cesar, Ms. Angela, Ms. Gaudioso, and Mrs. Herrera-Ramos worked tirelessly all summer to make Sussex shine! Their dedication to the Sussex Avenue School community is to be commended. Each team member worked hard to prepare the school for staff and students to return. Some changes are:
- The pavement near the bus loop and the back playground pathways has been paved.
- We have moved three fifth-grade classrooms from the lower level up to the main level.
- Two Buddy Benches have been purchased. One will be placed on the playground, the other on the side of the building where recess is held when the fields are not suitable for use.
Parking Lot Traffic Pattern
Arrival/Dismissal Procedures
Arrival:
Arrival: Students enter the building at 8:55 a.m. Parents wishing to bring their students to school should do so no earlier than 8:40. Students are dropped off at the entrance. Please note that there is no supervision before 8:55; any student arriving before 8:55 will not be permitted in the building.
Our parking lot space is smaller than Alfred Vails and cannot accommodate those who wish to drop their student off to line up at the entrance with their vehicles, waiting for the doors to open at 8:55. If you arrive before 8:55 and would like to wait with your child, please park your vehicle in the main or side parking lot and escort your student to the front door or wait in your vehicle in the parking lot until the building opens.
Students enter the building in three different areas. Students arriving by bus will be dropped off at our bus loop and enter the building from three locations:
3rd-grade hallway doors- Students from Tuzzeo, Leeson, Murphy, Hollenbeck, Marvez, and Calo classes enter here.
Main Staircase- Students from the classes of Stritmater, Curl, Bruno, Martell, Cacchio, Jacobus, Lubrano, Daly, and Johnson enter here.
Main Entrance- Students walking to school or being dropped off will enter at the main entrance.
- Staff will be present to greet and assist students during daily arrival and dismissal.
Instruction begins promptly at 9:00 and ends at 3:20. Any student arriving at 9:10 is considered late and must enter the front of the building and report to the nurse's office for a late pass.
We will begin the dismissal process at approximately 3:20. We will begin by dismissing all walkers and those being picked up by their parents at this time.
Parent Pick Up: The side parking lot will be available for parking during arrival and dismissal. Parents will either park their car in the side parking lot or the main lot and wait outside the side entrance until dismissal time. Staff members will be outside the side parking lot door to take your name. Once they have your name, they will call into the gymnasium for your child, and your child will be released to you.
- If you plan to pick up your child at dismissal time and this is not their typical mode of transportation, please complete the Sussex Pick Up Note Google Form in the morning.
- Written permission must be provided if you are sending someone other than yourself to pick up your child. Individuals should be prepared to present identification. Students will not be dismissed by anyone without written parental consent.
District Appointed Walkers: Students designated as district-appointed walkers will be dismissed after the last period. Students will follow all approved routes in which a crossing guard is present. Should you pick your child up, please follow the procedures above under Parent Pick Ups. For safety reasons, students will not be permitted to enter vehicles on school property if the adult does not follow the above procedures.
- Change in Dismissal Plans: If a situation requires you to pick your child up during the school day, please complete the electronic Sussex Pick Up Note Google form in the morning before your child arrives at school or as soon as you know you will be changing your child's dismissal plan. The end of the day is very hectic in the main office. Pickups near dismissal time for those who have not completed the Google form may be delayed.
- Before leaving, you must sign your child out in the notebook provided in the office. Written permission must be provided if you are sending someone other than yourself. Students will not be dismissed by anyone without written parental consent. Individuals should be prepared to present identification.
PowerSchool Web Based Portal vs. PowerSchool Mobile App
As mentioned above, the PowerSchool Portal will be a critical access point for important information relating to your children, such as teacher assignments, transportation information, report cards, and all required forms.
There are differences between the Web-based portal and the Mobile App. The web-based portal is the most comprehensive source of information.
To assist with any confusion, please find those differences below.
Web-based portal
* is customized and contains more information than the Mobile App
* preschool - 12 transportation can only be found on the web version
* K-6 schedules can only be found on the web version
* grades, forms, fees, assignments, report cards, and attendance are on this version
Mobile app
* forms, and attendance are on the app
* schedules and assignments are on the app for MS and HS only
* Fees are on the app
For additional questions regarding the PowerSchool Parent Portal click here.
Class Scheduling
We are very excited to introduce the concept of "Departmentalizing" in our 5th-grade classes. This concept allows students to travel to a specific teacher for a specific content area. This is already done with specials. Fifth graders will have a teacher for ELA/Health and will travel to a different teacher for Math/Social Studies.
The teachers have been working hard to prepare for this and are looking forward to doing all they can as we continue to focus on preparing our students for middle school.
Lunch and Recess
- Breakfast is $1.35 a day
- Lunch is $2.85
- Milk $.75.
- Snacks are available for purchase and range from $.50 to $1.00.
Student Lockers
Each student is assigned a locker by their homeroom teacher. Student lockers do not have locks on them and are used to store backpacks and coats. Students are encouraged to leave items of value at home.
Band and Orchestra
Looking Ahead
August 30- Open House 10:00 am- 2:00 pm
September 6- First Day of SchoolSeptember 12- Fall Club Sign Up (More information from HSA to follow)
September 13- Back to School Night- 6:30-8:00
September 23- School Spirit! Wear your favorite sports team shirt
September 26- School is Closed
September 30- Spirit Day! Wear your Sussex Spirit Wear
The Sussex Home and School Association (HSA)
Please get in touch with our HSA president Michele Cottone or any member of our HSA Executive Board at SussexavenueHSA@gmail.com to discuss how you can lend a hand.
Be sure to register on the HSA (Home School Association) website. The HSA website is one-
stop-shopping for the school calendar, spirit wear store, latest announcements, and more!