September 28th: First Day of BLES Fit Club - 3:45pm-4:45pm

September 29th: Coffee & Pastries with the PTA (details below) - 7:30pm-8:30pm

October 3rd - October 7th: Week of Respect (details below)

October 7th: Porch Sign Painting with the PTA (details below) - 6:30pm-9:30pm

October 10th: School Closed for Students: Staff In-service

October 19th: Byram PTA Dine to Donate at Stonewood Tavern (details below)

October 21st: Byram-A-Blaze Trunk or Treat (details below) - 5:30pm-8:00pm

October 26th: Board of Education meeting

October 31st: Halloween Parade (More information to follow)

Hello Byram Lakes students and families!

It's hard to believe, but we are already almost a month into school! It's been a great month - in my time in classrooms and lunchrooms I've seen students get right back into the swing of school. We've already seen growth from many of our students both academically and socially. The first month of school is always an exciting one, and it's been great to see our students and teachers come back with passion and excitement!

Thank you to our parents as we worked to get some things ironed out early in the year, including our bussing systems, pick up and drop off routines, and of course the water issue that gave everyone a one-day reminder of summer during our first week. All of these things are on track now, and I look forward to working with you and our staff to continue to improve all our systems as we move through the school year.

Back to School Night was a great success! Thank you to all the parents who came out; it really takes a true partnership between home and school to ensure student success. Thank you also to any parents who filled in the BTSN feedback survey. If you haven't had a chance to do so, please provide us with your take on how Back to School Night went here.

Please enjoy this edition of the Lakes Ledger. Included:

A Look Back

A Look Ahead

PTA Corner

Extra! Extra!

Let's make October another FANTASTIC month at Byram Lakes Elementary School!

Pete Morris

The first day of school is always one of the best days of the year! Students were thrilled to be back at Byram Lakes; seeing old friends and teachers as well as making new connections. Our teachers worked hard to be ready for day one, and everyone was so excited to get back to business.

Attendance is crucial to our childrens' success in school! Please take a look at our district's Attendance Policy here. In accordance with our district attendance policy, we will be notifying home as students accumulate unexcused absences. Notification processes are as follows:

4 absences/tardies: letter home about the importance of attendance generated (Truancy Officer)

8 absences/tardies:second letter home with importance of attendance, and warning of what will happen if absences/tardies increase (Truancy Officer)

12 unexcused absences/tardies: mandatory meeting to develop an Attendance Improvement Plan (RTI Coordinator)

18 absences/tardies: possible referral to truancy court (Administrator)

In order to avoid an unexcused absence, please send in a doctor's note or other documentation providing an excused reason for the absence. The regulation on absence classification can be found here. If you have doctor's notes or documentation for any school days already missed, please send those in to our main office as soon as possible.

Are you interested in helping out in your child's classroom, the library, or otherwise within the school? Please let your child's teacher know that you would have interest in being a parent volunteer! Remember, you must be a member of the PTA to volunteer in the school. We often have many parents who volunteer, so we will do our best to incorporate all volunteers, but I appreciate your understanding if our volunteer availability fills up.

Brrrr.. it was chilly outside on Friday! I guess summer's over! As the weather starts to cool, please make sure you send your children in with jackets as appropriate. As long as the weather is nice and it is not at a freezing temperature outside, we'll be going out for recess.

The Byram Township School District utilizes Pick Up Patrol to ensure that all students arrive to school and return home safely. This system allows parents to input the mode by which their child(ren) will return home at the end of the school day. Options for dismissal include pick up or school bus. Parents can set a default plan to notify their child's teacher of how they will be going home each day. Should that default need to be changed on a given day, it is the parent's responsibility to log in and update the day with a "Plan Change." This will notify the teacher that the student will not be following the normal dismissal plan and can then inform the student of the plan change for that day. If you need to change your child's plan for the day, you will need to do so no later than 3:05 pm.

Please click here for an informational flyer that will explain more.

Students have been loving our school lunches provided by Maschio's Food Services! Maschio's is committed to serving healthy and delicious food options to our students on a regular basis. Unlike last year, lunch will not be offered at no cost to students. Lunch options include a main course option, a bagel bag, and a muffin bag. All lunches include components of a well-rounded nutritional meal, such as a vegetable, a milk, and a cheese stick or yogurt for the bagged options. A student lunch costs $3.50.

Using their online portal, you can check out the upcoming menus for each month. You can also preload your child's account so that they have the funds to buy lunch. See the below links for more information. If your child buys lunch, it is very helpful if they know their PIN to ensure a quick buying process and more time to eat. Your child's lunch pin is the last four digits of their Student ID number.

Maschio's Welcome Back Letter

Byram Food Services

Maschio's Menus

If your child charges lunch and you have not yet added funds, you will be receiving notices from me to fund your account.

A message from the Board Office:

The school lunches are not free anymore unless you qualify through the free and reduced application process.The income guidelines have changed so if you didn't qualify in the past you may qualify now. Please complete an application and send it in an envelope to the Byram Board of Education office.Those families that qualify for reduced lunch will get it free this year under a state subsidy.The applications can be found on the Byram School website under the students tab and food service tab.

https://www.byramschools.org/cmsAdmin/uploads/freereducedapplication.pdf

A huge THANK YOU to the Byram PTA, as they continue to work so hard to provide some excellent opportunities for our students and families. Remember, if you would like to volunteer in the classroom, please Please check out this section to see what they've got going on. See below for flyers on some exciting upcoming events! Click on the flyer images for a larger version.

Check out the PTA MemberHub here to sign up, and the Facebook page here.

The PTA is always looking for volunteers, please contact them at byrampta@gmail.com

Here’s your 2022-2023 Byram PTA Board Members:

President Marla Rodriguez

Vice President Ana Lavrador

Secretary Oriana Strohmeyer

Treasurer Lindsey McBain

By-Laws Chair Patricia Trentanelli

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!
Parents, Grandparents, Guardians and Staff
Come learn about the benefits of joining and how you can make a difference in the Byram Community.

Please join us for coffee and pastries on Thursday September 29th 7:30-8:30pm while getting to know the members of the PTA. We will be discussing events we have planned; answer any questions you may have and share your ideas. We are always looking for volunteers any help you can give us is appreciated. We hope to see you there!

SEPTEMBER 29th 7:30-8:30pm
Byram Lakes Elementary School
12 Mansfield Drive
Byram, NJ
meeting will be located in the cafeteria

Order from Stonewood and support the PTA!

Order a fun Kids Cooking Kit and help support our PTA!

Sponsored by the Byram Township Recreation Committee