Crossroads Monthly Newsletter
March 2023
Supervisor's Message
March was a busy month at Crossroads, we had so much to celebrate! March is International Women's Month and Claudine Tantillo, Carrie Dattilo, and I were honored to present at the NJASA/ERF & NJPSA/FEA Women's Leadership Conference on the topic, "Women Leaders: Embracing Challenges through Authentic/Strength-Based Leadership". In addition, Elaine, our social worker presented to the students at Mt. Saint Mary's Academy about the student population of Crossroads. The young women made gift bags for each of our students that included a hand-made sensory toy, art materials, and a personal note from each student.
March 10 was National SEL day, Crossroads students participated in an "SEL" photo booth. Students were able to choose various props depicting their feelings, and emotions, and take pictures with friends. Students also practiced group social skills and using kind gestures like walking younger students to their classrooms.
Read Across America was in full swing at Crossroads with a visit from a Dragon and his table full of tacos and toppings. All of our students were able to sample the food, listen to a story and socialize with their friends. Several UCESC staff came to visit and read to our students. Shoutouts to Valentina, Gina, Will, Marianne and our own principal Matt. Each class read stories, made crafts, and were exposed to a variety of authors during the week.
On St. Patrick's Day, a sneaky visitor came while the students were at home and left some footprints that lead to a special treat ☘️. The students had a blast following the footprints and trying to figure out who the visitor was that left them treats.
The Commission selected a UCESC Teacher of the Year for each school, and our very own PE/Health Teacher, Mr. Rich was given the honor. We congratulate Mr. Rich for all of his hard work, dedication, and passion for teaching all of our students.
Crossroads School is dedicated to providing students with an excellent educational experience. In order to ensure our school is meeting your needs and to identify areas where we could potentially address unmet needs, we have developed a feedback survey. We would greatly appreciate you taking 10-15 minutes of your time to provide us with your valuable insights. Your input will be vital as we ensure that we continue to provide the services that make us strong and work to improve in areas that need our attention.
You can access the survey at the following link: Union County ESC Feedback Survey
Upcoming Dates
April 20, 2023 - PTO and Parent Ed/Support Meeting
June 1, 2023 - Crossroads Carnival
Honors and Accolades
Congratulations to Rich Horn, Crossroads School's Teacher of the Year!!
Crossroads Staff and Student Spotlight
Student of the Month - Tanzi
Tanzi is a super happy and sweet young girl. She has been part of the middle school program for two years now, and she has truly made huge gains. She continues to progress with her expressive language, reading, and math skills. Behaviorally, Tanzi has adapted really well to her teachers and classmates; she enjoys playground time, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, puzzles, and coloring. Her favorite color is pink!!! Tanzi also enjoys her community-based- instruction trips; she particularly enjoys going food shopping at Shoprite and attending the Cranford Movie Theater. We are so proud of Tanzi!! l
Certified Staff of the Month - Peggy Barsa - Preschool Teacher
1. How long have you been working at the commission?
This is my first year working at the commission, and I love teaching preschool!
2. What would we be surprised to find out about you?
You might be surprised to know that I am obsessed with German Shepherds. As a child, shepherds were my favorite animal and I always wanted to have one. I am now lucky enough to have a 100 pound German Shepherd of my own. Her name is Emma. I also have German Shepherd coffee mugs, glasses, socks, pajamas, t-shirts, magnets, and key chains.
3. What is your dream vacation?
My dream vacation is to go on an African safari! I want to ride in a jeep to see lions, elephants, giraffes, etc. in their natural habitat. Ever since I saw the movie, Born Free, this has been my dream.
4. What is your favorite meal?
My favorite meal is a dry aged NY strip steak (grilled medium rare) with a small side of lobster macaroni and cheese, and creamed spinach.
5. What is your greatest accomplishment?
My greatest accomplishment is my family. My husband and I have 3 children. Life is busy with a 20 year old college student and 2 active teenagers, but whenever possible we still have our Sunday family dinner together. This is a tradition we’ve had since they were very young, and although they sometimes come to the table begrudgingly, we always have a lot of laughs…and NO PHONES ALLOWED!
Staff Member of the Month - Christina Cruz - School Secretary
1. How long have you been working at the commission?
I’m actually pretty new here, I’ve been working at the Commission since October of 2022’, it’ll be 6 months in April.
2. What would we be surprised to find out about you?
Before working in education, I was a cosmetologist. I went to Empire Academy in 2006 and my first job as a hairstylist was at Supercuts, I was 18 years old.
3. What is your dream vacation?
My dream vacation would be a Mediterranean and European Disney Cruise. My family and I are Disney obsessed and I would love to experience Europe immersed in Disney aesthetics.
4. What is your favorite meal?
This is a tough question, but my favorite meal has to be Pasteles. They just remind me of the holidays and making them from scratch with my grandmother. These are usually pork stuffed and wrapped in a banana leaf.
5. What is your greatest accomplishment?
Being a mom is by far my greatest accomplishment. Considering all the versions of myself, parenthood has required me to be. The life of a military wife can be quite lonely when your spouse has been deployed 6 times. So you can only imagine how undeniably challenging some days have been, but my children are well rounded independent loving individuals and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Classroom Spotlights
Ms. Hannah's Classroom
Read Across America Week
During the month of March, students in room 104 got to enjoy a visit from Miss Gina Hidalgo. The kids were able to practice their listening skills as well as help read the book with our guest reader. We also enjoyed other fun books like Put Me In the Zoo by Robert Lopshire and Cat In The Hat by Dr. Seuss. The kids got to create their own unique spotted animals and red and white stripe snack hats.
Social Emotional Learning Day
Students also used Social Emotional Learning Day on March 10th as a time to practice their social skills. This included things like taking turns while playing together and holding our friends’ hands down the hallway.
Ms. Anna's Classroom
During the month of March our students celebrated Read across America. Students had a great time listening to Mr. Matt read Dragons Love Tacos and enjoyed eating tacos after. We also had a guest reader, Ms. Valentina. Our students introduced themselves by waving and using their AAC device to tell Ms. Valentina their name. She read short stories from the Disney collection, the favorite story was “Just Keep Swimming.”
We celebrated St. Patrick's Day by making crafts and cooking. Students made a Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow. During this craft they spelled their name with the letters on the gold. Students identified the colors of the rainbow as they colored each stripe in the rainbow. They also enjoyed making and drinking their shamrock shakes in OT and Lucky Charm treats in Speech.
Therapy Spotlight
Ms. Alayna Quattrocchi - Speech Therapist
Each month, the speech-language pathology department with the classrooms focus on a new set of core vocabulary words. “Core” vocabulary words are commonly used for a variety of functions, such as requesting, commenting, and labeling. The core words of the month are highlighted during our sessions, interactions with students, as well as incorporated into classroom activities. This month, the core words focused on question words: who, what, where, when.
To keep speech-language therapy sessions dynamic and engaging, we like to develop themes based on holidays/celebrations occurring throughout the month. For Read Across America Week, our students read A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon. They worked on answering questions based on the story.
In preparation for St. Patrick’s Day, our students made “leprechaun bait”, a sweet treat to lure in leprechauns. They were able to follow directions, take turns mixing, pouring, and measuring, and passing out plates and napkins. The students were also able to identify the ingredients needed for “leprechaun bait”. Our students enjoy learning to communicate, practicing social skills, and increasing their expressive and receptive language skills through hands-on activities!
Therapist Tell It Thursday: Core Words/Tips & Tricks
Staff workshop presented by Dana & Alayna
March at Crossroads
Crossroads BCBA's and RBT on World Behavior Analysis Day
Making leprechauns on St. Patrick's Day!
Prepping the garden on the first day of Spring.
Graphing with Lucky Charms ☘️
Skittles science experiment. 🌈
Celebrating World Music Therapy Day with Mr. Patrick
Empowerment and Women's History Month
Students creating a banner while learning about influential women in history.
UCESC Superintendent Carrie Dattilo, Westlake Principal Claudine Tantillo, and our own Crossroads Supervisor of Instruction, Danielle Cicalese, presenting at the
2023 Women's Leadership Conference
Crossroads Social Worker Elaine, presented information about our school to the students at Mount St. Mary's Academy.
International SEL Day
Read Across America
Dragons Love Tacos read aloud and Taco Table!!
Crossroads in the Community
Specials Report - Mr. Rich - GYM
During the past month, students have continued working hard on their daily health and physical education activities. Students have done a great job with their daily activities and are improving weekly. Stressing things such as: structure, getting into a routine, and reviewing classroom expectations have been constant and have made lessons very successful.
In gym, we have focused on a wide variety of activities. These activities include: walking, running, stretching, relay races on foot and scooters, agility obstacle courses, letter, number, picture and color matching activities, striking a beach ball with 2 hands, striking a balloon with a tennis racquet, catching, kicking and following single and multi step directions. Moving forward, we will continue to build on the above mentioned activities and slowly add new and more challenging ones.
In health class, we recently finished a unit on community helpers and are now learning about safety signs you might see in school, at home or out in the community. Students have participated in multiple social stories, matching activities, interactive lessons on the computer/touch screen and completed various group activities along with worksheets, according to ability level.
Sports groups and individual fitness sessions have been successful and are giving students a chance to participate in some activities they might not necessarily get to in a typical physical education setting. Students have been engaged and are enjoying the extra time in the gym. They have also had the chance to be more independent and practice making choices on what they participate in for the day. Activities range anywhere from cardiovascular endurance to practicing individual skills that are used in team sports.
Survey Reminder
Crossroads School is dedicated to providing students with an excellent educational experience. In order to ensure our school is meeting your needs and to identify areas where we could potentially address unmet needs, we have developed a feedback survey. We would greatly appreciate you taking 10-15 minutes of your time to provide us with your valuable insights. Your input will be vital as we ensure that we continue to provide the services that make us strong and work to improve in areas that need our attention.
You can access the survey at the following link: Union County ESC Feedback Survey
About Us
Website: https://www.ucesc.org/schools/crossroads_school
Location: 45 Cardinal Drive, Westfield, NJ, USA
Phone: 908-233-9317