Copper Hill Elementary School
January 2022 Family Newsletter
100 Everitts Road
Ringoes, NJ 08551
908-284-7660
908-284-7671 (fax)
908-284-7665 (attendance line)
Mr. Jesse Lockett, Principal
Mrs. Amy Switkes, Vice Principal
Mrs. Rebecca Moeri, School Counselor - ext. 57669
Mrs. Lisa Maslankowski, School Nurse - ext. 57670
Dear Copper Hill Families
Welcome back! We hope everyone enjoyed their Winter Break, upholding traditions, making memories, and celebrating with family and friends. Our PTO Holiday Shop in December was a great success and we hope everyone enjoyed the gifts they received from our little shoppers. Speaking as parents, our kiddos take great pride giving their gifts and it surely puts a smile on our faces. Thank you to everyone who donated to the Flemington Food Pantry and the United Way Helping Hands program. The Copper Hill Community is extremely generous. We raised over seven thousand dollars for the United Way Helping Hands program. THANK YOU!
Thank you for your patience and support as we work to keep our school open for in-person instruction during our recent Covid surge. As you know, it is impacting every facet of school operations. Please note, we will be utilizing a portion of our gymnasium to spread our classes out during lunch. If possible, we ask that you have your children eat breakfast at home. This will help with our students distancing in the classrooms during breakfast.
As we move into the second half of the school year, we must thank you very much for your continued support of your children and our school community. 2022 has already brought challenging days for our students, families, and staff, but I am confident that our Cougar community will continue to get through these challenges together. As we say, we are BRAVE, SMART, KIND, & TOGETHER!
With great appreciation,
Jesse Lockett and Amy Switkes
IMPORTANT DATES
1/17/22 Schools Closed: MLK Day
1/17/22 PTO Dine Out Day- Buffalo Wild Wings
1/21/22 Crazy Cougar Day: Hat Day
1/24/22 to 1/28/22 The Great Kindness Challenge
1/25/22 Early Dismissal: Staff Professional Development (Extended Day)
Please Welcome Madeline, Copper Hill's Therapy Dog
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are incredibly excited to introduce you to a new staff member. We welcome Madeline to Copper Hill School as a Certified Therapy Dog. Madeline is an English Golden Retriever. She has been in training for over a year and she is very excited to become an integral part of our school community! We hope you will join us in welcoming Madeline to the Copper Hill School family and embrace all that she has to offer our school.
If you have any concerns regarding this, please email ID jlockett or dhamblin (and add @frsd.k12.nj.us) with the heading “School Dog”.
Thank you for being an integral part of our team!
In this together,
Jesse Lockett, Principal
Amy Switkes, Vice Principal
Dr. Danielle Hamblin, Director of Pupil Personnel Services and Special Education
Rebecca Burns, Supervisor of Pupil Personnel Services and Special Education
Rebecca Moeri, School Counselor, Copper Hill School
Lisa Maslankowski, RN, BSN, CSN-NJ, School Nurse
The weather is changing!
Water Fountain Updates
In October, we informed the community that routine testing of our water had come back positive for Total Coliform Bacteria. We are now happy to report that recent testing indicates that our water is free of Total Coliform Bacteria.
In consultation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, our Maintenance Department thoroughly flushed our domestic water drinking system. As a result, all fountains, bottle refilling stations, faucets, etc. are available for use by our students and staff. Bottled water will no longer be provided.
Important Updates from Nurse Maslankowski
If anyone in the household is experiencing Covid symptoms, ALL STUDENTS/SIBLINGS in any school must stay home until the individual experiencing the symptoms provides a negative Covid test to the school nurse.
***Visitors are no longer allowed into the building. Any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.****
Free Breakfast and Lunch for 2021-2022
Lunch Information:
For safety purposes, please refrain from sending in glass bottles or glass tupperware.
Safety and Security
- Please do not hold any doors for visitors.
- Please use the crosswalks in the parking lot.
- Please obey the 15 mph speed limit in our parking lot.
- Student drop off begins at 8:45 am. Please wait at the stop sign, until being waved on by one of our staff members wearing bright green vests.
- When exiting the drop off area please be aware of buses that may still be entering the back parking lot or leaving the school.
- If you are dropping your child off after 8:55 am, please park your car in the main parking lot and walk your child into the building and check in with the main office.
- Please DO NOT park your vehicle in the front driveway of the building.
- For the safety and security of our staff and students, monthly fire and security drills are conducted.
- Staff wear bright green safety vests during drills as well as during bus duty.
Absences and Changes in Your Child's Routines
- If your child is ABSENT or TARDY for any reason, please call the Copper Hill ATTENDANCE LINE by dialing 908-284-7665 or report an absence online here. Leave a message detailing the nature of the absence, your child’s name and his/her teacher’s name. Messages may be left at any time of night or morning and are retrieved on a daily basis.
- If your child needs to be DISMISSED EARLY, please send a note to school with your child in the morning, listing the time for pick-up and the reason. Children leaving school prior to 3:25 pm will be marked as an early dismissal. Please note, three tardies or early dismissals count as one absence.
- If your child normally rides the bus but will need to be PICKED UP at dismissal time, please send a note with your child that morning.
- Please DO NOT leave information regarding your child’s change in dismissal on a teacher’s e-mail or voicemail. They often do not have an opportunity to check their e-mail during the day and your message may not be communicated.
IMPORTANT: PLEASE SEND A NOTE WITH YOUR CHILD IN THE MORNING FOR ANY CHANGE IN YOUR CHILD'S ROUTINE.
Lost and Found
Please label all of your child’s belongings (lunchboxes, jackets, glasses, etc.) Any items that are found with a name on them will be returned. The lost and found is located right outside the office. Valuables (such as money, jewelry, eyeglasses, etc.) will be kept in the office. Items that have not been claimed will be donated.
PTO Updates & Calendar
Important Dates:
- January 17, 2022 Buffalo Wild Wings Dine out.
- January 17-28, 2022 Krispy Kreme Donut Fundraiser. Pick up date Thursday, February 10th. We will also be giving the option to parents to purchase a dozen donuts for teachers and first responders.
- January 20, 2022 PTO Community Meeting 7:00pm
PTO Purchases
The PTO gifted the school two Buddy Benches and 25 Storybook Cushions for our outdoor learning space.
After-School Clubs
Our teachers host a variety of activities for our children before and after school. Clubs vary by age and activity. A reasonable fee is charged, and the PTO receives a portion back.
Have you joined our FaceBook Page? Use the link below or search "Copper Hill Elementary School PTO". Make sure to answer the 3 security questions.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/546291015501685/?ref=bookmarks
Please feel free to contact the PTO with questions, suggestions and feedback at copperhillelementarypto@gmail.com.
Co- President Jacqué Beason
Co- President Lauren Levin
Co-Vice President Alyssa Kayser
Co-Vice President Caitlin Ryan Persche
Co- Treasurer Tara Kraatz
Co- Treasurer Angelique Parashis
Secretaries
Michelle Blane
Robin Cooper
Christina Eliades
Katherine Sun
Candice Testa