New Albany Parent Connection

A Message From Mrs. Jones & Mrs. Kalfazade

Dear New Albany School families,

As the days of summer come to a close, we wish our students, staff, and families a warm welcome to the 2022-2023 school year! It is our hope that you all have had a wonderful summer, creating lasting memories and enjoying fun moments with family and friends. As we begin to move past the changing landscape of the pandemic, the New Albany staff remains committed to providing positive educational experiences for every child to support their health and safety, academic growth, and social emotional well being. We are looking forward to an exciting year of teaching and learning and eagerly anticipate working collectively as a school family to ensure that our students are provided with the best educational experience possible to become critical thinkers, responsible citizens, and prepared to be successful in their endeavors.

At New Albany, we believe that it is important for our students to be connected to school through positive relationships and a strong sense of community. We believe that every student can learn and be successful if provided the right supports and opportunities. Our teachers and staff are committed to providing every student with an appropriate and challenging educational platform in a respectful environment that fosters learning and growth. We look forward to a productive partnership with families to ensure our students can achieve their highest potential. Our staff understands that part of our students’ success relies heavily on the support offered both at school and at home and that a strong partnership with you will make a great difference in your child’s education.

A crucial part of success for all students is attendance. As a parent or guardian, it is essential for you to maintain an attitude that “Every Day Counts” for students to be in school and ready to learn each day. At New Albany, we will assist in helping families understand the importance of instructional time and school attendance. Additionally, we recognize that family and community support are integral to our success. This is why we encourage you to join us as a volunteer through CEHASA or other avenues provided by your child's teacher.

Parents/Guardians play the most important roles in a student's success and we invite you to collaborate with us in your students' education. When we take the time to strategically plan, forge positive relationships, celebrate our achievements, and continue to build on our successful foundation, we can foster a learning environment where our entire New Albany community thrives. You are an integral part of this journey. We encourage you to take time each day to discuss the day your child(ren) had at school, review homework with them, and ensure that they get enough sleep and are prepared for the lessons and activities that await them the next school day. We also encourage students to arrive at school each day with their minds and hearts ready to learn.

As your leadership team, we promise to keep students at the forefront of every decision we make as a school. We will strive to teach and provide students with the knowledge, skills, and mindset necessary to have a successful future. We will encourage and teach curiosity, problem-solving, and instill a life-long love of learning. We will promote growth mindset and grit, so all students can learn to face challenges with confidence and perseverance. Most of all, every child will be valued and cared for.

We look forward to a productive year working with you and your child(ren) this year. We are committed to providing students with everything he/she needs to become capable, confident, and successful. It truly takes a community to educate our children and the partnership between home and school is crucial to this success. Let's make it an exceptional year and remain #CinnaminsonStrong!

Leading with caring and kindness,

Mrs. Jones & Mrs. Kalfazade

Important Dates

September 5: Labor Day

September 6: First day of school for students

September 9: Wear Cinnaminson Spirit Gear (kindergarteners wear your black shirts)

September 9: CEHASA Welcome Back Family Gathering

September 11: 9/11 Observance

September 15: First Day of Hispanic Heritage Month

September 20: CEHASA Public Meeting 6:00PM @ Rush School

September 25-27: Rosh Hashanah

September 27: BOE Meeting 7:00PM @ CMS

September 29: Back to School Night 6:00PM

Upcoming Events...

October 4-5: Yom Kippur

October 10: Picture Day

CEHASA Welcome Back Gathering

Our home and school association invites NAS families to attend a welcome back gathering on Friday, September 9th. The event will take place on New Albany School's recess fields from 5:30-7:00PM.

We hope this event provides students with some fun playtime,

as well as the opportunity to make new friends.

Popcorn and popsicles will be provided along with some rockin' music.

We hope to see you there!

September 11th Observance

On this day, we pay tribute to those lives lost, as well as the families that were affected from this tragedy. We also honor the survivors along with the first responders who made gallant efforts to protect and serve.

#NeverForget

Hispanic Heritage Month

September 15 to October 15 is celebrated nationwide as National Hispanic Heritage Month. It traditionally honors the cultures and contributions of both Hispanic and Latino Americans as we celebrate heritage rooted in all Latin American countries. During this month and throughout the year, the history, heritage, and accomplishments of Hispanic and Latino Americans of past and present are recognized.

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah, literally the “head of the year,” is the Jewish New Year. It is a time of inner renewal and divine atonement. Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on Sunday, Sept. 25 and ends at sundown on Tuesday Sept. 27.

We wish all who celebrate a Happy Rosh Hashanah!

Back to School Night will take place on Thursday, September 29th.

This night provides a valuable opportunity to learn more about your child's classroom experience. You will have the opportunity to meet your child's teacher and learn about your child's daily schedule and classroom procedures. Any questions pertaining to your child's daily activities or teacher procedures can be addressed at Back to School Night.

Please refrain from "conferencing" with your child's teacher at this time. If you need to schedule a time to meet with her, please send a quick email and they will be happy to speak with you one on one.

More detailed information will be provided prior to this open house.

Student Arrival and Dismissal

Our # 1 priority, at all times, is the safety of our students. Arrival and Dismissal times are a hectic time of day as we ensure that our 600+ students get to where they need to go. We are requesting your cooperation and assistance during this time so that each one of our students exits the school building and returns safely home or to their after-school care.

Please take note of these important procedures:

* ALL dismissal changes for the day must be communicated to the main office no later than 1:00 pm. Those changes should be emailed to nasmainoffice@cinnaminson.com and the office staff will note the change on the daily dismissal form.

*If you need to pick your child up from school at any time before dismissal, please let the main office know via phone or email. Any student getting picked up after 3:20, without prior notification to the office, will be dismissed as a walker.

Anyone picking up a student at the end of the school day (between 3:00 pm and 3:25 pm) MUST park on New Albany Road and walk up to the school via the footbridge and sidewalk. Students marked as "walkers" are dismissed to their designated locations and signed out to you from the kindergarten or library door.

STUDENT ARRIVAL/AM DROP OFF

In order to maintain safety for staff on duty, our buses, and families, we encourage parents to be mindful of the bus traffic pattern and avoid blocking the main entrance loop so that our buses can get into and out of the lot as quickly and safely as possible.

Park along New Albany Road and walk children across the bridge OR
At or after 8:50 AM, drive to the student drop off area in the rear of the building.
Parents must remain in their vehicles.
Students should NOT be let out of the vehicle before the yellow safety dropoff zone.
Students must exit from the passenger side of the vehicle.
After 9:00 AM, drive around the loop in front of the school and drop off to the main entrance.
Students arriving late must stop in the main office so attendance can be updated.

STUDENT DISMISSAL/PM PICK UP

Students who are picked-up by a parent or guardian on a regular basis will be dismissed before the buses leave. Kindergarten, DK, and MDK students will be dismissed at the Kindergarten entrance. MD1-2, T-1, 1st, and 2nd grade students will be dismissed at the library entrance. Once they are checked in by our staff, they may be dismissed to parents/guardians. All designated daily walkers should have a yellow sign that can be brought to school by the parent/guardian and shown to the staff at pickup. If you arrive by 3:25 PM, you may park along New Albany Road and walk up to the building and form a line at the side entrance to the library or by the kindergarten door to the left of the building. You may enter the parking lot with your vehicle only after the buses have departed.

Families are expected to adhere to one pick-up/drop-off schedule for the duration of the school year. Students who attend SAC on a part-time basis will be transported to their home or another predetermined location on the days they aren’t scheduled to attend SAC. To minimize safety concerns associated with last-minute transportation changes, all pick-up and drop-off schedule changes must be made within 30 days advance notice. Emergent situations (i.e. - change of job, illness, etc.) will be handled on a case-by-case basis as they arise. Parents will still be able to take advantage of SAC on half days.

Please arrange through the office staff if a child is to be picked-up every day or a certain day of the week. If you plan to pick-up your child earlier by coming into the building, you must sign them out in the main office no later than 3:20 PM. After that time, “pick-ups” will be in the library and Kindergarten entrances. At no time are parents/guardians permitted to take a child out of a line or off the bus without first signing him or her out in the office.

We will not allow our students to leave school property without proper supervision. Students are dismissed to buses or must be picked-up by a parent/guardian, or a responsible person, age 16 or older, and approved by a parent/guardian.

A STUDENT WILL NOT BE RELEASED TO ANYONE OTHER THAN A DESIGNATED GUARDIAN UNLESS THE OFFICE HAS AN EMAIL OR WRITTEN NOTE STATING WHICH INDIVIDUAL WILL BE PICKING UP YOUR CHILD. THE PERSON PICKING UP YOUR CHILD MUST BE PREPARED TO SHOW PHOTO IDENTIFICATION.

School Lunch

New Albany September Lunch Menu - Click Here

The cost of a student lunch is $2.60 and milk is 0.50 cents. You may send in cash or a check, made payable to Cinnaminson Lunch Program. Please mark the envelope containing the cash or check with your child's full name and homeroom teacher. OR you may use our online lunch system to make a credit card payment. You will be able to view your child's lunch purchases, account balance, and amount due on the My Payments Plus Website- Click Here .

In order to create your child's My Payments Plus account, you will need their student ID #. You can locate the number on the Genesis Parent Portal ( click here to go to Genesis) or call the main office.

A Note from our School Nurse

We would like to extend a warm welcome to our new school nurse, Mrs. Crystal Socha (pronounced So-Ha). We are excited to have her join our school family!

Should you need to send medication to school, please contact Mrs. Socha to arrange a time to drop it off. She can be contacted by phone (856) 786-2284 ext. 6832 or email sochac@cinnaminson.com.

If you need to submit immunization and/or physical forms, please send those in to school with your child or you may drop them off between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm.

For more information, you may visit the nurse's page on our website: Click Here.

Tax Free School Supplies

Attention Shoppers...School supplies will be tax free for a select timeframe in NJ.

Back-to-school supplies — from pencils to laptops — will be tax-free in New Jersey for 10 days under a sales tax holiday included in the $50.6 billion state budget signed by Gov. Phil Murphy on July 1. The tax holiday, which runs from Aug. 27 to Sept. 5, will waive New Jersey’s 6.625% sales tax on a range of supplies, including pens, notebooks, art supplies, text books, computers and sports equipment.

School Hours

Please take note of our school hours:

FULL DAY

K, DK, T-1, 1st, 2nd 9:06AM – 3:34PM

AM Bright Eyes (BE) 9:06AM – 11:36AM

PM Bright Eyes & IPK 1:04PM – 3:34PM

SINGLE SESSION

K, DK, T-1, 1st, 2nd 9:06AM – 1:25PM

AM Bright Eyes (BE) 9:06AM – 11:15AM

PM Bright Eyes & IPK 11:15AM – 1:25PM

2 HOUR DELAY

K, DK, T-1, 1st, 2nd 11:06AM – 3:34PM

PM Bright Eyes & IPK 1:04PM – 3:34PM

**NO AM Bright Eyes ON 2 HOUR DELAY**

SINGLE SESSION FOR BE/IPK STUDENTS

AM “BE” STUDENTS – will be dropped off 10 minutes earlier

than normal.

PM “BE/IPK” STUDENTS – will be picked up 2 hours earlier

than normal.

2 HOUR DELAY DAYS

FULL DAY STUDENTS – will be picked up 2 hours later than

normal.

PM “BE/IPK” STUDENTS – will be picked up 15 minutes later

and go home regular time.

CEHASA NEWS

Thank you to the board members of CEHASA for the wonderful breakfast treats for our staff! Your support means so much to our school family and is greatly appreciated!

The Cinnaminson Elementary Home & School Association (CEHASA) is dedicated to enhancing the environment in our schools. Every parent/guardian is a member of the association. Getting involved benefits you, your children, our schools and our community. This is a opportunity to give back to our children through programs provided by Home & School during the school year. Volunteers are needed in order for these programs to run smoothly and efficiently. The success of the Home & School activities depend on the members who generously volunteer their time and talents. It doesn't matter how much time you have to commit. We are grateful for any amount of time that a parent can give. Think of all the good you can do by getting involved. You will help your children and our schools. You may even learn a little about yourself. You can use your talents to make a difference and make some new friends along the way. Any amount of time you can donate is appreciated and helpful. As events are formed, they will be added to the Sign Up Genius.

1. Go to signupgenius.com
2. Go to Find a Sign up
3. Enter cehasa@cinnaminson.com in the email field
4. Pick a program or activity that you would like to volunteer for and sign up with your first and last name and email address.

You can contact CEHASA and find out about current events by:

Following us on Facebook: Cinnaminson Elementary Home and School
Following us on Instagram: cinnaminson_elem_cehasa
Sending us an email cehasa@cinnaminson.com

The first CEHASA Meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 20th at 6:00 PM at Rush School.

Character Education

Good character is important for students and adults. It is shown through our thoughts, words, and actions. At New Albany, we stress respect, responsibility, and kindness by following our school behavior expectations:

Take Care of Yourself
Take Care of Others
Take Care of New Albany School

Throughout the school year, students and staff will learn more on how to display good character traits.

Pirate Programs

We are excited to continue with our character education programs this year, providing Pirate Coins to those students who exhibit one of the five character traits: Kindness, Respect, Honesty, Patience, and Manners. In addition, we will honor one student from each grade level as Pirates of the Month. There are so many ways to catch a student doing something good!

Genesis Parent Portal

You can access your child's homeroom, teacher, and bus information through the Genesis Parent Portal. We ask that all parents visit the parent portal prior to the first day of school to complete the mandatory student forms.

Completing this task early can avoid an email or phone call from the school, as these forms are necessary for us to begin the school year smoothly.