A Note From The Administrators

Dear Desmares Families,

Welcome to March Madness! One of the longest school months of the year with only one scheduled day off from school on Monday, March 20th. The month of March is a time when we begin to see the greatest amount of academic growth in our students. We are so proud of our students meeting the Freckle Challenges our teachers encouraged them to achieve each week. Their hard work and dedication to learning will only assist us in helping to close the achievement gaps. Now that the NWEA MAP results are in Genesis, please go to the Documents tab and see how your child performed. Parents of students who took the Fall assessment can see if your child met the expectations for growth with the Winter assessment. If you have any questions about student performance, please contact your classroom teacher, Mrs. Peake, or Mr. Masessa, and we will help you better understand how your child did on this assessment. Please remain engaged in your child’s learning and always stay in contact with your classroom teacher, especially regarding daily school work, projects, assessment results, and any social or emotional concerns.

Our PTO is wildly busy preparing for PICTO on March 31st. PICTO is a great time for families and a tremendous fundraiser for our school, as we anticipate over 500 people on this evening. More information about PICTO will be forthcoming through the Membership Toolkit and on our PTO website. In addition, updates will be shared on our Twitter feed, @desmaresschool. Your support and participation are always appreciated and welcomed.

Kindergarten registration is now available online for parents to complete. Hard copies are available in the main office, as well. We are excited to see and learn about our new Dolphins! If you have any additional information about your child that you would like to share regarding their academic, social, or emotional strengths or areas of weakness, please include them on our survey. All incoming kindergarten students are assessed by one of our teachers prior to the end of this school year. This assessment and your feedback on previous school experience and your child’s strengths will help us make our best class lists for the 2023-2024 school year. We do not take teacher requests; however, if you had a child go through kindergarten and they had one of our teachers, you should indicate whether you feel this is a good fit for your child. If you have any questions, please let us know.

College Basketball enthusiasts anticipate the excitement of conference championships and the NCAA tournament while you also balance a schedule with your children’s Spring activities. Remember, please always demonstrate good sportsmanship regardless of your sport or team!

Have a marvelous start to March!

Mr. Masessa and Mrs. Peake

Big emotions can sometimes be difficult to manage. We must all learn to use some coping skills to help us learn to make good choices even when we are angry, sad, or frustrated. Please feel free to watch some of the videos below to learn about some simple coping skills that can help us get through the bumpy times.

Being truthful & just.

Here are some great videos that help explain these two traits:

FRANCIS A. DESMARES ELEM SCHOOL has decided to hold a Read-a-thon this year!

Read-a-thons actually get your reader excited about reading and it gives friends and family the opportunity to encourage your child to read even more.

Our Read-a-thon starts Wednesday March 1, 2023.

About one week before our Read-a-thon starts we will send home instructions on how to activate your reader's personal page. This is where you will be able to view and record their progress.

We encourage you to activate your reader’s account today by clicking on this link and following the simple instructions.

We've chosen Read-a-thon because it will not take much of your time, gives your child a reason to read and helps in the development of stronger reading skills.

We hope EVERYONE participates.

Thanks so much,

FRANCIS A. DESMARES ELEM SCHOOL

Dear FAD Families,

We are committed to ensuring the academic success of all students, and attendance is a vital component of your student's success. We must work collaboratively to support our students. Research shows that chronic absenteeism can negatively impact student performance.

This month we have focused on meeting with families that have 15 or more absences. Our meetings have been centered around learning more about how we can work collaboratively to support our students develop healthy attendance habits. We thank all of the families for their support at home and time they have dedicated to meeting with our administrative team.

We understand that there are times when our students are ill and must stay home to recover. However, there are ways that we can work together to reduce the number of unexcused absences and/or proactively manage absences due to illnesses. Please be sure to watch the video below.

Feel free to also review the FAD parent handbook information on attendance located on pages 4- 8.

We thank you for your support and look forward to working together to reduce the number of absences to ensure the academic success of our students.

Sincerely,

Mr. Masessa & Sra. Peake

Principal Vice Principal

Dear Parents,

The cold weather has arrived. Recess is an important part of the day for our students. We do our best to get students out and playing each day. However, during these cold months it is important to have the proper attire. All students should arrive to school with warm winter jackets, gloves, and if needed a hat. If students wish to wear shorts they should have long pants under their shorts to protect their legs from the cold weather. If students do not have the proper attire they are not allowed to enjoy their recess and play time with peers.

We ask for your support to ensure that all of our students are able to enjoy their much needed time of unstructured play and socialization with peers.

Sincerely,

Sra. Peake

For information on Maschio's Food services please click here.

For Maschio's Welcome Letter Click here

You can access our school lunch menu by clicking here.

For information on the cashless pay system click here.

You can access the PaySchool site by clicking here. If you are new to our school community you can create an account. If you need the information in Spanish please click here.

Student Breakfast= $2.00

Student Lunch = $3.50

SNACKS= Prices range from $0.50 to $2.00

Please note that snacks are not included as part of the Free & Reduced program. Any child interested in purchasing a snack must bring money in for snacks or have money available in their Pay-for-it account. We are asking students to only purchase one snack after they have eaten the majority of their main meal.

Free & Reduced Lunch Forms English Form Spanish Form

3/1- 3/31- Read-A- Thon

3/20 - School Closed for students~ Staff Development Day

3/28 - Technology Night 5 - 7 pm

During the 2022-2023 school year, Dr. McGann will hold a Superintendent's Roundtable discussion at each school. These sessions are designed to open dialogue between my office and community members. The intent is to have an open dialogue with community members about issues that are important and on-the-mind of Flemington-Raritan residents. She is hopeful that events such as these help her build relations with parents, staff, and community members and assist her to keep a pulse on the community.

Click here to visit the roundtable page.

During the month of March there is a lot to celebrate!

Women's History Month

Female Bound Breakers

Irish American History Month

Deaf History Month

Please feel free to visit our Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion site to learn more about the special themes. Please click here to visit the site.