I would like to take this time to congratulate our Praise from the Principal nominations for December. As a reminder, students receive nominations from staff by following P.R.I.D.E. Please know that P.R.I.D.E. emphasizes the importance of strong character and commitment to being successful in school. Each letter of P.R.I.D.E. highlights the important character traits we are looking for in all of our students. The PLD Staff nominates students monthly. Drew Dragons will…

Be Prepared...Be Respectful...Be Inclusive...Be Determined... Be Engaged.

Joshua D., Clara B., Johanna A., Liam C., Isabella R., Sarolt S., Arianna P., Corinne O., Jonah E., Azlan H., Alexis D., Camila Y., Kevin R., Kenneth B., Arianna G., Alejandra R., Sean K., Giana R., Mateo P., Leon L. & Adrian M.

Shivika G., Anderson C., Dara O., Luna C., Alexia A., Obadiah P., Joao M., Shahad A., Alec C., Ved P., Kassandra S., Chinmay D., Dominick B., Aimee P., Anny A., Nikaely P., Fharell T., Gonzalo G., Addison C. & James V.

Mukund S., Hazly H., Ashley T., Guru P., Lilah W., Tessa R., Param P., Destiny G., Jasmin K., Madison F., Aanshi P., Charvi M, Dominick F., Mikelya B., Damian O., Victoria E., Lucas G. & Bryan H.

Anthony E., Amalia M., Rolando R., Elena S., Richard M., Charlotte A., Jason D., Jayden A., Lincoln C., Ian M., Angele G., Kassandra S., Liam A., Sophia D., Kenly S. Monil P., Shahad A., Oliver T., Jaxson M., Charvidarshini M., Stella G., & Anya M.

Please note: Last month we failed to include Aaron E. for Principal Praise, congratulations to Aaron as well.

The PLD Student Council held a very successful Toy Drive. Thank you very much for your donations. The items will be donated to RISE, a local donation center that will then distribute them as needed to members of our community. Happy Holidays!

The PTO Holiday Fair was a grand success! Thank you to all of those who purchased holiday gifts this year. Below are some shoppers from Mrs. Devlin's class.

Students enjoyed pajama day before the winter break. Pajama Day is always a favorite...please enjoy some pictures below...

January 9th - 13th Coin Race

January 13th - Parent survey due (see survey below)

January 13th - Disney Day (wear your favorite Disney apparel

January 16th - School Closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

January 24th - PLD Band Concert, 6:00 pm

January 25th - PLD Orchestra & Chorus Concert, 6:00 pm

January 27th - Superhero Day (dress like your favorite Superhero)

Dear PLD Community, as you know we constantly want to grow and build on our successes. We would appreciate you taking the time to fill out this survey to provide us with feedback about our school. The survey will be open until January 13th so please fill it out before this date if possible. We appreciate your support!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1iTVbqkOtlWkWI_YpDLi65Mf2ROeccUhup0NC8UEwj3U/edit?ts=639752cc

The 4th grade team worked on a Holidays Around the World Unit, where each teacher planned for one holiday around the world and completed a lesson and activity with each 4th grade homeroom. Below are some pictures for you to enjoy.

The chorus/orchestra concert is coming up on January 25th. Our 3rd graders will perform their own program and our 4th and 5th grade singers will perform in a concert in conjunction with the orchestra. It is so exciting to see how many students are in both chorus and band or orchestra. What a talented group of musicians we have!

New year, new books! The PLD Library has added over 800 new books since the start of the school year and we have more on the way! Want to see what's new? Students can view our New Books collection on Destiny Discover and place holds on checked out books that they're interested in. They can also access other resources on the PLD Library website and you can find out more about the library, including when your child's class will be visiting the school library, award-winning books we'll be learning about this month, and more by reading the PLD Library newsletter.

The Physical Education department has covered many units during trimester 1. We began the year with soccer where students focused on skills and strategies leading up to a full game outside on the field. From there, we introduced football which was a big success. We moved into overhand throwing activities and team handball. We are now wrapping up our basketball unit showing students how they can organize their own games on the playground or outside the gymnasium

We just started a brand new trimester in the computer lab. This month students are working on keyboarding basics and internet safety.

There is always a lot of fun happening in the STEM lab at PLD! We just wrapped up our second design challenges for the year. Third graders designed magnetic games, 4th graders created confetti launchers and fifth graders designed irrigation systems. I am excited for the students to find out our next challenges beginning in January 2023! If you ever have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at stedeschi@ewrsd.k12.nj.us. ~Mrs. Tedeschi

• Please be aware that students are not allowed to take cough drops in school without a physician order. Once I have an order, the cough drops need to be stored down at the nurse's office where the student will need to take.
  
  
• Please remember to send your child dressed appropriately to go outside for gym or recess.
  
  
• If your child is sick, please keep them home from school.
  
  
• Please encourage your child to wash their hands, cover their coughs and sneezes, and get plenty of rest.
  
  
• A child must be fever free, without medication, for 24 hours prior to returning to school.
  
  
• If a child has been vomiting or having diarrhea, he/she must be free of either for 24 hours prior to returning to school.
  
  
• If your child is out sick, please remember to call the attendance line to report their illness.
  
  
• Please make sure we have updated contact numbers in case we need to reach you to pick your child up from school.

Please remember to send your child in with a water bottle everyday!!

Please remind your students to bring their charged chromebooks daily! It is extremely important that they remember to bring them daily.

Please be advised that school starts at 8:45 am and dismissal is at 3:30!

While we understand illnesses and circumstances occurring beyond your control. We encourage students to be on time. Missing precious instruction time is a loss that cannot be recovered.

Early dismissal from PLD is at 1:25

Delayed Opening arrival time for PLD is 10:15 am

The complete schedule can be found here: https://www.ewrsd.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1561786&type=d&pREC_ID=1688531

Please remind your children that there are lots of items in the lost & found. They can check the rack during their lunch period and claim what might belong to them!

The cooler weather has set in however we will still be having recess outdoors. Recess is a crucial part of the day, so by all means we will continue to provide this outdoor experience daily. Please be reminded to have your child properly dress for cooler weather. Coats, jackets, and hats may be needed. Checking the weather prior to the start of school would help in making sure proper attire is on daily.