The Monthly Mustang
The Official Newsletter for Wedgwood School Families
October 2018
Halloween/Harvest Day Parade: CHANGE IN TIME
Our annual Halloween/Harvest Day Parade will take place on Wednesday, October 31. In the interest of ensuring the safety of all students, our parade route will again take place along the playground side of the new fence, from the building down to the basketball courts. Parents are invited to watch the parade from the parking lot side of the fence. No spectators will be permitted in the playground or on the basketball blacktop area. For security purposes, only room parents will be allowed into the building before and after the parade.
- Our Halloween parade will begin promptly at 3:00 PM. (PLEASE NOTE THIS CHANGE IN TIME!) For the safety of all involved, please try to arrive early as we expect plenty of foot traffic in and around our parking lot.
- Parade spectators are encouraged to find additional parking at Church of the Holy Family and walk to the school via the trail connecting the two properties. The school’s parking lot will not support the expected volume of visitors that afternoon. Please do not park on Hurffville Road.
- For the safety of all, spectators are asked not to wear costumes to the parade.
- Parents are asked to consider allowing their children to go home on the bus rather than signing them out following the parade. This is in the interest of allowing students to participate in end-of-the-day activities in their classrooms.
- Following the parade, only those parents who have been approved as volunteers by classroom teachers will be allowed to visit our classrooms on that day. Parents/guardians who do not appear on that list will not be granted access to our classrooms.
- Any costume make-up must be applied at home before the beginning of the school day.
- While some popular costumes may come with swords, knives, guns, blood, etc., please make sure those items are left at home.
Please feel free to contact your child's teacher via email with any questions regarding this event.
Wedgwood Hosts Parents As Partners Night
Want to learn a little more about how your child learns? Are you looking for help in figuring out how to use PowerSchool's Unified Classroom? We have the event for you!
Wedgwood School is proud to host this year's Washington Township Public Schools Parents As Partners Elementary Parent Involvement Night on Thursday, November 1, 2018, beginning at 5:45 p.m. A complimentary buffet dinner precedes two 45-minute seminar sessions, which start at 6:30 p.m. Childcare will be provided for children 3 and older.
Attendees are asked to RSVP for the event prior to the evening. To do so, click here and use the password wtps. For more information, including a listing of topics to be discussed during the event, click here for a PDF copy of the event's flyer. We look forward to seeing you there!
Book Swap Tables
Nominations For Teacher and Educational Services Professional Of The Year
In addition, nomination forms for the 2018-2019 Educational Services Professional of The Year are available here. This award recognizes those adults who impact students outside of the classroom setting, including instructional media specialists, nurses, counselors, speech-language therapists, etc.
All forms must be completed and returned by Friday, November 30, 2018.
Is My Child Being Bullied?
In the years following our state's adoption of the Anti-bullying Bill of Rights Act, parents, students, and educators have worked to decrease the number of instances of harassment, intimidation, and bullying in our schools. While Wedgwood School takes a proactive stance in fostering a school culture that emphasizes positive behavior through programs like our Marvelous Mustang positive behavior support system, events like our Week of Respect and our ongoing participation in our district's Olweus bullying prevention program, occasionally students may use the word "bullying" to describe an interaction or series of interactions with another student.
While New Jersey's Anti-bullying Bill of Rights provides a clear definition of what Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) look like in our schools, we must all work together to help our students differentiate between conflict and HIB. The table below provides some great comparisons between the characteristics of each. At any point in the school year, please feel free to contact your child's teacher, School Counselor Mrs. White, or Principal Mr. Zimmerman, if you feel that your child is being harassed, intimidated, or bullied in a manner similar to those described as HIB below. More information and resources dedicated to reducing and reporting instances of bullying can be found here on our district website.
American Education Week
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures For Students
Please carefully review the following procedures for students who walk or are driven to and from Wedgwood.
Walking Students
- Walking students are to arrive at the school not earlier than 9:20 AM, which is five minutes prior to the start of our school day.
- Walking students, are dismissed at 3:40 PM, five minutes earlier than the other students. This includes those who will be picked up by a parent/guardian.
- Students walking home will exit down the walkers' path at the back of the school, toward Dorado Avenue.
Students Dropped Off
- All traffic must enter the Wedgwood parking lot through the entrance designated in the diagram above.
- Students who are dropped off to school will enter the building via the door by the playground.
- Students are to be dropped off to school no earlier than 9:20 AM, which is five minutes prior to the start of our school day.
- Parents/Guardians who are dropping students off must do so by allowing them to exit the vehicle along the sidewalk on the side of the building. Please do not park your car and drop off your child from the parking lot. Once your child has exited the vehicle, please continue on the drop-off loop as detailed in the illustration above.
Students Picked Up
- Students who will be picked up by a parent will exit the school from the door by the playground. Wedgwood staff will supervise all students until a parent comes and personally escorts the child to the vehicle.
- All parents/guardians who wish to pick up their students at dismissal or who require alternative arrangements for pickup must notify the main office in writing. All written notification should be directed to your child's classroom teacher as well as our main office secretary, Mrs. Mastripolito, so that your child's needs can be met. She can be reached at mmastripolito@wtps.org. Students are not permitted to verbally tell Wedgwood staff that they require alternative arrangements for pickup; all requests must be made in writing by the student's parent/guardian. If a teacher does not receive a note about the change in the child’s regular dismissal, the child will be sent home on his/her assigned bus.
- Students who are scheduled to be picked up and do not have a parent/guardian present at the time of dismissal will be brought to the main office. As per district policy, we will attempt to contact the parent(s) and/or emergency contacts on file. If no contact can be made within 30 minutes following school dismissal, the main office will coordinate efforts with the Washington Township Police Department to make contact with the student's parent/guardian.
- Parents/guardians are responsible for reviewing the school calendar and complying with all school dismissal times and procedures.
Regular Dismissal
- Students will board the busses in the loading area at the front of the school. Parents who are picking students up must send a note to their child’s teacher that morning.
- Parents must personally sign their child out at either the nurse’s or main office.
- If a teacher does not receive a note about the change in the child’s regular dismissal, the child will be sent home on his/her assigned bus. Students are not permitted to ride any other bus but the one that is assigned to them.
Mr. Zimmerman's Monthly Picks
"That's Not Hockey"
"The Wall In The Middle Of The Book"
"You Hold Me Up"
"Press Start! Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy!"
by Thomas Flintham
"The 13 Story Treehouse: Monkey Mayhem!"
(book one in a series)
"Fish In A Tree"
Wedgwood PTO Update
Halloween Candy Bar Bingo
The PTO would like to thank everyone who came out to Halloween Candy Bar Bingo! It was so nice seeing all the kids smiling and having a wonderful time as always! A big shout out to all of our volunteers, middle school kids and teachers who took time out of their day to help out with bingo! Also, thank you to Mr. Renzi for emceeing. Great job as always! Finally, we would like to thank newly-crowned Mrs. Washington Township 2019 for stopping by!
Got Halloween Parade Pictures?
If you take any pictures the day of the Halloween Parade, please send them to WedgwoodYearbook@aol.com. If you are sending them from your cell phone, please send them “actual size” to the email address above.
Chick-fil-A Night Fundraiser
Grab the family and come out on Tuesday, November 13th, to support our PTO Restaurant Fundraiser Night this school year! Visit Chick-fil-A on Route 42 (Greentree and Rt .42) between 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Whether you dine in, take out, or drive thru, just mention Wedgwood and a percentage will go towards the PTO!
PTO Meeting
Wednesday, November 14
6:00pm at Wedgwood
All are welcome!
American Education Week
Thursday, November, 15 & Friday, November 16
Volunteers Sign-ups click link below.
If you have any issues email: WedgwoodPTO@yahoo.com http://signup.com/go/YFtQCPX
Save the Date!
Saturday, January 26, 2019 is our 5th annual Designer Bag Bingo! Tickets will go on sale very soon! Also, the Restaurant Raffle will be on sale soon too! You could win twelve $100 restaurant gift cards to local eateries!
Did you say Yearbook?
The online ordering site is ready to go ! Click or copy/paste the link below! www.ybpay.lifetouch.com
1504319 is the code
Get Connected
We hope you will share your thoughts and ideas to makes this a wonderful year at Wedgwood! You can always reach us at WedgwoodPTO@yahoo.com or find us on Facebook.
Keep in touch with the Wedgwood PTO's Remind
Sign up for important updates from Wedgwood PTO Get information for Wedgwood PTO right on your phone—not on handouts. On your iPhone or Android phone, open your web browser and go to the following link: rmd.at/wedg Follow the instructions to sign up for Remind. You’ll be prompted to download the mobile app. Or follow the instructions found here.
We are looking forward to seeing and getting to know you at school, meetings, events, and fundraisers!
Sincerely.
Danielle J Moore, President
Renee Watson, Vice President
Christina DeLuca, Treasurer
Elizabeth Schmidt, Secretary
Get Connected with Wedgwood On Social Media
If you're on Facebook, go to https://www.facebook.com/wedgwoodwtps/ and "Like" the page.
If you're on Twitter, go to http://www.twitter.com/wedgwoodwtps and follow us.
Follow Wedgwood School on Remind
Dates At A Glance: November 2018
November 7 - End of Marking Period 1
November 8-9 - School Closed - NJEA Convention
November 12 - School Closed - Veterans Day Observed
November 13 - TWP Tuesday
November 14 - Fall Picture Make-Up Day
November 14 - Family Night
November 14 - Wedgwood PTO Meeting - 6:00 p.m.
November 15-16 - American Education Week Visitations
November 19 - Marking Period 1 Report Cards Issued
November 19 - WTBOE Work Session - Eileen Abbott Central Administration Building - 7:30 p.m.
November 21 - Early Dismissal Schedule
November 22-23 - School Closed - Thanksgiving Break
November 27 - TWP Tuesday
November 27 - WTBOE Meeting - Eileen Abbott Central Administration Building - 7:30 p.m.
Wedgwood Elementary School
Email: czimmerman@wtps.org
Website: wtps.org/wedgwood
Location: 236 Hurffville Road, Sewell, NJ 08080
Phone: (856) 227-8110
Facebook: facebook.com/wedgwoodwtps
Twitter: @wedgwoodwtps