MILL LAKE SCHOOL
PRINCIPAL’S NEWSLETTER
“The Monroe Public Schools, in collaboration with the members of the community, shall ensure that all children receive an exemplary education by well trained, committed staff, in a safe and orderly environment.”
September/October 2015 __ www.monroe.k12.nj.us
Child Sick? Child Absent? You must call us at 732-251-5336
(Select the option for calling in your child absent or late.)
Dear Parents and Guardians,
It is with great excitement and enthusiasm that I welcome you to the 2015-2016 school year at Mill Lake School! I can personally attest to the amount of time and energy that all of the professionals put in this summer to make sure that our school is well prepared to serve our students academically, socially, and emotionally in the best way possible. Mill Lake School truly is a student-first academic institution that makes every decision with the best interest of the students.
The Principal’s Newsletter will be published at least five times this year and will be available on our school’s website. You will be notified via electronic email when the newsletter has been posted with updates of the calendar of events issued as they occur. If you would like to receive a paper copy, just let us know.
IMPORTANT IMMEDIATE PROCEDURAL CHANGES:
1. Custody Orders/ Restricted Release- All parents/guardians who have restrictions on their children’s custody or shared custody arrangements that you need us to follow must meet directly with me, the Principal, to review these restrictions/arrangements. We will not be able to honor documentation from the previous school year without this meeting! Please schedule a meeting as soon as possible through my secretary, Denise Jimenez, and bring all current documentation with you.
2. Food Restrictions/ Allergy Tables in the Cafeteria- We will have two separate tables in the cafeteria for students with allergies to DAIRY PRODUCTS and with allergies to NUTS of any kind. If you would like your child to sit at one of these tables, please contact Mrs. Weiler, School Nurse. These tables are separated from the rest of the tables and are cleaned individually to prevent cross food contamination. If you would like your child to be a “buddy” for a child with a food allergy, you must agree to restrict the food your child brings to school for lunch. To participate, please contact your child’s teacher.
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL REMINDERS:
1. Name Tags- All children must wear a name tag (index card or similar) pinned to their clothing (PreK and K) or their back pack (1 and 2). Include their full name, address, teacher and telephone number.
2. Dismissal Note- Please send a NOTE to your child’s teacher on the first day of school to confirm your child’s dismissal procedures. Indicate your wishes:
a. My child will go home on bus #____
b. My child will be dismissed as a walker and I will meet him/her at the walker door.
c. My child will be dismissed as a walker and I will pick him/her up at the Parent Drop-Off Zone.
d. My child will attend the BASC program at Mill Lake School.
3. Our main goal for September is to help the children at Mill Lake feel safe, secure, and happy so they can concentrate on learning. Do recognize that children may need some time to adjust to their new teachers, classmates and routines. Our guidance counselor, Mrs. Carol Clark, will assist children and you to make transitions smooth. Parents are invited to walk children to their classroom door on the first day of school, and even the second day, if needed. By Monday, September 8, we will expect children to enter without their parents.
OTHER REMINDERS FROM THE PRINCIPAL:
Contact information:
When your telephone, cell numbers or e-mail addresses change, please let us know immediately by sending an e-mail to school secretary, Mrs. Gsellmeyer at or by sending a note to her via your child’s teacher. We must have this information in case of an emergency.
Taking Photos in School/ No Social Media Sites:
Photographs of children taken in our school or on school grounds may not be shared on social media sites without the parents’ expressed permission.
Bus/Dismissal Buttons
We attach a character button to our children's backpacks to ensure that they leave the school in the correct way. Once the routines are established we collect these buttons so we can use them again next year. Please leave the buttons in place.
How To Reach Us
Mill Lake School has a voice mail system which you can reach at 732-251-5336. If you leave your child’s teacher a message, please recognize that our procedures here give teachers 24 hours in which to respond. Please DO NOT leave changes for your child’s dismissal on a teacher’s voicemail. A substitute teacher cannot access them and the teacher may not have time to access the information before dismissal. All dismissal changes must be made in a note to the child’s teacher (not e-mail) so the office can verify them. Any emergencies you have would need to be called in to the office staff.
All teachers have access to e-mail and you can contact them through our website www.monroe.k12.nj.us then click on Mill Lake School. We try to respond to all e-mails within 24 hours. Please do not expect an instant response as teachers may not use their cell phones and computers during instruction time for parental communication unless there is an emergency. If you don’t get a response in 24 hours, please be sure to follow-up in case your mail was not delivered.
Student’s Absence
Please remember to report your child’s absence (24-7, for whatever reason) to the voicemail system after the prompt “To report your child’s absence, press 1.” If you do not remember to call us, we will call all emergency numbers you have given us to try to locate your child. Valuable time and resources are wasted here if parents fail to notify us that their child will be out, so please remember to call us.
Throughout the year as questions, comments, and concerns arise please remember that all of our doors are always open. We always encourage your first stop be the classroom teacher whenever you have a question or concern, but of course bear in mind that I am always here if you would like to discuss any issues that might arise, good or bad! Here at Mill Lake School we are astutely aware of the importance of a strong home and school partnership and how that relationship is so crucial in cultivating life-long learners. We look forward to spending this year with all of you as we watch your children grow and create new memories!
Sincerely yours,
Kristen A. Mignoli
Ms. Kristen A. Mignoli
Principal
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER?
Early Dismissal/ Schools Closed for September & October
Schools Closed September 7 Labor Day
Schools Closed September 14 & 15 Rosh Hashanah
Early Dismissal September 22 Yom Kippur
Schools Closed September 23 Yom Kippur
School Closed October 12 Columbus Day (Staff In-Service)
Early Dismissal October 23 Staff In-Service
MILL LAKE SCHOOL – SCHOOL HOURS - SCHEDULES
Regular School Hours
8:50 a.m. – 3:19 p.m.
Pre-School – AM (half day) / 8:50 am - 11:24 amPre-School – PM (half day) / 12:45 pm - 3:19 pm
Pre-School – (full day) / 8:50 am– 2:30 pm
Kindergarten – AM / 8:50 am - 11:24 pm
Kindergarten – PM / 12:45 am - 3:19 pm
Grades 1 – 3 / 8:50 am - 3:19 pm
*Students who arrive after the 8:50 am bell will be marked late and must be signed in at the main office by the adult transporting the student.
3:19 p.m. - dismissal begins
3:24 p.m. - dismissal complete
BASC children will be dismissed to the cafeteria first. TAG students will be dismissed to their teachers last.
Early Dismissal & Delayed Opening Schedules
NO LUNCH IS SERVED ON SCHEDULED EARLY DISMISSAL DAYS
Our district’s early dismissal schedule will be as follows:
GRADE / EARLY DISMISSAL TIMESPre-School – AM / 8:50 am – 10:50 am
Pre-School – PM / 10:50 am – 12:50 am
Pre-School – Full Day / 8:50 am – 12:16 pm
Kindergarten – AM / 8:50 am - 11:24 pm
Kindergarten – PM / 10:16 am - 12:50 pm
Grades 1 – 3 / 8:50 am - 12:50 pm
Our district’s delayed opening schedule for inclement weather days will be as follows:
GRADE / DELAYED OPENING TIMESPre-School – AM / 10:50 am – 1:04 pm
Pre-School – PM / 1:05 pm – 3:19 pm
Pre-School – Full Day / 10:50 am – 2:22 pm
Kindergarten – AM / 10:50 am – 1:04 pm
Kindergarten – PM / 1:05 pm - 3:19 pm
Grades 1 – 3 / 10:50 am – 3:19 pm
Back to School Night – Thursday, October 1, 2015
Parents/Guardians are invited to our Back-to-School Night on Thursday, October 1, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. Hopefully, your schedule will allow you to take advantage of this opportunity to visit your child’s classroom and to meet his/her teacher. Our PTO will conduct a brief General Meeting. Please be sure to car pool or walk to school, if possible. Parking is limited. The presentation is intended for adults only.
Summer Reading Program
We are thrilled with the number of children who participated in our summer reading program. More information regarding our “Summer Reading Reward” will follow.
Retirements
We would like to wish Mrs. Sandra Villegas – Basic Skills Teacher (October 1, 2015) good luck as she embarks on her new journey of retirement. We will miss her dearly and look forward to her returning to visit us in the future.
Welcome
Please join me in welcoming new staff members to Mill Lake School –
Mrs. Samantha McCloud – Ass’t Principal Brianne Teichmann – 2nd Grade Teacher
Mrs. Trisha Abrams – 3rd Grade Teacher Bethanne Augsbach – 3rd Grade Teacher
Jonathan Carlin – 3rd Grade Teacher Susan Nowachek – 3rd Grade Teacher
Caitlyn Prestridge – 3rd Grade Teacher Selime Kaufman – Resource/ICR Teacher
Audrey Mahler – Resource/ICR Teacher Jennifer Mordes – Resource/ICR Teacher
Danielle Pandolfi – Resource/ICR Teacher Kathy Czizik – Basic Skills Teacher
Joan Kofke – Media Specialist Kevin Brusotti – Physical Ed. Teacher
Colin Temple – Art Teacher Rhonna Griffin – Music Teacher
Hildelisa Espinal – 3rd Gr. Spanish Barbara Norton-Lee – Paraprofessional
SCHOOL PROCEDURES
Parking at Mill Lake
As our staff has continued to grow, we have been faced with a shortage of parking spaces. Please do not park in our school lot as all spaces have been assigned to our faculty and staff. There is some parking available on Monmouth Road or you may park at the Community Center if space is available.
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
Students who walk to school or are driven by parents should not arrive before 8:45 a.m. Please HELP us by following instructions on how to drop off students in the front of Mill Lake School. A potentially unsafe situation is created if students arrive at school too early.
Walkers/Car Riders
Parent Drop-Off Zone
Cars in the drop off zone must be occupied by the driver at all times. Cars may not be left along the yellow curb at any time, even for a moment. This is a fire safety regulation that we must enforce daily.
In the morning, please pull your car forward as far as possible to allow the maximum number of children to disembark at the same time, ensuring that no children will be late.
If you wish to meet your child at dismissal, please park your car in the street or at the Community Center and walk to the meeting area.
Please do not bring pets, bicycles, scooters, skateboards or any other items onto school property that could make the area unsafe for our children.
The red sidewalk is the “launching pad” where children wait for their parents’ cars to move forward. Please do not block this area at dismissal.
Our staff works very hard to keep the students safe in front of Mill Lake School. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Student Insurance
Should a parent want to purchase student insurance please call Bollinger at 800-526-1379 or www.BollingerSchools.com. Forms will not be sent home this school year.
School Security and Visitors
Our school district requires all visitors to identify themselves with a picture ID and state the purpose of their visit upon entering our school buildings. Visitors are required to sign in at the office and wear their visitor’s badge in a prominent place on their person. Our staff has been instructed to question anyone who is not wearing a badge.
Anyone wishing to sign out a child during school hours must be authorized to do so and must properly identify themselves with a picture ID, such as a driver’s license.
Safety
It is important that you send a note to your child’s teacher if you want him/her to leave school in any way other than usual. Please DO NOT email your child’s teacher with this request. Your child’s teacher may be absent that day and the substitute teacher does not have access to the teacher’s email. We do not release students to anyone unless they are on the emergency list or unless we have a note signed by the parent/guardian. If you need to change your child’s normal dismissal procedure (i.e., taking the bus home instead of going to After Care, going to Brownies every Tuesday, etc.), we must have a note each time your child’s normal routine is changed. We receive many requests and we are concerned that your child arrives home safely and in the manner which is most convenient to you. Reminder - requests for your child to go home on another bus must be for an emergency only.