WILLIAM MASON NEWSLETTER

June, 2010 UPCOMING EVENTS

Wednesday, June 2 - International Lunch, Grade 5

Thursday, June 3 - Third Grade Field Trip

Thursday, June 10 - Third Grade Mini Plays 1:30 pm

Tuesday, June 15 - Grade 5 Field Trip to Jeff Lake

Wednesday, June 16 - Moving Up Day, District Kindergarten Orientation 9:45 a.m EARLY DISMISSAL 12:50 PM

Tuesday, June 22 - Fifth Grade Recognition Assembly 1:15 pm Gym/Auditorium

Thursday, June 18 - Fifth Grade Rec

Wednesday, June 23 - Last Day for Students Early Dismissal, 12:50 p.m. Clap Out for Fifth Grade

Tuesday, September 7 - Schools Open for Students

1 PRINCIPAL’S CORNER Just a reminder, that when you are on the pick up line waiting for the children to be dismissed each day, to please not let your car idle, but instead shut off the motor. This will help cut down on the fumes from the exhaust and provide a healthier environment for our students. Your cooperation on this matter is greatly appreciated.

Is your child on Facebook? Social networking has a lot of positive attributes, but not necessarily in the hands of a young child. Elementary age children do not have the social maturity, nor do they fully understand the use and power of such a tool of communication. Because of this their choices can lead them into cyber bullying, as well as the possibility of becoming involved with the wrong individuals. As an educator who has promoted the use of technology in our schools, it is my personal opinion that our students K – 5 not be a member of Facebook. As parents, that decision of course is left in your hands. If you do decide that it is alright for your youngster to be a member of this social network, then you need to take on the responsibility of monitoring their daily use.

Let me remind you that our district adopted policy 5512.02 Cyber Bulling, on March 20, 2007, with a revision put into place this past January, 2010. I urge you to go onto the district website and under the heading Board of Education scroll down and hit policies to find and acquaint yourself with this one. As an educated consumer, become familiar with the policy statement, definitions, procedures, discipline and consequences which a student can be faced with. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Congratulations and best wishes to our graduating class of 2010.

MR. BRENNAN MISS MOORHOUSE Jessica Accardi Bayann Amer Lauren Belcastro Dante Corrado David Champion Luke Decker Peter Giordano Alec Grossman Nicholas DePasquale Christian Duran Jack Hancock Priscilla Kim Maria Gromadzka Alessandra Guarneri Jonathan Kraft Adrianna Leonardo Patrick Healy Kerry Hojecki Brooke Matits Jordan Matt Brian Ivy Alyssa Kutyla Brianna Mazzaro Chancellor Mazzo Sabrina Locantore Liam Mulhall Catherine Moat Kevin More Patrick Palmer Faith Scrivo Alexander Olimpio Delaney Potter Heather Shaw Tyler Teresa Laura Shoulder Minah Sinangil Christopher Vanaria Matthew Wasserman Anthony Trifari Samantha Grossman Jaime Wittner Mrs. Lippa

Hibah Ahmed Jane Beiermeister Jared Bornstein Cameron Brady Jessily Crispyn Sean Enright Emily George Brynn Gille Heather Giudice Leah Goldstein Matthew Hager Matthew Hingle Alex Landis Thomas Mazzaccaro David Natanov Nicholas Palmer Kelsey Perretta Matthew Rose Matthew Salzano Rachel Simon Alexander Tullo Gabriella Vazzano

2 A special thank you to our Home and School Organization, and to all of the parents, teachers, and students for their time and efforts given unconditionally throughout the year in raising awareness and funds towards the many community projects that were undertaken. These activities directly supported the variety of programs and needs that were unique to our school and community.

We also want to recognize at this time all of the parent volunteers who gave their efforts, energy, and time in providing cultural arts, lunch programs, running and coordinating the Publishing Center, Newsletter, assisting in the Media Center, as well as those individuals who were classroom readers, class moms, volunteered for Field Day, and our DVD program to name a few. Without the talent and assistance of these individuals the array of program opportunities afforded our children could not have taken place, nor could the continuity and smooth transition form one activity to another.

Many thanks to Mrs. Schruba, and to all of our Second and Third Grade Teachers for developing and organizing our Mini-Plays. This is a wonderful vehicle to showcase our children’s talent.

A special thank you goes out to the Teacher’s Luncheon Committee members for organizing once again a most delicious spread. The faculty and I appreciated the time and effort put forth in providing the incredible selection of foods and to the many special daily reminders on how much you appreciate our contributions throughout the year. Please note everything was fully enjoyed by all.

Finally, the faculty and I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a safe, healthy, and happy summer. See you in September!

Dr. Stephanie Adams Head Learner

Minutes of Home and School Meeting - May 5, 2010 Note: H&S minutes have not been approved and are subject to change. The final approved minutes will be posted on the H&S website.

Officers Present: Lucy Tullo, Deneen Paterson, Dyan Zinzi, Sue Champion Meeting called to order at 7:35. A total of 19 people attended the meeting included officers.

Lucy Tullo reviewed the mission statement of the Home and School Association and the Agenda for this meeting.

Co-President’s Report: Budget didn’t pass. Board of Ed meeting on Saturday, May 8, at 8;00 AM. New budget needs to be proposed by May 19.

Dr. Adam’s wishes to defer her “wish list” until September.

Gift bags were given to all Teachers and Aides with a Thank You note, Borders Gift card and flyers for Teacher Appreciation. On 5/7, Teachers and Aides can go to Borders in Riverdale and receive 15% off books and dessert will be offered to them, too. Treasurer’s Report: The Home and School Budget was discussed by Sue Champion, Treasurer. She noted that the following line items made money during the year: the Savings/Coupon Book, Gift Wrap, Cougar Wear, Holiday Boutique, Book Fair, Membership Dues, Pie/Cookie sale, School kits and Walk-a-thon. $610 was over

3 spent on Cultural Arts and will be absorbed within the budget. $10,000 in Black- Top line item. Make sure this line item is included in budget for next year. Principal’s Report: Dr. Adam’s thanked everyone for their efforts during the year with programs and volunteering. She thanked everyone for the Teacher Appreciation gift, as well. Dr. Adams discussed the field trip schedule for all the grades and the testing schedule for all grades. Volunteers are needed for Field Day on May 20 and rain-date May 21. Contact Mrs. Tensen or Mrs. Bitterle to sign up. This week, staff will all receive a letter from the Board of Education concerning their respective positions. Dr. Adam’s answered a question about class size. Classes that have 25 or more students will have an aide. The inclusion classes will continue with 2-teachers. Kindergarten and 1st grades will have 2-classes. Dr. Adam’s mentioned that a nice gift to a teacher is writing a letter or e-mail to them thanking them and giving details how they helped your child, etc. and cc:Dr. Adam’s. She will place a copy of the letter in the teacher’s file. Vote for 2010/2011 Home and School Executive Board Positions: Sue Arena – co-President Linda Berger – Treasurer Laura Dec – Recording Secretary All 19 attendees voting yes!

Reports/Discussions:

5th Grade activity/promotion – William Mason was the host school to coordinate the event. Marisa Vanaria and Diane Brady along with 5th grade parents did a great job planning the event with a DJ and many activities for the kids. Approximately 260 students attended. William Mason will host the event, again, in 2015.

Teacher Appreciation Week – The kids are making the Teacher Appreciation Week banner in art class. During the week of May 17, teacher appreciation activities are: Monday - Breakfast will be offered in the Teachers Lounge. Tuesday - Gifts will be given out to the Teachers and Aides. Wednesday - Teacher Appreciation Luncheon will be catered by Marra’s. Parent volunteers offered to make dessert. Thursday – Bag of lifesavers will be given to each teacher with a note, “You’re a Lifesaver.” Friday – Ice cream tickets will be given to each teacher for free ice cream.

Book Fair – another successful year! About $11,000 was sold in books. $6400 in books were sold on Grandparents/Special Persons Day. We opted to take the 60% in profit in books rather than cash. Home and School received many Thank you notes from the Teachers thanking us for the books.

DVD Day idea – instead of the walk-a-thon, maybe do a Boot Camp style activity with stations set up for each exercise. Pledges can be made for the amount of sit-up, etc. The Dads can help count, etc.

Black-Top – Steve Giudice spoke with Mr. Tevis concerning the black top. No movement on the issue will happen until the summer. Steve is waiting for 1-more estimate from the town pavers. Home and School will pay for repaving the black-top. Estimates are from $8900 – 10,000.

Book Donation Club – Donate a book to the library. More info will be in the Monday Memo. Mrs. Vogel has a wish list on Amazon.com. Home and School Master Order Form has been revised and will be included in the handler folders given out in September. Ordering ice cream coupons, cougar pads, H & S Membership, etc. will be consolidated on ONE FORM!

We thanked the outgoing Executive Board members, Lucy Tullo, Sue Champion, Noelle Baresich (not present) for their contributions and hard work over the past 2-years. Thank You, again!

4 Meeting adjourned at 9:00 PM

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