Cub Corner News
FEB/MARCH
ISSUE
Norma Elementary School
873 Gershal Avenue • Pittsgrove, NJ • 08318
Phone: 856-358-6094 Fax: 856-691-2885
P.R.I.D.E. Starts Here!
FUTURE EVENTS
FEBRUARY
Reading Pep Rally 2/5/16
Reminders from the Office
Please see the following early dismissal times:
Kindergarten & MD/Medically Fragile
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Preschool - ELLI & PSD AM
9:00 AM – 10:45 AM
Preschool - ELLI & PSD PM
11:15 AM – 1:00 PM
Pre-School Corner
The themes in January we are working on are Winter, a special Snowman project, Penguins and Polar
Bears. We are planning to make bird feeders to hang outside. In February, we are opening a Grocery
Store learning center for the students. They will have a cash register, play money, shopping carts and
many new items to buy! We also learn about friendship and sharing in February. We will decorate
Valentine’s boxes and enjoy passing out special cards to our friends. We celebrate Valentine’s Day
with a classroom party. We love celebrating the 100th Day of School. We will focus on counting up to
100 and seeing what 100 objects looks like. We are encouraging the children to bring in a Ziploc bag
of one hundred items, like pennies, stickers, cheerios, buttons, etc. We will count out the 100 items
and put them on chart paper in class. We will also count up to 100 by tens. ~ Mrs. Munafo
Kindergarten Corner
We hope everyone had a wonderful break! We are excited for 2016 and all the exciting things we will
be doing in the classrooms during the winter months. We have completed the first two units of
Journeys in literacy. The students continue to learn their sight words. We are reading and writing a
lot more! We continue to practice stretching out our sounds and writing independently. We will
practice opinion writing this trimester. We will practice both addition and subtraction in math. Please
continue to practice all of these skills at home! We are looking forward to our Valentine’s Day party
and 100th day of school in February. We would also like to congratulate our recent “Cubs of the
Month!” For December, from Mrs. Rogan’s class, were Emma D’Agostino and Cayden Chew. For
January, from Mr. Nestor’s class are Cadence Roscoe and Mason Phelps, and from Mrs. Feaster’s class
are Thomas Csontos and Giuliana Dionisi. Keep up the great work!. ~ Mrs. Carrozza
BSI Corner
BASIC SKILLS
Mr. Nestor's Basic Skills classes are moving along great! Our Math group just recently jumped into
adding. We are learning how to use objects, fingers, and picture to help us add. Our Language Arts
groups are sounding out CVC words and discovering the relationships words in the same word families
have. Another Language Arts group is reading short stories and mastering new sight words every
week. Students are reading sentences independently using their knowledge of sight words,
information from illustrations, and letter sounds. Rumor has it they are building Sight-Word
Snowmen once we get our first snowfall! ~ Mr. Nestor
Cat in the Hat Assembly
3/8/16
Bassetti Class Photos 3/9/16
Early Dismissal 2/11/16
Wear Red for National Heart
Day 2/11/16
Valentine’s Party 2/11/16
School Closed 2/12/16 &
2/15/16
100th Day of School 2/18/16
Someone Special Celebration
2/24/16
MARCH
Dental Assembly 3/1/16
Reading Pep Rally 3/4/16
Bassetti Spring Photos
3/8/16
St. Patrick’s Day Party
3/17/16
2nd Trimester Ends 3/17/16
Atlantic city Aquarium
Kindergarten Field Trip
3/18/16
Spring Break 3/25/16 &
3/28/16
Jump Rope for the Heart
Assembly 3/29/16
Cub Corner News
Page 2
Principal
Daniel F. Bruce
Ext. 4770
Assistant Principal
Loretta Elwell
Ext. 4732
School Secretary
Becky Hall
Ext. 4731
School Nurse
Susan Hunkele
Ext. 4707
Guidance Counselor
Terri Probasco
Ext. 4731
Norma Educational Team
Irene Apostle
Tina Armstrong
Kelly Bayzick
Natalie Caputo
Ryan Carr
Natalie Carrozza
Janice Chassier
Danielle Feaster
Connie Green
Jessica Grelli
Kara Kalitz
Nancy Kershak
Irene Krawiec
Adina Kline
Erika Knorr
Joseph Kratzer
Meghan Long
Clare Luisi
Joanne Martin
Kristin McCaffrey
Eileen Miller
Desi Mills
Joyce Moskalow
Stephanie Munafo
Josh Nestor
Kelly Newton
Chelsea Ogilvie
Kathleen Passmore
Jason Ragan
Katie Rogan
Bethany Shuster
Peter Spezzano
Janet Straub
Janel Umbra-Hughes
Raechal Walczak
Rebecca Wiberg
Donna Yeagle
ABC Corner
We practice phonics, handwriting, and letter recognition, by focusing on one letter each week in developmental
order. We will practice Starting Corner Capitals and their corresponding lowercase letters throughout
January and February. Please practice using the materials in your child's BEE Book. Practice! Practice!
Practice! Remember that daily reading with your child is an imperative part of developmental learning. Don't
forget to ask comprehension questions before, during, and after the book! Read to Succeed!
ABC Kindergarten will start Star Student in February. Each week a student will be a "shining star" in our
classroom. Students create an "All About Me" poster with their family and present it during their week.
Parents/Guardians are invited to visit class to read a favorite book. The entire class creates a beautiful
keepsake book about our Star Student, which is presented to them during the parent visitation. This will
continue throughout the year until all students have a chance to be featured. We work hard to establish a
strong home-school connection and positive classroom environment in ABC. ~ Mrs. Kalitz
Nurse Corner
Notes From The Nurse
When the weather outside turns frosty and cold, here are some tips for being healthy:
Hydration is always important, but even more so when ill. Water, juice and clear broths help loosen congestion
and prevent dehydration, but avoid caffeinated drinks, which can make dehydration worse.
Always wear hats and gloves when playing outdoors in cold weather. The biggest proportions of body heat are
lost through the head and hands.
Breakfast matters! Kids who eat breakfast take in more of the nutrients they need. Breakfast skippers do
not make up for the missed opportunity the morning meal provides.
In an emergency-kids are at greater risk for frostnip and frostbite than adults. Limit outdoor time in extreme
weather. Seek immediate attention.
Try new things! Walk around the house on an “I spy” adventure. Have breakfast for dinner. Work on a family
craft project using discarded boxes, buttons and ribbon.
Sunscreen-its not just for summer! Snow can reflect up to 85% of the sun’s ultraviolet rays. ~ Mrs. Hunkele
Guidance Corner
Thank you to our students and families for your generous donations of canned goods and items for our Holiday
Food Drive in December. We collected and delivered over 800lbs of food from Elmer and Norma Schools.
Volunteer staff from The Pantry at the Victory Assembly of God were overwhelmed with our students’
generosity. Every 3rd Saturday, this food bank is open, free to our community. If you would like more
information, please contact me via email at [email protected] or see posters in our school.
Thank you! ~ Mrs. Probasco
Special Education News
MD Program
.
Currently there is one student in the medically fragile classroom this year. We also have our own nurse! We
spend our mornings with the Preschool Disabled students which we love! Each afternoon we work on meeting
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the goals of our individualized education plan (IEPs) and have lots of fun with sensory integration and adaptive
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physical education. We have been working on the alphabet and learning our primary colors. Our favorite part
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of the day seems to be reading stories and singing songs. ~ Ms. Long
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PSD 3
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The PSD room has had a lot of changes! Mrs. Walczak is the new teacher and she co teaches with Miss Long for
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the AM session. It has been a busy January focusing on aspects of winter and coming back to school after a
c
long break. We have gained a new classmate from the Medically Fragile room for our Am session and love our
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new additions. We have also started working on the letters of the alphabet and implementing the Handwriting
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Without Tears Curriculum. Mrs. Kline, Mrs. McCaffery, and Mrs. Bayzick have also been visiting our room with
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winter themes each week. Library is back once a week and we are allowed to check out our very own books! We
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look forward to celebrating Groundhog’s Day and Valentine’s Day in February. ~ Mrs. Walczak
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r
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Cub Corner News
Specials Corner
P.R.I.D.E.
Begins Here!
P – Patience
R – Respect
I – Integrity
D – Diligence
E – Empathy
Music
The first part of the year has been a blast in music class! We learned to identify, feel and express the steady
beat through singing and moving, and by using instruments. We developed our voices by using them in different
ways, and we identified high and low sounds, and pitch direction that moves up or down. We will just have finished
learning about rhythm, and patterns in two, three and four by the time you are reading this newsletter,. The
remainder of the year will consist of building on all of these skills and of course, adding more. The students will
learn loud and soft (dynamics), fast and slow (tempo), long and short (duration), and they will be introduced to the
four families of instruments. Awesome stuff! ~ Mr. Ragan
Technology
Here at Norma, we are doing various activities to help become more proficient at using the computer. Activities
focus on two areas. One skill we worked on was using the mouse and arrow keys on the keyboard to play various
games and learn where the letter keys are located. We used the websitewww.abcya.com which has many great
games to practice literacy, math and computer skills (like keyboarding and using the mouse and arrow keys). We
are also learning how to create a document and type a sentence or two. Then we print the story to bring home.
Students at Norma are doing a great job! ~ Mrs. Miller
Spanish
Students receive instruction in Spanish for 40 minutes when they meet. Students are working with puppets,
communication games, role-playing and physical activities. The emphasis is on comprehension of the Spanish
language through small group work and listening activities.~ Señora Moskalow
Art
We are continuing in our Art Program to learn about the world around us. We are creating snow people, penguins,
or spring time birds. Our goal has been to mix colors with paint and cut shapes with accuracy to the correct
scale. I love watching your children problem solve and getting to see the results with their projects. Please
always remember, Art Day is Play Clothes Day. ~ Mrs. Chassier
A Message from your Assistant Principal
Dear Parents,
How can you encourage your child to have a positive attitude toward school? Here are a couple of ideas to
consider:·
WE ARE…..
NORMA
CUBS!!!
~Let them hear you say good things about their teacher and school, i.e., “Ms. Jackson always has such fun
projects for your class to do!”·
~Attend special school events as part of your family’s routine. We will be holding our Special Someone
Celebration at the Pittsgrove Middle School in February. Come join us! These kinds of events help your child see
school as an important part of their lives.·
~Volunteer when you can. You might help with special school events such as Book Fairs and fund-raisers if you
have time. We are always looking for parent and grandparent volunteers to read to our students to help them
reach their “We Are Reader’s And We Know It” personal Reading goals. If your schedule is tight, look for quick
ways to show support, like saving Box Top labels on cans and boxes for our PTO, which help to raise extra funds
for school supplies, or sending in fruit for a snack.
Just a reminder that midterm progress reports will be going home on February 9, 2016.
PTO will only be covering a part of the cost of our field trips for the 2015-2016 school year. Parents will be
asked to contribute towards the cost of the trip.
We love having parents, grandparents, and community members visit. We are so proud of our school and welcome
your involvement! “Pride Starts Here!”
Enjoy!
Ms. Elwell
Page 4
Cub Corner News
2016-17 Kindergarten and Pre-School Registration
Norma Elementary School will hold Kindergarten and Pre-School registration on March 9, 2016 and April 6, 2016,
by appointment only. Children who will be five (5) years of age on or before October 1, 2016, are eligible to attend
Kindergarten in September 2016. Children who will be four (4) years of age on or before October 1st, are eligible
to attend Pre-School in September, 2016. There is a tuition charge for our Pre-School program. However, it is
free to those who qualify for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. There is limited space, so please contact us
early.
Interested parents/guardians should call Norma Elementary School at 856-358-6904 Ext. 4731 to schedule an
appointment.
NORMA SCHOOL – 2015-2016 DISMISSAL TIMES
REGULAR SCHOOL DAY
Kindergarten & MD/Medically Fragile 9:00 AM – 3:36 PM
Preschool - ELLI & PSD AM
9:00 AM – 11:45 AM
Preschool - ELLI & PSD PM
12:50 PM – 3:36 PM
EARLY DISMISSAL TIMES
Kindergarten & MD/Medically Fragile 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Preschool - ELLI & PSD AM
9:00 AM – 10:45 AM
Preschool - ELLI & PSD PM
11:15 AM – 1:00 PM
1 - HOUR DELAY SCHEDULE
Kindergarten & MD/Medically Fragile 10:00 AM – 3:36 PM
Preschool - ELLI & PSD AM
10:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Preschool - ELLI & PSD PM
1:20 PM – 3:36 PM
1 ½ - HOUR DELAY SCHEDULE
Kindergarten & MD/Medically Fragile 10:30 AM – 3:36 PM
Preschool - ELLI & PSD AM
10:30 AM – 12:25 PM
Preschool - ELLI & PSD PM
1:40 PM – 3:36 PM
2 - HOUR DELAY SCHEDULE
Kindergarten & MD/Medically Fragile 11:00 AM – 3:36 PM
Preschool - ELLI & PSD AM
11:00 AM – 12:40 PM
Preschool - ELLI & PSD PM
1:50 PM – 3:36 PM