Dear Cedar Mountain Families:

Happy New Year to you and your family!  Welcome to a new year filled with abundance, positivity, and good health in your lives. We have all been through a lot with the Pandemic, let’s focus on what makes us most proud and most happy as we begin 2022. I would like to say thank you to our students, parents, and community members for all of their support during these challenging times. As we continue to move forward, we look forward to our continued partnership with you.

As a reminder, I would encourage you to ensure that your child’s health is in good condition each day before sending your child to school.  If your child is not feeling well your child should stay home. As has always been our school’s policy, if your child has a fever, he or she can return to school after being fever-free for 24 hours. While this can be frustrating for families, we appreciate your understanding and cooperation. I thank you for staying in touch with our nurse, Mrs. Forrest, regarding your child’s health. Mrs. Forrest is always available to speak with you. HERE IS THE LINK TO THE HEALTH OFFICE.

As you read in Ms. D’Avino’s letter on January 2nd…”Parents should not send their child to school if they are sick. Keeping children home for a few more days to get well is beneficial to all students and staff rather than exposing others to illness. Children who are ill or exhibiting symptoms will be sent home.”

Here are the current NJDOH guidelines we are following as a district:

Children who exhibit TWO of the following symptoms:

  • Fever
  • Chills or rigors
  • muscle aches
  • headache
  • sore throat
  • nausea or vomiting
  • diarrhea
  • fatigue
  • congestion
  • runny nose

or ONE of the following symptoms:

  • cough,
  • shortness of breath,
  • difficulty breathing
  • loss of taste or smell will be sent home.

 

Please remember, symptomatic individuals will need to isolate for ten days. Unvaccinated siblings will be sent home and vaccinated siblings should monitor for symptoms for 14 days from their last contact with the ill individual. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding in order to keep everyone healthy and safe and to keep our students in school.

 

Special Upcoming Event: Our students will be meeting monthly via Zoom with author, songwriter, and yoga instruction, Kira Willey, from January through April. Kira Willey will be using her books to teach us mindfulness and self-regulation skills that will complement our Social and Emotional (SEL) instruction used every day at school. Our first Virtual Author Visit will take place on January 13th. Cedar Mountain would like to thank our SCA for funding this program!

 

How Tall am I? Mrs. Sweeney and Mrs. Yarosz created great measuring projects for their December family gifts. You may recall from the previous Cedar Mountain Blog, that Mrs. Sweeney taught a lesson on non-standard and standard measurement. As a culminating activity, each student made a snowman out of a fence post that stands as tall as the student. Mrs. Yarosz’s students made family gifts, wrapped them, and used a ribbon that is the height of each student to tie around the gift. This ribbon will serve as a special keepsake for each family. Both projects are memorable, indeed!

 

 

Looking back at some activities in December: Our students were very excited about the magic of this season. Enjoy some of the pictures taken during the month of December. Check out our talented PE teacher, Mr. Hernandez, and music teacher, Mr. Kelter, playing holiday music for their students. Ms. Shadruff’s students created various holiday crafts, and you’ll see students who really got into crazy hair day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fountas and Pinnell Reading Baseline Assessment System: This month, we will be reassessing all first-graders to see the growth they have made in reading since being formally assessed in September. Our kindergarteners will be assessed for the first time this month to get a “baseline” of their reading skills. The BAS determines students’ independent and instructional reading levels. As each teacher observes a student’s reading behavior in a one-on-one setting teachers also engage in comprehension conversations that go beyond retelling the story, and they make informed decisions that connect assessment to instruction. Teachers will use the BAS to place students in fluid guided reading groups to help strengthen reading skills.

 

 

Standard-Based Report Card Link: As you are reviewing your child’s Trimester One report card issued at the end of December, please remember there is an extensive link to resources for each standard your child is learning in kindergarten and first grade. If your child is needing support or approaching a standard, you will find many activities that you can do with your child online to support his or her learning, many of which are game-based. HERE IS THE LINK TO THE STANDARD-BASED REPORT CARD.

 

 

SCA Information: Our SCA meetings are held on the first Monday of each month online via Zoom. Our January meeting will take place on January 3rd and our February meeting will take place on February 7th. All Cedar Mountain families are invited, please join us to stay informed of the activities taking place in the building. Upcoming activities include the Mr. Cupcake Fundraiser (January 18 through February 1, 2022) and Family Movie Night that will be held on Friday, January 21st, at 6:30 pm. HERE IS  THE LINK TO THE CEDAR MOUNTAIN SCA PAGE. On this page, you will find the Zoom link for our monthly meeting as well as minutes from previous meetings and our ongoing “spirit wear” fundraiser. HERE IS THE RECURRING ZOOM LINK FOR OUR MONTHLY MEETING.

 

 

Here are some helpful links to NJ COVID-19 Testing Options for Families


How do I get a free, at-home COVID-19 saliva test?

https://covid19.nj.gov/faqs/nj-information/testing-and-treatment/how-do-i-get-a-free-at-home-covid-19-saliva-test?utm_campaign=20211217_nwsltr&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

 

Where can I get free, public COVID-19 testing or treatment?

https://covid19.nj.gov/faqs/nj-information/testing-and-treatment/where-can-i-get-free-public-covid-19-testing-or-treatment

 

NJ COVID-19 Resources for Families

NJ Parent Link

https://www.njparentlink.nj.gov

https://njparentlink.nj.gov/njparentlink/current/covid-19.html

 

NJ COVID-19 Information Hub

https://covid19.nj.gov

 

In, closing. thank you for collaborating with us regarding your child’s education. The partnership we share is critical to providing your child with the best education possible. Please continue to reach out to me with any questions or concerns you may have. 

Sincerely,

Rosemary Gebhardt

Principal