Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we turn the corner to August, I would like to update you on our building move…

The Cedar Mountain custodians and district maintenance staff have worked very hard to move all of the furniture and teacher contents to our new home. In addition, we are getting ready to celebrate Cedar Mountain opening its doors for the 30th year in September! Please watch Dr. McKay’s fourth podcast on our overall district reconfiguration project. Teachers have been in reconstructing their classrooms to make them “just right” for their new students. If you would like to take a tour of the building, please come to the main office and one of our secretaries, Mrs. Hinton, Mrs. Devlin, Mrs. Donovan, or I would be happy to walk around the building with you and your child. Walking by our classrooms you will see rooms that are put together so expertly, they look like they belong in a teacher catalog! All programs that you are accustomed to are still in place, all best practice curriculum will continue such as Readers and Writers Workshop, Fundations, and Math in Focus, and Responsive Classroom, to name a few. Stay tuned for curriculum information from me in upcoming blogs.

As a reminder to all families of entering kindergarten students or new-to-district first-graders, please schedule a time for your child to have a special “meeting” with me so we can get acquainted. Clicking this link will take you to the main page of the Cedar Mountain site. While you are at the site, please take a tour of the Cedar Mountain links; there you will find a fund of information on the building as well as the district.

Here is a link to a memo from our Superintendent of Schools, Mr. DiBenedetto, regarding voluntary uniforms for the 17-18 school year. If you purchase uniforms this month, you will receive 30% off of your total bill! A great way to kick of the year in brand new clothes!

Project Self-Sufficiency is offering a Back-to-School Fair and Family Expo on Thursday, August 17th, 2017, from 4:00 to 7:00 pm, at their location in Newton, NJ. Project Self-Sufficiency will be offering school supplies for your children as well as FREE hair cuts! A pizza dinner will also be provided. You must sign up for this event by calling 973-940-3500.

Here are a few important dates for the month of August and early September to mark on your family calendar (these can also be found on the Cedar Mountain calendar):

  • Thursday, August 3rd from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm the SCA will be selling School Supply Kits. The kits will be delivered to your child’s classroom-no shopping, save time! Kindergarten Kits cost $19.00 and First-Grade Kits cost $20.00. This is a great way to get to know our SCA members; check out the new CM FaceBook page!
  • Friday, August 18th– PowerSchool letters sent home to all entering kindergarten parents as well as new to the district first-grade students. This letter will explain how to log onto PowerSchool and to set up your School Messenger account.
  • Tuesday, August 22nd -Teacher name, bus stop and bus times available in PowerSchool
  • Tuesday, August 29th  – Open House and SCA Ice Cream Social 10:00 am- 12:00 pm
  • Thursday, August 31st – Open House and SCA Ice Cream Social 10:00 am -12:00 pm

On both of these days, Cedar Mountain Primary School and its classrooms will be open for a visit. Please bring your child, walk the hallways, and help your child locate his or her classroom. Having your child find his or her classroom will ease the first day of school transitions. I will also be available to say hello and meet you and your child.  Your child’s classroom teacher will not be in the classroom on these days.

Please note, as you prepare for school visits, Cedar Mountain will be closed for visits on September 5, 6, and 7, 2017, in order for our faculty to give its undivided attention to the important work of preparing for the new school year. Thank you for your understanding.

Back to School Night-  Wednesday, September 6th   -Kindergarten and first-grade students should attend this event with their parents. The kindergarten program will begin at 3:30 pm or 4:30 pm, depending on your child’s teacher. Information for the session you should attend is in the letter being mailed on August 18th. First-grade Back to School Night will begin at 5:30 pm. This will also be the first-grade orientation program. 

First Day of School- Friday, September 8th – kindergarten students…wear your Class of 2030 t-shirts!

SCA Meeting- Thursday, September 14th– at 9:30 am AND 6:30 pm in the cafeteria

Friday, September 15th– SCA Hoe Down at 5:00 pm

Fall Harvest Open House- Saturday, September 16th, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm– come enjoy some light refreshments, tour our new building, explore our curriculum in demonstrations throughout various classrooms, experience the computer lab as your child would in computer class, visit our library and stop at stations from different community organizations. We will also be celebrating Cedar Mountain’s 30th year in excellence!

I look forward to seeing you for visits in the coming weeks as you prepare for the new school year. Please call Cedar Mountain if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Rosemary Gebhardt