Dear Cedar Mountain Families:

I hope you are enjoying the summer making memories with your family…as September quickly approaches; I am looking forward to opening the doors of Cedar Mountain Primary School to our kindergarten and first-graders on Thursday, September 6th!  As one of the first schools students enter in the Vernon Township School District, the faculty of Cedar Mountain Primary School begins the all-important process of developing the skills for lifelong learning where all students develop natural curiosity, self-regulation skills and grow cognitively and developmentally. The most precious resource and the pride of Cedar Mountain Primary School are the wonderfully talented faculty and staff working with our young children.

Upon entering the building, our students will experience the larger-than-life treasurer chest hand-painted by local artist Art Frisbie. This painting sends the message that “Education is Treasure”. You will also see multiple college pennants of all of the schools our teachers attended, reinforcing that from crayons to careers, education is truly a treasure, and I hope all the families of Cedar Mountain experience this philosophy as you partner with us in educating your child!

Throughout the summer, teachers, secretaries, custodians, and maintenance staff have been very busy preparing, cleaning, and “polishing” the building for the 2018-2019 school year. We have MANY new teachers in our building this year. I will be introducing each teacher in an upcoming blog. Here are a few important dates for the month of August and early September to mark on your family calendar:

  • Monday, August 20th- Teacher name and bus information available in Genesis
  • Tuesday, August 28th – Open House 10:00- 12:00
  • Thursday, August 30th- Open House 10:00-12:00- 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.  
  • The building will be closed for visits on September 4-5, 2018, in order for our faculty to give its undivided attention to the important work of preparing for the new school year.
  • Back to School Night- Wednesday, September 5th – Kindergarten 3:30 and 4:30, 1st grade 5:30 and 6:30  as follows:
    • Session I Kindergarten– 3:30-4:30 PM
      Miss Chmielowiec (in for Mrs. Arlington’s maternity leave coverage)
      Mrs. Bross
      Mrs. Czergovits
      Mrs. Schwarz
      Mrs. Sweeney/Mrs. Denninger (Miss Leitner in Mrs. Denninger’s maternity leave coverage)
      Miss Kusma
      Session II Kindergarten– 4:30-5:30 PM
      Ms. Cummins
      Ms. Stefkovich
      Ms. Thomas
      Mrs. Zinni/Ms. LaBar
      Mrs. Horn
      Mrs. Gagliardi
    • Session I First Grade– 5:30-6:30 PM
      Mrs. Barone
      Mrs. Battista
      Mr. Dente
      Mrs. Megnin
      Mrs. Hartman
      Miss Waleck
    • Session II First Grade– 6:30-7:30 PM
      Mrs. Rogers
      Mrs. Start
      Mrs. Giangrande
      Mrs. Talerico/Mrs. Ollert
      Mrs. Vanadia
      Mrs. Novak

  • First Day of School- Thursday, September 6th, as a reminder, both September 6th and September 7th will be early dismissal days. Lunch will be served on both days.
  • September SCA Meeting: Monday, September 10th, at 9:30 am and 6:30 pm
  • Fall Harvest Open House– Saturday, September 15th, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm- come to enjoy a light refreshments, tour the building, explore our curriculum in demonstrations throughout various classrooms, experience the computer lab as your child would in computer class, visit our library, learn about our curriculum, and stop at stations from different community organizations

Kindergarten Class of 2031 t-shirts: As a reminder to all kindergarten parents, please have your child wear his or her graduation year t-shirt on the first day of school. This will be a way to promote school spirit and feel welcome in a new school as a new student. Please contact the office if you did not receive a t-shirt. Your child will have opportunities to wear this shirt on many school spirit days this year. It will also serve as nice momento for you for years to come. 

We will continue to use the Raptor Visitor Management System for those parents, guardians, or other family members who are entering the building. All guests will be required to sign in and show his or her driver’s license upon entering the building at the welcome window where you will be greeted by Mrs. Donovan.  Even if you came into the building last year, all names have been reset and you will have to present your license again on your first visit. Every visitor will be issued a visitor’s pass and will be requested to wear the pass in a visible place on clothing.

School Messenger System: We will be using School Messenger to notify parents/guardians of school happenings, important information, school closings as well as delayed openings and early dismissals. Please see the Cedar  Mountain website for other important school information and the many forms that are given to you at Back to School Night.

Please reference the Digital Backpack for important district notices as well as information related to Cedar Mountain. You can also access our Parent Handbook for a lot of other important school information. You can also find a list of suggested school supplies for each grade.

If you did not sign up for a time for your kindergarten child to meet me, there is still time! Please click this link to Sign Up Genius.

Please feel free to contact me at Cedar Mountain School if you have any questions for me for the new school year. Parents reading this blog that have not yet registered their child for kindergarten; please click this link that will take you to our registration page.

INFORMATION ON PARKING AND DROP OFF AT CEDAR MOUNTAIN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Parents that drop off and pick up their child(ren) will be required to park in an available spot in the parking lot OR on Sammis Road and escort your child to either the ramp in the main parking lot or by the front playground. Please be aware that Cedar Mountain Primary School does not have the personnel to supervise students who are dropped off early; therefore, students will only be permitted to enter the building at 9:20 AM when students are dismissed from their bus. If you are picking up your child at the end of the school day, students will be dismissed to the front foyer at 3:40 pm. As part of our required chain of custody, you must present proper ID to Mrs. Donovan who will bring your child(ren) to you. No child will be brought to a parent or a family delegate without proper identification. We appreciate your patience as we get to know all of our families that pick up children.

I look forward to seeing you for visits in the coming weeks as you prepare for the new school year.

Sincerely,

Rosemary Gebhardt