I hope that you are enjoying the last few days of summer. We are looking forward to welcoming our fourth and fifth graders next week. Thanks to all of our families who were able to attend our open house last week. A special thank you to our SCA and student volunteers who helped make those sessions great. I wanted to share some reminders and suggestions as we get ready to start the school year.
The 2025-2026 Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) and Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Application is now available! The criteria for determining eligibility for FRL and Summer EBT was expanded last school year by the State of New Jersey. Completing the FRL and Summer EBT application benefits students and the District as a whole. If determined eligible, children receive meals at no cost during the school year and, through the Summer EBT program, families receive financial assistance for purchasing food during the summer months when school meals are unavailable. Beyond meal benefits, these applications can provide additional resources to families and provide the District with additional State and Federal funding. We encourage all families to apply, even if you’re unsure of your eligibility. The expansion of FRL and EBT eligibility criteria by the State means that families who were not eligible in prior years may now be eligible in 2025-2026. The process is simple and confidential, and the potential benefits are substantial. The application can be accessed online through the following link: https://www.vtsd.com/o/vtsd/page/food-service-information. If you have any questions, need assistance with the application process, or need to access a paper application, please email FRL@VTSD.COM.
Please remember that September 4th is the first day for students. Our school day starts at 8:00. This is when students get released from the bus, those students who get dropped off can arrive at 7:50. If you plan to drop your child at school please make a left at the top of the driveway and proceed all the way to the back row. We want to avoid cars driving through the middle of the parking lot. We will have staff at the bottom of the driveway to meet students and show them into the building.
Please help your children remember their bus routes, that will help with the dismissal process. On the first day of school, all students will report to the gym where they will meet their homeroom teacher. I’ll be meeting with each grade level in the gym on Thursday, September 4th to welcome the students and go over some general rules and information with them. Please take a look at our handbook posted in the digital backpack on our website. Students who are signed up for band do not need to bring their instruments on the first day.
Students are discouraged from bringing cellphones to school. The use of cellular devices in school is prohibited. However, students who bring phones to school must turn them in to their homeroom teacher who will lock them in a portable Cell Phone Locker that will remain in the classroom. The teacher will unlock the case and return phones to students during PM homeroom; before dismissal. Since students will not have access to their cellular devices please call the main office at (973) 764-8745 should you need to speak to your child and/or have a message relayed to your child.
Attendance will be an area of focus for us again this year so please check the district calendar when planning trips or events throughout the year. It is really important that we get all of our students to school so they can continue their learning.
We will have four lunch periods this year. Our 4th graders will eat during periods three and four and our 5th graders during periods five and six. All students will go to the cafe for lunch then out to recess, except those students with period three lunch; they will have recess first then lunch. It would be very helpful if all students arrived on September 4th knowing their ID numbers. Students will be required to enter their numbers at the end of the lunch line; knowing their number will help keep lunch moving along smoothly. We plan to go outside for recess as often as possible, starting on Thursday, so please make sure your children are dressed appropriately. It is important that students have proper footwear when they come to school (no crocs, slides, or the like please).
Back to School Night is scheduled for September 9th at 6:30 pm. Please make sure to print or write down your child’s schedule as we will be asking parents to follow an abbreviated version of their child’s schedule that evening. I’ll be sending you an introductory welcome back video prior to September 9th since there will be no general session.