Dear Parents and Guardians:

It has been an honor serving as Walnut Ridge Primary School’s principal!  Your children are very fortunate to have wonderful teachers who care for and instruct the whole child. I hope the students of Walnut Ridge remember all of the wonderful activities they have participated in throughout the year school year.

As a reminder, the last four days of school, June 15-16 and June 19-20, 2017, will be Early Dismissal days. Students will be dismissed at 1:15 pm. Students may purchase a “Grab and Go” lunch from Sodexho. Forms for these bag lunches will be sent home with your child and will also be sent through School Messenger. As a reminder, if your child is on free or reduced lunch, you must make a “Grab and Go” selection for your child on early dismissal days or one will not be prepared.

Introducing our June First-Grade Students of the Month

As we conclude the 2016-2017 school year, I am proud to share a few facts about our last group of Walnut Ridge First-Grade Students of the Month…

June Students of the Month

Chloe: Chloe’s nickname is “Chloe-Bean”, “Chlo-Chlo”, “Chief”; this is what her parents and sister, Jillian, call her at home. Chloe’s favorite sport is dance. Her favorite food is pierogis. She enjoys listening to the music of Luke Bryan. Chloe’s favorite book is If I Could Keep You Little. When Chloe has some free time she likes to watch the TV show “Carnival Eats”. Chloe’s favorite part of the school day is during her Reading Workshop time. Something that Chloe would like us to know is that she is excellent at helping her mommy and daddy cook. She especially likes to crack eggs and is getting very good at it! When Chloe is not in school, she enjoys hanging out with her parents and going on “breakfast dates” with them. Chloe is really good at dancing in competitions and getting pins for her accomplishments. When Chloe grows up, she hopes to become an author and illustrator; it’s no wonder that Chloe loves her Reading Workshop lessons with Mrs. Barone!

Logan: Logan’s nickname is “Beefy”; Logan’s mom, dad, and siblings Mikey and Kaydee call him this name. Logan is an avid baseball player; it’s his favorite sport.  Logan would eat steak for dinner every night because it’s his favorite food. Logan likes to list to Justin Bieber, this is his favorite songwriter and singer. Logan’s favorite book is The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. Logan likes to watch “Sponge Bob Square Pants” on TV. Logan’s favorite subject in school is math…in fact, he just loves math and could solve math problems all day!  When Logan relaxes, he enjoys watching TV. Logan is good a playing games (it must be because of his “math mind”). When Logan grows up, he wants to be a police officer.

Derek: Derek has a younger brother named Anthony and a new baby brother named Blake…so he’s really the big brother in his family! Derek loves to swim; it’s his favorite sport. Derek’s favorite food is chicken; he could eat it every day! Derek’s favorite singer is Fall Out Boy. Derek loves reading non-fiction books, in fact, this is a hobby of his. Derek especially favors non-fiction books on the topic of animal records. Derek’s favorite TV show is “Chasing Monsters”. His favorite subject in school is art class with Mrs. Docherty. When Derek is not in school he loves to build with his Legos. Derek is a very responsible boy; he likes taking care of his puppy. It should be no surprise that Derek wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up.

 

Rocco: Rocco’s nickname is “Rocky” given to him by his dad, brother, Michael, and sister Gianna. Rocco’s favorite sport is baseball. Rocco loves eating pizza! Rocco’s favorite singer is “The Weeknd”. Rocco’s favorite book is Lady of Liberty. His favorite TV show is “WWE”. Rocco is very good in math and it’s his favorite subject in school. When Rocco is not in school he enjoys playing video games as well as sports. Rocco really looks up to his dad and wants to be just like him! When Rocco grows up, it’s his goal to be a police officer, like Logan.

 

Devin: Devin’s nickname is “Dev”…this is what her parents and siblings Brianna, Vincent, Brooke, Dominic, Marcus, and Vanessa call her at home. Devin’s favorite sport is softball and her favorite food is watermelon. Devin enjoys listening to the music of Taylor Swift. Devin’s favorite TV show is “Liv and  Maddie”. Devin’s favorite subject in school is math class. Something you should know about Devin is that she has a new puppy, named CC, which her family got this year; so it’s no surprise that Devin likes to play with her puppy when she has some free time. Devin has had a lot of practice taking care of her new puppy and is very good at walking CC! When Devin grows up, she wants to become a teacher just like Mrs. Giangrande!

 

Brianna: Brianna’s nickname is “Bri-Bri”; her mom, dad, and sister, Aviendha, call her this. Brianna’s favorite sport is gymnastics. Her favorite food is king crab legs! Brianna’s favorite singer is Katy Perry. Brianna’s favorite book is Book III of the Harry Potter series, Prisoner of Azkaban. Brianna’s favorite TV show is “King Julian Excluded”. Brianna’ favorite subject is art class, taught by Mrs. Docherty. Brianna wants our readers to know that she is really good in this subject and she is a great artist! During her free time, Brianna likes to watch TV and play outside. When Brianna grows up, she hopes to become an artist.

Karley: Karley’s nickname is the most creative for this month’s Student of the Month- it is “Kanooki”! This is what her brother Trey and her parents call her at home. Karley’s favorite sport is soccer and she loves eating pizza! Karley’s favorite singer is Arianna Grande. Her favorite book is I’ll Wait Mr. Panda. Karley enjoys the TV show “Sam and Cat”. Karley loves being in Mrs. Docherty’s art class, it’s her favorite subject of the day! When Karley is not in school, she likes to go to the beach. Karley is really good at art and math. Someday she hopes to become a teacher just like Mrs. Novak. 

Kaitlyn: Kaitlyn’s nickname is Katie; it’s what her sisters Alyssa, Lyndsey, and her parents call her. Kaitlyn’s favorite sport is cheer; she wears her big cheer bow in her hair at school to show how much she loves this sport. Kaitlyn’s favorite food is tacos. Kaitlyn’s favorite singer is JoJo Siwa. Kaitlyn doesn’t have one favorite book, she likes all non-fiction books. Her favorite TV show is “Camp Rock”. Kaitlyn’s favorite subject in school is Writers Workshop. Something you should know about Kaitlyn is she loves all the books in Mrs. Rogers’ classroom! When Kaitlyn is not in school she likes to play with her sisters. In addition to being a great cheerleader, Kaitlyn is really good at crafts and coloring. Someday, Kaitlyn hopes to become a teacher just like Mrs. Rogers. 

Samantha: Samantha’s nickname is “Sammy”; it’s what her mom, dad, and sister, Alyssa calls her at home. Samantha’s favorite sport is running….this must be why we see her moving quickly through the hallways going from one place to another! Sammy loves eating strawberries, her favorite food. Samantha likes to listen to Taylor Swift’s music. Samantha’s favorite book is Pete the Cat– it’s no surprise that she had her picture taken with “Pete”. Samantha’s favorite TV show is “Sponge Bob Square Pants”. Samantha looks forward to going to art taught by Mrs. Docherty, it’s her favorite class of the day. Samantha likes the color pink; her classes are pink and she often wears pink clothing. When Samantha is at home, she enjoys watching the “Barbie” movie. Samantha hopes to become an artist when she is grown up.

Dustin: Dustin’s nickname is “Dusty”; his family has called him this name since he has been a baby. Dusty’s favorite sport is baseball. He could eat tacos every day because it’s his favorite food of all! Dusty likes to read the book Pokemon. Dusty is very proud that he can read!He loves Pokemon so much, this is also his favorite TV show. Dusty loves everything about school; his favorite time is learning in centers that his teacher, Mrs. Talerico creates for his class. When Dusty is not in school, he likes to spend his free time on playdates with his friends. Dusty is a very kind person, he loves helping others. Some day, Dusty hopes to become a Veterinarian. Something extraordinary that you should know about Dusty is that he collected 1,480 Box Tops for Walnut Ridge, which brought $148.00 to our school! Wow, that’s a lot of Box Tops…way to go, Dusty!

First Grade Engineering Project

Highlights from Preschool Fun Day

A Heartfelt thank you to our dedicated SCA- Walnut Ridge would like to say THANK YOU to our SCA officers for their dedication to our school. The SCA has brought so many wonderful programs and activities to enrich our students and our academics. When you see our SCA officers please thank them personally for the great amount of time they have spent at our school volunteering countless hours. Our next SCA meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 5, at both 9:30 am AND 7:00 pm. We welcome and encourage all parents to attend our SCA meetings, especially our incoming preschool and kindergarten parents; our SCA provides so many wonderful programs and special activities to all of our students. At this meeting, I will be recapping and highlighting the year and introducing our new 2017-2018 SCA officers who are as follows:

President: Mrs. Trisha Furman-Leve

Vice President: Ms. Missy Babcock

Recording Secretary: Mrs. Jennifer Remington

Cooresponding Secretary: Mrs. Shana Tisi

Treasurer: Mrs. Janessa Bases

Hospitality Chair: Mrs. Linda Allen-Poole

Thank you to our outgoing 2016-2017 SCA officers:

President: Mrs. Trisha Furman-Leve

Vice President: Ms. Missy Babcock

Recording Secretary: Mrs. Colleen Wehnert

Cooresponding Secretary: Ms. Missy Babcock

Treasurer: Mr. Bill Miller

We thank you for your dedicated service to all Walnut Ridge children!

 

Our SCA is sponsoring Family Movie Night on Friday, June 16, 2017, at 7:00 pm, where the “Batman Lego Movie” will be shown. An SCA End-of-the-Year Party will be held on Tuesday, June 13, 2017, at 5:00 pm. A flier will be sent home with all the details.

2017-2018 SCA First-grade Kit forms have been sent by the SCA- kits contain many necessary school supplies required for first-grade. Purchasing next year’s school supplies in this fashion will save parents time and money- kits can be ordered online at a very reasonable price. The kits will be delivered to your child’s classroom in August. Kits can be purchased up to early July 2017.

Second Grade Orientation at Rolling Hills Primary School will take place on Wednesday, June 7, 2017, at 4:15 pm. Your first-grade child will be receiving an informational flier regarding this event.

Coming Soon….our final Scholastic Book Fair…Buy One Get One Free sale. This book fair will take place during the week of June 12, 2017. Details will be following from Mr. Joseph. As a reminder, please do not send your child to school with money. Please come to our book sale after school on Tuesday, June 13 or Thursday, June 15, from 5:00-7:00 pm.

Kindergarten Orientation for our incoming September 2017 kindergarteners will be held at Cedar Mountain Primary School on Friday, June 16, 2017, at 2:15 pm (for students with last names beginning with A-L) and 3:15 pm (for students with last names beginning with M-Z).

First-Grade Orientation for our incoming September 2017 first-graders will be held at Cedar Mountain Primary School on Wednesday, September 6, 2017, at 5:30 pm. Students will go to their new classroom, meet the teacher, and will attend a special program with our special area teachers. 

Teacher Name and Bus Information for 2017-2018– As a reminder, all K-4 schools will not be placing the name of next year’s teacher at the bottom of the report card in June.  Instead, parents will be receiving a School Messenger alert notifying you to go onto PowerSchool to receive your child’s class placement and bus information on Monday, August 21, 2017. Each primary building needs the time in July and August to complete the hiring process and assure that our classes are well balanced and cohesive.  Making class assignments is one of the most critical decisions a school makes – thus, we want to take the time to get it just right. Thank you for your understanding with this K-4 timeline.

Save the date…

  • Thursday, August 17th– letter mailed to Kindergarten parents to set up PowerSchool parent portal and School Messenger
  • Monday, August 21st – PowerSchool Parent Portal opens- Teacher name and bus information available
  • Tuesday, August 29th  – Open House 10:00- 12:00 at Cedar Mountain
  • Thursday, August 31st- Open House 10:00-12:00 at Cedar Mountain
  • Back to School Night- Wednesday, September 6th (Kindergarten and First-Grade student are requested to attend!!)– this is also our First-Grade Orientation
  • First Day of School- Friday, September 8th
  • Fall Harvest Open House- Saturday, September 16th from 11:00-1:00

On Tuesday, June 13, 2017, Walnut Ridge faculty, staff, and students are looking forward to a very special activity as we will be saying congratulations and good luck to the Vernon Township High School graduating class of 2017. The graduating seniors will take a “Senior Walk” through the halls of Walnut Ridge Primary School wearing their graduation gowns as they say farewell to all of us. Please have your child wear his or her class of 2028 or 2029 t-shirts. Preschool students should wear their Fun Day shirts.

Haley Beauparlant- Miss Ramapo Valley’s Outstanding Teen, a junior at VTHS, came to do a project with Ms. Stefkovich’s kindergarten class. Haley led a talk about how special each one of us is and the importance of volunteering to be helpful in our communities. Students had fun practicing superhero poses and putting a special message together for Vinny, a VTHS junior, to stay strong! Students made “you are gold” care cards that filled with a lot of love and support from our students for our friend Vinny.

For my first-grade students who are traveling on to Rolling Hills Primary School, I will certainly miss you; it has been wonderful getting to know all of you. I look forward to those preschool and kindergarten students who will be entering Cedar Mountain Primary School in September. Please remember to read and practice math skills every day with your parents so you will be ready for school in September. Please go to the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge site to join millions of children around the World that are logging all the minutes they are reading. Also, consider joining the Sussex County Library System summer reading program. Enjoy the reading books that you will be selecting on your book shopping day that you will take home with you the week of June 12th! Have a safe and memorable summer!

Sincerely,

Rosemary Gebhardt