July 2017

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome to Cedar Mountain Primary School, a special place for our children! I am very proud to continue as your child(ren)’s kindergarten and first-grade principal. While we are moving from Walnut Ridge to Cedar Mountain this summer to prepare for a new school year, I would like to remind our families that all kindergarten and first grade teachers from Walnut Ridge will continue in their positions. Some of our new faculty are:

Mrs. Lisa Haw-Kindergarten

Mrs. Kim Zicopoulos-First Grade

Ms. MaryRose Cummins- Special Education

All programs that you are accustomed to are still in place, all best practice curriculum will continue such as Responsive Classroom, Readers and Writers Workshop, Fundations, and Math in Focus, to name a few. Stay tuned for curriculum information from me in upcoming blogs.

Please be patient as our website is under construction. Some links for Cedar Mountain live on the Walnut Ridge site and there are some erroneous links on the Cedar Mountain site that are not applicable to our K-1 building. Thank you for your understanding.

Below is some information that will be helpful to you and your child while school is not in session. For lots of literacy activities, consider accessing Mr. Joseph’s Media Center link.  Check out Mr. Joseph’s Great Websites, Cool Tech and Parent Page links. Here is a link to our Summer Math Challenge using Sum Dog. Please go to the Scholastic Summer Reading 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. Here are some informational fliers on where reading can take a child and the benefits of reading to your youngsters. 

Congratulations to Mrs. Nicole Keane and Mrs. Valerie Start who have recently been spotlighted in NJ Teachers Magazine by Walnut Ridge parent, Mrs. Gina Crotchfelt, as people that have impacted her son in a very positive way.  We are very proud of Mrs. Keane’s and Mrs. Start’s contribution to all of our students’ well-being.  Way to go, Mrs. Keane and Mrs. Start!!

Teacher Name and Bus Information for 2017-2018– 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 Tuesday, August 22, 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. Many parents request teachers for their child(ren); it is almost impossible to accept all requests. When placing students in classrooms, I work very hard to match your child’s needs with a teacher that can best meet his or her needs. Of course, there are many highly qualified teachers that look forward to receiving your child and helping each child in the class to succeed. Thank you for your understanding.

Save the date…

  • Friday, August 17th– letter mailed to Kindergarten parents to set up PowerSchool parent portal and School Messenger
  • Tuesday, August 22nd – PowerSchool Parent Portal opens- Teacher name and bus information available
  • Tuesday, August 29th – Open House and SCA Ice Cream Social 10:00- 12:00-come find your child’s classroom!
  • Thursday, August 31st– Open House and SCA Ice Cream Social 10:00-12:00 –come find your child’s classroom!
  • Back to School Night- Wednesday, September 6th – please bring your kindergarten or first-grade child to this event. This will also serve as our First-Grade Orientation
  • First Day of School- Friday, September 8th –Kindergarten students- wear your class of 2030 t-shirts!
  • Our first SCA meeting of the year: Thursday, September 14th at 9:30 am and 6:30 pm, in the cafeteria
  • SCA Hoe Down-Friday, September 15th 5:00-6:00 pm
  • Fall Harvest Breakfast- Saturday, September 16th 11:00 am-1:00pm

** Please peruse the Cedar Mountain Calendar for many upcoming events**

Our new 2017-2018 SCA officers are as follows:

President: Mrs. Trisha Furman-Leve- check out the new Cedar Mountain FaceBook page

Vice President: Ms. Missy Babcock

Recording Secretary: Mrs. Jennifer Remington

Cooresponding Secretary: Mrs. Shana Tisi

Treasurer: Mrs. Janessa Bases

SCA School Supply Kits will be sold at Cedar Mountain on the following dates: Wednesday, July 26, 2017, from 12:30 to 3:00 pm and on Thursday, August 3, 2017, from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm. Kindergarten Kits are $19.00 and First-Grade Kits are $20.00. You will only place your order; the kits will be delivered to the classroom before school begins.  Here is the flier with all the information about the kits.

For our entering kindergarten students. Please click this link to Sign-Up Genius to book a special meeting for your child to meet with me one-on-one and to get to know me.  

Project Self-Sufficiency in Newton, NJ, is offering a FREE Back to School Family Expo on Thursday, August 17, 2017. Parents can attend workshops while your children can receive free haircuts and school supplies. A pizza dinner is also provided. If you would like to attend this event, you must register at (973)940-3500. 

Please feel free to contact me at Cedar Mountain School at (973)764-2890, 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.

Enjoy the summer months with your family! Soak in the sunshine and the memories that you will make with your children.

Sincerely,

Rosemary Gebhardt