Welcome back to an exciting 2021-2022 school year! School opens for all students on Thursday, September 9th. Throughout the summer many teachers came to school and prepared their classrooms to make it exciting and welcoming. Our maintenance and custodial staff worked diligently to get our school organized and clean. The first day of school will certainly be a very positive event for the children. Please review the procedures for the opening of school for students in grades one, two and three. A separate email was sent to those in the Learning Center and LLD classes with some minor adjustments to the information below.
Arrival and Dismissal Students will enter through the stage door on Vreeland Avenue or through the front door, which faces Montross Avenue, between 8:20 a.m. and 8:35 a.m. The drop off lanes will be available on Vreeland Ave. and Montross Ave. There are cones denoting this area. Remember, parents cannot park or watch children walk into the building from the drop off lane. If parents wish to walk their child to the door, watch their child enter the building, or give one last hug, then use street parking. Children exiting via the drop-off lane must be able to independently open and close the car door and exit on the passenger side. Please make every effort to have children report before the 8:35 a.m. bell.
In order to have a smooth transition on the first day, parents are not permitted to walk students into the building. We have numerous staff on hand to assist in walking our new students into school to meet their teacher. I assure you the procedure runs smoothly and we are able to assist the students (and parents too!) There will be a designated area near the gym and front doors that denotes the parent waiting area. Please follow the procedure so all students can enter safely.
Dismissal time is at 3:05 p.m. Grade three students are dismissed from the front door on Montross Avenue. Students in grade one in Ms. Wiseman and Ms. Campo’s classes are dismissed from the stage doors, which are at the end of the Vreeland driveway. Ms. Martinelli and Ms. Scelsa/DeLuca will dismiss from the PE doors on Vreeland Avenue. Students in grade two are dismissed from the side doors that face West Pierrepont Avenue.
Lunch All students in grades one, two, and three will eat lunch in school. Lunch will take place during three separate periods. Students are encouraged to have a healthy lunch. Lunch should be sent in the morning with your child. I suggest students have an individual hand sanitizing bottle in this lunch box or attached to the side. We offer a nut free table for those students with food allergies. Please email or call Nurse Meier for arrangements and details. Just as we did last year, we will have the “Sidewalk Cafe” open. This will allow the students to get some fresh air and get a mask break. Please send your child with a labeled towel.
Parents may send their child with a lunch or order one from Pomptonain. For the lunch ordering program, please visit https://www.payforit.net Purchased lunches will begin the first day of school. The orders for the month of September must be placed between August 31-September 7, 2021. Lunch orders are not accepted after this date. You will need to go to the Parent Portal to get your child’s identification numbers. Then use the ID to set up your account with payforit.net Please also note that when ordering lunch, you must select Lincoln School. We suggest you send your child to school with two reusable water bottles. One can be kept near the desk and the other can be opened during lunch. Thanks to the PTA we have filtered water bottle refilling stations throughout the school.
The PTA will be selling pizza on Mondays and Fridays. They are investigating some other options as well and will share updates. There will be information in folders about how to order pizza. Pizza Lunch will begin the week of September 20th.
Applying to Free and Reduced Lunch For the Free and Reduced Lunch Application, please visit: https://rutherford.payschools.com/Default.aspx
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Daily Health Screenings/ Quarantining We were extremely fortunate last year as Lincoln remained open all year unless the district was closed. This was a joint effort between home and school. Parents did not send their children to school ill and did the daily health screenings. I implore us to continue the effort this year. Please consult the checklist to review the signs and symptoms of Covid-19 and be preventive by keeping your child home if a family member is showing signs or symptoms. Rutherford Daily Home Screening Checklist Parents also followed school guidelines by having children wear masks and maintaining the social distancing guidelines while at playdates and activities. Currently, we will need to quarantine exposed children who are closer than 3 feet and unmasked. Please consider these factors when planning activities.
Face Coverings Parents will provide face coverings for their children; however, the district will also have face coverings available if a child forgets a mask. Staff and students are required to wear face coverings throughout the day. Students will be given breaks at teacher discretion during times when social distance is being maintained. Students’ face coverings will be properly stored when not in use. Please note that neck gaiters and bandanas will not be permitted in school. Please have your child increase their mask wearing stamina. Our nurse will visit the classrooms on the first day of school to review how to safely take a mask on and off.
Sanitizing Stations Each classroom has been equipped with hand sanitizing stations using alcohol-based hand sanitizers (at least 60% alcohol). We are suggesting students keep a personal hand sanitizer on their desks as well as each child seems to have a personal preference. Please place a small hand sanitizer in the lunch bag too. Please remember to label these bottles.
Power School and PTA Information Parents received a message from the district about completing some forms on-line. Please make sure this is completed prior to the start of the school year. We will use this up to date information to form class lists, contact you and get permission for trips. Please keep this information updated throughout the year. During the first week of school each student will receive PTA notifications containing important information. Please read this information and return all necessary forms by Monday, September 13th.
Bulldog Care Register by August 28th: Please register at: https://sites.google.com/rutherfordschools.org/bulldog-care/registration?authuser=0 If using Before Care, please enter via the gym doors near the playground on Vreeland Ave. After Care pick up is at the gym doors as well.
Supplies The supply list is available on-line at the Lincoln website. Look under LINCOLN QUICK LINKS https://www.rutherfordschools.org/lincoln/about-lincoln-school/school-supplies/. Please send in a bottle of hand sanitizer to keep handy. We all have seemed to develop our personal preferences so please send in what works for your child. Please do not send everything to school on the first day. Please just send the essentials. We can accept supplies over the first few days of school. I strongly suggest parents send their child with a thin towel that can be used for outside activities. This towel can go home on Friday for cleaning and then come back the following Monday. Supplies ordered through the PTA Fundraiser last school year have arrived to the school and will be distributed to your child’s teacher. No further action is needed.
Back to School Night Please join us! Back to School Night is on September 22nd at 7 p.m. Adults only.
Procedural Reminders Students should arrive at school on time. This allows students to begin their day with their peers and to not disturb the learning of others by entering the classroom during instruction time. Students are marked tardy if they arrive after 8:35 a.m. Since emergencies arise, students will receive 5 tardy passes for the year. This system reduces stress for the student and the parents. However, if a child is late more than 5 times, detention will be assigned. As always, extenuating circumstances will be taken into account. This initiative is in place to reduce distractions and allow for the continuation of instruction for the students who are in school ready to learn.
In order to keep children safe, absences must be reported by 9 a.m. If the main office staff does not receive a call at 201-438-7675 ext 6218 or email at lincolnattendance@rutherfordschools.org, the main office staff will call the student’s home. If we still have not reached a parent to confirm a child is safe, we will contact the Rutherford Police Department. Please remember to call or email lincolnattendance@rutherfordschools.org if your child is absent.
Parents and students should finalize dismissal and lunch arrangements before departing in the morning. If a student has a change in pick-up, please send a written note in the morning. Every effort is made not to disturb classrooms when learning is taking place. Please send students to school with their lunch and any other materials or information needed for the day.
In our efforts to reduce paper and improve communications we have placed information on the website, www.rutherfordschools.org/lincoln/. Parents can find lunch menus and order forms, birthday celebrations procedures, supply lists, calendars, email addresses, letters, and the Student Handbook. The Google Calendar, https://www.rutherfordschools.org/districtcalendars/lincoln-calendar/ is updated daily and already has some important dates listed.
First Days of School Name Tag Attached is a star, please have your child color and cut the star out. Place a string around the star so your child can wear this around his/her neck the first few days of school. I am asking all students to do this. This will help get all children to their classrooms and will help us recognize those who had a growth spurt over the summer!
I am looking forward to the 2021-2022 school year with the children. Another year at Lincoln is another year to grow, learn new information, make new friends, and create new memories that will stay with the children forever!
Sincerely,
Jeanna C. Velechko Ed.D