Welcome back to an exciting 2022-2023 school year! School opens for all students on Thursday, September 8th. 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.
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. Please do not double park in the drop off lane.
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. Oddo 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 have a picnic lunch. 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 www.payforit.net The first menu period for this year’s program will be September 2022, with lunch service beginning Thursday, September 8th. The Parent Portal will open from Tuesday, August 30th and close at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, September 6th. You must order lunch on those days. Please see attached letter for additional information. 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 19th.
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 are still under the NJDOH School guidelines. Keeping children in school still must be a joint effort between home and school. Parents should not send their children to school ill and complete the daily health screenings. 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
Face Coverings
Wearing masks in school is optional. However, it is suggested that students keep a mask in their backpack. Parents should discuss their masking preferences with their child. It is up to the student to follow parental masking instructions.
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 12th.
Bulldog Care Registration:
Please register at: Bulldog Care Registration 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 Lincoln School Supply Lists. 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.
Back to School Night
Please join us! Back to School Night is on September 21st 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. For safety purposes we do not accept verbal changes in pick up. 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, Lincoln Calendar is updated daily and already has some important dates listed.
First Days of School Name TagAttached 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 2022-2023 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!
Dr. Velechko