Monday, October 13th, is a minimum day for all students. Dismissal is at 1:05 PM. Kindergarten students should bring a packed lunch, and all other students may bring a snack to school. There is no PTO Jersey Mike's/Bagel lunch on Monday.
Thank you to Mrs. Mapes for coordinating our Week of Respect activities last week. These activities allowed us to celebrate all we do year-round to promote kindness and respect. I am proud of our students who demonstrate leadership in this area throughout the year and who make an effort to support a strong school community. We kicked off the week with our October schoolwide meeting, where we introduced the core competencies of cooperation, assertiveness, responsibility, empathy, and self-control (or CARES Competencies) to our students. I enjoyed watching our students write kind messages in chalk throughout our upper and lower blacktop areas.
Thank you to the Coolidge PTO for hosting our Book Fair last week, and thank you to the many parent volunteers for helping it run smoothly. Students were so excited to shop for their own books!
It was great to see so many students take part in our annual Walk and Bike to School Day. This event promotes physical activity, safety, and environmental awareness. We even had a visit from our Coolidge Cougar and enjoyed “walking-themed” music from DJ Mr. Cosman.
The first “Connected Parent Night” of the school year will be held on October 23rd at Lincoln School. The workshop, entitled Leaping Forward as Literacy Learners: Supporting your Kindergartener at Home, will be led by Lincoln Reading Specialist Mrs. Barbieri and Lincoln Kindergarten Teacher Mrs. Lacasse. This session is intended for the parents of Kindergarten students looking to support their child’s growth in emergent literacy. Please click here to view the flyer.
HALLOWEEN
Our Halloween Parade will take place at 2:30 pm on 10/31. As there will be a lot of parents on hand, please be sure to plan enough time so you can park safely and legally. Once the lot is filled, you will need to park in the streets adjacent to the school. Please be considerate of our neighbors on these streets.
K-1 students may wear their costumes to school in the morning. Students in grades 2-5 are asked to bring their costumes to school and change into them after lunch. If it is easier for 2-5 students to wear part of their costume to school in the morning, that is fine as long as they can safely navigate around, use the bathroom, participate in PE/recess, and engage in learning. Costumes should not include guns, knives, or similar pieces and should be appropriate for elementary school-aged children.
Class parents will be joining classrooms at some point during the day to engage the students with a fun game, activity, or craft (class parents should refer to the email sent by the PTO class parent chairs). No food will be served in school. We ask parents not to send in any treats or goodie bags (edible or non-edible) with their children, as teachers are not permitted to distribute those to the students.
HOMEWORK
Homework plays a crucial role in your child's educational journey, serving as a vital link between the classroom and home learning environment. It offers students the chance to review and reinforce the concepts taught during the school day, which is essential for solidifying understanding and building long-term memory. Beyond academics, regular homework completion helps children develop strong organizational skills, time management abilities, and a sense of responsibility, all of which are critical for future success. We encourage you to provide a quiet, dedicated space for your child to complete their assignments and to offer supportive encouragement, fostering a positive attitude towards learning and study habits that will benefit them throughout their school years.
At Coolidge School, formal homework is introduced in first grade. As a general rule of thumb, according to Wyckoff BOE policy, students are assigned 10 minutes of homework per grade level. For example, a typical 4th-grade student would have roughly 40 minutes of homework.
Here is an interesting article from Scholastic regarding homework that parents might find helpful.
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
Parent/Teacher Conferences will take place on November 10th from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM and on November 17th from 2:00-7:00 PM. There will be no school for students on 11/10 and a minimum day on 11/17. Additionally, November 18th is a delayed opening with a 10:20 start time. You should expect an email from your child’s teacher at the end of this week with more information and a link to sign up for a conference. If you would like any other staff members present, please let your child’s teacher know. Additionally, feel free to reach out to any special area teacher or other staff member via email to set up a separate conference with them. The Staff Directory can be found here.
DATES TO REMEMBER
Minimum Day for Students- 10/13 (1:05 PM dismissal)
4th Grade Ellis Island Trip- 10/16 (students arrive at 7:30 AM)
Fire Truck Visit K-1- 10/21
PTO Harvest Festival - 10/23 (after school)
Harvest Festival Rain Date- 10/24
Schools Closed/Parent Conferences- 11/10
Parent/Teacher Conferences- 11/10 and 11/17
Veteran’s Day- 11/11
5th Grade Bingo Night @EMS- 11/14
Minimum Day- 11/17
Delayed Opening- 11/18 (10:20 Arrival)
FRIDAY FOLDER HANDOUTS
Visit our website for Friday Folder Handouts
Family Connection Series- Parent Workshops
Family Connection Series- Parent Workshop 10/21 at 7PM
Literacy Workshop for Kindergarten Parents
Ramapo Girls Soccer Invite
Roller Hockey Grades 4-12
Rec Basketball Grades 1-8
Rec Basketball High School
Roller Hockey Clinic Grades K-3
Wyckoff Rec Men’s Basketball
Wyckoff Rec Wrestling
Milk Ordering Information
Cub Scout Recruitment Flyers
Wyckoff Recreation Travel Baseball
Wyckoff Recreation Travel Softball
Wyckoff Recreation Travel Basketball
COMMUNICATION NOTES:
For information about all school, district, and PTO events, please visit our calendar on the Coolidge home page. Check out our Thrillshare posts as well on our home page.
Be on the lookout for weekly e-blast updates from school and from our PTO, usually sent out over the weekend. For school communication, parents should make sure their email addresses are updated on Genesis.
Please note that we also have an official Coolidge School Facebook page. Please be sure to "like" us on Facebook! You may also follow Coolidge School on X @CoolidgeWPS and Instagram.