March 1, 2017

Dear Switlik Families,

March….In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb.  It seems February passed by in the blink of an eye, and I, for one, am looking forward to sunshine and brighter days!  March will be a very busy month for all of us.  With this month, comes a time of transitioning from the many winter activities into the anticipation of spring. 

Pocketbook Bingo:  The PTN knocked it out of the park again!  Thank you to all of our parents, staff and friends who attended the First Annual Pocket Book Bingo on Friday, March 10^th, sponsored by our amazing Switlik PTN. Thank you to our Chairperson, Mrs. Scarnici for organizing this Ladies Night Out, Mrs. Santostefano for making the beautiful centerpieces, Mrs. Sgammatto for creating the logos, designing the signs/cards and to everyone that had a helping hand in some capacity.  Mr. Mathews and Mr. Morgan entertained all of us with some great humor as the MC’s for the evening.  I recognize the amount of time, effort and commitment in organizing and executing such a huge event.  Everyone rallied together and made this a very successful and fun filled evening. 

Ocean County Health Department:  The OCHD has kicked off their mulit-week Health Education series to our Second and Third grade classrooms.  Each week, for the next 6-8 weeks, presenter(s) will discuss the topic of substance abuse prevention and positive decision making through Footprints for Life - Grade 2 and Unique You - Grade 3 curriculum.

Read Across America:  Thank you to our Read Across America Coordinators, Ms. Auletta and Mrs. Douvris, our phenomenal “Switlik Staff Singers and Dancers,” and all of the helping hands behind the scene:  our teacher readers and refreshment servers.  It is important for our children to see home and school as a team; working together to encourage and achieve success. 

Under the leadership of Mr. Mathews, fifth grade students showed off their knowledge and their Scientific Method in the quest to solve various mysteries and problems. Students were required to research, create a hypothesis and conduct an actual experiment to reach a conclusion that may or may not be what they expected!  Students proudly and enthusiastically took ownership of communicating their knowledge of their experiment and result.  Parents and guest were “WOWED” with the caliber of projects displayed and articulated by our fifth grade scientists!

A special thank you to Mrs. Krieck, our Book Fair Coordinator, all of our parents for their generosity and for volunteering their time, as well as their resources.  Together, we can achieve successful learners and good citizens.  Happy Campers Have S’more Fun With Books!  Switlik’s Book Fair, sponsored by the PTN, kicked off Read Across America Week.  Switlik School was transformed into a fun-filled campsite as the students visited the Book Fair throughout the week. 

Kindergarten Registration:  will take place during the week of March 20^th-March 24^th between the hours of 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. each day.  Please be sure to bring in all necessary documents (original birth certificate and required proof of residency, listed in the packet), as well as your incoming kindergarten student the day of registration.  Entrance for registration is through the gym lobby doors.  There will not be any access through the main entrance.  Signs will be posted to guide you in the right direction.  Details, as well as the registration packet, can be found on our website. 

Save the Dates….

Special Education Advisory Council:  Please join us on Monday, March 13^th at 6:30 p.m. at Jackson Liberty High School (IMC) for an informative session on Navigating the Children’s System of Care.  Family members have wondered what are the first steps to receiving support from the world of DCF (Division of Children and Families), or how to navigate the plethora of services.  This event will outline the host of services and supports offered by the Children’s System of Care.  This is a free workshop!

PTN Meeting:  Please join us for our next PTN Meeting being held on Thursday, March 16, 2017 at 9:30 a.m. in our IMC.  We will have a meet and greet to introduce Mrs. O’Connor’s family leave replacement, Ms. Kerren Grau.  I look forward to seeing all of you there.

Young Author’s Gallery/Switlik Enrichment Living Wax Museum- On Wednesday, March 22^nd, the Switlik Elementary School, with support from the Jackson Rotary Club and the Jackson Education Association, will present our Young Author’s Gallery.  All are welcome to enjoy this event from the hours of 6:30-7:30 p.m.  Published pieces from our very own Switlik Authors of every age will be on display in the hallways for you to read, enjoy and compliment!  Come prepared with pen in hand to jot a note of support to your favorite authors.  Additionally, that evening, many historical figures, performers, and athletes be brought to life as the Switlik School Enrichment Program hosts its first Living Wax Museum.  Switlik will come alive with students dressed as famous people, both past and present. A Living Wax Museum is very similar to a real wax museum in that visitors can come and learn about a variety of famous people.  The main difference is that the students will be standing in as the statues. Students choose and then researched the figure they wanted to emulate.  Students will then dress as their famous person and recite their speech to interested visitors.  Head on over to Switlik to see figures from Sally Ride, to Theodore Roosevelt, to J.K Rowling, to Alex Morgan and many others in between. 

Providence House:  The Switlik Elementary School is participating in its third community wide "FUN"raising event for the Providence House of Ocean County.  This non-profit, charitable organization is dedicated to helping families of domestic abuse throughout our county.  The items collected will be put into various baskets and auctioned off at the organization’s Annual Gift Auction on June 9^th at Georgian Court University.  All proceeds from this event will directly benefit the free and confidential services they provide to survivors of domestic abuse and their children.  We are asking that the items listed below be donated to your child’s classroom between the dates of March 13^th-24^th.   Please click here for further information.

Museum Night – Join us for an evening of the Arts on April 3^rd from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Jackson Liberty High School!  The exhibit features over 250 pieces of art representing work of  first graders through high school seniors using a variety of mediums including painting, sculpture, drawing and digital art.

On Thursday, April 6^th and Friday, April 7^th, students will have an opportunity to showcase their skills in a grade level appropriate obstacle course.  (Class times will be posted on school website and class pages).  In addition to raising awareness, we would also like to make a contribution to the Providence House in the name of Switlik School. Students will be provided with an envelope for your convenience if you would like to donate.  Any amount is appreciated and no amount is too small!  To make our fundraiser a little more exciting to our kids, the class that accumulates the most money will be awarded with a party provided by our PTN (details to be provided at a later date).

February Golden Book Award Winners : The Golden Book Award is awarded to a class in each grade level that has achieved the highest number of required steps read that month.  Congratulations to the following classes:

Kindergarten:     Mrs. Raucci’s Class

Grade One:        Mrs. Shroyer’s Class

Grade Two:        Mrs. Fox and Mrs. Slomin & Ms. O’Donnell’s Class

Grade Three:      Mrs. Bonino’s Class

Grade Four:        Ms. Contegiacomo & Mrs. Barth’s Class

Grade Five:         Mrs. Padron and Mr. Perrine’s & Ms. Lykes’ Class

 Thank you, parents, for encouraging reading at home.  We have already exceeded our goal of 600,000 steps.  Awesome job, readers!

PARCC TESTING DATES:

Sincerely,

Kathleen McKiernan