May, 2017

Spring has sprung!  The days are longer, the flowers are beginning to bloom, the grass is growing and the warmer weather is arriving.   With warm weather upon us, for some, that means allergies.  Please make sure our nurse, Mrs. Kossmann, knows of any allergies your child may suffer from.  We also keep an eye on asthma concerns since the children will spend more time outdoors running and playing hard.  Please be mindful of the district’s dress code policy and items that are not permitted (flip flops, tank tops, etc.) to ensure safety and compliance.  Please refer to the Switlik Handbook for any additional information.

Congratulations to Ms. Contegiacomo, Mrs. Barth and Mrs. Decker’s Fourth Grade class!  They are again the recipients of the “2017 Barnegat Bay Blitz Rain Barrel Challenge!”   Ms. Contegiacomo, Mrs. Barth and Mrs. Decker’s class will be recognized on May 24^th at the New Jersey Clean Communities Kid Day.  As the winners, the students at Switlik will receive and participate in a Water Festival to be held on the Switlik grounds.  Thank you to our Switlik community for supporting our fourth graders with their vote.

Fifth Grade Students visit Camden Aquarium – Our Fifth Grade classes adventured to Camden Aquarium for their class trip.  Children went beyond the glass to get hands-on experience encounters with real live animals.  The two finger touch was the gentle key in meeting a sting ray, starfish, horseshoe crab and shark.  Students enjoyed their day with friends and smiles.  Many hugs go out to the PTN and our school community for all their generosity!

Young Consumers Program – Thank you to our volunteers – parents, grandparents and guests who participated in “Young Consumers Day” at the Jackson Shoprite!  Third grade students were excited to have the opportunity to enhance their math, language arts and critical thinking skills as they traveled through the store visiting academic activities that challenged them in a fun and creative way.  Children worked in teams to purchase $100 worth of groceries to feed a family of four for four days while our volunteers monitored and encouraged independent choices.  It was a fabulous trip for both children and our volunteers.  Switlik School looks forward to participating in the “Young Consumers Program” again next year!

Second Grade Students visit the OCC Planetarium – The Second Grade classes were fortunate to be able to take a class trip to the Robert Novins Planetarium.  Our students had a wonderful time learning about our solar system.  They learned all about the planets including special characteristics of each as well and their order from the sun.  Our students learned how important the sun is, as it is our source of light and heat.  Seeing how other stars form patterns called constellations was exciting.  They also learned how the Earth spins causing day and night and has a moon that takes almost a month to orbit around.  The second grade truly enjoyed this special trip!  Thank you to our extremely generous PTN!

PTN Meeting:  Please join us on Thursday, May 18^th at 7:00 p.m. in our IMC for our final PTN meeting of the year!

Box Tops – Please continue to clip those box tops and earn cash for the Switlik PTN.  Our goal this is year is to raise $5,000.00 by just cutting Box Tops!  The class that collects the most each month wins a munchkin and juice party!  For a list of participating Box Top products, visit www.btfe.com/products 

Attention 5^th Grade Parents – All 5^th Grade parents are invited to attend Coffee with the Principal on May 19^th at 10:00 a.m. at Goetz Middle School.  Mr. Carl Perino, Principal of the Goetz Middle School will meet our fifth grade parents and provide them with valuable insight regarding transitioning successfully to the middle school environment.

5^th Grade Health Talk:  On May 25^th, 5^th grade students will be participating in a health talk.  These classes deal with Human Growth and Development, and are separated by gender.  Our Physical Education Teachers will talk to the boys and girls separately.  Please click here for more information.

Switlik Art Museum:  Our building will be transformed into an amazing showcase of your children’s talent.  We hope you will have the opportunity to tour this magnificent display of work of art on Wednesday, May 31^st.  Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

Game Days:  Our Game Days are quickly approaching.  Your child(ren) should bring a towel, cold drinks (no soda, please), healthy snacks, a hat…and be sure to put sunscreen on at home, as teachers are not permitted to do so on your behalf.  Please be sure your child wears sneakers and keep all jewelry at home on Game Days!  We are looking forward to action packed days!  Please see the schedule:

Kindergarten:                         Wednesday, May 31^st  

Grade 1:                                  Thursday, June 1^st  

Grade 2:                                  Friday, June 2^nd  

Grade 3:                                  Monday, June 5^th  

Grade 4:                                  Tuesday, June 6^th  

Grade 5:                                  Wednesday, June 7^th  

 

The PTN is once again providing a free pizza lunch from a local pizzeria for all students on the day their grade participates in Game Day.  Each student will be given two slices of pizza and a bottle of water at no charge.  If your child(ren)does not wish to participate, (s)he can either purchase lunch in the cafeteria or bring in lunch from home, as usual.  The PTN hopes that his adds to the fun and excitement of the Game Day Experience.  Your child’s COMPLIMENTARY GAME DAY SHIRT have been sent home.  Please have your child(ren) wear his/her shirt on their grade level’s Game Day.  Please click here for important information regarding our game days.

Attention Parents – Reading Festival News!!  The date is set, the “Switlik Reading Festival” has been scheduled for Friday, June 9^th and many volunteers are needed to make this day a true success.  Switlik students were committed to the challenge of meeting our school –wide reading goal of 600,000 steps for the 2016-2017 school year.   There will be obstacle courses, games, popcorn and a DJ. There will also be a special Dunk Tank for those students who reached their reading goal every month. At the event, the students will find out who is in the dunk tank –who will it be- the principal, vice- principal or your child’s teacher?  We are in need of volunteers to assist with and monitor the games and obstacle courses. If you are able to help, it would be greatly appreciated.  Sign-up genius will be posted soon!

April 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 & Ms. Temple’s Classes

Grade One:        Mrs. Kahn’s Class

Grade Two:        Mrs. Fox, Mrs. Smith & Mrs. Slomin’s  Classes

Grade Three:      Mrs. Ackerman’s Class

Grade Four:       Mrs. Hughes & Mrs. Wood’s Classes

Grade Five:       Mrs. Padron & Mrs. Placek’s Class

 Awesome job, readers!  

Save the Date!  Moving Up Ceremony – The day is quickly approaching where our 5^th Grade students will celebrate their moving up to Middle School.  The celebration will begin promptly at 9:20 a.m. on Friday, June 16^th. Please click here to review guidelines.  Further information will be posted on our website in the upcoming weeks.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

May 9^th & 10^th:  Grade 1 Trip to Monmouth Museum

May 12^th:  Kindergarten Mother’s Day Tea

May 12^th:  Grade 4 Class Trip to Washington’s Crossing

May 15^th:  Blue Claws Night

May 16^th:  Grade 3 Class Trip to Great Adventure Safari

May 17^th:  PTN Appreciation Breakfast

May 17^th:  Grade 5 Walk to JMHS – One Mile Run

May 19^th:  Coffee with the Principal – Goetz

May 22^nd:  Grade 5 Visit to Goetz

May 25^th:  Grade 5 Health Talk

May 26^th:  School Spirit Day – Wear Red, White & Blue for Memorial Day

May 26^th:  Kindergarten Show

May 29^th:  School Closed – Memorial Day

May 31^st:  Kindergarten Game Day

May 31^st:  Grade 4 NJ ASK

May 31^st:  Art Museum

June 2^nd:  Grade 5 Class Trip to Black Bear Lake – BBQ

June 7^th:  Grade 4 NJ ASK Make-Up Test

June 13^th:  Grade 1 End of Year Parties

June 14^th:  Grade 4 End of Year Parties

June 15^th:  Kindergarten End of Year Parties

June 16^th:  Grade 5 Moving Up Ceremony

June 20^th:  Grade 2 End of Year Parties

June 20-23:  Shortened Days

June 23^rd:  Last Day of School

 

School will be closed on May 29^th in observance of Memorial Day.  Enjoy the holiday with family and friends.

Sincerely, 

Kathleen McKiernan