Principal's Newletter

Hello, IMS Families:

Although last month was a short one, it was busy! We are always happy to welcome parents during American Education Week. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to observe in the classrooms. Thanks to all of you for your support of our Fall Book Fair and KidStuff Coupon Sale. We appreciate your participation in these activities for the HSA. Our students are so lucky to have such dedicated parent volunteers working on their behalf.

On November 7th, a Celebration Breakfast was held to honor our Veterans and their families. We had a wonderful turnout and many of our students were able meet and salute our Veterans for their service to our country! We would like to thank the teachers and students who helped make our celebration a success!

Report cards were made available online only for the first time. We hope you like this new, environmentally friendly way of communicating your child's progress. Parent-Teacher conferences were scheduled for November. I hope you were able to schedule an appointment with your child’s teacher; as parent-teacher communication is important to us.

As we near the holiday season, please remember to take some time out of the holiday madness to spend some quality time with your family and friends. Life is so precious; enjoy it to the fullest!

Happy Holidays! Best wishes for a healthy, prosperous, and happy 2019!

December

5 Orff Ensemble /Chorus Concert 6:30PM

10-12 Holiday Shop IMS

18 BOE Meeting

20 Grades K-4 Holiday Parties – 1:30-2:45

21 Early Dismissal (1:05 PM)

24–1/1 School Closed – Winter Break

January

2 Welcome Back! School Re-Opens

BOE Reorganization Meeting

3 HSA Meeting – 7:00PM – IMMS Library

21 School Closed – Martin Luther King Day

It is December already! I hope everyone’s school year has been a healthy one.

**If your child is on medication or has a medication change, it is important that I know for their records in case of emergency. You may call me or write me this information. Thank you.**

As the year is rolling on, I have been busy doing HEALTH SCREENINGS on all the students. **I am required by law to perform routine vision, color blindness, hearing, height, weight and blood pressure screenings at certain grade levels. I am also required to inform you if any of your child’s screenings fall out of the normal parameters (including BMI for height and weight) set by the NJ State Health Department, the NJ education Code, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National School Nurses Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). I will notify you if there is a concern and refer you to your health care provider for further evaluation. If you have any questions about your child’s screening or would like their specific numbers, please contact me. I would be happy to discuss them with you. 609-268-0220 Option 3.

**Remember, if your child was ill, they should be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school.

IMPORTANT – In order for medication of any kind (prescription or over the counter) to be given at school by the nurse, it must have a written doctor’s order and parent permission and arrive in school by an adult in the original container.

** The Nurse’s office is always in need of NEW underwear (girls and boys---all sizes) and extra pants (I have plenty of shirts!) for those times the students need to change. THANK YOU.

I hope everyone’s families enjoy this holiday time and have a great winter break at the end of the month.

PLEASE be sure your most updated cell phone and email information is in REALTIME. This information is pertinent for administration, the nurse and teachers to have in order to reach you. Please check the portal to make sure the most up-to-date information is included.

All students should be encouraged to remember to bring home all needed items. This includes books, papers, folders and other items needed for homework. NO students are permitted to return to school for forgotten items after 3:10 dismissal. The security gates are in place after school each day, making it impossible to get back into the classrooms. Please help your child to plan accordingly or to be ready to accept the responsibility for forgotten items. Your assistance and understanding in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Please do NOT send electronic devices or toys to school. This includes: iPODS, and/or hand held games. If found, they will be confiscated. These are expensive items that we cannot be responsible for while the students are at school.

Have you checked your child’s photo consent lately?

You may want to check to see if your child is allowed to be photographed for the newspaper. With every event we have publicity or press coverage, we have to remove some children from the field of vision because parent consent has not been given. Whenever we have to remove students for this reason, we have many, many disappointed children who don’t understand why they can’t join in on the fun. You usually fill out this paperwork during kindergarten registration, so if you don’t remember if you have given consent or not for your child’s photo to be taken, please check with your child’s teacher. If you want to change the consent one way or the other, please contact the main office and can send those papers home for you to revise.

PARENT DROP OFF RULES:

Once in the line, please pull up as far as the teachers direct. Students, when possible, should exit the car on the building side--for obvious safety reasons.

Parents should NOT exit the car. This is not a safe practice, and many of the parents in the line need to drop off in an expeditious manner. If there is a need to get out, please park.

NO LEFT OR U TURNS – AM DROP OFF. There is a safety concern when parents make U or left turns from Indian Mills Road into the parking lot for parent drop-off. We have had several near accidents! Please continue on to the 1921 building and turn around there so that you can make a right into the parking lot. Thank you.