Milton Express
January 31, 2022
Message from the Principal
January was certainly a busy month at Milton Avenue School, and we look forward to the opportunities that February will bring as we turn the pages of our calendars (although most calendars are electronic now)!
January marked the beginning of our “I Read to the Principal” Program for our kindergarten students. Each Wednesday, I have the opportunity to meet with kindergarteners in my office where they get the chance to read one of the books from their book bags. We talk about their books and the importance of reading each day in order to become better readers. Each kindergarten student leaves our session with a special certificate and a sticker to recognize them for their reading efforts and commitment!
On January 24, our students in grades 1-3 took part in their winter concerts, and they were recorded for the first time! The students were dressed for success, and they really performed well! Students and staff at Milton Avenue School took part in the Great Kindness Challenge during that same week. Throughout the week, the children took part in our spirit days and engaged in acts of kindness towards others. Let’s continue to work together in allowing the children to become better citizens and make positive contributions when interacting with their peers each day.
When identifying February 14 as Valentine’s Day on their calendars, many people begin to think about being kind and caring towards others. At Milton Avenue School, the students are consistently reminded of the importance of engaging in activities that show kindness towards others. We appreciate all that you do at home to further promote the importance of kindness, caring, and respect towards others not only during the month of February, but throughout the entire year as well. During this time of caring, I can’t help but to recognize and thank all of the teachers and staff who care for your children on a daily basis. I would also like to say a special thank you to the parents who volunteer their time for the school to allow the learning community to be such a special place!
February Highlights
February 3 - Virtual PTO Meeting - guest speaker, Dr. Emily Sortino, Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services . Please see the PTO section for the Zoom link.
February 7 to 11 - Scholastic Book Fair
February 11 - Pizza Parlor Day (order on lunch order form sent home Feb. 2)
February 18 - Early Dismissal for Students, Staff Professional Development Day
February 21 to 28 - School & Main Office Closed for Winter Break
Stetho-Scoop
News from our School Nurse, Erin Zotti
Happy 2022! Our school and local community appreciate your cooperation as we continue to educate our students to practice healthy habits such as frequent hand washing, respiratory etiquette, and staying home from school and other activities when sick.
As we continue into the next few months of Winter, please follow the newly updated illness guidelines listed below:
Any student who is symptomatic for Covid-like illness should NOT be sent to school. Students who are symptomatic should remain home while sick, test for Covid, and follow the current isolation parameters.
All parents utilizing at-home tests, please report a positive result for their child immediately and to provide a photo of the test result to the school nurse as verification.
*Pre-K Parents: Preschool students may now remain in school if they are considered a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case in school as long as they remain asymptomatic. A close contact notification letter will be sent home to all students in the classroom of a positive case. If a second case is identified in the classroom, we will revert to a 10 day class quarantine (with option to test back in between day 5-7 and return on day 8) as we had done in the past.
Please be advised that our PK population must follow the NJ DOH COVID-19 Public Health Recommendations for Operating Childcare Programs guidelines. Our preschool students are included in this document and must adhere to the following:
Positive cases must isolate for a full 10 days, return to school on day 11, no test.
Household close contacts who have no COVID-19 symptoms and are not fully vaccinated:
Should quarantine at home away from the positive case with the positive case properly masked around others and should be tested again 5-7 days after their last exposure or immediately if symptoms develop. If the result is negative, individuals may return on the 8th day after their last exposure or later. If positive, they should isolate for 10 days.
Please submit negative test results to Erin Zotti, RN at ezotti@chatham-nj.org
Testing sites are available here. Please select the COVID 19 tab on the district home page to access testing site information.
Counselor Corner
News from our Guidance Counselor, Carole Soder
January - Kindness Month
Our classroom lessons focused on being kind,and that kindness comes in many forms. We read the book “Be Kind” by Pat Miller and also created Kindness bookmarks to share with our school community.
Great Kindness Challenge
January 24-28 is an entire week dedicated to kind acts. It is known as “The Great Kindness Challenge.” Thousands of schools participate. The week is dedicated to creating a culture of kindness on school campuses worldwide. Our school proudly participated in this proactive, positive bullying prevention initiative with daily activities and our spirit week as a way to support this initiative.
Milton Meeting
We held a virtual monthly Milton Meeting on January 28. Mr. Andreazza thanked the children for all of the acts of kindness they did this week and urged them to continue to practice kindness throughout the school year. Congratulations to all of our students who were recognized at this special Milton Meeting!
Principal’s Student of the Month Award: Aiden Vaz, Owen Smalley, Will Richards, and Harper Gibbons
Outstanding Artist: Rebecca Bicknese, Madeleine Kim, and Anna Heard
Marvelous Musician: Owen Smalley, Reid Mazurkiewicz, and Zyra Sheth
MVP Award: Felicity Labiner, Pilar Lorenzo Baez, and Tanay Mahajan
Library Legend: Alec Boyar, Maya Daya, Max Sokolowski, and Carter Wong
STEM Superstar: Asher Sheth, Reese Redpath, Jacob Garges, and Adele Rauscher
LIBRARY LOWDOWN
Hi! My name is Ryan Vogel and I am the new library media specialist at Milton Avenue School. Before becoming the library media specialist at Milton Avenue School, I taught both first and second grade for the past twenty years at Southern Boulevard School. I am excited to begin my new position and bring a love of reading to all of the students at Milton Avenue School. Check out what each of the classes have been doing this year in the Media Center!
Kindergarten
In kindergarten we learned about the biography genre. The students listened to The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles. Students were encouraged to choose biographies as book selections. They also participated in a digital citizenship lesson that focused on strategies for staying safe when using online resources.
Grade One
In first grade we are exploring the nonfiction genre through an animal research project. The students are using their technology skills to navigate the new Pebblego.com in order to learn more about an animal of their choice.
Grade Two
The second grade students are enhancing their understanding of the nonfiction genre by completing an online state research project. The students are using Enchantedlearning.com to learn about a state of their choice. They have gathered information and have utilized the copy and paste features to add text and photos into their Google Documents.
Grade Three
In third grade we discussed the biography genre. The students learned how to search for books using the Follet Destiny program. They also learned how to use some of its features. In addition, we discussed the components and norms of an online community during a Digital Citizenship lesson.
PTO NEWS
The PTO has been busy planning some great events for the rest of the school year. To learn more, please join us for our next PTO meeting which is Thursday February 3rd at 9am via Zoom. Our guest speakers will be Dr. Emily Sortino, Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services and Dr. Karen Chase, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, who will provide information about the types of support our school offers and be available for Q&A.
A big thank you to Karen Bruzzo, Laura Halligan, Marlaina Pfister, and Lauren Tarnok for chairing and organizing the upcoming Milton Book Fair on February 7th-11th. We are still seeking parent volunteers to fill some remaining spots for set up, clean up and assistance on wishlist and purchase days. Please see the Book Fair Signup for available shifts.
We’ll be celebrating “TWOs-Day” at Milton Avenue School! See below for details to celebrate 2/2/22!
There are many ways to get involved and help out in our school. If you ever have any questions or concerns or would like to volunteer, please feel free to contact me at masptopres21@gmail.com. Thanks for all you do to support our Milton school community!
Laura Bojanowski PTO President
Virtual!
The next PTO meeting will be held on Thursday, Feb 3rd at 9:00 AM via Zoom. Dr. Emily Sortino, Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services will be out guest speaker. She will share an overview of the types of supports our school offers (Basic Skills, Resource Room, etc.).
Below are Zoom meeting details for the meeting:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84914372406?pwd=MUVsSWVtZCs0TW5TL01oSHVOZFVKdz09#success
Meeting ID: 849 1437 2406
Passcode: MAS2022
Save the Date!
Save the date for our carnival-themed Family Fun Night which will be held outdoors at Milton on Friday, May 20th (rain date: June 10th). More to come!
"Two's Day" Fun!
On 2/2/22, each student is invited to bring in 2 canned goods/hygiene products to help the CUMC Food Pantry as our February service project. And students are encouraged to read 2 books or chapters to add to their reading log to help their class earn a book for our library.