Dear 5TD Students and Families, 

Welcome to the 5TD Family! We are Stephanie Toledo and Tara DiGiovanni, your student’s fifth grade teachers. As we start our year together, we want to share some important information with you. We are really looking forward to what will be an amazing year! 5TD will have a team of two awesome teachers as we pilot an inclusion classroom. This means more support, more individualized instruction, and more equity for everyone! 

Who is Ms. Toledo? 

This is my fifth year teaching fifth grade at Washington School. I believe learning should be both fun and rigorous and that is the environment I aim to create each day! I love to learn and hope to pass on that joy of learning to every student in my classroom. Learn more about me here! 

Who is Mrs. DiGiovanni?

This is my twelfth year teaching special education at Washington School. Teaching, for me, is all about creating a place where every student feels seen and supported. I'm passionate about helping them uncover their unique strengths and finding joy in learning. I want each student to walk away feeling proud of who they are and excited about what they can accomplish. Learn more about me here! 

A message to our 5TD students!

Hey 5TD! I bet you’re wondering what you should expect this year. Well, one thing you should know about us is that we smile and laugh a lot! We can promise we will have a year full of joyful learning. You should also know that we take learning seriously, and so you should be prepared to work hard and take risks this year.

Before you come to school, think about who you want to be this year. Each September, we get to start over- all of us! Think about what worked for you last year and what you might want to do differently this year. I am here to support and encourage you as you learn and grow into the best version of YOU! 

Class Website

Click here to view our class website. We will be posting a weekly newsletter called “A Peek at the Week” on our class website under the parent page. This will keep you updated on the weekly lessons as well as informed on any class news. We also have a library of extra resources that you can use throughout the year. 

When do we start and what do we need?

The first day of school is Tuesday, September 3rd. On that morning, we’ll meet you at the 5th grade door (closest to Morris Avenue). Please feel free to bring in any school supplies you may have purchased over the summer. If you ordered boxes of supplies, they have already been delivered to the classroom.  We will sort through everything that first week of school. If you have not purchased supplies yet, don’t panic. We can send home a list of supplies and we also have plenty of extras for anyone in need. Also don’t forget to bring your charged, school-issued Chromebook, too! 

Back to School Night- Mark Your Calendars

A friendly reminder that Back to School Night will be on Wednesday, September 11th at 6:30 pm. Hope to see you there!

Parent Emails

If there are any e-mail addresses you would like me to add, change, or remove, please let me know. Thank you.

If you need to get in touch with us, please feel free to email either one of us at stoledo@summit.k12.nj.us or tdigiovanni@summit.k12.nj.us. 

We look forward to a productive and happy year with your child! For now, enjoy these last few bits of summer and we’ll see you on Tuesday!

Take care,

Stephanie Toledo and Tara DiGiovanni