"The best way to predict your future is to create it." –Abraham Lincoln
Week Ten:
Our week started and ended with visits from Mrs. Sue Murphy. She worked with our homerooms on Monday and Friday leading guided whole-body relaxation techniques and taught our students about the powerful connection between the mind and body. Students left her sessions equipped with practical strategies they can apply in real-world situations, helping them feel more calm, focused, and resilient. We’re grateful for her time and expertise in bringing these valuable lessons to our students!
Also on Monday, we celebrated all of our weekly “bucket fillers” for the month of October with a special Party with the Principals! These amazing students, who have gone above and beyond in showing our core values of responsibility, respect, kindness, persistence, and safety, enjoyed a fun-filled lunch in the conference room. They played games, listened to music, and colored and drew together. It was a joyful event, recognizing and appreciating students who add to our positive school climate. Thank you to all our bucket fillers for your outstanding efforts!
On Wednesday, Mr. Perruso and Mr. O'Connor kept their promise for a Fun Run incentive in unforgettable fashion! To celebrate raising over $40,000 for PTO initiatives, our principal and assistant principal delighted students by riding skateboards down the hallways in silly costumes. Following the ride, the top fundraiser from each grade had the chance to silly string the principals! The event sparked tons of laughter and school spirit as students cheered together in celebration of their amazing fundraising efforts. A huge thank you to all the families who contributed to this cause, we can’t wait to see the exciting new additions these funds will bring to our school!
Thursday we held our annual Halloween parade. The school was filled with smiles, laughter, and some rather creative costumes! A huge thank you to our wonderful teachers for organizing their students, leading the way, and helping make this a memorable experience. Our students brought the fun with their costumes, showing off their school spirit in a respectful and festive manner, and we’re so glad so many parents and guardians joined us to celebrate this community tradition together. Special thanks to our special area teachers (Mrs. Bartnicki, Ms. Erbe, Mrs. Hernandez, Mrs McCarty, Mrs. Postigo, Mr. Roome, and Ms. Scrimo) for setting up the parade route and ensuring everything ran smoothly with our visitors and spectators. It was truly a joyful event that brought us all together! Following the parade, the room parents joined our homerooms and had fun Halloween themed parties with different games and crafts to play. Thank you to all our PTO volunteers who helped make this a memorable day for our students.
We’re excited to welcome parents into the building this week for parent-teacher conferences on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday! Each day will be 1/2 day early dismissals for the students on Students are dismissed starting at 12:40. The parent teacher conference is a wonderful opportunity to connect and strengthen the partnership between home and school. Building a strong, collaborative relationship helps us work together effectively. As we come together, we kindly remind everyone to keep conversations professional and respectful, as we’re all here with the shared goal of supporting your child’s growth and success. We look forward to discussing your child’s progress, answering any questions, and working as a team to ensure a positive and successful school year. Thank you for being part of this important time in your child’s education!
Let’s make this week amazing together,
Christopher Perruso
Principal
Monday starts our SPECIALS on Day 5
Upcoming Events:
11/4 - 11/6 Parent Teacher Conference Early Dismissal Schedule for Students
11/4 - 11/6 PTO Sponsored Scholastic Book Fair
11/7 - SCHOOLS CLOSED- NJEA Teacher's Convention
11/8 - SCHOOLS CLOSED- NJEA Teacher's Convention
11/11 PTO General Membership Meeting 7:00PM BAC Media Center
11/11 - 11/15 PTO Sponsored Theater Week
11/27- Early Dismissal Day- Start of Thanksgiving Break
11/28- SCHOOLS CLOSED- Thanksgiving Break
11/29- SCHOOLS CLOSED- Thanksgiving Break
12/3- SEPAG Meeting
12/10-12/13 PTO Holiday Gift Shoppe
Bucket Fillers of the Week
Our Bucket Filler initiative, inspired by Carol McCloud's book Have You Filled a Bucket Today?, celebrates students who consistently demonstrate our core values of responsibility, respect, kindness, persistence, and safety. When a teacher observes a student embodying these values, they earn a “bucket filler” ticket, which enters them into a weekly raffle with their peers. Every Friday, we draw a winning ticket from each grade level’s bucket, and the selected students get a special shout-out on the morning announcements! Plus, these students are invited to join the monthly Party with the Principals, where we celebrate their positive impact on our school community. This initiative reinforces the message that we can all contribute to a positive and supportive environment by filling each other's buckets with good deeds!
PreK- Francesca Filannino-Esnes
Kindergarten- Catherine Halaby
1st Grade- Aiden LaPlaca
2nd Grade- Aylin Karagoz
3rd Grade- Benson Wojtas
4th Grade- Anthony Corino
5th Grade- Drew Morrison
Pictures from the Week
Lessons with
Mrs. Sue Murphy
October's
Bucket Fillers
Party with
the Principals!
Mr. Perruso
Mr. O'Connor
The Principals!
Top Fund Raising Students
Silly String!
Halloween at BAC!
PTO Sponsored Book Fair
Therapy Dogs at Cucinella
We are pleased to announce that certified therapy dogs will be visiting Cucinella Elementary School beginning this week! The program will provide students with opportunities to read with dogs in their classrooms as well as have recess visits where they can interact with the dogs. A trained handler will accompany the dog at all times. We are aware that some students have allergies, and we are working with our school nurse to take measures to minimize risks and exposure. Also, we realize that some students do not feel comfortable around dogs. Please be aware that no student is obligated to interact with the dogs when they visit.
Should you have concerns and would prefer that your child not have any contact with our therapy dogs, please complete the opt-out form below by Wednesday, November 6th.
Working with animals has been shown to benefit students in many ways including:
● Increasing levels of motivation ● Improved academic skills, including but not limited to reading fluency ● Helping to build trust and provide a sense of security ● The provision of unconditional acceptance ● Promoting character traits that include: caring, cooperation, empathy, gratitude, humanity, nurturance, patience, perseverance, respect, responsibility, self-control, self-esteem, and service.
We are very excited to provide our students with the opportunity throughout the school year. Should you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact either Ms. Erbe or Mr. Perruso.
ONLY FILL OUT THIS FORM IF YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR CHILD TO INTERACT WITH OUR THERAPY DOGS.
Cucinella School is accepting Halloween candy donations now through Monday, November 11th. All candy donations will be delivered to our patients at the local Lyons Veterans Hospital and to active-duty military personnel. To avoid exposure for students with food allergies, candy donations must be wrapped and placed in a sealed bag. Donations can be delivered to the main office.
In addition to candy, students can donate spare change to help with shipping costs. Please deliver spare change to the main office in a sealed envelope labeled “Pennies for Postage.”
PTO Memberships for the 2024-2025 School Year are still available! Follow the MemberHub link below to pay for a Family or Staff Membership. We are looking forward to another fantastic year!
Cucinella Families, just a reminder that we have a lost and found clothing rack at school. If you have noticed that your child did not come home with a jacket or sweatshirt, please remind them to check out the rack. We also have water bottles, lunch boxes, and other items collected as well.
Please take a moment to peruse through the items when you're here this week for Parent/Teacher Conferences, some might belong to your child.
Parent Drop Off and Pick Up Procedures:
To ensure the continued safety of our students and staff, we are making a few updates to our morning drop-off procedures. We kindly ask for your cooperation with the following guidelines:
Please remain in your car: Parents and guardians should stay inside their vehicles during drop-off to help keep the process moving smoothly.
Be prepared ahead of time: Have all items (backpacks, lunch bags, etc.) ready and accessible before arriving at the drop-off area.
Independent exit: If possible, encourage your child to open the door on their own and exit the vehicle from the passenger side, closest to the school, once you’ve pulled up to the furthest spot available.
Patience is appreciated: We understand mornings can be busy, but please wait for the cars in front of you to move rather than driving around. Our top priority is the safety of our students and staff, which is worth more than a few seconds saved.
Respect the Handicapped spaces: Please avoid parking in the Handicapped spots to drop off children. We want to ensure that all students enter the building safely, and we do not have a crosswalk or staff member to assist them across the drop-off lane.
We truly appreciate your understanding and support in following these procedures. Together, we can create a safer and smoother drop-off experience for everyone.
Student Dress Code
As we move into the school year, please take a moment to review the board approved dress code for students. It can be found here. Our dress code is enforced to ensure the safety and security of all students and staff. If you have any questions after reviewing please do not hesitate to reach out.
Items of Note:
No hats/bandanas/hoods
No bare midriffs
No sunglasses indoors
No indecent material
Pick Up Patrol
PickUp Patrol - USED FOR RECORDING ABSENCES and DISMISSAL Preferences
Our secretaries are no longer checking phone messages for absences or changes in dismissal procedures. This information is now handled exclusively through the PickUp Patrol app.
All of our parents and guardians should have received a "Welcome" email with details on how to download the app and set up your account. If you have not received an email, please check your SPAM folder. If you can not find the Welcome email, please contact our school secretaries and ask for a new one to be resent.
If you have not downloaded the app or set up your account yet, please do so as soon as possible.
