January 24, 2025

District Updates and Information

2025-2026 and 2026-2027 District Calendars: The Board of Education has approved the school year calendars for 2025 through 2027. You can view the calendars on our website.

Attendance Matters: All parents are expected to be aware of the district attendance policy. Please visit our website for policy information.

Board of Education Meetings for 2025: Please visit our Board of Education Meetings page to see the 20205 meeting dates and view all meeting agendas and minutes.

Fees for Field Trips: Beginning January 2025, the Board of Education has permitted the district to charge students for all or part of the cost of field trips, except students in MD, LLD, or SLD special educational classes and students with proven financial hardships (parents claiming financial hardship must communicate their situation to the school administration through a hardship letter to the Superintendent). We will make every attempt to keep the fees reasonable and affordable.

The assigned fees will help offset the costs of transportation or admission fees. All fees will be communicated to parents. Fees can only be paid via Payschools.

Paying your field trip fees:

• After logging into Payschools, you will be directed to your Dashboard.
• From the Fees table, select "Optional Fees"
• Select field trip and then select the shopping cart icon
• Once you get to your shopping cart, you will be able to pay the fee.

New Mission Statement: The Board of Education recognizes the importance of having a clear, concise, and meaningful mission statement that reflects the values, goals, and aspirations of the school district. The existing mission statement has been reviewed and determined to no longer fully represent the evolving needs of the district's students, staff, and community. Therefore, a new mission statement provides a guiding framework for decision-making, planning, and future growth within the district, and will ensure alignment with the district’s vision and strategic goals. As a result, the Board of Education of Prospect Park has adopted the following new mission statement:

We are happy to share this new vision for the future of Prospect Park Schools.

Payschools: We will no longer collect checks, cash, or money orders for school events, activities, or fees. Prospect Park Schools utilizes Payschools to collect fees for Before & After Care, field trips, events, and other assigned fees as needed. All families are expected to create a Payshcools account to make fee payments easy. You can set up your account from our website.

Reading Matters!: We encourage all parents to visit K12Readlinglist.com to explore books that you or your child may be interested in reading. K12ReadingList gives parents and kids book descriptions and purchasing options. These books are compiled by teachers and librarians. Click here to see some recommended readings for students in grades PK-2.

Realtime: All families are expected to access their provided Realtime account, update contact information, check academic progress, and view any posted messages or letters in their account. Please visit our website for more information.

RealTime Workshop: We invite you to attend our RealTime Workshop on Monday, January 29th, from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM in the School #1 gymnasium. This hands-on session will help you navigate the RealTime system and access important information about your child’s school experience. Please bring a computer or cell phone with internet capability with you.

During the workshop, we will assist you with:

• Logging into RealTime on your device
• Viewing updated attendance records and grades
• Making payments for field trips and other activities

The workshop will be presented in English, with translation support available in Spanish and Bengali to ensure all families can participate comfortably. Don’t miss this opportunity to stay informed and connected with your child’s education. We look forward to seeing you there! Light refreshments will be served.

Regulation 5513 - Care of School Property: The Board of Education has adopted revisions to our Care of School Property Regulation. The regulation can be viewed here. Important updates that you need to be aware of include fines and penalties for School-Issued Digital Devices.

School #1 Updates and Information

29th Annual Passaic County My County Poster Calendar Contest Winner: On January 23, Grade 4 student Gaela was honored at the Passaic County Police Academy for being a featured artist on the 2025 Passaic County Calendar. Gaela entered the contest along with hundreds of other Passaic County school children. Her artistic work was selected for the month of September and will be displayed all over the county.

School 1 Monthly Calendar:

Winter Read-a-Thon:

Literacy Pro Information Link

The Great Kindness Challenge is Back!: As part of our PBSIS initiative, we are thrilled to announce that students are once again participating in the Great Kindness Challenge! Yesterday, we had a fantastic kickoff assembly that got everyone excited to spread kindness throughout our school and community.

This week-long event encourages students to make kindness a habit. Each day, they will take part in Social/Emotional Lessons and work through a kindness checklist to inspire thoughtful actions. To add to the fun, we’ll also celebrate kindness with special dress days!

In addition, our school is joining the district-wide fundraiser, Kind Coins for Kenya. Last year, we were proud to be one of 49 schools that raised funds to provide breakfast, lunch, clean water, uniforms, and a school for 250 children in Kenya. Your kindness and generosity made a lasting impact, as shown in this video.

This year, we are taking on a new goal: building another school to support 250 more children in Kenya! To help us achieve this, students can dress casually every Friday for a $2 donation.

This initiative is more than just a fundraiser—it's a valuable learning experience for our students, showing them how they can be part of a global movement to make a difference. Let’s work together to spread kindness and create change, one act at a time!

Special Dress Days

• Monday, Janaury 27 - “Hats Off To Kindness”: Wear your favorite hat day
• Tuesday, Janaury 28 - “Team Up For Kindness”: Wear workout clothes
• Wednesday, Janaury 29 - “Crazy For Kindness”: Wacky hair and clothes
• Thursday, January 30 - “Show Your Love & Kindness”: Wear red
• Friday, January 31 - “Kindness For Kenya”: Casual Dress for $2.00. (Crocs, leggings, no pajamas or ripped jeans are not permitted to be worn during our special dress days.)

Middle School Updates and Information

8th Grade Promotion Caps and Gowns: All promotion ceremony caps and gowns have been distributed. Please take the gown out of the packaging and hang it up. Please store the tassel and cap in a safe place. The tassel and gown will be needed for the promotion ceremony. Students do not need to bring their caps to the ceremony.

Manchester Open Gym: Please note this is only for 6th, 7th and 8th grade students

Middle School Calendar:

Reminders for all Parents:

• Please remind your child(ren) to charge their Chromebooks at home and bring them to school each day, along with their charger. 
• Students should bring a reusable water bottle to school each day. The classes are equipped with fountains, so students can refill their bottles while they are in school.
• Please take a moment to read the Discipline Matrix and Point System using this link.

Winter Benchmark Testing: Starting January 27th, our students will begin their Linkit Benchmark assessments for ELA, Math, and Science. To help ensure your child is prepared, please remind them to:

• Charge their Chromebooks every night.
• Bring both their Chromebook and charger to school each day.
• Get plenty of rest the night before the test.

Early Childhood Education Updates and Information

Early Childhood and Preschool Information Webpage: ECE information for families can be accessed by clicking here.

Pasta Literacy Nights: The Early Childhood Department hosted a series of Pasta Nights to engage our school community and promote literacy. On Tuesday, January 7th, we welcomed our 2nd-grade families, and on Thursday, January 9th, it was the 1st-grade families' turn to join the fun. We wrapped up this exciting series on January 23rd. These evenings were filled with delicious pasta, lively conversations, and most importantly, a shared love of reading. Families enjoyed meals together and received grade-appropriate books to encourage at-home reading and support literacy development.

Our Early Childhood Supervisor, Ms. Kyle, delivered an inspiring presentation on the importance of literacy and reading to children. She also shared valuable tips with parents, encouraging them to:

• Participate in all school events.
• Make school a priority.
• Stay in regular contact with homeroom teachers.
• Check out the weekly newsletter and school website.
• Use the Real Time system to stay informed.
• Read with their children every night!

Thank you to all the parents, students, and teachers who made these evenings so special. Together, we’re building a stronger school community and fostering a lifelong love of reading in our children. We hope to see even more families at future events—let’s keep the momentum going for literacy and family engagement!

Pre-K and Kindergarten Registration: Parents can now pre-register their child for Pre-K and Kindergarten (only those families who will be new to Prospect Park School #1 need to preregister their child for Pre-K and Kindergarten - families currently enrolled in Pre-K 3 and Pre-K 4 do not need to re-register). Pre-register using the New Student Registration link on our homepage.

Upcoming visits to the Haledon Public Library!: As part of our ongoing literacy initiative, our Early Childhood students will be visiting the Haledon Public Library. These visits are an excellent opportunity to foster a love of reading and introduce children to the wonderful resources available at their local library.

Permission slips will have been sent home, Below are the scheduled dates for each class:

• January 27th: Ms. Turner & Ms. Serek's 1st Grade classes
• ($10.00 transportation fee required via Payschools)
• January 28th: Ms. Calacanis & Ms. Barbire's 1st Grade classes
• ($10.00 transportation fee required via Payschools)
• January 29th: Ms. Kalajian & Ms. Rinaldi's 2nd Grade classes
• ($10.00 transportation fee required via Payschools)
• January 30th: Ms. Bellman & Ms. Luizzi's 2nd Grade classes
• ($10.00 transportation fee required via Payschools)

We are excited for our students to experience this enriching field trip and to continue building their enthusiasm for literacy!

Winter Events at the Haledon Public Library: 

• Saturday, January 25 at 11:00 am, ages 5-10:  Snowman Story & Craft 
• Thursday, January 30 at 6:00 pm, all ages: Flavian’s Mind Reading Game Show for the whole family 

Office of Curriculum and Instruction Information and Updates

2024-2025 Assessment Calendar: Please take some time to review the district assessment calendar for the schedule of upcoming Winter & Spring assessments. Click this link to view the 2024-2025 Prospect Park Assessment Calendar.

ELL Family Night: A special evening program for non-English speaking families will be held on February 6. The topics will include:

• How to create a quiet, distraction-free space, as well as strategies to help children stay organized and motivated.
• Behavior policies
• How to understand grades, feedback, and test results.
• Learn how to collaborate with teachers to support their child’s academic and social-emotional development.

PTO Updates and Information

Administration

Dr. Michael Parent - Acting Superintendent/Principal mparent@prospectparknj.com 

Dr. Erin Stinson-Dioguardi - Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Testing estinson@prospectparknj.com 

Ms. Cathy D'Arrigo - Assistant Principal/Director of Special Education  cdarrigo@prospectparknj.com 

Mr. David Murphy – Supervisor of Math and Middle School Operations dmurphy@prospectparknj.com

Ms. Rawya Kyle - Supervisor of Early Childhood Education rkyle@prosepctparknj.com

Mr. Fahim Abedrabbo - Business Administrator and Board Secretary fabedrabbo@prospectparknj.com