The Eisenhower Experience 360 Stelton Road Piscataway, NJ

Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary School
The Eisenhower Experience
360 Stelton Road
Piscataway, NJ 08854
732.752.1801
Dear Eisenhower Family,
November is a time we recognize the people, places,
and things we are thankful for and we try our best to show
appreciation. I am truly thankful for Eisenhower School,
and the ability to spend each day with my Eisenhower
Family. It is so rewarding to be able to build relationships
with our students, parents, teachers, and community. November can also be a very stressful time for everybody, and
I can only hope to offer those around me encouragement
and support if they need it.
One thing I am certainly grateful for is all of the fun
we had on Family Fun Night on November 18. It was great
to see our Eagles have fun outside of the classroom with
their parents, siblings, and peers. All of the students
looked like they had a wonderful time and I am looking forward to more events like this one. Thank you to the PTO
for organizing and supplying crafts and snacks for the evening and thank you to the families for spending the night
with us.
I want to again express my gratitude for our Eagles. I
thank all of you for all that you do for our school.
NOVEMBER
Mascot
EAGLE
Colors
GREEN
& BLACK
CORE
VALUES
Children First
Respect
Dedication
Collaboration
School Leadership Team
Colleen Pongratz, Principal
Heather MacDonald, Assistant
Principal
Elizabeth Graves, Secretary
Colleen B. Pongratz,
Principal
Laura Heimlich, Counselor
Steve Ifko, Custodian
The month of
November offers the opportunity to reflect upon the many
aspects of our
lives for which we are thankful. Parents can help their children develop an “attitude of gratitude,” by setting aside a regular time when everyone talks about things for which they are
grateful. Many parents routinely prompt their children to say “thank you,” but also take the
next step and ask your child why he or she is grateful. Practicing these activities regularly
may help children to be more optimistic and to recognize kindness when it is offered. That is
something for which to be grateful!
During the months of November and December, the character education topic of focus is Anger Management/Self- Regulation. Your child will learn ways to express anger or frustration
in a safe and appropriate manner. Students will review the Anger Rules, Self-Control Steps. I-
Messages and Safe Hands. Anger is a feeling that we all have. While we can’t avoid feeling angry, we can prevent acting in angry ways that hurt others. The distinction between feeling an
emotion and acting upon it is important. Helping our children make this distinction and helping
them to manage their anger in a healthy manner are among our most important tasks.
Self Control Steps
We appreciate your support in helping your child learn peaceful ways of handling anger.
Congratulations to the October 2015 Eagles!!!
KINDERGARTEN
FIRST GRADE
SECOND GRADE
THIRD GRADE
Ms. Heaney’s Eagle
Mrs. Switke’s Eagle
Mrs. Pizzuti’s Eagle
Mrs. Kvenik’s Eagle
Drisha Vyas
Leah Hutchison
David Matos Vargas
Jeremiah Monasterio
Mrs. Kalthoff’s Eagle
Ms. Faheem’s Eagle
Nidhi Iyer
Ms. Well’s Eagle
Jayden Jara
Jaedan Villabroza
Mrs. Parrish’s Eagle
Daniel Franco
Sara Abbaszadeh
Mrs. McNamee’s Eagle
Alexander Henriquez
Ty Kira Gibbs
Mrs. LaMorte’s Eagle
Anshul Patel
Drashti Salunia
Mrs. Dedousis’s Eagle
Shawn McGee
Jane Pulikkan
Ms. Raiman’s Eagle
Theodore Truong
Saniyah Nickerson
Mrs. Bauza’s Eagle
Al-Hakeem Jenious Flood Akanksha Patwari
Mrs. Gilleece’s Eagle
Nia Monroe
Mrs. DellaFave’s Eagle
Edem Ayewuboh
Emmanuel Salazar Cardona
Ms. Goniea’s Eagle
Daniel Solis
Simrah Shaikh
Misha Patel
Joseph Giles
Mia Urena
Ms. Strazzulla’s Eagle
Mrs. Mikita’s Eagle
Ritika Kulkarni
Mrs. Molinaro’s Eagle
Caiden Rodriguez Buitrago
Angelina Kipniss
Mrs. Gornick’s Eagle
Nicholas Ramraykha
Larissa Martinez
Madox Jalowiec
Mrs. Conway’s Eagle
Angie Ramos
Mrs. Picone’s Eagle
Eva Kim
Mrs. Ridder’s Eagle
Joshua Laureano
Aiden Pachon
Ms. Malig’s Eagle
Andrew Liu
Andrea Orellana
Angelica Fernandes
Vishesh Mishra
Mrs. Ketterer’s Eagle
Natalie Nguyen
Ms. Granata’s Eagle
Mrs. Kroekel’s Eagle
Christian Perdomo
Naaisha Katyayan
Armani Haskins
Janina Wendland
Joon Loke
Alex Contreras Iraheta
Denise Cosme
Mrs. Aguillo’s Eagle
Adrian Raymondi
Kayla Narvaez
Meet Eisenhower’s New School Nurse,
Mrs. Arocho!
My name is Nancy Arocho, and I am the new
school nurse here at Eisenhower. I am very excited to be part of a wonderful school! Please
keep me informed of any
changes in your child’s
health or new medical
conditions, so I can best
serve your child. I welcome parents to introduce themselves to
me and look forward
to a healthy year!
Brrrrr….
The cold temperatures are here,
be sure your child is dressed
properly for outside play. Students
should be wearing a jacket and
have gloves, a hat, and even a
scarf when they are outside for the
next few months. Help your students prepare for the cold weather
by reminding them that they
should be wearing these items
when they walk out the door. Remember that if your child is missing
any of these small pieces of clothing, they can always check the Lost
and Found in the Nurse’s Office to
see if it was turned in.
Stay Healthy during the Holidays
During the holidays, yummy food and tasty treats are
everywhere. It would be easy to let healthy eating
habits slide, but holidays can still be healthy. Here are
some tips to help you and your family stay on track
with good eating habits:





Nibble on health snacks like whole grain crackers,
fruit, or raw vegetables before the big feast. You
will eat less.
When you are at a party or having a holiday meal,
look for the foods that are healthier, like veggies
or fruits, and make sure to eat some of those.
It takes your brain some time to signal you are
full. Wait 10-15 minutes before eating seconds.
This may keep you from overeating!
It’s not rude to say no to food. Don’t be pressured
to eat, if you aren’t hungry.
Eating holiday goodies like fudge, peanut brittle,
cookies, and other baked goods is fine, but eat
them in small portions.
Hello Eisenhower Families! Below please find
some important information from the PTO:

Thank you to all of the Eisenhower families who supported our Fall Ball by donating lots of yummy treats for us to sell. Due to your efforts the school made over
$500! Check out our Facebook page for photos!

Once again our Trunk or Treat Event was a huge success with over 200 children
participating! Thank you to all the parents who volunteered their spooky cars and
treats!

REMINDER: Family Fun Night is on Wednesday, November 18th at 6:30pm. We will
be making Thanksgiving themed crafts. Hope to see you there!

Money envelopes will be sent home the week of December 7th so that the children
may purchase Holiday gifts for their family members and friends during the Holiday Shoppe.

Our Holiday Shoppe will be from Monday, December 14th through Friday, December18th.
Your Eisenhower PTO Officers,
Lisa Dubinsky, President
Lauran Bonaparte, Vice President
Lisa Valentinuzzi, Treasurer
Kim Medina, Co-Treasurer
Pari Melkote, Corresponding Secretary
If you have any questions, here’s how to reach us:
Phone: 732-752-181 X5695
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dwightdeisenhowerelementary
Upcoming Events:
11/20-11/25: Parent Conferences, Half Day for
Students
11/26-11/27: Thanksgiving Recess
12/9: Eisenhower Third Grade Concert 7pm
12/14-12/18: Eisenhower Holiday Shop
12/18: School Spirit Day– Black and Green
12/24-1/1– Winter Break
Monthly Reminders

Keep updated on our website by checking the Virtual Backpack on a regular basis.
There you will find flyers, PTO forms, and information regarding school activities
and upcoming events.

When needing to contact a teacher regarding early pick-up, forgotten items, etc.,
please try to do so as early as possible. Emailing teachers is a great way to communicate these items, especially because they have students in their rooms beginning at 8:40am and may not be able to step away from the room or have a phone
conversation at that time.

We currently have many items in our Lost and Found and are trying to get these
back to their rightful owners. When you come in for conferences, please check our
Lost and Found tables to see if your child has left a sweater, hoodie, jacket, or hat
anywhere at school.

Kindergarten parents: Please remember to send in another set of clothes for your
child when they are used. We are running out of spare clothes in the nurse’s office.
Eisenhower Eagles Promote Fire Prevention
The Fire Department held a poster contest in October with the theme of fire prevention. There were dozens of students who entered the contest from all four
grades, which made the decision to choose the winners very difficult. Overall, 19
submissions were chosen that best represented fire safety and prevention, and
each student received a trophy from the Fire Department. Congratulations to the
winners!
Martina Grace
Advaith Sethuraman
Aashi Patel
Arihaan Mallick
Aashi Jaiswal
Ria Jevapal
Jay Kachhia
Tanya Melkote
Isabel Walsh
Anshul Patel
Emelyn Yniguez
Dorria Idris
Xavian Ali
Yug Patel
Christian Pulido
Janiyah Johnson
Rohan Patel
Priya Kashyap
Theodore Truong
Hello Eisenhower Family,
This summer I spent a month traveling around Spain with my husband. We also
went to Paris for our anniversary weekend. It was an amazing month learning
about the Spanish culture and practicing/learning the language (I'm not fluent
yet!). My experience shed light on what it is like to be in a country where you
don't know the culture or the language. Overall, it was the most amazing experience I've had thus far in my life and I cannot wait to travel to another new country sometime soon (I hope!).
-Mrs. Bauza
Mrs. Bauza and her husband, Jonathan, at Park Guell in Barcelona.