Flocktown-Kossmann School90 Flocktown Road Long Valley, NJ 07853Phone: 908.850.1010Email: mcraver@wtschools.orgMichael Craver - PrincipalJohn Winsted - Assistant Principal

Leading the way, making a di�erence every day!

October 29, 2021

Good afternoon parents and guardians of our FKS Wolves. It was great to see so many of you attend our

Halloween Parade this afternoon. It was very satisfying to hold an event for our students that feels more typical. I

know your children were thrilled to see you at a school event and from the looks of it, all of you enjoyed being

here as well! And we’ve been very fortunate with the weather for our outdoor events. As we put the wraps on

October, below are a fews items of news and notes to get you caught up on all things FKS.

Can Pull Tabs for Ronald McDonald House Philly

● See the letter attached to the email that accompanied this letter for details on a new community service

project to our school that we are kicking off on Monday, November 1. The can tab collection will run

through the end of May to benefit the Philadelphia region Ronald McDonald House. We look forward to

a successful and rewarding experience for our students.

Parent/Teacher Conferences - November 1-3 and November 8

● By now you should have an appointment to meet with your child’s teacher. If not, please reach out to do

so. Parent conferences are for understanding where your child is in her/his learning and the teacher’s

plan for your child’s academic and social/emotional success. It is also an opportunity to share your

knowledge of your child with the teacher so that the teacher comes to better know your child.

● Please see the Conference Tip Sheet for Parents attached to the email with which this letter arrived.

● Please know that properly worn COVID mitigation masks and distancing are required in the school

buildings for conferences. Distancing in schools for adults is still 6’ in our current guidance. School staff

will be at a sign-in table where you will be required to print your name, time of arrival, and the teacher

with whom you are conferencing. We request that you use the hand sanitizer at the table and remain

masked and distanced if you have to wait. We thank you for your patience, cooperation, and

understanding as we do our best to keep our faculty, staff, and community healthy and safe.

● Only the front entrance of each building will be open during conferences.

Fall Conference Book Fair - November 1-3

● We are very happy to share that the Fall Book Fair will once again be held in person in the Flocktown

Music Room during the first three days of conferences after school. All families, grades PK-5, are invited

to attend and purchase some great books. It’s also a good opportunity to get an early start on your

holiday shopping.

● We ask that upon entering the building, that you and your family follow the mask wearing and distancing

requirement. If the room becomes too crowded, you may be asked to wait outside the room in the

hallway or at the exterior entrance to the room.

● Many thanks to the PTA for their work on the return of the in-person Book Fair!

Being Patient With Where Children Are

● As we head into November, with conference season upon us, teachers’ thoughts are increasingly on

completing report cards - among a myriad of others in the natural course of their work. The accuracy of

reporting student progress is important and taken very seriously. Mrs. Russo, our district Coordinator of

Teaching, Learning and Intervention/Support Services posted a video to the district website at this link

for parents regarding what to expect when you see your child’s report card in early December.

Halloween Candy Collection

● Old Farmers School is again leading the collection of excess Halloween candy your child(ren) gathers

from trick or treating. The candy will be packaged for active duty military and Lyons V.A. hospital

patients. The collection will continue through Monday, November 8. The Veterans group we work with

coordinates and pays for shipping. Therefore, we are also collecting "Pennies-Plus" for the postage.

(Candy is pretty heavy!!)

● Finally, the Veterans are collecting uplifting cards for our brave Americans to accompany the candy.

Please consider having your child create a note of gratitude and encouragement to send in with your

donation.

PTA Events!

● We were able to hold another successful, school-wide outdoor assembly - Eyes of the Wild - Thursday,

October 21. Thank you PTA!

Stuff the Bus Success!

● Thank you for your generous response and sharing your good fortune with others! We collected well

over 100 pounds of food and personal hygiene items for those in need in our community.

Helping us Help Your Child

● Now that we have been in school for two months, we are beginning to see some of the typical situations

that you might expect arise with 441 children living in community with each other during the school day.

One prevalent aspect of some of the conflicts we are noticing is that the negative interaction has been

taking place for days and sometimes weeks before we are made aware of a situation. We ask for your

help by encouraging your child to share what is happening with an adult as soon as something happens.

We always encourage children to advocate for themselves first, in a respectful way. However, if that does

not work they need to make an adult aware of what is happening so we can help. Navigating these

situations is not easy and we want to be able to address any issues as quickly as possible to make

learning experiences of them as best we can.

● This is a link to an article that can guide you in speaking with your child(ren) to know the difference

between tattling and telling.

As always, should you have any questions regarding any of the information shared, please feel free to contact my

office. Thank you for all of your support and cooperation. Enjoy the weekend and have a safe, spooktacular

Halloween!

With great appreciation,

Michael Craver - Proud Principal of Flocktown-Kossmann School

Go Wolves!