The Bloomin' News is published on the 15th of every month

President: Sue Donovan

1st Vice President: Dawn Acocella

2nd Vice Presiden:  Jennifer Garrison

Treasurer: Allison Lentz

Corresponding Secretary: Tracey Tully

Recording Secretary: Kathy Wetherell


Important Dates to Remember

May 5 -9 Teacher Appreciation Week

May 9 Plant Sale

May 21 Field Day (Raindate 5/28)

May 23 Arbor Day/Ice Cream Social

Letter from the President

    Spring is here...thank goodness! During May, wqe will have our Plant Sale, Arbor Day Celebration/Ice Cream Social, Spirit Week and Field Day.  Please note the date of the Arbor Day Celebration/Ice Cream Social has been changed to Friday, May 23rd.  Please mark your calendars so you won't miss this fun event!

   The week of May 5th is Teacher Appreciation Week .  In recognition of BAS teachers and staff, we will be having luncheons in their honor throughout the week.  We still need water bottles.  If you would like to donate water, please contact Irene Brennan or Denise Palozzola.

   I would also like to thank all those who contributed to our annual Sandwich Night.  We donated hundreds of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to St. Joe's in Elizabeth.   All of the leftover bread, peanut butter and jelly were donated to Cranford Family Care.

   At our last general membership meeting, the new officers for the BAS PTA executive board were installed into office for the 2008-2009 school year.   The following people were elected and installed:

                                      President - Jennifer Garrison

                                 1st Vice President - Amy Iclan

                                2nd Vice President - Jennifer Surmay

                               Treasure - Allison Lentz

                               Recording Secretary - Kathy Wetherall

                               Corresponding Secretary - Tracey Tully

   They are a very talented and dedicated group of people.,  Please join me in congratulating them in their new positions.

Warm Regards,

Sue Donovan

From the Principal's Desk

   "It takes a village..." as the phrase goes, to make a school a great community, so with this issue, I want to express thanks and appreciation to the villagers who worked this year to  make BAS a community of caring learners...

• The PTA and all the parents who generously volunteered their time and effort to support and sustain both school and family events.

• The PTA Beautification Committee, Mrs. Schenker and Mrs. Capone, the forces behind all the weeding, planting and maintenance of bushes and flowers.

• The students and parents who support the Library Birthday Book Club.

• Mrs. Donovan and the members of her Executive Board for all their time, hard work, and support throughout the year.

• Teachers and staff for their endless dedication.

   Congratulations to the incoming PTA President, Mrs. Garrison and the newly elected Board members.  I look forward to working together to make next year as successful and fun as this one.

   There are more events before the month ends, so mark your calendar:

• May 9 - Plant Sale

• May 21 - Field Day (rain date May 28)

• May 23 - Arbor Day, 2:15 pm, followed by the Ice Cream Social (rain date May 30)

• On the evening of May 19, BAS will showcase our environmental projectat the beginning of the regular Board of Education meeting.  It is usually aired on TV 35 during the week of the meeting.

   Orientation for parents of incoming kindergarten students will be held May 13, 7:00 pm.  Parents who returned enrollment forms will receive a letter informing them of the date and purpose.  Please let your friends with kindergarten aged children know that it's best to enroll their child now so we know how many classes to plan for in September.

   Soon I will be meeting with teachers to discuss class placement for next year.  Please know that the needs and learning style of each student is carefully considered.  Class composition includes a number of factors, such as equity in class size, gender (to the degree enrollment permits), number of students enrolled in pull-out programs, and total number of classes per grade. for this reason it is not possible to accommodate parent requests fora specific teacher.  Should you have concerns about your child that will seriously impact learning, please share that information with your child's teacher before the end of this year.

Regina Gavin