April Newsletter
Dear Families,
How is it time to write the April newsletter already?! Time flies when you’re having fun!
April is National Month of the Young Child, and we will be celebrating by participating in an art show at the Toms River Public Library-which begins on April 7th, 2025 and runs through May 3rd-culminating in the Ocean County Children’s Festival at the Toms River Library on May 3rd, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Peppermint Tree students’ artwork will be on display in the Children’s Art Show that will be on display in the Atrium (in TR Library) for the month beginning 4/7 and during the festival event, and we will also be offering an art activity for community children during the festival. Please mark your calendar and don’t miss all the fun!
Miss Val is the chairperson running this community event- and our staff members are volunteering to make it a success. So, we really hope we will see you there!!
We have lots of activities coming up, and information here for you, so please read on…
Happy Spring to all!
Sincerely,
Miss Val
Valerie Frost-Lewis, MS Ed
Owner/Director
Free Vision Screening will be Offered April 7 & 10 for all children.
This is a service provided by the Lions Club, using a technology device that detects possible vision concerns. Each parent will get a report of your child’s screening. Please look for the permission slip being emailed home. They must be returned by March 27th.
Parent Workshop: Kindergarten Readiness via Zoom, Thursday, April 10th at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom
This is a great opportunity to focus on how to help your child feel prepared and confident for the transition to Kindergarten. Our PreK teachers, Director and Assistant Director will be providing this presentation, and will offer time for questions as well. Watch for the Zoom link to be sent out via email.
Spring Egg Hunts will be held the week of April 14th
This year we are decorating recycled paper eggs, and the children will hunt for those with their classmates. This is instead of dying real eggs and hunting for plastic eggs. We are sensitive to the high egg prices and the waste of food it is for the school to die 100 eggs that don’t get eaten. We are also conscious of not wanting to have a myriad of plastic eggs that also end up being tossed. We are trying to be good Earth Friends!
Spring Break: We are CLOSED on Friday, April 18th, and open for Child Care Only (no classes), Mon-Fri April 21st – 25th for those following the Peppermint Tree calendar.
Spring Break is coming, and we are all hoping for some wonderful weather! Please note we are CLOSED on Friday, April 18th (no childcare or classes). The following week, 4/21-4/25, is not included in the tuition for those following the Toms River Schools calendar, so we are only expecting those children who follow the Peppermint Tree calendar. If your child follows the Toms River Schools calendar, and you need childcare, please call the office to schedule an extra day(s) for your child. Please advise of any School Age children who need full day child care, as well.
Mr. Scott the Music Man visits on Monday, April 28th.
Mr. Scott the Music Man will be continuing to visit to share his love of Music and Movement with each classroom. His upcoming visit will be on Monday, April 28th.
What came first, the chicken or the egg? Our Chick Hatching Event will be starting April 28th!
On Monday, April 28th, we will begin our Chick Hatching event right here on-site at Peppermint Tree. The farmer will be coming with adult chickens to show the children and to explain all about eggs, chicks and the hatching we will be witnessing over the next week and a half. The farmer leaves us with 12 eggs in an incubator…then the children will see the eggs hatch and the baby chicks entering the world right before their eyes! A most exciting experience!
Our next Parent Group Meeting will be held Tuesday, May 6th, at 8:00 p.m. via Zoom. We will be planning our upcoming events, so please plan to join us!
All parents/guardians and staff are welcome to help us plan events and activities that benefit The Peppermint Tree children and families. Come and meet your fellow Peppermint Tree parents and help us continue to bring great experiences to our kids and families. We will be sending out the Zoom link via email.
Registration for Summer Camp 2025 and 2025-26 School Year are now in Full Swing - and we are full for some age groups. If you have not yet registered-please contact the office ASAP to see if we have room in your child’s age group.
If you have not yet registered your child, please do so as soon as possible, as space is limited, and we are filling up quickly. (Please call first if you are registering – as some groups are full with a waitlist already). When you are ready to register, go to: https://www.pepperminttree.com/registration/ or by filling out the paper application we sent home recently.
Please keep in mind that there is a $150.00 family registration fee to reserve your spot for the 2025-26 school year and a $100.00 family registration fee for Summer Camp. A separate fee is required for each session, however, one fee covers all children in your family for that session. If you have any questions, just call us at 732-929-2500.
A quick reminder about Summer Camp tuition: The Session 1 payment for summer camp is due on June 1, as is your last payment for school tuition (unless you get your security deposit applied).
Some families choose to begin paying for Summer Camp in advance by making partial payments to offset the extra tuition due in June. As with the school payment, there is a grace period until the 15th of the month before a late fee is assessed. You may wish to pay the school payment on June 1st and the camp payment by June 15th – that is also acceptable.
We will gladly work out a payment plan that will work for you. Just call the office.
$25.00 Referral Tuition Credit – for each family you refer to Peppermint Tree (once they register)
Is your family enjoying all of The Peppermint Tree activities? Is your child benefiting from the loving care and enriching education we offer? If so, please spread the word about Peppermint Tree! We will reward you, if you do!
“Word of Mouth” is our best form of advertising! And, we truly appreciate your spreading the word about Peppermint Tree to your friends, family and neighbors. We offer all of our current families a tuition credit of $25.00 for each new family you refer to Peppermint Tree. Once they pay their registration fee, we credit your account $25.00. There is no limit to the number of credits you can earn!
Upcoming Family Events in April, May & June – Mark your calendars!
Budding Artists Gallery – at Toms River Library, April 7th – May 3rd (through the end of the Children’s Festival-see below). Peppermint Tree will be submitting a selection of our students’ artwork for the show.
Parent Workshop: Kindergarten Readiness via Zoom, Thursday, April 10th at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom – (please note date change – this was previously scheduled for 3/6/25) this is a chance to learn how to best help your child feel ready to start kindergarten.
Family Garden Planting Party- Saturday, April 12th 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. - The parent group is planning this fun event! We emailed a link to an online sheet to sign up to bring something-so lots of families are involved!
Ocean County Children’s Festival “The Wonderful World of Art”: Saturday, May 3rd, 11:00 a.m.– 3:00 p.m., at Toms River Library (both indoors in Mancini Hall, and outdoors in the courtyard)– mark your calendars! This is a rain or shine event. This will be a fabulous free family event including children’s activities, crafts, a children’s art show, and much more! This event is in celebration of the National “Month of the Young Child”. We hope to see you there!
Toy Swap, Ice Cream Social and Mr. Scott the Music Man show, Monday May 12th, 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Plan to bring a toy and get a toy at this fun end of the school year celebration!
Peppermint Tree Prom, Saturday, May 17th, 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. (rain date 5/18/25) Mark your calendar!! The parent group is planning this first ever fun event!! Watch for more details.
PreK End of Year Celebration, Tuesday, June 10th at 10:00 a.m. outdoors at Peppermint Tree (Rain date: Wednesday, June 11th) Families of our PreK students (Miss Kelly and Mrs. Hamilton’s classes will celebrate together) are invited to celebrate their progress and celebrate the end of the PreK year. (Bring your own folding chairs.)
Calendar Notes: The last day of school is Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Since we were closed for one snow day, the last day of school has been pushed back to June 18, 2025.
Session 1 of Summer Camp starts on Monday, June 23rd
Thursday, June 19 and Friday June 20 are not included in the school or camp tuition, however, we are offering a “mini-camp” for those who need childcare on those days. Tuition will be charged on a per day basis, for those who need those days. We will offer signups for mini-camp soon.
The last day of camp (last day of Session 3) is Friday, August 22nd.
We are closed (no camp, school or childcare) August 25th-September 2nd.
The first day of school will be Wednesday, September 3rd, 2025
Family Reminders:
If your child is here after 2:00 p.m., please be sure to pack an afternoon snack, and if your child is here after 5:00 p.m., pack a second afternoon snack. School Age After children also need to pack an afternoon snack.
Please do not send in candy – we do not serve candy to the children at Peppermint Tree. Please save that for home.
Please do not park at the front of our driveway, forward of the school. There is not enough room at the end of the driveway to allow others to safely pass. Pull in, go around the circle and pull up as far as the front edge of the building, to drop off at the front doors. Thank you!
As always, I want to thank you for spending this school year with us. If you ever have any questions about the school or camp, your schedule, etc., please feel free to call the office at 732-929-2500. You can contact your child’s teacher directly with any classroom-related questions. Enjoy the Spring weather!
Sincerely,
Miss Val
Valerie Frost-Lewis, MS Ed.
Owner/Director
