March Newsletter
Dear Families,
The children are excited that the weather is warming, and we look forward to a lot more outdoor time on the playground during March! Our Earth Friends program continues with Janna Hockenjos on Tuesdays in the Preschool and PreK classrooms, bringing more attention to our natural and made world. As the planet wakes up for the coming Spring, so do our minds, to it’s amazing gifts.
Earth Friends brings environmental education to young children through the lens of love and curiosity. Peppermint Tree wanted to let you know that they are selling cool shirts to raise funds to bring this program to more children and more schools. Each purchase brings this foundation of environmental education to one child. 20 shirts brings it to a whole classroom!
Earth Friends has created a fun and funky design for Earth Friends of all ages to wear to share their cause and support their mission.
Would love to see lots of children, parents and teachers wearing the Earth Friends shirt! Show your love! (Sale ends March 16th.)
https://jetty-life.printavo.com/merch/earth_friends
During March, we will also have our monthly exciting visit from Mr. Scott the Music Man on March 20th.
Looking forward to a fun and enriching month together!
We have so much planned in March, and for the rest of the school year. Please use this newsletter as a guide to mark your calendar! Thank you for being a part of the Peppermint Tree community.
Sincerely,
Valerie Frost-Lewis, MS Ed
Owner/Director
Dental Hygienist Visit: Thursday, March 12th - a dental hygienist will be visiting to provide a presentation for the children on caring for their teeth. We love our community visitors!
Our next Parent Group Meeting will be held Tuesday, March 11th, at 8:00 p.m. via Zoom. We will be planning our April “Family Gardening Party”, as well as our other 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. March is an important planning month, as we have many activities planned for our families in the warmer months (see the event list below)! Please join us at our meeting to help make these events a success! We will be sending out the Zoom link via email.
Soccer Shots will be back for the Spring Season!
Soccer Shots will be offered as an optional Wednesday afternoon activity beginning in late March. They will be offering a FREE Demo to all children in attendance at school on Wednesday, March 19th during the morning session on school, and the afternoon session will begin on March 26th.
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. Permission forms must be returned by March 27th.
Following up on the Parent Workshop held last month, Using the Pyramid Model Approach at Home
Please check your email for excellent resources sent home to accompany the parent workshop held last month on using the Pyramid Model Approach at Home. We are hoping that sharing these approaches will help build a bridge between your child’s experience at school and at home. We discussed Schedules, Routines, Rules, and Transitioning between Activities. We also talked about providing your child with a lot of Positive Descriptive Feedback to encourage positive behavior. We sent home, via email, quite a few resources that we are hoping you will benefit from.
Each month, we also send home a new article from “The Backpack” series, also a Pyramid Model resource. Please look for the one being sent home this month, called, “How to Give Clear Directions”.
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 first 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. 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 March, April, May & June – Mark your calendars!
· Parent Workshop: The Picky Eater Puzzle: Strategies for Happy, Healthy Meals via Zoom, Tuesday, March 25 at 8:00 p.m., presented by Colleen Delaney, PhD, RDN Nutritionist and Peppermint Tree parent. (She shared her materials with me already – and this looks like a GREAT workshop!.)
· 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. - save the date! More details to follow. The parent group is planning this fun event!
· 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, performances by local dance and karate studios, and children will have the opportunity to make their own musical instruments and then participate in an interactive music and movement performance. This event is in celebration of the National “Week of the Young Child”. Miss Val is proud to be the organizing chairperson of this community event, and our staff also volunteers to make it a great day for all. We hope to see you there! More details to come.
· 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 May 18th) 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.)
Parent Notes
When you drop off or pick up from one of the front classrooms, please do not park at the end of the driveway. There is not enough room to accommodate your car and another pulling in, and we do not want your car to be accidentally hit by someone swinging into the driveway. If you are coming to the front door, you may park on the street either before or after the yellow curb, or in our driveway, behind the front edge of the building. Do not park next to the front lawn. Thank you!
When dropping off or picking up from school please hold your child by the hand. We have a very busy driveway and parking lot, and Partridge Street is also quite a busy street.
Afternoon Snack: Many full day children come to the end of the day and find they have nothing left in their lunch box by the 2:00 p.m. snack time, and the 5:00 p.m. snack time. (4:00 p.m. for school aged children). Please send in a labeled snack meant for the afternoon, or two afternoon snacks if your child is here after 5:00 p.m. Label it “Afternoon Snack”. Please remember that a healthy snack includes two food groups, so whole grain crackers and peanut butter, or apple slices and cheese, for example would constitute a healthy and complete snack.
“Boxtops for Education”: Remember to download the app and scan your receipts. This is an important fundraiser for us! Thank you!
Let’s have a wonderful March together!
Sincerely,
Valerie Frost-Lewis, MS Ed.
Owner/Director
