March Newsletter
Dear Families,
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
Free Vision Screening will be Offered March 4 & 6 for all children. (with parental permission)
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. Permission slips were sent home last month.
Our next Parent Group Meeting will be held Thursday, March 19th, at 8:00 p.m. via Zoom. (Please note change to date.) We will be planning our April “Family Carnival”, as well as our “Family Gardening Party”, 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.
Dental Hygienist Visit: Friday, March 20th - a dental hygienist will be visiting to provide a presentation for the children on caring for their teeth. We love our community visitors!
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 18th during the morning session on school, and the afternoon session will begin on March 25th. Registration flier being sent home.
Pyramid Model Corner:
Each month we include a section of our Newsletter that focuses on our work in building the children’s social and emotional capacities and skills, which is guided by our Pyramid Model implementation, in partnership with Montclair State University. This month, we wanted to focus on how we work with the children to build their friendship skills. We are teaching them how to be a “Super Friend”, including how to be proactively kind, to share and what words to use to ask to play with another child. In our classrooms, we often read a social story called, “I am a Super Friend”. This book has four simple lessons for the children:
Ask to Play (and it gives the words to use)
Use Gentle Hands
Take Turns
Calm Down with Deep Breaths
This approach breaks it down and makes it simple to be a “Super Friend” - think cape and super hero!
Registration for Summer Camp 2026 and 2026-27 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 2026-27 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!
Budding Artists Gallery – at Toms River Library, April 4th– May 2nd (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, March 26th at 8:00 p.m. via Zoom –This is a chance to learn how to best help your child feel ready to start kindergarten.
Family Carnival Event, Saturday, 4/18/26, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. - (This is a Parent Group sponsored event: watch for more details – each group of classroom parent volunteers will be asked to work together to create a fun zone/game on the playground for this event.)
Ocean County Children’s Festival (at Toms River Library) Saturday, 5/2/26, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. - This is a fabulous day of activities for the children, resources for families, and entertainment, sponsored by the Ocean Chapter of the New Jersey Association for the Education of Young Children. Miss Val is the event chairperson, and many of our staff will be helping to help make this a fun day for all!
Family Garden Planting Party- Saturday, 5/16/26, 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. –This will be the day we plant our vegetable gardens (the plants that need to wait until after the last frost), and we invite our families to join us for this kickoff for the season.
Family Toy Swap, Ice Cream Social, and Mr. Scott the Music Man. Thursday, 5/28/25, 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. (in person at Peppermint Tree) - This is a fun and fabulous end of the school year celebration! Bring a Toy – Get a Toy! Eat Ice Cream! Enjoy some musical fun!!
PreK End of Year Ceremony Wednesday, 6/3/26, 10:00 a.m. (outdoors at Peppermint Tree) - (Rain date: Thursday 6/4/26)
Family 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.
Let’s have a wonderful March together!
Sincerely,
Valerie Frost-Lewis, MS Ed.
Owner/Director
