Spring Suzuki Violin Groups forming for K-2 Students

The Adult School is currently forming new Suzuki violin lessons for K-2 beginners. Lessons will start in the second half of February.  Depending on the start date, there will be 12-15 lessons, and the fee will be between $180-225. Potential classes will be held at the following times and places:

Clinton School on Mondays, 5:00-5:30

Seth Boyden School on Tuesdays, 4:00-4:30 and 6:00-6:30

Tuscan School on Wednesdays, 4:00-4:30, 5:30-6:00 and 6:00-6:30

If you are interested, please call Jay Eisenberg at the Adult School, 973-378-7620, or email him at jeisenberg@somadultschool.org.

Harlem Wizards to Play SOMA All Stars

The Harlem Wizards will be playing basketball against South Orange Maplewood teachers and administrators on Sunday, January 29th at Maplewood Middle School. Should be a really fun event.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 29TH 6:30 PM @ THE MMS GYM
CONCESSIONS PROVIDED BY ROMAN GOURMET
HARLEM WIZARDS VS THE COUGAR ALLSTARS
FEATURING: JEFF TRUPPO, BRIAN OSBORNE, MMS TEACHERS, AND MORE

Tickets can be purchased at select village stores:
Maplewood Stationers, Village Barber Shop, Village Wine Shop

Tickets can also be purchased online at:
www.mmshsa.org or www.harlemwizards.com
Advance tickets: Students $7, Adults $9
At the door: Students $11, Adults $13

Please click here for the flyer.

TV Turnoff – Halfway there!

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Dear TV Turnoff Participants,

Have you made your New Year’s resolutions?  I hope that one of them is sticking to your TV Turnoff commitment!  We are almost at the halfway mark; so keep going!

Winter is the best time to cozy up with a good book.  I have been reading books that are candidates for the 2012 Newberry and Caldecott awards, and keeping up with current events in my favorite newspapers and magazines, as well as scanning news updates on my computer and iPad.  Scrabble has become my latest obsession.  I love to learn new words; especially the two-letter ones!  My new year’s resolutions include keeping my dogs happy and exercising during the winter months.  Part of my time will include more trips to the dog park and more walks in general.  What about you?  What are you doing instead of watching TV?

Have a productive and wondrous 2012!  Enjoy your winter bookmark.  Keep up the good work!

Happy reading, thinking & imagining,

Your library media specialist,

Mrs. Baltin

Looking for reading suggestions?  Check out the Battle of the Books reading lists

State of the District 2012

The fifth State of the District speech was delivered by Superintendent of Schools Brian Osborn on January 11, 2012.  More information on the address can be found in the Annual  Report and on the district site Home Page.

Dr. Osborne commented on the elementary schools and parent-school partnerships when reporting on Goal 3 of the district’s Goals and Objectives:

“New tools have improved communications with parents to foster stronger home-school partnerships. The new tools include School Messenger, which is capable of sending e-mail and phone messages quickly and the expansion of PowerSchool to include more student grade information for access by parents. Board of Education sub-committee reports are now posted on the website and an annual on-line stakeholder survey helps inform Board and administrative decision-making.

In addition, the district has improved elementary parent/teacher communication by adding a second parent/teacher conference, increasing the number of curriculum nights for parents, and sharing more student writing with parents.

Dr. Osborne thanked all the organizations that have partnered to support the school district including the ACHIEVE Foundation, the PTAs and HSAs in each school and the Parenting Center. Without the help of these and other parent and community organizations, students would not have the rich additions to their school day that these organizations provide.”

Battle of the Books has Begun!

Intense discussion among team members as Mrs. Baltin waits for their response in a 2011 Battle.

Now that we are over the holidays and have begun the new year, we are ready to help our students continue their endeavors with excitement and enthusiasm. And nothing delivers excitement and enthusiasm like the Battle of the Books.

The fourth grade Battle of the Books (BOB) program has been in progress since right before the winter break. The fourth graders will be having a practice battle around the middle of February, but the real event will occur at the end of February.

The third graders have just been introduced to BOB this week.  They will be having their practice battle the middle of March and the real one at the end of March.

The fifth graders will begin their battle later in the year at the end of March.

Battle Books in Tuscan Library. Look for similar displays in our town libraries.

The students are expected to read at least three of ten books to participate on a Battle team, where as team members, they will work cooperatively to come up with answers about any and all of the ten titles.   You can support your child’s efforts by practicing titles and authors with them.  (They will need to know the exact title and author to answer BOB questions.)  You can also read the books with your child.  The public libraries (both the Maplewood’s main branch and  Hilton branch, as well as the South Orange Public Library) have set aside their copies of the BOB titles.

Each student has received a sturdy, colorful BOB bookmark listing the exact titles and authors of the BOB books for their grade level.

Other library resources where you can find battle book lists and more:

Tuscan Library OPAC 

Tuscan School Library Website

Third and Fourth Grade Battle Book lists can be found with these QR Codes, scan with your smartphone:

3rd Grade Battle List

4th Grade Battle List

~ Roberta Baltin, Tuscan Library Media Specialist

January at Tuscan & Stay Connected

Our return to school in 2012 begins with a full calendar with events to take advantage of – movies, curriculum nights and special Board of Education meetings – there is something for everyone.

Tuscan School and the PTA have multiple ways for families to stay in contact.  With the possibility of winter weather upon us, take a moment to check that your contact phone numbers and emails are up to date to be sure to receive notifications from the school district and from Principal Majeed.

You can find a list of events and ways to “Stay Connected” in the January at Tuscan document that was sent home via backpack mail this week.

Martin Luther King Day Movie: Our Friend, Martin

Marshall Elementary School PTA is hosting a movie day on Martin Luther King Day, Monday January 16th, at the SOPAC Theater and the entire community is invited.  The film is “Our Friend, Martin,” an Emmy nominated children’s film about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American civil rights movement. For more information and to order tickets, please click here for the flier.

Pajama Day!

Mrs. Sinclair's Class

Wednesday found students and teachers alike in pajamas at Tuscan.  Too late for school to get dressed?  No, it was school wide Pajama Day and the day of a school community service project headed up by Mrs. Claire Sinclair, Tuscan kindergarten teacher.

This year in the weeks prior to Pajama Day,  students from Student Council and Peer Power club made announcements encouraging classmates to help a child in need have a warm night’s sleep by donating a new pair of pajamas.

Mrs. Sinclair started a Pajama Day drive last year and collected 350 pair of PJs.   This year the “mountain of pajamas” in Mrs. Sinclair’s classroom surpassed that number.   Mrs. Lamkin’s third grade class buddied with the kindergarteners to sort and count PJs.   The total came to an amazing 575 pair of pajamas!   Mrs. Sinclair says she is “proud to be part of the Tuscan community” and was very happy to have surpassed last year’s count.  The donated goods were packed up after school and delivered to a the local Division of Youth and Family Services.

Thank you to all the Tuscan families who made this service project a success!

Thanksgiving Food Drive: behind the scenes

Did you ever wonder what happens to your food once you drop it off for the food drive?

The short answer is that it gets hand-delivered on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to several families in the Tuscan community. The long answer starts about a week earlier when the food begins arriving.

Every day during the drive, Tuscan physical education teacher Ted Panayoutou corrals a group of fifth-graders to gather the food from the front hall and bring it down to the teacher’s lounge. There they unpack the donated items and begin sorting them.

This contribution of the fifth-graders is immensely helpful to the PTA volunteers who arrive on Tuesday night to do some final sorting and make a count of the items in each category. This year, as usual, Tuscan collected a large amount food, including more than 80 cans of soup, more than 40 cans of corn, more than 50 boxes of pasta, and about a dozen turkeys. There was also plenty of stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, pie filling, beans, rice, cereal, juice, spaghetti sauce, and sweets to go around.

Wednesday morning marks the final push. Bill Fitzsimmons, who has been heading up the Food Bank Committee for about half a dozen years, has developed a well- organized method for evenly distributing the food. In less than an hour, all of the food is packed into grocery bags, ready to be delivered. By Thursday, the food you donated was no doubt being eaten!

Many thanks to all the Tuscan kids and families who contributed to the food drive this year.

Tuscan Tiger Times

Attention All Tuscan Students: We Want to Hear From You! The deadline for the next issue of the student newspaper, Tuscan Tiger Times, is Friday, December 2.

Please submit your stories, poems, jokes, cartoons, or riddles. Submissions can be dropped in the TTT box in the library or emailed to Tina Kelley. Remember to write your name and grade on your submission.

Questions?  Contact Bibi Hayakawa or Tina Kelley.  Please note that due to space and budget constraints, we may not be able to publish all submissions.

Here are some guidelines for submissions:

Write for the Tuscan Tiger Times! Choose what you want to write. Gather your ideas. Plan with someone who can help. Do research. Take notes. Write a draft. Get feedback from someone. Ask: How could this be better? Revise your work. Edit your writing. Fix all spelling, grammar, and other mistakes. Make sure you have a great, short headline. Type your story (with help) on the computer. If you don’t have a computer to use, write very neatly. Do a final check to make sure it’s your best. Turn it in!

Create Art and Activities for the Tuscan Tiger Times! Think carefully about what to draw or create. Draw a sketch. Or plan an activity. Show someone. Ask: Do you understand? Is this my best work?  Make changes so it is even better. Create a final version on unlined paper. Carefully trace pencil in thin black pen or marker. Check that you have any captions you want. Add a title. Type words separately if you can or use your best handwriting so that it is large enough and dark enough to read clearly. If possible, scan and e-mail your work. If delivering by hand, try not to fold or crinkle your paper. Note: No violent themes for writing or artwork, please!