HSA Meeting
April 20th 2023, 9:30am
Attendees: 13 in person, 7 online
Updates from Dr. Oates
HVAC Installation Update – The installation is complete and the gym is now a comfortable, climate controlled space for assemblies, performances and events.
Class Placements for 2023/24 School Year -A letter went out, linked in the ENews on April 11th, describing the process, factors and considerations taken in the development of class lists. Students will be notified of their placement on the last day of school and will participate in the Step-Up Day tradition.
Book of the Month – Roses Garden by Peter Reynolds. In conjunction with this book the students have all made flowers and Mrs. Stankiewicz has created a beautiful public art piece in the entry hall.
Earth Day – April 14th – The students had a great day and spent a lot of time outdoors planting seeds and attending assemblies. All the students wore grade specific colors and created a rainbow photo on the back fields. Thank you to Mike McCormack for capturing the Somerville rainbow via drone!
Staff Changes – This year Mrs. King will be retiring after an amazing 25 years at Somerville. First grade teacher Ms. Calandra will be moving to fourth grade and interviews are taking place for a new first grade teacher.
Social Services Donations – Donations for May will be cleaning products.
District News re. World Language and PE Curriculum – NJ has an elementary requirement (grades 1-5) of 150 minutes of PE per week which can include time in PE, health class or social/emotional learning. The world language requirement is 30 minutes. Currently the district is advertising for 2 PE teachers, 3 World Language teachers for grader 1-5, and 3 Aides. Somerville currently has 4.5 aides and the goal would be to have a dedicated aide for each grade.
Past Events
- Spirit Week – Week of March 27th
- Somerville Children’s Theater – March 23rd-25th – Newsies!
- Fourth Grade Field Trip – March 31st – Liberty Science Center
- Spring Break – Schools Closed – April 3rd-7th
- Earth Day – April 14th
- LinkIt Testing – April 19th-20th
Upcoming Events
- Eid School Closure – Friday, April 21st
- Auction – Friday, April 21st
- International Day Assembly – April 24th
- International Day & Night – April 25th.
- Art Docent Day – April 26th
- Third Grade Field Trip – April 28th – NYBG
- Clothing Drive – April 30th – Behind Somerville 9am-12
- Field Day – May 5th and assembly by Skate4Life
- First Grade Field Trip – May 11th – Health Barn
- Second Grade Field Trip – May 11th – Bronx Zoo
- Teacher Appreciation Week – May 8th-12th
- Bake Sale – May 12th
HSA Updates:
Auction – April 21st – Every 3 years Somerville holds an auction fundraiser that is an event not to be missed! This year it features 160 silent auction items and a live auction with 11 items on offer. It will be held at Biaggios and so far 160 tickets have been sold. Virtual tickets are still available.
Clothing Drive – There will be a clothing drive Sunday, April 30th. Donations can include clothing, shoes, accessories, and household linens and bedding. Please place all items in a tied plastic bag. A truck will be at the back of the school for drive-through clothing donations.
International Day & Night – April 25th. So far 21 countries will be represented at International Day! As a reminder, you can sign up for any portion of the day or night. During the day displays will be in the gym and students will visit with “passports” and learn about various countries. This year the night portion (food & performances) will be at Benjamin Franklin Middle School. This year’s theme is Music.
Thank you to all who attended today’s meeting in person and those who joined us on our Zoom call. Thank you Dr. Oates for meeting with us today!
Please keep an eye on the Tuesday E-News to stay up to date on all the latest information and announcements.
Next HSA Meeting will be May 12th at 9am. In Room 208 and on zoom.
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