HSA Meeting
October 13th 2023, 9:00am
Attendees: 24 in person, 19 online
Thank you to the Board of Education candidates that presented at our meeting.
Updates from Dr. Oates
Food Drive – The school theme for the year is “All Better Together” so donation items will follow the theme. Last month was Peanut Butter and Jelly and this month is Macaroni & Cheese. Please send items in with your children and they can place them in the bins outside the main office.
Holiday Docents – The DEI Committee has put together a program for students to learn about various holidays. The first holiday will be Diwali and students will visit the gym to learn about the holiday and participate in a fun activity.
Green Team –
- The costume swap was set up today on the front lawn. Unselected childrens costumes will be donated and adult costumes will go to the Dad’s Night closet.
- Bulb planting will take place on 31st of October. Check the enews to sign up.
- Starting November 15th, please drop off plastic Amazon envelopes and bubble wrap in designated bins at school. Start saving these items now. Together we will protect the environment and work closer to our goal: a sustainable TREX furniture bench for our school. Please be sure your packaging items are clean and dry.
World Language – From November 2nd students will start to receive 30 minutes of live Spanish language instruction. Maria Borst will be working with students Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays.
Professional Development – October 9th staff participated in training from Second Step, a program for social emotional learning. Staff have also been working on math centers to have students use hands-on tools to build a foundational understanding of math.
Parent Teacher Conferences – These meetings are a great opportunity to hear from your child’s teacher and share information. Make sure you have signed up for a conference time.
Afrika Afeni Mills – Afrika visited with teachers and parents on October 2nd to introduce herself and discuss her book Open Windows, Open Minds. There will be continued opportunities for parents and teachers to work with and learn from her.
Seeing Eye Assembly – Students were visited by staff and dogs from, one of only 2, seeing eye programs in the country. They explained the roles of the dogs and how they can assist with many different increments of need.
LinkIt Testing – Grades 2-5 participated in testing which consisted of 1 hour of ELA and 1 hour of math. Tests will be issued again in January and April. The real time results from these tests help staff accurately adapt their curriculum. NJSLA State testing results will be discussed at the November HSA meeting.
Parent Book Club – The book is Thrivers by Michelle Borba. Parents will meet from 11-12 on October 31st. If you can’t attend the book club, parents are still encouraged to read this wonderful book about how to raise thriving children in todays fast-paced, competitive and digital world.
Halloween – On Halloween students will have lunch from 12:20 to 1:20. They can go home and eat and change into their costumes. ALL students need to be picked up, there is no free dismissal, due to there being no crossing guard at that time of day. The parade will take place at 2:15 and parents are encouraged to attend.
Feel the Power Assembly – Students learned about kindness and the feeling of doing the right thing. The presenter awed students by bending metal frying pans!
Story Book Walk – The DEI committee is planning a series of story walks showcasing books about empathy, diversity and inclusion. The first book is “A Friend for Henry”. The committee is looking for sponsors to help fund additional copies of the books for the library and class rooms.
Past Events
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- Picture Day – September 19th
- SCT Mandatory Parent Meeting – September 19th
- DEI Kick Off – September 19th
- SEPAG Activities Fair and Parent Social – September 20th
- Frosty Friday – September 22nd
- Back to School Picnic – Friday, September 22nd
- Yom Kippur– September 25th – No School
- Custodian Appreciation Day – October 2nd
- Seeing Eye Assembly – October 2nd
- Author Visit – Afrika Afeni Mills – October 2nd
- LinkIt Testing – October 4th-5th for grades 2-5
- 5th Grade Field Trip – October 6th – to Treescape Adventure Park
- Professional Development Day – October 9th – No School
- Feel the Power Assembly– October 10th
- Book Fair – October 11 & 12
- Green Team Costume Swap – October 13th
- Progressive Dinner – October 13th
Upcoming Events
- Charleston Wrap Fundraiser Ends – October 23rd
- Art Docent Day – October 18th
- Make Your Own Pizza Fundraiser – October 20th
- Somervilles 1st Annual “Jack-O-Lantern Festival” – October 26th 6:30-8:30
- Annual Walking School Bus with Dr. Oates (N Van Dien & Wyndemere) – October 27th, 8:15am
- Bulb Planting – October 31st, 9-11am
- Parents Book Club – October 31st, 11am
- Halloween Parade – October 31st, 2:15pm
- Somerville Squad Assembly – November 1st
- Family Photo Sessions – November 3rd and 5th
- 2023 General Election (including 2 open Board of Ed seats) – November 7th
- Teachers Convention – No School – November 9th & 10th
- HSA Meeting – November 16th (Thursday) at 9am
- Career Day – November 17th – This year’s coordinators plan to have students complete a strengths inventory so they can better understand and appreciate their own skill set.
HSA Updates:
HSA Dues – The directory is now live! Over 214 families have paid dues raising $8600 for the HSA to put back into activities, events and supplies for students and teachers. Families can still sign up!
Back to School Picnic – Over 152 families attended raising over $2500. Thank you to the chairs and volunteers for all their hard work making this such a fun family event.
Book Gifting – Book gifting will be open all year and so far 60 donations have been made. For a $20/kid donation, your child gets to select a new book during their birthday or half birthday month and their name will be added to the bookplate. With these donations Ms. Kaplan is able to purchase books for the library throughout the year. Book gifting donations can be made on the HSA website.
Spirit Wear – There will be another pop-up shop before the holiday and some items available online next month.
Charleston Wrap – There is one week left to make your final Charleston Wrap purchases. We have raised over $2500 so far and anyone spending $50 or more will be entered into a drawing to win lunch with Dr Oates.
Frosty Fridays – Two of the four Frosty Fridays were rained out however we were still able to raise $484. Frosty Fridays will return in May.
Progressive Dinner – 200 guests have signed up for this fun annual event. Thank you to Bridget McCrone for Chairing this event and the Clarke Family for hosting the after party.
Art Docent Day – The first Art Docent day of the year will take place on October 18th. Volunteers should coordinate with teachers to set a time for their presentation. At the time of the meeting there was still a need for a docent in 4 Calandra, 4 Lupia and 3 Bielicky.
Jack-O-Lantern Festival – The very first annual Jack-O-Lantern festival will take place on October 26th. Families can carve a pumpkin and drop it off will Thursday, October 26th (8:45 – 9:00 am or 3:00 – 5:00 pm in the gym lobby). Come back later that evening, from 6:30-8:30, by the Kindergarten walkway and see all the pumpkins lit up and displayed. Enjoy Donuts and Apple Cider with your friends and classmates! Tea Lights will be provided by the HSA. Check the enews to sign up to bring a pumpkin or to volunteer to help out.
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 on Thursday, November 16th at 9am.
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