Principal Garcia's Newsletter
Friday, March 1, 2024
Torey J. Sabatini School
Important Upcoming Dates
- March 1, 2024 - Women's History Month Begins!
- March 4-8, 2024 - Read Across America Week...spirit days and schedule below!
- March 4, 2024 - 7Ate9 Day! Students wear clothes with numbers on them!
- March 5, 2024 - Author Visit - Welcome Tara Lazar
- March 6, 2024 - TJS Third Annual Family Reading Night at 6:30 PM! Doors open at 6:15 PM (be on the lookout early next week for the flyer to help you plan your evening reading room visits)
- March 7, 2024 - Dress up as your favorite book character day!
- March 8, 2024 - Second Grade Rotary Reading Visit
- March 8, 2024 - One School One Book REVEAL and books sent home
- March 11, 2024 - School Closed - Staff In-Service Day
- March 13, 2024 - TJS Family Reading Night (snow date)
- March 14, 2024 - Second Trimester Ends
- March 15, 2024 - Third Trimester Begins
- March 15, 2024 - Drew Softball Team Guest Readers for Kindergarten Classes
- March 19, 2024 - MPS BOE Meeting at 7:30 PM
- March 20, 2024 - PTO Science Fair
- March 21, 2024 - Fourth Grade Breakfast with the Principal
- March 22, 2024 - Fourth Grade PTO Awesome Art
- March 22, 2024 - Report Cards Available in the Genesis Parent Portal at 3:00 PM
March Monthly Activity Calendar
Click the link below to access and print the calendar for the month of MARCH. As a family try to do as many of the boxes as you can during the entire month of March! You will see that many of the activities are geared toward reading activities since we are kicking off March with Read Across America Week. This month's activity calendar was created by our Reading Specialist, Mrs. LoBrace!
IMPORTANT NEW MAIN OFFICE ENTRY
Please be advised that the Torey J. Main Office Entry and doorbell has been relocated to the double doors - door #1 (to the right of the old main office door). Parents/Guardians will be buzzed into our secure vestibule area and then will need to be buzzed in again to obtain access into the main office. Visitors may be asked to remain in the vestibule to sign in or out your child. We look forward to utilizing our vestibule area to create safe and secure procedures in our learning community.
Read Across America Week is Next Week...March 4th to 8th!
Monday, March 4th: 7Ate9 Day! In honor of Tara Lazar’s popular 7Ate9 book, students are invited to wear clothes with numbers on them!
Tuesday, March 5th: Author Visit Tara Lazar
Wednesday, March 6th: TJS Family Reading Night (snow date of March 13th)
Thursday, March 7th: Dress up as Your Favorite Book Character!
Friday, March 8th: Schoolwide Reading Train
In addition to the above school wide events, we will also participate in fun and educational classroom activities throughout the rest of March such as:
- Reading books about diversity and inclusion
- Unpack a Storytelling Sack
- Oral History Storytelling
- Personal Story sharing and creation
- Drew University Softball Team reading books to TJS Kindergarteners
COMING SOON...One School One Book Program is Back!
PTO Display Case - Read-a-Thon Prizes
February Jaguar of the Month - Student Recognition Program
As a school learning community, we are recognizing TJS jaguars who consistently demonstrate exemplary character traits, behavior, kindness, and compassion for others. Nominations are submitted throughout the entire month and at the end of the month, one jaguar from each grade level is selected and recognized. Today, Ms. Garcia announced the February Jaguars of the Month!
Congratulations to...
- Kindergartener - Reva Soares
- First Grader - Cora Seeley
- Second Grader - Grace Burns
- Third Grader - Paul Perconte
- Fourth Grader - Paul Liddy
- Fifth Grader - Maggie Chien
We are hopeful that as a community, students will be eager to serve as positive role models for their peers to always be upstanding members of our school.
2nd Graders in Mrs. Galinsky & Mrs. Delli Paoli's Class Cozy Up with Good Books
Exciting Happenings in Ms. Obermaier's Art Room!
I am happy to share that the TJS Art Room was awarded a grant from the Madison Education Foundation to create Imagination Station. This is a station of art centers for students to use when they finish their projects and on single session days. The centers include: magna tiles, a bridge building set, lincoln logs, origami, fashion plates, my first fashion designer, spirograph, weaving, play doh, and a library of drawing books. The kids have been enjoying exploring these new materials! Thank you MEF!
Your artists have been working hard on many new projects. Most grades have completed their self portraits, you will see some of them coming home soon. After learning about the Lunar New Year and painting their very own dragon, Kindergarten is now learning about famous artist Frida Kahlo. First grade created beautiful paintings of flowers inspired by artist Clementine Hunter. Third and Fourth grade are beginning mixed-medium projects that include printmaking, and exploring the Amazon River and homes of Burkina Faso! Fifth grade is just beginning a project that uses origami to create radial symmetry.
Upcoming Event - MJS Musical
Sensory Friendly Performance
MJS will present their first sensory-friendly performance of Shrek the Musical Jr. on March 23rd at 2pm!
Our sensory-friendly performance is a theatrical experience in which the environment and typical "rules of attendance" are relaxed. House lights will be dimmed, but not turned off completely, to allow for ease of movement for audience members. There will be designated "cool down" areas if audience members need a break during the performance. Sound levels and lighting levels will be adjusted to accommodate different sensory-needs. At this performance, smartphones and tablet devices are allowed for communication purposes, and there may be some talking during the performance from audience members. With the additional supports and modifications, we hope to use our March 23rd, 2pm performance as an opportunity to create an inclusive environment for everyone to enjoy the magic of theatre, and enjoy the twisted fairy tale of Shrek Jr.!
Tickets can be purchased HERE. Social narratives, a guide to the theatre, character guides, and other informational documents will be sent via email the week leading up to the performance based on the contact information provided during the ticket sale. All information will also be available in-person the day-of performance.
Harlem Wizards...Coming Soon! April 25, 2024
It’s back…The MHS Project Graduation Committee will be hosting the Harlem Wizards Event again this year.
Date: Thursday, April 25, 7pm
Location: FDU Ferguson Recreation Center
Are you ALL IN?
The New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Education (NJCIE) invites all United States public, charter, and vocational school students in grades 1 to 12 to enter its 15th annual ALL IN Poster Contest!
Formerly known as “Inclusion Works”, the contest launched during National Inclusive Schools Week on December 8, 2023, and will end on May 3, 2024.
At the end of the contest, a grand prize winner is selected, and all winning submissions will be displayed in a poster exhibit on our website.
The contest has taught countless students the importance of inclusion for more than 10 years. When all students are included, everyone shines!
Awards
Participants, based on their grade level, will choose to enter their submissions into one of the following categories:
Elementary I – artwork completed by students in grades 1-2.
Elementary II – artwork completed by students in grades 3-5.
Intermediate – artwork completed by students in grades 6-8.
- Secondary – artwork completed by students in grades 9-12.
The Grand Prize winner will receive a $250 award. Printed copies of their poster will be distributed to schools throughout the country. The winner’s poster will also be announced and exhibited at NJCIE’s Summer Inclusion Leadership Conference on June 7th.
Each category will have one winner and honorable mentions. Category winners will receive a $50 award. We will display all winning submissions and honorable mentions on a virtual exhibit on our website.
Summer Opportunities
Now Available...Madison Summer Arts Brochure
TJS PTO Spring Social March 22nd 7pm-11pm
Madison Community Arts Center (10 Kings Rd Madison NJ)
DJ, Food, Raffles, Adult Beverages
Tickets will be on sale next week! Book your babysitters now!
The TJS PTO Adult Social is always a fun event to meet and mingle with fellow TJS parents and help raise money for the TJS PTO which sponsors educational and cultural enrichment programs for the students, as well as improvements to the school, in particular the library. We are reaching out to let families know of other ways to be involved in the event, if you so choose!
Host a Parent Sponsored Party/Event- parties in the past have included backyard movie nights, BBQs, golf outings, etc. You can be as creative as you'd like! Typically several families join together to sponsor the event and the funds paid by the participants go directly to the fundraising efforts. Contact Jaime Seeley (jaimebseeley@gmail.com) for more details if you want additional information or ideas on parties.
Donate an experience for the Silent Auction- do you have tickets to a sports or entertainment event that you'd be willing to donate? Perhaps sponsor a foursome at your golf club? Again, this can be anything, but in the past we've had Giants tickets, golf at local country clubs, etc.
Volunteer the night of the event here! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090B44ABAC2BAAF94-47923835-tjsspring
We're thrilled to announce that our Read-A-Thon is underway! We're counting on you to make it a success. If you haven't already, please take a moment to activate your child’s personal reader page by clicking on the following link:
https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/r/3538333939 and enter our school code 3192332.
It only takes a minute or two, and your support will greatly assist us in meeting our financial goals.
Thank you for your help in reaching our goal.
The Book Swap is back! We are collecting used books, prior to the TJS Reading Night on March 6th. That evening, we welcome everyone to take home as many ‘new’ reads as they would like.
Please drop your gently used books by THIS MONDAY in the bin outside of the main office or on one of these porches: 44 Maple Ave. or 81 Green Village Rd.
Speaking of books, please consider signing up to help re-shelve books in the TJS library! Times available every Tuesday and Thursday 12-1pm. If another day works better, please reach out to Madeline Smith madelineday08@gmail.com