Principal Garcia's Newsletter
Friday, March 8, 2024
Torey J. Sabatini School
Important Upcoming Dates
- March 11, 2024 - School Closed - Staff In-Service Day
- 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!
Women in History Month
March is Women in History month! TJS students will learn about famous women in history in their classrooms. Ask your child who they are learning about this month and their contributions to our community and global society.
One School, One Book is back!
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Our school is about to take part in a special, communitywide shared reading event. Every family will receive a copy of the same book - Steam Tales: Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne - and will be asked to read it together at home over the next two weeks. TJS is personally asking you to make the time so that your family can participate in this special activity.
Reading aloud at home is valuable because it better prepares your child to be an effective reader, and it is also a fun, worthwhile family activity. With this program, we aim to build a community of readers at our school. Everyone - students, parents, teachers, and staff members - will all be following along together.
Along with your copy of the book, you also received a reading calendar of which chapters to read each night. Generally, you will be asked to read about 15-20 minutes each night.
Students will participate in Kahoot trivia questions in school each day in relation to the chapter(s) read the night before. In class, the student may explore the book through activities and discussion, not only about the plot, but gaining greater understanding of the world around us. We will also celebrate with schoolwide decoration, a door decorating day, and a schoolwide dress up day in connection with the book! You will soon find that your child will take pride in knowing and anticipating the details of the story.
This is a novel program in that children of all grade levels will all be listening to their parents read the same book. Strange or daring as that may seem, it actually makes sound educational sense. Reading professionals recommend reading material out loud that is beyond a child’s own reading level. We also believe that you can and should continue reading chapter books with your older children, even when they are able to read by themselves. Stopping throughout each chapter to discuss and visualize what is happening in the story and defining vocabulary is also an important piece!
We know that you’ll enjoy this special reading time with your children! Happy reading!
Update from STEAM/Tech Teacher, Ms. D'Amico
In preparation for the TJS Science Fair, Kindergarten students have been working on a class wide project! The students have been collecting data over the past month and are working on their science fair boards. We have been practicing asking questions, making hypotheses, writing the experiment steps, and drawing conclusions based on our data. The boards will be on display at the Science Fair on March 20th, 2024 from 6:30 pm until 7:30 pm. The project is a surprise and you will have to go to the Science Fair to find out what they have been working on! We hope that you will come and see their projects, as the students have been working very hard!
Read Across America Week Recap
Author Tara Lazar Visits TJS!
Third Annual Family Reading Night
Summer Opportunities
Now Available...Madison Summer Arts Brochure
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
Harlem Wizards Visited TJS for an assembly this week!
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.
Thank You, PTO, for this amazing new BOOK RETURN CART!
This book return will live outside the library media center. Students will be able to drop their books in the bin, at any time, and will no longer need to wait until their scheduled library day.
Thank you so much to the parent volunteers who helped run another successful Book Swap at TJS Reading Night! And thank you to the teachers and staff and community helpers who spent their evenings sharing their love of reading with our children!
Buy your tickets to our Spring Social HERE!
TJS PTO Spring Social March 22nd 7pm-11pm
Madison Community Arts Center (10 Kings Rd Madison NJ)
DJ, Food, Raffles, Adult Beverages
Last call to help be a part of the magic before the BIG NIGHT….
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
Can’t make the social, but still want a chance to win a Teacher Outing Raffle for your child? Click HERE!
We are more than halfway through the Read-A-Thon and the TJS Jaguars have read 44,529 minutes and have raised $8809.72 so far!
It is not too late to participate if you have not done so 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.
Last year, TJS students read for 72,787 minutes and raised $10,940 to help the school out. We are counting on you to help us to beat this! We have 5 days left to encourage your children to read, read, read, and reach out to family and friends to support them with donations!
Prize winners will be announced next week after we wrap up on Wednesday, 3/13. Thank you for your support!
News from the Madison Education Foundation (MEF)
We have two family friendly weekend events:
- Sunday, May 5 - 21st Annual MEF Madison 5K Run/Walk and Kids Fun Run at MHS
- Saturday and Sunday, June 1-2 - 4th Annual MEF Pickleball Tournament at MHS courts
We are excited to announce that we will be hosting our MEF Fall Adult Social again this coming September. We hope you will be able to attend!
- Friday, September 13 - "Lucky 21" Casino Night at FDU Mansion