This week, we celebrated Read Across America. Throughout the week, we recorded all the great reading that is happening at Tashua School. Each day, classroom teachers totaled the number of minutes their students spent reading. This data is charted outside of the library so the students can watch it grow from day to day and be motivated to read!

On Thursday, we had our school-wide Read Across America Assembly and State Representative Dave Rutigliano lead us in saying the Reading Oath. We then welcomed author Melissa Shapiro, DVM to Tashua! Mrs. Shapiro introduced her book Piglet Comes Home: How a Deaf Blind Pink Puppy Found his Family and talked to the students about how Piglet how to learn to navigate the world with a disability. The students met several of her dogs with disabilities and learned about the "Piglet Mindset" teaching people of all ages to:

• Face challenges with a positive attitude
  
• Build on current skills with determination, resilience, and perseverance
  
• Accept individuals for who they are and include them despite their differences
  
• Show empathy and compassion towards others
  
• Be kind and considerate to all people and animals

We truly appreciate the generosity of our Fathers' Club who funded this author visit! A huge thank you goes out to Mrs. McKenna for arranging our visits with author, Melissa Shapiro, DVM and State Representative, Mr. Rutigliano and for compiling all of the wonderful resources she found to help us celebrate Read Across America throughout the week.

Congratulations National PTA Reflections Winners

Thank you to all students who participated in the National PTA Reflections Contest. This year's theme was "Show Your Voice." Congratulations to the following students who had entries chosen for judging at the state level: Lily Adams, Gavin Ma, Matthew Ma, Caragh O'Neill and Cameron Walsky!

Congratulations to all other Tashua entries including:

2nd Place Winners: Emma Potoniak, Riley Welch, Gabriella Mancuso, James Gehrmann

3rd Place Winners : Hailey Scala, Alison Wu, Jackson Mayrides, Divya Maddukuri

Honorable Mentions: Gabriella Preman, Lilia DeVellis, Abhay Kamath, Brandon Alvarez, Tessa Grabowski, Alyssa Grabowski, Samantha Roumer, Lance Wu, Graham Adams, Knyla Brunson

Congratulations to our Principal Proud Board Students!

Kindergarten: Molly Grimes, Ellie Marini, Hannah Mayrides, Trent Nielsen

Grade 1: Luke Bednarczyk, Isabella Morales Evya Ria, Peyon Vitiello

Grade 2: Jacob Conklin, Gloria Philbrick, Bernardo Souza, Elijah Zami

Grade 3: Ryan Jacob, Weston LeFebvre, Ryan Press

Grade 4: Sonia Arduini, Jacob Dolgoff, Logan Wilson, Nicole Zambrzycki

Grade 5: Radwan Arar, M.J. Castillo, Giuliana Garcia

Congratulations also goes out to the PTA for hosting a very successful Adult Night Out this past weekend. Not only was the event a fun night, but it surpassed the fundraising goal! Thank you to all who sponsored, attended and donated to the event. A special thank you to Diana Philbin and the entire committee for the hard work planning the event.

March is National Women’s History Month

In honor of Women's History month, our third graders have begun sharing morning messages highlighting women and events that made an impact in history. This week, Tashua students learned about: Kamala Harris, Anne Frank, Mae Jemison and Mia Hamm.

In addition, our Diversity Committee has complied several resources for our teachers to include in their daily lessons. We will be sharing some of these activities with you throughout the month.

To further recognize Women's History month, please enjoy the following information that was prepared by two of our Tashua parents who co-chair the PTA Diversity Committee, Mrs. Flemming and Mrs. El Eris.

Women’s History Month began as a local, week-long commemoration and celebration in Santa Rosa, California in 1978. The organizers selected the week of March 8 to correspond with International Women’s Day. This idea became popular across the country and in the next year other cities and towns created their own Women’s History Week celebrations.

In 1980, several women’s rights groups and historians joined together with the National Women’s History Project (which is now known as the National Women's History Alliance) to get national recognition. In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8, 1980 to be National Women’s History Week.

The next US Presidents each continued to proclaim a National Women’s History Week in March until 1987 when Congress passed a law designating March as Women’s History Month. Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month.

Since 1995, each president has issued an annual proclamation designating March as “Women’s History Month.”

You can read this year’s Presidential Proclamation here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/02/28/a-proclamation-on-womens-history-month-2022/

Sources:

https://www.womenshistory.org/womens-history/womens-history-month

https://womenshistorymonth.gov/about/

Take a look at the resources below to celebrate and learn with your family!

Activities you can do at home or just a short drive away in Connecticut:

https://www.connecticutchildrens.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/celebrate-womens-history-month-with-kids/

https://www.ctvisit.com/listings/harriet-beecher-stowe-center

https://www.ctvisit.com/listings/connecticut-womens-heritage-trail

Web resources to learn more at home:

PBS Learning Media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVrvMJWrJlk

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/womens-history-month

Suggested books which highlight accomplishments of women throughout history:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12396987-here-come-the-girl-scouts

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/164299.Clara_Barton

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/752372.Susan_B_Anthony

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/914517.Elizabeth_Blackwell

https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/childrens-books-to-celebrate-womens-history-month

Please be reminded that Thursday, March 9th will be an early release day for students to accommodate for elementary parent/teacher conferences. All required conferences will occur on this day/evening. Not all students are in need of a conference at this time. The best results in student progress are the result of ongoing communication between home and school. If you have any questions, please contact your child's teacher.

Lastly, please note Dr. Semmel will present the BOE adopted budget and answer questions from BOF members at the upcoming meeting on March 9th. It would be greatly appreciated if you are able to attend this meeting to show your support for the 2023 - 2023 BOE Budget. In addition, there will be two important upcoming opportunities for members of the Trumbull community to share their thoughts regarding the needs of our budget. The first opportunity is Saturday, March 18 at 10 AM in Town Council Chambers. The second opportunity is a virtual meeting on Tuesday, March 28 at 7:00 PM. If you would like to sign up for public comment, we encourage you to do so to share your thoughts.

Please see Dr. Semmel's weekly update for more information: https://www.smore.com/8vc5r

You can also view the entire budget and TPS elementary budget presentation by accessing the links below:

• The complete TPS budget book can be accessed below: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yRJk0hCm73JODV4jBQ-Kqd4Gt2Ti9h-4/view?usp=sharing

• Dr. Semmel's PowerPoint Presentation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BsHzZo7zlVyp-ZNYtFp-uA9XYG5jBBiJ/view?usp=sharing

• January 12 BOE Presentation; including TECEC, Elementary School, Middle School and Special Education https://fb.watch/i1lAyrSupr/?mibextid=RUbZ1f

We truly appreciate your ongoing support and active involvement in your child's education.

As always, if you have any questions, concerns or good news to share, please feel free to email me at NeumeyeJ@trumbullps.org or contact me at school by calling 203-452-4433.

Warm regards,

Mrs. Neumeyer

Principal

Free lunch for all students will begin again March 1, 2023 and continuing through the end of the school year. For more information, please see the letter from the Food Services Department sent earlier this week: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cNRkpCUdeUVV5GLvAVI_NtKCwq7Hbxns/view?usp=sharing

Grades 4 & 5: Janae Marks, Monday April 3rd

Grade K - 3: David Biedrzyck, Tuesday April 4th

Grades K - 5: Steve Swinburne, Wednesday April 5th

You can order your books through Turning the Page at: https://www.turningthepagebooks.com/store/catalog/2023-trumbull-author-visits-

The 2023 Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren Contest of the Barnum Festival will be held on April 29 at The Discovery Museum in Bridgeport. All 3rd and 4th grade students in the surrounding area are invited to enter. Applications are due to the school no later than Monday, April 3rd. Please use the link for more information and to apply: Tom Thumb/Lavina Warren Application

You can find the entire presentation and an event summary of the second Community Conversation on the TPS website. On March 22 from 6 – 8 PM, the third Community Conversation will be held at Madison Middle School.

To celebrate the Super Bowl, students practiced their throwing and catching skills in Football Tag, Choose Your Challenge, and the Quarterback Challenge. Students are currently working on their striking skills to keep objects under control when we hit them. Our youngest students begin with their hands and balloons. As they get older, we add short-handled implements like foam and hard paddles to strike objects including badminton birdies and different kinds of balls. This hand-eye coordination practice prepares them to play many games like badminton, tennis, volleyball, and many more.

Spring has almost sprung in the Art Room! Kindergarten artist are hard at work on their Reggie Laurent inspired artworks. First grade artists are finishing up their science experiment inspired artworks. Second grade artists are in the process of finishing their Sandra Silberzweig inspired portraits. Third grade artists just completed their abstract tree drawings in which they used analogous color groups. Fourth grade artists continue to make awesome optical art. Fifth grade artists continue to be inspired by the artwork of Wayne Thiebaud.

During library some of our fourth and fifth graders enjoyed enhancing their learning about electricity with some of our Maker Space materials. The Snap Circuits cause a light to light up, a fan to turn, and a switch to engage. Students like these hands-on activities and seemed to enjoy seeing electricity in action.

Good News... Baby News! Emerson Aria Cohen was welcomed to the world on February 25th and both mom and baby are doing great! Mr. Cohen, mom and big sister Avery are already in love.

Congratulations to Abhay Kamath , third grade student in Mrs. Preman's class for winning first place in Annual Kavitha Paath Pratiyogithav (Hindi poem competition)at inter-state level. This competition connects students to the uniqueness of their heritage and Hindi literature and was held on February 26th at the Bridgewater temple in New Jersey.

If you have any news to share about your child, please email Mrs. Holmes at holmesM@trumbullps.org and Mrs. Neumeyer at NeumeyeJ@trumbullps.org.

March is National Nutrition Month!

We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity & Nutrition) is a national education program designed to give parents and communities a way to help children learn to eat nutritious foods. As parents, you can do a lot to help your children learn healthy eating habits and maintain a healthy weight. Involving them in meal preparation and cooking can motivate them to try new foods – and is a good way to spend time together as a family.

What is a Healthy Diet?

A healthy eating plan is one that:

• Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or fat-free milk products.

• Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts.

• Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, sodium/salt, and added sugars.

• Stays within your calorie needs.

Good nutrition is key to good health. Try a rainbow of fruits and vegetables for better health:

Choosing in season fruits and vegetables with a variety of colors like red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple will give you a variety of healthy nutrients.

Visit the WE CAN website for more information on healthy eating!

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan/index.htm

March

Women's History Month

National Nutrition Month

Music in Our Schools Month

Monday, March 6

• Purim starts at sunsets

Tuesday, March 7

• Purim ends at sunset

Thursday, March 9

• Early Dismissal; 1:00 PM
• Afternoon and Evening Conferences
• Board of Finance Meeting in the Town Council Chambers; 7:00 PM

Friday, March 10

• Wear your Tashua Pride

Sunday, March 12

• Daylight Saving Time Begins

Monday, March 13

• Read-A-Thon begins

Tuesday, March 14

• Pi Day
• BOE Meeting; 7:00 PM

Wednesday, March 15

• Sensitivity Day; 9:00-12:00 PM

Friday, March 17

• St. Patrick's Day
• Report cards posted to the parent portal
• Wear your Tashua Pride

Saturday, March 18

• Board of Finance Meeting in the Town Council Chambers; 10:00 AM

Monday, March 20

• First day of spring
• No School for Students; PD day for staff

Tuesday, March 21

• PTA Meeting; 7:00 PM

Wednesday, March 22

• Grade 4 TIMMS Testing
• First Night of Ramadan - through April 21

Friday, March 24

• Wear your Tashua Pride

Tuesday, March 28

• Book Fair begins
• BOE Meeting; 7:00 PM
• Board of Finance Meeting; virtually at 7:00 PM

Wednesday, March 29

• Book Fair

Thursday, March 30

• Book Fair

Friday, March 31

• Wear your Tashua Pride
• Book Fair
• Bingo

ADULT NIGHTOUT

Thank you so much to everyone who made Saturday night a success! Volunteers, donors and attendees all contributed to the great success and fun evening. Thank you to all individuals and businesses that donated to the event. Many thanks to Diana Philbin and her team of volunteers: Laura Arena, Laura Arena, Tiffany and Marc Ruggerio, Shannon Diaz, Kiran Chhablani, Marcy and Stewart Rende, Sarah Merolla, Kelly Montanaro, Alisa Olsen, Dani and Stephen Romano, Julie Rosenberg, Lorena Forte, Tara Ferguson-Hurwitz, Lauren Blanchette, Jess Mooney, Betty Montijo, Silvana Bateni, Martyna Martini, Olia Yelner, Eve Vee Parkis, Jessica Samuolis, Nicole Steeger and Daphne Schreck.

In the past our Adult Night Out proceeds have helped benefit our Tashua School community by raising funds to build the outdoor classroom, improvements to the learning commons (tables, lego wall and table) and other great projects over the years. We will be discussing how the auction proceeds should be allocated at the March PTA meeting. Some ideas already proposed by parents and Mrs. Neumeyer include the purchase of a new projector for the gym, a Ben’s Bells Kindness mural and improvements to our playground. Please submit a response to this form to support one of the already proposed ideas or submit a new idea using the form below:

https://forms.gle/koEXMwardoF9FuRAA

READ-A-THON

The Tashua Tigers Read-A-Thon fundraiser will run from Monday, March 13th through Friday, March 31st. Information on how to register your child will be coming home in Blue Folders in the coming weeks. Students can earn rewards for registering, logging pages and raising money for Tashua!

FAMILY BINGO NIGHT

Save the date – Friday March 31st – Family Bingo Night – registration info in next week’s newsletter!

MINTED FUNDRAISER

This fundraiser will continue throughout 2023. Continue to use the code fundraisetashua when ordering from Minted.com to support Tashua’s fundraising goals.

2022-2023 PTA CALENDAR – INCLUDING FUNDRAISING EVENTS

Elementary School Lunch Information

As of December 1st, Elementary breakfast will be at a cost of $2.35 and lunch $3.15. Please CLICK HERE for more information regarding the end of this federal program including cost, payment, applying for free/reduced lunch and more.

District K-5 Curriculum Guide Overviews

The Department of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessments has captured in brochure format the major curriculum outcomes across all subject areas for each primary school grade, from kindergarten through grade 5. Below, please find the link to each grade-level curriculum overview. https://www.trumbullps.org/techlearn/curriculum/k-5-curr-overviews.html

Parent Volunteer Form

We welcome volunteers at Tashua school, however you must complete the Volunteer Form, link below. Please make sure every blank is filled in, use N/A where necessary.

Trumbull Public School Volunteer Form .

Trumbull Mental Health Matters

The Trumbull Rotary Club has worked with community partners to offer this brochure on available mental health resources for our families. We appreciate the Trumbull Rotary for taking an active role in such an important area of need.

Tashua School Hours

Doors open at 8:20 AM

Regular School Hours: 8:35 AM - 3:20 PM

Early Dismissal Hours: 8:35 AM - 1:00 PM

Delayed Opening Hours

Click below to view the Trumbull Public School 2022-23 Calendar