Tuscan School PTA

Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week is HERE!

5/2/2021

Don't mask your appreciation for our fabulous Tiger Team!
Because of Covid precautions and scheduling shifts this year, the PTA is adjusting our usual recognition week in May to "Staff Appreciation Week". We will have some very special treats for the whole team this week, but we would still really LOVE students to be able to share their thanks directly. Rather than increase risk for additional close contact - we have an easy way for students to show their appreciation! See below!
Each day will have a "theme" and a spotlighted staff group.

Things you can do RIGHT NOW to help our small Tigers deliver BIG JOY to our big Tigers:
1) CHALK THE WALKS!
If you have chalk & time today, Sunday, there are MANY entrances to Tuscan.
All could use a little bit of extra color!

2) KUDOBOARDS!
Submit pictures, videos and photos. There are A LOT of boards for a lot of people. Full list below.

3) DONATE DOLLARS FOR THESE TUSCAN TREATS!
We are so thankful to have so many people to celebrate, and so many small businesses to engage.
Help underwrite the costs by contributing via this PayPal link.

Monday - Specials Teachers Day
Kudoboard for special teachers (combined)
https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/OiVhr2FL

Tuesday - Teacher's Day
Kudo board by grade level (K, 1, 2 3, 4, 5)
Team K: https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/y49LVmEC
1st: https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/uPWjBUaC
2nd: https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/OoKBqBTh
3rd: https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/g3DtQvoE
4th: https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/BiiyrBiK
5th: https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/tEts6EuA

Wednesday - Custodial Appreciation Day
https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/hQHtiyKd

Thursday - Admin Assistants' Day (Miss Fay and Miss Sabrina) + Nurse Thompson Too.
https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/ALtpxCtR

Friday - Principals' Day
Kudoboard for Malikah Majeed and Brad Bertani

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5/2/2021

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Free Books!! Daily @ SOMS. This Sunday @ St. Joes

4/19/2021

Sharing is caring. EVERY weekday, you can pick up books for K - 8th at the South Orange Middle School (SOMS) front vestibule at 70 North Ridgewood Road in South Orange, and this coming Sunday, you can grab even more books for pre-K - 12th graders at the SOMA Swap book exchange at St. Joe's church from 10 am - 2 pm.

If you have books to donate - kids only, good (enough!) condition, please bring on the day(s) to SOMS or St. Joe's. You don't have to donate to take books! And for both locations, take as many as you can carry!

Paper books are crucial for kids' comprehension and engagement, and these are great opportunities for ALL families, in addition to our towns' libraries, our Little Free Libraries, and/or buying your own.

PTA Minutes and Thanks from our April 8 Meeting

4/9/2021

Thank you to the twenty parents, teachers, and board members who attended last night's Zoom PTA meeting.

A draft of the minutes can be found here (top right). Our next meeting is Thursday May 6 at 7 pm, via Zoom.

Key takeaways from our April meeting:
- We need volunteers to help with bookkeeping, teacher appreciation week (May 3 - 7), and this weekend's class photos.
- Several important Tuscan projects need new leadership for next year, as the team leads are graduating out of Tuscan. Help out now to see if it might be a role for you! Tuscan Cares donation drives and our Yearbook are both ready for support.

- We are actively recruiting for next year's board! Position descriptions are here and the five officer positions, in particular the two Treasury roles, are a priority. The slate of proposed officers is expected to be announced on May 6, with the election on June 10. Look for more info, soon.

- Though hybrid resumes April 19, there is no guarantee all grades will go back. A recent proposal from the teachers union, SOMEA, was discussed as a possible solution/stop-gap.

Tuscan PTA Meeting tonight, Thurs. 4/8 @ 8pm

4/8/2021

Join us if you can! Dial in detail are on the lefthand side, here: http://www.tuscanpta.org/pta-minutes.html

Roadmap to Equitable School Integration: Lessons Learned from 'Nice White Parents' event with CCR Tuesday 4/13

3/30/2021

As SOMSD prepares to integrate our elementary schools, we look back at 50 years of attempted integration at one Brooklyn school and ask what we can do differently. Join the Community Coalition on Race for a virtual discussion featuring Julie Snyder, Executive Producer, "Nice White Parents."

Julie is co-creator of the podcasts Serial and S-Town and is currently the executive editor of Serial Productions, a New York Times company. Julie lives in Maplewood, where her children attend SOMSD schools.

"Nice White Parents" is a five-part podcast series about building a better school system and what gets in the way. Listen here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/podcasts/nice-white-parents-serial.html

This free community program sponsored by the CCR Schools Committee and the SOMSD Presidents’ Council, which includes representatives from all our schools PTAs and HSAs, including Tuscan.

Please register here by Friday April 8.

OLS Food Distribution Today 3/27;

3/27/2021

SOMSD Food Service Distribution During Spring Break:

Food Distribution will not be available during Spring Break, and will resume on Monday, April 5 with“grab and go” lunches available for pick-up between 12 pm - 2 pm at CHS and Seth Boyden Elementary schools, each school day (even virtual ones).
If you are in need of food support during the break please view additional food support programs & information: https://bit.ly/3w9JAtk

Final Opportunity to Opt Into Hybrid: Due TODAY 3/25

3/25/2021

Today, March 25, is the final opportunity for families to opt into hybrid schooling for this school year. Opting-in may give your child(ren) the ability to attend Tuscan in person from April 19, depending on space capacity.

To Opt-In, complete the Google form linked here. A copy of the form will be emailed to you at your chosen email account as part of the process. Each SOMSD school's opt in process is different.

Unsure if you've already opted in?
Log into PowerSchool and you should see a yellow bar with brown text right at the top, under Grades and Attendance. If you completed the opt-in form by Feb. 22 or sooner, it might say "B - Hybrid Wednesday Thursday In Person". Other hybrid options that may be listed are "A - Hybrid Monday Tuesday In Person" or "C - ELL/Special Services Monday - Thursday In Person"

If you are not yet opted in, you will see "D - All Virtual" as the stated choice. Example attached. Note that each SOMSD child in your household has a different PowerSchool 'tab' - and possibly a different opt-in status. Make sure to check all tabs (top left within the navy blue bar).

We do not know exactly when the PowerSchool status bar will update after you submit the Opt In form. Check regularly, but presume that the online system may take a week or more to be updated.

More questions?
Mrs. Majeed and Mr. Bertani can be reached via email at ROARforTuscan@somsd.k12.nj.us.

Additional detail can also be found within the Tuscan Reopening Guide.

Tuscan PTA Rejects Anti-Asian Violence

3/21/2021

What does your PTA stand for? What should your PTA stand for?
For many, we're about t-shirts and smencils and class gifts. But can we do more? Must we do more?

Advocacy takes many forms, and can be amplified by organizations like ours. How the Tuscan PTA supports this in the long term will be decided by YOU, our members and community. As a start we can - must - listen, learn, share. PTA board member Tracy Sham co-signed an important letter about SOMA standing up against anti-Asian racism and violence. You can read the letter here.

We also want to thank and highlight Tuscan parents Kay Puthaaroon, John Hung, and Anna Tolosa Irving, who helped research and found this very helpful article about "How to Talk to Kids About Anti-Asian Violence". We understand it may not be an easy topic to discuss for some, and we thought this would be a helpful resource for parents.

Also, if you haven't seen it yet, the Board of Trustees of Memorial Maplewood Library has issued a statement on Anti-Asian violence. Thank you to Tuscan parent, Fan Winston, who is one of the members on the library board.

Finally, another article about speaking to kids about anti-Asian violence shared by our sibling school Clinton, can be read here.

#stopasianhate #stopAAPIhate #HateIsAVirus #blacklivesmatter

SOMSD Project Literacy: Tuscan Book Distro Saturday 3/20 11:30am - 1:30 pm; More Volunteers Needed!

3/18/2021

Join us at Tuscan, this Saturday 3/20 from 11:30am - 1:30pm to pick up free leveled books from SOMSD, along with other free books donated by Tuscan families and SOMA Shares. There are dedicated books for each and every Tiger, from grades Kindergarten through 5th!

**This event can only happen with your support.** Just 5 of 20 volunteer slots are filled, and though we are able to ask for volunteers from across SOMA, this is a great opportunity for Tiger adults to spend an hour together on the blacktop supporting Tiger kids and our school.

Click here to volunteer on Saturday.

You can bring gently used children's books for exchange on the day, too. We'll also take clean Fresh Direct bags or other reusable bags for sorting/storing donated books.

Masks required, and backpacks or similar are encouraged. A successful morning will mean VERY few books to put back into the school - so come early and take all you can carry!

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