Saturday November 2, 2013 from 9am – 11:30am
Kids, parents, and friends,
Bring your rakes, leaf blowers, tarps and pruners! Come for as little or long as you’d like, but come help keep Tuscan beautiful.

We’ll supply the coffee, cocoa and snacks!

Organized by your PTA TLC
Please contact Lisa Schnorr lschnorr@verizon.net or Karen Rutberg klrutberg@aol.com if you have any questions 

Find the District Calendar updated September 2013 here, last updated in September 2013.

Looking to plan for next year?  Find the District Calendar for 2014-2015 here and check the district web site as the calendar is periodically amended.

Find PTA events on the Google Calendar here

Key November Dates:  School Open, Closed and 4 Hour days
4th - School is open
5th - School is closed for students, open for staff
6th - School is open
7th - School is closed for NJ Teacher's Convention
8th - School is closed for NJ Teacher's Convention
14th - 4 Hour Day for Elementary Schools, evening conferences
15th - 4 Hour Day for Elementary Schools, afternoon conferences
18th - 4 Hour Day for Elementary Schools, afternoon conferences
27th - 4 Hour Day for Thanksgiving
28th - School is closed for Thanksgiving
29th - School is closed for Thanksgiving

Many thanks to all who sent in box tops in the second half of last year and the beginning of this year. The Box Tops Committee just submitted 3,097 box tops on behalf of Tuscan! The next submission deadline is March 1, so keep those box tops coming. For more information on how you can earn cash for our great school through the Box Tops for Education program, please see the following flyer. 
Questions? Contact Alicia Duran at duran.alicia@verizon.net.

NO SCHOOL next Tuesday morning November 5th - looking for something to do? 

Come to our first Tuscan Movie Day this year at SOPAC's Bow Tie Cinemas. 

We're showing MONSTERS UNIVERSITY at 10:00 am. 

$10 per ticket includes popcorn and drink. Join your friends! Everyone welcome! 

On October 17th the PTA President's Council and the League of Women Voters hosted a candidates forum for the Board of Education candidates.
You can find the footage of the forum here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ScH_dEjEi4

The election for Board of Education members is Tuesday November 5th - plaase vote!

Through a partnership with the SOM Adult School and the school district, Suzuki Violin lessons for students in grades 1 thorugh 5 will start in November.

This October all of our kids (grades k through 5!) will enjoy the first PTA funded student assembly of the year! Ginga Brasileira, a group of Brazilian dancers, will have them ready to move, clap and sing throughout the whole performance. Students will be invited to try one of the dances within the performance. Not only will they watch the dancers but will also experience for themselves how easy it is to learn about other people’s cultures through dancing, singing and speaking another language. This will give them an amazing feeling of accomplishment that will have them smiling for the rest of the day, cherishing Brazil and the Brazilian culture forever. Do not forget to ask them what they enjoyed most about it!

~ Stefania Berretta, Programs Chair

GOT JUNK??? Give it to our 5th Graders! They are working with your Tuscan School PTA to help earn their way this year. 5th Grade is a great year at Tuscan - field trips, shows, parties, ceremonies, cultural events - and our students want to help pay their own way. So, we're having a
GIGANTIC TUSCAN 5th GRADE YARD SALE & BAKE SALE 
in the school playground 
on Saturday, October 26 
from 9:30 to 2:30pm. 
The kids will be setting up, working and cleaning up the sale. All leftovers donated to charity. Great lessons for our kids! Many have also volunteered to make Tuscan Rainbow Loom bracelets to sell on site! How you can help: - DONATE sale items or baked goods - HELP with the event - set up, sales, clean up - COME TO THE SALE and SHOP TIL YOU DROP! See flyer for all details.....see you on the blacktop! http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080C4FA5AE238-tuscan

The deadline for the fall issue of the Tuscan Tiger Times, the student newspaper, is October 28. You can email submissions to tuscantigertimes@yahoo.com. Be sure to include your child’s name and grade. Wondering what to submit? See the "ideas for stories" post at http://www.tuscanpta.org/tuscan-tiger-times-blog.html. Please note that due to space and budget constraints, we may not be able to publish all submissions.
~ Allan Hoffman, TTT Parent Advisor

Calling all 4th and 5th grade boys and girls interested in auditioning for "Host" parts in the Tuscan Show 2014!  Auditions are next Wednesday evening, October 23rd.
RSVPs for auditions will be open until Tuesday - find the detail and the signup form here.  The deadline has been corrected on the RSVP form, apologies for any confusion!
Singups online for all skits and crew will begin in November - look for information in the weekly emails.   No auditions necessary for any other parts!

Our newest joint PTA venture with Seth Boyden PTA is a 5K / Fun Run Turkey Trot on November 16th.  Open to the public of all ages as well as our school community, click on the image for the flyer.   All proceeds from the race go to your Tuscan and Seth Boyden PTA.  
Signup online   bit.ly/18VGPvu

Great thinkers are everywhere.  Is your child creative?  A problem solver?  Does he/she look at life in a unique way?  Be part of the new Odyssey of the Mind teams at Tuscan! Tuscan is excited to be forming its first two teams for the 2013-2014 Odyssey of the Mind competition. 
Odyssey of the Mind is a program that encourages the development of creative problem solving and critical thinking skills through teamwork and competition. Each Odyssey of the Mind team is made up of seven children who work on a year-long “problem.”

One competitive Division I team will be coached by teachers Ms. Wolsky and Mrs. Lamkin.   One non-competive team (a demonstration team that will participate in a regional event) will be coached by parent Alli Joseph.   Please click more for additional information and signups:

Tuscan Photo Days are Friday 10/25 and Monday 10/28! Your teacher will let you know which day your class is scheduled for. Order forms will be sent home via backpacks. Please return completed photo forms along with payment, if you are ordering pictures. If you do not return the order form by picture day, you will not receive pictures. If you have any questions, please contact Andrea Erickson curlsnyc30@gmail.com or Kathleen Bailie kbailie1@gmail.com.
find the flyer here

Our newest joint PTA venture with Seth Boyden PTA is a 5K / Fun RunTurkey Trot on November 16th.  Open to the public of all ages as well as our school community ,  you can find the flyer here
 All proceeds from the race go to your Tuscan and Seth Boyden PTA.  
Find the signup for the 5K and for the Kid's Fun Run here:

bit.ly/18VGPvu

Please join us for the 2013 5K Turkey Trot & Kids' Fun Run presented by Seth Boyden & Tuscan Schools on 
Saturday, November 16, 2013 
located at the Essex County South Mountain Reservation on Crest Drive, South 

On Monday, September 23, we were very fortunate to have child advocate and best-selling children’s author, Trudy Ludwig share her books, research, and words of wisdom with the Tuscan community.  Since 2002, Ms. Ludwig has been writing books that provide children with insights and strategies to deal with bullying behavior.  And not just the classic case of bullying that involves physical aggression, but verbal aggression, and relational aggression (using relationships to manipulate or harm others).  According to Ms. Ludwig, research indicates that relational aggression is much more of a concern to children and teenagers than the physical kind.  Ms. Ludwig’s mission is to give children mental tools to deal with bullying behavior in safe and

Maplewood Memorial Library
Bow Wow Book Buddies
College Apps @ The Library 
Death in the Stacks
Teen Programs - October 2013

New Jersey Fencing Alliance
Who Needs Bats & Balls? We Have Swords!

South Orange/Maplewood Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts

South Orange Recreation Department
Baird Art Classes for Kids - Fall 2013
Baird Fall Classes for Teens & Adults - Fall 2013
Fall Baseball 2013
Fall Basketball at The Baird
Fall Tennis Classes (Ages 3-14)
Sciensational Workshops for Kids

South Orange Village/Maplewood Township Dept. of Recreation & Cultural Affairs
Basketball Tryouts - Suburban League Travel Teams

Strollers Community Theater in Maplewood
Once Upon a Pandora's Box

YMCA
Are We Ready?
Before and After School Care - Grades K-5
Building Character with Team Work Youth Sports
Creativity Character Confidence Enrichment Programs
Vacation Camp at the YMCA

The 2013 Book Fair is fast approaching and we are so excited!  Children will visit the Book Fair with their classes.  Students may purchase books at the time of their visit or with the help of parent volunteers, may fill out a book wish list. This wish list will come home in your child’s backpack along with an order form.  If you choose to purchase books, simply return it in your child’s backpack with payment. 
Mark your calendars for Family Night on Wednesday, October 16th from 5 – 8 PM.  Kids can bring their grown-ups to visit with friends and shop 

Adults and staff welcome on October 29th, 7:30pm  at South Mountain School in the cafeteria.
Sponsored by your elementary PTAs and the Parenting Center, this program is free.
In Ungifted, cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman—who was relegated to special education as a child—sets out to show that the way we interpret traditional metrics of intelligence is misguided. Kaufman explores the latest research in genetics and neuroscience, as well as evolutionary, developmental, social, positive, and cognitive 

Dear Tuscan Teachers and Parents, Love to garden? Love the warm earthy colors of autumn, the crisp fall air or just being outdoors on a nice day with friends, old and new? Your PTA's Tuscan Landscape Committee (TLC) invites you to join the Tuesday Afternoon TLC Spruce Ups, held every Tuesday from 3:30 - 4:00, starting this Tuesday 10/3/13. 

Tuesday October 22, 2013 at 7:00- 8:30pm District Meeting Room
525 Academy St. Maplewood

Please join us for a meeting of the South Orange/Maplewood SEPAC, with guest speakers Jennifer Cudmore and Mara Liebowitz, who will present on assistive technology for students with special needs.

Ms. Cudmore has served as Assistive Technology Specialist for SOMA School District, Ms. Liebowitz is a certified Learning and Disabilities Consultant, and both are current special education inclusion co-teachers at Clinton Elementary School.

Who should attend? Families of students...

• in all grades, in all schools and in out-of-district placements;
  
• who have Individualized Education Plans;
  
• who have 504 plans; and/or
  
• who are at any stage of the referral and intervention process.
  
  Also save these dates for SOMA SEPAC Meetings in 2014: January 9, March 4, and May 5 
  

October is here and it is time to begin planning for our Tuscan Show!
This all-volunteer, all-creative event is a Tuscan tradition - kids in grades one through five perform skits on stage (sing, dance, act) and provide support backstage (set, props, stage crew, lights, curtain, ushers, etc).  Our rehearsals take place from December to March at Tuscan School. Our tech rehearsals will be the week of March 24th and performances are March 28, 29, 30 on the stage at Maplewood Middle School.
The opportunities to be involved run from skit directors to concessions - please consider joining our fantastic show.  Here is more to know:
-       The theme of