The Green Teams of Maplewood and South Orange have teamed up with the PTAs of the South Orange/Maplewood School District to present the PTA Eco Forum. The purpose of this forum is to build stronger Parent-Led Environmental Programs through experience sharing and collaboration. The Green Teams offer support and assets.
To begin the meeting there will be a presentation of the environmental programs and upgrades that are currently in place or underway in the school system. Then the group will discuss experiences and ideas for parent-led projects. This will also be a time for us to compile a list of questions and requests for the District’s Administration and Board of Education.
We will focus our efforts on four categories:
Recycling, Grounds/Gardens, Transportation, Supplementary Curriculum.
For more information, please contact Tracey Woods at traceywoods@verizon.net 
find the flier here

FROM FATHERLESS TO FATHERHOOD – Tuscan’s own Mr. Kevin Mason, Assistant Principal, is ready for his close-up!  Come see this timely documentary starring Mr. Mason Thursday evening in the Tuscan Auditorium.  Filmmaker Kobie Brown and Mr. Mason will conduct a panel discussion about the film after the screening.  Reception at 7pm in the library; screening at 7:30.  Do not miss this Maplewood premiere!

Friday December 20th Tuscan will celebrate with a special school spirit day by wearing pajamas!
This will also be the collection day for our annual PJ Drive coordinated by kindergarten teacher Mrs. Sinclair and Your Tuscan PTA Community Outreach Committee.  Students are welcome to participate in the school spirit day by wearing pajamas regardless to whether a donation to the pajama drive is made.

Last year students enjoyed PJ day during the Snowflake assembly, you can find it here
http://www.tuscanpta.org/1/post/2012/12/pjs-and-snowflakes.html

Monday Nov. 18 thru Wednesday Nov. 27 we will be collecting non-perishable food items for families within our school community. A drop off box will be located in the front lobby of the school. Turkeys can be dropped off the morning of Wednesday November 28. The items will be delivered to the families the morning of November 27.
Any questions contact:
Bill Fitzsimmons (973) 202-9663 billheatherfitzsimmons@yahoo.com 

Holiday Toy Drive from November 18th ~ December 10th
Please donate toys for needy children within the South Orange & Maplewood School District.

Please drop off an unwrapped toy (or gift card) for children ages infants – 16 yrs at:
the drop off box at Tuscan  orThe Parenting Center, 525 Academy St., Maplewood
Share your holiday cheer and help put a smile on the face of a child this holiday season. 

Girls Leadership Institiute is a national non-proift offering programs for girls.  For the second year classes are being offering in our area hosted at district schools.  Four additional workshops are available for 2013/2014 in SOMSD:

Elementary School Level:
4/5 Grade  - Say How You Feel, Ask for What You Need 
4/5 Grade  - Navigating Challenging Friendships  
K/1  - Tools for Sunny and Cloudy Days with Friends
Middle School Level.....

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 

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!

(click the image for the schedule)
Parenting can be joyous and rewarding as well as challenging. As parents meet the many demands faced by families today, they often need support to supplement their own knowledge and skills. The South Orange - Maplewood School District has established The Parenting Center to support parents as they help their children grow and develop.

The Parenting Center grew out of community requests expressed in many focus groups and surveys conducted by Schools for Success, a district educational research project funded by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
The Center's goal is to be a dynamic resource in our community addressing the full range of children's needs and parent's

For distribution to all families on behalf of the PTA Council:
Find the PDF of the notice here
District Public Forum

• Renew District facilities to meet the educational and enrollment demands of the 21st Century 
  
• Provide educational, performance, and athletic facilities that will benefit the larger South Orange-Maplewood community 
• Renew Columbia High School buildings and grounds to reflect a legacy of excellence and to support advances in STEM education

The Board of Education is particularly interested in garnering community feedback regarding possible continued funding and maintenance of a swimming program and aquatic facility at Columbia High School.
Elected officials from South Orange and Maplewood will have an opportunity to ask questions and discuss the proposals following the presentation. Members of the general public are invited to share feedback during the “public speaks” portion of the meeting.

From the SOM School District: Dear Parents/Guardians,
We invite you to participate in an online satisfaction survey:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SOMSD_Satisfaction2013

For May 17th the Green Route Start Time has been updated to 8:20am.  Please note the change.  Thank you!

A third route has been added to the Walking School Bus!
Thank you to all for embracing this effort - we are delighted to be expanding!
New Route is the Green Route lead by Kelly Villanueva.
Blue Route is Candice Davenport and Yellow Route is Cami Zelevansky.
Find information on how to join the WSB here and the PDF with the new route here.
Bus stop times are available from the route coordinators and the Green route will start on May 17th.

District Digital Backpack Flyers are posted.  You can find the link to them on this site each month here  Flyers & Forms: Digital Backback

Achieve Foundation
Honor Your Teacher & Staff Tributes

Maplewood Memorial Library
The Centennial Quiz Show
Children's Programs - May 2013
Teen Programs - May 2013
 
North Jersey Pride, Tyler Clementi Foundation, Columbia High School Spectrum & GLSEN
Engaging Families: Turning Bystanders into Upstanders

A  Walking  School  Bus  is  a group  of  children  walking to  school  with  one  or more  adults -- a walking co-op.  The  “bus” follows  the  same  route every  time  and  picks  up children from their homes or designated “bus stops” at  designated  times. Ideally,  the  program  runs  every  day  or  on  a  regular schedule  so  families  can count  on  it. We will be starting off with a pilot program this spring and will only be doing 2 routes, only on Friday mornings. If the pilot program is successful, then we will expand the program in the fall.
Tuscan's Walking School Bus will be starting the WSB pilot program on March 15th, and run on Friday mornings only, until the end of the school year. 

Quick link to the Bus Blog here and the Bus Information & Forms here.    More info on Safe Routes NJ here.
~ Cami Zelevansky and Candice Davenport, WSB Coordinators

"About one in six people in the United States struggles with hunger, and issues related to hunger affect people in every community."
Tuscan's 5th annual 100th Day Food Drive challenge came to an inspriring tally of over 2,600 food items, all packed and delivered to two local food pantries by the end of the 100th day of school!
Mrs. Sinclair, Tuscan kindergarten teacher and parent, began the food drive as a project with her class five years ago and the effort 

News from the Special Education PTO:
Our Special Needs Friendly Basketball Clinic was cancelled due to the snowstorm and can take place on Saturday February 23rd from 1:00pm-2:00pm at the Maplewood Middle School gym with a minimum of 10 children.  Siblings are welcome!
Last minute scheduling but with RSVPs by Saturday the 16th this event can take place!   Please email to RSVP or for more info.
Clinic is free, all ages and abilities welcome, parents must stay, siblings are welcome, high school student mentors work with students.

~ Leon Morton  leonmorton@comcast.net
    Special Ed PTO Executive Committee

In celebration of the 100th Day of School, Mrs. Sinclair’s Kindergarten is once again challenging every class at Tuscan School to collect 100 non-perishable items for us to donate to local food banks!!  Bins will be in each classroom for your donations
All items are due by February 22nd  The 100th Day of School
Most Needed Items

The countdown continues for The Big Read's Big Celebration 2013 -- 3 weeks away!  The families of every elementary school are reading THE EMPTY POT by Demi and OUT OF MY MIND by Sharon Draper -- two books which will inspire much conversation both inside your home and at school.  Remember that you can borrow books from the school or public libraries, or purchase them from Sparkhouse or Words (10% discount).  For more information, contact your Big Read representative: Lucila McElroy (lucilamcelroy@gmail.com)

As the weather has taken a turn toward freezing but sunny winter days, students have had indoor recess due to extreme temperatures.   The policy for recess during extreme conditions is a district policy; recess is only part of the school day for the elementary schools.  You can find the recess policy here. 

Volunteers can come in during recess and lunch to give a helping hand with our lunch staff.
In prior years there have been indoor recess activities made possible by adult volunteers -- although interest and opportunity for the activities does depend on the weather and are more popular when recess is indoors.      

Have an idea for a recess activity?  Knitting, legos, math games, dance, scrabble, chess, coloring projects for charity -- all have taken place in prior years.   We welcome your ideas and time and the students always enjoy it.    Contact volunteer coordinator Kristina Raines at kris_mack@yahoo.com for information on how to sign up or to share a suggestion for an indoor recess activity.

What is a Walking School Bus? 

Tuscan Elementary School is starting a Walking School Bus this spring! Interested families who would like to be a part of this great walking program should come to the Tuscan School PTA meeting on January 23 at 7 pm at the Tuscan School Library! What is a Walking School Bus? A walking school bus is a group of children walking to school with one or more adults.  Great exercise! Good friends! Great fun! 

For more information, contact Cami Zelevansky at camizelevansky@gmail.com or Candice Davenport atcandice.davenport@gmail.com  

Bed-head, bunny slippers, bathrobes and PJs - all seen in school on the Thursday before break - our annual pajama day was enjoyed by many and Tuscan School was able to collect over 430 pair of new pajamas to help others.  Thanks to Mrs. Sinclair for bringing us together to help in this way.

Also on Thursday, the Snowflake Assemblies were held.  An annual school tradition of songs and singalongs - check back in January for photos and video from the assemblies.

This Thursday is PJ Day - show your school spirit by wearing PJs to school - students, staff, parents, everyone!  In addition, we will be collecting NEW pajamas for children in need in our area. Guidelines for donations:
• Pajamas must be brand-new.
• Pajamas in all kids sizes are needed—from newborn to teen (16/18).
• Pajamas must be in complete sets or nightgowns.
• Pajamas in must be manufactured as pajamas— this ensures that they are flame-retardant and safe.

This collection is optional, and students should feel welcome to participate in our school spirit day regardless of whether they donate pajamas.

Coordinated by Mrs. Sinclair with the support of the Tuscan PTA Community Outreach Committee.    Questions?
Contact Mrs. Claire Sinclair: csinclai@somsd.k12.nj.us Chris Costanzo: chris_costanzo@hotmail.com or Melissa Sheehy: mlsheehy@gmail.com 

Update on our Readers Helping Readers Book Drive:
"A book drive collecting gently used and new books will be held the last week of November to benefit school libraries that were destroyed by Superstorm Sandy.   Our community of readers can help other children to have books so they can keep reading and learning, something we do everyday!"

Tuscan School was able to collect over 3,375 books and with additions from Seth Boyden and South Mountain over 4,000 books were collected and sent to be distributed to a school in Belmar affected by storm Sandy.  A fantastic effort by our community to keep other children reading that began with an idea from Drew Sinclair, Tuscan 5th grader and son of Tuscan kindergarten teacher Mrs. Claire Sinclair.  Many thanks to all who contributed and to Tuscan families:  Claire and Dave Sinclair, Juli and Phil Lipof, Chris Constanzo and Melissa Sheehy.

Additional information and more photos are on the local Patch
http://maplewood.patch.com/articles/teacher-leads-sandy-book-drive