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

Dear Tuscan Parents, Teachers, Children, and Friends, 
Hope you're all enjoying the beautiful fall weather. The cool weather brings a pause in our landscaping work - the Tuscan Landscape Committee (TLC) Tuesday Spruce Ups are on hold for the season, and we will resume in the spring.   Please mark your calendars for the spring clean up: Saturday April 12, 2014 from 9am - 11:30am. Thanks to all of you for your participation in the Tuesday Spruce Ups and fall clean up! 
Enjoy the cool weather!! 
~ Best, Lisa Schnorr and Karen Rutberg TLC Chairs

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 

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

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

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

From our Library and Media Specialist, Roberta Baltin:
You know the school year is truly underway when Tuscan is ready and “roaring” to go with the Ultimate TV Turnoff Challenge!  It’s hard to believe that this is our thirteenth year.  

This voluntary program helps students to evaluate their screen-time habits and decide what’s worth watching and doing on screen.   It celebrates a well-rounded lifestyle, and encourages constructive values like setting goals, determination, creativity, and resourcefulness.  

Be on the lookout for the official TV Turnoff flyer.  Starting this week, it will be sent

Reminder for Monday evening!
September 23 at 7:00pm, children’s advocate and best-selling author, Trudy Ludwig will visit Tuscan School will speak at our evening PTA Meeting after meeting with students throughout the day. This author visit is sponsored by the PTA in partnership with Library and Media Specialist Mrs. Baltin and Principal Majeed.   Childcare is available for this event - please come!

On September 18th Principal Ms. Majeed and PE Teacher Ms. Sullivan sent a message home regarding Field Day/Spirit Day and Back to School Night using School Messenger, the school's contact system.
In addition to re-posting this information here on their behalf, this notice serves as a check to see if your contact information on file at the school is reaching you at the proper phone numbers and emails.

If you have one or more children at Tuscan and did not receive an email and phone call please contact Mrs. Tolelo in the Main Office 973-378-5221 or mtoledo@somsd.k12.nj.us to update your contact information.  If you have more than one child at Tuscan you should have recieved just one phone call and one email.

A brief recap of the message: 
Ms. Majeed is looking forward to seeing adults at Back to School Night on Thursday and she expressed gratitude for the involvment of parents and guardians in the Tuscan community.   (copies of BTS notices on our Flyers page)  

PE Teacher Ms. Sullivan's reminder: 
Friday September 20th is Field Day and Spirit Day.  Students should 

• Wear Tuscan shirts or blue/yellow
  
• Apply sunscreen at home, bring a water bottle with child's name on it
  
• Wear sneakers

Students in grades 1-3 will be taken by bus to Field Day to arrive on time for activities.  Thank you in advance to all parents and guardians who are volunteering time for Field Day and she looks forward to seeing you there!

Back to School Night is Thursday, September 19th and is a 4-Hour student day.   Find Principal Majeed's September letter, along with Back to School Night  reminders on our Flyers Page here.  Schedules were emailed to the email address on file for students.
Be sure to stop in to the gymnasium before or after your classroom visits for light refreshments, see spirit wear that will be on sale, and ask questions from our PTA board and committee chairs.  

On September 23, children’s advocate and best-selling author, Trudy Ludwig will visit Tuscan School to present to students in kindergarten through 5th grade and at our evening PTA Meeting. This author visit is sponsored by the PTA in partnership with Mrs. Baltin and Principal Majeed.  
To pre-order books for author signings, please complete this form, include a check made payable to Tuscan School PTA and have your student return it to the school librarian, Mrs. Baltin. Feel free to visit the author’s website, www.trudyludwig.com, for a description of each book. Since there will be a limited number of each title on the day of the presentation, orders will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. Should we run out of copies, additional books will be ordered as soon as possible through Words bookstore, (also signed by the author). 
Ms. Ludwig is our featured speaker at our first PTA Meeting the evening of September 23rd as part of Mrs. Baltin's ROAR Book in a Bag program - reminder that babysitting will be available onsite through the YMCA for adults to attend.  Find the information here for childcare.

Dear Tuscan Families,
We are pleased to share that we have arranged to have childcare for chidren ages 3 and up provided onsite at Tuscan for both Back to School Night and our first PTA Meeting with visiting author Trudy Ludwig.

Reminder that Back to School Night is a 4-Hour day and hours are:
    Grades K-2    6:30pm-7:15pm
    Grades 3-5     7:30pm-8:15pm

Our first PTA Meeting on 9/23 is a partnership with our Librarian Roberta Baltin and the ROAR - Respect Others, Act Responsibly program - please join us for an informative night on supporting our kids in their social world.
Find details and the signup for Back to School Night Childcare here
Find details and the signup for Childcare for PTA Meeting: Trudy Ludwig & ROAR here 

Your PTA President,
Alan Stephenson

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.  ~Oscar Wilde   

It is with great excitement that I welcome you to the 2013/2014 Tuscan school year.  Teachers and staff, we’re glad your back!  Returning students and families, welcome back!  New students and parents, welcome to our Tuscan family!

I hope to see all of you, old friends and new, at the FIRST DAY COFFEE tomorrow morning, Sept. 9th, after drop-off in the Tuscan Cafeteria.  Meet other parents, swap first-day stories, pick our brains for Tuscan and PTA info, and sign up to help at Tuscan.

2013/2014 promises to be an exciting year.  We anticipate visits 

Two Updates:
Childcare available for $10/child by the YMCA at Tuscan signup here

Books can be ordered for Visiting Author Trudy Ludwig's - and 10% of sales will go to Tuscan PTA.  Orders are due to librarian Mrs. Baltin by September 20th (sent in an envelope in your child's backpack marked "For Mrs. Baltin - Book Order")Find the order form here.   

Save the date for our first PTA meeting of the year with award winning children's advocate and author Trudy Ludwig on Understanding our Kids' Online & Offline Social World: Friendships, Cliques & Power Plays.
Monday September 23rd  7:00-8:30pm
Tuscan School Auditorium.
Click the icon for a full flyer and for details on what students will experience with the author that day in school.   This talk is an extension of the ROAR Book in a Bag program.
Babysitting will be offered by the YMCA, signups will be required.