Principal Garcia's Newsletter
Friday, January 20, 2023
Torey J. Sabatini School
Important Dates
- January 27 - STAR Reports Sent Home in Backpacks
- January 31 - PTO Sponsored Assembly, Dance China New York
- February 1 - World Read Aloud Day
- February 1 - Second Grade Breakfast with the Principal
- February 3 - TJS Spirit Wear Day!
- February 10 - Third Grade Awesome Art
- February 14 - Valentine's Day Celebrations
- February 20 - School Closed for President's Day
- February 21 - Schools Closed for Staff In-Service Day
- February 28 - Troy Cummings Author Visit!
Weekly Reading Tips from Mrs. LoBrace
All About Comprehension Skills & Strategies
Reading comprehension is when your child interacts with the texts they read beyond just being able to decode the words fluently. They are working to process and understand what they read, as they work with the content of the story both:
-literally (explicitly as stated on the page)
-and beyond the text (implicitly as they read between the lines for the ideas and understandings that are not directly express on the page)
Below are the skills & strategies that are addressed in the classroom as your child progresses through the grade levels, as a means of building their comprehension as a whole.
Ways to Help at Home!
-Build on their existing knowledge and give them experiences so they have a strong schema.
-Encourage them to identify and summarize key details after reading.
-Use additional resources (other books, online resources) to help them extend their thinking on a topic they are reading about.
-Help them identify vocabulary using tools (glossary, dictionary, thesaurus)
-Ask explicit/implicit questions before, during, and after reading.
-Give guiding questions before reading so they know what to look for.
-Encourage them to use tools while they read to help them process their reading. (organizers, post-it notes, highlighters, journaling to take down and organize their thoughts/ideas)
Keep an eye out for more ways to help at home with building on their practice of each of these specific comprehension skills and strategies in the future!
Staff Spotlight
District Behaviorist, Mrs. Theresa Fernandes
I'm Theresa Fernandes, the district behaviorist assigned to Torey J. Sabatini as well as the district junior and high schools. I came to the district in January of 2019, first as a part-time behaviorist and then as a full-time behaviorist six months later. Unlike some related service providers like our speech and occupational therapists, I don't work directly with students most of the time. My role is to provide behavioral strategies to staff members as well as training for our support staff, especially those working with students who receive individual behavioral support, whether in the general education classroom or in one of our specialized programs. I am fortunate to collaborate with great staff members who are willing to try anything to help our students function successfully in the school setting!
A little about me outside of my time in Madison...I live in Hunterdon county with my husband and our 23 year old twins, when they are not away at school. Our son will be graduating from Stevens Institute of Technology this spring with his bachelor's degree in software engineering. Our daughter will be graduating from The College of New Jersey this spring with her master's degree in English and is certified to teach English to students in grades 6 through 12. The four of us are planning a trip to Italy this summer to celebrate their graduation. Half of my family resides in Italy so it will be an opportunity to visit with them and will also be the first time my husband and children have been there so we are all very excited! Other than that, I'll spend some of the summer enjoying hobbies like reading and walking the beautiful trails of Hunterdon county with our dog.
News from the MEF
News from the PTO
Science Fair Registration is Open!
Registration for the Science Fair is now open!! The Science Fair will be held on March 8th from 6:00 pm- 8:00 pm in the Jaguar Jungle. Provided below are details to review and share with your child/children to determine if they’d like to participate.
Overview
The Science Fair empowers students to explore the world around them, spark curiosity, and to share their knowledge and interests with the TJS community.
Open to first grade and above, the Science Fair provides students with the opportunity to get hands-on experience breaking down the scientific method, while learning about a topic of interest.
Students have the option to work independently or within small teams. Ideas can come from a number of science-related subjects, including but not limited to Earth Science, Engineering, Chemistry, Biology and Electronics. Below are examples of prior projects:
Bouncing Bubbles
Use different materials to see which makes the bubbles bounce best
Exploding Mentos
Use different types of soda and determine which type makes the best explosion
Is the 5 Second Rule Real?
Drop various foods on the floor for 5 seconds and determine if bacteria grows
What Makes Ice Melt Fastest?
Build an Electric Motor
Gummy Bear Lab: Will a Gummy Bear grow or shrink in different substances?
We have many books in the library which contain a large variety of ideas for projects. There are also many resources online. Provided below are a few sites to explore.
Do a science fair project! | NASA Climate Kids
Do a Science Fair Project! | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids
Science Fair Project Ideas | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)
Science Fair Ideas Archives - ScienceBob.com
Science Projects (sciencebuddies.org)
You can also visit the Science Fair page on the PTO website - link here
Questions? Please reach out to Laura and Jen at tjssciencefair@gmail.com
Library Help Needed!
Do you have an extra half hour to help out at school? Mrs. Thomas needs our assistance to keep the TJS library organized between classes. Volunteers are needed for short periods to help reshelve books. Please check out the times on the SignUp Genius if you are interested!
Thanks so much to the parents who attended our PTO meeting this week. Our committee members shared many of the wonderful events planned for spring. The PTO couldn’t do what we do without our many parent volunteers making it all happen! Special thanks to Ms. Garcia and teachers Tina Smith and Marisa Caruso for their informative presentation on the importance of number sense in math and how parents can reinforce that at home!