Principal Garcia's Newsletter
Friday, December 9, 2022
Torey J. Sabatini School
Important Dates
- December 9 - Kindergarten Breakfast with the Principal!
- December 9 - Report Cards Available in Genesis for Parents at 3:00 PM
- December 13 - Grade 4 and 5 Winter Concert (for grade 4 and 5 parents only) at 2:00 PM
- December 21 - Grade K-2 Sing-along 9:15-9:45 AM
- December 21 - Grade 3-5 Sing-along 10:00-10:30 AM
- December 23 - Single Session Early Dismissal Day
- December 26 - 30 - Schools Closed for Winter Recess
- January 2 - School is Back in Session
- January 5 - First Grade Breakfast with the Principal!
- January 6 - TJS Spirit Wear Day
- January 11 - General PTO Meeting at 7:30 PM, TJS Art Room
- January 13 - Second Grade Awesome Art
Kindergarten Breakfast with the Principal
Kindergarten Breakfast with the Principal
Kindergarten Breakfast with the Principal
Accessing Trimester 1 Report Cards
Today at 3:00 PM, student report cards for parents/guardians will be accessible in the Genesis Parent Portal. Due to a personnel change, students will not receive a grade in music for the first trimester. We are excited to announce that Ms. Rachel Montagna has agreed to assume the role of Mrs. McEachern’s leave replacement beginning on January 2, 2023. For directions on how to access your child’s report card, please click here. Have a wonderful weekend!
Sing-Alongs...You are Invited!
*NEW* Weekly Reading Tips from Mrs. LoBrace
All About The Five Finger Rule & Choosing Books: Choose books that are at an appropriate reading level for your child using The Five Finger Rule - it’s quick, the tools are literally at your fingertips, and it gives you a good idea of whether a book is just right for your child to read!
How it’s done: When selecting books at the library or bookstore, open the book to any page and ask your child to read out loud. Put up a finger every time your child does not know a word.
*If you have put up 5 fingers before the end of the page this book may be too hard for your child.
*If you have put up 3 fingers, this book is just right!
*If you put up no fingers, this book may be too easy.
Other resources for selecting books by reading level or grade level bands are included below! The leveled book list also includes reading behaviors we generally look for at each level.
-Scholastic Book Wizard: The Scholastic Book Wizard lets you look up books by reading level or grade level (simply click on the link and Discover New Books button to search by level). You can also type in titles you already have to see what level they are by typing into the Level a Book search bar.
-Leveled Reading Behaviors & Suggested Book Titles:
Book Titles & Reading Behaviors by Level
Reading level bands by grade to go by if you’re not sure where to start:
Kindergarten: Levels A-D
First: Levels D-I
Second: Levels I-M
Third: Levels M-P
Fourth: Levels P-S
Fifth: Levels S-Z
Happy Reading!
News from Mrs. Bletcher in the Counseling Corner
Our 4th Grade Safety Patrol is in full swing! Participating students have had three lunchtime training sessions and are learning how to manage their jobs while juggling their end-of-day classroom responsibilities. Students are being trained and reminded to report for duty on time, be courteous and polite at all times and to always set a good example. At today’s lunchtime meeting we reviewed the Patrol Member’s Pledge and learned respectful ways to address peers when on duty.
I wrapped up a series of third-grade girls lunch groups this week. We spent our final session chatting about friendship roles, playing, “Telephone” and discussing how we can best manage gossip/rumors.
This week our 5th Grade Peer Leaders met after school. Students were able to choose from a variety of community and school-based activities. Students colored and decorated “Color a Smile” cards that will be sent to local nursing homes. Others made and hung snowflakes for our upcoming holiday Sing-a-long. A handful of students decorated the chalk wall in the connector hallway in a holiday theme. It was a very busy and fun meeting!
Staff Spotlight
Art Teacher, Mr. Gil Thompson
During the Summer I run the Madison Community Pool a position I have held since 2011. I practice and create my own artwork and have been featured in gallery shows across the tristate area over the past 15 years. I specialize in paper cutting, pen and ink illustration, woodworking, and sculpture. I am a very enthusiastic NJ Devils, NY Yankees, and NY Giants fan. I love playing lacrosse and have coached in Harding and Bernardsville where I get to coach my kids and their friends. We are a very outdoorsy family, in our free time we love to hike, mountain bike, and camp.
Library Media Teacher, Ms. Mary Thomas
Here she is with her son on a trip to Washington, D.C. last summer.
News from the PTO
Save the Date! Please join us in the New Year on Wednesday, January 11th at 7:30 pm in the TJS Art Room for our next General PTO meeting.
Check out our new and improved TJS PTO website! It is full of information on all things TJS PTO! www.tjspto.org Thanks to Caron Howick for creating this website and for keeping us all in the loop via email. And thanks to Carmelina Giordano who keeps us informed (and entertained) on social media!
Shopping on Amazon for the holidays?? Support TJS PTO with Amazon Smile, and a portion of all of your purchases will come back to the school. Click Here for How-To Instructions
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!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4DACAD2EA3F58-tjslibrary
News from the MEF
The MEF is busy finalizing our fall grant cycle, and we are so excited to share with you the amazing things in store for our schools. This giving season, we hope you will consider giving local and make a donation to the Madison Education Foundation (MEF). Your generous contributions allow us to fund great ideas that inspire educators and energize the academic and creative lives and social-emotional health of students in Madison Public Schools.
Learn more about how your donations make a positive impact in our public schools HERE, and make a tax-deductible donation to MEF to support our grant-making program HERE.
We are grateful for your support all year round and especially during this season of giving.