HSA Meeting Minutes October 14, 2022

HSA Meeting 

October 14th 2022, 9am

Attendees: 20 in person, 13 online

Updates from Dr. Oates

Professional Development Day (October 10th) – Teachers spent the day working on data analysis of all the test results they have received through NJSLA, Start Strong and LinkIt testing.  This data helps them prepare lessons specifically catered to their class.

NJSLA Scores – Somerville did very well on the testing, however, the scores are only one data point that tells the story of the school.  The scores were as follows:

The lower scores for 5th grade are believed to be from a pandemic disruption in fact fluency instruction that is part of 3rd and 4th grade curriculum.  There have been curricular changes made and strengthening these skills is a goal for this years students. 

Fablevision – It has been an exciting month with opportunities for staff, students and parents to work with Fablevision and these programs will continue throughout the year.   The book for November will be “Our Table”.  This is a story about a family that used to always eat together every night however as distractions entered their lives and the family wasn’t connecting the table began to shrink.  The daughter decides to make a change and bring the family back together. 

**Be on the lookout for a Friday Feature dedicated to the schools work and projects with Fablevision**

Superintendent Search – The consulting firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) has been hired to conduct the search and the post closes on January 23rd.  Focus groups are planned with the principals and vice principals to advise on strengths and areas of need in the village.  There will also be a parent focus group so be on the lookout for more details.  The aim is to have a new superintendent in place by July 1st.  

Parent Book Group –   The first book the parent book group will be reading is Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom.  The Ridgewood Library is holding several copies for parents to check out.  Please RSVP to Ms. Finnegan at kfinnegan@ridgewood.k12.nj.us so she can share information and details for our gathering.  Participants will meet October 31st.

Halloween – On Halloween students will not come to school in their costumes. They can leave school during a general lunch period from 12:20-1:20.  There will be no crossing guard during this dismissal so EVERY student leaving will need to be picked up by a parent or guardian regardless of their regular dismissal procedure.  Students do not need to bring back their backpacks.  The parade, which parents can attend, starts at 2:15.  Students will leave the gym, cross the front of the school and proceed past kindergarten to the back fields where they will be released.  

LSHSA Update – presented by Marguarite Carmody the President and Somerville School Rep – The Learning Services HSA (LSHSA) is dedicated to supporting the students and families in Ridgewood, NJ who receive special education services. Socials help connect parents and provide information and the next social is October 27th at 7:30 at MacMurphys. Each School Rep encourages parents to reach out for help or questions or if you believe your child may need support.  A Chipotle Fundraiser is planned for October 25th.  Check out https://www.lshsaridgewood.org/ for more information.

Past Events

• • Picture Day – September 20th
  • Spirit Wear Sales –  Raised $2600. Thank you to Christine Lear and Elana Feddock for coordinating the sale. 
  • Charleston Wrap Fundraiser – Raised over $3000.  Thank you to Liz Tierny  and Catie Kearns for organizing this fundraiser. 
  • Frosty Fridays – The final fall Frosty Friday was September 30th and in total they raised $800.    Thank you to Michelle Prota, Kat Reilly and all the volunteers.
  • Progressive Dinner – September 30th.  169 people attended this event and we’d like to extend a huge Thank You to everyone that hosted the dinners and to Anne Barkely and Steve DeMercado who hosted a fabulous after party.

• National Custodians Appreciation Day – October 2nd. Mr. Manning was given a card and gift card from the HSA and several students showed their appreciation with thank you cards.

• FableVision Family Meeting – October 3rd.  This was a great event with 40 children and their families in attendance.  There were several fun, hands-on activities as well as videos of 2 of Peter Reynolds Book – “Ish” and “Sky Color”
• FableVision Staff Session – October 3rd.  Teachers met with Fablevision Staff to discuss ideas for cultivating creativity and empathy in the classroom.
• Peter Reynolds Student Zoom Meeting – October 4th. Students were visited by Peter Reynolds and then grades K-2 worked on writing one minute stories while grades 3-5 explored the Animationish software to create animated stories (this software is accessible in the students Google Classroom through Clever Access.
• Brandon White Assembly – October 7th. Brandon entertained the kids with music and dancing themed around doing the right thing.
• Scholastic Book Fair – October 12th & 13th.
• Kindergarten Field trip – October 14th to Secor Farms.

Upcoming Events 

• Picture Day Makeup-  Monday, October 17th.
• Photo Mini Sessions – Tuesday, October 18th – 3:30-6pm.
• Art Docent Day – Wednesday, October 19th. All classes have a docent and we thank Jackie Carter, Joelyn Redmond and Maria Bustamante for organizing these events.
• Walking SchoolBus – Friday, October 21st – meet at the corner of North Pleasant and Wall Street.
• Author Visit – Friday, October 21st. Award winning Graphic Novelist Jason Patterson will visit the students to discuss his graphic novel series and his creative process. Autographed books purchased in advance will be distributed on the day.
• No Cook Dinner – Friday, October 21st.  Pizza kits from Francesca’s are available for $12 and pickup will be on the front lawn after school on the 21st. 
• Diwali – October 24th. Schools will be closed.
• Walk & Ride to School Month Celebration – Friday, October 28th.  Celebrate the end of walk and ride to school month with music on the front lawn and a 5th grade coffee and donut fundraiser!
• Photo Mini Sessions – Saturday, October 28th – 3-6pm.
• Parent Book Group Meeting – October 31st at 11am.
• Halloween Parade – Monday, October 31st – 2:15pm. 
• 4th Grade Field Trip  – November 4th.  The grade will be visiting the Meadowlands Environmental Center.
• TA Appreciation Lunch – Wednesday, November 2nd.  A luncheon is planned for all the TAs in the Library.  Lunch is being provided courtesy of the LSHSA and teachers will provide the sweet treats. 
• Teachers Convention – November 10th & 11th – Schools will be Closed
• HSA Meeting – Thursday, November 17th 9am – location TBD 
• Career Day – NEW Date – Friday, November 18th.  Michelle Prota is organizing this event for 2nd through 5th grades.  The sign up spreadsheet is now working.

HSA Updates:

• • Birthday Book Gifting  – So far we have raised $1000 for Mrs. Kaplan to purchase new books for the Library.  For those that are participating, during the month of your child’s birthday, students will be invited to the Library to select a new book and have a book plate with their name on it added to the collection.
  • Family Photo Sessions – On October 18th and 29th local photographer Patty Connelly will be running mini fall photo sessions in the Ecology center.  Sessions are 10 minutes, you receive 3 digital photos and the cost is $70.
  • HSA Dues:  The NEW GroupSpot Directory is now live!  HSA dues not only support activities, socials, assemblies and more, they also give you access to a directory of students and parents.  
  • Somerville Auction Fundraiser – The event will take place on April 21st from 7-11pm at Biaggios.  The chairs; Tara Saraceno, Liz Tierney and Christine Lear have already had a successful kickoff zoom meeting.  This is one of Somervilles biggest fundraisers so please get in touch with Christine Lear at christine_lear@hotmail.com if you’d like to get involved.
  • Fifth Grade Updates – Congratulations to Adelaide Murray the 5th grader who designed the winning 5th grade t-shirt.  The design features a VW bus with Leo the Leopard and all the names of the 5th grade students on the back.   

• Walk & Bike to School Month – October is walk and bike to school month and we are celebrating every friday!   Friday October 21st meet Dr. Oates and the Walking Schoolbus at 8:15am on the corner of North Pleasant and Wall Street. Friday October 28th will be a celebration with music and the 5th graders will host a donut and coffee fundraiser.

• • Book Fair – This week Somerville hosted the Scholastic book fair.  All money raised goes to the teachers to purchase books for their classes.  Thank you to chairs Ktanya Schwartzberg and Arti Kachhla and all the volunteers.

• Social Services Donations – This month we will be collecting peanut butter and jelly donations. 

Thank you to all who attended today’s meeting in person and those who joined us on our Zoom call. Thank you Dr. Oates for meeting with us today!

Please keep an eye on the Tuesday E-News to stay up to date on all the latest information and announcements. 

Next HSA Meeting will be November 17th at 9am.  Room assignment TBD.