HSA Meeting
November 16th 2023, 9:00am
Attendees: 17 in person, X online
Updates from Dr. Oates
Teacher Representative – Katie Bielicky – Mrs. Bielicky and Mr. Dembin run student council which is open to 4th and 5th graders. The club meets every other Tuesday at lunch. The group works to help the school promote events such as the Pink Out and Thanksgiving food drive. Next they will be working on a collection for the seeing-eye dog foundation.
Mrs Bielicky is also the 3rd grade co-teacher with Ms. Fabish. The new arrangement of having co-teachers has been particularly helpful for the students when working in centers. The collaborative teaching approach has been beneficial to all students, including those with an IEP.
Parent Book Club – The parent book group met on October 31st to discuss the book “Thrivers” by Michele Borba. The book is somewhat of a parenting manual to help raise kids that can thrive in today’s society. There will be another book chosen in the spring. If you have a preference for the format (in person vs online) or time (day vs night) please let Dr. Oates know.
TREP$ – Fifth grade students had the opportunity to participate in an entrepreneurial club where they created a product, produced it, priced it, marketed it and sold the items at a marketplace. TREP$ is sponsored by the HSA
Student Chats – There have recently been some concerns with content in student chat groups. Effort will be made to help the fifth graders understand more about texting/chatting – i.e. what types of content are appropriate or inappropriate, what language is ok to use, how to set boundaries and how to leave a chat. Students will be asked to sign a text pledge.
Career Day – Thank you to all the parents and organizers for a great career day.
Report Cards – The first marking period will end on December 8th. December 21st report cards will be live. Make sure you log on to Skyward to check your students report.
Glee Club Performance – The Glee Club will be performing at Van Saun Winter Wonderland on December 9th.
Holiday Concerts – Holiday concerts will be Friday, December 15th. Grades 1 & 2 will be at 10am and 3 & 4 at 11am. The fifth grade will be selling coffee and donuts at the event to help fund their end of year events.
Food Drive – The November food drive ended Monday, November 20th. Thank you to everyone who contributed stuffing, canned sweet potatoes and gravy.
DEI – The first Holiday Docent event was a huge success and all students were involved in creating a public art display in the breezeway to the 3rd grade wing. Make sure to check it out when you’re visiting the school. The next holiday celebration will be Lunar New Year.
World Language -In person world language instruction started on November 2nd. Señora Borst is a fantastic addition to the staff and has been very popular with students. Classes receive 30 minutes of Spanish instruction once a week.
Board of Education – Candidates Mary Micale and Saurabh Dani were elected and will be sworn into office in January. Next year, for the presidential election, the district is considering a school closure professional development day for election day.
NJSLA Scores – Somerville did very well on the testing. So many factors can affect students taking tests so while the data is interesting, it is only one part of the bigger student picture. The scores were as follows:
| State | District | Somerville | |
| 3rd ELA | 739 | 780 | 781 |
| 3rd Math | 745 | 780 | 775 |
| 4th ELA | 748 | 786 | 790 |
| 4th Math | 743 | 776 | 782 |
| 5th ELA | 750 | 790 | 802 |
| 5th Math | 740 | 773 | 772 |
Past Events
- Charleston Wrap Fundraiser Ended – October 23rd – Raised over $3500.
- Art Docent Day – October 18th
- Make Your Own Pizza Fundraiser – October 20th – Raised $1200.
- Somervilles 1st Annual “Jack-O-Lantern Festival” – October 26th
- Annual Walking School Bus with Dr. Oates (N Van Dien & Wyndemere) – October 27th
- Bulb Planting – October 31st
- Parents Book Club – October 31st
- Halloween Parade – October 31st
- Somerville Squad Assembly – November 1st
- Family Photo Sessions – November 3rd and 5th
- 2023 General Election – November 7th
- Teachers Convention – No School – November 9th & 10th
- Fourth Grade Field Trip – November 15th to Storm King
- HSA Meeting – November 16th (Thursday)
- Career Day – November 17th
- Teacher Mailbox Drop – November 17th
Upcoming Events
- Spirit Wear Online Store – November 11-28th
- Bake Sale – November 21st
- Kindergarten Concert and Social – November 22nd
- Tons of Toys and Tons of Treasures Fundraiser – November 29th & 30th
- Holiday Boutique– December 5-7th
- Winter Concerts – December 15th
- Art Docent Day – January 10th
- Bingo Night – January 19th
- Lip Sync – February 2nd
- Wizards Game Fundraiser (For Federated HSA) – February 25th – There will be 2 games on a Sunday this year
- HSA Meeting – January 19th
HSA Updates:
HSA Dues – Raised over $9100 so far this year.
Book Gifting – 75 books so far have been donated. You can donate all year.
Spirit Wear – An online spirit wear store is live from 11/14-11/28. New beanies have been added to the shop. Purchased items will be available for pickup from Somerville.
Jack-O-Lantern Festival – The very first annual Jack-O-Lantern festival was a big success with over 100 pumpkins donated! Many families attended and the National Honor Society Students were very helpful!
Family Photo Pop Up – Photo sessions were held for 29 families and $2250 was raised.
Tons of Toys Fundraiser – On November 29th and 30th if you shop at Tons of Toys or Tons of Treasures in Wycoff 15% of your purchase will be donated back to Somerville. They also offer free gift wrapping! For the school to receive the funds you must mention the fundraiser at checkout.
December Social Services Donations– Gift cards for Target and cash will be collected. This collection ends December 8th so please get your donations in early.
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 on Friday, January 19th at 9am. There is no meeting in December.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.