May 13, 2022 Meeting Minutes

HSA Meeting 
May 13th 2022, 9am
Attendees: 11 in person, 11 online

Updates from Dr. Oates

Book of the Month – In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month we’ll be reading the book “Eyes that Kiss in the Corners” by Asian American author Joanna Ho. This book celebrates embracing your unique beauty and learning to love who you are.

5th Grade Closing Events – Fifth graders will celebrate the end of the year with a fun filled schedule of events from June 10th – 22nd. Highlights will include a trip to Graydon, movie at the Bow Tie Cinema and a Carnival with Kona Ice sponsored by Dads Night.  The traditional promotion will take place at 10am in the gym on June 22nd. A full schedule of events had been emailed to parents.

NJSLA State Testing – NJSLA testing for ELA and Math has been taking place for grade 3-5 the week of May 9th and will continue with science testing the week of May 16th.  The tests are 60 minutes and makeups will start the week of May 16th. 

Covid Update –  

• There has been a recent uptick in covid numbers among staff and students with a current trend in delayed positive tests. It’s recommended that everyone keep an eye on symptoms and test as needed.  
• Somerville is continuing to space student seating, open windows and run air conditioning.  Outdoor lunches have also resumed for 3rd and 5th grades.  
• Over 60% of the school is confirmed vaccinated and anyone who has not submitted their vaccine cards to Nurse Correll is encouraged to do so. 
• The district is currently reviewing notification procedures, masking and quarantining rules.  A decentralized contact tracing system is encouraged whereby those who have tested positive notify people all they have been in contact with.

School Drive – Cereals and Shelf Stable Milk. A fun activity is planned for the final day, June 3rd, so please donate. 

Past Events

• Earth Day – April 22nd students attended 2 assemblies and worked on art projects.  The kindergarten class also planted a tree which is a tradition that started last year and will be continued each year.  
• 2nd Grade field trip – April 26th to Turtleback Zoo
• Art Docent Day – April 27th
• 3rd Grade Field Trip – April 28th to the New York Botanical Gardens 
• May 2, 2022 No School: Teacher Professional Development Day
• Teacher Appreciation Week- May 2nd-6th. A huge thank you to Liz Mazzurco and Suzanne Wert for coordinating the treats, lunch and activities to show our teachers how much we appreciate them.
• 5th Grade walk to BF- May 5th the 5th graders walked to see the BF Musical Production of Grease! 
• Author Visit from Dan Santat – May 4th
• Bake Sale – May 9th – Thank you to all the volunteers, Arti Kachla for coordinating and Theresa Cheung for donating a beautiful cake for the raffle.
• Drive In Movie Night – May 13 (Today) at Demarest Farms to watch Trolls World Tour.

Upcoming Events

• NJSLA Testing, Grade 5 on May 16 & 17  
• Scoop Night at Ben and Jerry’s on May 19, 6pm-8pm – Come out and visit our celebrity scoopers (Somerville Teachers).  No tickets are needed. 
• International Day & Night  on May 23 –  This year’s theme is Flora and Fauna and countries will have display booths during the day. In the evening there will be performances in the gym followed by food tasting in the school’s main corridor. Evening activities run from 6-8pm.  
• Somerville Art Show on May 25, 5-7pm – This is a great evening event with artwork from each student displayed! There will be an art cafe, a family art activity, a selfie station with famous art and lots of student artist creativity to see.
• Spring Concerts on May 26  
  • Grades 1&2 – 9am 
  • Grades 3&4 – 9:45am
• May 27 & 30 – School Closed 
• Incoming Kindergarten Visitations on June 1 & 3
• Frosty Fridays are back! on June 3, 10, & 17  
• Field Day on June 6 (Rain date: June 13)  An exciting addition to this year’s field day will be a performance by Cory the Dribbler – a former member of the Harlem Globetrotters. 
• Book Fair on June 7-9  This event will take place outside.  It’s a great opportunity to stock up on books while helping fund teacher classroom purchases. 
• 5th Grade Spring Concert on June 10, 9:30am
• Rockland Boulders Night on June 16  Come spend a fun family evening watching the Rockland Boulders play against the Quebec Capitales at Clover Park Stadium. Doors open at 6:30pm and the game starts at 7. Tickets are $15 and come with a complimentary Boulders hat. Tickets can be purchased on the Somerville HSA website.
• Last Day of School on June 22
  • 5th Grade Promotion, 10am, in the gym
  • Returning students will participate in the traditional “step up” day by visiting their new class, teacher and classmates. 

HSA Updates 

• 2022-2023 SCHOOKIDZ SCHOOL SUPPLIES: Kits are now available online for each grade from the Somerville HSA website.  Kits will be delivered to classrooms for the beginning of the school year.
• 2022-2023 Volunteers:  HSA Volunteers are needed for the 2022-2023 School year!  Volunteering is a great way to get involved and there are a wide variety of opportunities including lunch aide, art aide, class parent, as well as, a variety of committee members. Sign up form is available on the Somerville HSA website and in E-news emails.

Thank you to the 2021/22 HSA Board for all their hard work during this fun filled year! 

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!

Next HSA Meeting will be June 17th at 9am.