
The TES Times
March 2023
Dear TES Families,
March was a fun-filled and exciting month at TES! We started the month with Read Across America Week where families enjoyed Breakfast Over Books and students participated in daily Dr. Seuss-themed days and activities. Our Family Math Nights were a huge success where our families were challenged by unique math problems and activities. Students were treated to residency programs granted by the TEF which ranged from wellness to the moon! We all enjoyed a showcase performance of the OTS play, Wizard of Oz, as well as an Irish Dancing demonstration. The highlight of the month was when the entire school gathered for the implementation of our school wide "house" program. I can't wait to see this program flourish over the years. I sincerely wish you and your families a safe, restful, and rejuvenating spring break!
Sincerely,
Lisa Moore
Principal
House Sorting Day!
Mrs. Pill was Ready to Meet the Pumas!
Anticipating the Sorting Process
Meeting our Dens!
Third Grade Family Math Nights
Family Math Night Success
“Family Math” made its debut at TES during the month of March with third graders being invited back on two evenings to engage in geometry and problem solving activities with their families. Students made guesses with estimation jars, graphed their interests, decomposed shapes, and even explored area and perimeter with Legos.The adults were also challenged with some word problems! Family Math is an opportunity for families to come together and engage in math activities. We can't wait to see Family Math grow next year TES!
- Alyssa Forsythe (4th Grade Teacher), Jaime Levy (Project Aspire and Math ASAP Teacher), Pam Nugent (2nd Grade Teacher)
Kindergarten Registration Form, Birth Certificate, and Three Proofs of Residency
Spread the word!
If you are a Tewksbury resident and are the parent or guardian of a child who will turn 5 before October 1, 2023, please register your child for Kindergarten at Tewksbury Elementary School. Please also share this with your neighbors and friends who have a child who will be 5 by October 1st.
The registration forms and information are available on our website or through this link:
To complete regisistration, you need to submit the form and provide the child's original birth certificate and three proofs of residency.
Please complete registration AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
The Universal Child Health form or a physical form from your child's doctor is required before school begins. That should be provided to the school with a copy of the student’s immunization record stamped and dated by the physician’s office. Here is a link to the Universal Child Health form: Health Care Form
Any registration questions, please contact Eileen Callahan at ecallahan@tewksburyschools.org or 908-832-2594 x2001.
Any medical questions, please contact Nancy Morogiello at nmorogiello@tewksburyschools.org or 908-832-2594 x2011.
Pre-K Corner
Pre-K News
Pre K continues to grow and make good progress. This month we were so excited for the arrival of spring! We were counting down the days until the first day of spring! Students have been practicing writing their first and last names. They have become very proficient with Fundations letter sound cards as we continue to review them daily. Students especially love Baby Echo helping them! Pre K students have also enjoyed spending some time with a therapy dog who visits often.
- Mrs. Kovalsky
Kindergarten Happenings
Marvelous March
March has been a busy month in Kindergarten! We kicked it off with “Read Across America” week. We enjoyed many Dr. Seuss activities and ended the week by dressing like our favorite book character. We began studying about communities and community helpers. We look forward to visiting the Tewksbury Police Station and Rescue Squad early next month to hear more about these important services in our community. Another highlight was creating our St. Patrick’s Day Potato Projects. These brought smiles to our whole school community.
- Mrs. Gentile and Mrs. Perticari
First Grade Chronicles
March Moon Madness
During the month of March, first graders had fun learning all about the Sun, Moon, and Earth! Students visited the RVCC planetarium. The TEF sponsored a residency with astonomer, John Miller, of the Pearl Observatory who brought in the portable Star Lab for the students explore. Students have been observing the night sky and tracking the moon phases.
- Mrs. Chapman, Ms. Picardo, Ms. Piesla, and Mrs. Saksa
Second Grade Story
March Fun and Upcoming Topics of Great Interest
Second graders enjoyed a day of science as they traveled to the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown, PA, in March. They experienced many different hands on science activities as they explored the museum. The many exhibits are kid friendly so the children could try their hand at different science concepts within the Physics Playground, the Electric Utilities Energy Zone, the Engineers Rolling Corner, along with the Touch Tunnel and STEM Lab. The second graders also participated in a Slime making workshop where they became chemists and experienced making two different kinds of slime! It was a fun filled science day for all!
- Mrs. Bristow, Mr. Frankosky, Ms. Piesla, Mrs. Nugent, and Mr. Strange
Third Grade Buzz
Marching Into Spring!
Third Grade is on the move! Both our science and social studies units involved movement. In science we experimented with balanced and unbalanced forces, gravity and magnets. The students cleverly found uses for magnets to push and pull things. In social studies we looked at movement through the lense of immigration. The vocabulary words push and pull took on a whole new meaning as we studied the factors that pushed people from their homeland and pulled them to America, especially during the big waves of immigration during the Industrial Period. Learning about Ellis Island and the journey to America fascinated both the students and teachers!
- Mrs. Emge, Ms. Kouzis, Mrs. Fuentes, Mrs. Pill, and Mrs. Nichols
Fabulous Fourth Grade
Spring Has Sprung in Fourth Grade!
Fourth graders kicked off March by completing a Women's History Month project where they researched assigned influential women in history. As the month continued, we began our preparation for the NJSLA by exploring practice passages with two-part questions. Students also explored the online practice component to familiarize themselves with the tools that will be available to them. We rounded out the month with a TEF-sponsored visit by John Miller from the Pearl Observatory who has been working with each class to explore the changes New Jersey has experienced over millions of years. Students have looked at fossils and designed maps showing the changes! Fourth graders also completed their fifth and final wellness session and look forward to the Tiger Trot coming up!
- Mrs. DelGrande, Mrs. Forsythe, Mrs. Fuentes, Mrs. Palmer, and Ms. Wade-Taffera
Artists in Action
Youth Art Month
I hope everyone had a nice March and a Happy Youth Art Month. I also hope everyone had a chance to see the Virtual Art Showcase Mrs. Moore sent out last week. If not, here is a link to the padlet:
Our TES artists have learned that displaying your art is an important part of being an artist. Our latest displays in our TES hallway gallery include Kindergarten color wheel fruit bowls and our first graders beaded body shapes. Second graders have their warm/cool landscapes and their "copy cat" drawings where they tried to duplicate a famous work of art. Many of our third graders wanted their ceramic seated figures displayed in the showcase and they look wonderful. Fourth graders have their collaborative drawings hanging and will shortly have their silhouette paintings on display. I hope you have a special place for your children to display their art. Enjoy their creative expressions!
- Mrs. Wadler
Enlightening Enrichment
March Enrichment
Español Express
locura de Marzo
Kindergarten, first and second graders enjoyed a fun bilingual concert from performers 1,2,3 Andres this month. They learned a song about the continents and how you can use your hands to make a map of North and South America! Thank you to TEF for sponsoring! Third graders have been writing a collaborative story in Spanish class about an animal with a problem, look for it in backpacks this week! Fourth grade finished up their clothing unit by performing skits about a store or a fashion show.
- Senora Obercian
The Library Review
Enthusiastic Library Users
We kicked off March with our school-wide celebration of reading! In the Library, our younger students loved learning about different characteristics of animals. Then, they participated in a fun S.T.E.A.M. activity, using LEGOs to design their own animals.The younger students have now been learning about the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. The Geisel Award winners are engaging books that are perfect for beginner readers! We have been doing an author study of three-time Geisel Award recipient, Greg Pizzoli. The kids love his style and sense of humor. Our older students went above and beyond with the “Surprise Book Project”! For this project, the third and fourth graders are picking out some of their favorite stories to share with our school community in a very creative way. They put so much care and dedication into decorating their books like gifts for the younger students. Their decorated books flew off the shelves! Now, the students are working on navigating our online library system and are looking forward to reviewing some of their favorite books on Follett Destiny. I am proud of what independent and enthusiastic library users the third and fourth graders are becoming this year!
- Ms. Rose-Mason
The Musical Express
Jazz Musician March Madness
While families were home watching the March Madness college basketball tournament, our TES Tigers had their own March Madness tournament. Each grade has been completing a bracket to decide who the best jazz musician is. Some artists include Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, and many more. The most common final four members were Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Nancy Wilson, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, and Mary Lou Williams. Kindergarten through 2nd grade has been working hard to assemble their space-themed spring concert. This concert includes songs about outer space and the planets in our solar system. 3rd graders have been working through their recorder karate belt packets, receiving a karate belt for each song they master. Each class has obtained a white and yellow belt and will strive to receive their black belt one day. We look forward to the spring months bringing us flowers and music!
- Mr. Shaffer and Mrs. Polinger
Technology Education
March Technology Travels
All classes celebrated Digital Learning Day on March 15th. In technology we talked about the many ways students & teachers use technology to enhance learning. #DLDay 2023 was exciting. Kindergarten students became authors of their first digital book by using the Write Reader program. Students proudly shared their printed books with their classmates and were excited to take them home. First graders are becoming tech savvy by using digital choice boards. They are learning how to open and close tabs and navigate through programs. Second graders are beginning to learn how to create and customize a Google Doc. They learned how to use the tool bar, insert pictures and title their documents to easily find them later. They will soon be Google experts! Third and fourth graders took an interactive virtual field trip behind the scenes @Amazon where they explored various careers in computer science. This was done through a Kahoot by Amazon Future Engineers program. Students were engaged and enjoyed the experience.
- Kristen Rinehart Havens
Yearbook Info
ORDER YOUR YEARBOOKS NOW!! Due Date Has Been Extended to April 21st!
Pre order TES/OTS yearbook 2022-2023 Grades PreK-8
Yearbooks will be handed out in June.
Buy it online for good memories!
https://ybpay.lifetouch.com TWO GREAT SCHOOLS, ONE GREAT YEARBOOK DUE DATE: APRIL 21st Old Turnpike School & Tewksbury Elementary School ID CODE: 9456323
Submit Photos to the Yearbook
Do you have photos you want to submit to the OTS/TES yearbook? Sharing your school year photos has never been easier! Let’s build a community of memories that will last a lifetime - together. If you are interested in submitting school photos for the yearbook please use the community link here:
Website: https://community.lifetouch.com/invite?code=TEWKSBURY-23
Yearbook Invite Code: TEWKSBURY-23
Any questions please reach out to Ms. Rinehart Havens
Health & Physical Education Update
Cooperation Builds Skills
Students in grades K through 2 have been working on parachute activities involving muscular strength, endurance, cooperation, reaction time, and listening skills. Third and fourth grade students have been learning some of the introductory skills as well as some of the basic rules involved in baseball and softball including throwing, catching, base running, and teamwork through various kickball game activities.
- Ms. Mukherjee and Mr. Wooby
From Ms. Morogiello, School Nurse
Spring Allergy Season!
Spring is here. The sun is shining. Trees and plants are blooming…..and so are spring pollen
allergies!
- Symptoms of Spring allergies include:
- Sneezing
- Nasal congestion
- Runny nose
- Watery eyes
- Itching in the nose, eyes or the roof of the mouth.
Ways to manage Spring allergies include consulting your child’s doctor and starting allergy
medication before the allergies actually flare. Other recommendations from the Asthma and
Allergy Foundation of America ( AAFA) include:
● Keep windows closed.
● Use central air conditioning with a CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly® HVAC filter, if
possible.
● Remove your shoes before entering your home.
● Take a shower and shampoo your hair before bed.
● Change and wash your clothes after being outdoors.
● Dry laundry in a clothes dryer or on an indoor rack, not on an outdoor line.
● Clean pollen off pets with a towel before they come into your home.
● Wash bedding in hot, soapy water once a week.
● Use a nasal rinse to flush out inhaled pollen out of your nose.
Here is a link to more information on spring allergies:
https://community.aafa.org/blog/tips-for-coping-with-spring-allergies
If you have any student health-related questions, please contact Nancy Morogiello at nmorogiello@tewksburyschools.org or 908-832-2594 x2011. Report student absences prior to 9:00 AM by inputting to Pick Up Patrol.
Counselor's Corner
Making Footprints in March
In conjunction with Hunterdon Prevention Resources , our second grade classes are learning important life skills of using “I messages", problem solving, conflict resolution, and healthy decision making. They are also discussing how they can leave their best footprint with respect and kindness in the world around them. A basic premise of the principles taught in FOOTPRINTS for LIFE is that the prevention efforts of these skills can enhance protective factors and move toward reversing or reducing risk factors for future substance use/ abuse.
- Mrs. Donovan, School Counselor
Outdoor Learning Landscape
Thank you, George Contrino, Wood Artisan!
If you have a special skill, please contact one of our garden coordinators, Karen Morrow at kmorrow@tewksburyschools.org, or Maura Obercian at mobercian@tewksburyschools.org.
If you just want to roll up your sleeves and help, please join us!
Goats in the Garden! SIGN UP Before May 1st for June 1st
JUNE 1st GOATS IN THE GARDEN
RAIN DATE JUNE 8th
The Teachers Education Association invites students and parents to join Tewksbury teachers for an exciting event - Goats in the Garden! Students, parents, and teachers will have the opportunity to get their zen on with a little goat yoga! Each session is 20 minutes of goat yoga + 10 minutes of playtime with the goats after their session. Parents are welcome to sign up with their child/children but please one parent per family as there is a limited number of spaces available. While waiting for your sessions the TEA will host grab-and-go snacks and fun goat-themed yoga activities in the garden! Parents may need to put their child/children into Pick-up Patrol if you plan to attend starting at 3:50 PM. Pick up your child/children at the end of the day and then meet us in the garden at 3:50!
Parents, please park in the lower lot and proceed to the garden behind the school. Sign up by May 1st! Raindate June 8th. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0c45aeae23a1fd0-goats#/
- The Tewksbury Education Association
Garden Community Day - Help Us on Saturday, May 6th, from 10:00 to 12:00!
Save the date! On Saturday, May 6th from 10:00-12:00, we will have a Garden Improvement Day! The Tewksbury Education Association will provide snacks and supplies to improve our school's outdoor learning space. Come roll your sleeves up and help TES!
PTA Garden Club
In PTA Garden Club we have been getting down and dirty, leveling a bumpy area, doing some spring cleaning, and learning about worms and how they can help our garden. We planted peas in hanging containers made from recyclables!
Tewksbury Education Foundation
Tiger Trot - Save the Date! May 21, 2023
We are pleased to announce that the Tewksbury Education Foundation (TEF) is hosting the 5th Annual Tiger Trot on Sunday, May 21st (5k starts at 9am, Color Run starts at 10:30am). This event brings people of all abilities together to celebrate health of the mind, body and spirit. This year, the Tiger Trot 5k will also include a 1 mile color run! There will be various forms of entertainment, music, food trucks, games, winners in each age group, and some special guests running alongside the children! Pre-registration is highly recommended, and discounted rates end on May 15th. Please note there is also a pre-race rally at Sunken Silo on May 19th (adults only).
Please go to the website to register for that event as well! https://www.tewksburytef.org/TIGER-TROT-23/
What's Coming Soon?
Upcoming Events
Take Our Children to Work Day - April 27th (See below)
Teacher Appreciation Week: May 8th - May 12th
Registered Students Day for Incoming Kindergarten Students: May 8th - Times To Be Determined
Take Our Children to Work Day
Lunchtime at TES
2023-2024 School Calendar
August 30th, 2023, is the First Day of School for students!