• January 14, 2025 - MPS BOE Meeting
• January 16, 2025 - TJS PTO Meeting 7:00 PM in the Art Room
• January 17, 2025 - TJS Day of Service - Students Assembling Hygiene Kits
• January 20, 2025 - Schools Closed - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• January 29, 2025 - Single Session Early Dismissal 12:45 PM Day for Lunar New Year
• February 14, 2025 - Valentine's Day Classroom Celebrations / Staff In-Service / Single Session Early Dismissal 12:45 PM Day for Students
• February 17, 2025 - Schools Closed - President's Day

Brrrrrr....it was a cold full week back at school with the high wind and low temperatures! On days where the weather and wind chill is very cold, the students have indoor recess in their classrooms. We do try to get the children outside when the temperature allows. As a reminder, please send your child to school dressed appropriately to play outside in the cold weather and have a conversation with them to remind them about your preference for them wearing their coats outside for recess. While students are active outside, we do encourage them to wear their coats if you send them to school with one, especially for our youngest students.

A reminder that Monday 1/13 is the last day to donate items to our HYGIENE DRIVE. Thank you to ALL the families for the generous donations we have received thus far. Our students will be assembling the HYGIENE KITS on our MLK Jr. Day of Service which is next Friday, January 17, 2025.

February will be here before we know it! Our Valentine's Day classroom celebrations will occur on Friday, February 14, 2025. Please ensure you read the important information below regarding our guidelines for in school celebrations.

Have a lovely weekend and stay warm!

Sincerely,
Ms. Garcia

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and we are super excited to begin planning for such a fun day for your children. Valentine’s Day will be celebrated in all three elementary schools on Friday, February 14, 2025 (which is a single session 12:45 PM day for staff in-service). There will be classroom parties and Valentine’s Day cards.

Valentine’s Day Cards - We request that you adhere to the following guidelines:

• No candy of any kind may be distributed with the cards.

• The cards must be brought to school no later than Thursday, February 13, 2025. This will allow for the cards to be distributed before the special day.

• If you elect to participate in the Valentine’s Day Card exchange, it is expected that your child gives a card to every classmate.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, it is necessary to remind parents of the potentially life threatening danger of food allergies to certain students in our school.

The issue of food allergies can be incredibly serious for many students. Peanut and tree nut products are particularly problematic, but other foods such as dairy, eggs and wheat can also cause students health problems. The extreme end of the spectrum in terms of a health risk is anaphylaxis, when the bodily systems experience a shut down due to exposure to the substance in question.

This danger is particularly acute during holiday celebrations, when consuming goodies is the order of the day. If you are a child whose safety depends upon never consuming the wrong food, a party is a true obstacle course. With certain children, even bodily contact with the wrong substance can be disastrous.

As we approach Valentine’s Day parties, please keep the following in mind:

• Please refer to the elementary food allergy guidelines for additional information.

• Nut products are forbidden in “nut-free classrooms”. Please carefully adhere to classroom guidelines.

• Students must consume all goodies within the class during the party. Goody bags and other treats designed to leave the class with the students are forbidden.

• Crafts and activities involving nut products are forbidden.

• All products should be packaged with the ingredients listed.

If you have any questions pertaining to holiday celebrations, please consult your child’s teacher or the school nurse.

Click the link below to access and print the calendar for the month of JANUARY. As a family try to do as many of the boxes as you can during the entire month of January! You will see that many of the activities focus on fun indoor activities to do during the cold month ahead. A huge thank you to Special Area Teachers, Ms. D'Amico, Mr. Gerenstein, Mrs. McEachern, and Ms. Obermaier for creating this month's activity calendar!

Happy New Year! Please see below for important health office information and reminders:

Student Illness

Norovirus: Several students have reported symptoms of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea over the last couple of weeks, likely related to norovirus, a highly contagious infection that is spread through the fecal-oral route and has been circulating within the US in the last month. The most common symptoms of norovirus include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, chills, headache, body aches and fatigue. Should your child experience any of these symptoms, please keep them home from school until they are fever AND symptom free for a full 24 hours prior to returning.

Flu: Flu A is the predominant strain this season currently circulating in the community, and produces symptoms including abrupt onset high fever, congestion, sore throat, cough,muscle aches, and extreme fatigue. We have had several reports of Flu A at TJS in the last couple of weeks. In order to prevent the spread of the flu within the classrooms, please do NOT send your child to school with any of the above symptoms. Should your child be sent home from school for a fever or any other symptoms, please bring them to the pediatrician and ask for a flu test. Early diagnosis is critical, especially if electing to take an antiviral to decrease the duration of illness.

Handwashing:

Handwashing on a regular basis with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and coughing or sneezing into a tissue or your elbow has been proven to prevent the spread of germs and protect you from getting sick. In fact, educating others on handwashing has demonstrated up to a 21 % reduction in respiratory illnesses such as the common cold or the flu. Furthermore, handwashing alone has been proven to have a positive effect on attendance, with up to a 57% reduction in the number of missed days from school due to gastrointestinal illness. Please visit the CDC site to learn more about the importance of handwashing and helpful ways to encourage proper hand hygiene for your children: https://www.cdc.gov/clean-hands/prevention/index.html

Health Screenings:

Pursuant to New Jersey law, all students will be screened for visual acuity and hearing, in addition to height, weight and blood pressure (which were conducted earlier in the school year on all grades). In the event that your child does not pass their hearing or vision test, I will contact you directly and ask that you follow up with the pediatrician or ophthalmologist for a comprehensive examination. Please note that the health office screenings are not diagnostic and should not be utilized as such. If you have any questions or concerns about your child, please reach out to me directly.

Mandatory 5th Grade Immunizations:

As a reminder, when your child turns 11 years old they are required to have 2 additional vaccinations, Meningococcal and TDAP, in order to enter grade 6 in the fall. As you begin to schedule your child’s well visit around their birthday, please remember to follow up with the necessary immunizations and documentation that is required for entry into school. Please see the attached document for the necessary form and return it to the TJS health office upon completion. Should your child’s appointment be scheduled over the summer months, please send the form to the MJS nurse, Pauline Bliss, RN at blissp@madisonnjps.org.

Click here for more info and to learn how you can be a part of Madison Reads.

Registration for kindergarten and first grade is open. Click on the link for registration information: https://www.madisonpublicschools.org/o/mps/page/residency-and-registration

Hello Everyone!

We hope you have been keeping warm this week! We are so excited to share that our Spring Adult Social and Fundraiser will be Friday, March 21st so SAVE THE DATE! This is our biggest fundraiser so we will need LOTS of volunteers to make this event happen. More information coming soon. If you’d like to join the planning crew, please reach out to us at presidents.tjspto@gmail.com.

Mark your calendars for a night of wonder and discovery! The 13th Annual TJS Science Fair is coming to the Jaguar Jungle on Thursday, March 20, 2025, from 6:15 PM - 7:00 PM.

Our Science Fair is a wonderful opportunity for students to explore their curiosities, learn valuable skills, and share their discoveries with our school community. Students get to be scientists - asking questions about things that interest them and finding answers through hands-on experiments.

Here's everything you need to know about this PTO-sponsored event.

Overview

• The Science Fair is open to Grades 1 – 5.

• Students may participate individually or in a group. Groups are generally kept to 2 or 3 students and can be across grades.

• Using the Scientific Method, students decide on an experiment and work on it during off-school hours.

• Students are provided with a trifold display board used to document and showcase their experiment.

Important Dates

• Registration Opens: January 13th, 2025

• Registration Closes: February 3rd, 2025

• Science Fair Night: March 20th, 2025

• Please Note: Space is Limited

• We have a set number of spots available in the Jaguar Jungle so early registration is encouraged.

What Comes Next?

1. Watch for our follow-up email on January 13th with the registration form

2. Visit our Science Fair webpage for project ideas and resources

3. Reach out to Jen Standig and Laura Venuto at tjssciencefair@gmail.com with any questions.

Do you have a half hour to spare? The library is still in need of volunteers to re-shelve books. Please click on the link HERE to help out!

• Fri. Jan 10th - 2nd Grade Breakfast with the Principal.

• Thurs. Jan. 16th - Registration opens for the TJS PTO Science Fair

• Thurs. Jan. 16th - General PTO Meeting from 7:00 - 8:00 pm in the TJS Art Room.

• Mon. Jan 20th - No School MLK Day

• Wed. Jan 29th - Second Grade Awesome Art

• Wed. Jan. 29th - ½ Day - Pizza served

Click to submit PTO membership dues of $35/family!

Stay up to date on anything PTO by visiting our TJSPTO.org Website

See what we’re offering at our TJS PTO Square Shop

To share your ideas or any questions or to volunteer, contact us at presidents.tjspto@gmail.com.

Patricia Alvarez & Anna Italiano

TJS PTO Co-Presidents

Pomptonian’s 6th Annual Healthy School Lunch Challenge is an initiative designed to treat the cafeteria as an extension of the classroom while celebrating National Nutrition Month. It’s a wonderful opportunity to get students involved in the kitchen and excited about creating healthy meals.

Here are key details:

• Students are invited to submit a healthy recipe by February 24th.
• Submissions will be divided into three categories: Pre-K through 5th grade, 6th through 8th grades, and 9th through 12th grades.
• For each category, we’ll select two Grand Prize Winners and one Super Grand Prize Winner.
• The top three high school contestants will compete in a cooking challenge at Driscoll Foods in their professional kitchen on March 7th from 8:30AM-2:30PM.

Check out this video for more details: 6th Annual Healthy School Lunch Challenge.

And, see last year’s High School Lunch Challenge Cook-Off video and one of our Super Grand Prize Winners: Healthy School Lunch Challenge Winner: Antonella Marinelli.

Don't forget to follow Torey J. on Instagram @toreyjsabatini to see all of the wonderful things happening in our school community.