Principal Garcia's Newsletter

Friday, April 28, 2023

Torey J. Sabatini School

Important Dates

April 29 - Arbor Day Ceremony at Hartley Dodge Memorial at 9 AM / Madison Green and Clean Day (formally known as May Day)
May 1-5 - Teacher Appreciation Week
May 5 - TJS Spirit Wear Day
May 7 - MEF 5K
May 8-15 - NJSLA ELA and Math Testing in Grades 3-5
May 18-19 - NJSLA Science Testing Grade 5
May 16-24 - NJSLA General Make-ups
May 16 - TJS Spring Concert at MJS at 6 PM
May 25-31 - No School Memorial Day

TJS Staff and their Children on Take Your Child to Work Day!

April Jaguar of the Month - Student Recognition Program

As a school learning community, we are recognizing TJS jaguars who consistently demonstrate exemplary character traits, behavior, kindness, and compassion for others. Nominations are submitted throughout the entire month and at the end of the month, one jaguar from each grade level is selected and recognized. Today, Ms. Garcia announced the April Jaguars of the Month!

Congratulations to...

Kindergartener - Julide Anderson
First Grader - Piper Merkle
Second Grader - Ella Chandler
Third Grader - Matthew Majocha
Fourth Grader - Anna Buehler
Fifth Grader - Brady Smith

We are hopeful that as a community, students will be eager to serve as positive role models for their peers to always be upstanding members of our school.

Madison Public Schools Named a 2023 National Best Community for Music Education

This is the ninth consecutive year Madison has received this distinction! Out of 14,000 eligible districts, Madison joins 830 districts across the country in receiving the prestigious award in 2023. The complete list of districts can be found here: https://www.nammfoundation.org/articles/bcme-2023-districts

The Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. Districts that have been recognized by the NAMM Foundation are often held up as models for other educators looking to boost their own music education programs. This couldn't be more true of the program we have in Madison. Thank you to the parents/guardians for your enthusiastic support of our school and district performing arts programming!

Weekly Reading Tips from Mrs. LoBrace

All About Determining the Author’s Purpose

An author’s purpose is the main reason an author has chosen for writing a book or passage. Defining the author’s purpose prepares readers to dive into the reading in a way that is more meaningful. It allows them to read with purpose and get an idea of how the text is organized.

An author may use their writing in the following ways to communicate with their readers. Their purpose may be to:

Persuade: tries to get the reader to believe, think, feel, or do something. (ex: ads, essays, reviews)
Inform: includes mainly facts and information. (nonfiction writing)
Instruct: includes steps in a process and directions. (ex: how-tos, guidebooks, recipes)
Entertain: uses humor, narration, tells a story, etc. (ex: fiction, poetry, comics)
Describe: uses details and description. (ex: both fiction and nonfiction writing)

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General Reminder...Regarding Placement for Next School Year

If you know that your child is not returning to our school district in the fall of 2023, please be sure to email Marcy Dakss (dakssm@madisonnjps.org) as soon as possible so that we can ensure the appropriate transfer paperwork is completed.

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Readers can define the author’s purpose by using the following strategies:

-Starting with “Why” - Why did the author write this piece? Identify the message the author might be trying to send through their writing.

-Studying the Structure of the Text or Passage - Authors use different structures for different purposes. They may sequence, work through a problem or solution, or compare and contrast.

-Get to the Heart - When writer’s write they often want you to feel a certain way. When reading try to identify what types of feelings the author’s writing invokes and what feelings they are trying to get across.

-Readers Study their Own Writing - Often creating your own writing piece and trying out writing with different purposes helps you to identify the author’s purpose more easily when you are met with a text or passage.

-Observe How Purpose Changes within a Text: A writer may have an overall purpose for writing in text and then multiple more defined purposes throughout what they have written. Readers should observe and try to identify if a purpose changes based on what an author wants to communicate.

Staff Spotlight

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Mr. Jim Stricchiola, Fourth Grade Teacher

Mr. Stricchiola grew up in Madison. He attended Central Avenue School, the Junior School, and Madison High School. However, he considers Torey J. his home.

Mr. S attended William Paterson College and began his teaching career in Pequannock, NJ. He still stays in contact with many of his first students.

Mr. S has taught at Torey J. for the past 27 years. He taught for two years at Kings Road School. He considers it a privilege to teach in the town he grew up in.

Mr. S has four children: two daughters and two sons. He lives in Hanover, NJ. Mr. S loves all sports. He coaches little league baseball for his sons. In his spare time, Mr. S likes to cook and try out new recipes. He also loves to go to the gym and go for bike rides with his family.

He is a HUGE Chicago Bears fan and loves talking sports with his students. Mr. S is also a big country music fan.

Mr. S loves the time he spends with his students. He loves watching them grow and guiding them to be the best they can be.

News from the MEF

Registration is open for the 3rd Annual MEF Pickleball Tournament on Saturday, June 3rd! Paddle up for a great cause... our schools! Registration is also ongoing for another MEF event---the 20th Annual MEF Madison 5K Run/Walk. Join us on May 7th for a 1-mile run/walk, 5K run/walk, and Kids Fun Run. All funds raised help MEF award teacher grants in Madison Public Schools. Visit the MEF website to learn more.

News from the PTO

There are just a few days left to register for our first Color Run!!

Deadline to register is May 1 Register Here

Library Help Needed! - New Dates and Times Added

Do you have an extra half hour to help out at school? Ms. Thomas needs our assistance to keep the TJS library organized between classes. Volunteers are needed for short periods to help reshelve books. Please check out the times on the SignUp Genius if you are interested!

MADISON GREEN AND CLEAN is TOMORROW!

April 29th is Madison Green and Clean (formerly known as May Day) from 9:00AM - 3:00PM

As always we will be weeding and mulching the beds around the TJS entrance, and could really use your help.

This year we will also be cleaning up and refreshing the personalized rock area near the entrance.

We ask that any parents and children able to lend a hand, please come out to help.

And if you can also bring tools for the work (wheelbarrows, pitchforks, rakes, gloves, etc.), it would be greatly appreciated.

We will provide some, but the more we have the smoother and quicker it goes.

As you can see below, there are other things going on that day too, and we encourage you all to participate in those as well:

9:00 AM Arbor Day celebration at Hartley Dodge.

10:00-12:00 MPS Pollinator Habitat at the BOE building on Woodland right behind TJS.

10:00-11:30 Conservation presentation at the Early Trades Museum in town.

Please reach out to Steve Alcorn (mayday.toreyj@gmail.com) if you have any questions (or suggestions for other Green/Clean activities).

More details about the day can be found at rosenet.org

Thank you and we hope to see you on the 29th.

Madison Summer STEAM Academy

The Madison STEAM Academy returns this summer for its sixth year and is bigger than ever before!

The STEAM Academy offers a hands-on, engaging camp experience for students entering grades 1 through 12 in the 2023-24 school year. With a diverse range of interesting courses, there's an exciting opportunity for every interest! Programming is offered across six week-long sessions in either AM, PM, or full-day options, and enrollment is not limited to Madison residents. Extended day options and tuition assistance are also available to ensure that any interested student can access this amazing program! For enrollment, course offerings, and more information, please visit www.madisonpublicschools.org/steamacademy