NEEDED:CASINO NIGHT CHAIR PEOPLEcontact Wendy DeCaro for more information

NEWSTIGER TOWN

Vol 40 Nov 6, 2013

Did you hear???

Pirates seized CAS! No, not scary pirates... Story Pirates. On Halloween, this talented troupe of actors told stories, shared skits and made us all laugh. What a great way to spend Halloween. Thanks CAS PTO for bringing us this fantastic program and thanks to everyone who supports cultural arts education

Eagle ProjectFrom Ryan Hoover

This past weekend I fixed up the garden near the kindergarten entrance, put in plants at the end of the flag pole pathway, and I started painting black-top games which I will finish this weekend.

CAS Facebook Page

www.facebook.com/MadisonNJCentralAvenueSchoolPTO

Central Avenue School’s Kindergarten Daisy Troop is starting up! Does your daughter want to be part of the fun?

Daisies are the first step in a lifetime of adventure with Girl Scouts. We’ll meet in groups in a nurturing, inclusive environment. We’ll go on trips, learn about nature and science, and explore the arts and our communities.

For more information, if your daughter wants to join the troop, or if you are considering becoming a co-leader, please email Laura Axler at lauraaxler@hotmail.com and Steph Dalessio at steph.dalessio@gmail.com

We are excited to announce that we have hired Maureen Magnani as our replacement Reading Specialist for Caroline Bottone, who will be leaving for maternity leave on November 20th. Mrs. Magnani has extensive experience as a classroom teacher with over 15 years in education. She holds a certificate in Elementary Education, Reading, and she also has a Supervisor certificate. We want to wish Mrs. Bottone a wonderful maternity leave and we are excited to welcome Mrs. Magnani to the CAS Team. To help Mrs. Magnani ‘s transition to CAS, we have scheduled some time for her and Mrs. Bottone to work together. This will allow them to collaborate, share ideas, and Mrs. Magnani will have a solid foundation to begin helping students right away!

This year, we have been especially lucky with the weather. To date, we have had only one rainy morning, which has made drop-o� a pleasure. On the one day that we did have rain we noticed several parents parking in the drop-o� zones on Walnut Street and on Central Avenue. This is a reminder to drop-o� and move on so that we do not have tra�ic congestion. We understand that there are families with little ones, but there are other areas where you can park and walk. Thank you.

Important dates…

11/7 & 11/8 School Closed for the NJEA Convention

11/11 End of Marking Period 1

11/15 Report Cards will be going home

11/22 Kindergarten Principal Chat @ 2:15

11/22 Principal Outreach for Spanish Speaking Families at 6:00pm in the gym

The CAS

LISS,T

Madison Public LibraryFor a complete list of programs please chieck online www.MadisonNJLibrary.org or call the Children’s Service’s Desk 973-377-0722 x3.

Nov programs include:Crafternoons for ages 6-10 from 4-4:45 on Thursday Nov 14

Book Bingo – Thursday Nov 7 from 3:00-3:45 for ages 5-10

Monsters University w/ some snacks - Friday Nov 8 at 3:00

Family Fun DayThe foundation for Morrisotwn Medical Center’s Youth Philantropy committee and the Knights of Columbus present

5th Annual Family Fun Day $10 per childNov 16 from 11-3 Hanover Rec Center (15 N. Je�erson Road, Whippany)

Atlantic Air One Helicopter

Live Entertainment

Magician Simon Mandel

and much more!

AroundTown...

A Message from Nurse Young

THE FLU VACCINE IS REQUIRED FOR PRE SCHOOL STUDENTSThe New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services immunization requirements states: the influenza vaccine is required for children six months through 59 months of age attending any licensed child-care center or preschool.

Please submit documentation to me by December 31, 2013.

ATTENTION 5TH GRADE PARENTS:During your child’s 11 year old physical please send in documentation to my attention that the Menactra (meningococcal) and Tdap (tetanus, dipheria, pertussis) vaccines were administered. These 2 vaccines are required for 6th grade school admission once your child has turned 11.

Nursery School Fair

Hosted at the

Madison Public Library

39 Keep Street, Madison, NJ 07940

For more information,

please call 973-377-0722 ext. 3.

Want to know more about

Madison area nursery school

and preschools? Join us for our

Nursery School Fair to get

information and meet with

representatives from some of

our wonderful local preschools.

November 12th, 2013 from 7:00-8:00 pm

2013 GRADE COORDINATORS NEEDED FOR INTERNATIONAL HOLIDAYInternational Holiday is a PTO sponsored event taking place this year on Dec 6 (Kindergarten), 10th (1st, 2nd, 5th grades) and 11th (3rd and 4th grades). We acknowledge the various celebrations taking place around the world at this special time of year.

With the exception of Kindergarten, we need 3-4 grade coordinators for EACH grade.

If you are interested or have any questions –please contact:Jen Bauman at jenbauman4@gmail.com or (201) 835-7116 or

Haley Blanchard athaleysblanchard@gmail.com or (704) 400-7048

If you are ready to sign up just fill out the section below and return to the PTO box

Name:_____________________________________________________________________________

Grade you will help coordinate:_______________________________________________________

Phone number/email address:________________________________________________________

THANKS!

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PLAN ANYTHING!!Each group of coordinators will receive detailed plans for their grade's celebrations. It will be the coordinators responsibility to assign other parent or family member volunteers the di�erent tasks needed for their grades party.

Grade 1: Dec 10 9-11:30am SCANDINAVIAGrade 2: Dec 10 1-3pm SPAIN/MEXICO/COLUMBIAGrade 3: Dec 11 9-11:30am GERMANY & POLANDGrade 4: Dec 11 1-3pm CHINESE NEW YEARGrade 5: Dec 10 1-3pm ITALY & FRANCE

Incredible Art needs you!!

The classes LOVE the presentations and projects but we NEED volunteers to bring the program to the classrooms.

Artists include Van Gogh, Picasso, Michelangelo, Matisse and Georgia O'Keefe, All materials are provided for this fun opportunity to be a special part of the CAS classrooms.

We need four volunteers for each grade, the time requirement is manageable and flexible. You are guaranteed to learn and have a good time while you bring something fresh and stimulating to the classroom.

Please contact Rennae Hipple at 6hipples@gmail.com for more informationand to volunteer.

IA

Thanksgiving Pie Sale$15.00 each

• Freshly baked 9” pies from Delicious Orchards

• 6-8 generous servings

• No preservatives, keep refrigerated

Orders must be received by Wednesday, 11/13

Mail order forms and payment to Pat Wyer20 Grove St.,Madison, NJ 07940

or send in to school in an envelope marked “MHS Pie Sale”

• Please make checks payable to MHS Class of 2015

• Pick up orders at MHS on Tuesday, 11/26 from 3-5 pm

• Any order not picked up will be donated to a food pantry

Choose from:Apple Cherry Mince Pecan

Pumpkin

Central Avenue School PTO Meeting Minutes October 8, 2013

Page 1

Meeting Called to Order: 8:50 am by Wendy DeCaro, Co-President Attendees: Andrea Stevenson Stephanie Dalessio Susanna Spaziani-Testa Christine Kosakowski Sheryl Keane Mary McManus Jeanie DeVincenzo Lisa Crosta Lynn Macagnano Wendy DeCaro Denice Katz Jenn Engel Heather Allison Ruth Deane Jen Hewes Fleur Kennedy Haley Blanchard Karen Doherty Janet Herrera Jen Bauman Thomas Liss, principal

Guest Speakers: Board of Education Candidates: Leslie Lajewski, Johanna Habib and Tom Piskula

• 11/5 is Election Day - Please come out to vote. Candidates are non-partisan, so please look closely at ballot. Not listed under Democrat or Republican columns.

• Leslie Lajewski - Former CAS mom. Now 6th and 8th at MJS. Former PTO Treasurer & Asst Treasurer, BoxTops Chair among many other school volunteer positions. After time at CAS wanted to do more at a higher level, which drove her to run for the Board of Education. Former Career was as an attorney practicing labor, employment and human resources law on behalf of employers. Wrote and updated policies, handled litigation and union negotiations. No attorney or employment specialist on current Board. Well experienced in working with reorganizations, down-sizing and cutting budgets and trying to keep all happy. Wants to ease processes/procedures with Special Services. Experienced policy writer. Hopes to review and update current policies to make them more parent-friendly and easier to understand/navigate.

• Johanna Habib - TJS (5th) & MHS (9th) parent. Madison Music Association, TJS PTO Treasurer, chaired various fundraisers. After loss of state aid in 2010, she was inspired to get more involved. Need more parents involved in processes. Parent input is important. Lots of challenges and changes coming with less money to fund. Will work to find better ways.

• Tom Piskula - Will have a CAS student in 2014-15. Came to PTO meetings before his child was in CAS. Themes - Widen the Team with participation from the whole community and Spread the word by increasing the awareness of Madison's schools and the special qualities and high performance. Wanted a BoE that allows for outside input. Wants to broadcast meetings on cable or YouTube. Build relationships with taxpayers, which lacks because they do not vote on budgets.

• BoE is all volunteers - 1 elected from Harding and 7 from Madison. $40m budget. President and VP are point people for contact. Committees formed to handle various subjects.

• Top CAS issues as seen by the candidates: 1. JH - Oldest school building in town - infrastructure/maintenance 2. JH & LL - Growing enrollment/space issues 3. TP - Population diversity • Hopefully project list for after closing on GVR School will be presented at tonight's BoE meeting.

Teachers Reports: Submitted by Teachers and Read by Wendy DeCaro and Denice Katz

• Kindergarten - Has been busy this month in the areas of Language Arts and Math. In Language Arts

they are learning about letters and sounds, sight words, the beginning of sentence structure and handwriting (forming letters the "proper way" or "Kindergarten Way" as we like to say.) In Math we are working with numbers to 10. The students are writing numbers, recognizing the numbers and counting. They are using the terms "same" and "different" as it relates to math.

• First Grade - No Report Submitted • Second Grade - Focusing on Respect Week activities, Parent Visitation, weather unit in science, and

as usual, Math In Focus!! Fire Prevention coming up. • Third Grade - This week 3rd grade started the character unit in reading. The students began the

addition/subtraction chapter in math by reviewing their facts and learning how to use bar models. In

Central Avenue School PTO Meeting Minutes October 8, 2013

Page 2

writing the children are completing their personal narratives. In science they learned how important rocks are when tracing the Earth's history and how scientists theorized many millions of years ago there existed a supercontinent. And in social studies the classes identified the Equator and Prime Meridian and are learning how to read maps using latitude and longitude lines to locate places.

• Fourth Grade - In science the students have been exploring the properties of water. They have observed the interaction of water with different materials, the property of waster surface tension (because of this property they were able to put 30 drops of water on a penny!) and the movement of water on a slope. This unit is hands-on and the students look forward to the lessons.

• Fifth Grade - 5th Grade is trying to keep fish alive!!! Pond life, explorers, equations, realistic fiction novels with a social issues theme and personal narratives in writing.

• Phys Ed - PE started off the year with physical fitness testing for grades 3-5. K-2 learned and engaged in activities of spatial awareness. Grades 3-5 have now progressed into fitness stations using the rock wall, hurdles, medicine balls, jump ropes, exercise bands, and learning about how core exercises benefit the body. K-2 are also working in stations but are concentrating on throwing, catching and hand-eye coordination activities.

• Computers - Grade 1 is working on finding letters on the keyboard. They have been in Kid Keys playing Magic Mirrors to become familiar with where the letters are on the keyboard. Grade 2 typed seasonal poems in Word and used the formatting toolbar to center, change the font size and font style. The poems will be printed out, decorated, and displayed in class. Grade 3 will be spending most of the year learning how to keyboard (touch type). They were reminded of the home row and introduced to the letters e and i. Students should not be looking at their hands when they are typing. Grade 4 picked animals to research using enchantedlearning.com. They have been researching and creating the cover for their report. They used the drawing toolbar to add WordArt and text boxes to the cover of their animal report. Grade 5 continues to work n their Publisher brochure about the three early American colonies of Roanoke, Jamestown and Plymouth. We completed researching Roanoke (The Lost Colony) and are busy composing in Publisher.

• Library - Please thank the library parent volunteers for being helpful and organized so early in the school year. A "special" thank you to Mrs. Karen Doherty and Mrs. Raia Wielandy for co-chairing the Library Parent Volunteer Committee. We had a good turnout for our Parent/Library volunteer tea last month and our current volunteers have been training some new parents. Also, many thanks for continuing to support The Birthday Book Club. Our CAS students really enjoy picking out a new book in honor of their birthday thanks to parent donations. All our students are " back in the swing" of borrowing library materials, have reviewed our book care rules and finding a "just right" book.

• Music - No Report Submitted • Art - No Report Submitted

BOARD REPORTS

Co-Presidents' Report: Wendy DeCaro & Denice Katz

• Sold bracelets at Lunch to support TJ Martel Walk-A-Thon. $350 raised. • 10/18 Family Fun Night - Juggler and Grade Hot Dog and Snack fundraiser • 10/19 - Amazing Family Race - scavenger hunt around Madison. • Today we are selling KidStuff coupon Books and Car Magnets at the flag pole after school. • Book Fair volunteer sign up email going out today. Awaiting final approval of Rainbow Loom Bracelet

Contest. Class who donates the most bracelets wins a pizza party. Bracelets will be sold at the Book Fair. Tons of Toys offering 15% off Rainbow Loom purchases if you mention the CAS contest.

Co-Presidents Elect Report: Jen Bauman & Haley Blanchard

• Still need some International Holiday Grade Coordinators. All materials are pre-packed for you. You

just need to execute on the instructions - crafts, snacks, songs, stories. K is on 12/6 - Christmas & Hanukkah. 1st - Scandinavia; 2nd Spanish Speaking Countries; 3rd Germany & Poland; 4th Chinese New year; 5th Italy & France (France is new this year).

Central Avenue School PTO Meeting Minutes October 8, 2013

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First Vice Presidents' Report: Janet Herrera & Christine Kosakowski

• Spirit wear - CAS logoed merchandise sale will run 9/30-10/23. Mr. Liss will promote Spirit wear Days. • Stop & Shop A+ Rewards - need to re-register every year. Register self, friends, family, neighbors.

Runs 10/4-3/20. Will look into whether ShopRite has a similar program.

Second Vice Presidents' Report: Jeanie DeVincenzo & Jenn Wirth

• Encourage all to sign up for TeamSnap. This is our ONLY directory. Mr. Liss will create individual class lists with just first and last names. These can be distributed to all students in the class.

Third Vice Presidents' Report: Jen Gero & Jen Hewes

• No Report Submitted

Treasurers' Report: Karen Doherty & Fleur Kennedy

• No report Submitted

Secretary's Report: Jenn Engel

• Items Sent • Sympathy Cards Family of Tom Kazynski - owner of Countryside Studios • Get Well - 3rd grader with dislocated elbow

• The PTO meeting Minutes from September 29, 2013 were approved with motions by Denice Katz & Jen Bauman, respectively.

Administrator's Report: Tom Liss, Principal

• Girls restroom room latches have been fixed • Playground fence update - BoE has asked their Buildings & Grounds head to get one more quote. • No update on first floor screens for windows. • Looking into latches for Gym doors • Respect Week - Pledge, Morning Meeting Lessons, Bully-Free Zone, Boards with Hearts, Books

available to teachers to read to classes. Megan Figarella, Guidance Counselor and Anti-Bullying Chair. • 10/23 - Fire Prevention Week

Next PTO Meeting: Tuesday, January 7, 2013 - 8:45 am Meeting Adjourned: 10:25 am Respectfully submitted, Jenn Engel, Secretary