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 | THE HARTSHORN HAPPENINGS
PTO Monthly Newsletter: Issue 3, November 17, 2017 | |
 | | 11/20 Picture Retake Day
11/21 Pie Pickup Day
11/22 Bridges
11/22 Early Dismissal
11/23 - 11/24 Thanksgiving Break
12/5 - 12/7 Book Fair
12/7 Annual Hartshorn Ladies Night Out
12/16 Caring Kids Annual Holiday Gift Drive
12/22 Early Dismissal
12/25 - 1/1 Schools Closed - Winter Recess
1/11 School-Wide Concert
2/8 & 2/9 HFactor
2/19 - 2/23 Schools Closed - Midwinter Recess
3/10 Hartshorn Science Expo
4/9 - 4/13 Schools Closed - Spring Recess |
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| “Feeling gratitude isn't born in us - it's something we are taught, and in turn, we teach our children.†–Joyce Brothers Dear Hartshorn Parents,
Our school’s theme is “The Power of One†and it takes one child to make a difference in someone else’s life. At Hartshorn School our children have shown gratitude by learning to give back in so many ways. It is the busiest time of the year for our PTO! Our Community Outreach Committee and Bridges have been hard at work coordinating the gift of giving. We have had the NJ Cares Annual Coat Drive, Halloween Candy Drive for the Troops, a UNICEF Collection, a Thanksgiving Food Drive, Pie donations to the Interfaith Food Pantry, and all of the Hartshorn students will participate in the Bridges program on November 22nd. In the beginning of December, we have our annual Book Fair in which you can purchase books for your children, as well as donate a book or two to your classroom teacher. Later in the month, each classroom will be embracing a foster child by purchasing warm clothes and their wish lists items for the holidays. Many of you also chose to sponsor an additional child or two as well. Another opportunity to help those in need is through Caring Kids. They are having their annual Holiday Party on December 16th right here at Hartshorn! They looking for families to sponsor children for the holidays. That is a lot of good will! We are so thankful for all of our parent volunteers who help teach our kids about the Hartshorn spirit of giving to those in need. THANK YOU for your generosity and have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. Sincerely, Loren Balady & Tamara Bigman PTO Co-Presidents |
| PICTURE RETAKE DAY Picture retake day will be on November 20th. Please bring your old photos to turn in. Also, please return unwanted photos and payments to classroom teachers ASAP.
HARTSHORN PTO PIE SALE
THANK YOU TO ALL THE FAMILIES WHO SUPPORTED OUR ANNUAL PIE SALE! LIMITED NUMBER OF PIES STILL AVAILABLE! For those who ordered pies, pie pick up will be on Tuesday, Nov. 21st from 2:00 - 4:00 pm. For those who missed out on the sale, please note that we will have a limited number of pies for sale ($20/pie) at the pie pick up table while our supplies last! Weather permitting, we will be outside in front of the school (otherwise we will be in the lobby.) Remember to come and get your pie! Any pies not picked up will be donated to the Interfaith Food Pantry of the Oranges. Thank you for your support and Happy Thanksgiving to all!
BRIDGES STUDENTS HELP PREPARE LUNCHES, TOILETRY KITS AND COLD WEATHER ITEMS FOR THOSE IN NEED On Wednesday, November 22nd, all Hartshorn students will support the Bridges program by preparing brown bag lunches, toiletry bags and cold weather items to be distributed to the needy. Bridges is a Summit-based organization that pairs the housed and the homeless. Its goal is to provide meals, food and clothing to homeless families in our community. Interested in helping out? Paula Caseiro-Pastore paulacpastore@gmail.com or Berylin Bosselman Berylin.Bosselman@gmail.com and get into the Thanksgiving spirit by helping out the less fortunate and making a difference. BOOK FAIR Our annual Hartshorn Book Fair will take place Tuesday December 5-Thursday December 7! It's a great opportunity for your child to select books, and purchase holiday gifts for family, friends and teachers. See below for more details about book fair events and the class visit schedule! Tuesday, December 5: Classroom Visits: 8:45AM -3:00PM Wednesday, December 6 Bagels and Books: 8:00 AM-8:40AM Classroom Visits: 8:45AM -3:00PM Books Before Bedtime: 6:00-8:00PM Thursday, December 7th: 8:30 AM-10 AM Class Visit Schedule Please try to join your children to shop during their specified time; or send them with money to purchase and/or donate books to their classrooms. Kindergarten Teacher Day Time
Geddis 12/6 10:10-10:45 am
Kenyon 12/6 1:00-1:35 pm
McGuire 12/5 9:30-10:05 am
Smalley 12/6 9:30-10:05 am 1st Grade Teacher Day Time
Barnhard 12/5 1:40-2:15 pm
O'Leary 12/6 8:50-9:25 am
Reinhold 12/5 12:20-12:55 pm
Stonberg 12/5 12:20-12:55 pm 2nd Grade
Teacher Day Time
Blake 12/5 1:00-1:35 pm
Hume 12/5 10:10-10:45 am
Jacobs 12/5 10:10-10:45 am
Lanzo 12/5 1:00-1:35 pm 3rd Grade
Teacher Day Time
Davies 12/5 2:20-2:55 pm
Panarelli 12/5 9:30-10:05 am
Pignataro 12/5 8:50-9:25 am
Renehan 12/5 2:20-2:55 pm
Suomela 12/5 8:50-9:25 am 4th Grade
Teacher Day Time
Bushwell 12/5 10:50-11:25 am
Giordano 12/6 9:30-10:05 am
Mustion 12/6 10:50-11:25 am
Small 12/5 10:50-11:25 am Please email Emily Schonbraun at erluskin@yahoo.com or Amanda Fiverson at amanda@fiverson.com with any questions.
ANNUAL HARTSHORN LADIES NIGHT OUT
Holiday Prep & Prosecco Calling all Hartshorn moms looking for a fun-filled night out. Please join us on Thursday, December 7th from 7:30pm until 10:30pm for chef’s demonstrations of fool proof ​hors d'oeuvres for the holiday season. We’ll meet at 12 Ferndale Road in Short Hills. There will be plenty of Prosecco, light bites, shopping, and more! Plus, the first 25 who sign up will receive extra tickets for a chance to win fabulous door prizes! Sign up via Membership Toolkit (starting November 15th). Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. Hope to see you there! For more info, please see the flyer or ask a chair, Melanie Rosenbaum, ​Melanie@RealShortHills.com​; Stephanie Weinstein, stephanieweinstein5@gmail.com​;​ ​&​ ​Emily​ ​Jaffe,​ ​​jaffe.emily1@gmail.com​.
CARING KIDS ANNUAL HOLIDAY GIFT DRIVE Caring Kids is proud to announce our 7th annual holiday gift drive and celebration. Once again, we have partnered with New Jersey Regional Day School in Newark. Every child in the school has significant special needs. Additionally, many of the families are dealing with significant financial hardships and food insecurity. Caring Kids is reaching out to our community to once again bring the joy of the season to so many children and families in need. If you would like to sponsor a child and provide them with gifts for the holidays, please email Sharon Cohen at sharonmcohen2@gmail.com. We are also collecting Shoprite and Walmart gift cards to help the families with basic necessities. And save the date for our holiday party. On Saturday, December 16th, from 12-2pm, you may bring the gifts to Hartshorn School for a festive gift wrapping, card making, chocolate treat dipping celebration. Please help Caring Kids spread our message of changing the world, one kid at a time, by sponsoring a child in need. SCHOOL-WIDE CONCERT Hartshorn's School-Wide Concert will take place on January 11, 2018 this school year. Our 10:00 AM performance is for K-2 Families, and our 1:30 PM performance is for 3-4 Families. The snow date for the concert will be Friday, January 12, 2018.
HFACTOR H Factor is coming! This year it will be on Thursday Feb. 8 and Friday Feb. 9. Save the Dates November 29th or 30th - Previews
January 3rd or 4th - Rehearsals
January 17th or 18th - Rehearsals
January 24th or 25th - Rehearsals
January 31st or February 1st - Tech Rehearsals
February 5th or 6th - Dress Rehearsals
February 8th or 9th – Show (Monday February 12th – Snow date)
Sign up at www.hartshornpto.membershiptoolkit.com from October 27th through November 27th 2017 Look for an e-blast soon with all other relevant information.
Questions? Email Shilpa Vaswani Kamat, Rohini Vira & Emily Chase Weinstein at hartshornhfactor@gmail.com. If you want to be more involved and help one of our H-Factor committees, please contact one of the chairs.
HARTSHORN SCIENCE EXPO The Science Expo Committee is recruiting parent volunteers to make this year’s science expo a success! The Science Expo is a one-day event which is a cross between the Science Olympiad and a hands-on science museum with grade-specific activities. At last year’s event, students took part in fun challenges and there were demonstrations involving Drones, Robots and Coding. This year’s expo is scheduled for Saturday, March 10, 2018. There will be a minimal number of meetings as we understand that you have busy lives inside and outside the home. The only requirement is enthusiasm – no scientific expertise is necessary! If you have any questions or would like to volunteer your time for the Science Expo, please email Chairs Marni Kelman, Liby Cielo and Elsa Thomas at Hartshornscienceexpo@gmail.com |
| AFTER SCHOOL ENRICHMENT Our ASE Fall program is well under way and we hope that all the students are enjoying the fun and enrichment the program provides. In the coming weeks we are going to send a survey asking for feedback on classes of interest and on the overall ASE program. In the meantime, we would love to hear your feedback on your children’s classes, the instructors, or the program itself so we can continually improve the program. Please email us at hartshornase@gmail.com if you have any suggestions or comments. As a friendly reminder, we want to emphasize how important it is to pick up your children promptly at the 4:00 pm dismissal. In addition, please remember to arrive at Hartshorn by 2:45 pm to meet the ASE Supervisor on your scheduled day to volunteer. The policy is for you to find a replacement if you are unable to volunteer. The volunteer list is now posted in Membership Toolkit in the Volunteering section in the PTO Corner tab, or you can access it at this link: https://hartshornpto.membershiptoolkit.com/assets/00709/Documents/2017-2018/PTO_Programs/ASE/ASE_Volunteers_Fall2017.pdf
BODIES IN MOTION Bodies in Motion is a structured before school exercise and activity program run by Mrs. McGowan and Mrs. Richardson, our Special Education Instructors. It is a free service open to all students from Kindergarten through 4th grade. Classes run from 7:50-8:25 am on select Mondays (see below). Sign up is weekly. Sign up with Mrs. Kapur at varianny.kapur@gmail.com by the Sunday night before each session to reserve a spot. Select Monday mornings from 7:50-8:25AM Nov 20, 27, Dec 4, 11, 18, Jan 8, 22, 29, Feb 5, 12, Mar 5, 12, 19, 26, Apr 2, 23, 30, May 7, 14, 21
BATTLE OF THE BOOKS Students will be provided with the books and they will be placed on teams. Each week, students will work on team-building activities and share their knowledge of the books they have read. The culmination of the program is "battle" of their knowledge of the books. Be on the lookout for sign-up information from Mrs. Small and Mrs. Mustion! Open to all 3rd and 4th graders. Tuesday mornings 8:00 am-8:30 am Session one:
Battle of the Books Competition: Monday, Nov. 20th 3:15-4:00 Session two: February 27, March 6,13, 20, 27, April 3
Battle of the Books Competition: Wednesday, April 4th 3:15-4:00
TAKE CHARGE Mrs. Reisler, our Basic Skills Instructor, works with students to develop organizational skills, time management, and study skills for students grades 3-4. Space is limited! Each student will be enrolled for one session with an option for a second session based on availability and need. Sign up through Mrs. Kapur at varianny.kapur@gmail.com Next 5-week session is on select Tuesdays from 3:00-3:55 Session 2: Jan 23, 30, Feb 6, 13, 27
KARATE Karate Club is back is a free club open to all Hartshorn students in Kindergarten through 4th Grade taught by me. Students will be taught Chito-Ryu Karate. Characterized by blocks, kicks, punches and strikes, Chito-Ryu is designed to instill confidence and self-discipline while preparing the mind and body to defend against aggressive behavior or assault. Classes meet on select Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 4:30-5:15 pm in the Hartshorn gym for all participants, and 5:15-5:45 for more advanced students. Schedule until January is as follows: Nov 28, 30, Dec 12, 14, 15, Jan 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25, 30 If you're interested in joining the club or would like more information, email Mrs. Kapur at varianny.kapur@gmail.com
MENTORING Selected high school students are coached and come to Hartshorn to help build strong social skills and improve academic performance with students in need. Under the guidance of high school teacher, Susan Dewoski, and Hartshorn teacher, Mrs. Mary Jane Reisler, the students develop self-confidence while forming a bond with a mentoring student. Space is limited. If interested, please contact Mrs. Mary Jane Reisler directly at maryjane.reisler@millburn.org Wednesdays 3:00-3:45 - Nov 29, Dec 6, 13, 20, Jan 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, Feb 7, 14, Mar 7, 21, 28
CHESS TEAM The Top 14 chess players from our school-wide qualifying tournament held on October 6th will participate in the NJ C.H.E.S.S. League, a consortium of local schools that play in tournaments throughout the year. Team matches will be on the following Wednesdays (dates subject to change) after school.
11/29/17 Home -Glenwood 2/28/18 Away -Chatham 12/13/17 Home –South Mountain 3/28/18 Away -Wyoming 1/10/18 Away –Lincoln-Hubbard 4/4/18Away -Glenwood 1/17/18Away -Chatham Day School5/2/18 Home-Deerfield CHANGE AGENTS Students make a difference! Our current group will continue work from last year and then a new group will be offered the opportunity to become involved mid- year. A notice will be sent then. Open to all grades. Space is limited – 12 students. Here are our focus areas: Environmental Awareness – the students will work with Mr. Frattini on being environmentally conscientious. The groups will discuss recycling, beautification of the grounds and community, conservation, and ways to be healthy. Ethics In Action –the students will discuss issues, create scenarios commonly encountered at the elementary school level and role-play these. Our Power of One theme and our steps to conflict resolution will be infused into the skits. These skits will be created, written and performed by students for students. Random Acts of Kindness- the students will be engaged in making the world a better place through anonymous, random acts of kindness.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Mrs. Jill Canastra A retired guidance counselor from Millburn Middle School, Mrs. Canastra volunteers each week and will serve as a resource for students, teachers, and parents. I worked with Mrs. Canastra at the middle school and she is top-notch! Mrs. Canastra is also former elementary school teacher. Her experiences as a mother and grandmother coupled with her professional experiences make her a perfect match for us. We’re extremely fortunate to have a knowledgeable, willing and personable professional! Mrs. Emily Coughlin Our school psychologists who help facilitate lunch bunches and assist with implementing the 4 steps to conflict resolution and our character initiatives. Mrs. Coughlin will also be assisting with implementing character education and conflict resolution lessons in classrooms and into practice! Mrs. Mary Jane Reisler Hartshorn’s “Strategies Intervention†instructor is a master teacher. She is involved in Mentoring, our Take Charge program and our character initiatives. At times, Mrs. Reisler, Mrs. Canastra, Mrs. Brooks, Mrs. Coughlin and/or I may invite students to meet, have an recess game in the gym, or have a lunch-bunch in order for us to discuss our character initiatives, to work on skills necessary for successful conflict resolutions, or to just bring together a group of friends. This is completely voluntary and not punitive in any way, nor are students obligated to participate. This approach has students invested in "doing the right thing" since they are involved in the conversation about our school and the development of the ideas. All this falls under our school wide theme of The Power of One. THREE EASY WAYS TO HELP HARTSHORN EARN MONEY
If everyone can do these few things we can earn money to enhance the education of our children at Hartshorn School!
These are some very easy ways to really help our school! Please take a few minutes to register your cards, go to Amazon Smile and cut BoxTops!
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| COMMUNITY OUTREACH HARTSHORN HAS A BIG HEART! As Thanksgiving approaches, we are so grateful to you, Hartshorn families, who have supported our community outreach efforts SO generously in the past month: - Coat Drive: With your help, we collected more than 50 gently-used coats, which will be distributed to those in need through Jersey Cares. For more details on the annual drive and other drop-off locations, visit: www.jerseycares.org.
- Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF: Hartshorn students and families raised more than $500 by trick-or-treating for UNICEF! This global tradition provides for emergency relief efforts, vaccinations, clean water, food, housing and schools around the globe. Thanks to Mrs. Kulpan and the teachers for their support, to all of the children who participated so eagerly, and to Doris Cheng and Elizabeth Dooley for submitting the donations.
- Halloween Candy Drive for Operation Shoebox: In just 3 days time, Hartshorn children and families filled more than 150 pounds of Halloween candy, which will be sent to troops serving overseas. Thanks to Kristi Gerstel and Elizabeth Dooley, who helped box the candy, and to Dr. Christel Hummert, a local orthodontist, who collected/delivered our candy to Operation Shoebox NJ.
- Thanksgiving Food Drive: Thank you all for contributing food and cash donations to the district-wide Thanksgiving food drive! Boxes with all of the non-perishable items needed for the traditional meal, (and gift cards for the fresh items), will be distributed next week to local families in need. Together, the Hartshorn community filled 32 boxes! Thanks to the Student Government and the “Change Agents†teams for helping to sort the food during recess and to all of the parents who helped as well!
- Holiday Outreach: our biggest project of the year! Thank you to all who have “embraced a foster child†this holiday season! Envelopes/labels containing the name, age and “wish list†ideas of a child in foster care through the NJ Department of Children & Families, will be distributed before Thanksgiving. Please shop with your children to encourage the spirit of giving! Wrapped gifts should be delivered to Hartshorn on December 7 or 8. Thanks to Kristi Gerstel and Sherri Sparaga for leading this huge effort, to Robin Grapkowsi for her support behind the scenes, and to all of the teachers and class parents who helped our children participate more fully in this outreach.
Please contact Community Outreach co-chairs, Elizabeth Dooley (eadooley25@gmail.com), Kristi Gerstel (kristigerstel@gmail.com) or Sherri Sparaga (sherrisparaga@gmail.com) with any questions.
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| LAST MONTH IN PICTURES
HALLOWEEN KINDERGARTEN AND 1ST GRADE | |
| HALLOWEEN 2ND AND 3RD GRADE | |
| THANKSGIVING Members of Hartshorn's Student Government and "Change Agents" team helped sort and pack 32 boxes of non-perishable foods for the annual Thanksgiving food drive. | |
| Thank You To Our Volunteers: Every year we are able to bring you a wide array of programs because of all the behind the scenes work that our volunteers put in to make each event successful. In this section we attempt to acknowledge and thank volunteers who have worked actively in the past month. Besides these names, there are many others who have given their time and energy to making our school better. We thank you all. The Caring Kids Events: Sara Singer and all the caring kids volunteers
MMAC Chair (Red Ribbon Week): Nidhi Thakur
Community Outreach Chairs: Elizabeth Dooley, Kristi Gerstel, Sherri Sparaga and the entire committee for their hardwork this month on all of our numerous outreach events!
Pie Sale Committee: Tamara Bigman, Katie Freyman and Sherri Resnick
Habitat Committee: Rose Barghout, Laurie Moon, Tanya Siegel, Vicki Solomon and Analia Bongiovani for The Habitat recess club
General Store: Ali Seeger, Kristina Bunch and Sue Motroni
Publicity: Emily Chase Weinstein ASE Chairs: Shweta Tunk, Marni Kelman, Feisal Alibhai and Kristi Gerstel Membership toolkit: Yair Naveh and Romina Padhi
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|  THE EDUCATION FOUNDATION OF MILLBURN AND SHORT HILLSSAVE THESE DATES!!!
FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2018 – MILLBURN SCHOOLS ROCK
FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2018 – MILLBURN FILM FEST Attention Hartshorn School Parents! Over the last three years, the Ed Foundation GIFTED OVER $45,000 TO HARTSHORN SCHOOL including: - Sound Systems for classrooms
- Sensory Smart Classroom project
- Battle of the Books program
- Listening Centers
- Classrooms in Motion program
- Stand Up for Our School curriculum
- Smart Boards
- STEM-sational Robots
- Poetry Alive program
- Smart PE Interactive Response program
- Buddy Bench for the playground
The Education Foundation of Millburn wants to grant YOUR Principal’s wish! The Principal’s Wish list is exactly what it sounds like. Our school budgets are so restrictive that it is difficult to ensure that every building has what it needs to fulfill our children’s basic education. We know that the Board of Education struggles annually to make these difficult choices to retain our excellent teachers, balance class sizes and maintain existing programs. The Ed Foundation exists to provide financial support for innovative and progressive improvements that enrich the academic experience for all of our children. With this goal in mind, the Ed Foundation has gone to our eight building principals and asked them, “If you had one wish for something to add to your school right now, what would it be?
EFMSH gave the same budget parameter to each principal, waited for their wish……and HERE IT IS! Hartshorn School would like is an FM sound system for one classroom. Some studies show that 25% of what a teacher says in a class never reaches student’s brains. In the back of the classroom, the amount of missing information can approach 40%. Young students have immature language skills and often lack the vocabulary to “fill in the blanks†when they miss a word here and there. By ensuring that a teacher’s voice sounds clear to the students no matter where they sit, the audio technology makes a significant impact on the attentiveness of children in the classroom. Mr. Frattini’s hope is that eventually, Hartshorn School will have all of its classrooms outfitted with FM sound systems. We thank Principal Frattini for coming up with this request that will truly make a difference in a classroom. So to quote a brilliant 20th century writer who coined the phrase, “Immediate gratification takes too long,†let’s raise these funds right here, right now, this November, to make Principal Frattini’s wish a reality. Please click on this link or paste it into your browser to visit the Ed Foundation website to make your donation TODAY! https://www.edfoundationmillburnshorthills.org/wish-list Funds raised at our 4th Annual Evening of Honor for the Principal’s Wish list will be added to your donations. Please help us support OUR PRINICPALS, OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR CHILDREN!!!!!
In this, the 25th anniversary of the Ed Foundation, it is clear that MORE THAN EVER, your contributions are needed to ensure that progressive and innovative programs can flourish in our EIGHT schools.
You can visit our website and find out more about donating and volunteering at: https://www.edfoundationmillburnshorthills.org
SNOWFLAKE PARADE Downtown Millburn presents the 34th annual Snowflake Parade on Sunday, December 3rd at 1:30 PM. On Millburn Avenue between Holmes and Spring Streets. For more information visit close.by/millburn
For event details, merchant directory, parking info and special offers
www.downtownmillburn.org
MILLBURN - SHORT HILLS YOUTH BASEBALL (MSHYB)
Attention Township Boys & Girls: It’s time to register for Spring Baseball! Registration for the 2018 Millburn-Short Hills Youth Baseball season is underway! 1st Grade and Up Boys and Girls Welcome!! Season is from April-June Registration Deadline = December 9th Visit www.MSHYB.com to register!
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