Clinton teachers awarded Achieve grants!

The 2012 Teacher Grants have been announced. This year’s recipients are:

• Jennifer Zalinski – “Tutto su Italia in Primo Grado-All About Italy in First Grade”
• Kathy Shelffo & Maria Muscarella – “Elmo…Reaching All Learners”
• Natasha Pomares, Marlene Cutrufello, Yolande Fleming & Paula Ortiz – “Technology Innovation iPad/iTouch Proposal”*
• Zobeida Lozada-Perez – “A Comer – Let’s Eat”

Congratulations Teachers and Students!

*Achieve was not able to completely fund all the approved grants. The “Technology Innovation iPad/iTouch Proposal” grant was not fully funded and is open for direct funding until January 31st.

In addition, there is a multi-school grant available for direct funding which will benefit Clinton: Robotics by CHS teacher Allan Tumolillo. To fund these grants and see the complete list of approved grants, visit achievefoundation.org. All donations are tax deductible.

The Achieve Foundation is an independent, volunteer-based non-profit organization that raises funds from private sources to enhance educational programs and facilities in the School District of South Orange and Maplewood. Achieve’s mission is to promote innovation and support the delivery of excellent public education to all students and educators in our community. As part of the mission, this year Achieve is awarding nearly $48,000 to teacher grants. Teachers from all nine schools within the district were invited to submit grant applications this fall. The applications approved reflect the commitment teachers in our district have to providing an exceptional educational experience to all our children.

Dear Clinton School Parents and Teachers,

This week, the South Orange/Maplewood Special Education Parent Teacher Organization is hosting a meeting with Director of Special Services for the School District, Dr. Pat Barker, who will talk about special ed. policies and the delivery of services this year, and then address audience questions. Dr. Barker speaks to this group once each year, and it is always one of our more interesting and informative meetings. If you are the parent or teacher of a special education student, we hope you will join us.

Date: Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012
Place: Administration Building, 525 Academy Street, Maplewood
Time: 7:30 – 9:00 PM

Thank you,
Jenny Lindstrom
Clinton Elementary Special Ed PTO Liaison

Need a good reason to host a party? Don’t miss out on the fun.

The Achieve Foundation’s 8th Annual Night of 100 Dinners is coming up on Saturday, March 3, 2012. As a dinner host or attendee, you’ll be joining friends and neighbors all over Maplewood and South Orange in promoting exemplary public education in our community. Whether you choose a casual gathering or an elaborate event, you’ll be helping to fund teacher and administrator grants, the Achieve volunteer tutoring program, the restoration of the Columbia High School auditorium, family support initiatives and more. Help us exceed our goal of 40 parties and 400 guests to raise $40,000 for students and educators in our district!

To learn more, please contact Eileen Neri at ecneri@verizon.net or 973.763.6244

Dear Families,

We hope 2012 is off to a great start! Since so many of us have been away during the break, Presidents’ Council offers this update on some district happenings, and some events you may want to take part in during the upcoming weeks.

1. Middle School Transformation Proposal

By now you should have received an email from the Board of Education regarding the Superintendent’s proposal for Middle School Transformation in SOMSD. If not, please visit http://www.somsd.k12.nj.us/somsd/cwp/view.asp?A=3&Q=309081 to view the email, which includes a link to the full proposal. In addition, the Board will hold a public forum on the proposal on Wednesday, January 11, 2012, at 8pm in the Columbia High School Auditorium (immediately following the Superintendent’s State of the District address at 7pm). The Board also invites community members to email comments and questions to mstransformation@somsd.k12.nj.us by 4:00 p.m. on Monday, January 9.

2. Charter School Update
Many thanks to everyone who has already sent emails, made calls, and signed petitions urging the State government to provide local communities with more control over whether or not charter schools are approved for their district.

The next 11 days are critical for this round of charter school applications, and for the Hua Mei proposal in particular. Please take a few minutes to do one or more of the following:

• Attend a rally planned by some district parents this Friday, January 6th at 4:30pm in the DeHart Community Center (120 Burnett Ave., Maplewood). Senator Richard Codey and Assembly Members Mila Jasey and John McKeon are scheduled to attend, along with many local families. For more info: http://maplewood.patch.com/articles/residents-plan-anti-charter-school-rally-for-friday

• Sign the online petition urging Commissioner Cerf to listen to the many South Orange and Maplewood residents who do not want our local tax dollars spent on this charter: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/somsdcharterconcerns2/
Signed already? Why not forward it to a few friends and ask them to sign!

• Call or write:

— Acting Commissioner Chris Cerf to urge him to reject the Hua Mei application: commissioner@doe.state.nj.us or 609-292-4450

— Senator Teresa Ruiz to urge her to bring the charter reform bills, especially SB2243 requiring local approval of new charter schools, to a vote: 973-484-1000 or e-mail by clicking on her name via this link: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/SelectRep.asp

3. District Meetings and Events in January 2012

Jan. 6 @ 4:30pm – Rally to Oppose Hua Mei Charter School and Urge Charter Reform @ DeHart Community Center, 120 Burnett Ave., Maplewood. Organized by Marian Raab of Maplewood. http://maplewood.patch.com/articles/residents-plan-anti-charter-school-rally-for-friday

Jan. 11 @ 7:00pm– State of the District Address followed by Public Meeting about Middle School Restructuring @ Columbia High School, 17 Parker Ave., Maplewood

Jan. 16 – ALL SCHOOLS CLOSED IN OBSERVANCE OF MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY

Jan. 16 @ 10:30am – “My Friend Martin” @ SOPAC, One SOPAC Way, South Orange. Presented by Marshall School PTA. Click to see Flyer.

Jan. 17 @ 7:30pm – Screening of “American Teacher” @ Seth Boyden, 274
Boyden Ave., Maplewood. Presented by the Elementary School PTAs and The Parenting Center Click to see Poster.

Jan. 18 @ 7:30pm – Board of Education Meeting, including proposal for changes to Columbia High School @ Board Office, 525 Academy Street, Maplewood

Jan. 26 @ 7:30pm – Helping Your Child Succeed in Math in Grades 3-5 @ Seth Boyden, 274 Boyden Ave., Maplewood. Presented by the Math Department and the LEAP to Success Committee of The Parenting Center

Jan. 31 @ 7:30pm – Helping Your Child Succeed in Math in Grades K-2 @ Clinton, 27 Berkshire Road, Maplewood. Presented by the Math Department and the LEAP to Success Committee of The Parenting Center

****************************
What is Presidents’ Council?

Presidents’ Council is an organization consisting of all PTA, PTO and HSA Presidents in the South Orange Maplewood School District, whose purpose is:

To discuss matters of interest to members including topics affecting the district as a whole, as well as individual schools; To provide an interchange of ideas and concerns among the presidents of various schools; To promote communication and a sense of unity among the schools.

WORDS bookstore in Maplewood is hosting a series called “Second Sundays,” held the second Sunday of the month, for children in the community with special needs to experience fun activities led by local providers of children’s programs. Each Sunday event will be divided into two sessions: 2:00 to 3:00 PM for children ages 3 to 10. And 3:30 to 4:30 PM for children 11 years old and up. The February event will be karate, in March: acting, in April: cooking, and in May: yoga. All events are free, but space is limited so please register by emailing info@wordsbookstore.com

* Parents/caregivers are expected to stay with their children for the duration of the event. WORDS is located at 170 Maplewood Avenue.

Thanks,
Jenny Lindstrom
jlindstromhome@verizon.net

Here is a link to the January Digital Backpack, which includes all of the community flyers being distributed by the school district for January 2012.

http://somsd.schoolwires.net/189610121793329650/cwp/view.asp?A=3&Q=308752&C=55173