Thomas Jefferson School Newsletter May 2025

Thomas Jefferson School

September 2025

To Our Thomas Jefferson School Families,

Happy new school year to all of our families. We are now one month into a new school year, and it has been a smooth start. As TJ’s proud Principal, I can honestly say that I feel beyond fortunate to be able to serve the Rockaway Borough students, families, and the community. Ms. Dennison, Mr. Onischuk, and I met with all our students to welcome them to the 2025-2026 school year. We spoke about taking pride in our school and being responsible and respectful learners and leaders, both within our school and outside of our building. We also reviewed the many extracurricular activities we offer here at Thomas Jefferson School. I hope everyone gets involved and finds their niche and passion!

Also, as we begin the school year, please review the following important information so that you are in the loop and informed:

Attendance, discipline, and grades are all recorded through RealTime and are available to view on the parent portal.
Students in grades 6-8 can access the student portal to view and track their grades.
As a reminder, photo identification is required when picking up your child from school.
Student absence reporting should be entered through the parent portal before 8:10am on the day of the absence. Calling the main office remains an option.
The RealTime Parent App, available for free, allows parents to easily access the parent portal from their mobile device.

Upcoming Events

Beyond the Bell Homework Assistance Program: The program, designed to provide additional assistance to our students, will be up and running prior to the start of November.
HSA: Please consider joining as a member of the HSA and attending monthly meetings at your convenience. Our HSA is a great group of parents who work hard to create community events and raise money — all of which benefits our students.
Extra-Curriculars: Fall sports are underway, and our teams are competing well! Clubs will begin in the first few weeks of October. See our website for more information.
Picture Day will be on October 14th. Dress your best!
HSA Sponsored Book Fair - TJ students will be attending the book fair on the mornings of October 15th and 16th at AOG.
Talent Show - will be on the evening of October 17th. All TJ students are welcome to attend! All students attending must be present in school that day. Rehearsals will begin on October 7th.
SGO Halloween Dances - Friday - 10/24 (Students must be present in school to attend)
Grades 4 and 5 will take place between 3:00pm and 4:30 pm.
Grades 6-8 will be held in the evening from 6:00pm-8:00pm.
Students have been empowered to show off their voices and confidence by signing up for and participating in the reading of morning announcements. Please encourage your child to sign up!
Halloween Parade - weather permitting, the parade will begin on Friday, 10/31 at 2:00pm in the back field area for grades 4 and 5.
October has a number of recognition weeks, many of which are accompanied by various events. An October events calendar was emailed to all families on 9/28.
Respect Week - October 6-10
Peace in our Schools Awareness Week - October 13-17
Red Ribbon Week - October 20-24

Thank you all for partnering with our school and staff to benefit each child! Please reach out with any questions.

Leon Samuels

Principal

Nurses Corner

Welcome back!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable summer!

Reminder to all parents.

If your child needs to take medication during the school day, whether it be prescription or over the counter a signed medical form must be signed by the prescribing healthcare provider. These forms are found on the District website, or you can request one be sent home with your student. All medications must be brought in by an adult and in its original packaging.

Any students who need Inhalers must have a signed Asthma Action Plan by the prescribing healthcare provider. The inhaler must be brought into and kept in the Health Office unless the prescribing healthcare provider states the student is capable of self carrying and self administering the Inhaler.

EpiPens must have a signed healthcare provider order and the EpiPen must be brought to the Health Office.

If your child needs cough drops a note from the parent can be sent in with the cough drops and kept in the Health Office.

Remember breakfast is the most important meal of the day, please make sure your child eats breakfast prior to coming to school and they also should have a refillable water bottle.

Last but not least if your child is not feeling well, please do not send them to school. If they have a temperature of 100.0 they MUST be kept home for 24 hours and must be fever free for 24 hours. If your child vomits during the night they must be kept home for 24 hours with no vomiting.

If you need to reach me - the best way is through email: lsavercool@rockboro.org or by leaving a message on my office phone # 973-625-8603 x 305.

I hope everyone has a great 25-26 school year.

Thank you,

Mrs. Savercool

*Welcome New & Transferred Staff*

Mrs Mihaela Tuluca

After 14 incredible years in the Rockway district, I’ve made the leap from 2nd grade to 4th grade ELA! I can’t wait to dive into this new adventure and have a blast with my new students! Let’s make this year unforgettable!

Ms. Rosely Caliendo

I was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and I moved to the United States at the age of 9 with my mother and my brother. I have 2 daughters, Leah and Julia, both former students of Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. After being a Paraprofessional for the last 5 years, I decided I wanted to pursue a teaching in World Languages. I speak 3 languages, Spanish, English, and Italian. I am so excited to be teaching my native language of Spanish to the children this year! We will learn and grow together. I am looking forward to a great year and getting to know all of the kids.

Mr. Neal Healy

Kindergarten-8th Grade Health & Physical Education

Hello, my name is Neal Healy and I am excited to be a part of the Rockaway Boro School Community at both Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. This is my third year in the district having been an instructional substitute at TJ the past two years. I spend my free time coaching, officiating all sports, fishing & kayaking with my wife. I am a huge fan of the NY Mets, the NY Jets and the NJ Devils. I also have a 6 year old dog named Willow. I love what I do and am looking forward to another wonderful year with our students!

From the Guidance Office...

Student Picture Day Is Coming!

Tuesday, October 14th

Forms have been sent home with students and photos may also be ordered online at: mylifetouch.com

From Miss Selikoff...

Advanced Lego Club Sign Up:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdcSwLBbY86_mv8xTuwI6LWFKRXHMiHmIA7vlhlxAmLxaJYRQ/viewform?usp=header

Community Service Club Sign-ups:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfIG96I26pDUFZ1MLE3mlXjsdnKpnGx3grZ9E1Sl4XOHlA_mA/viewform?usp=header

From Mrs. Love and Mr. Bova...

Welcome back! Band Lessons are meeting at this point. Full Bands will begin meeting next month and info will be shared soon. Band students should check in to Mrs. Love’s Google Classroom regularly. Feel free to contact Mrs. Love at hlove@rockboro.org

Jazz/Stage Band Info

Jazz band will begin in October. It will meet before school Thursday mornings. Experienced instrumentalists in grades 6-8 are invited by audition and students need not be in the band program currently. Let Mr. Bova or Mrs. Love know if you play piano/keyboard, drumset, guitar, or any other band instrument and would like to audition for Jazz/Stage Band.

TJ District Performance Dates and Events can be found by clicking the link.

Exciting program happenings coming up include:

The TJ Talent Show (See below)
Vocal District Music Day (gr 7&8) w/ a 1 pm performance Morris Hills HS
Instrumental District Music Day (gr 7&8) w/ a 1 pm performance Morris Knolls HS
Morris Hills Marching Band Middle School Band Day

Talent Show Info

This year's annual TJ Talent Show is on! Want to show off your hidden skill or ability? Sign up and take the stage… the spotlight awaits!

All acts showcasing something cool about you are welcome: singing, playing instruments, magic shows, dancing, DJ-ing, artwork showcases with spoken poetry, science experiments, and more! If interested, sign up for an audition time slot on the form outside of the music room; sign-ups starting in October (or sooner!)

Auditions will be held in the music room on Oct. 7th, 8th, and 9th. Auditions will be limited to 5 minutes. If accepted into the Talent Show, be sure to come to at least one rehearsal on either Oct. 14th, 15th, or 16th. The Talent Show will be at 7PM, Friday of that week, October 17th.

Get ready for a showcase of our school's talent!

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