Thomas Jefferson School Newsletter September 2024

Thomas Jefferson School

September 2024

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 2024-2025 school year. We spoke about taking pride in our school, and being responsible and respectful learners and leaders, both here in 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 now recorded through RealTime and are available to view on the parent portal.
Students in grades 6-8 can access the student portal and keep track of their grades.
As a reminder, photo identification is required when picking up your child from school.

Upcoming Events

Beyond the Bell Homework Assistance Program: This program is based on teacher recommendation to start but parents may always call the Main Office for more information on this program. The program 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 comes back to 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 October 15th. Dress your best!
Talent Show - will be on the evening of October 18th. All TJ students are welcome to attend! All students attending must be present in school that day.
SGO Halloween Dance - open to grades 6-8 will be held the evening of Friday, October 25th. All students attending must be present in school that day.
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!
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 7-11
Peace in our Schools Awareness Week - October 14-18
Red Ribbon Week - October 21-25

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 a restful and enjoyable summer break.

Reminder to all parents if your child has Asthma I will need an Asthma Action Plan and Inhaler, if your child has any food allergies and needs an EpiPen I will need doctors orders and the EpiPen sent in with your child. If your child needs any tylenol, advil, motrin or any other over the counter medications I will need a doctor's order and the medication must be in an unopened bottle brought in by an adult. Any daily medications also need a doctor's note and the medication must be brought in by an adult. All forms can be found on the Rockaway Borough website under Thomas Jefferson - look on left side of page you will see Forms & Links - click there and this will bring you to the forms - scroll down and you will find the following:

EpiPen Permission Form

Asthma Action Plan

Medication Permission Form

These forms must be filled out by parents and the doctor and submitted with the medication to me.

If a student wants cough drops during the school day - I will need a parent note and cough drops need to be left in the nurse's office.

If a student is injured either at school or at home and needs crutches, a walking boot or slings for the upper extremities I will need a doctor's note and they must be cleared prior to returning to PE/recess or sports.

Remember breakfast is the most important meal of the day, please make sure your child eats breakfast prior to coming to school.

Last but not least if your child is not feeling well, please do not send them to school. If a child has 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 email: lsavercool@rockboro.org or office # is 973-625-8603 x 305.

I hope everyone has a great school Year.

Thank you,

Mrs. Savercool

WELCOME TO OUR NEW STAFF

5th gr. ELA: Hello, my name is Shawn Robertson, and I’m thrilled to be a part of the Thomas Jefferson Middle School community! This is my first year teaching, and I couldn’t be more excited to be in this role. Prior to teaching, I was a paraprofessional at TJ about three years ago. I’m also a huge Philadelphia Eagles fan, and outside of school, I stay busy coaching basketball and baseball. My wife and I have three wonderful kids who keep us on our toes. I’m truly loving what I do and look forward to a fantastic year ahead!

4th/5th gr.: Hello! My name is Mrs. Duker, and I am excited to be part of the TJ community this year. I co-teach math for 4th and 5th grade, and I also teach 4th grade resource ELA. This is my first year at TJ and my second year in the district, having previously taught 2nd and 3rd grade resource ELA at Lincoln.

With eight years of teaching experience across multiple districts in New Jersey and Florida, I am passionate about helping every child learn and grow. I hold a Master's in Teaching from Montclair State and believe that with the support from families and staff, all children can reach their full potential.

When I'm not in the classroom, you can find me hiking or going on adventures with my husband and our dog, or enjoying time at the beach with family and friends. I look forward to a wonderful school year together at TJ!

6th gr Math: "Hello Rockaway Borough! My name is Eric Hedlund and I teach 6th grade mathematics. My teaching philosophy is that a warm and positive environment motivates students to be the best they can be. This is my third year teaching math, but my first year at Thomas Jefferson. I went into teaching because some of my best influences in my life were my own teachers and I hope to be that positive influence for others. Some things I like:

- Baseball and sports statistics

- The performing arts (music, dance, theater)

- Television and film production

- My cat named Bert

From the Guidance Office ....

From Miss Selikoff....

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdDiwDyomWEAqwN4JvvgGLYcCXGDtdfodhzAHGD7-LLuHLEKQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdZm7oPSu5vUIsYwsmfwL0oufb00r4o0IhzSohmFhzBTp1tjw/viewform?usp=sf_link

From Mrs. Love and Mr. Bova...

Welcome Back!

Band Lessons are meeting at this point. Full Bands will begin meeting before school at the end of next month- 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 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 know if you play piano/keyboard, drumset, guitar, or any other band instrument and would like to audition for Jazz/Stage Band. You may email Mr. Bova at nbova@rockboro.org

There will be a District Vocal Music Concert at Morris Knolls High School on Tues. Oct 22 at 1 pm and a District Instrumental Music Concert at Morris Hills High School on Thur. Oct 24 at 11 am which are open to the public. These students include some of our TJ Band and Chorus students.

Talent Show Information

This year's annual TJ Talent Show is on!

Want to show off your hidden skill or ability?

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. 8th, 9th, and 10th. 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. 15th, 16th, or 17th. The Talent Show will be at 7PM, Friday of that week, October 18th.

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

2024-2025 SCHOOL CALENDAR

From the HSA....

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Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year!

We are excited to being a new fundraising season. Last year, we were able to donate communication folders for students, outdoor recess equipment, ice pops and water for Field Day, fund one Morris Hills High School student a $1,000 scholarship, beautification for the fall and spring, donate towards the 8th grade fund. We were also able to celebrate the teachers during Teacher’s Appreciation Week with a food trucks, massages, breakfast, $1,500 to redo both TJ and Lincolns Teachers break room, replenish snack baskets for staff throughout the year and treat teachers to coffee or dinner on late nights at the school. We fulfilled multiple mini grants from staff! Additionally, the RBHSA provided staff with an Amazon gift card at the beginning of the year to use towards their classroom needs and did so again this year, including our amazing para professionals and support staff.

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Stay tuned for our future events;

The Parent Social: Friday, October 4th

The Winter Wonderland: Saturday, December 7th

The Valentines Sweetheart Social: Date TBA

The Annual Tricky Tray: Friday April, 25th

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Please consider joining us for our next HSA meeting which will be held on Wednesday,

October 9th, in the TJ cafeteria at 7:30 pm

Rockaway Borough Home and School Association

Co-Presidents - Jaclyn Long & Kimberly Merrick

Treasurer - Danielle Wheelock