Folks! Memorial Day is upon us, and we think it’s looking like the kick-off to the Maplewood summer is a little more 2019 and a little less like the last two years! The pool is opening! The duck race is on (did you get your tickets?!)! And the weather looks like it’ll be perfect! There are some important dates you need to stick into your calendar, so read on…

Save The Dates

With our sights fully focused on the end of the school year, here is a reminder of some SUPER important dates:

May 27 - School Closed (give back day)

May 30 - School Closed (Memorial Day)

June 17 - School Closed (Juneteenth)

June 24 - Last Day of School

Access the calendar here.

Get Your Tuscan Tiger Walkinâ€™

Boy, are we excited! The first-ever Tuscan Walk-A-Thon will take place on June 2, 9:30am - 12:00pm when kids will hit the pavement, and enjoy some fresh air while raising money!

But we need your help. Right now 149 children are registered (thank you!) - let's get to 300 by Monday! Have you registered your Tuscan Tiger? You can do that here and once you do, you can start asking friends and family to make pledges.

This Walk-A-Thon is a vital way for us to raise funds to help the PTA continue to offer important events and initiatives - like assemblies and book fairs - to the entire Tuscan community.

There will be a live DJ, giveaways, and water. Two grades will walk at a time (for approximately 30 minutes). Parents are encouraged to volunteer.

Questions? Email amacwhannell2@gmail.com

July is for learning

Did you know that Tuscan has a summer program for current 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders? Here is the scoop: It’s taught by Tuscan Teachers and it’s free!

Held July 5-29 at Maplewood Middle School (8:30am - 12:30pm), content will include social-emotional learning, movement classes, art classes, coding classes, and science projects! And academic lessons will review and strengthen reading, writing, and math skills. Plus, there will be some acceleration math content for 5th graders!

Any questions? Reach out to Jennifer Thomas, Tuscan Lead Teacher jthomas@somsd.k12.nj.us

Memorial Day Parade Tradition: We NEED YOU

Our Tuscan parade leader is graduating with her 5th grader and we need a new Tiger Guardian in Charge!

When?Monday, May 30 at 8:30am

Where? Meet in the parking lot on West Parker to march through town and down Baker to Valley and Town Hall.

What?

Identify someone with a convertible, a driver, a Tuscan Tiger suit wearer (usually a 5th grader).
Publicize the event so we actually have a group to march!
Show up on the day of the event with Tiger tails to pin on, blue and gold pom-poms, and posters, which will be provided to you!

Interested?! Please email TuscanPTAPres@gmail.com

Calling families of current K and 1st grade students

We need some volunteers to organize and attend the in-person Kindergarten Orientation being held on June 10 this year. There will be multiple sessions and it will look different from years past, but we are so excited it will be in person! While the incoming K children are inside meeting with the teachers, their parents will be outside socializing. We plan to have some spirit wear for sale as well.

The ask: For four to six current K parents with flexibility to attend morning and/or afternoon sessions. It would be great to have four to six for the morning and also for the afternoon.

You'll be volunteering to join us on the lawn and purchase and bring some individually wrapped snacks and drinks (funded by the PTA) for the parents of the incoming K students.

The PTA has a small budget for this and once we identify parent volunteers, we can explain the budget and reimbursement process.

If you're interested, please email TuscanPTAPres@gmail.com.

Help make recess fun AND safe

Recess is fun! Recess is outside! And to ensure the safety of our kiddos, we are in need of parent/guardian volunteers to help make sure that recess is fun and safe. Interested? Sign up for next week here.

There are 25 more days of school

But it’s not too late to join the PTA! We’d love to have you. We’ve upgraded our platform designed for PTAs, which will make it easier for you to use and us to operate. Instructions for how to sign up can be found here, but even if you don’t join the PTA (please, please join!), it’s still important to sign up for an account on our new site so that you can have access to the information you’ll need.

SUBJECT: Tuscan PTA Newsletter 5/22