Seth Boyden Demonstration SchoolClick on a headline to read the full post
A special thanks to the PTA for organizing a lovely Seth Boyden First Day of School Meet & Greet! Thank you to all the families for showing up for our school and for taking the time to volunteer for so many activities!
The PTA is still looking for volunteers! Please sign up here.
Our new PTA executive board was elected at last Monday’s PTA meeting. Thanks to these parents for stepping up to take on these important roles for our school community!
But there are still important roles to fill, including SEPAC liaison, auction chair, OLC chair, and book fair chair — there are roles to suit all skills/time availability. Email ptapresident@sethboyden.com to learn more about how you can help.
School Photos are coming June 7 & 8! — REGISTER TODAY
When: June 7 & 8 (your child’s teacher will email you the day closer to picture day)
Where: In the garden at Seth Boyden
Register: Use this link https://bit.ly/3eV2o98 (password Sethboyden21) to register by June 6.
IMPORTANT: Remember you need to register for your child(ren) to be photographed even if the photos are being taken during the school day. When registering, please use the full name your child used to register for school (ex: use “James,” not “Jimmie”)
Volunteers needed!
Please sign up if you can help with the school picture days of June 7 & 8:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E044EAAAD22AAFD0-picture
We are so excited to be able to offer individual student portraits this year! … In our gorgeous, blooming Seth Boyden garden!
In-person students will be photographed during school hours.
All families who have remained virtual will be able to come in the afternoon for photos if they wish by signing up for a time slot here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e044eaaad22aafd0-school
(Group class photos will not be offered this year.)
All in-person students are photographed. If you do not place an order by June 6 you will receive a proof. You can then place an order using the proof information provided. Please note: there will be a $7 shipping fee for orders placed after picture day.
More information about the photographer Peter Collura is on the attached flier.
CDC guidelines to ensure a safe picture day include: working outdoors, social distance from students and staff, masks on photographers, and sanitizing picture area as needed.
South Orange & Maplewood School District in partnership with the Township of Maplewood, the Parenting Center, and its partners are providing various options for food support over the summer months.
The District’s summer breakfast and lunch are provided through the USDA Summer Meals Program in coordination between Township of Irvington and Township of Maplewood. Free breakfast and lunch Grab ‘n’ Go meals for kids start tomorrow, June 29, and continue through August 21, Monday to Friday, 9 am – 11 am at Maplecrest Park, between Essex Road and Boyden Parkway. Details are available on this flyer from the district, in English, Spanish and Creole, which summarizes local food support programs and information.
South Orange & Maplewood School District, in partnership with the Township of Maplewood, South Orange Village, the Parenting Center and its partners, are providing various options for food support over the summer months.
Download these flyers for more information in English, Spanish and Creole.
The PTA Needs YOU to Help Fill Next Year’s Board!
Amidst all the disruptions and current school closure due to Covid-19, we still need to plan for next year. We’re hopeful that the Seth Boyden community will be together again soon and look forward to having a strong board to begin the new school year.
These four positions need to be filled by election:
How do I find out more about these jobs? To learn more about what these positions involve, please reach out to this year’s officers or board members: ptapresident@sethboyden.com, treasurer@sethboyden.com, or you can find other contacts on www.sethboyden.com.
How does the election process work? A Nominating Committee was elected at the March PTA meeting. If you’d like to run for President, VP, Secretary, or Treasurer, or if you know someone who you think would be a great candidate, please download the Nominating Form and email it to the Nominating Committee at sbnews@sethboyden.com.
We are excited to announce that Seth Boyden’s fifth graders will be presenting Disney’s Aladdin Jr. from June 12 to June 14.
Please join the PTA in welcoming our new director, Vanessa Jones! Ms. Jones’s experience ranges from performing on Broadway to teaching and directing students at NJPAC, and we are thrilled to have her at Seth Boyden! Fifth-grade families can expect to receive information about the show and auditions in the coming weeks. This year’s production will have action, adventure, and maybe even a rapping genie! Please encourage your students to participate.
As always, we need lots of help to make the show a success! We have volunteer opportunities for everyone—whether you have always wanted to know what goes on backstage, or you’re a theater expert hoping to share your knowledge and skills with the next generation. There are jobs big and small, and all are important for this year’s fifth graders to shine!
Please visit this signup genius link or contact Heather Heinnickel at h.heinnickel@gmail.com to tell us how you can help!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year – the Seth Boyden Book Fair!
The book fair will be held in the upper gym from Monday, Dec. 2, to Thursday, Dec. 5. We will be open during school hours and will reopen for shopping during evening parent-teacher conferences on Wednesday and Thursday. This is a time for adults and accompanied children to browse and shop. Children may not attend alone.
We will once again offer a selection of bargain books starting at $1, with most no more than $3, in addition to our main book fair titles. We encourage adults to send a few dollars with your student on their class shopping days (see below).
We are also looking for volunteers to help students create wish lists and fill orders during the fair, and for a few bakers to provide breakfast items for our teachers to enjoy during the teacher preview on Monday. It’s fine if you can’t commit to an entire slot, just indicate your availability in the comments. Book Fair Volunteers Sign Up Genius
We have one copy of most books and can’t guarantee availability. Please note bargain books must be purchased with cash.
Questions? Please contact the book fair co-chairs, Kristin O’Connor (Kristin_M_OConnor@yahoo.com) and Susan Holtz (divagating@gmail.com).
Monday, 12/2
Tuesday, 12/3
The first day of school is almost here and, before the big day, the PTA needs your help to assemble the first day packets from 9:30-12 on Wednesday, Sept. 4. These packets contain all of the documents that the kids will bring home with them on the first day of school.
To get this done we need all hands on deck! Come for 2 hours or 15 minutes… every little bit helps! It’s a good chance to get the inside scoop on the year ahead and a great time to catch up with other Seth Boyden families.
Coffee will be provided and your kids are welcome to come and play on the playground. The PTA hopes to see you there! Sign Up
Updated March 31, 2019
The PTA is looking for volunteers to manage the following events. These will not happen unless someone steps up, so please consider volunteering! The appreciation luncheons for teachers and lunch aides are particularly important!
Our auction night is always a blast, and we’re upping the ante with this year’s theme — “Casino Royale.” Please mark Feb. 9 in your calendar and buy your tickets now for our most exciting auction ever!
We are currently looking for donations, sponsors, and volunteers, including bartenders and blackjack dealers. If you are interested in contributing in any way, please fill out the appropriate form or email Rebecca Barbacci and Lauren Byers at sethboydenauction@gmail.com.
In appreciation of the Seth Boyden staff, the PTA will be giving every staff member a beautiful box of delicious cookies for the holidays!
In order to make this event successful, we need as many homemade and store-bought cookies as possible, so please consider contributing treats to make the holidays brighter for all of those who support and nurture our children!
Kindly drop cookies off in the SB auditorium at the start of school this Thursday, Dec. 20, or send them to school with your student. A PTA representative will pick them up from the classroom.
We are also looking for five volunteers to help package and deliver the boxes of cookies from 8:45am-12pm that day. (Hopefully it won’t take that long!) Sign up to volunteer on Sign Up Genius!
Our Fall Book Fair is coming up from Dec. 4-7.
Hours of Operation
Tuesday: 9am-3pm
Wednesday: 9am-3:30pm
Thursday: 9am-3:30pm
6:30-8:30pm (Family Fun Night)
Friday: 9-11am
Please Note: Student shopping days and time slots went home in backpacks last week.
Online Orders
Online ordering is available until Dec. 12th at scholastic.com/fair. Follow the shopping instructions so that Seth Boyden gets credit for your purchase. You can also preview the books on your child’s Wish List by looking at them on the website. Thank you for supporting our school!!!
Volunteer
We need your help! If you are able to volunteer during the fair, please let us know. Any amount of time is helpful and appreciated. Email HJSLAS@gmail.com with your availability. NOTE: we can REALLY use help during Family Fun Night.
Thank you!
Kristin O’Connor Saslovsky & Susan Holtz
SB Book Fair Co-Chairs
This year’s 5th Grade Musical will be “Beauty and the Beast Jr.,” and we are looking for parent volunteers to help us make the show a success.
The performance will be in late May, but the planning is beginning now. As most of you know, this is one of the biggest events of your student’s years at Seth Boyden, so we need lots of parent involvement. It’s also one of the most fun and rewarding volunteer opportunities you can find; just ask the parents who made “The Lion King” such a smash hit last year.
Kelly Heinze will once again be our director, and we need lots of budding stage moms and dads to help produce the show, manage the cast, design and build the sets, run the lights and technology, document some rehearsals and performances with photos and video, coordinate paperwork and equipment with the district, and more.
If you are interested in signing up to help in any way, please contact musical@sethboyden.com!
Our annual Two Towns Turkey Trot 5K and Kids’ Fun Run will be held on Saturday, Nov. 17, the weekend before Thanksgiving.
This is a great fundraiser for our school that brings people from all over the area together, so please help us spread the word and register today!
Location
South Mountain Reservation, Crest Drive/Bear Lane/”Loop.” Directions: From South Orange village, take South Orange Ave. West and make a left just past “The Top.” Follow the signs to the dog park. There is limited parking, so we recommend carpooling.
Schedule
Entry Fees
Thanks to All of Our Sponsors!
School picture day is Tuesday, October 30! An order form should have gone home with your child already, and you can also order online. Just go to mylifetouch.com and enter the Picture Day ID for Seth Boyden: AL208190Q0.
We’re also looking for volunteers to help kid-wrangle on the big day.
Spend an hour or two in the auditorium keeping kids calm and ready for their close-ups! You can even pick a time slot when your kid’s class will be there! Pick a time on our Sign Up Genius.
We are having a short (2-hour) work afternoon in our outdoor space on Sunday, Oct. 21, from 1-3pm. We want as many people as possible to show up and get things done in a short time.
We will also be cleaning up and making a nicer play space for kindergartners by the sandbox near the school, so we would love to see lots of kindergarten families participate. Sign up on this Sign Up Genius.
This is always one of the best days of our year, and we need your help to make it a success!
Harvest Fest is coming up FAST — Oct. 13 — and there are a million fun and very, very rewarding jobs to volunteer for, so what are you waiting for?
Hit the Sign Up Genius and sign up!
Susan Holtz can’t do it all herself!