Seth Boyden Demonstration School
Giving Tuesday is Nov 30Support our students and staff! This year, our PTA needs your donation more than ever to fund field trips, supplies for our teachers, and more. Please consider a one-time financial gift during this time of year. Donate via Paypal or Venmo @SBPTA (add “donation” to the message). Your contribution is greatly appreciated!
EVENT: TWO TOWNS TURKEY TROT NOV 20TH
REGISTER TODAY
Please join us for the 2021 Two Towns Turkey Trot 5K & Kids’ Fun Run, presented by the Seth Boyden PTA, on Saturday, November 20, 2021 at South Mountain Reservation on Crest Drive in Maplewood, off South Orange Avenue near The Top apartments.
Includes a KIDS’ FUN RUN, PRIZES for Male and Female overall winners.
Start Time: 10:00am EST
End Time: 11:15am EST
Price: $25.00 Race Fee
Registration: Registration ends November 18, 2021 at 11:59pm EST
Location: South Mountain Reservation Lollipop Loop – Crest Dr. (near Wildflower Sculpture Park/Dog Run)
South Orange, NJ US 07079
October 8, 2021
SETH BOYDEN PTA STATEMENT ON ALLEGED RELIGIOUS BIAS INCIDENT
The Seth Boyden Parent Teacher Association believes that our schools should be inclusive spaces for learning and growth. Students should never face discrimination. We stand in solidarity with the student who was allegedly asked to remove her hijab, and support her family.
While this incident is being investigated by the school administration and the school district, we will support and collaborate with staff and administration to ensure that our school community remains a place of acceptance, belonging, and learning for all individuals.
2021-22 PTA Board Members
A Statement from Carey Smith, State of NJPTA, Region V Director
The State of New Jersey PTA, and National PTA stands firmly against racism in all forms and the culture of oppression that permeates the United States.
Continued respect for, and expansion of civil rights requires they be defended whenever threatened and that children and youth be taught the significance of civil rights and responsibilities in American Culture.
We support – Prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, age, physical and academic ability, and sexual orientation
While this incident is being investigated by the school administration, school district, and the local authorities, we will support and collaborate with staff and administration to ensure that our school community remains a place of acceptance, belonging, and learning for all individuals.
As an association that represents all children, we must listen, educate and advocate beyond rhetoric and rise to correct all inequities and injustices.
Saturday, October 16th is the Seth Boyden Harvest Festival!! Please volunteer to make the day really special! Volunteer HERE!
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.
Beyond the Bell is an after-school program created by the South Orange Maplewood School District’s Parenting Center. Beyond the Bell is designed to help all students stretch and grow by coordinating, deepening and expanding after-school opportunities at the elementary level.
Beyond the Bell Registration Opens 7AM Tuesday Sept 14th– Course Offerings and Deadline Here & Registration Info Here
A message from our principal, Mrs. Glander, and vice-principal, Ms. Murphy:
“Happy February and Black History Month!
This month we will be celebrating the contributions and rich history of Black People. While February is a month to specifically celebrate these contributions and achievements, we believe that an inclusive and accurate educational experience includes the histories of all people throughout our students’ entire school career. We continue to advocate for curriculum, instructional pedagogy and practices that highlight the history and cultures of the diverse population of our country and world.
This year, Seth Boyden has an elite team of teaching staff that is leading the charge and working on this year’s theme which is celebrating Black Contributions in Immunology. We are kicking off our month-long celebration by introducing students to Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, the pioneering immunologist at the forefront of the COVID-19 vaccine. We will be learning about other black immunologists, biologists, and vaccine pioneers over the next few weeks. Please ask your students about Dr. Corbett and her tremendous contributions toward ending the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
For more information on educational and fun ways to celebrate Black History Month as a family, see: “5 Ways All Families Can Celebrate Black History Month!”
For a service-oriented way to celebrate Black History Month, SOMA Shares is looking for diverse books. All year, but especially during Black History Month, SOMA Shares strives to make books available to all students in our district that are written by writers of color and filled with characters that look like our students and reflect how they live and how they dream for the future. SOMA Shares has curated a list of diverse and inclusive book titles on our Amazon Wish List. You can also buy these books from [words] (just mention the purchases are for SOMA Shares and they will set them aside for collection).
Our towns have Black History Month activities for people of all ages throughout February. For a full list of community events, please visit the Maplewood Arts & Culture BHM page and the South Orange Arts & Cultural Affairs BHM page.
End-of-Year Message from the Seth Boyden PTA:
What a year 2020 has been!
From the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, this community has shown, again and again, how to be Seth Boyden Strong.
From Go Fund Mes for Seth Boyden students who lost parents to the incredible grassroots efforts of SOMA Shares — supporting our community with groceries and masks and books and coats and more — to the teachers who have done so much during such a difficult time — and the generosity and grace showed to them by our Seth Boyden families — to the class captains who have worked to forge connections between classmates to all the PTA volunteers and board members who have kept it going throughout and the students — these incredible children — who have had their normal lives pulled out from under them and still show up at their computers every day and persevere.
These are just a few of the countless examples of the generosity of spirit and giving that is Seth Boyden.
We are looking forward to 2021 with great hope and anticipation, and as we prepare for a new year, we ask that if you are able to make a year-end gift, to please consider supporting Seth Boyden PTA. We are a 501(c) (3) organization and your gift helps to fund efforts like getting books in the hands of students, assemblies that enrich our children’s education, teacher gifts, SOMA Shares, and so much more in the future. Your gift truly makes a difference!
You can make a tax-deductible gift through PayPal, and you can even make it recurring. Click here.
And if your employer matches charitable donations, then the impact of your donation to Seth Boyden could be doubled! Ask at work.
We are Seth Boyden Strong because we are a unique, dynamic, and exceptionally caring school community filled with so many people doing good every day. We are Seth Boyden Strong because of YOU.
We are incredibly proud to share that Jacob Case, a 4th-grader in Mr. Hein’s class, has been featured in Jamie Oliver’s Cooking Buddies Club! Congratulations to Jacob and his family! We’re so happy that Jamie Oliver, one of Britain’s top chefs, recognizes Jacob’s talents!
Over the summer, Jacob made a video of harvesting nasturtiums and other edible flowers from the Strawberry Fields garden (with Ms. Tuohy’s full support and permission of course!). Jacob turned them into a delicious salad and uploaded the video to his Instagram & Facebook pages. The video was then shared in Jamie Oliver’s private Cooking Buddies Facebook group, where the team saw what a star Jacob is! Jamie Oliver’s team edited the video and shared it on Instagram so that thousands more could enjoy Jacob’s food!
Check out Jacob’s Cooking Buddies video by clicking here.
To see Jacob cooking, you can check him out on Facebook at Cooking with Jacob or on Instagram @cookingwithjacob9.
Here’s another recipe that Jacob loves that also uses ingredients (the Swiss chard) he harvested from our school garden.
Sautéed Swiss Chard with Steamed Butter Nut Squash:
Our local South Mountain YMCA is offering 8:00 am – 4:30 pm care with possibilities of extended-day care from 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm for elementary school children.
There are 80%-90% financial scholarships available to families who are eligible to receive free/reduced lunch.
New spots are opening up for the program in the coming weeks at Seth Boyden Elementary School.
How to register!? Just 3 easy steps!!!
Step 1: Complete the free/reduced lunch application online at the following link: https://f-r-lunch.somsd.k12.nj.us/
If you’ve already done so for this academic year, you’re ready for step 2!
Step 2: Upon completion, email Ms. Dinkins (Seth Boyden Elementary School Social Worker) at SDinkins@somsd.k12.nj.us to have her check on the status of your application.
Step 3: Upon approval, Ms. Dinkins will direct you on the next steps for enrollment!
The program will provide the following:
Parents/Guardians must provide the following:
Please do not be deterred if you don’t have these items, support is available through the school and PTA.
Feeling stressed out about the fall?
The Seth Boyden PTA is partnering with Balanced Kids to present a free virtual “Back to School” workshop for parents on Monday, August 17, at 8 pm. Register at balancedkidsnj.com/sethboyden. Zoom details will be shared after registration.
Whether you have made a decision for your family for the fall or not, this virtual workshop is designed to support you by giving you practical tools:
This workshop is free to attend and is sponsored by the Seth Boyden PTA.
The South Orange-Maplewood School District reopening plan (including the link to the Parent Preference Survey) can be viewed by clicking here.
June 2, 2020 (sent via email)
Good Evening Seth Boyden Families,
We want to share with you our thoughts and plans regarding the protests sweeping our nation, sparked by the killing of George Floyd. We spent the last two days meeting with staff as grade levels to discuss how to best support our students and would like to share our plans with you. But first, we must echo the feelings of so many during this time. We stand against racism, inequity and bias in all forms and recognize that long-standing systems exist in our country and world that continue to be a barrier to the full realization of the potential of all black and brown people and other marginalized groups. Our responsibility as educators and human beings is to combat these systems through our most powerful weapon…education. We recognize that the lens that many of us view this through is that of privilege. We know fully that the conversations that we hold with our own children about these topics are different than the ones that parents of color are forced to have. We are committed to our continued growth in identifying and addressing the complex issues that exist around social justice and equity. We know that we may never truly understand, but we seek understanding, and stand in support of black, brown and marginalized people.
We also understand and honor the agency of parents in deciding what information they want shared with their children, and who they want sharing it with them. We are forced to recognize that in our current situation, we are not able to address these issues in the way that we most fervently wish we could. Ideally, we would have these discussions together, as a community where students’ feelings, concerns, fears, and emotions would be immediately addressed and supported by teachers, staff and administration. We are not able to do what we long for, and so we have worked on a plan to support students from afar as best we can.
Our K-2 teachers will utilize resources around culture competency, diversity and social-emotional learning that help build the foundation for the understanding and acceptance of difference as well as a developmentally appropriate understanding of the historical context of inequality that has existed in our country from its inception. Teachers and staff are available for students to discuss their feelings and provide a safe space. Staff will not directly share details about the current state of affairs as we realize that our families need to make individual decisions about what information they wish their children to access.
Our 3-5 teachers will be contacting families with resources they want to share, and follow-up activities with staff in which students may participate. Again, the intention is to have parents make the decision on what they want shared with their students.
Our plans are meant to address the current social unrest and its deep, long-standing roots. In addition, we continue to plan for, discuss and identify additional ways to incorporate equity work into our everyday instruction and interactions. Most important, we recognize and commit to making certain that these immediate actions will not be seen as a “remedy”. What is happening around us makes clear that we must all do the work necessary to effect change so all people truly have the same rights and protections.
We want to make available to you any resources that we have, including the need for counseling or support with our District’s social workers. Also, the district will be having a parent workshop with Dr. Eddie Fergus and child/adolescent psychologist, Dr. Adam Price, on June 16th at 7:30 p.m. titled “Talking to our Kids About Current Events, Racial Injustice and Equity.” Details to follow soon.
Please know that we are here for you if you need us. Do not hesitate to reach out and let us know if we can be of any support during this painful and difficult time.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Glander and Ms. Murphy
Julia Ribicoff, parent of two Seth Boyden grads (well, as of Monday, June 25) is the Seth Boyden recipient of the Dubrow Volunteer Award for 2012/13.
Julia, a former PTA Board member, has dedicated years of service to Seth Boyden. She’s served in a variety of roles (including Class Parent Coordinator for many years).
Now, Julia has been recognized for her service as an ACHIEVE tutor with the Dubrow Award, which was given to six volunteers this year by the ACHIEVE Foundation. It is bestowed to “tutors who demonstrate their passion for helping children to become independent learners and who inspire their students to help others.”
Julia also received a resolution from the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly honoring her Achieve volunteer work. The official resolution was presented to her by Assemblywoman Mila Jasey last week.
Additionally, a donation was made by the Achieve Foundation to IHN, The Interfaith Hospitality Network (an organization that assists homeless families), in honor of the Dubrow Award winners.
Vice Principal Raquel Horn writes, “Julia is a tremendous asset to our school and passionate about helping our students. In fact, she has already committed herself to working as a tutor for next school year! So many parents support us in a variety of ways and we are truly appreciative.”
