Dear Harrison Families,

It was wonderful seeing us gather as a community for our Fall Family Picnic! The efforts to make this event happen involved many members of our PTA and I know we thank them all for their dedication to Harrison School. It is events like this that not only raise funds that are used to benefit our children but also help us gather and celebrate as a big family!

On Tuesday we are having our student picture day. Classes have signed up throughout the day to take individual pictures. Picture retakes will be provided in November for those who don't like their picture or are absent for any reason. Class pictures will be taken during our Spring picture day provided we are able due to COVID.

Our virtual back-to-school night is scheduled for September 30th. A detailed schedule and links were sent out on Thursday. Please be on the lookout for information from your child’s teacher for any additional information.

Our APEX fun run is just around the corner! This school-wide event takes students through various lessons involving leadership and decision making but also serves as one of our biggest fundraising events of the year. The two-week program culminates with a fun run during the school day with pledges supporting each student. Please see the following brochure for more details!

Finally, thank you to all those families who have supported our efforts to keep the school safe. Students have done an excellent job wearing their masks all day and also socially distancing. Parents, if your child has symptoms indicated on the road forward document issued by the NJ DOE, please do not send them to school. Thank you for all doing your part to keep our community safe!

Upcoming dates:
    Sept 28 - Picture Day
    Sept 30 - Back to School Night

October dates:
    Oct   4-8 - Week of Respect
    Oct  11 - Columbus Day - School closed for students - Staff PD day
    Oct  12-22- APEX Fundraising Event (More Information to follow)
    Oct  14 - PTA Game Night
    Oct  18 - PTA Meeting/Book Fair Preview
    Oct  18-22 - School Violence Awareness Week
    Oct  19-20  - Book Fair
    Oct  25-29 - Red Ribbon Week
    Oct  29 - Halloween Parade

Warm Regards,
Daniel Garcia
Principal
Harrison Elementary School
"We all belong. We fly together."

Dear Harrison Families,

It is interesting to note that this upcoming week will be our first full week of school! I want to thank the parent community for continuing to support us as we continue to keep our schools as safe as possible and get our children into the routine of learning.

Each and every day I see the efficiency in which students are entering the building promptly and safely. Please continue to do your best to get your children in the building by 7:50. Please remember to follow all parking ordinances and look for signs if parking in the surrounding community.

When reporting attendance, please use the genesis portal to input any upcoming absences or tardies. Please note that when inputting a tardy, you need to mark it as an absence and write in the notes the reason for the tardy. We will change the attendance once your child enters the building. Absences are not to be reported through emails or by phone anymore. Thank you for learning this new district protocol.

Thank you to all those who supported our 5th-grade bake sale on Friday and for the committee that will continue to organize fundraisers for our 5th graders this year! We will continue to raise money for 5th graders, so please support these events throughout the year.

Coming up this week is our Fall Family Picnic! Thank you to our PTA for organizing this event for our entire family community. The picnic will begin at 5:30 this Wednesday, September 22nd. However, I am monitoring the weather and will make a decision by the end of the school day on Tuesday if we need to use our rain date of October 6th. I look forward to seeing our community spread out on our beautiful property.

Back to School night will be virtual this year, for the safety of our entire community. Teachers will be broadcasting from their classrooms between 6:15-8:30. I will send a schedule out to our entire community so you know what time to enter your child’s “classroom”.

As always, thank you for all that you do to make our school the wonderful place it is!

Upcoming dates:

Sept 22 - PTA Family Picnic, 5:30-7:30 pm
Sept 28 - Picture Day
Sept 28 - BOE Meeting, 7:00 pm
Sept 30 - Back to School Night (Look for letter detailing events on Tuesday)

October dates:
   

Oct   4-8 - Week of Respect
Oct   6 - PTA Family Picnic (rain date)
Oct  11 - Columbus Day - School closed for students - Staff PD day
Oct  12 - BOE Meeting, 7:00 pm
Oct  14 - PTA Game Night, 6:30 pm
Oct  18 - PTA Meeting/Book Fair Preview
Oct  18-22 - School Violence Awareness Week
Oct  19-20  - Book Fair
Oct  19 - BOE Meeting, 7:00 pm
Oct  25-29 - Red Ribbon Week
Oct  29 - Halloween Parade

Warm Regards,
Daniel Garcia

"We all belong. We fly together."

Dear Harrison Families,

It was a great, but short week at Harrison! We were able to enjoy an outdoor recess day on Friday. I hope that the beautiful weather will continue this week!

We completed our first security drill of the year and it was very successful. It was very quick and efficient!  Our teachers take security very seriously and practice drills and I am proud of our students and staff for making it a priority.

 I hope our Harrison Families will join us for our Fall Family Picnic on September 22nd. Please get your Pizza order in by this Wednesday, September 15th. The attached brochure and order form, from our PTA, explains the details. 

 Some upcoming dates to mark in your calendars…

• September 16 - No School - Yom Kippur
• September 22 - Family Picnic
• September 30 - Back to School Night (More details to follow)

Orders for hot lunch will open again tomorrow at approximately 8:00 am. Please make sure to get your orders in for the following week! The form will be closed every Friday by 12:00 pm. Thank you all for your flexibility in the ordering process for the district and our school. It is the safest and easiest way to get food to children without congestion in our lunch areas.

Warm Regards,

Daniel Garcia

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we wrap up the school year, I am excited that we have finished strong here at Harrison and the last week will also be memorable and exciting for children. Our teachers are happy with all the progress your children have made this year and we look forward to all of them receiving a well-deserved break. 

Wednesday, June 23rd, and Thursday, June 24th this week are 12:15 dismissal days. There will be no staggered dismissal on these days, so parents are encouraged to park and walk to pick up their children. On these two days, it is imperative that we all pull together to dismiss our children safely. Please follow all rules for pick-up.

On Wednesday, June 23rd after the 5th-grade volleyball game, our children throughout the school will come outside to receive pizza to celebrate the school year. If you have remote students, you are welcome to join this event as long as you fill out the COVID tracker and have your child’s temperature checked. Teachers will reach out to you about times to your child for pizza on that day. A table will be set up to check your children in on the kindergarten blacktop.

On Thursday, June 24th it is a tradition that the 5th graders get clapped out of the school to celebrate their final day leaving Harrison. 5th Graders will be dismissed out of door 8 on the middle blacktop (big tent) where their parents will line up to clap them out. This area is usually where our 1st and 3rd-grade students dismiss. If you are picking up 1st and 3rd-grade students,   please give the courtesy to 5th-grade parents to clap their children outside that door. Cones will be set up where all the 5th-grade parents are invited to line up and give our children the memory they deserve.

The Technology Department will be collecting Hybrid student devices for grades 2 through 5 in order to be able to prepare the devices for use for the 21-22 school year.  Device collection will occur on Wednesday, June 23.  Please ensure your child brings their device and charger to school that day for collection.  Collection for Remote student devices for grades 2 through 5 will occur on Thursday, June 24th from 1:30-3:30 at Mount Pleasant Middle School in the Media Center hallway.  Any student that does not hand in a device and/or charger during the collection will be assessed a device fine in Genesis until the device and/or charger is returned.  Please note: Students in grades K and 1 will NOT need to bring in their devices as they just received them in March. If you have any questions you can reach out to Teresa Rehman our technology director (trehman@livingston.org).

The LPS Summer Academy 2021 is back for this summer! The Livingston Public Schools is committed to providing students with excellent educational experiences. For some students, additional time-on-task, under the guidance of certified teachers, permits them the time and attention to achieve their potential. We are pleased to welcome your children back for in-person instruction this year for our summer options! Please be on the lookout soon for Summer Connection dates at Harrison School!

I want to thank everyone in our amazing community as we begin to close out the final days of the 2020-2021 school year. It will be a year we will never forget and we could not have done it without all of us pulling together! Thank you all!

Lastly, I wish all the Dads a very Happy Father’s Day!

Warmly, 

Mr. Garcia

Dear Parents and Guardians,

It is amazing to see our community come together to celebrate our diversity! We had over 20 tables that represented cultures from around the world and from our very own Harrison community! Thank you to all the parent volunteers who made specialty dishes that represented their countries, designed activities, and made detailed visuals that taught all our children who participated. Children traveled with their passports and received stickers. They were excited to learn about people different from their own experiences. The time and effort that you all gave to provide this experience are appreciated by all the Harrison Community! 

As we are moving closer to summer, I want to make sure everyone takes advantage of purchasing books for your child to read in the summer from our Virtual Book Fair. The sale ends on June 14th. Please see the details from our PTA newsletter for information on how to order.  The secret to reading growth is very simple. Children who read continue to grow as readers. Make some book choices from the book fair that are engaging for your children and also support our PTA at the same time. 

As it gets warmer and warmer please remember to have your children bring in water bottles they can access during recess and continue to bring in towels in a separate bag that children can use. It has been extremely useful and students are definitely used to the routine. Thank you all for your continued support to finish this year strong!

Warmly,

Mr. Garcia

Upcoming events in June…

June  7 - 4th Grade Character Connections

June 11 - Spring Concert for students only.  Grades 3-5 will attend. (Rain Date June 14th)

June 11 - 3rd Grade Storytellers

June 17 - 5th Grade Moving Up Ceremony (Rain Date June 18, more information to follow)

June 21 - 5th Grade Party (Rain Date June 22)

June 23 - Volleyball / Pizza Party - 12:15 dismissal

June 24 - Last Day of School - Clap Out - 12:15 dismissal

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We hope this letter finds everyone enjoying a restful, short break as we enter into the final month of the school year. Memorial Day weekend is a time where we should enjoy the company of friends and families, but most importantly remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice to allow us to live in the country we all call home. I also think it’s a time to recognize those who currently serve or have served in the armed forces. Thank you to all those in our community who have served in the armed forces or have lost loved ones in pursuit of freedom.

Thank you to all those who had made Field Day 2021 a huge success! Our teachers, faculty, staff, and parents made it possible to spend the day outside as a community practicing the themes of fair play and sportsmanship. Thank you to our fabulous Physical Education teachers, Mrs. DeVito and Mrs. Adams, for planning and preparing an event filled with activities to help teach our students valuable lessons.

Just a reminder, there will be no school on Tuesday, June 1st. This day is a giveback for an unused snow day.

On Wednesday, June 2nd, we will celebrate our annual Multicultural Day. Thank you in advance to all those parents who are preparing food and educational experiences for our students to visit different cultures all at Harrison School. Last week, this event was canceled due to weather, but as of right now the forecast looks positive. We hope to see you all there.

See below for our upcoming events in June…

June   1 - School Closed - Snow Day Give Back

June   2 - Multicultural Night

June   4 - Virtual Book Fair (ends on June 14)

June   4 - 4th Grade Character Connections (Rain Date June 7th)

June 11 - Spring Concert for students grades 3-5 (Rain Date June 14th)

June 11 - 3rd Grade Storytellers

June 17 - 5th Grade Moving Up Ceremony (Rain Date June 18, more information to follow)

June 21 - 5th Grade Party (Rain Date June 22)

June 23 - Volleyball / Pizza Party - 12:15 dismissal

June 24 - Last Day of School - Clap Out - 12:15 dismissal

Please see attached flyer for Brain Camp this summer that is located at Riker Hill Elementary School. The program is for students entering 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade. 

Thank you all for your continued and future support in making the end of the year amazing for our children!

Sincerely,

Mr. Garcia

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We are officially off and running with our new routines for our full day of school! Thank you all for sending your children ready with all the supplies they need. Please continue to make sure students bring their towels, lunch, and baggie for recess. As the weather is getting warmer please consider packing students with water bottles to have access to in their baggies so that they can stay hydrated!

Our Multicultural Night is Wednesday, May 26! Thank you to all the parents who are hosting tables to represent and teach our children about our diverse populations that live in our community! Students will be taking a tour and filling out their passports as they learn so much about what makes us unique and special. Please refer to the times and information for this event on our PTA newsletters. Masks must be worn during the event, with the exception of when you are eating or drinking away from the tables. Thank you in advance for continuing to keep our community safe.

We are excited to be having our Field Day on May 27th for our students! Grades 3-5 will be from 8:25-11:15 and Grades K-2 will be from 12:15-2:25.  Teams will be dressed in either Blue or White, as designated by their teacher, for that day. Please make sure that your child is ready for the elements (Hat, sunscreen, etc.) and also bring a labeled water bottle. If your child is a virtual student who will be participating in school, please let your classroom teacher know, and make sure to fill out a COVID tracker form before your arrival and report to the Kindergarten Blacktop to have your child’s temperature taken. The COVID tracker must be shown on a phone or printed out.  Any virtual students who will not be participating on-site for Field Day will receive asynchronous field day activities that will be shared by their homeroom teacher. 

Thank you all for your continued support to make the rest of the school year exciting and memorable for our children!

Sincerely,

Mr. Garcia

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We are excited to add our lunch and recess period starting on May 10th! There are a few items I would like to clarify that will help us facilitate the lunch and recess block of time for the rest of the school year.

1. Parents are encouraged to pack lunch in a disposable bag.  This is not necessary but could be helpful.

2. In addition to a lunch box/bag, I want every student to bring a labeled drawstring or additional bag to hold their lunch and their towel together. This bag will make it easy to keep their towels and lunch boxes clean and orderly as they are playing at recess. Please label this bag on the outside with your child's name that is easily recognizable.

3. A letter detailing procedures for ordering our cold lunch options will be communicated soon by the district.

Sincerely,

Mr. Garcia

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We are very excited about our return to a full day on Monday, May 10th. The school day will increase for all of our students and that increased time will be beneficial and exciting for our children. Please know that we are taking every measure to make sure this transition is as safe as possible and we appreciate all your help in making it happen.

Morning Drop Off

The doors will continue to open at 8:00 am. All parents must continue to show their COVID tracker form. Students will be temperature checked before entering the building.

Dismissal

Dismissal for students will be between 2:30 and 2:40 depending on their grade (See staggered dismissal times below). Teachers will exit through their grade level’s dismissal door and wait to hand children directly off to a parent or guardian. Please utilize parking in town as frequently as possible. You can also use the parking lot, but please note that there are limited spots available and you may need to circle around if you can’t find a spot to park and pick up your child. We are utilizing one side of the parking lot to help assist with quick student pick-up. If you are only picking your child up, you may line up on the left side of the parking lot as you are entering, get your child and return immediately to your car. Please be mindful as you are blocking somebody from getting out. If you are planning to spend time with your child on the playground, please do not park in our school parking lot. 

Staggered Dismissal Times (See dismissal doors below)

Kindergarten (Media Door #6) - 2:30 pm

1st Grade (Middle Blacktop Door #9) - 2:35 pm

2nd Grade (Middle Blacktop Door #10) - 2:35 pm

3rd Grade (Middle Blacktop Door  #8) - 2:40 pm

4th Grade (Door #3) - 2:40 pm

5th Grade (Door #2) - 2:40 pm

Snack 

Please pack your child with ONE snack. Now that we are having lunch it should be something quick and easy to eat. 

Lunch 

Students will eat lunch socially distanced in both indoor and outdoor areas. Please make sure that students are prepared for any weather as we will be utilizing outdoor spaces at every opportunity possible. Please make sure your child continues to bring a towel every day as it will be used for lunch in addition to snack. 

Parents will have the choice to purchase cold lunch options (Bagel, Turkey sandwich, ham and cheese, tuna sandwich, etc.).  All lunches must be preordered by 11:00 pm the night before. Beverages for lunch can only be ordered if the child is purchasing a cold lunch option. District instructions on where and how to order will be provided later this week.

Students who are bringing their lunch will be encouraged to make sure it is simple and, if possible, in a disposable bag with their name on it.

Recess 

During our recess periods, students will be required to wear masks at all times. Please remember to pack additional masks for your children, as they may need replacements throughout the day. We will be utilizing all our property to distance our students and we will have systems in place for sanitizing any equipment students use between recess periods. We will also make sure students sanitize before and after recess and lunch periods. 

Thank you all for your continued efforts to make our pivots successful at Harrison School. Please continue to take all precautions. As a community, if we work together, we will finish this year strong and have a blueprint to support our efforts for the future.

Warm regards,

Mr. Daniel Garcia