Dear Harrison Families, 

I know you and your families are all looking forward to the extended weekend for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. There will be no school on Monday, January 17th. It is so important that we teach our children the importance of this holiday and I know our teachers keep the ideals and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. present in our classrooms throughout the year. The Livingston Committee for Diversity and Inclusion (LCDI) will celebrate and honor the life and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by hosting a Day of Service. This year, our theme is Caring for the Community. Please see the attached flyer for how Livingston is celebrating with a day of service to honor his life’s work. 

Dr. Block updated our quarantine guidelines on January 11, 2022. Please reference his message to the community if you have not already done so. This update came as the result of guidance from the New Jersey Department of Health. Please continue to email Mrs. Goldberg with any quarantining and COVID-related issues as this is the quickest way to get a response.

If your children are fully vaccinated, please upload your vaccination cards to the Genesis portal. This helps us with our efforts in the contact tracing and quarantining process. Directions to upload is as follows:

• Enter the Genesis Parent Portal
• Click on the “Forms” tab. 
• Click on the “COVID statement/vaccination card upload” form. 
• Scroll down to “Vaccination Statement.”
• Click the "Choose File" box.
• Choose the file to upload. A PDF of the card is preferred.
• Choose "Upload File."

January Dates:

Jan 11 - PTA Meeting
Jan 17 - No School - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Jan 28 - Grace Lin Virtual Author Visit

February Dates:

Feb   2 - Winter Concert, HMS, 7:00 pm
Feb   7 - PTA Meeting
Feb   8 - District Choral Day
Feb   9 - District Choral Day - Snow Date
Feb   9 - Winter Concert - Snow Date
Feb 11 - Kindergarten Report Cards On Portal
Feb 14 - Yoga / Pajama Day
Feb 21-25 - No School Winter Break

Warm Regards,

Daniel Garcia

"We all belong. We fly together."

Dear Harrison Families, 

Thank you for all the adjustments that you and your families have made in the last week! I know that the increase in the numbers of COVID we are seeing across the State can cause anxiety. We are all in this together! Teachers and staff have been working extremely hard in all facets to be as accommodating as possible and the adjustments to our building, lunch, and structures of recess have been made. If your child is fully vaccinated, please upload your child’s card on the genesis portal. Dr. Block’s office sent out directions on December 9th. This will help Mrs. Goldberg to do her job more efficiently.

Our equity team discussed a wonderful idea to allow parents to come in to decorate for various events throughout the year to celebrate diversity. The beautification of our school to showcase the many cultures, races, genders, and ethnicities is an important goal for our school theme and our vision as we create an environment where everyone feels welcome. To start this work, we are asking for volunteers who would like to decorate for Black History Month in February. Any parents interested in decorating please contact Mrs. Bene Duho-Amara, at bene25@gmail.com. As we continue through the year, our goal is to add to this great work. Be on the lookout for other opportunities. 

Thanks to the generosity of the PTA, Harrison will be hosting a zoom visit with award-winning author Grace Lin on Friday, January 28th.  Students in every grade will be attending.  Mrs. Caulfield is busy preparing the students for this special visit during library media classes throughout the month.  If you are visiting the Livingston Public Library, I encourage you to check out Grace Lin’s books (due to the fact that this is not an in-person visit, we are not conducting a book order as is usually done), and to visit her website to learn more about her.  We are looking forward to this very special event.

January Dates:

Jan 11 - PTA Meeting

Jan 17 - No School - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Jan 28 - Grace Lin Virtual Author Visit

Warm Regards,

Daniel Garcia

"We all belong. We fly together."

Dear Harrison Families, 

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed a restful and healthy break with families and friends!

On December 30th, Dr. Block sent an important message to all the families of the Livingston Public Schools that details a schedule change for our first day back. Tomorrow, January 3, 2022, will be a “Staff Only Day”. Students will return to school on January 4th to in-person learning at school.  I am attaching Dr. Block’s letter here for your reference. Please make sure you read this letter as it details suggestions from the physician’s panel for the return to school. One of those suggestions is for students and staff to double mask and or use kn95 masks to prevent the spread of the Omnicron variant. This letter also details our work for the day and expectations to help us stay safe in the New Year. If any plans are to change, you will be notified by the district and me. 

As we make plans for our return to school, I want to make sure that all students continue to bring appropriate clothing as we will take advantage of getting outside as much as possible. 

January Dates:

Jan   3 - Staff Only Day
Jan   4 - Return to School for Students
Jan 11 - PTA Meeting
Jan 17 - No School - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Warm Regards,

Daniel Garcia

Harrison Elementary School

"We all belong. We fly together."

Dear Harrison Families, 

Thank you to all the parents who worked to make the Holiday Boutique a reality for our children. Parents arrived at Harrison School the night before to set up the various gifts for students to purchase for loved ones in our media center. Thank you to all the parents who used this opportunity to support the gift of giving and our school community. 

This week we are having our annual New Year’s Celebration with children on Thursday, December 23! Students will each receive special items from the PTA to celebrate as we count down together into the New Year as a school community. On Thursday, feel free to have your children dress in festive attire to help us celebrate.

Our 22nd annual Talent Show is planned for Sunday, February 13th at Mt. Pleasant Middle School. We encourage all students who are interested in sharing a talent with our Harrison Community to sign up. Please be on the lookout for communications from class parents and through PTA social media posts if you are interested!

As we look forward to the upcoming break, I want to remind parents that we have an early dismissal on Thursday, December 23rd. Students in Kindergarten will dismiss at 11:53 and students in grades 1-5 will dismiss at 12:00. Schools will be closed December 24th through January 2nd with students returning on Monday, January 3, 2022!

I want to take the opportunity to wish everyone a restful and enjoyable break! Please enjoy the time with family and friends.

December Dates:

Dec 23- 12:00 Dismissal for Staff and Students

Dec 24- Jan 2- No School

January Dates:

Jan   3 - School Reopens

Jan 11 - PTA Meeting

Jan 17 - No School - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Warm Regards,

Daniel Garcia

"We all belong. We fly together."

Dear Harrison Families, 

This week, our student council representatives were hard at work explaining to all the classes in our school about their efforts to fundraise for the Table to Table organization. With every dollar raised this organization gives 10 meals to people in northern Jersey in need of food. You can make a donation on the customized fundraising page for our school with the link attached. A flyer went home detailing the fundraising effort with additional information. Thank you again to our student council for helping our community support others during the season of giving!

This week, the PTA is running our annual holiday boutique on December 15th and 16th. This boutique gives children the chance to find and pick out gifts for their loved ones. We hope this gives parents an opportunity to speak with their children about the gift of giving! Thank you to all the parent volunteers and the PTA for organizing the event and please be on the lookout for more information from the PTA.

I am finding the need to review our car-line pickup procedures to the entire school community for the safe and efficient dismissal of all our students.

• Any students designated for car-line pickup must be picked up from a car for that designated day. Parents should not walk up and pick up children from the car line. If your plans for pickup change, you can email the office and your teacher before 11:00 and we will accommodate it. 
• Children are instructed to wait in the car line pick-up area for a car and parents should not instruct students to travel to another area or cross the street. Again, they must be picked up in a car.
• When driving in the car line pickup area please move forward slowly, leaving no large gaps in the carline. This will help us dismiss safely and quickly.
• Harrison staff located at the front of the line will indicate when all cars can move forward and leave. We do not want any cars moving until all children are safely in cars. Please obey the traffic signs that we display. 
• If someone else is picking up your children, please let the office know and also inform them of the procedures for pick-up.

This Friday, December 17th report cards for our 1st-5th grade students will be available on the Genesis portal. 

December Dates:

Dec 15 &16- PTA Holiday Boutique

Dec 17- Report Cards Available in the Portal for Grades 1-5

Dec 23- 12:00 Dismissal for Staff and Students

Dec 24- Jan 2- No School

Warm Regards,

Daniel Garcia

Dear Harrison Families, 

It has been beautiful to see our children’s submissions explaining their name stories! Thank you to all the families that have given us a gateway into something that celebrates the uniqueness and diversity of every child! 

Thank you to our amazing student council and all the families that donated food during our Thanksgiving food drive! We collected many bins of food items that went to families of need during the holiday season!

Next week, the PTA is running our annual holiday boutique on December 15th and 16th. This boutique gives children the chance to find and pick out gifts for their loved ones. We hope this gives parents an opportunity to speak with their children about the gift of giving! Thank you to all the parent volunteers and the PTA for organizing the event and please be on the lookout for more information from the PTA.

As the weather is getting colder, I want to remind all parents to make sure your children continue to transition into winter clothing in order to keep warm during recess. Recess is important for our children’s social development and exercise. Also, please make sure to help your children remember all their items that need to be brought to school (Waterbottles, chromebooks, folders, instruments, snacks, etc.). We understand the hecticness of everyone’s morning, but please help us in reducing classroom interruptions as your children are learning. There are bins in the vestibule area that will be labeled K-2 and 3-5. Please make sure all items you bring are clearly labeled with your child’s name and teacher. Please let the main office know you dropped off an item. We will make sure to get it to your children at an appropriate time of the day. Thank you for your support.

For parents who utilize the carline pick up area, please make sure to drive all the way to the teacher displaying the stop sign leaving no gaps in the line. For the safety of all our children, please do not move until indicated by the teacher in the front of the line. Please communicate with your children which car they should be looking for. Reviewing these safety procedures will make sure we get children into cars quickly as the weather is getting colder. 

Upcoming Dates:

Dec 6- Marking Period Ends- Grades 1-5

Dec 9- PTA Salad House Fundraiser

Dec 15 &16- PTA Holiday Boutique

Dec 17- Report Cards Available in the Portal for Grades 1-5

Dec 23- 12:00 Dismissal for Staff and Students

Dec 24- Jan 2- No School

Warm Regards,

Daniel Garcia

Dear Harrison Families, 

This past week we met for a second time for our We All Belong school meeting. The entire student community listened to me read a book by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow called Your Name is a Song. This book is about a girl who is upset that people can’t pronounce her name. The book helped us discuss with every child that our names are special. On Wednesday, a letter went home asking for support from the parent community to discuss with your children how they got their names. These activities are meant to further promote our building theme and I am already impressed with the stories I am hearing. I would like all students to record themselves and submit a response on Flipgrid. Please see the directions on the instruction sheet for further details. 

We are in that part of the year where the weather fluctuates drastically from day to day. As we begin to see colder weather, please help your children bring their coats, hats and gloves to school as we will continue to have outside recess. It is very important for our children to run, play, and continue to get a mask break, so please make sure they have the clothing they need.

With the vaccine for 5-11 year old students now available, we are optimistic for better days to come. I want to urge all families to continue to work together inside and outside of school in the coming months.

Looking ahead to this week, we have a half-day dismissal on Wednesday. Kindergarten students dismiss at 11:53 AM and the rest of the student community dismisses at 12:00 PM.  There will be no school on Thursday and Friday. Please make sure to have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and safely spend time with your family and loved ones. 

November and December Dates:

Nov 24 - 12:00 Dismissal - staff and students

Nov 25&26 - No School - Thanksgiving

Dec 6- Marking Period Ends- Grades 1-5

Dec 9- PTA Salad House Fundraiser

Dec 15 &16- PTA Holiday Boutique

Dec 23- 12:00 Dismissal for Staff and Students

Dec 24- Jan 2- No School

Warm Regards,

Daniel Garcia

Dear Harrison Families,

October was long and eventful and November is usually the month that comes and goes quickly! The weather is transforming right in front of our very eyes. November is a month of giving and I hope we all take moments to appreciate our family and friends!

As the months were getting colder, our student council sponsored a collection from families around the school for Socktober! Hundreds of pairs of socks were donated and will be delivered to those in need of warmth in the coming months. Thank you to all our student council representatives, Mrs. Piegari, and Miss Daugherty for helping organize a great event! Also, thank you to all the parents who donated!

Tomorrow night, we are continuing our tradition of the Birthday Book Club. Historically, we have gathered students in the media center and teachers had modeled the love of reading in an entertaining fashion. Unfortunately, we cannot gather together this year and the PTA meeting will be virtual tomorrow. We have recorded a Birthday Book Club celebration for your viewing pleasure that will be shared on Tuesday for all families to enjoy together! More information to follow; I will be giving a sneak peek at the PTA meeting tomorrow.

We will have our next "We All Belong" school meeting on Wednesday, November 17th! Please be on the lookout for a letter that will come home on that day as well as a follow-up activity and questions from our read-aloud. 

As we look forward to the week of November 22nd, I want to remind parents that we have an early dismissal on November 24th. Students in Kindergarten will dismiss at 11:53 and all other students will dismiss at 12:00. November 25th and November 26th there will be no school. 

November Dates:

Nov 15 - PTA Meeting/Birthday Book Club Preview

Nov 16 - Birthday Book Club (virtual)

Nov 24 - 12:00 Dismissal - staff and students

Nov 25 & 26 - No School - Thanksgiving

Warm Regards,

Daniel Garcia

Dear Harrison Families,

What an amazing Fun Run we had on Friday! I hope all your children came home and told you about the experience. It is great that we were able to give the students at Harrison School the experience of completing a running event.  Thank you for all the parents that came to cheer and motivate our students to accomplish their goals! This PTA fundraiser will impact our students throughout the year. Thank you to the PTA and Committee members who helped organize this event!

Our school-based equity team began last year when I first arrived in February and has continued through this year. The district has worked with Great Schools Partnership (GSP)  to help lead to productive conversations that impact our students and staff in the area of equity and inclusion. If you are interested in taking part in this work please email Mrs. Fernandez and myself. 

On Thursday, October 28th, we will have our Trunk or Treat. Our Student Council will be participating, as the Spooky Council, in order to collect donations for UNICEF. For nearly 70 years, kids have collected coins at Halloween in those trademark UNICEF boxes, (not recently due to current circumstances) and it has totaled over $175 million dollars! UNICEF has used this money to provide emergency relief, water, nutrition and health care to children all over the world who need it most. Every penny really does add up to help children in need. In lieu of boxes this year, the Student Council will be collecting donations at the Trunk or Treat at our Spooky Council trunk. We look forward to seeing your great costumes, and contributing to a great cause! 

Please make sure to read my Halloween letter that went out this past Thursday. Parents are invited to watch their children along the parade route that will take place at 12:45 pm on September 29th. The map and other details are outlined in my letter.

Last week, I stated that volunteers were allowed into the building by showing a negative PCR test within 48 hours of their visit. This policy ONLY applies to attendance at board meetings. Parents who would like to volunteer in our building, during the school day, must show proof of vaccination and a driver’s license. It has been very helpful for us if volunteers have their vaccination cards with them or show proof through the Docket app. Thank you in advance for making this procedure safe and efficient.

Tomorrow, please be on the lookout for an email from teachers to set up conferences with your child/ren teacher/s. Our amazing teachers look forward to sharing with you information about your child’s progress so far this year. November 1st-3rd are all early dismissal days for students. Kindergarten students will be dismissed at 11:53 and grades 1-5 will be dismissed at 12:00. 

October dates:

Oct  25-29 - Red Ribbon Week
Oct. 28- Trunk or Treat
Oct  29 - Halloween Parade
Nov 1-3- Parent-teacher conferences, early dismissal days for students

Warm Regards,

Daniel Garcia