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Elysian Charter School
Weekly Newsletter
A Positively Different Public School
March 6, 2017 Vol. 12 Issue 25
The school newsletter is sent out on Mondays. When there is a holiday, the newsletter is sent the following day.
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| Harry's Corner
Behind the Scenes
When you walk into Elysian we seem to be a friendly and informal place. Children high five the teachers and other staff, classes don’t walk silently in straight lines down the hallways and classrooms have the friendly buzz indicating that children are working together. All of this contributes to the “feeling tone” of the school, helping the children feel warm and comfortable so that they focus on their learning.
But behind the scenes we are a public institution responsible to the State of New Jersey, required to follow a myriad of rules, provide hundreds of reports over the year and are subjected to a structure that is dictated by education law and Department of Education regulations. A charter school is considered to be an independent public school district.
Our Board of Trustees is the governing body of the school. Its role is to establish policies that ensure the smooth functioning and growth of the school. They do not administer the school on a day to day basis, they do not make any decisions about individual children; rather they set up policies for the school administration to follow and they adopt guidelines that ensure New Jersey Education Law is followed. Elysian’s Board structure is unique in New Jersey—we have a nine member elected Board (most charters have Boards that are appointed by its own members when a vacancy occurs). We have been transitioning from two to three year terms for members, but once completed, each year will have three members up for election.
Our staff is unique as well. We have an extremely low turnover—our teachers are committed to the ideals of Elysian and are an important part of the decision making process in the school. Our staff not only has tremendous freedom in their own classrooms—within the guidelines of our curriculum and State Standards—but they work hard on committees that embody our shared decision making philosophy. Because charter school funding has been flat since 2008, and because we do not benefit when the Hoboken Board of Education raises the school tax rates, our teachers’ salaries have fallen further and further behind (this will be discussed further in a Board letter to the community, scheduled to come out shortly), as their own personal costs go up.
Looking at the governance of Elysian is to point out not only how our unique structure has such a positive effect on our school, it is also to demonstrate how important it is for everyone to come out and make their voices heard in our Board of Trustees election that will be held on Tuesday, March 14 at 6:00 p.m. in the gym.
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21st ANNUAL ELYSIAN MEETING / BOARD MEMBER ELECTION
TUESDAY, MARCH 14th 2017
Starting at 6:00 pm / Meeting will begin when a quorum is reached.
IMPORTANT! This is the most important Elysian event of the year - we need as many people as possible to attend so that we meet the quorum of 70 families. Please plan to stay until the results are in. This is so that, in the event of a tie and we need to vote again, the quorum has still been maintained and we can vote again. ( If the quorum is not there, we will have to conduct the entire meeting again - so please plan on staying!)
Each family is counted as one member, regardless of how many children they may have enrolled in the school. In addition, all employees of the Elysian Charter School who have been employed for the six months prior to an election are voting members.
Elysian is governed by a nine-member board of trustees. Each trustee is elected to a three-year term. Not all trustees are elected at the same time.
Board members are unpaid volunteers willing to spend extra time and energy on behalf of the Membership in support of the Elysian Charter School.
While we are waiting for the results there will be entertainment (by the children) and a pot luck dinner. In order to cover all food categories for the pot luck, families please bring the following:
Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th grades – Entrees
5th grade – Appetizers
6th grades – Salads
7th – 8th grades – Desserts
Water, plates, utensils & napkins will be provided
(Due to a lack of preparation areas, please bring food that is cut and ready to serve!)
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Childcare (all ages) will be provided upstairs by Francine & Brenda.
Please call 201-876-0102 or email susan.gilbertson@ecsnj.org to reserve childcare.
$5 per child payable upstairs the day of the event.
Pizza dinner will be served to all kids.
Drop kids off before coming downstairs please, this is an adult event.
DEADLINE FOR ABSENTEE VOTING: 4:00 pm on 3/14/17 -School Office
To absentee vote - see Deb Rosner in the office between 8 am - 4 pm
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Vote Counting provided by Jaclyn Cherubini – Hoboken Clergy Coalition
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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!We need SET UP and CLEAN UP CREWS for the annual meeting on March 14. Please contact Eduardo Gonzalez at: eduardo.gonzalez@ecsnj.org
SET UP - Please come by 4:45 pm/5:00 latest to set up the gym.
CLEAN UP - Knock down chairs, coat racks - clean up upstairs serving area - clean service utensils.
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Good News
Kate Stima, our 6th grade humanities teacher, has given birth to twins, one boy and one girl. All are doing well!
Sports:
1.Our Girls’ Basketball Team has won the city championship in the final game against Hoboken Charter School.
2.Our 7th and 8th Grade Boys’ Basketball Team made it all the way to the finals, but lost the last game to Wallace.
Have you seen the new look of our website? Check it out at www.ecsnj.org.
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More Good News!
Over this past weekend, Ewan Sanchez and Molly O'Callaghan competed in the Elks Soccer Shootout National Competition. The competition took place in Frederick, MD. Molly and Ewan placed 1st in the City, Regional and State competitions in order to be invited to the Nationals!
In the Nationals, Ewan took 1st place(!!!) and Molly took 4th place in tight competition. They were great competitors and displayed amazing sportsmanship. Let's congratulate them.
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| AFTER SCHOOL ENRICHMENT CLUBS:
Here are the remaining dates for the Winter Session of after school clubs (as of today, subject to change if a remaining class is cancelled):
Monday Clubs: March 6, March 13, March 20, March 27
Tuesday Clubs: March 7, March 14, March 21 --- Calligraphy will also meet on March 28
Wednesday Clubs: March 8, March 15 --- Crafts with Eric will also meet on March 29
** Chess Club continues on into April as it is a 14-week club
Thursday Clubs: March 9, March 16, March 23, March 30 -- Clay Club will also meet on April 6
Friday Clubs: March 10, March 17, March 24, March 31
There will br a Spring Session of after school enrichment clubs beginning late April. More information to follow.
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| ELYSIAN SUMMER CAMP 2017
Does the thought of figuring out your child's summer camp plans each year put you in a state of anxiety? Is your child destined to sit in front of video games all summer because the thought of 2 hours a day on a camp bus isn't very appealing? Well, we have the answer.... The Elysian Charter Day Camp!!
The camp will be open to Elysian children entering kindergarten (Fall 2017) through current 5th grade.
Daily activities will include science, arts & crafts, sports, woodworking, field trips and much more.
The camp staff will be Elysian employees.
For our inaugural summer, there will be 2 one week sessions -- the weeks of July 31st and August 7th. You can sign up for one or both weeks.
Hours of fun, air conditioned classrooms, familiar counselors ..... and no 1 hour bus ride there and back!
The camp is being organized by John Rutledge (renowned 5th grade teacher and everyone's favorite Mystic tour guide!) and Pam Gorode (enrichment club organizer and Assistant Business Manager).
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| PTSO News ELYSIAN BOARD CANDIDATES MEET AND GREET - Wednesday, March 8, at 1:30 pm, the PTSO is sponsoring a Meet and Greet with all of the Elysian Board Candidates in room 313. This will be the community's only chance to ask questions of the candidates before the election. Light refreshments will be served! Hope to see you there!
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Friends of Elysian Auction 2017
Auction/Raffle Tickets:
IT’S THE LAST MINUTE!
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| RAFFLE TICKETS: ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT! (Wednesday, March 8!)
*** We are a little behind this year in terms of returned tickets, so we really need your help to make this a success for Elysian! Half of each ticket sold goes straight to Elysian! Thank you very much!
DEADLINE DETAILS: The final deadline for all advance 50/50 raffle ticket sales is Wednesday, March 8! But tickets will also be sold at the event on Friday, March 10 and the drawing will take place at 9:30 pm at HUB. (You do not have to be present to win.)
TICKET PROCESS: When tickets are sold, please have the buyer fill out the stub with their info, and then turn in those stubs and the payments to your teacher (each class will have an envelope for collection) OR Deb or Susan in the office. And please, NO CASH. Please translate to checks payable to “Friends of Elysian Charter School.” (Also, if you receive individual checks from ticket buyers, they should also be written out the same way.) Thank you!
RETURNING TICKETS: We certainly hope that all families will participate, but for anyone unable to sell or purchase all of their raffle tickets, we simply ask that you return any unused tickets to your teacher. Thank you!
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ONLY 5 DAYS LEFT TO BUY AUCTION TICKETS!
DON’T MISS OUT!
We are “All In” this together, so if you are able, please buy your auction tickets today!
Thank you to everyone who has supported the auction so far by both buying auction tickets and donating auction lots. We really appreciate it!
Also, don’t forget our special $75 price per guest for all Non-Elysian parents/guardians. Please consider reaching out to friends and extended family to join us for an extra special event this year! (And thanks to those who have already done so already.) It’s going to be a great time! Get a sneak peek of the best new nightspot in town! PLUS: Heavy appetizers, an open bar, a great selection of new and classic auction lots AND an inspiring performance from Aram!
2017 Annual Friends of Elysian Fundraising Party & Auction to benefit the Campaign For Elysian
Friday, March 10 • 7 – 10 pm
HUB 16 Hudson Place • Hoboken, NJ • 07030
TICKET PRICES
$125 per guest in advance*
$135 per guest at the door
$75 per guest for all Non-Elysian parents/guardians (at the door as well)
PAYMENT
* LAST MINUTE SALES DEADLINES:
If at all possible, please don’t wait till the last minute! But just in case, to help facilitate an accurate sign-in process…
• Paying by Check: Check payments can be left at the school up until THE DAY BEFORE, on Thursday, March 9 at 8:30 a.m. Please do not leave anything at the office after Thursday morning. (it won’t be able to be picked up before the event). Thank you!
• Paying Online: Tickets will be available online until Friday, March 10 at 12 p.m. After that time, tickets will need to be purchased at the door.
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| Student Dress
Parents, please be sure to dress your children appropriately for winter weather. When we have our monthly fire drills, students do not have time to get their coats.
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| Elysian Collects Box Tops and LABELS for Education: Look for the container near Deb's desk in the office! Thank you!
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As per state law, we no longer publish the exact location of trips for security reasons.
Please read the calendar weekly, as changes are updated regularly. MARCH CALENDAR Wednesday, March 8- PTSO's Meet the Candidates, 1:30 PM, Room 313
- 6th Grade trip, 8:15 AM- 2:30 PM
- Angela's Kindergarten trip
Thursday, March 9- Josie's Kindergarten trip
- "Culture of Death" Seminar trip
- 5th Grade Green Basketball, 6:45 PM, Wallace
- 6th Grade Basketball, 7:45 PM, Wallace
Friday, March 10- 5th Grade White Basketball, 6:45 PM, Wallace
- Friends Annual Party and Auction 7:00 PM. The Hub, 16 Hudson Place
Saturday, March 11- 3rd Grade White Basketball, 1:50 PM, Wallace
- 4th Grade Basketball, 3:20 PM, Wallace
- 3rd Grade Green Basketball, 6:40 PM, Wallace
Tuesday, March 14- Elysian's Annual Meeting and Election of Board of Trustees (Please note this is the correct date, last week's newsletter had a typo.)
Wednesday, March 15- Half Day of School for Staff Development. 12:30 dismissal. Afterschool program available as usual.
Friday, March 17- Community Meeting, Parents are invited to attend
Monday, March 27- Board of Trustees Meeting
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| Please make note of the following calendar changes:
1. May 19—the Community Meeting will be the 6th grade concert and will begin at 9:00 AM
2. The June 9th Community Meeting is changed to June 16th
3. On June 9th there will be the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade concert which will begin at 9:00 AM
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1460 Garden Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030
Harry Laub, Ph.D., Director
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harry.laub@ecsnj.org
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Phone:201.876.0102
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Fax:201.876.9576
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