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Mrs. Foreman knew that she was going to be a teacher from her own first day of school in Tennessee. The feeling only magnified as she progressed through school in both Japan and Virginia. In high school, she tossed around ideas about becoming a pediatrician or an accountant… or maybe even a performer!

Mrs. Foreman attended Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina where she earned a degree in Elementary Education. This is also where she met her husband, started her teaching career, and became a mom. After teaching fourth grade for four years, Mrs. Foreman and her family uprooted and moved to the western part of the state. In a small town called Boiling Springs, at Gardner Webb University, Mrs. Foreman earned her Master’s degree in School Administration. Again, she taught fourth grade for four years! Her daughter was born there as well.

Having moved all over the world as a military child, Mrs. Foreman feels that one of the best moves she made was to New Jersey and Somerville School. She’s been teaching fourth grade here for six years. Mrs. Foreman has taken her love of children, numbers and performance to heart. Her ambition to be something great has made her the teacher she is today.

Her time outside of school is spent cooking and baking, cheering her children on the field/court/or stage, reading, and traveling. You will often find her with a camera in her hands capturing snapshots of the wonderful things in her life.

Mrs. Foreman is honored to be Somerville’s Teacher of the Year!

 

We were so delighted to have Taikoza here to entertain us yesterday.  Taikoza uses the powerful rhythms of the Taiko drums to create an electrifying energy that carries audiences in a new dimension of excitement. The Taiko is a large, barrel-like drum that can fill the air with the sounds of rolling thunder. Roughly translated, Taiko means big drums-and that’s exactly what Taikoza brings. Big Drums, powerful rhythms, and electrifying, room-thumping energy. This exciting group draws from Japan’s rich tradition of music and performance to create a highly visual performance.  Drawing from Japan's rich tradition of music and performance, Taikoza has created a new sound using a variety of traditional instruments. In addition to drums of assorted sizes, Taikoza incorporates the shakuhachi, the fue (both bamboo flutes) and the Koto (a 13 string instrument). Taikoza’s new CD has been nominated as best Asian Ethnic Album for the Just Plain Folks Music Award. Taikoza has appeared on different TV programs such as Macy’s Thanksgiving parade, the History Channel in “History vs. Hollywood” and ESPN S.U.M.O: The battle of the Giants. Taikoza is featured in the Movie: The Commute.

Thank you, Home and School!

Somerville is very excited to be spending March 26th with author Sarah Weeks.  Ms. Weeks is well known for her Early Readers, Picture Books, Middle-grade Chapter Books, and Novels for Middle-grade and Young Adult readers. Her two newest titles are MAC AND CHEESE (I CAN READ book), and PIE-a novel about a ten-year-old girl Alice, whose aunt Polly leaves her secret pie crust recipe to a cat, and the cat to Alice. Her humorous romp for young middle-grade readers, OGGIE COODER, has now been joined by a sequel, OGGIE COODER, PARTY ANIMAL. Two new titles have been added to her Picture Book collection, SOPHIE PETERMAN TELLS THE TRUTH, and WOOF, A LOVE STORY. Ms. Weeks’ titles have sold well over a million copies including numerous foreign editions.

Please chick here for book order forms.

Thank you, HSA!

On Friday, January 11th, our Home and School treated us to a visit by the Doo-Wah Riders, and boy, did we have a blast!!!!!!



There is no one else like the Doo-Wah Riders. For over 30 years they have been riding their own patch of the musical range throughout the west. They possess the rare combination of many years of experience and youthful energy, fired by a love for what they do. The Doo-Wahs are country, with a unique, original sound. They define their sound as "high energy country with a cajun twist". Their tight musicianship and powerful arrangements of classic and original songs have made them favorites everywhere they go.

This year, our new Open Circle initiative is to have one book read school wide each month.  This project is a continuation of our efforts to build a kind and tolerant community.  We will also be participating in assemblies, discussions or activities that support the message of the book that we are currently reading.   For the month of March, we will be reading The OK Book by Rosenthal and Lichtenheld.
Go ahead and enjoy doing things even if you're just OK at them, this friendly concept book advises. The book's hero is a little stick figure whose head is the O of OK, and whose arms and legs are the K. (Imagine the word OK tipped up on its side.) The scenery is similarly minimal: a black horizon line, a squiggly tree, some grass. I like to try a lot of different things, the OK figure says. I'm not great at all of them, but I enjoy them all the same. On each succeeding page, the stick figure turns in a series of OK performances, roasting a marshmallow, cutting a sandwich not really in half (I'm an OK sharer), and looking at the result of his fishing—a tangle of seaweed and a boot. One day, I'll grow up to be really excellent at something, OK says, while lying in bed. I don't know what it is yet... but I sure am having fun figuring it out. In this age of skateboarding championships and spelling bee movies, it can't hurt to remind kids that the pleasure we take in simple activities is what makes life worthwhile

Lunch Ordering Schedule for 2012-2013
Below are the dates for lunch ordering for the school year 2012-2013.  Please take note of these dates.   Once the window closes, there can be no further ordering.

Month	Order Start Date	Order End Date
September	Friday August 3	Thursday September 6
October	Friday September 14	Tuesday September 25
November	Friday October 12	Thursday October 25
December	Friday November 9	Monday November 26
January	Friday December 7	Tuesday December 18
February	Friday January 11	Monday January 28
March	Friday February 8	Monday  February 25
April	Friday March 8	Monday March 25
May	Friday April 5	Thursday April 25
June	Friday May 10	Tuesday May 28

Same day cancellations will not be accepted after 8:00 a.m. – NO EXCEPTIONS.