Tashua Family Weekly Update

Dear Tashua Families,

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful, restful break. As we start 2026, it's the perfect

time to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for. Each and every day, I feel extremely fortunate

to be working within a supportive school community, filled with talented students and staff

members and committed parents who are actively involved!

Many teachers kicked off the new year by celebrating student successes and making a plan for

setting new goals.

As we move into 2026, we will be working with your children to not only help them set new goals, but also help them to build their stamina and perseverance for completing assignments. In order for children to be successful, they will need to develop work habits that will help them acquire the GRIT they will need in order to stay committed to seeing learning tasks to their full completion, while at the same time striving to reach their highest academic potential.

At times, we find students have finished their assignments, however more effort could have been put forth when completing the learning tasks. We need to help children develop a sense of pride in completing their work, rather than just working to complete assignments. To teach children how to persevere, we need to help them to appreciate that success comes when we don’t give up and we put our ALL into what we are working to accomplish; when we work hard to meet a goal, most times we achieve it! We can model this by pointing out the goals we set for ourselves in order to help our children see how our commitment and hard work really do pay off for the greater good.

It is also important for children to understand that no one is perfect and that making errors is very much a part of learning. We need to feel confident in pointing out the mistakes that we make in order to help our children to see how to work through challenges or obstacles to make improvements.

To motivate your child to put forth his/her best effort, use positive comments such as:

“I know you can do it if you keep trying.”

“I am impressed with how hard you are working; you never give up!”

“I love to see the effort you are putting forth; your hard work is sure to pay off!”

Further, help your child to identify successful people around them, pointing out not only their fine accomplishments, but also the hard work and discipline it took to make it possible.

Kindergarten: Lena Ebenau, Hisana Martinez, Bradley McCauley, Jo-Ella Rodriguez

Grade 1: Summer Hill, Izabella Slattery, Arie Yoon

Grade 2: Nathan Cambisaca, Scotia Snook, Olivia Thompson

Grade 3: Eli Baxter, Matthew Miceli, Ameerah Rahman

Grade 4: Rodrigo Chamie, Connor Damast, Lilliana Zangrillo

Grade 5: James Gehrmann, Charlie Lapin, Dimple Oleti

We hope you can join us this evening at the Tashua Wellness Game Night at Tashua School. This event is free and hosted by the Tashua PTA and TPAUD. This is a drop-in event between 5:30-7:30 PM (come anytime) but students must be accompanied by an adult. Activities include: games, crafts and story time for all ages.

Please Note: In addition to submitting your entry online, please email TashuaReflections@gmail.com to confirm. After submission, your student's original entry can be dropped off in the Tashua office to be displayed in the lobby later this year. A small prize will be give for all who participate and submit their work to the office.

PTA Reflections inspires students to participate by reflecting on a specific, student-selected theme to create original artwork. This year's theme is I Belong! Get your creative thinking cap on and design an original work exploring this year's theme in one of the following categories. Use this inspiration sheet to help! Click each category for specific entry guidelines: Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, Visual Arts, and Accessible Arts.

How To Enter:

All entries must be submitted electronically to the CT PTA per the steps below:

1. Review the official rules and guidelines by category (see above).

2. Complete the electronic CT PTA entry form here.

3. Email your student's entry in digital format (per your category guidelines) to ReflectionsCTPTA@gmail.com. Digital files must be named with the student's name and entry title. If you have more than one entry in the same category with the same title, add a number at the end of the title for each additional entry to distinguish between them.

Entries and forms are due to the CT PTA by Monday, January 12, 2026.

Additional information (including last year's CT winning entries) can be found here: https://ct-pta-reflections.my.canva.site/ Questions? Contact Janet Howard at Tashuareflections@gmail.com

Tashua is thrilled to be part of the 2025–2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee for students in grades 3-5. Registration is now closed. For students who advance to the final round, the school Spelling Bee will be held on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 4:00 p.m.

Lastly, please be aware, students in Grades 2 - 5 will be completing the iReady assessments during the weeks of January 13th - January 22nd. In addition, students in Kindergarten - Grade 5 will be completing the DIBELS assessments during the weeks of January 20th - February 6th.

During assessment windows, it is important for your children to be prepared and ready for learning each day so they can put forth their best effort. Healthy habits of

eating, sleeping and getting plenty of rest allow all of us to perform at our highest level. These assessments points allow us to analyze student data, measure each student's growth and set individualized targeted goals for all.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions, concerns or good news to share by emailing me at NeumeyeJ@trumbullps.org or calling me at school 203-452-4433.

Warm Regards,

Mrs. Neumeyer

Friday, January 9

• PTA Game Night; 5:30-7:30 PM

Tuesday, January 13

• BOE Budget Meeting; 7:00 PM (if needed)

Thursday, January 15

• PTA Meeting; 7:00 PM

Monday, January 19

• No School; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Thursday, January 22nd

• Fathers' Club Meeting; 8:00PM Elicit Brewing Company

Wednesday, January 28th

• Scripps Spelling Bee (Grades 3,4,5); 4:00PM

Thursday, January 29

• NAESP Testing; Grade 4 in the AM

Friday, January 30

• Start of Health Moves Minds Fundraiser
• Tashua' s Got Talent Show

Tashua's Got Talent is still accepting New Act Submissions until Friday, January 16th. Do you have a talent you would like to share? Sing, dance, play an instrument or share some comedy! Acts can be individual or groups. This event will take place at Madison Middle School at 6:30 PM. Please sign up using the link: 2026 Tashua's Got Talent Show

We are now registering students for the Class of 2038! If you are looking to register your child for the 2026-2027 school year, please click here for all the information you need.

Please be reminded our budget season is in full-swing. Please take every opportunity to educate yourself on the needs of our district. Remember, once the Board of Education approves our budget, it will move to the First Selectman, Board of Finance, and Town Council. Contacting the Board of Finance and Town Councilmembers to approve our budget is vital for all of our schools to ensure we are providing the highest level of education for our students.

If necessary, our next Board of Education Budget meeting will be Tuesday, January 13th at 7:00PM.

Math in Action: NEW MATH CHALLENGE #8

Thank you to all of the families supporting our Tashua Math Challenge! Every Tashua Tiger can reason and think mathematically if given the opportunity. Let's start 2026 with more MATH!!

Our next challenge (#8) is underway.

• Challenge #8 is goes from January 9th to January 22nd
• To participate, please go to: https://www.mathinaction.org/tashua-school.html
• Student can enter responses on this online form: LINK FOR GOOGLE FORM.
• Answer Keys are posted on the same site when each contest ends
• We will have a raffle for each contest and announce winners over the morning announcements by grade. We will also recognize students who participate all year in May/June.

January Elementary Breakfast Menu

January Elementary Lunch Menu

During the month of December, Tashua students worked hard learning songs of the season - including Christmas, Hannukah and Kwanza. This past Wednesday, students were excited to showcase their singing at our annual Tashua Holiday Sing Along (rescheduled due to the snow day). In addition, students enjoyed a festive video. You can view the video, by using the link: 2025 Tashua Sing along K-Pop Hunt for Santa.

Happy New Year from the Art Room! 3rd grade artists are currently hard at work on their patterned elephants and they are doing an amazing job! If anyone would be willing to donate wipes to the Art Room so our student artists could clean their hands and spots it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

First-grade students were able to work with hands-on coding, as shown, with our Code and Go Mouse, or work on coding with Kodable on the computers. Students really enjoyed coding and seemed to enjoy having the choice of which way to further explore and enhance their learning.

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I hope all of our Tashua families enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and a happy, healthy start to the new year! We are kicking off January in P.E. with teamwork, energy, and plenty of movement!

Grades K–2: Obstacle Course Fun

Our younger Tigers are building strength and coordination as they move through a gym-wide obstacle course. They crawl, climb, balance, hop, and explore all the ways their muscles help them move. They’ve shown awesome effort and confidence as they move through each challenge!

Grades 3–5: Island Escape
Students are diving into a cooperative challenge where they must use communication, strategy, and teamwork to help their entire group travel across the “island” without touching the “water.” As part of the adventure, students work together to make it across to the final island, gathering equipment from other islands along the way to help their teams succeed. It has been great to see them collaborate, problem-solve, and encourage one another!

Wishing everyone a strong and positive start to 2026!

-Mr. DeLuca

Congratulations to Scotia Snook, Fabian Mollential, Penelope Marini, Elle Wilusz, Adeline Morabito, Keira Blanchette and Cooper Olsen for winning the chance to spin the P.B.I.S. Recognition Wheel. Keep showing your T.I.G.E.R.S. traits!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Tis' the season for dry, chapped lips! To help keep your child stay comfortable, please have him/her pack Chapstick to keep in his/her backpack (unscented and unflavored preferred).

As always, please reach out to me with any questions or concerns.

Brenda Chamale RN BSN

Tashua Elementary School Nurse

P: 203 452-4434, F: 203 452-4432

bchamale@trumbullps.org

Please join us for the next PTA meeting on January 15, 2026 at 7pm in the Media Center. We hope to see you there!

After School Enrichment is back! Registration for PTA members will start on Wednesday, January 14th at 8:00pm and close on Sunday, January 18th at 12:00pm. We will open it up to non-PTA members on Friday, January 16th at 8:00pm.Please use the link for more information: Winter ASE Registration.

Capture the memories of this unforgettable school year by purchasing a yearbook for your child! The yearbook is more than just a collection of photos - it’s a keepsake filled with special moments, friendships and achievements that your child will cherish for years to come. This year the hardcover yearbook is available for $39 and the softcover edition is $31. Please note that pricing includes a $3.99 processing fee. Don’t miss out on this wonderful way to celebrate your child!

https://yearbookordercenter.com/job/24859

Join us for an exciting Tashua PTA Family Fun Night at the SHU Men’s Ice Hockey game on February 20, 2026 at 7 PM! Bring the whole family for a night of school spirit, community fun, and fast-paced action on the ice. Parents or guardians must attend with their children as this is not a drop-off event. Click here to grab your tickets and be part of the excitement!

Please see the flyer below for more details

Use our exclusive Minted promo code, FUNDRAISETASHUA, to receive 20% off your order and 10% of the net sales will be donated back to Tashua PTA.

Shop for holiday cards, gifts, and more while giving back to our school community.

Join or Renew your membership today! If you haven’t already done so this year, please update your family information in the directory. Click on Family Information – update your details, including your children’s teachers for the 2025-2026 year.

PTA Contact

Have any questions? Reach out to PTA President, Laura Arena at larena8214@gmail.com

Want to join Tashua Father's Club - email TashuaFC@gmail.com

If you are a family in need, please use the following resources to access assistance:

• 2-1-1 Resource Directory: 211 CT
• CT Department of Social Services: DSS Portal
• Trumbull Food Pantry, 203-452-5136 (open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday) or 203-452-5133 to reach Jennifer Gillis, Social Service Coordinator. Text FOODSHARE to 8511 to receive current pantry dates, times, and locations in their area.