Connors School Scoop
April 30th, 2021
Dear Connors Families,
We had a wonderful week of learning at Connors. We have so many highlights to share with you from this past week. In addition, 3rd Marking Period Report Cards have been posted in the Genesis Parent Portal.
We are very excited as this upcoming week is Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week. Our Connors PTO has wonderful thank you activities planned for our staff and teachers! We want to celebrate our Connors teachers and staff! If you have a chance send an e-mail, Dojo, or another form of message of kindness to a teacher or staff member, they will LOVE IT!! Click on the link to our Connors PTO Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week Activities.
Our Connors School Scoop also includes:
- Connors Spring Family Fun Day Sign-Up-May 23rd
- Connors Green Team-Green Drop Donation-May 23rd
- Free Little Library
- Math Fact Frenzy with Mr. Sorafine
- Early Childhood Program-ABC's of Behavior
- Summer LEAP Program Information
- Special Education Summer Program Information
- Steven's Math Olympiad Registration
- Connors Students Advance to the STEAM Tank Regional Competition!
- Grade level Math, ELA, Science and Social Studies Learning Activities
- Social and Emotional Support from our Integrated Services Team
- Move this World Parent Login Information
- Connors PTO Swag Sale
- Dates for Upcoming Events
I hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend!
All the best,
Principal Addi
Connors Spring Family Fun day
I am so excited to announce our Connors Spring Family FUN DAY, on May 23rd, 2021. It will be a wonderful opportunity for us all to meet up and enjoy each other's company! Family Fun Day will be held in our playground. We will have socially distant games, relay races, and of course...the long awaited DUNK tank with Mr. Sorafine, the prize from our 100,000 Minute Reading Challenge. In addition, our Connors Green Team organized Green Drop as well! Green Drop is a wonderful way to donate items that you no longer need.
In order to keep our numbers low so we can maintain social distance, we are scheduling our Connors Spring Family Fun Day based upon student grade levels in time slots throughout the day. By having one grade level during a specific time slot, we are able to reduce the number of attendees during each time frame. Masks and social distancing are required. If our attendee numbers seem high, we might add additional time slots. In addition, our date could be subject to change if there is a rise in Covid cases.
The times will be as follows:
Grade K-10:00-10:50 am
Grade 1-11:00-11:50 am
Grade 2-12:00-12:50 pm
Grade 3-1:00-1:50 pm
Grade 4 and Grade 5-2:00-2:50 pm
Please click on the Sign Up Genius Below in your child's grade level time slot.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4AAAAF2BA1FFC70-spring
In addition, Green Drop will be open from 10:30 am - 1:00 pm. All charitable donations will benefit the National Federation of the Blind.
Looking forward to our Family Fun Day and Green Drop!
All the best,
Principal Addi
T.G. Connors Free Little Library
Our Connors Free Little Library is up and running again. Please feel free to come by to donate or pick-up books. We have a Free Little Library in the front of Connors as well as another one on the Connors Playground. Thank you so much to our Connors PTO for donating the Free Little Libraries! Happy Reading Everyone!
Math Fact Frenzy Party with Mr. Sorafine!
We had our Math Fact Frenzy party during lunch with Mr. Sorafine! Math Fact Frenzy parties are an exciting way to practice math facts by playing fun math games while listening and dancing to math songs! Students answer 10 math fact questions that are grade level appropriate and cover, addition, subtraction, multiplication & division. When students answer their 10 math fact questions correctly, they receive a free dessert. We had so much fun at our Math Fact Frenzy party! Click on the link to view our Math Fact Frenzy party!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SEY7ZAr7iJVUY4M2BFNRMBt21GUrKxgL/view?usp=sharing
Hoboken Public Schools Early Childhood Education Program Presents: ABC’s of Behavior
Please join us for an informative parent webinar hosted by the Hoboken Public Schools Early Childhood Education Programs’ Preschool Intervention & Referral Team (PIRT) and Assistant Superintendent Sandra Rodriguez-Gomez, as we explore the long sought after question, “Why is my child behaving this way?” Practical strategies will be provided to help determine the causes of challenging behavior in young children, as well as strategies that teach children how to have their needs met in more appropriate ways. Parents will have the opportunity to engage in a live Q & A Session from 10:00-11:00 am, immediately following our webinar presentation.
When: Friday, April 30, 2021
Time: Webinar Presentation 9:00-10:00 am
Live Q&A 10:00-11:00 am
Link to Sign Up: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_W89NA2OEQDS2NAC3Do9iXg
Link to the Flyer:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1hR2X0lq8JE5tG2T7ceg8eUsLa30AfpXc516nthahOJ0/edit?usp=sharing
Hoboken Public School District Summer LEAP Program
Special Services Summer 2021 Guide
Dear Hoboken Parents and Guardians,
It is with great pleasure and excitement that I am sending you this letter regarding your child’s participation in the Special Education Summer 2021 Program. In response to the impact of the pandemic on the school experience of our children, we are offering three programs:
1) The Extended School Year (ESY) is for all students who have an IEP that includes ESY in their program,
2) The Summer Extension Camp that is an optional program for students with IEPs who would like to participate on a voluntary basis
3) Inclusion Explorations Courses
Please review the information about our Special Services Summer 2021 Programs for the details. Each component has a parent guide. Should you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s case manager before the end of the school year. Our staff looks forward to working with your child and family to offer a wonderful and enriching experience this summer.
http://www.hobokenschools.org/special_education/special_services_summer_2021_program_information
Respectfully,
Cecilia D’Elia, Psy.D., LPC
Director of Special Services
Stevens Mathematical Olympiad
Date: Saturday, May 22, 2021
Time: 10 a.m.-1:45 p.m.
Location: Virtually via Zoom
The Olympiad has the following goals:
- To stimulate enthusiasm and a love for mathematics
- To introduce important mathematical concepts to students
- To strengthen mathematical intuition and creativity
- To attract bright middle and high school students to Stevens Institute of Technology
Students are offered 15 problems to solve in five divisions:
Grades 3-4
Grades 5-6
Grades 7-8
Grades 9-10
Grades 11-12
Registration
Registration is opened on Tuesday, March 23rd. Pre-registration is required for this event. Day of registration will not be accepted.
This event is free, but participants are required to complete a Math Olympiad consent form in addition to an online registration form. Participants must submit all pages of the consent for to successfully register.
Here is the link:
STEAM Tank Regional Competition Here We Come!
The Multi-Tensil
Bria Wong
Liba Newfield
Smart Face Shield
Randy Colon
Amy Morales
Eleanor Zucker
Nahla Lisa
Saniyah Gibbs
The Pet Feeder
Grace Shoemaker
Nathaniel Goldberg
Madison McKeown
The Double Slide
Zendaya Crandell
Logan Morrissey
Jordyn McKenzie
The Donut Holder
Nivea Freeman
Jarely Garcia
The Importance of Independent Reading
There is an abundance of research on the importance of reading. Often, families believe that reading will take place at school and children do not have to read at home. Interestingly, independent reading at home provides children with a tremendous academic advantage. The attached chart on the right is extremely powerful. It indicates that with just 20 minutes of reading per night for 5 days per week or an equivalent of 3600 minutes, children would conceptually gain 10 extra school days. Just think about it...if this was established as a habit and your child did this for eight years, they would conceptually gain 80 extra school days. So, who has a better chance of excelling academically? Children who read for 20 hours per day for 5 days per week or those who don't read regularly outside of school?
School Lunch Hero Day!
Kindergarten
Ms. Fleischer's Kindergarten Class
Another fantastic week in Miss Fleischer and Mrs. Mussara’s class! This week in math, students had a blast participating in math workshops. To start off the week, students focused on measurement using cubes. The objective of this math workshop was to measure different body parts, such as a hand, calf, or foot and compare the measurements with a partner. We were so impressed as to how well the class did and all of the teamwork we saw! Students also learned about the number line. Students created their own number line and participated in activities to fill in the missing number. Our favorite workshop was number line scoot, where students had to look at different number lines and identify the missing numbers from 1-120! Keep up the great job Kindergarten friends!
Ms. Pinkas' Kindergarten Class
In Math we are reviewing measurement using non standard units. Each child had a partner trace their bodies on poster board sized paper. Once their body was traced students had to color and measure different parts of their body using unifix cubes and recorded their data. They had lots of fun!
Ms. Rodriguez's Remote Kindergarten Class
This week, in ELA, we are finishing the alphabet and learning the letters Y & Z. In a whole group class activity, students did a great job blending phonemes to write cvc words and highlighting the vowels in each word. They drew a picture to match each word and also used starfall, to independently review each letter. To practice our sight words of the week, this & what, students did rainbow writing with the words and read their sight word book of the week, "What Can You Do?" They are such amazing readers! During small groups, students practiced writing 5 star sentences and drawing detailed pictures. I am very proud of all their hard work!
Ms. Watson's Kindergarten Class
This week in Ms. Watson’s class the students conducted a big math project to review measuring with non-standard units. First, the students paired with partners to trace their bodies. They cut them out and colored their paper people! The next day we measured all the body parts on our paper people using cubes! The class had so much fun creating and exploring! We also played our favorite ELA game, word SWAT! The students take turns racing each other to read and swat the correct word. Lainey even beat Ms. Watson!
1st Grade
Ms. Garcia's 1st Grade Class
ELA: This week in ELA students were focusing on -ar words. The learning goal was to understand the words and be able to apply them. Some of the activities that they worked on was ABC order, sorting, illustrating the word, and working with their group to practice spelling. After completing these activities the students felt confident about taking their spelling test on Friday.
Ms. Romanowski's 1st Grade Class
It was a fun and busy week in room 206. In language arts, our phonics focus was on r controlled vowels and spelling patterns, also known as “bossy r”. We also learned about irregular, plural nouns.
In science, our class began unit 6 which is all about objects and patterns in the sky. Students are so excited to learn about planets and constellations!
In math, first graders are becoming data and graphing experts. Students especially love getting to survey their classmates and peers as they practice collecting data.
At lunch on Thursday, first graders participated in Mr. Sorafine’s Math Fact Frenzy. This week students showed off their skills comparing numbers. They especially enjoyed their popsicle prizes!
Ms. Gaudio's 1st Grade Class
Ms. Sheridan's 1st Grade Class
Math:
In unit 6 of Investigations Math, students are learning all about ways to collect and interpret data by answering survey questions and reading various representations of data charts. Students began collecting their own data by asking their very own survey questions.
Writing:
Students completed their monthly narrative writing task by writing a how to informative writing piece. The topic was: How To Get Ready For School. Students did an amazing job brainstorming ideas, taking their time and of course, trying their very best!
ELA:
Students enjoyed learning all about things we see in the sky. We all took the time to observe things in the sky during the day and night. After listening to various texts such as, Why the Sun and the Moon Are In the Sky and Kittens First Full Moon, we became inspired to create posters to show what we saw in the sky.
Ms. Schultes' 1st Grade Class
1st Grade: Ms. Schultes’ and Ms. Vayda’s Math Class
Students in first grade have started learning about surveys, tally charts, and bar graphs in the new Investigations Unit! They have been coming up with survey questions to ask their peers. This week they each came up with a topic such as: favorite color, favorite animal, favorite holiday, which animal would you like to be, etc. Once they decided on a question, each class came out into the hallway and got to ask their questions one-by-one. The class stayed socially distant from each other. Students tallied up the votes and then answered results-related questions such as which category had the most/least votes, and comparative questions like how many more or fewer votes did a certain category get than another. First graders love conducting their own surveys and analyzing the results! Keep it up!
Ms. Vayda's - 1st Grade Class
ELA:
First graders had a busy week in ELA. During reading centers we focused on making and confirming predictions while reading fantasy stories. This week for guided reading, students worked on identifying the point of view for different characters throughout the story. Then they completed a graphic organizer to record how the characters feel and evidence from the story. We had fun learning all about bossy r- ar. Students used the letter R and transformed it into a pirate. After, they wrote -ar words onto their paper. In grammar we focused on conjunctions, irregular plurals, and homonyms.
Math:
This week in Math we began Unit 6: Would you Rather be an Eagle or a Whale? This unit is about data and looking at the facts or information we collect about people and things in our world. Students created their own questions, collected data, and made representations of the data they collected. We focused on making bar graphs to show our results. Students enjoyed going to the other 1st grade classes to ask their peers their survey questions. They also focused on solving comparison problems that are based on data.
Social Studies:
During Social Studies we continued our Digital Citizenship lesson from Common Sense Education. We learned how staying safe online is a lot like staying safe in the real world. Students were engaged in this lesson by using a fun traffic light activity. Students learned how to identify "just right" content, giving them the green light to learn to learn, play, and explore the internet safely. We talked about how to get help from an adult if they are unsure of a website or app.
Ms. Layson's Class
Students in Room 302 learned and investigated how clouds form and ways to identify each cloud type based on the altitude (height or location in the sky) and its attributes (how they look). Students then had fun with cotton balls and manipulated them to model each of the cloud types and their unique attributes. Students of 302 don’t just see different animals formed in the clouds when they look up in the sky anymore! If they identify stratus or cumulonimbus clouds forming in the sky, they’ll be able to warn you that rain is likely headed our way!
2nd Grade
Ms. Cofranceco's 2nd Grade Class
Language Arts: This week during Language Arts centers, students practiced writing, reading, phonics, and sight words. During guided reading, students read a story with the teacher and practiced retelling and writing a summary. During the comprehension center, students read this week’s story and compared and contrasted using a Venn Diagram. During independent reading, students read a story and answered “Read and Roll” questions.
Ms. Sene's 2nd Grade Class
Math: This week in Math students learned about different ways to represent data, bar graphs, creating equations based on the data, and more! We also focused on how to create a bar graph by forming a title, choosing four categories, and drawing/coloring in the bar to show the number. During this activity students collected data from 15 to 20 people in Connors School to help them form their graphs. Each student chose their own subject for their graphs such as favorite colors, favorite video games, and favorite characters from Smash Bros.
Ms. Barsuokva's 2nd Grade Class
SCIENCE
Students in Ms. Barsukova's 2nd Grade Remote Class, have been exploring two types of habitats: Forest and Savanna. With the support from Dimensions, Get Epic! books, research, and sketching, students were deeply involved in better understanding and identifying the climate, animals and plants that make those habitats. Students completed a research about an animal of savannah and a tree of the forest of their choice and later were very excited to present the facts which they found to the whole class. In addition, with help from a high school design major student from Kean University, students were engaged in the process of designing sketches of the Savanna Habitat, its animals, and plants. Students worked hard to
EARTH DAY
After watching a presentation by Thomas Connors Team, watching an educational video about the Earth Day, listening to Earth Day Read Aloud books, learning about an Acrostic Poem, and having a conversation about ways that we, people, can help Earth, students created a short acrostic poem from the word "EARTH" and make an earth using our hand to represent how our helping hands can heal the Earth and have a positive impact if we are conscious about positive and small changes we can make everyday to help Earth. Students did their very best to make their project possible!!!
MS. AYERS' 2nd GRADE CLASS
Literacy:
Folktales have been the focus in Literacy for the past three weeks. The folktales shared was supposed to give the kids a different perspective about nature. After reading many stories together about nature, the kids worked in small groups to dramatize their given stories, while also trying to use items as props to keep listeners engaged! This week they performed their plays for the class, in which they did an excellent job reading, juggling multiple characters, showing inflection and incorporating props! Check out all of the groups in the pictures!
- Abigail, Ceejay and Owen performed Why Turtles Live in Water
- Harper, Gregory, Noah, Maya and Dylan performed Why Spiders Have 8 Thin Legs
3rd Grade
Ms. Januse's 3rd Grade Class
Science:
Students began creating the "Perfect Pigpen" during Science this week. Students were tasked with creating Wilbur, from Charlotte's Web his perfect pigpen. They worked collaboratively to define a simple design problem and used a limited number of popsicle sticks to construct a pigpen with specific criteria and the largest possible area.
ELA:
This week in ELA, students continued reading the district novel, Charlotte's Web. Students were able to read selected chapters from the novel in order to define unknown words using context clues. Third graders also practiced using possessive nouns this week as our grammar skill. Students used their whiteboards to write possessive nouns.
MS. STINSON'S 3rd GRADE CLASS
Ms. Stinson’s 3rd grade class presented their invention “The Smart Face Shield” in the 2nd round of the STEAM Tank Challenge on Wednesday April 28, 2021.
The feedback from the judges with extremely positive and complimentary. Their hard work and attention to detail did not go unnoticed and we are extremely proud of this amazing class!
Ms. Waxman's 3rd Grade Class
4th Grade
Ms. Rodriguez's - 4th Grade Class
4th Grade engineers continued to explore maps with a hands on project. They were challenged to design a park using a map to plan equipment and feature placement. The park designers had to meet certain design criteria and work within constraints. After creating their designs, students then analyzed their design and evaluated how they might change their plan to better meet the requirements.
Ms. Schulz's - 4th Grade Class
Fourth Grade learners continued their novel study of "Jim and Me" by Dan Gutman this week. Students focused on setting as they were able to identify and give specific details and descriptors for chosen chapters. The students wrote about the settings and illustrated their work. The students worked with partners to design and create their scenes. The students final products were thoughtfully and collaboritively done. Great job 4th grade!
5th Grade
MS. DAVID's - 5TH GRADE CLASS
Last week, we had an investigation based on different heights of ramp causing an object's speed to change. This week, one of our 5th graders decided to bring in 3 different toy vehicles. She brought in a Lamborghini, a Chevy, and a mini skateboard. The question: Does the weight of an object change the speed of the object going down a ramp? As a class, we thought of a hypothesis for this investigation. The heavier the object, the faster it is. Each group took turns sliding each toy down a ramp. All ramps were the same height (the control) and the amount of time we measured the toy moving was the same (3 seconds). We rotated until every group experimented with each toy. The conclusion: the red Lamborghini was the heaviest, and went the farthest distance down the ramp. Whereas the skateboard stopped moving before 3 seconds were up! The students were able to see firsthand how much force an object has based on its weight! We then came together and compared the results of each group, and the farthest was the Lamborghini, then the Chevy, then the skateboard.
Mr. Donovan's 5th Grade Class
Social Studies
Students engaged in a new learning platform this week. Common Sense’s Digital Citizenship Curriculum addresses critical issues facing students in a fast-changing world of media and technology. The innovative lessons teach students to think critically and develop the habits of mind to navigate digital dilemmas in their everyday lives. The lessons teach the skills and habits of mind students need to stay safe, think critically, and take control of their digital lives.
Mrs. Ortiz's 5th Grade Remote Class
The Remote 5th graders really enjoyed the digital literary lessons from Common Sense Education and therefore we extended our conversations to span into this week for Social Studies. Students learned about clickbait, analyzed ads and looked for clues of clickbait within those ads, and then created their own version of clickbait ads and shared it with their peers, there was tons of laughter and we have determined that we have some professional ad makers in the making. In Science we discussed the properties of matter and examples of matter and did a small group drag and drop activity. We also learned about the producer role in an ecosystem and did an activity where students learned that producers are self producers of food and they were impressed that a producer can take a nonliving resource and turn it into energy. In Math we returned to our Savvas lessons and ordered and represented decimals. Students were able to play a "decimal in between" game where they pulled decimal cards and had to order them but it became tricky as some cards were tenths, while others were hundredths, and others were thousandths. We have geniuses in the 5th grade because students quickly realized how the game was trying to trick them and they all scored extremely high. In Reading we started our new novel "The Watsons Go to Birmingham", students were introduced to a family called the "Weird Watsons" who are a riot. Students read chapters 1-3 where we learned about the family members, their interactions at school, and some social concerns. Students are really enjoying learning and growing with this family.
Mr. Azzarto's Music Class
In 1st grade this week, the students learned about note values and how they relate to every form of music. Music is measured in beats and the songs we sing are based on various notes and beats. Here is Aya from Ms. Garcia’s class, showing off her extensive knowledge of note and rest values using “Music Math”, which combines math with notes.
In 3rd grade this week, the students took a quiz on note placement on the treble and bass clefs. Memorization of note placement on both clefs is a crucial stepping stone for young music students and the 3rd grade is climbing fast! Here is Zendaya from Ms. Januse’s class, showing how well she did on her quiz.
Mr. Favino's Physical Education Class
Ms. Jia's - Mandarin Class
This week students’ learning goal is to extend their knowledge of countries to expressing their nationalities and which countries they want to visit. Students focused on speaking practices, for example, practiced speaking 1. “wo shi mei guo ren” (我是美国人,I am an American”) 2.“wo xiang qu mo xi ge”(我想去墨西哥,I want to visit Mexico). Students had a lot of fun imagining they are the person of a country where their families were originally from, or they just say “I am an American”. They had more fun imaging the countries they want to visit. I hope their wishes can come true!
Ms. Musella's - Art Class
In the art room with Mrs. Musella the 4th grade students are working on the last phase of their watercolor rabbits. During the beginning of this project I decided to change it up in regards to which rabbit they would do. The students in room 308 did the brownish rabbit and room 307 did the black and white one called a Dutch rabbit. They are both turning out beautiful. The students embraced this lesson while learning how to follow step by step instruction for illustrating a rabbit with appropriate proportions. They needed to focus on the size of the drawing within the paper boundary. This lesson promoted individual choice when using various techniques and mediums. They did an awesome job !!!!
CST and Integrated Services Team
Internet Safety
With the virtual world being so prevalent, it is important to discuss internet safety. There are so many ways to encourage your children to be safe online. The information below can be applicable to online gaming, cell phones and even tablet devices.
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander month.
We have partnered with Kean University to host a panel in an effort to amplify the voices of the AAPI community. Two of our very own will serve on the panel. Jin Park, our supervisor at the HS and Joyce Simons, who is one of our board members, will serve on the panel.
May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander Month. Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is observed annually in May to celebrate the contributions that generations of AAPIs have made to American history, society, and culture. The theme for the observance of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May 2021 is Advancing Leaders Through Purpose-Driven Service. To that end, you will find the Choice Boards for the Month of May. Thank you to Dr. Pollins and the teachers that worked so hard to create the boards.
Parents, would you like to learn more about Move this World? Would you like to use Move this World at Home? Use the following credentials to login after clicking the link in the title.
Username: connors.family
Password: hoboken123
Connors School Spirit Wear
Would you like to purchase more Connors School Spirit Wear? Click on the link below to view our Connors School Spirit Wear. If someone wishes to purchase an item, please email the swag team (swagconnors@gmail.com) and the swag team will contact you.
Connors PTO Meetings
Our Connors PTO will be meeting the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 12:00 pm virtually.
Here are the Connors PTO meeting dates for the 2020-2021 School Year
May 11th
June 8th
Click below to join the meeting:
meet.google.com/nqs-hhna-dkb
- May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Month
- May 3rd-May 7th-Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week
- May 6th, 5:30 PM is the Asian American and Pacific Islander Voices Panel Discussion
- May 11th, Connors PTO Meeting
- May 23rd-Connors Spring Family Fun Day and Green Drop
Juliana Addi, Principal, Thomas G. Connors Elementary School
Email: juliana.addi@hoboken.k12.nj.us
Website: hoboken.k12.nj.us
Location: 201 Monroe Street, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Phone: 201-356-3684