Carl L. Dixson Primary School

October 2023 Newsletter

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Dixson Events

Our students enjoyed a presentation by the Elmsford Fire Department to learn about fire safety prevention. They also had a chance to see a fire truck up close and learn about its different compartments! A big thanks to the Elmsford FD for their visit and for giving our students helmets and coloring books!
As part of our Hispanic Heritage month celebrations, students participated in a performance called Cumbia for Kids!
During Kindness Week, students learned about the Buddy Beach located in our school's playground, and different ways to be kind to others. Our students and staff wore blue in support of Anti-Bullying awareness.
Dixson’s 8th Annual Apple Palooza Event, led by Mrs. Cleveland was a huge success! We were joined by AHHS students and fully engaged in apple themed math related activities. Thank you to Shoprite in Elmsford for donating 150 apples and apple cider for our students to enjoy.
The Elmsford Police Department visited our students to discuss Halloween Safety and Stranger Danger. Our students had a chance to ask questions about safety. Thank you to the Elmsford PD for your visit and for giving our students Halloween Safety Trick or Treat bags!
On Fitness Friday, students, parents, and staff participated in a friendly competition of Tug of War! Ms. Cruz and her class went undefeated!
On Oct 31st, our students had a variety of activities to participate in such as a Pumpkin Picking Patch, a fall wreath making station, Pumpkin Ring Toss, and/or the Annual Dixson Grady Halloween Parade! Thank you to Mayor Williams and the Elmsford PD for keeping our parade route clear and safe. Also, thank you for providing us with a visit from the ice cream truck for a very yummy treat!

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Kindergarten Updates

ELA: We continue to practice our rules for Reading: Read, Read, Read! We are working on building our independent reading stamina using books in the classroom or on RAZ kids. We learned about characters. Characters can be people, animals or creatures that can talk, move and have feelings. We also learned to identify setting. The setting is where a story takes place.
Phonics: Letters Nn, Mm, Ii, Uu, Oo, Aa, Gg
Trick words: the, my, we
Math: Students have been learning how to count and represent numbers 0 - 10. We have been practicing math vocabulary including one more, equal/equal groups, greater than, less than, matching, and fewer.
Social Studies: Our focus has been All About Me, Hispanic Heritage, All About Apples, and Kindness Week.
Science: We continue to practice being scientists. We learned all about Solar Energy, and how to plan, conduct, and test an investigation. We spent some time talking about and observing normal and severe weather and how to prepare for different types of weather. We have been discussing weather trends and patterns.

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1st Grade Updates

ELA: Students have been reading and writing words with word families such as -all, -ack, -ay, -ee, -ink, -ine, -ot and -ump. During writing, students have had a chance to write about the town, state and country we live in.
Math: First graders have been noticing patterns in numbers. They are learning to identify the tens and ones in a number. We have practiced showing a number by drawing quick tens. Students have also learned how to compare numbers using the words greater than, less than, and equal to.
Science: Our first grade scientists are observing the moon. We discuss how the moon’s appearance changes over time and the pattern that develops.
Social Studies: Students are learning all about the places in our community. They are learning how to use location words such as: next to, across from, and far from.

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Special Classes

Art with Ms. Sanft

Creativity is flowing in the Art room!! Kindergarten students looked at different types of apples and took notice of the different colors they saw. They used oil pastels and paints to complete their beautiful apple artwork! We have just begun to use scissors and glue for our next project.
The Frida Kahlo portraits made by the 1st graders are complete. Students worked very hard on them, and they look incredible!!!! We are starting a new project which will reinforce cutting and gluing skills.

Music with Mr. Funke

Students celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a performance by Cumbia for Kids on October 13th!
Students focused on their "same and different" unit where they compared echo and call and response songs.
Students in grades K and 1 are working really well on their music in preparation for their first performance of the year! Students will sing at the Board of Education meeting on November 8th in the Alexander Hamilton High School Auditorium. Students who are participating should arrive by 6:45pm and are asked to wear a red shirt and dark pants/shirt. A shirt with a Dixson logo would look nice, and if students do not have a red shirt, a black shirt can be a good option.

Library with Ms. Watson

Library in October was all about nonfiction topics.
We began by studying several individuals of Hispanic heritage with all different talents. Their talents went from the bottom of the ocean with Narcis Monturiol who invented the engine for the submarine to the tip of the atmosphere with Ellen Ochoa who was the first Hispanic woman in space!
Next we spoke about Christopher Columbus and the Indigenous people. We read a book that explained all about explorers. We learned that they came to exchange their riches with the Indigenous people. Columbus brought animals like horses, pigs and sheep and the Indigenous people gave Columbus vegetables such as corn, tomatoes and chocolate.
During kindness week, we learned how to be bucket fillers. We learned that when you say or do something nice to someone, it fills their bucket with kindness and makes them smile.
Finally, we learned all about Fall and the exciting changes that come with a new season. We spoke about the cool air, that it gets dark earlier, that the leaves change colors, and that the fallen leaves are really fun to jump in!
I hope your child is enjoying coming to the library. I also hope when they get home they are explaining all the activities we have done together!

Physical Education with Mr. Tiernan

We have transitioned into our soccer unit. Students practice their skills through activities such as Dribblerama Soccer and Make it Take it Soccer!
Please have your child wear sneakers on the days that they have physical education class.

Academic Intervention Service Team

Students spend at least one part of each day engaged in phonics and beginning reading skills. One of the things students spend a lot of time on is learning word families for consonant-vowel-consonant words (or CVC, CVCC, CCVC and CCVCC words). Learning these words always helps students to enhance their overall reading development. If you're looking for fun activities, try finding or creating word family puzzles for children to play with.

Number Identification is an important skill for our students. Kindergarten students are mastering identifying numbers through 10. While First grade students are mastering identification of two digit numbers and counting to 120. A fun way to support students at home is to have your little one find numbers all around them. For example, looking for a number on a food item from the cabinet and looking for certain numbers on license plates or signs as you ride in the car! For an added challenge, ask them to find a number bigger than a number you provide.

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Nurse Notes

Daylight savings time ended on November 5th. In “Falling Back” an hour, you may notice a difference in your child as they adjust to it getting darker outside earlier. This serves as a reminder for us to utilize reflective clothing and a light source when doing any outdoor activities.

Continue to educate your child to AVOID food sharing (especially in school). This will aid in the prevention of exposure to food allergens for those with allergies.
Candy is a treat and its consumption should be limited for good health. Please consider sending fruit, pretzels, or other healthy choices for snack-time.
Good habits are established early. Help your child develop good oral hygiene by brushing their teeth twice per day.
***Please remember to contact the school when your child is absent and provide us with the reason for their absence.

In good health,

Nurse Carlee, RN

(914) 592-1063

ccharles@eufsd.org

Important Safety and Security Reminders

Please do NOT hold the door open for others looking to enter the building, including other parents/guardians. Each person must ring the bell and be approved by the main office staff prior to entering the building.
All visitors must present an identification card in order to obtain a visitor's pass.
Students arriving late or leaving early must be signed in/out from the Main Office.
Remember to bring your identification card when picking up your child.
If you wish to change your child's dismissal status, please notify your child's classroom teacher or the main office (for example your child is being picked up instead of taking the bus).
Please do not park or walk through the staff parking lot as it is an active lot.

We do not permit the release of students to parents or guardians during the following transitional times:

Class movement between the annex building and main building
Movement between lunch and recess
3:00pm- 3:20pm (2:35-2:55 on Mondays)
Please make arrangements with the main office in advance so that your child can be picked up before or after these transitional times.