Harbordale Elementary School
Quarter 1 newsletter 2018-2019
Letter from the Principal
November 14, 2018
Dear Harbordale Families:
The busy fall season is certainly upon us and changes can be felt everywhere! It’s hard to believe we are already well into the 2nd quarter of school as we head quickly into the hustle, bustle of the holiday season. Students and teachers continue to focus on the Florida State Standards, challenging curriculum and new skills and strategies each day. With the focus on curriculum aligned to the standards and new, more demanding assessments, we are continuously striving to “raise the bar” and increase the rigor for all our students.
Wow! We have certainly had a busy beginning of the year. Meet and Greet, Welcome Back Orientation, Student Council elections, the selection of WHBD, Safety Patrols, Peace Rangers and Recycling Teams, 4th and 5th Grade Chorus, the 4th and 5th Grade D4/D5 Program, our annual HSA Fall SuperSale, Adopt-a-class and several student assemblies and field trips are just some of our recent activities. Additionally, our Welcome Back Social at Royal Pig and our Annual Pumpkin Pizzazz were huge successes enjoyed by all. Food and Toy Drives, our Internet Safety Parent Training and the Holiday Shop are some of the many exciting events scheduled before we break for the Winter Holidays.
Mark your calendars…our terrific 4th and 5th Grade Chorus will be performing at “Christmas on Las Olas” on Tuesday, November 27th, 6:00 p.m. As in the past, we will be performing on the stage near The Cheesecake Factory. Under the direction of Mr. Ciotti, all our students have been working very hard preparing for this special holiday event. We are proud to brag…Harbordale has performed at this community event for more than thirty years. We hope to see many families come out and support our school at this traditional holiday evening. There will be a repeat performance on Wednesday, December 19th, 8:30 a.m., in our Cafeteria.
The safety of our students and staff continue to be top priority. This is not only Harbordale’s focus, but the District’s as well. Each school is required to establish a “Safe Team”, responsible for developing and monitoring comprehensive safety plans in the event of an emergency. In coordination with local law enforcement agencies, we continue to review our existing safety procedures and plans. Mock emergency drills are conducted on a monthly basis in an effort to ensure staff and students know what to do in the event of a real emergency. We sincerely thank HSA for coordinating emergency supplies of water and snacks for each classroom in the event we are in a “lockdown” for an extended period of time. We also send a reminder to secure items out of sight when leaving your car as we have experienced several “smash and grabs” incidents in the past.
As we the busy holiday season nears, schedules become very hectic and rushed. All children should be encouraged to read a minimum of twenty minutes and review math skills and concepts each night. Establish a consistent routine and schedule the same time daily in a quiet area and limit TV time. Research has shown that students who read and practice math concepts regularly demonstrate marked improvement on standardized test scores and exhibit better study skills and they progress through their school years.
At this special time of the year, we are thankful for our outstanding students, dedicated teachers and staff and wonderful families that make Harbordale a special place for all. We truly feel fortunate to be part of this wonderful school family. We sincerely hope all your holidays are filled with love, laughter and special memories.
Sincerely,
Theresa Bucolo Jennifer Kashdin
Theresa Bucolo Jennifer Kashdin
Principal Assistant Principal
Winter Holidays…
Monday, December 24th – Monday, January 7th
(Employee Planning Day)
School resumes Tuesday, January 8th
“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.”
W.T. Purkiser
Kindergarten
Fall is here! Students have been adjusting very well to Kindergarten and learning all of the daily procedures, safety drills, and school wide rules.
We have assessed all students on their letter names/sounds and concepts of print. We are continuing to review these skills daily in Fundations, small group, and through song. We have been introducing new letters and sight words each week. We practice sight words every day and continue to review past words. The more practice and exposure to sight words, the more fluent students will be as readers. Remember, sight words are not to be sounded out.
In Reading, we have been focusing on characters and setting of a story. After reading a story, students are able to identify the main character/s and where the story takes place. We are also reviewing many different Concepts of Print in text, such as; locating the title, author, illustrator, and punctuation marks.
In Math, we have finished up Chapter 1 (representing numbers 1-5) and Chapter 2 (comparing numbers: greater than, less than, equal to) and Chapter 3 (numbers 6-9). We are also reviewing some skills from the Kindergarten Math Readiness Assessment that was given in the beginning of the year.
In Science, we have been learning about the 5 Senses, Seasons, and Living & Non-Living Things. We have done many activities in our Interactive Science Journals along with Discovery Science, BrainPop Jr., and Pebble Go. For each theme, we do a related Science experiment to align with our unit of study.
In Social Students, we have been discussing class and school rules, community helpers, family & friendship. Students are now very familiar with the class and school rules. We have talked a lot about our families and what it looks like to be a good friend. We are excited to learn about elections and voting in the upcoming month. We have a lot of exciting activities and projects planned for the students to get them enthusiastic about the election.
We have an upcoming field trip planned. One of the field trips we will be going to see Mrs. Wishy Washy at the Tradewinds Park. The students are very excited to be going to the farm! We had a unit lesson on farm animals and each student presented a farm animal research project to the class. As a follow up, we will be getting to visit a real farm! We have such an amazing group of Kindergarteners this year! We can’t wait to see the students continue to grow both socially and academically.
Thank you for your continued support and involvement!
Love,
Ms. Brotman, Ms. Costello, Mrs. Edler, Mrs. Glasser, & Mrs. Webb
First Grade
It’s hard to believe that a quarter of the academic year has already passed. We are becoming great mathematicians, scientists, readers, and citizens.
Throughout the first quarter, we’ve learned the importance of using strategies to facilitate learning. In mathematics, these strategies include adding 0, adding 1, counting on, doubles, doubles plus one, making 10, and adding three addends. Our upcoming chapters will focus on subtraction strategies and the relationship between addition and subtraction. We have also started math journals. Students are using pictures, numbers, and words to solve number stories.
Students have explored how scientists use their five senses to explore the world around them. We have focused on inquiry skills and the scientific method, as well as matter.
We’ve also covered such skills as retelling, nonfiction text features, visualizing, and CVC words. Students have made great gains in their reading fluency and decoding skills!
Please read daily with your child and remember to ask comprehension questions. Take home books should be returned daily along with the signed reading log. In addition, review your child’s homework and use Xtra Math at home to help build fact fluency.
A final note, please help us to welcome Nicole Bumar who recently joined our 1st grade team from Flamingo Elementary. We made changes in each 1st grade classroom to share students with Ms. Bumar.
Thanks for your continued support! We’re looking forward to an amazing second quarter!
First Grade Team
Mrs. Garza
Mrs. Fitzgerald
Ms. Buitron
Ms. Fisher
Ms. Bumar
Second grade
Our school year is off to a great start! This quarter in reading, we examined fictional texts. We can ask and answer “WH” questions, recount stories, define the moral of a story, and describe how characters react to problems in a story. As the end of the quarter winds down, we are beginning to examine non-fiction text and starting our Native American project!
We have learned the basics of creating a themed Narrative piece. Our grammar focus was to remember capital letters to begin new sentences as well as with proper nouns. We are working hard to learn different types of punctuation, and remember to use punctuation to end our sentences.
In Math, we distinguished even and odd numbers and learned the basics for addition and subtraction, through skip counting. We also worked with three-digit numbers and can read and write numbers in many ways, all the way to one thousand! We will continue to build on these foundational skills in the coming weeks. Most recently, our focus has been to add or subtract 10 or 100 from a number. We also learned how to recognize a number’s place value.
In Science, we have learned how to be a Scientist. We conducted a gummy bear experiment to make predictions, observations, and draw conclusions.
In Social Studies, we have learned about being good citizens and building a classroom community. We completed a unit on the different styles of maps, how to find: continents, oceans, even the state of Florida on a map. Students can also create and read map keys, symbols, and created a map of their own city or town. We also know our cardinal directions and can define which direction we need to travel to reach an area or region on a map.
A few reminders:
* Take-home books (blue pouches) should be coming to and from school on a weekly basis. Students have new AR goals each quarter, which includes both a point goal and an average goal of 80% or higher. Please encourage your child to read and reread their AR books before he or she may take an AR quiz. Re-reading also increases stamina, fluency, and builds comprehension skills.
* Second grade teachers continue to conduct beginning of year assessments.
Thank you so much for your continued support!
Sincerely,
Ms. Disbury, Ms. Ferraro, Ms. Menolascino, and Ms. Smith
Third grade
Our third graders are off to a fantastic start! In reading, we started with some of our informational text-based standards. Students learned how to ask and answer questions to show their understanding of a text. They know that they must refer explicitly to the text when answering questions. Next, we figured out how to identify the main idea of a paragraph as well as the main idea of an entire text. We also learned how key details support the main idea. After that, we learned about sequence and cause and effect relationships. Finally, we switched over to studying literature- based standards beginning with asking and answering questions to show students’ understanding of a story.
In math, we began with understanding place value to the 1,000s. This helped when we figured out how to round numbers to the nearest 10 and 100. Addition and subtraction were also a part of our first chapter. We then learned all about creating graphs and analyzing data. We specifically looked at picture graphs, bar graphs, and line plots. Our upcoming chapters in math will focus on multiplication.
The Third Grade Team,
Ms. Bernard, Ms. Hanley, Mrs. Solis, Mrs. Goldstein, and Mrs. Vaughn
fourth grade
The fourth grade classes have been hard at work preparing for the rigorous tests ahead. The first FSA test they will take is the writing test. This score will become part of the student reading score. Students began with narrative writing to provide a foundation for the two genres that may be tested. We are currently learning to write opinion pieces using multiple sources through DBQ (document based questioning). The third genre we will study will be informative/explanatory. Students are expected to read articles, plan the response, complete the response with multiple paragraphs citing from text, and then edit it.
On the test date, students will write to one of these two types, and will not know which until the actual test. We expect to do well!
With the second marking period, please be aware that we expect students to have adjusted to our fourth grade expectations. Assignments are due on the due date. Planners/agendas should be checked to monitor your child’s study habits. Now is a good time to replenish school supplies, especially pencils.
Students should also be reading AR books in order to achieve their goals and improve their reading ability. The Sunshine State books are good choices. A celebration for those reading and passing the tests for four of the books will be held in the spring.
Textbooks can be accessed online for extra practice at home in preparation for the FSA. The Florida DOE website has sample materials as well.
On Thursday, November 8, parents will be invited to a production of The Fountain of Youth. This culminating activity will follow a study of Spanish explorers in Florida.
Finally, praise your child for work well done, being responsible, and just for pure effort. Together we can achieve success.
Sincerely,
The Fourth Grade Team,
Ms. Guerrero, Miss. Kirik, Mrs. Wade, and Mrs. Fleming
fifth grade
What a great start to the new school year! This first quarter has really flown by. All of the fifth grade teachers are really enjoying getting to know your student. You should be proud of your student because everyone is adjusting nicely to fifth grade and its’ fast pace. We would also like to thank all the parents for attending the curriculum meeting and helping to get the Digital Fifth Grade running by signing for the computers! Speaking of the computers, there are a few websites we would like your student to go on…Clever and check out all of the amazing resources.
We are also excited to be working on our first DBQ about the Gold Rush! Document Based Questioning will help your student to become a better reader and writer. They must be able to support their reasoning by quoting accurate evidence from the text and the students read complex documents and really delve into the text. The students also have had their Timeline Project and did an amazing job presenting it to the class!
Lastly, we would like to thank our wonderful HSA for our Adopt-a-Class money and a huge shout out to all the volunteers that came with us to JA Biztown! The kids had an awesome time learning about financial literacy and managing a business! Thanks to all for helping make the beginning of the year such a success!
The fifth grade team,
Mrs. Dixon, Mrs. Fleming, Mrs. Rothenberg, and Mrs. Chee
Guidance
Dear Harbordale Parents,
You made it! Another successful back-to-school season down, many more to go! For the Harbordale community, this season is a busy one. From beaches to backpacks, sunscreen to school lunches, students and families alike all have one thing in common: tackling the shift from down-time to prime-time. That being said, amidst the bustle of hectic days and homework, sometimes we all need to be reminded of how important it is to take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy the ride! For that reason, I’ve identified some topics that often accompany the back-to-school adventure and highlighted some tips and tricks on how to use this important time to enhance your child’s social and emotional growth while making the most of your beginning-of-the-year journey!
Adapting to a New Schedule: Staying Positive
A good day starts with a good night’s sleep. Develop a reliable, realistic sleep routine so your student wakes refreshed, recharged, and ready to take on the day!
Stick to a schedule. Structure is important and can bring much-needed comfort to children during a time of transition.
Mark your calendar. One day were soaking up the sun, the next day we’re swamped. At times like these, developing a game-plan can make an overwhelming situation seem much more do-able. Pencil in dates, get organized, and prioritize tasks. The simple act of writing things down helps us to visualize what needs to get done, while also acting as an effective kick-start to the to-do-list tackling process.
Don’t overwhelm yourself. Remember, we’re all human. Stay positive, take things one day at a time, and remain optimistic that things will slowly but surely fall into place.
Moving Up, Moving On
Remember: it’s a new year! Leave the past in the past. Start fresh and remember that you and your child have a whole year to make your mark, progress vigorously, and work towards wowing everyone around you! Think: this is the year you and your child will dominate the school game!
Stay focused. Stay Optimistic. You tackled the previous grade, and just as you found your groove, your back into the beginner stage for a new year. Remember, every grade is different, special, and important in its own way. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed as you progress, but keep your heads high and focus on your strengths. Ask yourself, how will my unique strengths help me maximize my learning experience this year?
Try This at Home!
Taco-Bout-It Dinner: A cute twist on Taco Night! Whip up a Mexican-themed night and encourage your family to utilize the dinner table as a discussion forum.
“Attitude is the Difference Between Ordeal and Adventure.”
All the best,
Your Harbordale School Counselor, Vicky Bureau-Kocenski
Reading
We blasted off into an
OUT OF THIS WORLD year!
2018 got off to a SUPER start! A BIG thank you to all who attended Open House night. The presentations are posted on Harbordale’s website for your reference.
I hope most of you know that Accelerated Reader (AR) is a HUGE part of our reading program. Research shows that students who read more, have a greater rate of academic success. Students should be “Reading to Self” daily. Meaning no matter what a student’s reading ability, reading at least 20 minutes independently is a best practice. Then to show the book was understood or comprehended, they can come to school and take an AR quiz to show what they know. Each passed quiz gives students points toward their quarterly goal (K and 1st grade students participate by a student to student basis. Ask the classroom teacher for more information).
Not only are students are rewarded for meeting their quarterly goals. We also have a 100 Point Club for those students who exceed 100 points for the school year. Our school-wide goal is reading 26,000 books this year! Can we do it? Weekly updates presented on WHBD each Monday. We have read almost 5,000 books already!
LOOK for a flyer in the Tuesday Red Communication Folder about an online program being offered at HBE this year called iReady. The students have been using it at school, and now it’s available for home use as well. Students get individualized reading and math practice on their strengths and weaknesses.
October 25th was Read for the Record Day! A nationwide early childhood event we participate in each year. An ENORMOUS thank you to Franklin Templeton Investments! They partner with us annually by sending readers to each kindergarten class and give each child a copy of the featured book! WE LOVE BOOKS!Have some free time and looking for a way to volunteer? Become a Book Fairy! They are a dedicated group of volunteers that help keep our Reading Resource Room neat and organized. Even only 10 minutes a week is a HUGE help! Contact me or Anne Bruckner at canteranne@aol.com to get started.
Remember, please feel free to ask me any burning questions about reading and your child’s curriculum.
This year some VERY generous community businesses have sponsored our AR 100 Club t-shirts and prizes. A BIG thank you to ALL sponors!!!
Lots of good reading happening at Harbordale…until next time…
Cari Rodriguez J
Spanish
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month – September 15 thru October 15, 2018
5th grade students researched on an assigned Spanish country and put together a marvelous job. Our theme was “A Journey to Hispanic America!” in where the objectives were to become knowledgeable and aware of the Hispanic people and their varied and exciting culture. Their work will be in display for your enjoyment in our Media Center. ¡Fabuloso trabajo niños y niñas!
4th grade students created a Book Jacket on Hispanic Astronauts, Singers, Soccer and Baseball Players, Tennis champions, Artists, Fashion Designers. Some examples: Ellen Ochoa, F.R. Chan-Díaz, Shakira, Pablo Picasso, Lionel Messi, Roberto Clemente, Alexander Rodriguez, Carolina Herrera. ¡Maravilloso trabajo niños y niñas!
Kindergarten thru the 5th grade celebrated
Hispanic Heritage Month creating PIÑATAS.
¡Muchas gracias VOLUNTARIOS!
Sra. Arispe, Mrs. Relyea, Mrs. Galinanes, Mr. James, Mr. Meyer, Mrs. Sjoblom,
Mrs. McKenzie, Mr. Del Rio, Mrs. Sherman, Mrs. Pinzon, Mrs. Ilonta.
~Your help is so very much appreciated and MUCHAS GRACIAS! ~
Muchos gracias,
Sra. Kupferman
Music
It has been a musical and fun first quarter!
♩Our Kindergarten students are learning to become tuneful, beatful, and artful young musicians as we take our “First Steps in Music”, an early music curriculum by John Feierabend. Students are learning to use their singing voices appropriately, to feel the beat in music, and to move expressively. Hopefully your child has sung some of our songs at home for you!
♩First, Second, and Third Grade students are learning to sing with head voice and correct pitch and mastering rhythm reading and recognition: speaking and clapping eighth, quarter, and half notes and their corresponding rests. Playing barred instruments (xylophones and metallophones) and ukuleles (2nd grade) have helped with this!
♩Third Graders have also started playing recorders, their first woodwind instrument! Please remind your child to keep his/her recorder in the backpack if they only have one.
♩Fourth and Fifth Grade students are rehearsing for Christmas on Las Olas. This year, our musical is “Rock the Hall.” Come to Las Olas Boulevard to watch our holiday performance on Tuesday, November 27, at 6:00 pm. Many thanks already to the parent volunteers. 4th and 5th Graders need to be practicing their songs at home to memorize them for the show. A wordsheet from the show has been sent home with each 4th and 5th Grade student. Please help your child to keep the paper until the end of December and not lose it. The website with practice videos and important information is
www.padlet.com/MrCiotti/RockThe Hall
♩We have also started to learn about the composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907). Born in Norway, he is famous for writing “In The Hall of the Mountain King” from the Peer Gynt Suite. Students have learned the details of the novel from which this music has been inspired. Being Norwegian in origin, many details are similar to the movie “Frozen” and “Trolls” like mountains, winter, princesses, and even trolls! Search for this music online and listen with your child!
Have a musical 2nd Quarter!
Mr. Ciotti
Art
Safety Patrols
Student Council 2018-2019
ESE
SAC
Our School Advisory Council (SAC) met on October 16. Megan Hanley and Suzie Hicks are the Co-Chair for this school year. Among the many topics discussed at the meeting, here are a few highlights:
We have $2,526. available in accountability funds and it was voted to put the money towards technology: i.e. projector bulbs, chargers, printer ink, headphones.
Barnes and Noble night is November 15.
Pumpkin Pizazz was a big hit this year, netting over $11,000 after expenses.
Genie Georgian officially retired and Kathy Schmidt has filled her position.
Vice Mayor, Ben Sorenson came to induct new student council officers.
Christmas on Las Olas is November 27 (in front of Cheesecake Factory).
Our next SAC meeting is November 13.
The following SAC dates are as follows:
November 13
December 18
January 15
February 19
March 19
April 16
May 21
speech
Hello Families!
My name is Ms. Quackenbush, and I’m very happy to be back at Harbordale this year as the Speech-Language Pathologist! It’s been so great seeing my students again after a nice summer, and meeting new students and families! In speech, students have been practicing their speech sounds at their individual levels and using their fluent “easy” speech when expressing themselves. In language, students have been working on better understanding the words/sentences they hear (receptive language), using good vocabulary and grammar to express their ideas (expressive language), and better understanding the social parts of language (pragmatic language). They are all working hard to meet their goals, and practicing using tools such as graphic organizers, technology, visualization strategies, and game play. I’m looking forward continuing to see progress and to another great school year at Harbordale!
Katy Quackenbush, M.S. CCC-SLP