Grundy Ave Newsletter
~ January 2017 ~
Dear Grundy Learning community;
Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful Holiday with family and friends! Grundy is looking forward to a new year filled with learning, laughter, leading, making memories and fun! We have many exciting plans for our students and can't wait to get started!
Grundy is currently under construction! The bond the community passed included solar panels for each of the school buildings and Grundy is currently getting the solar panels installed. This will save on energy costs for the entire district. Also, the property that was sold behind Grundy Ave (facing Coates Ave) has also begun construction on several houses. A new fence separates our two properties. (pictures attached)
The weather has certainly presented some challenges this year as it has fluctuated between freezing cold and very mild. Some of our students are not dressed appropriately for the frigid winter weather. Please have them wear hats, gloves and a winter coat. Sweatshirts and shorts are cool, but not when the temperature is in the single digits. Layering in school is the best idea because you can always remove a layer of clothing. Outdoor recess will only happen if the weather is above 40 degrees and it is deemed safe on the playground equipment and the property. If you have any questions or concerns or need any winter clothing items, please contact me.
While we are fortunate it has not happened this year, the district has had to call for an early dismissal if the weather becomes dangerous to travel during the day hours. It is imperative that your children know an emergency plan in case of such last minute changes. and we have an early dismissal.
The 5th grade Spelling Bee will be held in January and the district championship will be held February 8th at Waverly Elementary School. Kindergarten will have a Teddy Bear clinic, 1st grade will have a visit from the LI Science Center, 4th grade will have the Journeys program in and much more! Look for information about these events and more to be coming home soon. If you have not signed up for our email list for important information from the district, PTA and Grundy, please call the school and do so. Grundy is now “Green” and no hard copies of any notices will be sent home. All information can also be found on our website by going to www.sachem.edu and clicking on the schools tab and then finding Grundy.
The PTA has many exciting activities happening! Sport’s Night is also right around the corner with a date of February 3rd. Tickets will be on sale shortly.
It’s a busy time at Grundy Ave School! I look forward to seeing you at our next school event or PTA meeting! If you have any questions or concerns, I can be reached at 471-1820.
Stay warm!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Amato
Kindergarten News
Kindergarteners Travel The World!
As part of our Social Studies curriculum, we learned about holidays celebrated around the world. We visited Netherlands, Germany, England, Italy, Mexico, and Australia. Ask your children what they learned about each country! Here at school we wrote letters to Santa to help raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, decorated Gingerbread and we also went caroling around the school to spread some holiday cheer! We want to wish everyone a happy holiday and happy new year!
First Grade News
We are having a fantastic time learning in first grade! In December we had an in-school field trip that was presented by the Long Island Science Center called "The Physics of Toys". This was an amazing program that allowed for our students to learn about how the physics of toys use energy to help them to work. The program began with a demonstration of how certain common toys, such as yo-yo's, tops, air- powered cars, car ramps and Slinkies, use energy to move. After the presentation students were given an opportunity to work with partners to explore these toys on their own. The program concluded with a segment that allowed for students to make their own toys using common objects to take home. This was an outstanding, enjoyable hands-on learning experience for our first graders!
In first grade we love to read and we know that reading is a fun activity that helps us learn. We want everyone to have access to books to read. To help to bring books to people who may not have them, we have teamed up with The Book Fairies organization to collect new and gently used books that will be distributed to high poverty schools and organizations across the metropolitan areas of New York. These books can be baby through adult level, e-readers, and magazines that were published in 2016 or 2017. Unfortunately, encyclopedias and outdated magazines will not be accepted. Our drive will take place from January 3rd-January 13th. Books can be brought to the cafeteria during lunch periods and placed in the boxes on the stage.
Please support our book drive!
We look forward to more fun and learning in 2017!!
Second Grade News
The Second Graders would like to share all the wonderful things we did for the month of December! We really enjoyed writing our letters to Santa for Macy’s Make a Wish Foundation! It was so much fun putting them in a special mailbox and taking a class picture. Each day we looked forward to finding our school Elf on the Shelf, Ginger! He was watching us, making sure we got on Santa’s nice list. It’s been fun learning all about contractions and using them in our writing. Thank you to our parents who helped out with our Holiday parties! The students enjoyed the holiday boutique and loved buying presents for their loved ones! Grinch day in Second Grade was so much fun! We worked on Grinch Math problems, read the story, and compared the movie to the story. It’s another fun filled week of dressing each day to celebrate the holidays! We are excited to start the new year reading nonfiction! We hope everyone had a Happy Holiday and will have a wonderful New Year!
Third Grade News
This past month, the 3rd grade classes worked together on a community service project by collecting items for an organization called Long Island Blue Star Moms. Third graders visited classrooms throughout the building and told others about the project. They also made announcements over the loudspeaker each morning asking everyone to please donate items. The students decorated boxes for the donations and placed them in the cafeteria. At the end of each day, they emptied the boxes and sorted the donated items. They collected many things including soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, puzzle books, pens, writing paper, envelopes, soup, macaroni and cheese, candy, hand warmers, and much more. Many students also made beautiful cards and wrote thoughtful notes to our servicemen and women. Long Island Blue Star Moms will put these items into care packages and send them overseas to our troops. Thank you so much for supporting our troops! Your kindness and generosity will surely bring many smiles to their faces. Great job 3rd grade leaders!
Fourth Grade News
The fourth graders have taken their personal-narrative writing pieces through the complete cycle of the writing process! The editing and revising techniques and peer conferences played a huge role in the completion of this task. We are also navigating our way through traditional literature during our Reader’s Workshop sessions. The partnerships have been so beneficial for the students! Once again, our parent-craft projects were a big hit! The kids loved making holiday crafts facilitated by our awesome parents! We topped off December with an amazing trip to the Planetarium. What an experience! We can’t wait to see what January holds for us!
Fifth Grade News
December was an exciting month for grade 5! With 2016 ending, it was the perfect time for reflecting on our memories to publish our memoirs and small moments in Writer's Workshop. In Reader's Workshop, we also enjoyed learning about themes in literature and how fictional characters change in stories and teach us lessons that we can apply to our own lives. Fifth grade wrapped up our units on the birth of the United States government along with our unit on Our Dynamic Earth. In math, we worked hard and persevered through multiplication and division of decimal numbers and definitely earned our holiday break! We now know to always honor King Decimal! The best part of December was counting down to the new year at our New Year's Eve party! Thank you so much to the PTA's 5th grade committee who planned this festive and fun event for us! Happy New Year, everyone!
News From the Nurse
New Flu Information for 2016-2017
Getting an annual flu vaccine is the first and best way to protect yourself and your family from the flu. Flu vaccination can reduce flu illnesses, doctors’ visits, and missed work and school due to flu, as well as prevent flu-related hospitalizations. The more people who get vaccinated, the more people will be protected from flu, including older people, very young children, pregnant women and people with certain health conditions who are more vulnerable to serious flu complications.
What’s new this flu season?
A few things are new this season:
Only injectable flu shots are recommended this season.
Flu vaccines have been updated to better match circulating viruses.
There will be some new vaccines on the market this season.
The recommendations for vaccination of people with egg allergies have changed.
News From Ms. Turner in the Resource Room
Effective ways to help your child study!
Habits of Highly Effective Students:
Don't attempt to do all you’re studying into one session. Successful students typically space their work out over shorter periods of time.
Plan when you're going to study. Successful students schedule specific times throughout the week when they are going to study.
Study at the same time. When you study at the same time each day and each week, you're studying will become a regular part of your life.
Each study time should have a specific goal. You need to know exactly what you need to accomplish during each study session.
Never procrastinate your planned study session. Put first things first! Procrastination also leads to rushing, and rushing is the number one cause of errors.
Start with the most difficult subject first. Once you've completed the most difficult work, it will be much easier to complete the rest of your work.
Make sure you're not distracted while you're studying. Before you start studying, find a place where you won't be disturbed or distracted.
Review your notes, schoolwork and other class materials over the weekend. Successful students review what they've learned during the week over the weekend.
News from the Reading Room
Start the New Year off right with a Reading Journal.
As your child reads, have them write their personal response in a reading journal. State feelings, thoughts, reactions and questions about situations, ideas, actions, characters, settings, symbols, plots, themes and any other elements in the story. They can't be wrong in their responses, so they should take risks and be honest.
They can write about what they like and dislike or what seems confusing or unusual to them. They can explain the meaning of something or make a prediction about what may happen. They can also relate their personal experiences which connect with the plot, characters, or setting. Reading responses help to aid in comprehension by getting the reader to think deeper about the text.
News from the gym
This past month, Kindergarten and 1st Grade have been focusing on Direction, Levels, and Pathways. Some movements included: over & under, in & out, up & down, right & left, low-medium-high, forwards, backwards, and sideways.
Grades 2-5 focused on the 5 components of fitness (cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and body composition) were tested in each area. The test included: the PACER run, the sit & reach, the one minute sit-ups, & the push-up test with cadence.
Parents are always welcome to view our website on the Grundy home page for more information.
Building Leadership Team News
“We must remember our sense of childlike wonder, the immense human need to be valued and noticed, and our ability to be creatively inspired and, in turn, inspire others.”
~ Todd Nesloney and Adam Welcome
Kids Deserve It – Pushing Boundaries and Challenging Conventional Thinking
Grundy’s Building Leadership Team includes Mrs. Amato, building principal; Mrs. Troise, teacher/facilitator; Mrs. Lawler, librarian; Mrs. Liuzzi, art teacher; Mrs. Berotti, parent member; Mrs. Diamond, parent member; and Mrs. Ponce, parent member. We have been working diligently to incorporate ways to include staff members, students, and community members to best meet the needs of the Grundy community. Our focus is geared towards looking at the mind, body, and spirit of all members. The Building Leadership Team has formed three separate action teams which consist of several faculty and parent members.
MIND ACTION TEAM: This action team will focus on academics, as well as overall mindset. Study habits, the power of positive thinking, goal setting, and perseverance are issues that we are addressing.
BODY ACTION TEAM: This action team will focus on healthy choices and healthy practices. Physical activity, food choices, nutrition, and healthy body image are issues that we are addressing.
SPIRIT ACTION TEAM: This action team will focus on empathy, compassion, and meaningful, beneficial socialization. Self-awareness and self-confidence are issues that we are addressing.
#KidsDeserveIt