Searingtown Happenings
End of Year 2014
As we get ready to say farewell to spring, our graduating fifth grade, and to some members of our amazing staff, we wish all of our Searingtown families a safe and wonderful summer. Enjoy this edition of Searingtown Happenings!
Kindergarten
In May the kindergarteners explored and adventured. The trip to Green Meadows Farm was fascinating and fun. The children rode ponies, milked cows, fed the goats and took a hayride! We learned a lot about the farm by witnessing it first hand.
As we learn about plant and animal life cycles, we have been observing and watching nature closely. All the kindergarteners have helped raise ladybugs in a habitat within each classroom. We have seen the metamorphosis from larva to pupa to adult ladybug! As ladybug helpers we have learned about humane treatment and the needs of living things.
As readers and writers we are exploring stories deeply, thinking about characters and what makes a good story. We are remembering to read and read again to help our reading superpowers get stronger. We use our strategies to figure out tricky words. Our fundations skills help us read and write. As we write, we remember to add details to make our story strong!
In math, we are adding and subtracting. We are also learning about the commutative property of addition. Using number sentences and counters we play with numbers to make sure that 4+6=10 and that 10=6+4!
Kindergarten has had a memorable May!
First Grade
The first graders started off the month of May with a visit to the Atlantis Aquarium in Riverhead. First stop on the tour was an interactive experience at the Touch Tank where they had the chance to have a hands-on encounter with sea stars, hermit crabs and horseshoe crabs. In the Sea Lion Coliseum, the children had an opportunity to watch the talented sea lion, Java, put on a fascinating and entertaining show. After a relaxing lunch, the group visited the penguin pavilion, koi pond, a coral reef exhibit and viewed Japanese snow monkeys “guarding” the Lost Temple of Atlantis. The children all agreed that the fascinating exhibits provided an exciting and educational experience about marine life!
In Science, our little scientists are studying and observing seeds they have planted. They are learning about what plants need to grow, as well as the function of roots, stems and leaves in meeting a plant’s needs. Our trip to the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay has been rescheduled to June 10th and they are really looking forward to seeing the many varieties of plants and learning about the different climates in which they grow.
Just as the seeds the children planted have sprouted and grown, our first graders too have grown so much during their year in first grade! In Math, the mathematicians learned how to: interpret and use data from graphs; identify plane shapes and solid figures; and work with fractions. They are now ready to “Step Up” their math skills to 2nd grade! In Reading, our readers applied all that they learned about reading genres across the year to learning about a topic across the different genres – informational books, stories and poems. In Writing Workshop, we delved into a unit of study on poetry. The children learned to look at the world through the eyes of a poet and feverishly wrote poems using their “heart door” and “eye door”.
The children love any excuse to wear pajamas to school. Rory Woods won the first grade basket at the PTA benefit dinner which included reading his favorite book, as well as pajama day for the entire grade. On May 14th, everyone was captivated by his reading of the books, Pete the Cat, I Love My White Shoes and Chicken Butt! (and nobody fell asleep)!
All of the first graders are looking forward to many exciting days in June, such as Field Day when the children will participate in many fun relays and games displaying good sportsmanship and team spirit. There will also be class end-of-the-year celebrations commemorating all the amazing things we accomplished this year; a Flag Day celebration, barbecue and annual school photo; a class trip to Bar Beach and of course, the annual “1st grade “Ride Your Wheels to School Day”.
As the teachers reflect on the year in review, it is wonderful for us to relate all that the children have accomplished and how much they have grown! Have a fun, safe, and healthy summer creating many fabulous memories with your family!! Please come back to share with us your exciting times as a second grader.
Second Grade
Once upon a time, there was a little mealworm that metamorphosized into a Darkling Beetle…but that’s no fairy tale! Searingtown School’s second graders patiently and scientifically observed firsthand the metamorphosis of milkweed bugs and mealworms, while also monitoring the developments of their mold gardens, germination bags, and plants. Keeping weekly logs and drawing illustrations of their observations, these young scientists were able to make connections and discuss the similarities and differences between the life cycles of the mealworms and milkweed bugs. With the change of the season, and life blooming all around us, it was terrific for the students to get the authentic experience of watching plants and animals grow.
The month of May was also an exciting time to be in Searingtown’s Second Grade as our Reading and Writing workshops continued to focus on fairy tales. Noticing the elements of fairy tales helped us create our own original stories. Fractions, place value to 1,000, money, time, and data were the topics we studied in math. The d-syllable type and the consonant –le syllable type in Fundations made our word study program more engaging and interesting. Our Health curriculum focused on our eyes, skin, and the Yello Dyno personal safety program. Walking on the trails at Clark Botanic Garden and assembling our own terrariums made our field trip special.
We thoroughly enjoyed watching the talented 4th and 5th grade students perform during Searingtown’s incredible Talent Show. The spring band, orchestra, and chorus concerts were very musical and entertaining too. Our monthly Character Education SearReadsbook selections for May and June were The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman and I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes.
To document all the knowledge and skills that the second graders have achieved during the 2013 – 2014 school year, the students demonstrated their oral reading fluency through the AIMSweb Reading Curriculum-Based Measurement. The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) computerized adaptive math tests assessed their understanding of number sense, geometry, measurement, patterns, computation, and problem-solving. The ELP (Early Literacy Profile) determined the independent reading level by evaluating each student’s reading accuracy and comprehension skills.
Teacher Appreciation Day, honoring Mrs. Kathy Mirino on Nurse Appreciation Day, going to the PTA Mother's Day plant sale, and celebrating Memorial Day during this very busy month added more excitement. The PTA’s fabulous Family Fun Night on May 31st was the perfect ending to a marvelous month.
The students and staff are looking forward to all the joys that June will bring starting with the PTA fundraiser, “Books for Bucks”. We can’t wait for Field Day and the patriotic Flag Day ceremony and delicious BBQ. Have a fun-filled, healthy, safe summer!
Third Grade
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you to our wonderful third grade students and their families! We have all enjoyed a wonderful year together. We can’t believe how fast the year has gone by.
Together we have accomplished so much, and you have so many things to be proud of! You have grown as writers, worked so hard in reading, conquered multiplication and division, and survived your first experience with state tests. We explored sound, buoyancy, force and motion, and raised butterflies. We travelled to different countries and learned many new things.
The excitement and anticipation of summer is quite apparent in the third grade wing. And as we prepare to say goodbye to all of you, knowing how well prepared you are, it is with great pride (and sadness) that we will be saying goodbye. Always remember to work hard, make your best effort in all that you do, continue to be kind, and come back to visit!
We have loved being your teachers and having the opportunity to share in your lives. We know great success awaits you all! Have a wonderful and well deserved summer vacation!
Fourth Grade
WOW! What an incredible time our 4th graders have had this May and June. We’ve completed the NYS Science Test; performed in, and enjoyed, the Searingtown Talent Show. We sang and played our hearts out at our Spring Concerts. Track and Field Day helped to keep us healthy.
Fifth Grade
CONGRATULATIONS Fifth Graders!!!! Middle School awaits you with open arms. We know you are ready for the task. Searingtown will miss you all but we did give you an exciting and proper send off. Your last few months as elementary students have been fun filled.
In reading we are tackling social issues. What message is the author trying to send us? What universal problems and issues do so many of us face? How can we help bring about change? These are only some the questions our 5th graders are seeking to answer. At the heart of so many of our novels is the belief best quoted by Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”. Our 5th graders will BE that change for the future.
Science has us growing. By analyzing plant and seed responses to varying situations, students are delving into what makes a plant grow and the situations it can survive in. Our trip to the Queens Botanical Garden taught students about terrariums and how the water cycle can help keep a plant hydrated. The culminating activity will have the students acting as engineers. They will design their very own mailing package for a plant. Taking in all they have learned and applying it the students’ designs will reflect understanding of what a plant truly needs and how long can it survive without the essentials!
Should students be allowed to drink chocolate milk? This is debatable! Students are taking the chocolate milk debate to a whole new level. Fifth graders are writing with a persuasive purpose. Using research and reasoning students are making their point!
What would fifth grade be without Yearbooks, Moving up Party (Thank You PTA), Moving Up Day rehearsals, Track and Field Day and Bar Beach! The Bar Beach trip delivered a jam packed, fun filled day. From sand castles to basketball, students had a great time enjoying each other for one of their last trips as Searingtown elementary students. We wish all of our students good luck next year and we hope they never forget that they are “Searingtowners” forever through and through!
ESL
We are writers! Second grade students in the ESL program worked on descriptive writing, reading and speaking in preparation for the NYSESLAT. After, students continued writing paragraphs about spring. Students focused on the writing process; they developed a topic sentence, brainstormed ideas, and developed an appropriate ending. Students enjoyed publishing their work in Word and selecting various fonts, pictures, and page borders. Other students wrote friendly letters to each other about their day. They focused on the friendly letter format and used sequence words to connect their ideas.
Lastly, students wrote from the point of view of animals as they completed the mini-book, Animal Tales. Students were encouraged provide two to three examples for each sentence starter. One student wrote: If I were as fast as a rabbit, I would race a car. I would also go through a ring of fire. Lastly, I would sprint through the jungle. As we prepare for the summer, students are reading summer themed books and completing Word Ladders with their classmates. We wish everyone a joyous, sunny summer!
Library
- Our new soft seating arrived! Thanks to a mini-grant from the Herricks Community Center, we now have moveable seating that will be enjoyed by all students!
- In kindergarten we focused on wordless books and stories where characters "come out of the book". Children loved Monique Felix's mouse stories as well as Melanie Watt's Chester stories.
- First graders spent time tuning up their computer skills.
- Second grade finished their pet research. They did a terrific job, working diligently to find information, take notes, write opening sentences, and synthesize their notes into their own words.
- Third grade "rapped" their minds around The Dewey Decimal System by listening to the Dewey Rap and by opening "McDewey's" - our very own cafe where students were the waiters, chefs, customers, and assistants! Customers ordered books off of our Dewey menus, waiters took the orders, chefs looked up the books on DestinyQuest, and assistants found the books on the shelves for the waiters to deliver. Who knew that learning the Dewey Decimal System could be so much fun?
- Fourth grade finished their invention research. From the invention of the abacus to the invention of YouTube, our timeline has it covered! Over 75 inventions were researched! Students created digital posters using S'More - we printed them out and the timeline is hanging in the hallway for everyone to see - the culminating activity for our Outside the Box project.
- Fifth grade finally completed their research projects. The Benzoni/Fruda/Henry kids, along with parents, participated in the Amazing Race Finale! This was a fabulous project that incorporated many higher-order thinking skills, geography skills, and technology skills. Congratulations to Teams 1 and 10 for winning the race and a pizza lunch with Mrs. Kliegman!
- Meanwhile, Ms. Ruggiano's students completed Survivor MD by creating augmented reality videos using a free app called Aurasma. Aurasma is an augmented reality application that allows you to overlay any video or image on top of anything that your tablet, cell phone, or any other mobile device can scan with its camera. Using Aurasma is very much like using a QR code reader. In order to activate the overlayed image or video, the object is scanned using the Aurasma app. The images will be added to our Survivor MD website by the end of the school year. If you download the free app, you will be able to scan the images that trigger the videos and watch them!
- In May, Mrs. Kliegman attended BEA - Book Expo America - and brought back some new books for the library! Many children's authors were there... see the pictures below.
Summer Reading at New York Libraries: Keep Kids Reading
A Note from Mrs. Kliegman:
Please be sure to visit your public library this summer and check out their Summer Reading Programs!
Summer Reading Programs are Fun and Promote Literacy!
Public libraries across the State encourage reading through the Summer Reading at New York Libraries program. For summer readers, the night is full of dreams and infinite possibilities. In 2014, children will be invited to discover the joys of summer reading and libraries through the Fizz! Boom! Read! (artwork by illustrator Dan Santat) slogan for summer reading.
This summer, Fizz! Boom! Read! Have fun exploring New York's history, diversity and culture. These four reading lists are designed for reading enjoyment, to provide a "flavor" of New York and spark an interest in the fascinating story of New York State. Please visit your local public library and enroll!
Art Studio
Worth the trip!!
Herricks District Art Show - A must see! It is incredible to see what is happening creatively in our district from Elementary to Middle School to High School!
36 Searingtown Artists Exhibit their work! Markella Vasaka, Charles Horowitz, Nicole Muzaka Andrew Wong, Charu Goyal, Alexandra Chiu, Peter Toscano, Daniel Nam, Maya Thakker, Megan Kim. Aiden Li, Jocelyn Chiu, Preston Chan, Katherine Cha, Arjun Sharma, Hailey Ko, Kevin Jacob, Sasha Rosenzweig, Tyler Ulman, Williams Dai, Adelyn Loh, Genesis Kang, Aryan Patel, Joshua Nam, Talia Kohan, Zainab Yusaf, Marcus Chau, Joseph Moreno, Timothy Kim, Abhinov Goyal, Andrew Kim, Andrew Kim, Kristina Karanicolas, Kaden Lei, Ryan Ng, Yianni Doulis, Avery Aulicino
More Hall Art Exhibits and one new Parent/ Student art experience!
Hall art galleries were celebrated this year by Ms. Taliercio, Ms. Kenny, Ms. Alexander, Mr. Dugger's, 4th graders Ms. Grogan's 3rd grade, Ms. Benzoni, Ms. Fruda/ Henry's 5th graders, Ms. DeMarco, Ms. Bambrick's 2nd, Ms. Morgan, Ms. Morin Ms. Hess' 1st graders .
Congratulations to all!
Click here to see student artwork.
Please extend a hearty welcome to Mrs. Renna, who is very excited to be embarking on her very own adventures at Searingtown teaching art to your children in September! She is an experienced and passionate artist and art educator. Mrs. Renna loves to use portfolios and journals and is looking forward to making her own unique and creative contributions to our school.
And so, I must bid you adieu..
Au revoir ....
Searingtown, its children, parents , teachers and staff will be a part of the tapestry of my life forever!
It has been so rewarding to have the privilege of sharing my expertise in art and creativity with your child. I love watching him grow into an intense appreciation of his own ability to create. I revel in teaching her that art is an attitude that can be applied to the materials of her life.
Learning to observe, imagine, abstract, discover & create patterns, make analogies play and transform are just some of the skills that you can learn when making and looking at a work of art. My favorite ability, as your children know, is to transform mistakes into opportunities!
And now is the right time for me change my focus from the work of teaching to making my marks, paintings and drawings on paper and canvas. As I apply all that I have learned while teaching to deepening my art, I will forever be grateful to my friends at Searingtown for sharing themselves with me.
With deep gratitude for your support, encouragement and collaborations, I would love to keep in touch. Right now you can reach me at bwilliams@herricks.org. Email me!
beth vendryes williams
artist
Speech/Language Ideas for Summer Practice!
During the summer months it is always a challenge to maintain the speech/language skills that your children have worked so hard to achieve over the school year. Many activities fun can help retain your child’s development without seeming like school-work. Board games, for example, involve turn-taking, math, reading, and problem solving. They also promote social language development and conflict resolution skills. We recommend the following board games that are particularly good for language development: Headbandz Jr., Outburst Jr., 20 Questions board game, Guess Who, Scattergories Jr., Password Jr., Apples to Apples KIDS andJunior, Last Word, Mystery Garden, Secret Square, Password Jr. and Blurt!
There are other worthwhile games that do not even require a board. These games are great to play during long car rides, while waiting at an appointment, or anytime there is some time you’d like to fill. For example, Twenty Questions is a wonderful game to promote verbal memory, reasoning, problem solving and to improve categorization skills. Remind your child to ask questions based on categories not single items and to use their learned memory helpers to assist them. For example they can picture their responses in their minds (visualization), make a connection with another concept they already know (association), repeat their past responses to themselves or aloud (repetition), or talk a lot about an idea to help them remember the concept next time (elaboration). The value of using these strategies is that they are same strategies frequently used thorough daily activities and in school to improve language memory and word recall.
Another fun activity is to go through the alphabet and take turns thinking of one item for each letter. You can also make it a themed activity (e.g. “I’m going on a trip to California and I’m going to bring a….” or “I’m going on a picnic and I’m going to bring a ….”). Older children can be asked to think of an item within a specific category (i.e. things at the beach/pool or kinds of food) and starting with a particular letter to add complexity and challenge to the task. Another adaptation of this game is to choose a category, have one player name an item and then ask the next player to name another item in that category that begins with last letter of the previous players word. (i.e. if the category is food, player 1 might say “hot dog”, and player 2 would have to name a food beginning with “g”.) These games build word knowledge and word recall while they increase phonemic skills (awareness of speech/letter sounds)
Most importantly all of the above ideas are great ways to help your child learn and grow while having fun with them! Hope you have a wonderful summer!
Music
Searingtown Happenings
Published by Karen Kliegman, Library Media Specialist.
HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!