Sussex Avenue News That You Can Use
Dear Families,
I hope you had an enjoyable Passover and Easter holiday with your families. I am grateful for the technology to remain connected to loved ones.
This week we will transition back into the virtual learning environment. As Mr. Pendergrast indicated in his update, we are pleased to implement the second phase of our virtual learning program. Phase One allowed us to transition to a new way of delivering instruction, to build our technological capacity, and to acquire feedback from students, parents, and teachers on what was working well and what could be improved.
Beginning the week of 4/20, you should expect to see:
- The introduction of new material across all subject areas
- An increase in “live” instructional and interactive platforms, such as Google Meet
- Direct instruction by teachers each week, whether through live or recorded lessons
- Assignments consistently designed to engage students in higher-level thinking and problem solving
- A greater balance between online and offline assignments, especially in grades K-5
- Specific attention to reading and writing.
With Great Appreciation,
Lorri Vaccaro
Principal
Parenting Resources
New Webinar Series
Week of April 13th-April 17th
This schedule is to help keep students organized on which Specials activities to complete. However, students will be able to access Specials activities throughout the week. The letter day will be shared by your child's homeroom teacher each day.
Parents please remind your child to make sure they are completing the activities in the Special Area classrooms as well each week. Your special area teachers are also working very hard to provide your child with content from these specialized areas as well. We appreciate your assistance.
Tuesday, April 14th is a B day.
Resources for Enrichment Activities
The resources below were provided as options to keep students engaged during the Spring Break, however they can be utilized any time. The options below offer a great deal of enrichment opportunities. If you student has down time that you'd like to be filled with learning experiences, they can visit any of these sites for additional opportunities. In addition to these reading a great novel, watching the based off the book movie and then comparing the two is also excellent activities as well.
Goal: Share resources to complement our instructional programs.
English Language Arts:
Reading
National Emergency Library- A collection of books that supports emergency remote teaching, research activities, independent scholarship, and intellectual stimulation while universities and schools are closed.
Unite for Literacy -Free resource with digital access to picture books written in English and Spanish perfect for young readers. You can also choose narration in over 40 languages!
Story Online -An award-winning literacy website featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books.
Teachers | Books | Readers -Read alouds and more on this blog site created by thirty-one educators.
Spanish Stories -Familiar stories translated into Spanish with audio and video options.
Read, Wonder, & Learn! -An amazing compilation of read alouds and resources on Kate Messner's blog.
Operation Storytime -More read alouds by authors, illustrators, educators, and celebrities.
Sports Illustrated Kids -If you have student athletes at home, they may enjoy the articles featuring favorite sports and athletes (great for kids ages eight+).
Find a quiet, comfortable place inside or outside. Read a book with your child then talk about the connections you make to your lives.
Questions to Consider: What do I think about this book? Do I like it? Why or why not? How does this relate to my life? What about this book is confusing or not clear? What did I learn? Would I read another book by this author? Would I read another book like this again? What is next on my list to read?
Writing
Author and illustrator, Jarrett Lerner, is creating content daily with these downloadable writing and drawing activities that are sure to engage kids with opportunities for creative thinking. I'd love to see what your kids come up with!
Many authors, illustrators, and artists have come together to create content on this YouTube channel.
Keep a journal. Write about your thoughts, reflections, feelings, or adventures. You may write about the past, present, or future. Where have you been? Where are you now? Where do you want to go next?
Maintain lists. To Do List. To See List. To Read List. To Watch List. Goals to Meet List. Dreams to Live List.
Viewing
Ted Talks by brilliant teens and kids.
Virtual tours of museums around the world.
Stream encores of past performances from the Met
Wonderopolis -What do you wonder about? What do you want to know more about? Explore this site to think about, learn, and share all those wonderings.
Imagineering in a Box -Disney has partnered with Khan Academy to bring kids into a world of dreaming, designing, building, and creating.
Pixar in a Box -In another Disney-sponsored collaboration between Pixar and Khan Academy, your kids can see how math, science, computer science, and humanities come together in popular animated films.
High School Resources
NY Times Mentor Texts- Demystifying the writing process via examples students can learn from and emulate.
MIT Mysterious Book Exchange- The MIT Book Exchange, led by an MIT graduate student, aims to strengthen community relationships and foster a love of reading.
5 High Schoolers and Their College Application Essays About Work, Money and Social Class- Each year, the NYT asks students to send in college application essays that have something to do with money. Nearly 300 responded this year. Here are five that stood out from 2018.
Retrieval Practice: Here's a roundup of the best resources for students about studying and learning: Books, blogs, videos, and more.
Mathematics:
Code.org - Check out the grade level activities and use your critical thinking/math skills in a new way.
Reflex math practice!
Einstein Riddle - Very Advanced thinking puzzle
Try these easier puzzles to warm-up!
Ed-Ted - Math in Real Life Series - Watch, think, enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/user/Vihart - Explore this youtube channel from an inquisitive student exploring math in the real world (then go find some math in the real-world yourself)!
More...
1. Egg Hunt – Fill plastic eggs with math problems and spread them throughout the house or the yard. Your child can hunt for the eggs and must solve the problem inside each egg in order to keep them!
2. Jelly Bean Graphing – Jellybeans are a popular spring break treat. Have your child sort and graph the different colors in a bag of jellybeans. Then, ask your child questions about his/her completed graph.
3. Coloring Eggs – While your family is coloring eggs, work to color only a fraction of each egg a chosen color. (example – Can you make 1/3 of the egg blue? Can you color ½ of this egg red?) After you are done coloring, write math problems to represent the eggs you have dyed. (example – 4 blue eggs + 8 red eggs = 12 eggs; 3 colored eggs + 5 plain eggs = 8 eggs)
4. Hiking – While hiking/walking, look for shapes or patterns. Math is everywhere!
5. Flashcard Toss – Spread flashcards out in the yard. Have your children race to collect the cards and answer the problems!
6. Board/Card Games – Games are a great way to reinforce math skills. Take some time out to play Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly, Yahtzee, or other board games that your family enjoys!
7. Spring Treats – Have your child read a recipe and help them measure out the ingredients. Have a picnic and enjoy your creation outside!
Science:
BrainPop
Generation Genius
Newsela
Mosa Mack
Mystery Science
Virtual Field Trips
San Diego Zoo – The https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/animal-cams-videos
Yellowstone National Park Virtual Field Trip - https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/virtualtours.htm
MARS! https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/take-a-walk-on-mars-in-your-own-living-room
Monterey Bay Aquarium Live Cams - https://www.youvisit.com/tour/clint.cornfield/116368
Panda Cam at Atlanta Zoo - https://zooatlanta.org/panda-cam/
Houston Zoo - https://www.facebook.com/houstonzoo/
More...
Activities
Remote Playdates: This site has some creative ideas for letting kids have remote playdates to keep connected during social distancing.
Hands-On Activities For Families: This list offers hands-on projects that families can do together at home.
Crayon Projects: This is a list of crafts you can make with broken crayons.
101 Activities: A list of ways to keep kids busy
Mindful Moments/ Brain Breaks
Yoga4Classrooms: This YouTube channel offers mindful brain breaks for children using cards/activities that we also utilize in school.
GoNoodle: This YouTube channel offers funny videos to get kids laughing and moving.
ArtForKidsHub: This YouTube channel offers tons of how-to drawing videos for kids with kid friendly directions.
Supplemental Academic Activities
Reading Apps: With libraries being closed, here is a list of some great reading apps
Online Learning Programs: This is a list of 175+ online learning resources for kids.
Active Math Activities: This is a list of ideas for practicing math while getting kids up and moving.
Poetry Games and Activities: For the kids who love to express themselves through words.
https://nj.pbslearningmedia.org/
Online Reading Comprehension- readworks.org
Wide open schools- has general education resources https://wideopenschool.org/
Math Games
Multiplication War Card Game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhOdnvcrc0I&feature=youtu.be
Knock Out Dice Game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCqOWKBK4to
Pig Dice Game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMFMpC3mC_0
Tic Tac Toe Math
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rVWUrYBz4M
Lego Math Task Cards
Make Ten Card Game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxQHsnpBQI8
http://gws.ala.org/category/literature-languages
If you are in need of assistance outside of school hours
If you need immediate assistance:
2nd Floor Helpline: Call or text 888-222-2228
National Suicide Prevention Helpline: Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
24/7 to be connected to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center
Performcare- Mobile Response Services: 1-877-652-7624
Crisis Hotline Serving Morris County: 888-247-1400
Of course, if this is an emergency call 9-1-1.