Harbordale Elementary School
2nd Quarter Newsletter
A Message from the Principal
January 29, 2020
Dear Harbordale Families,
Happy 2020 and, can you believe it, the beginning of a brand new decade! Thank you for all your holiday thoughts, gifts and well wishes. We hope you had an enjoyable holiday season with family and friends and had an opportunity to enjoy some well-deserved rest and relaxation.
December and January were extremely busy months for staff, students and families. Christmas on Las Olas, the Food and Toy Drives, the Holiday Shop, field trips, Parent Presentations, Field Days, our Holiday Chorus and Sing-a-long and class parties are just a few of the many activities recently enjoyed by students and staff. We also truly thank HSA for sponsoring the delicious Staff Holiday Luncheon on December 11th. Staff enjoyed plenty of great food and an opportunity to relax and enjoy the decorations and festive atmosphere. Plenty of good food, fun activities and good company! We truly appreciate the hard work of our many dedicated, wonderful volunteers who help make Harbordale such an outstanding school!
How quickly the school year is flying by. It is hard to believe we are more than halfway through the school year. Before we know it, it will be June 2nd and summer vacation will be upon us! With the excitement of the holidays behind us, we anticipate a busy 2nd semester filled with challenging curriculum, exciting school programs and activities and State Assessment Testing (FSAs) for students. Curriculum Workshops, The Author Visit, HSA Walk-a-thon, Career Day, Valentine’s Day, President's Day, Candy-Gram Sales, BINGO Night, Garden Club Activities and Jump Rope for Heart are just a few of the many activities scheduled in the upcoming months. Watch for flyers and check out the Harbordale and HSA ’s websites for further information.
Those wishing to request a reassignment or apply for a magnet program for the 2020-21 school year, the window is now open. The student reassignment and magnet window is December 2, 2019 through February 5, 2020. All timely reassignment applications will be processed after the February deadline. Please note, those students previously reassigned do not reapply each year. Your reassigned status remains through 5th grade. However, siblings are not automatic and do need to apply. Notifications regarding the status of your reassignment application will be sent after the February 6, 2019 application deadline (most likely some time early March). Please visit http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/dsa/reassignments-overview.shtml for further information.
Broward Assessment of the Florida Standards (BSA’s) were administered to all 3rd – 5th grade students during the weeks of January 13th and 21st. These benchmark assessment tests are designed to provide diagnostic and predictive information regarding a student’s preparedness for the Florida Standards Assessments (FSAs) as the State of Florida continues to move into more rigorous expectations and standards. These reading and math practice FSA tests help teachers make decisions regarding the instructional focus and student’s strengths and weaknesses and will assist teachers in monitoring and assessing student progress. Please see your child's teacher if you have questions regarding the results.
This year, Florida Standards Assessments (FSAs) for 3rd – 5th Grade students will be held during the months of April and May. With approximately 9 weeks until testing begins, please no unnecessary absences or tardies, as these next few months are critical in preparing students for these upcoming important assessments.
All assessments will again be paper-based this year. Please mark your calendar with these important testing dates:
~FSA Writing….
4th and 5th Grade Thursday, April 2nd 120 minutes
~FSA ELA….
3rd Grade Wednesday, April 1st 80 minutes
3rd Grade Thursday, April 2nd 80 minutes
4th and 5th Grade Tuesday, May 5th 80 minutes
4th and 5th Grade Wednesday, May 6th 80 minutes
~FSA Math….
3rd, 4th, 5th Grade Tuesday, May 12th 80 minutes
3rd, 4th, 5th Grade Wednesday, May 13th 80 minutes
~FCAT Science….
5th Grade only Tuesdaym, May 19th 80 minutes
5th Grade only Wednesday, May 20th 80 minutes
Please visit the website www.fsassessments.org for additional information. Additionally, Ms. Rodriguez will facilitate an FSA informational meeting for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade parents on Tuesday, February 4th, 8:00 a.m., Cafeteria. We hope to see you there.
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. We continually assess, discuss and revise our safety plans in an effort to ensure our campus is as safe as possible. Students and staff are required to wear ID badges, the Front Office doors remain locked and mock emergency drills are conducted on a regular basis in an effort to ensure staff and students know what to do in the event of a real emergency. Additionally, Officer Hugley, our Safe School Guardian, and Mr. Jose, Campus Monitor are consistently walking the campus, checking doors and gates and monitoring visitors throughout the day. We truly hope we will never need to implement these plans, but feel confident we will be prepared if it becomes necessary. Please know, we do permit parents to enter the campus each morning between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. in designated areas only. After 8:00 a.m., if remaining on campus to volunteer, parents must enter the Front Office to sign in and obtain a badge. We thank you for your patience and assistance in keeping our students and staff safe.
We are confident the programs and activities we have implemented address the needs of all our students. Our outstanding teachers and staff work hard to implement programs and instructional strategies in an effort to assist all students to achieve and meet success. This is a team effort and parents play a critical role in their child’s success in school. You can help by reading to and with your child each night, reviewing math facts and concepts, utilizing the helpful practice websites, checking homework, limiting TV time, and setting consistent schedules and routines for studying each evening.
Everywhere you look positive things are happening both in classrooms and throughout our entire school. We thank you for your continued efforts in making Harbordale the best school in Broward County.
Sincerely,
Theresa Bucolo Jennifer Kashdin
Theresa C. Bucolo Jennifer Kashdin
Principal Assistant Principal
Kindergarten News
Winter is here! The students have adjusted nicely to Kindergarten and are blossoming as learners!
Throughout the second quarter, we’ve learned a lot of strategies to facilitate our learning. In reading, we have introduced over 40 sight words, all letter names and letter sounds, and are continuing to review them daily. Our goal now is to segment our sounds to form words by stretching them out slowly. We look not only at our words, but pay close attention to the illustrations as well. Analyzing the connections between the details in pictures and text is a skill that helps students deepen their understanding. Be sure to ask questions about the pictures and the words while reading with your child! Expectations for the end of Quarter 3 is for students to be reading on a BAS level C.
In Math, we have mastered our numbers 1-10 and are continuing to read and write numbers up to 20. We finished learning about 2-D and 3-D shapes and how to classify them based on their attributes. We practiced rolling, sliding, and staking our shapes. We are working on addition and learning strategies to make a 10. Students will continue to practice adding fluently between 0-5.
In Science, we have learned about winter and hibernation. We are currently researching arctic animals. We have been incorporating researched based facts into our non-fiction writing. We are also learning about the 3 states of matter and doing many fun experiments to observe the changes.
In Social Studies, we studied holidays around the world. We discussed the importance of celebrations and national holidays as a way of remembering and honoring people, events and our nation’s heritage. We also learned about the voting process, campaigning, and the qualities of a good president. Students loved learning about U.S. symbols and what they stand for. To celebrate Martin Luther King Jr., students will do a variety of projects to honor his dream and come up with dreams of their own that they hope to see in the future.
The field trip to the Farm was a huge hit! The students loved getting to pet the animals, explore the farm, and learn interesting facts. They had a blast
with the sing-a-long and story time. We always love getting to visit Tradewinds Park and seeing Mrs. Wishy Washy!
Thank you so much for your continued support!
Sincerely,
Ms. Brotman, Ms.Brown, Mrs. Edler, Mrs. J.Smith, Mrs. N.Smith, Mrs. Webb
First Grade News
First graders are enthusiastic about the third quarter, when we’ll cover geography, space, famous Americans, and economics. We will use our place value knowledge to add and subtract, learn about money, and explore measuring length, weight, and capacity. All students are involved in Accelerated Reader (AR), and have individualized goals. At the end of each quarter, students who meet their goals will be invited to an AR celebration hosted by administration. Please encourage students to read daily and ask questions to improve comprehension.
We are looking forward to engaging learning experiences this quarter!
First Grade Team
Second Grade News
Happy New Year! Can you believe we are halfway through the school year?! This quarter Second graders have been very busy with research projects, mastering addition and subtraction facts, and hitting our AR goals!
During second quarter, we have continued working on strategies to facilitate our learning. For reading, we have learned how to use text features to help us understand non-fiction texts.
In writing, second graders have learned all about informative writing using facts and information from non-fiction texts. We also reinforced our text feature skills by creating our very own Holiday Magazine! In grammar, we learned about adjectives, plural nouns, and compound words.
We began the core of 2nd grade math curriculum by using our knowledge about place value to begin 2-digit addition and subtraction with regrouping. We continued to practice math facts daily to move away from using fingers as tools to add and subtraction and build fluency. Science was integrated heavily throughout reading and writing curriculum. We have learned all about the life cycles of pumpkins and owls.
In social studies, we combined geography and American history to research Native Americans by their geographic region in North America, and also learning about Holidays around the World. Students worked very hard and had a lot of fun rotating through each teacher’s class focusing on 10 different countries celebrations!
A few reminders:
· 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.
· Practice addition and subtraction facts daily.
· BAS assessment period 2 has begun. The second round of BAS testing will conclude 2/21/20. Teachers will provide updated BAS levels once testing has concluded.
Thank you so much for your continued support!
Sincerely,
The Second Grade Team
Ms. Ferraro, Mrs. Glasser, Mrs. Hampton, Ms. Hanley and Mr. Santos
Third Grade News
Happy New Year from third grade! We had a great second quarter! In November, students participated in a flag ceremony for Veteran’s Day and had a blast at Barnes and Noble Night. Students also took part in a fun science activity where they turned heavy whipping cream into butter. December was filled with fantastic activities as well. Ms. Hardison put together many creative activities for students on field day, and they all had so much fun! Students had a great time at our class holiday parties too. In addition, they enjoyed singing along during the Holiday Sing-a-long.
In reading, we learned key ideas and details in literature, as well as craft and structure of informational texts. In math, students learned multiplication strategies and should be memorizing times tables facts at home. Students are expected to fluently multiply up to ten times ten. Students are now in the process of learning division. Soon we will tackle geometry, fractions, and measurement. Teaching your child to tell time using an analog clock would help them get a jump start on upcoming curriculum.
We are in full swing preparation for the FSA test. The ELA portion will be taken April 1st and 2nd. The math portion will be taken May 12th and 13th. Both sections of the FSA test will be paper-based.
The Third Grade Team,
Mrs. Goldstein, Ms. Osheroff, Mrs. Solis, and Mrs. Vaughn
Fourth Grade News
New Year – New us! 4th grade is busy as can be! We are currently preparing for our upcoming FSA in writing, reading, and math. Please continue to encourage daily reading practice. An easy way to encourage this would be to read newspaper headlines together and try to figure out what the story is about. You might also make a point of reading one newspaper story aloud to each other. This will help make the newspaper important to your child, as well as provide reading practice! Don’t forget about math practice and Iready lessons.
Our fourth graders are looking forward to a few exciting events. The annual HSA Walk-a-thon will be held on Friday January 31st and is always a day full of fun and smiles for our students. They will also be going on a field trip to the Museum of Discovery to experience some creative activities. Be on the lookout for field trip forms for both of these activities as they will be coming home soon.
We will also be celebrating our academic success with some fun classroom activities to prepare for FSA. Keep up all of the great work at home – we can’t do it without you parents!
Sincerely,
Ms. Kirik, Ms. Guerrero, Mrs. Wade, and Mrs. Fleming
Fifth Grade News
Wow! Second quarter really flew by. We are now in Crunch Time mode here at are school. This means that were are going to be working extra diligently and rigorously this upcoming third quarter preparing for the FSA.
In the second quarter we had a great time learning about Jamestown and the early colonists, we began the American Revolution as well, and learned about the Boston Tea Party. In math we have been working on everything from decimals to fractions. We read a lot too, including novels, and learning about the different types of text structures found in informational text. The fifth graders did a really great job learning to write informational essays as well. Whew! That was a lot of learning and knowledge being taught.
The fifth-grade team would like to take a moment to thank all of the parents for volunteering their time at Christmas on Las Olas and making sure that all the students showed up and looked bright and festive. We also had an awesome Holiday Sing-A-Long that was fun for the whole school. Every year our fifth graders do an outstanding job by helping to spread holiday cheer and this year was no exception. In addition, our students, dressed in their Santa hats and sparkly bowties, made the Riverside Times Newspaper with a picture of them on the front cover. Last, but not least a huge thanks to Mr. Ciotti for coordinating everything.
We also had a great day at Birch State Park. The children are now participating in the Youth Gardening Program sponsored by the Fort Lauderdale Gardening Club. We were able to go on a nature hike, plant our plants, and have a fabulous lunch under the pavilion near the banyan tree. The Fort Lauderdale Gardening Club really pulled out all the stops to get the kids excited about their plants and gardening. The students have been challenged to successfully grow all of their plants over the next few weeks. They can also submit a poster, whimsical, and notebook/journal for a chance to win a scholarship to Camp Wekiva for one week. Please encourage your students to do at least two out of the four items.
Thanks for an amazing second quarter.
Your fabulous 5th grade team- Ms. Chee, Ms. Dixon, Ms. Fleming, and Ms. Rothenberg
ESE News
Hello Harbordale Families!
We hope you had a restful winter break. Ms. Hicks’ and Mrs. Taylor’s classes are busy getting prepared for the upcoming BSA testing. In our classes, we are working closely with the general education teachers to ensure that our students will be successful. Students have been working hard to learn strategies that they bring with them to their classrooms to support their learning. The students learn through a variety of different methods, often integrating learning games and props/manipulatives in our lessons. The students enjoy coming to small group instruction and we look forward to a successful 2020!
Speech News
Hello Families!
Speech and language students have been continuing their hard work this quarter! It’s been so great getting to know them better. Some things we have been working hard on include: organizing their ideas using Thinking Maps and other tools, grammar, descriptive language, social skills, using smooth speech, phonological awareness and practicing their own speech sounds.
To continue practicing at home, reading together is always beneficial. While reading, ask questions, make predictions and encourage discussion. Model smooth, clear speech. If you notice your child is having difficulty pronouncing words or using correct vocabulary or grammar, focus more on being a good model rather than highlighting what they said wrong. For example, if a child says, “My toof falled out at school!” You can respond by saying, “Oh wow! Your tooth fell out?”
I look forward to continuing to see students make progress in the new year. If you have any questions, contact me any time.
Katy Quackenbush, M.S. CCC-SLP
Guidance News
Reading News
Happy New Year everyone! I’m happy to report Harbordale’s Reading Program is soaring with success. Here’s a recap of Quarter 2 happenings!
How is the Blue Pouch Program for K-2 students going? Students should receive a book at their independent reading level to read and enjoy with family members. The students should be able to read these books with little or no errors. The program is NOT designed for teaching and learning, but to show success for skills already mastered in their reading ability. Have them read these books to siblings, friends, pets, and grandparents (even over Facetime)! For more information contact your child’s classroom teacher. Thank you for fostering a love of reading at home.
We currently have about 25 members of the AR 100 Point Club! Students are inching towards the triple digits daily. Remember, we use AR to monitor student progress with their Reading to Self. Students should be reading at home at least 20 minutes daily. Reading should be a reward. At home you can foster the love of reading by taking a trip to the public library or local Barnes and Noble. Getting a new comic book or even Fortnight guide. Reading is reading! First get them hooked, and then get them inspired to read the stuff you’d wish they would pick!
A BIG thank you to our AR 100 Club Sponsors. They have donated monies to assist with the cost of t-shirt rewards and the BIG celebration the end of May. They are in no particular order:
· Kumon Learning Center in Fort Lauderdale
· Sunshine Aftercare
· Delmar Arts Academy (aftercare)
· Kaizen Martial Arts (aftercare)
· Kimling Academy (aftercare)
· Franklin Templeton Investments
· Benedetti Orthodontics
Please consider supporting our community partners and thank them when using their services!
Looking for volunteer opportunities?
I’m always looking for “book fairies” or helpers in the resource room. We need assistance keeping the books neat and organized. This is great for volunteers who only have a few minutes here and there. “Great Leaps Guides” is adopting a class to assist with reading fluency. It involves at least a 3 day commitment for 20-30 minutes at a time. Please leave a message for me if interested!
A BIG thank you to all who attended my “Raise a Reader” parent training.
You can see all the slides and handouts on our school website
In other news, besides fostering reading at home, don’t forget we offer many websites and resources for the tablet and computer. Ask your teacher for specific ones to focus on and how to access them. For most, we use the SSO (Single Sign-On) Launchpad. The district's portal for their approved websites like iReady Reading and Math K-5, online versions of student textbooks and more...
https://www.flocabulary.com/ (K-5 check student login sheet for credentials) Fun rap videos that teach and quiz on a variety of topics
https://www.raz-kids.com/ (K-2 check student login sheet for credentials)
Students have access to books at their independent BAS level
Tumble Books - more access to books online
Username - bcs Password - reads
Sites for learning and playing educational games:
http://wonderopolis.org/ http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
http://www.funbrain.com/(monitor which section they go on) http://www.highlightskids.com/
http://www.abcya.com/ http://www.makemegenius.com/
http://www.kidsknowit.com/ http://www.wegivebooks.org/
http://www.switchzoo.com/ http://pbskids.org/
http://freerice.com/ http://www.henryanker.com/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Dictionary.html
I can’t wait to share the great stuff already in the works for Quarter 3. Until then…
Music News
Our Christmas on Las Olas musical, “Dear Santa”, was a success because of the 4th and 5th graders’ excitement, hard work, and musicality. Thanks to everyone who assisted, both parents and faculty/staff. Thank you to HSA for it’s financial support. It couldn’t have been done without all of you!
Secondly, Harbordale is so proud of our great musical students. Five 5th Graders were selected by audition by the Florida Music Educators Association to participate in the Florida All-State Elementary Chorus and Orff Ensemble in Tampa in January.
Elementary All-State ChorusAll-State Orff Ensemble
Remington Clayton-Ryan & Alexia Gamboa
Isabella Dickerson & Ricardo Mendoza
Logan Jordan
Also, fifteen 4th and 5th Graders have been selected for the Broward County Elementary Honor Choir, performing on February 19 at the Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 7:00 PM. These students are
Emma Bleidt & Mariana Mendoza
Charlotte Bronfeld & Troy Naisher
Isabella Dickerson & Alexandra Pernes
Reef Esser & Juan-Martin Romero
Alexia Gamboa & Evan Sanches
Lucas Gonzalez & Ayla Soto
Daniel Guerra & Valeria Yordan-Berrios
Valentina Mendez
Over 900 4th and 5th graders from around the state of Florida auditioned for the chorus, but only 200 were selected. Almost 300 auditioned for the Orff Ensemble and 100 were accepted. We are so happy for our students’ great accomplishment!
A big thank you to the Saunders Family (John) for adopting the music classroom this year! I really appreciate their donation to our music program! At our next performance, take notice of the nice rolling tables and extra mallets for our barred instruments.
On another “note”, another aspect of music class is the Composer Corner. Throughout the year, we highlight the music and life of a different composer. This encourages active listening to classical music or jazz, helps students to know various historical periods and cultures, and provides an understanding of how historical contexts generate music.
Last fall, we enjoyed the music of Ludwig van Beethoven (Fur Elise and Ode to Joy). In December we listened to the music of George Frideric Handel (Hallelujah Chorus). Later this year we will listen to movie music composed by John Williams (Star Wars) and the ragtime music of Scott Joplin (The Entertainer). You can hear samples of these composers’ music (and others) at www.classicsforkids.com/composers
Happy Listening!
Mr. Ciotti
P.E. News
Hey there, Harbordale Families!
Had a great quarter 2 of PE with my students. We had lots of fun being active outside; saw lots of iguanas, birds, bugs and enjoyed the Florida sunshine (there was a lot of it!). We had to go indoors a few days for rain, which was a great way to focus on some slower focused movement, like yoga and meditation.
Students focused on throwing and catching, sometimes to a partner, sometimes to themselves, and with accuracy. We also practicing hitting with a long handled implement, like a bat- students had lots of laughs and lots of energy for those fun days. Younger students used paddles to hit an object up and down, hula hoops, bean bags, and scoops. Older students focused on fitness goals, working together, and working on resolving conflict if it arose. We also used our volleyball net and volleyballs, hitting it as best we could to get it over the net and to keep the ball up!
Then we had some AWESOME Field Days! I want to especially thank my amazing volunteers who came out to play and have fun with our students. Our theme for Field Day this year was The Beach- a great theme to build activities off of. We had scooters, beach balls, parachutes, potato sack races, balloons, water relays, and so much more, including snow cones and ribbons! Even though 5th grade got rained out, we managed to get it in before the Holiday Break.
As we take a short break for PE, we will be back outside at the 4th quarter.
See you then.
Ms. Hardison
Spanish News
NOTICIAS DE LA CLASE DE ESPAÑOL
¡Feliz Año Nuevo 2020!
During the 2nd quarter, Spanish classes were all about CELEBRATIONS in the target language.
KINDERGARTEN ~ Traveling with Becky & Kate to Colombia.
FIRST GRADE ~ Went to Cuba with Tony y Lisa.
SECOND GRADE ~ In Guatemala students immerged in a cultural experience.
THIRD GRADE ~ Headed to Mexico and compared/contrast a “Quinceañera” with a “Sweet 16”.
FOURTH GRADE ~ España was the destination and traditional foods was the main course.
FIFTH GRADE ~ Ecuador and the Inca civilization taught how to be grateful in many languages. If/when you have any questions, concerns or suggestions on student’s Spanish classes, please email me.
Sra. Kupferman
Student Council News
Recycling News
The Green Team has been doing a wonderful job of recycling and reducing waste at Harbordale Elementary! They are becoming more knowledgeable of what to put into our “blue” bins and have even become more mindful of waste.
Parents please continue to model to your children how to treat the Earth with love and respect. After all, we want to leave the world a better place for our children!
Here are a few fun activities that you and your children can do together:
1. Litter in the park. Visit a park or beach, where you can point out the trash on the ground. Explain how this can affect wildlife like birds, which may eat the garbage and get sick. Bring some bags and pairs of gloves to help clean it up.
2. Make recycling bins. Sorting out recyclables is a surprisingly fun activity for young kids. Let them decorate bins with pictures of what should go in each one (paper, plastic, cans, etc. — depending on how the recycling is sorted in your area) and then give them some items to practice sorting. Explain how it’s important to put everything in the right bin so that it can all be processed easily once it gets to the recycling facility.
3. Explore the rooms of your house. Have kids walk into a specific room and point out what they think can be recycled — if you’re not sure, research it together. Whether it’s stuffed animals in a bedroom, paint in a garage or bottles in a bathroom, there are plenty of items that don’t have to be destined for the landfill. Go over how items can be reused or upcycled, too — old toys can be donated to charities, pants that are outgrown can turn into shorts and mismatched board game pieces can become jewelry. This will help kids get in the habit of thinking about where their outgrown items can find a new home once they’re done with them.
The Recycling Team