The Mighty Dragon
Ruth C. Kinney Elementary School
February 2017
Contact Us:
1 Spur Drive South, Islip Terrace, NY 11752
Telephone: (631) 581-1862 Absentee Line: (631) 581-0969
Principal's Message
Dear Parents,
The second marking period has recently ended, and report cards will be available on the Parent Portal this Friday, February 3rd at 3pm. The students at RCK are showing great growth and progress.
February 6th will be the beginning of our PARP program. We are excited for the wonderful reading activities you and your children will be able to share. The theme is Happy Camper and we have many adorable activities that will go along with the theme. Try to join us on February 9th for our Reading Night at RCK, where students will be able to be read to by guest readers.
Our next PTA meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 7th, at 7:00 a.m. I hope you can join us.
The first Budget Presentation will take place at the Board of Ed Workshop Meeting on February 16th at 7 p.m.. All are invited to attend.
As always, I look forward to seeing you throughout the month of February.
Sincerely,
Hillary Bromberg Ed.D.
East Islip Board of Education
President…………...........Christopher Zachry
Vice President…….........William Carpluk
Trustee………...…............Steven Behan
Trustee……………….........Jessica Carney
Trustee..........................Philip Montuori, Sr
If you do not want to join Twitter, please use the Twitter Search link, https://twitter.com/search-home and type in our handle @EIprideRCK to see all of our school's happenings at RCK.
If you do join Twitter, you can follow the school’s account, RCKelem, @EIprideRCK, and always see the updates on your twitter feed.
ATTENTION: ALL 4TH and 5TH GRADE PARENTS T-Dap NOT D-Tap
Students who are entering 6th grade in September 2017, must receive an immunization containing Tetanus, Diptheria and Pertussis (Tdap). We urge you to make an appointment with your child’s health care provider as soon as possible to avoid exclusion from school in September. Please provide the documentation to your child’s school nurse as soon as your child receives this immunization so that it can be placed in his/her health record folder. Please feel free to contact your school nurse with any questions you may have regarding this matter.
Reminder: Parents of 4th grade students, please send in the mandatory school physical for this year for your child if you have not done so already. Thank you.
Mrs. McLoughlin, R.N.
(631) 581-1883
Grade 5 Field Trip to Cohalan Court
Holding Cell
Acting as Judge
Jury
Obstacle Course in Physical Education
PTA Happenings
Dear Parents and Students,
In January, students were treated to an exciting program for Student Appreciation Day. Music Technology with Brent Daniels was fantastic and students loved this engaging and interactive assembly. We also gave out light-up LED glow bracelets to all students!
Thank you and congratulations to all students who worked hard on the amazing entries to the National PTA Reflections Program this year. Congratulations to Kiara Zeledon for her Reflections Dance Piece "Human" which has won the Suffolk Region Award of Excellence and to Fallon Juengerkes for her Literature Piece "The Best Day and the Worst Day of My Life" which has won the Suffolk Region Award of Merit.
February starts with RCK’s Pick-a-Reading-Partner (PARP) week. Children’s author David A. Adler will be visiting students on February 6th. Order forms went home with students to purchase books for his book signing. All students who participate in PARP will receive a 30 minute SkyZone Jump Pass! We are also preparing for our winter Scholastic Book Fair. More detailed information will be coming home in the backpacks soon.
We are still collecting plastic bottle caps for the upcoming Earth Day project. All colors and sizes are acceptable.
Nomination forms have gone home for the 2017-2018 PTA Board. All positions are up for re-election. The slate of candidates will be presented by the nominating committee at the March meeting and elections are held in April.
Here’s what’s happening this month:
- February 6th-February 17th, PARP Week
- February 7th- PTA Meeting, 7pm
- February 7th & 8th, Scholastic Book Fair
- February 9th – Reading Night & Evening Book Fair at RCK, 6pm, Siblings Welcome!
- March 7th – PTA Meeting Nominations, 9:45am
- April 18th – PTA Meeting Elections, 7pm
Thank you for your continued support!
2016-2017 RCK PTA BOARD MEMBERS:
President Kelly Schumacher rckpta1516@gmail.com
1st Vice President Deni Cuoco dcuoco3@gmail.com
2nd Vice President Cheryl Rigogliosi abijazz@verizon.net
Treasurer Briana Martinez briana_otto@yahoo.com
Recording Secretary Melissa Kneisel melissakneisel@gmail.com
Corresponding Sec. Nina Penny ninapenny@aol.com
Join the PTA and Follow them on Facebook
The PTA Membership Application is now available online. The online address is:
Music and Technology with Brent Daniels
Music
Technology
Brent Daniels
February's Patriotic Song
For the month of February, our daily patriotic song will be “God Bless America.” Please refer to the lyrics below and join us as we sing each morning in February.
“God Bless America”
God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America,
My home sweet home.
Box Tops for Education!
The Box Tops for Education program has been very successful. Through the Box Tops for Education program, an everyday trip to the grocery store can make a difference for the students at Ruth C. Kinney Elementary. This program allows families to clip the Box Tops coupons, found on hundreds of common grocery items, and send them into school where they will be combined with coupons from other families. Each coupon is worth 10 cents for your school. The dollars add up quickly! The average family purchases more than 100 Box Tops products each year, and 100 Box Tops totals $10 in earnings for our school. Ruth C. Kinney Elementary can earn up to $20,000 per year with your help.
We look forward to another successful year for Ruth C. Kinney and your children! Thank you in advance for your participation.
Our Makerspace in Action
What is Makerspace?
Makerspace is a unique area in our school that allows for creativity and innovation to occur. Students have the freedom to design, engineer, fabricate, create, build and collaborate. We are starting small, but thinking big! Makerspace is part of the Maker Movement and it incorporates STEAM initiatives – Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics.
Planning out the Path
Planning the Code
Testing their Code
DELAYED OPENINGS AND EMERGENCY SCHOOL CLOSINGS DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER
In the event of inclement weather, which might cause hazardous road conditions, the closing of school will be announced as follows:
WALK (1370 AM, 97.5 FM)
WGBB (1240 AM)
WCTO (94.3 FM)
WHLI (1100 AM)
WBAB (102.3 FM)
WLIX (540 AM)
WBLI (106.1 FM)
TV Channel 12
If it is determined that a One-Hour Delayed Opening is needed, the starting time for RCK will be 10:12 AM The starting time for RCK in the event of a two-hour delay will be 11:12 AM. Please plan accordingly for morning pupil pick-up time, (i.e., buses will be one or two hours later than usual). Dismissal time will remain 3:12 PM. as usual.
Please be reminded, in accordance with East Islip School District Policy, once school is open, it will remain open until all children are picked up or dismissed at 3:12 PM. This policy also pertains to snowstorms and blizzards.
Now that the temperatures are dropping, please send your child in with a coat for recess.
Character Education Virtue of the Month - RESPECT
The school wide book of the month to illustrate our focus on Respect will be the story, Owl Moon, by Jane Yolan. This book is is about a girl taking a walk with her father and going owling. Through their silence they walk together with hope. Sometimes you see an owl and sometimes you don't.
Student Showcase
The students in Ms. Beebe and Mr. Clancy’s class ended their third math module with a Pokémon Go themed review. The students had to locate twenty Pokémon task cards around the room and defeat them by solving a variety of questions. Module 3 built directly on students’ previous work with multiplication and division and included all factors from 0 to 10, as well as multiples of 10 within 100.
“It was better than the real Pokémon Go.” - Jake B.
“It was a lot of fun. I saw some Pokémon I never ever saw before!” – Ethan J.
“It was a lot of fun and educational.” – Kayla S.
“I’m not a big fan of Pokémon, but it made math more fun. The activity made you want to solve the math problems.” – Danielle S.
“It was a lot of fun and I got to know some more Pokémon.” – Orlando R.
Mrs. Sternberg's class spent time learning about the three branches of the United States government. They discussed the roles and responsibilities of each branch and the system of checks and balances. The students each decided to be a member of a specific branch. They used the details of the roles they learned to support why they wanted to be a part of that branch and wrote a paragraph with the explanation.