The Boulevard Beat
A Monthly Newsletter from SBS - April 2016 Edition
The Principal's Place
Dear SBS Community,
Our annual Thank You Tea is quickly becoming one of my favorite SBS events. It is truly special to connect with the outpouring of SBS families that come to celebrate the students' growth and the parent community's support. On April 19th, parents, grandparents and caregivers filled the school building with energy and appreciation, as they reviewed their children's progress, reconnected with the staff, and enjoyed spectacular art work as well as our third graders' musical talents. Your support and participation have an immeasurable impact on their education, and I am very grateful for the partnership and relationship that we share.
A quick look back on April provides several examples of instances in which we capitalized on opportunities to maximize our students' learning by sharing our talents and our time. Just to name a few, Jump Rope For Heart, Autism Awareness Day, our second grade field trip to the Liberty Science Center, and Earth Day. Thank you for always enriching student learning experiences!
Suffice to say that this time of year gets extremely busy for all of us, and before you know it, this school year will be nearing a close. Remember to relish as many moments as you can, because the magic will continue to be present in your children each day.
Looking forward to seeing you again soon,
Robert Gardella
Mrs. Scrittorale's Class Gets a Lesson in Government From Congressman Frelinghuysen and Mayor Ritter
The Nurse's Nook
HaaCHOOOOO!
Pollen season has arrived! If your child is one of the many students at SBS who are challenged with seasonal allergy symptoms (itchy eyes, runny nose, cough), please join us in reducing exposure to pollen and in teaching these young children how to manage their symptoms during these next weeks:
- Teach your child to wash all exposed skin when coming in from outside (hands, face, arms, legs, etc.). Many of our classrooms are equipped with sinks—we are encouraging even our youngest students to care for themselves by teaching them this routine. They may visit the sink after morning line up, after recess and after outdoor PE, too.
- Keep your windows and doors closed! Use air conditioning, when needed to cool down the room. We are doing this at SBS as we rely on our HVAC systems to filter pollens, dust, mold spores and other allergens.
- Make sure your children are showering every night. Rinsing pollens off before going to bed reduces pollen exposure as they sleep.
- Assist your child by administering allergy medications at home as recommended by their doctor. Most doctors recommend beginning antihistamines, nose sprays and preventive inhaler treatments well in advance of pollen season, but it is not too late to start if you have not already done so. Contact your doctor for more information and for recommendations.
- If symptoms cannot be managed with medications, your doctor may suggest working with an allergist or immunologist to start allergy shots. These injections can help desensitize individuals to seasonal allergens.
Do you ever wonder exactly which pollens are circulating? You can sign up for pollen alerts through www.pollen.com so you can see exactly what is in bloom (specific trees, grasses, etc.).
~Karen Leister
Savannah "Lights it up blue" for Autism Awareness Day on April 2nd
Library Lowdown
FIRST GRADERS learned about composting. This unit of study was kicked off by the story Diary of a Worm. Students gained insight into the daily life of a worm in quite a humorous fashion. Later we shared the book Compost Stew whereby the students saw what types of items can be placed in a compost pile.
SECOND GRADERS learned about renewable and non-renewable energy from the book Energy Island, How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed the World. Students learned about energy independence through the true story of the Danish island of Samsø. They realized the amazing impact of wind energy.
THIRD GRADERS learned about the environmental history of the Nashua River, from the discovery by Native Americans through the polluting years of the Industrial Revolution, to the ambitious clean-up that revitalized it, with the book A River Ran Wild. In addition, they heard All the Way to the Ocean, a story about two friends who learn about the cause and effect of storm drains and our lakes, rivers, and oceans.
STAR LAB PLANETARIUM - As a culminating activity to Earth Day, this week Mr. D'Aloia presented the stars and constellations to the students. He used our district inflatable Star Lab Planetarium to teach the students about the sky--how various cultures such as the Greeks, Native Americans, and Egyptians created/named the constellations and the stories that accompany them.
LIBRARY BOOKS - We are so excited with how much our SBS students read! Lately, we have received numerous library books returned with water damage due to spills in the backpack. Please be sure the lids are on tightly. Thanks for your attention to this matter.
The Library of the Chathams will be visiting SBS on Wednesday, June 8th to speak to the students about the summer reading program. Stay tuned for more info!
Have a great weekend! - Mr. D'Aloia
Birthday Books
Andrew Askins - The Book with No Pictures
Gavin Drum - Leprechauns and Irish Folklore
Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen - House Mouse Senate Mouse
Charlotte Giordano - The Book with No Pictures
The Design Den
Welcome Families, to the Design Den!
What has been happening in Design and Technology this month?
Kindergarten: Students are exploring a bee’s habitat. Ask your child to share details of a bee’s habitat. Ask them how does a bee get all its needs met from its habitat.
1st Grade: Students have created, tested and improved harvesting tools. Ask your child to explain how their engineering group decided to improve their design? What did they see happening during testing? Did this help them know what to improve?
2nd Grade: Students are creating a system that will protect the environment from a toxic liquid found in landfills called leachate. Ask your child to explain how their design will protect the environment from leachate.
3rd Grade: Students are exploring different kinds of innovative water filtration devices.
Ask your child to describe and compare The Drinkable Book and The LifeStraw.
Have An Marvelous May!
Ms. Stojanov (Ms. S)
Jump Rope for Heart
Congratulations Second and Third Graders!!!!
You were all terrific during Jump Rope for Heart!! You helped the American Heart Association in their fight against heart disease and stroke by raising over $11,400.00!! Congratulations go out to the top fundraisers from each grade level: Bennett Polemeni in 2nd grade and Max Voight in 3rd grade!! A big thank you to all who donated to this worthy cause! You are all heart heroes!!!
Mr. Stevens and Mr. Dalton
PTO Posts
Welcome back!
We hope you have had a restful spring break and find yourselves back in the groove as we head into the home stretch for the school year. This Monday, May 2nd we will be holding our annual fundraiser, Tee Off with SBS. We hope you're planning on joining us in the morning either out on the links or on the courts; or in the evening for cocktails and dinner. Registration is closing soon! Make sure you get your tickets in our online store, only a click away:http://squ.re/1T2KAsq.
* 5/3 PTO Meeting. Meet us at 9:15am in the Media Center
* 5/3-5/6 Meet the Masters Music. Students continue learning about landmark composers in this second session of music enrichment.
* 5/6 Pizza Parlor Day. Second-to-last chance to enjoy pizzeria pizza for lunch!
* 5/19 Third Grade Talent Show. Come celebrate our enormously talented - and brave! - third graders at our annual talent show at 6:30pm in the CHS auditorium.
* An environmentally-friendly thank you goes to our Earth Day chairs Jennifer Mathews and Allison Guvenel for making the day a little greener for SBS. With different activities for each grade, this event was no small feat to pull off. Many thanks go to the fleet of parent volunteers who manned the stations, read the stories and even tolerated shoe boxes full of dirt and worms to make this day a success!
* Our Spring Picture Day seemed to go off without hitch, in large part thanks to our committee chair Christy Crawford. Despite the chilly weather, the kids, teachers and even the photographers made it through the day with flying colors. We hope you enjoyed the proofs that came home and will consider picking up a few photos for yourself!
Mae Hacking
2015-2016 SBS PTO President
2016 SBS Earth Day
Dinnertime Conversations...
Tired of the same old responses when you ask your children how their day went? Check here for some conversation starters!
Ask your kindergartner:
1. What is a life cycle?
2. What do the words "in all" mean?
3. What do you know about the letters "q" and "u"?
Ask your first grader:
1. What types of groups do you belong to? In school? In the community? In the world?
2. What does the big hand and the little hand mean on the analog clock?
3. What is your topic for your nonfiction chapter book? Can you tell me some facts about your nonfiction book?
Ask your second grader:
1. From the Writing Celebration, what were the pieces of writing you were most proud to share. Why?
2. What is your best memory of the trip to Liberty Science Center?
3. What are all the different ways you can make $.93?
Ask your third grader:
1. Revisit the portfolio celebration with your child, what writing pieces make your child the most proud?
2. What was your child's favorite part of the Spring Concert? Does your child wish to join chorus or play an instrument at Lafayette School next year?
3. Your child has picked an animal for their research project. What is their animal? Why did they pick this animal?
Southern Boulevard School
Website: www.chatham-nj.org/sbs
Location: 192 Southern Blvd, Chatham, NJ
Phone: (973)457-2509