Grundy Ave Newsletter
~ April 2018 ~
Dear Grundy Learning Community;
Welcome to Spring! I'm hopeful that the crazy winter weather is finally behind us and we can finally enjoy some warm spring weather. Please note because of the school closings there are calendar changes and they can be found here. It is also a good idea to dress your children accordingly, possibly layers as it is still chilly in the mornings and warmer in the afternoons.
The NYS ELA Assessments for students in grades 3, 4 and 5 will be on April 11th and 12th and on May 1st and 2nd the NYS Math Assessments will be administered. The 4th grade Science Assessment will be in June. If you are planning of opt out of these assessments, please see the letter for information here.
Grundy is planning it's first STEAM Night on April 18th. This will be a fun, hands on evening of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. The Sachem Public library will also be in attendance to share some of the new technologies they have acquired. The computer lab will be open to learn coding and there's an opportunity to create a musical instrument! Please send in your slip to sign up for a session ASAP, don't miss out on the fun!
Our very active PTA has been quite busy with various activities that benefit ALL of the children at Grundy Ave. The PARP committee is ready with a theme of Kindness Matters! We just held a Mad Science presentation for all of our Grundy students and picture re-take day will be April 23. The Book Fair is April 26th and 27th and the next PTA meeting will be on April 12th at 7:00. These programs and assemblies are available to ALL students whether you join our fantastic PTA or not. The fundraisers you participate in and the generous volunteers at Grundy make this a very special place for our children to learn and grow. Thank you!
Believe it or not we are already discussing items on the June calendar! Our fabulous 5th grade is gearing up for their moving up ceremony and planning is underway with our 5th grade committee for end of year items. I guess it's true; time flies when you are having fun!
If you have any questions or concerns as we enter the final months of this school year, please reach out. I look forward to seeing you at our next school function or PTA event.
Enjoy the spring weather!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Amato
Kindergarten news...
Kindergarten has been very busy learning and having fun! We kicked off March with a Dr. Seuss author study. We enjoyed reading his books and dressing up as characters from the books. For St. Patrick's day, we celebrated by eating green bagels. There were even some leprechauns that apparently had visited the Kindergarten classrooms. With the arrival of Spring, the children participated in fun Spring centers. They enjoyed an egg hunt, dying eggs, and other fun activities. Lastly, we ended March with a trip to the Long Island Science Center. The children loved the hands on activities they provided there. Happy Spring!
First Grade news...
March was a marvelous month in first grade! We celebrated Dr. Suess’ birthday, participated in Readers Are Leaders Day and completed some fun STEAM projects! We learned fun facts about Dr. Seuss in honor of his birthday. We read several of Dr. Suess’ famous books and completed fun projects for each. On Readers Are Leaders Day the first grade had visits from some fantastic leaders. Class 1-1 had a visit from the Children’s Librarian at the Sachem Public Library. She read several fun books with the students and taught them about all of the wonderful resources that the library has for our community to use. Class 1-2 had a visit from Mrs. Moritz who is the Co-Founder & CEO of Max and Madeleine. Mrs. Moritz spoke to the students about how she started her business. Class 1-3 had a visit from Busto’s Martial Arts Studio. The students learned about how martial arts and reading help students to succeed in school. Class 1-4 had a visit with Police Officer Murphy from the Suffolk County Police Department. Officer Murphy spoke to the students about staying safe. Class 1-5 had a visit from Ashley Behrens who is the Director of the Brookhaven Animal Shelter. Ms. Behrens spoke to our students about caring for the animals in her shelter. Class 1-6 had a visit from Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. The County Executive spoke to the students about setting goals and working hard so that they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up. Readers Are Leaders Day was such a fantastic experience for our first graders! Lastly, our first graders completed some super fun STEAM projects in March. Some of our projects included making green eggs and ham, designing a rainbow bridge, creating a peep nest, designing kindness rocks, and using Lucky Charms to solve math problems. March was a fantastic month! We can’t wait to see all of the learning and fun that April has in store for us!
Second Grade news...
Second grade had a lucky month in March! Our book of the month was Galimoto. It taught us to always work hard and never give up. If you set your mind to something you can accomplish anything. Readers as Leaders Day also inspired us all to go after our dreams! We loved being able to interview a special person and ask them questions about their career. Learning about Dr. Seuss and celebrating his birthday made us enjoy his books even more!
To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, we learned about creating our own leprechaun traps using simple machines. Thanks to the parents and students who made one! They all look amazing displayed in the hallway! In Science, we enjoyed learning about magnets with a fun STEAM activity. In Math, we learned about place value and adding three digit numbers. We loved using manipulatives and food to solve those difficult problems. Learning about different shapes has been a lot of fun! We enjoyed using problem solving skills to make our own shapes using different pattern blocks. Super Hero Day was a great way to celebrate the month of March! We look forward to “Spring Ahead”!
Third grade news...
This month has been extremely busy for the third graders! They engaged in so many wonderful learning activities. We kicked off the month of March with an Islanders Program. The children got to see just how important teamwork is. We also celebrated Readers Are Leaders Day. We were visited by members of the community who have relied on reading in order to be successful in their local businesses. We also got to experience a one-room schoolhouse. The children used Dip Pens and slate boards, just like the students used in the 1800’s. On March 14th, the children celebrated Random Acts of Kindness Day. The students switched classrooms during recess and had a chance to meet new friends. The third graders also learned about agriculture through the Farm-to-Table program that was brought to each of our classrooms. They learned how food starts out as a crop and the process that it goes through to get onto our kitchen tables. To close out March, the children experienced a very entertaining Mad Science Program! We learned about the difference between Magic and Science! We are so excited to see what April has in store for us!
Fourth grade news...
We hope that everyone enjoyed their Spring break and Easter/Passover holiday. This month will be a busy one for our fourth grade students! The state ELA test will be given on Thursday 4/12 and Friday 4/13. We will also be starting our Non-Fiction Schoolwide unit for both reading and writing. The students will be exposed to a variety of non-fiction texts and will also be creating their own non-fiction feature articles by researching and writing about a topic of their choice. We will be continuing our Fraction Unit – Topic 13 with converting fractions to decimals. In Social Studies we are learning about the first colonists of New York. At the end of the month, please be on the lookout for information about our Colonial Life Fashion Show. It is a great event and we can’t wait to share it with all of you.
This month we will be starting our Health Unit entitled “Too Good for Drugs.” Each week a representative from the YMCA will be visiting each fourth grade classroom and presenting a lesson to the students. All lessons are age appropriate and will require the students to complete a homework assignment each week. The homework will be sent home on a Tuesday and will be due no later than Friday. Please make sure your child is completing his/her assignment. Thank you for your cooperation.
On Wednesday, April 18th, Grundy will be hosting a STEAM Fair. If you haven’t already signed up, please do so. It will be a fun evening for all who attend! We are also collecting supplies for this night. Please consider donating supplies. You can find this information on the form that was sent home. Thank you for your support!
fifth grade news...
5th grade has had another great month of school. The Trial of Goldilocks was a huge success! The children did an outstanding job learning their part and preparing for their roles. A special thank you to 4th graders for helping to decide Goldi’s fate! Also, thank you to our supportive families for filling our court room and adding to a wonderful experience.
We also kicked off spring reading with a “Lucky Book Swap” on St. Patrick’s Day. This provided the children with an opportunity to exchange books that they have already read for new titles. We hope to do this again before the end of the year. Keep an eye out for more details!
Autism Awareness....
News from the Art Room...
To All Grundy Families!!!
SAVE THE DATE!!!
May 15, 2018 is Grundy’s Annual Art Show
News from the resource room...
Students in Resource Room are working hard on problem solving! These students can benefit from instruction that teaches them how to identify problems, research possible solutions, evaluate choices, and self-reflect using Tangram puzzles! Problem-solving skills help students solve both simple and complex problems that arise throughout the school day in all academic areas!
News from the nurse...
A pesky problem that is always lurking in the community is head lice. You can help protect your family and educate your children by understanding more about the behavior of head lice and best practices for avoiding them. Head Lice aren't dangerous and they don't spread disease, but they are contagious, annoying and can be hard to get rid of. Here are ways to prevent head lice all year long.
1. Do Routine Head Checks
Because lice are tiny and fast, infestations are usually identified by the presence of nits. These lice eggs are attached to strands of hair and are easier to spot. If they are easily removed, it’s probably just dandruff or lint. Check your child once a week and look closely at the back hairline and behind the ears, where lice tend to populate. It can take up to 6 weeks to experience itching!
2. Advise Your Children Not To Share Hats
Lice can live for 1-2 days without a host and can be transferred through hats, helmets, headbands, headphones, costumes, hoodies, coats, and scarves.
3. Keep Hairbrushes Separate
Be sure to separate hair brushes and hair accessories as well.
4. Practice Safer Sleepovers
Hosting a sleepover at your house? One clever idea to avoid spreading lice is to arrange the kids in a flower or star pattern with their feet together in the center.
5. Use Shampoo and Conditioner for Lice Prevention
Lice are repelled by certain smells, like tea tree oil, menthol, eucalyptus oil, lavender oil, rosemary oil, lemongrass, and citronella. Choose a shampoo for your child with any of these scents for added protection.
6. Use Essential Oils to Deter Lice
Essential oils can be used in place of or in addition to shampoos and conditioners for added protection. Mix a few drops with water in a spray bottle and spritz hats, jackets, or even your child’s head to ward off lice. Multipurpose tea tree, eucalyptus, lavender, rosemary, and lemongrass oils will all do the trick and smell good as an added bonus.
7. Put a Scarf Over Movie Theater or Airplane Seats
Now that I’ve thoroughly freaked you out and have your scratching your head, you may be thinking about the lovely fabric on movie, theater, and airplane seats. Since lice can live up to 1-2 days without a host, you can bring a scarf to throw over the top of the seat for a little added protection.
8. Keep Hair Tied Up
Some evidence suggests that girls are slightly more likely to get lice than boys. Keeping hair tied up in braids or buns may lower chances of an infestation.
9. Use Your Clothes Dryer
If your child has been exposed to lice or has had lice and you want prevent re-infestation, be sure to throw bedding, pillows, and the furry friends your child sleeps with in your dryer for at least 15 minutes to effectively kill lice and nits.
Musical notes....
The fifth grade students have been very busy turning “The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body” into a play these past few months. They turned the text into dialogue and set some lines to music. They worked on scene blocking, acting out lines and some students even tried pantomime. It has been such a joy to watch their creative juices flow and how well they can collaborate on a big project together!
Ducks Game on June 2nd
Grundy school singers have been invited to perform at the Long Island Duck’s game this year. All students, grades kindergarten through fifth, are invited to sing together during the 7th inning stretch. Our incredible PTA will be running ticket sales. More information will be sent home after spring break. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Gallagher.
speech news...
This month in Speech and Language we used the Expanding Expression Tool to increase our oral expression skills. This tool helps students describe objects in a sequenced and cohesive manner so that peers and adults are better able to understand their communicative intent. At the very basic level, the EET tool helps learners describe an object. Often, students can label an object but can’t tell about it. This affects their ability to categorize, make connections and associations, comprehend, compare/contrast, etc. The EET can be used for descriptive writing, personal narratives, informative writing, and opinion writing. Try using this tool at home to help your child describe a favorite character, video game, new toy, curriculum vocabulary or weekly spelling words!
News from the REading Room...
April is National Poetry Month!
How is poetry beneficial to children?
· Poems assist with early literacy skills such as building phonemic awareness. Some activities include rhyme recognition, concept of
syllables, and alliteration. It helps with phoneme manipulation,
which is the ability to add, substitute or delete sounds to create
new words
· Poems highlight language. They incorporate poetic devices such as
onomatopoeia, personification, simile and metaphors
· Poems contain rich vocabulary and are a great way to introduce,
practice or build new vocabulary
· Poetry is perfect for fluency practice. Students can improve
reading speed and accuracy with repeated readings. They can read dramatically, to emphasize the rhymes and the phrasing of poems
· Poetry boosts comprehension and are great for making inferences
· Poems are short. They can range from simple and fun, to
complicated and abstract
· Poems create interest in a topic and sparks enthusiasm for writing
Technology Club...
Technology Club got off to a great start and continues to do some fantastic things! Fifth graders in the club designed their own company logos and had a chance to create them using a graphic design program called Canva. Recently, we had the chance to “travel” the world using the virtual reality technology of Google Expeditions. We explored coding with ozobots and had a blast racing them and moving them all around our designs. Next up, some Green Screen fun awaits us! A big thanks goes out to the parents from Mrs. Lawler for getting the students here for our club meetings!
Grundy Ave Elementary
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Email: lamato@sachem.edu
Website: www.sachem.edu/grundy
Location: 950 Grundy Avenue, Holbrook, NY, USA
Phone: 631-471-1820
Facebook: facebook.com/GrundyAvenueElementarySchool
Twitter: @GrundyAve