News from the Hill
May 19, 2017
Principal's Message
We went from spring to what feels like summer in record breaking time! We would appreciate it if you would please send your child to school with a water bottle to keep at his/her seat so that our students can stay hydrated and cool.
We have been enjoying the outdoors this week! Thanks to our PTSA, we have a new GaGa pit at Hillside. Students have been learning the rules of the game with our Physical Education teachers and Student Council leadership. What a wonderful way to release some energy at recess time!
This is a busy time of year at Hillside. Kindergarten Screening is taking place and it is pure joy to see the future members of our Hillside family in our school halls! Class placement is also underway and teachers are working hard on ensuring a wonderful 2017-2018 school year for all students. We are in the process of interviewing new staff members for a number of positions including classroom teachers, STEM, FLES, school Counselor, reading teacher, and special education teacher. As a result, our grade level teams are not yet set. Additionally, last night, our Hillside Community panel, comprised of teachers, a teaching assistant, a school psychologist, parents from both PTSA and SEPTA, and administrators came together to interview candidates for our Assistant Principal position. We hope to make a recommendation to the Superintendent very soon.
Great things are happening at Hillside and we are so glad to be your partners in your child's educational journey!
Enjoy the weekend with your families,
Amy Cazes
Principal
Katie Reidy volunteers her talents once again with her new mural, Graceful Athletics! Thank you, Katie!
Classroom News
Kindergarten
We have been counting down the days until our chicks hatch! Their anticipated hatch date is around May 17th and we have been preparing our classrooms for their arrival. Kindergartners have been candling the eggs, recording observations in their scientific journals and have been making predictions. We can’t wait for the life cycle to continue and we are looking forward to taking care of these adorable chicks in our classroom.
Our math unit has been composing and decomposing numbers to 10. The children have been creating their own addition and subtraction stories and have been completing number bonds to match them. We will continue with this unit for the rest of the month and then will move on to our final unit next month.
First Grade
First graders celebrated their Animal and Habitat study with an INCREDIBLE museum! Students acted as facilitators, as they led their guests through hands-on experiments that focused on animal adaptations. Guests were amazed as our students explained how feathers help ducks stay dry, how blubber keeps animals warm, how webbed feet help animals swim faster and so much more! In addition to experiments, our guests loved the various displays of work that incorporated writing and art. Everyone was amazed at how much our students learned and a GREAT time was had by all!
We’d also like to extend a HUGE thank you to all the parents that came in to help make the safari vests. The children looked adorable and we couldn’t have done it without you!
In addition, we look forward to our field trip to the Maritime Aquarium on Monday, May 22nd. Here, the students will have the opportunity to view a special IMAX movie and see the very same animals studied in our classrooms, come to life right before their eyes!
Our math work continues with a study of identifying, composing and partitioning shapes. Currently, students are learning about equal parts, specifically halves and fourths.
Second Grade
We are in full swing with our work with the mealworms. Each student has his/her own mealworms to observe and care. Over the course of the next several weeks we will observe their life cycle and learn about the process of metamorphosis.
In tandem with our work with the mealworms, the students are learning about various insects through class lessons and reading group work. Students will begin a research project about one particular insect in the near future. The students will use several resources to gather information regarding their chosen insect. After the research, the students will display their knowledge. Parents will have the opportunity to view the results of the students’ research at the end-of-year gathering in June.
Our math work in the current unit has encompassed graphing (picture and bar graphs) and money. The second portion of the unit returns to measurement. Earlier in the year we worked with measurement in the metric system. This unit focuses more on the customary system, including inches, feet and yards. Our final unit in June will cover geometry and fractions.
Communications Class K-2
We have been counting down the days until our chicks hatch! Their anticipated hatch date is around May 17th and we have been preparing our classrooms for their arrival. We have been candling the eggs, recording observations in their scientific journals and have been making predictions. We can’t wait for the life cycle to continue and we are looking forward to taking care of these adorable chicks in our classroom.
We are also studying farms and the importance of farms to our daily lives. We have studied cows, sheep, pigs, and crops on the farm and they impact our daily lives. We each wrote about our own farm and the types of animals and crops we would like to have and why.
We continue to work on individual skills and independent work reflecting student goals and needs. The students are showing growth in working independently for greater amounts of time.
Communications Class 3-5
We are wrapping up our Cynthia Rylant author study this week for ELA. The students enjoyed reading books from both the Henry and Mudge and Mr. Putter and Tabby series. We will begin reading stories set in Colonial America and the biographies of the important figures of that time. Our ELA unit will support our social studies unit, where we are comparing the life of a colonial child to the life a child living in present day. In math, we have wrapped up our unit on geometry and started a unit on time and money. In science, we wrapped our unit on different states of matter and started a unit on simple machines and how they make work easier for us. The students are excited about making different types of machines.
Integrated Learning Class 2-4
Students are happy about all of the special events happening right now! 2nd grade is enthralled by their mealworms in addition to reading about and researching Insects in general. In Math, students are wrapping up their work with data and money and are problem-solving with measurement. Our days are filled with reading and comprehension, from decoding work to read-alouds to written responses to independent level books. 3rd grade is exploring Brazil, the economy of wants vs needs and goods and services. Reading in class is all about building stamina with early chapter books and detailed analysis of text. 4th grade will be diving into decimals after wrapping up fractions. 4th grade is also immersed in Colonial America in Social Studies and in Scientific topics with lots of hands on work with magnets, electricity, force and matter.
Third Grade
Third graders have been busy in so many ways. In Social Studies we are learning about Brazil. One special activity is our last project with artist-in-residence Alison Marra. Students created their own Brazilian masks after learning about their importance during Mardi Gras. Each mask is unique and tells a story. A second activity is related to our study of economics. After learning about the symbols that make up the United States dollar bill, students created their own dollar bill to reflect their lives. They used symbols to show important aspects of their lives. When parents come in for our end-of-the-year celebration, they will see both the masks and dollar bills that have been created.
We are in our last mathematics unit, “Geometry and Measurement Word Problems.” This includes daily practice with one and two-step word problems based on topics mastered throughout the year, using all four operations. The second part of the unit an investigation of geometry and perimeter. This includes the attributes of two-dimensional figures.
In ELA, students are reading lots of poems. In addition to reading poems for enjoyment, they are analyzing poems, such as “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes, and “Making Friends With Rosie” by Jean Little. In writing, students continue to learn techniques that can help them improve their writer’s notebook pieces. Writing consultant Judy Davis is helping them to incorporate lists of three to make their writing come alive.
Fourth Grade
May is such a wonderful time for 4th graders. We are learning so much. We have recently completed our unit on fractions and we have begun our final math unit on decimals. Students will be learning the importance of the decimal point and concepts such as tenths, hundredths and thousandths. They will also see the important relationship between fractions and decimals and they will learn to become fluent in expressing both to show parts and wholes.
In social studies, students have continued to learn about the American Revolution. 4th graders have been busy preparing paper mache heads for their Revolutionary heroes, and creating their colonial villages with ArchForKids. It has been an utterly amazing experience to watch as students have transformed ordinary cardboard boxes into government houses,, churches, taverns, businesses, and homes. In three sessions with ArchForKids, students have made this era truly come alive. You will be thrilled to see everyone’s work on June 8th at our colonial exhibit. Our thanks again to the PTSA for their generous grant!
Finally, in science, our students have happily embraced the hands on activities we have been doing lately. From density to displacement, and from magnetism to electrical circuits, students have been delving into science with genuine excitement. Students have used their newly acquired knowledge to build circuits, and to demonstrate displacement. They understand how to observe and then describe the various properties of matter, and they can explain what causes something to be magnetic and how magnet poles can either attract and repel each other. Students have learned a great deal over the past several months and we are proud of them. Job well done!
Parents, please note that as we head into the last 2 months of school, you should be sure to mark June 19th on your calendars for our 4th grade Moving Up ceremony. This will be immediately followed by our annual pool party, which is THE event of the year! Class parents will be contacting you shortly with more details. Thank you in advance for your support. We look forward to seeing you all soon,.
Art
Thank you to the parents, students and friends who came out to the KIndergarten, First and Second Grade Art Shows. If you missed the exhibits, you can see some of the excerpted artwork in the display cases in the Hillside lobby. Please check out the Hillside Art blog for regular updates - http://hastings.schoolwires.net/Page/1225 .
Upcoming Grade Level Art Shows:
Tuesday, May 23 - 4th Grade (Still Lifes), 6-8pm
Thursday, May 25 - 3rd Grade (Circles), 6-8pm
Music
Ms. Concra’s Class: We’re steaming towards the end of the year! Kindergarteners are singing, moving, and playing games using simple melodies. Moving forwards, we will us classroom percussion instruments to practice steady beat and rhythm echoing. 1st graders are continuing our animal theme as we begin to study “Peter and the Wolf”. Students will listen to character themes and the unique orchestration techniques Prokofiev uses to tell the classic tale. 2nd graders are learning the Japanese story of Momo-taro-san. In this unit, we learn to sing in Japanese, talk about traditional Japanese instruments, and Noh and Kabuki. As a special treat, students will have a chance to sample a Japanese treat, Mitarashi Dango. 3rd graders are wrapping up our treble clef notation unit. The unit culminates in reading standard notation to accompany the story the The Three Billy Goats Gruff on xylophones and percussion instruments. 4th graders have finished our sea shanty unit. Congratulations to James K. and John M. for setting the origami boat distance records! Next up, we’ll be looking at Aaron Copland’s “Billy the Kid”’ and “Rodeo”.
Mr. Campbell’s Class:
Kindergarten students have been singing, moving, and playing games with simple melodies. They have been using rhythm sticks, hand drums, and woodblocks to perform steady beat and simple rhythm patterns to familiar songs and chants. First grade students have been learning about how sounds go from low to high and have been using pitched percussion instruments to distinguish between different registers of sound. Second grade students have been learning about how music can be used to tell stories. They have been singing and performing movements to the Haitian story Bouki Dances the Kokioko and the Icelandic tale The Night Troll. Third grade students have begun to study the history of jazz music and are learning about famous jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. Fourth grade students have been learning about the music of American composer Aaron Copland and are listening to his works Billy the Kid and Hoedown from Rodeo. Much of his music was inspired by folk songs and traditional dances. The fourth grade students have been enjoying learning simple line dances to go along with this music!
Physical Education
Hello Everybody! There have been a lot of exciting happenings going on in the gym recently! Most importantly, we need to give a big thank you shout out to Katie Reidy for completing the second mural in the gym. If you are in the building please come by and take a look at the amazing work she has done. Both murals are done with spray paint and more impressively, all freehand! Thank you Katie for bringing some color into our gym, you did an amazing job!!
We have just finished our gymnastic unit concluding with our third and fourth graders creating routines and performing them in front of their classmates. All three phys edu teachers are very proud of the routines and all students for the progress they have made over the past three weeks.
Our next unit that we will be teaching is Track and Field. During this unit we will teach students about hurdles, relay races and how to properly pass a baton, discus, softball toss, and long jump.
Just a heads up, Field Day is around the corner on June 16th! If you are willing to volunteer during any part of the day please contact Dennis Kiely for more information. Thank You : )
FLES
Over the past two weeks we have been working very hard in Spanish class. In all grades we celebrated Cinco de mayo and talked about the historical contexts and cultural impacts of Cinco de mayo. Children enjoyed dancing in class, reading stories about how Cinco de mayo is celebrated both in the U.S. and in Mexico. Look for Cinco de mayo related projects in your child’s backpack mail and ask about the words we learned such as fiesta, sombrero, piñata and dulce.
This week 1st and 2nd grades are beginning their unit on La Familia. Meanwhile in 3rd and 4th grader students are continuing to study Peru and Spain.
As a friendly reminder, please visit our class website, www.nunez-fles.weebly.com for more on our current units and fun practice at home!
From the Library
Spring has Sprung—and then sprung away—but this week should see the return of nice weather. The Kindergarteners are all anxiously awaiting the hatching of their chicks, so we have been reading chicken books and farm books and designing our own farms, with crops and animals galore. First Grade has been reading Violet the Pilot about a dauntless girl who can construct a flying machine out of anything, and then, after checking out, using either Legos or drawings, have been designing their own planes. We looked at Leonardo’s first designs for winged flight by man and a quick video of the launch of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. Second Grade has been reading Iggy Peck, Architect, the story of a boy who could build anything—and does—despite his teacher’s early misgivings. They are also working on paper and with Legos to design their own buildings. Third Grade is exercising logic—we’ve been reading a wonderful series of riddle folktales, Stories to Solve and True Lies and working together to discover the logical but tricky explanations for each tale—no magic involved, except in the illustrations by the fantastic Peter Sis. Fourth Grade has been doing an author study of Chris Van Allsburg, comparing The Wreck of the Zephyr, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi and The Wretched Stone in tone, lesson, art, and clues throughout the stories. We are also looking at The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, a series of illustrations by Van Allsburg with one or two sentence writing prompts and breaking into groups to create our own stories around the prompts—and some are mysterious, indeed. As of Monday, May 15, we have two high school interns in the library—Alexis Mosca and Beatrice Browne—be sure and welcome them!
ALERT: THE LAST DAY TO CHECK OUT BOOKS WILL BE FRIDAY, MAY 26TH AND THE FINAL DAY TO RETURN THEM IS FRIDAY, JUNE 9TH. CHILDREN WHOSE ACCOUNTS ARE NOT CLEARED BY REPORT CARD TIME WILL NOT BE SENT HOME WITH THEIR REPORT CARDS; THEIR PARENTS MUST COME TO SCHOOL TO RECEIVE THEM.
From the MakerSpace
MakerSpace has been buzzing with a variety of design activities. Kindergarteners and first graders continue to explore with Lego Education’s Early Simple Machine kits. This week they had to solve a problem that Sam and Sara (the two Lego characters featured) were having with their fan. Sam was unable to get the fan moving using plain old wind, so students had to construct a mechanism using gears and levers to get the fan working. Beyond exploring simple machines, students using these kits are learning to follow a blueprint/directions, collaborating to figure out the solution, as well as extending their thinking beyond what they have created. Fourth grade classes that visited have also had the opportunity to begin exploring with the new Lego WeDo Robotics 2.0, which has been really exciting. Students in other grades have had the opportunity to revisit and create with Dash and Ozobot robots, littleBits Gizmos and Gadgets kits, and cardboard creations. Please visit my Twitter at @hohjned for pictures of all these activities in action!
Hillside Elementary School
Website: www.hohschools.org
Location: 120 Lefurgy Avenue, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, United States
Phone: 914-478-6270