Sherwood Spirit
November 2019
From Mr. Walerstein's Desk
Greetings and welcome to our November newsletter. We are just about finished with the first trimester of the school year, and the cold weather is just around the corner. It has been a busy time at Sherwood, and November will be no different.
We are in the throes of our house system, and this month we will have our next House activity; this will take place during the days leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday. We will also host our 5th grade Sports Night, and this year, the students will be competing in events with their housemates. They will not only compete for the Sherwood Cup, but will also be rewarded with house points that will benefit all students in their house in grades 2-4 as well! This is truly a Win-Win for all.
This month our PTA is bringing an author to Sherwood! Charles Smith, Jr., the author of I Am America, Rimshots, and Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali an award winning picture book. Mr. Smith was also a competitor on American Ninja Warrior. We are excited to host him to share his story.
Additionally, this month, our second graders will be visiting Brookhaven National Lab; this visit will provide additional hands-on activities for our students to show them some real world applications that further support our STEM instruction and Amplify Science Program.
Our Annual Night of Giving will take place on November 20; this is a great event for our students to see the importance of helping others. This year we are collecting items by house; please see the items each house is responsible to bring in below.
Lastly, some reminders:
Superintendent's Conference Day; November 5
Make-Up Photos; November 8
Veteran's Day; School Closed November 11
Thanksgiving Recess; November 27-29
Have a great November!
Warmest Regards,
Chad Walerstein
Principal
5th Grade Biography Day
Remind
4th Grade Classroom Updates
PTA NEWS
October has been a busy month for the Sherwood PTA. Our Fall Book Fair was a huge success. It was so great to see the excitement in school while the kids picked out their books. Our “All for Books” coin challenge during our book fair raised over $1,250 which was split between our library and the teachers’ classroom libraries. Scholastic also donates the matching amount; 1,250 kids will receive books because of our donations! Great job Sherwood!
The Sherwood PTA Food Drive is ongoing until November 18th. Please send in donations of non-perishable Thanksgiving items to school. Together we can make a difference. House donation requests are: Honestas: canned vegetables (corn, green beans, sweet potatoes); Respectus: instant potatoes, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese; Virtus: stuffing mix, gravy, biscuit mix; Dinatio: canned pie filling, graham cracker pie crust/boxed pie crust. All non-perishable food items can be dropped off at Sherwood Elementary.
Please join us for a Night of Giving. We are working on a date for this, so stay posted. Help us put together baskets to donate to local Islip families during the Thanksgiving holiday. Remember, if one CAN make a difference…Imagine what more CAN do!
Join us for our Paint Night on Thursday, November 7th, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm to paint a 19” wood sign (white or dark wood) with town coordinates for Islip, Bay Shore or East Islip. The costs of $40.00 per person includes all supplies and instruction. RSVP by November 4th by sending check in payable to Sherwood PTA or by contacting: Bernadette Kjeldsen at bernadettekjeldsen@gmail.com/631.383.7757 or Christine Stephenson slopesandropes@yahoo.com/516.398.6965.
A special thanks to Coyle’s Ice Cream for hosting our ice cream fundraiser. What a great night for Sherwood and the Islip Community!
Please continue to send in your Box Tops. With the money raised so far, we will be purchasing a Rock Wall.
Throughout the year, the PTA will provide many programs and events for your kids that will be fun and educational. Your PTA membership helps fund these programs. As a PTA member, you will receive emails to keep you up to date on PTA and other school events throughout the year. There are many opportunities to volunteer. Remember, no one can do everything, but everyone can do something.
Our next PTA meeting is on November 20th at 7 pm. Join us for our joint meeting with SEPTA to hear about our co-teaching classes. This will be a question and answer session with Mr. Walerstein and Ms. O’Callaghan.
Sign up for important updates from the Sherwood PTA with the Remind APP. Text the message @sespta17 to the number 81010. Any questions, please feel free to email us at SherwoodPTA@aol.com.
Sherwood Student to Participate in the Long Island String Festival
We are happy to announce that Isabella Conzo has been chosen to participate in the Long Island String Festival. The Festival sponsors concerts, workshops, and special events in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The Long Island String Festival has been in existence since 1956. The Suffolk County concerts will take place in January 2020. Congratulations to Isabella!
Emergency Sheltering Drill
Traffic Circle
Grade 5 Celebrates Biography Day
From the Gymnasium with Mr. Atlas and Mr. Ruccia
Physical education is off to a very exciting start. Students have been involved in a variety of activities that improve their coordination, fitness and sport skills. Students will continue to work on enhancing their skills in activities like basketball, soccer, cooperative games, hockey, throwing, catching and many more.
On November 14th the fifth-grade students will be participating in our Sherwood Sports Night. This is an event where the students participate in various relays and other physical activities that bring students together to compete in friendly competition.
Please remember to have your child prepared for physical education with appropriate clothing and sneakers. We are looking forward to a fun and exciting year!
Congratulations to our leaders in the mile run:
Grade 5
Jackson Doring (7:20) and Elizabeth Hamm (9:04)
Grade 4
Tyler Zizza (7:47) and Shea LaGiglia (8:45)
Grade 3 (half mile)
Christopher Monahan (4:07) and Avery DeLeo (4:10)
Grade 2 (half mile)
Lucas Taormina (3:48) and Murphy Wallace (4:11)
Dates to Remember
11/1 Emergency Sheltering Drill; EARLY DISMISSAL FOR ALL SCHOOLS (2:35 PM FOR SES)
11/1 Author's Visit, Charles R. Smith
11/5 Election Day/Superintendent's Conference Day - School closed for students.
11/8 School Picture Make Up Day
11/8 Grade 3, In-school field trip; Sweet Briar Nursery
11/11 Veterans Day - School closed.
11/12 Board of Education Meeting, WING
11/14 Grade 5 Sports Night, SES; 7:00 pm
11/19 Board of Education Meeting, IMS
11/20 Nights of Giving (PTA & SEPTA) , 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm; SES
11/20 PTA Meeting, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm; SES
11/21 Grade 2 Field Trip to Brookhaven Laboratory
11/22 Term 1 Marking Period Ends
11/27 - 11/28 School Closed for Thanksgiving Recess.
From the Health Office
In an effort to maintain the healthiest environment for our students, I have provided some important guidelines:
- Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of the flu include fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit, 37.8 degrees Celsius or greater), cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired. Some people may also vomit or have diarrhea.
- Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have fever or do not have signs of fever without using fever-reducing drugs. Keeping children home with a fever will reduce the number of people who may get infected.
- Do not send children to school if they are sick. Any children who are determined to be sick while at school will be sent home.
- Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or a hand rub. You can set a good example by doing this yourself.
- Teach your children not to share personal items like drinks, food, or unwashed utensils, and to cover their coughs and sneezes with a tissue. When a tissue is unavailable, children should cover their coughs and sneezes using an elbow, arm, or sleeve instead of their hand.
Thank you for your continued cooperation!
NOTE: As the weather gets colder, we will continue to try and get the students outside for recess. Please be sure that your children come to school with appropriate clothing to go outside.
--Ann Marie Ferry, RN