Harbordale Elementary School
4th Quarter Newsletter
A letter from the Principal
June 4, 2019
Dear Harbordale Families,
It’s hard to believe the 2018-19 school year has quickly come to a close. This has indeed been a memorable school year. Challenging curriculum, exciting school-wide functions, family fun-filled events and standardized assessments for all students have made this a busy and fun-filled year. Thanks to our outstanding teachers, parents and volunteers, we cannot begin to list the many opportunities afforded to our students this year to include back-to school activities, fall and holiday fun, fitness and musical opportunities, field trips, enjoyable assemblies, academic competitions, fabulous performances and family fun evenings. Your involvement and commitment truly makes Harbordale the “Best School in Broward County”.
We are proud of the growth and gains made by each and every Harbordale student this year. This was certainly due to the outstanding efforts and hard work of our phenomenal staff and terrific students. It is truly a team effort. The students worked very hard this year to learn new strategies and concepts, aligned to the new and rigorous Florida Standards and assessment protocols. At this time, we have received 3rd Grade FSA Reading scores and are still awaiting all other scores. As we receive further information, we will pass it along to you. Please expect an e-mail and a phone call when scores are released from the state.
As this school year comes to a close, we would like to express our deepest appreciation to our teachers, students and parents who made our year at Harbordale so special. It has been a rewarding experience working with a dedicated, professional staff and involved parents eager to provide the best educational experiences for all our students. We look forward to continuing the outstanding programs and high student expectations next school year.
Additionally, we would like to thank our terrific HSA Board. Under the skilled leadership of Mrs. Melinda Morgan, the entire HSA Board has worked tirelessly throughout the year to assist our teachers and students. Laptop and IPAD purchases, supplemental reading resources, author’s visits, adopt-a-class sponsorships, and classroom materials and resources are just a few of the examples of the support given to our teachers and students throughout the year. We are continuously overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation at the demonstration of generosity from our families and community members.
As we approach the vacation months, please remember that summer allows families an opportunity refresh and to enrich and explore other learning experiences with their children. Take small family trips, go the library and take advantage of resources and programs that our community has to offer. Don’t forget to set aside time to require children to read and practice math facts each evening in order to maintain or improve academic levels.
We sincerely wish you and your family a safe, healthy and happy summer. Know we will miss our students during the summer months and wish our 5th grade students best of luck as they transition in middle school in the fall.
Remember the 2019-20 school year begins Wednesday, August 14th this year, with our Back-to-School Orientation and Open House for all Kindergarten through 5th Grade students Tuesday, August 13th. A 2019-20 school year calendar is attached for easy reference.
Sincerely yours,
Theresa Bucolo
Principal
Jennifer Kashdin
Assistant Principal
Kindergarten News
Summer is almost here! The students are continuing to shine as learners!
Throughout the Fourth Quarter, we’ve continued to learn many strategies to facilitate our learning. In Reading, we have introduced over 75 sight words, all our letter names and letter sounds and are continuing to review them daily. We are continuing to segment our sounds to form words by stretching them out slowly. The expectations for the end of Quarter 4 are for students to be reading on an instructional BAS instructional level D. We encourage students to continue to read over the Summer! A list of First Grade sight words will be going home for students to practice and review.
In Language Arts, students have been introduced to different types of poetry. Students have really enjoyed creating acrostic poems. It is fun to watch the students continue to use poetry during Daily 5 as they create acrostic poems using their names and write free style poems. We are wrapping up our unit on Fairy Tales and the kids have really taken joy in hearing the different versions of these stories. Our main focus were on the stories: The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and Jack and the Bean Stalk. Students were expected to compare and contrast the different stories using Venn Diagrams and by creating story maps to sequence the beginning, middle, and end. We have been working on retelling the different stories using puppets. Students were eagerly waiting on the carpet while listening to the outcome of each fairy tale!
In Math, we mastered measurement through hands-on activities to measure length, height, and weight. Students used a variety of manipulatives to measure different classroom objects and to compare them. We have also been graphing, and sorting by; color, shape, size, and attributes. We are continuing to work on addition and subtraction fluency facts. At the end of Quarter 4, our goal is for students to fluently add and subtract between 0-5. We are starting to review for the End of the Year Math Test.
In Science, we have learned about Force and Motion. We acted out the different vocabulary words to describe how things move. Students had a blast experimenting with force and motion experiments. We are revisiting our unit on Plants to
integrate with our unit on Fairy Tales. After reading Jack and the Beanstalk, we planted “magic beans” and the students are patiently waiting for their beanstalks to grow!
In Social Studies, we learned all about Earth Day! Students can tell you about the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) and why they are so important. A special thank you to our parents for donating recyclable items for students to use in class to create a “Trash to Treasure” project. Using their creativity, students awed us with their imagination to turn these recyclable items into treasure!
On April 30th, we visited Young at Art Children's Museum for our last field trip of the year. Students were encouraged to explore different cultures through play, and even created a paper sun using solar paint. We had an awesome time at Young at Art, students are still talking about their fun experience! Thank you to our great chaperones!
Thank you so much for your continued involvement and support! This year has been such a success because of all of you! We can’t thank our volunteers enough for their time and effort both inside and outside of school.
Sincerely,
Ms. Brotman, Ms. Costello, Mrs. Edler, Mrs. Webb, Mrs. Glasser
1st Grade News
It’s hard to believe that nine months have gone by, but WHEW, we made it! It’s been a wonderful and rewarding school year. We have shared so many fond memories and have had an incredible journey learning together.
During the 4th quarter, first graders learned so many new skills it’s out of this world! In Science we learned about Earth’s resources, living and nonliving things, and life cycles. In math, we mastered many strategies for addition and subtraction, geometry, measurement, counting a combination of coins, and time to the hour and half hour. Some fun in social studies topics included Economics and American symbols.
Have a great summer. Remember to read! Come back and visit if you can J.
First Grade Team,
Mrs. Buitron
Mrs. Fitzgerald
Mrs. Garza
Ms. Fisher
Ms. Bumar
Second Grade News
Wow! Can you believe we have completed another school year?
Throughout the fourth quarter we’ve learned strategies to facilitate our learning. In reading, we have learned test taking strategies in preparation for our recent End of Year Reading Assessment. In writing, Second graders have expressed their feelings and written different styles of poetry and learned how to write Friendly letters. In math, we have learned about geometric shapes and collecting data. We were also introduced to partitioning shapes to create fractions. In social studies, students learned about American symbols, immigration, and completed a family immigration project. In science we discussed Earth’s surfaces, rocks, forces in motion, and finished up with The Human Body.
The Second Grade team has had such pleasure working with their students and families this school year! You’ve truly made this year “Out of this World”. Thank you so much for your continued support!
Sincerely,
Second Grade Team
Ms. Disbury, Ms. Ferraro, Ms. Menolascino, and Ms. Smith
Third Grade News
It’s hard to believe the year is almost over. In April, HSA hosted Style Your Tile Night. Students had a wonderful time showing off their creativity at this wonderful fundraiser.
Also in April, we had our 2nd parent presentation. Students enjoyed sharing information they researched on one region of the United States. Student reports were very impressive, and included information on the region’s landmarks, natural resources, and industries.
This quarter Mr. Ciotti put on another out of this world performance. All third grade students enjoyed performing on stage along with the second grade students. The music show allowed for many students to share their space themed poems.
With FSA completed, students have been working on novel studies and Accelerated Reader. Students have also been reviewing math standards and preparing for the 4th grade. Once again, we’ve had a very eventful and successful year.
3rd Grade Team
- Ms.Bernard, Ms.Goldstein, Ms. Hanley, Ms. Solis, and Ms.Vaughn
Fourth Grade News
It’s hard to believe summer is just weeks away! Where did the year go? As we get ready to wind down another amazing year, our students are buzzing with excitement. The 4th graders worked very hard to complete their FSA assessments in reading and math these past few weeks. We are so proud of all their efforts. They will now begin preparing for their end of year tests to measure their knowledge attained throughout the year. Please encourage your child to continue to be committed to their academic success. Support them by encouraging effort and focus for the remainder of the school year. You can also do this by checking their weekly homework sheet for upcoming assignments and important dates and the Red folder for every Tuesday for important announcements and graded work.
A HUGE thank you to all the wonderful parents that showered the lucky Harbordale teachers with gifts and treats this teacher appreciation week. What an amazing week!!! It feels incredible to be part of such a loving school community and to be recognized for all our hard work. Thank you! Thank you!
The final cut-off date to complete AR goals is Friday May 24th – and it’s coming quick! Please encourage your child to read nightly for a minimum of 20 minutes. Also, keep reviewing 4th grade math skills using I-Ready at home. Focus on multiplication and division to prepare for 5th grade. Thank you for a great year! Wishing you all a safe and restful summer!
The Fourth Grade Team!
Fifth Grade News
Third grade had a great 4th quarter! We took a field trip to see the documentary film Pandas at the Imax at the Museum of Discovery and Science. We saw how one panda named Qian Qian, who was born in capitivty, was introduced to the wild. Everyone had fun watching the panda cubs interact on their playground. Third graders also researched information about pandas. We learned a lot about this endangered species. Students found out where pandas live, what they eat, why they are endangered, and many other interesting facts. We were excited to share our research in our flip books along with our panda-lantern crafts at Showcase Harbordale!
We had a very busy year in third grade! We hope everyone has a wonderful summer!
The Fifth Grade Team!
ESE News
As the school year winds down, our ESE students are busy gearing up for all the end of the year activities. We had our annual Talent Show, where the ESE students are an important part of the production of this event. The students from the ESE classes have many roles and responsibilities, from being announcers to being stagehands behind the scenes. They are a big help to Ms. Hicks!
Now that FSA testing is over, the ESE classes are busy readying the students for next year. Parents, please continue to have your children reading over the summer vacation. We often see a decline in progress at the beginning of the school year due to the “Summer Slide.”
On behalf of Ms. Hicks and Ms. Hanley, we hope you have a safe summer!
The ESE Team!
Speech News
Hello Families!
It’s been a wonderful, communicative year in the speech room! I have so enjoyed helping students improve their communication skills and find their voices throughout this school year. They have continued to make progress toward meeting their goals, and they are using their new skills to help them to be more successful outside the speech room. For summer speech practice, model slow, clearly articulated speech. If you notice a speech sound error, recast your child’s sentence, with emphasis on the correct sound production. For example, if your child says, “Look, a pider!”, you might reply, “Oh, wow, I see the sspider!” For language practice, read together as much as you possibly can, and discuss each story throughout. Help your child to complete summer tasks by breaking them down into parts, or making checklists together. For example, to clean your room: first, put your clothes away; second, make your bed; third, put your toys in their boxes. Whenever possible, try to secure your child’s full attention when you are speaking with them by making sure they are faced toward you, making eye contact. Most of all, enjoy each other’s company, and talk about all the fun experiences you are having this summer! Have a great one, see you in the fall!
Katy Quackenbush, M.S. CCC-SLP
Music News
It has been a fun and educational year in music! Our recent performances were outstanding. Back in April, our Kindergarten and First Graders did a great job expressing their appreciation to Harbordale’s volunteers, as they sang at the Volunteer Breakfast! Second and Third Graders displayed their talent by singing “Lights! Camera! Action!” at Showcase Harbordale. Thank you for bringing your child that night. The Fifth Graders also finished their time at Harbordale with special songs at their Awards Ceremony. Even with those performances happening, here are other things we learned in the 4th Quarter in music:
♩Our Kindergarten students learned to play a steady beat, patterns and
dynamics on boomwhackers and rhythm sticks.
♩First Grade students learned to notate simple patterns we sang, created
rhythmic music on various percussion instruments, and expressed the book, “I Want My Hat Back” through barred instruments and movement.
♩Fourth Graders became experts on their recorders. They read music and played
songs with the notes B,A, G, E, and D! Students earned many “belts” by
individually demonstrating their recorder skills on songs.
♩Fifth Graders were exposed to the basics of playing violin with our awesome class
set of violins. Thank you HSA and Broward Schools SMART Bond!
Have a musical summer,
Mr. Ciotti
Student Council
P.E. News
It’s our final quarter for PE of the 2018-2019 school year! We’re experiencing classic Florida weather; rain and showers here and there, and then the heat wave comes! So we’re bringing lots of water bottles and remembering to keep hydrated while we spend time outside. We also had some indoor rainy days and we’ve discussed subjects like nutrition, creating our own obstacle course, speed stacking cups and how play keeps us healthy. Yoga has also been a favorite for those rainy days!
We’ve participated in jump roping for Jump Rope for Heart, basketball, football, used the parachute, played “popcorn”, and the PACER test- a favorite amongst many students.
We also did an amazing job with our Jump Rope for Heart Kids Heart Challenge! We raised over $2,300 with the help of our students and their parents! Our top three raisers were:
Rory E. in Mrs. Bernard’s class at $270
Sullivan J F. in Mrs. Bernard’s class at $265
King P. in Mrs. Edler’s class at $210
Each student who donated was recognized with “thank you” gifts from the American Heart Association, and schools across the nation have participating in this worthy event.
Fifth grade students will be at Snyder Park for a fun filled day of different PE activities and outdoor fun on May 23rd. I can’t wait to have a fun filled day outside with games, activities, and time for entertainment; it will a last “hoorah” for our 5th graders and a great way to make some wonderful memories.
And to all my students, I will you a safe, relaxing and fun summer. I hope you stay active in whatever your pursuits are, and enjoy your time with family and friends.
All the best,
Coach Hardison
Reading News
Congrats! Another year of learning and reading in the record books! Harbordale had another successful year of literacy fun! We hosted a record breaking 100+ Point AR Club celebration with 102 guests, and as a school read over 26,000 books…a NEW record! We even had Gabriel in 5th grade earn over 1,000 AR points! I am so proud of our strides in literacy for 2018/19. So please keep up the good work this summer.
In addition, I love the passion and excitement for different authors and series. Especially the authors that have visited our school like Tyler Whitesides, Sarah Mlynowski, Courney Sheinmel and Eric Luper…check out their new releases! Please keep taking the kids to Barnes and Noble and the local library. Remember the old saying, “Everyone is a reader, some just haven’t found the right book yet.”
A BIG thanks to our generous HSA, local sponsors, and all of you (Denim Day donations) for generously supporting the reading program throughout the year with various incentives.
Southport Raw Bar, Sunshine Aftercare, Delmar Arts Academy, Kaizen Karate, Kimling Martial Arts, Club Z Tutoring, Kumon, and AXA Financial with Brandt Shuler, and Franklin Templeton Investments. Please consider “adopting” the reading program for next year and/or becoming a t-shirt sponsor!
Please see the resources available this summer to our students, especially about “Avoiding the Summer Slide”. THEY ARE ALL OPTIONAL. If you choose to complete any activities, please share with me at the return of school. Ever see the commercial where the kid comes out of the swimming pool and all their words and numbers fall out of their ears? That’s the summer slide. Students who do NOT do anything school/learning related will return in August knowing less than June. Please use the offered resources throughout the summer,
including iReady through July 31st. Just reading a little everyday or keeping a journal helps a lot!
Thank you for sharing your students with us for the past 180 days. It is such a joy seeing them learn and grow! Can’t wait to see you all again in August and to begin another year of learning.
Love,
Cari Rodriguez
Curriculum Coach
Guidance Department
To our Harbordale Families,
We did it- another year done! It's bittersweet, though, to say the least. As we reflect, we recognize the milestones and mini mountains we have moved throughout the school year. Surviving the first week of school, navigating a new class and new friends, whirling through the Harbordale doings, the holidays, the happiness, the hardships. Through it all, we've worked as a school, as a community, as a family, to make the year as exciting, entertaining, and educational as possible! And now, it's time to say goodbye. For some, goodbye simply means, "see you next year!" For others, goodbye means "I will never forget you!" In either case, this goodbye symbolizes the culmination of one year, and the excitement for the many years that lie before us.
Summer is the perfect time to embrace the opportunity to reflect, recharge, and refresh! Enjoy it! Go somewhere new, meet someone one, eat something new! Remember that you worked so hard for 180 days and deserve, now more than ever, to enjoy yourself! We hope you all have an incredible summer! For most....see you next year! For others...We will never forget you!
With love,
Mrs. Bureau