News from the Hill
December 2018
Principal's Message
Dear Parents/Guardians,
December is here! Though the temperature is chilly and the days are getting darker, Hillside continues to be filled with warmth and light. Our students are growing into independent readers, collaborative partners, curious learners and empathetic friends. As we reflect on the 2018 year, I am quite proud of the work that we have accomplished together as a school community.
Social-emotional learning has been a priority at Hillside and this year, we were successful in increasing our support with the hiring of our full-time school counselor, Ms. Juliann Snyder. Together with our psychologists, Dr. Elyssa Bloom and Mr. James Forcinito, there has been a great emphasis on social skill development. Our classroom teachers provide instruction through our research-based, social-emotional program, Second Step and our mental health team provides tiered support for our youngsters through small group and individual counseling. Students have been learning about kindness, respect, empathy and responsibility and demonstrating these skills throughout their day. Our children are recognized through Core Value stickers which were implemented by our Building Leadership Team and most recently, our fourth grade students took on additional leadership responsibilities as our Hillside Safety Patrol outside at morning/afternoon recess. Finally, Mr. John DeKams is leading our work in PBIS where our team is creating clear expectations and signage for those areas in the school that lend themselves to the greatest challenges. A special thank you to parent and graphic designer, Heather Ben-Zvi, for her time, expertise and adorable yellow jackets that are incorporated into our signage!
Our balanced literacy model continues to grow at Hillside! Reader’s Workshop has been implemented in all of our classrooms after teachers received valuable professional learning opportunities with our literacy consultants. Students in all grades receive a mini-lesson that teaches a skill or strategy, independent practice time where students cuddle up with a just right book and try out the skill/strategy and a sharing opportunity since we know that talking about books promotes literacy growth. Students have choice in what they read, voice in discussions about text and feedback on next steps to take as a reader, as our teachers confer, providing individualized instruction to each learner. We are also in the midst of incorporating interactive read alouds and shared reads into our schedules, as we know that modeling is an important part of the gradual release process.
In an effort to promote equity and understanding, our Diverse Book Committee has been working on incorporating diverse texts into our classroom and school libraries. In addition to selecting books that address race/culture, gender and learning difference, we have been committed to providing professional development to teachers in each of these buckets. We began the school year with a presentation by David Luhman from SWBOCES around learning difference and most recently worked with Center Lane to deepen our understanding of gender. We look forward to welcoming the NYCLU in January to further our knowledge base in equity and inclusion. Additionally, our Diverse Book Committee is currently working on a plan to celebrate diversity every day of the year through recognizing the accomplishments of notable artists, musicians, athletes, etc. Stay tuned for more information on this in 2019!
Our Building Leadership Team has taken on the important job of creating a homework policy for Hillside. Our team, comprised of teachers, parents, students and administrators, will work collaboratively to research homework, review policies, and survey our community. Ultimately, we hope to have a new homework policy created for the 2019-2020 school year!
We are lucky to have a wonderful partnership with our PTSA and they have generously offered to grant us monies to create an outdoor classroom. As a result, our three Outdoor Classroom committees are underway. Our Recess/Instructional Time Committee is reviewing the research on the benefits of play and looking at the structures of our school day to see if increasing recess minutes would be a sensible option. The Instructional Process Committee is beginning to dream about what outdoor learning could look like at Hillside and will be reaching out to districts that have outdoor learning spaces to get ideas of what is possible. Finally, our Design Committee will make the dream a reality and create our outdoor learning space. So exciting!
Late this month, I will be heading to Texas with my family, our 24th state, as we work toward our family goal of all 50 states! I would like to wish you a wonderful winter vacation with your children, doing those things that fill your hearts with joy. Sending you warmth and light as we close out 2018!
Warm regards,
Amy Cazes
Principal
Classroom News
Kindergarten
Kindergarteners worked hard this month to create a beautiful Thanksgiving experience for themselves as well as their families. We are proud of all the effort our children put into baking breads, making applesauce, as well gorgeous accessories for the Thanksgiving Celebration tables. The children made stunning lanterns with Native American symbols as well as personalized mats with very heartwarming messages of giving thanks to loved ones!
As mathematicians, we continue to build a strong foundation for numbers by composing and decomposing numbers up to 10. We are also strengthening our number formations.
We have continued to enjoy heart books. In addition to sequencing stories by looking at images (beginning, middle and end), we have practiced changing our voices to sound like the characters in the books we have read. As readers, we have also been learning how to look at the characters and state what they might be thinking as we keep the stories in our minds. We are building powerful comprehension tools as readers!
1st Grade
First graders are fantastic facilitators! As a culminating project to our study of the human body, our first graders are working on organizing a “health fair” for our kindergarten students. Here, our first graders will teach our friends about the five keys to good health. In preparation for this, classes will organize “stations” for our friends to visit and plan activities that will help support key concepts. The stations will include: handwashing, exercising, resting, stretching and nutrition. We look forward to an informative and fun fair!
In writing, our students are currently working on drafting “How-To” books. In keeping with a healthy theme, some topics include, proper hand washing, brushing teeth, exercising, and making a healthy lunch, just to name a few. The boys and girls are learning to use temporal words (first, then, next, after that, finally) to write each step. Soon, we will move to revising/editing and finally publishing these wonderful masterpieces!
In the next week, we will begin our new math unit. Module 2 introduces students to place value through addition and subtraction within 20. Students will be introduced to more efficient counting on strategies and will learn to solve problems with three addends.
2nd Grade
The second graders are reading informational texts. They are learning to use the various text features to build their knowledge on so many interesting topics. The readers have been eagerly sharing facts and understandings with their classmates. A collaborative library research project will begin soon, wrapped around big questions to investigate.
In FUNdations, we’ve learned how to use many prefixes and suffixes and how to scoop multi-syllabic words. These skills will help us to spell and to read more complex words; we are definitely noticing them as we read nonfiction texts!
Our mathematicians continue to learn so many ways to add and subtract two and three digit numbers. We are experts at using empty number lines, at counting up and back by ones, tens, and hundreds, and in representing numbers with place value disks. We’ll practice the arrow way, using compensation techniques, and, ultimately, the algorithms! Those place value disks will be bundled and unbundled all month long, as we regroup ones and tens. The math facts races are ongoing; some of our students are racing the facts to and within 20 already!
Keep helping your children with those basics at home! Enjoy dice games, card games (Blackjack?), and flash cards (in stages: to/from 10, then 15, then 20) routinely. Fluency with facts builds math confidence!
Our writers are writing expository pieces. Many are linked to our reading units, others are content-based. Opinion pieces are the focus for December. You’ll want to pay attention to what we “say.”
Science lessons on solids continue in the STEAM lab. The engineers worked on designing and creating habitats for Hexbugs, applying their knowledge of the properties of a wide variety of solid materials; the chance to rethink their designs made for happier bugs! The scientists will investigate reversible and irreversible changes in solids’ states in December.
The social scientists are learning all about communities and the three types: rural, suburban, and urban. Interdisciplinary comparisons and contrasts offer opportunities for art, technology, and literacy-based projects.
Please save the morning of December 19 to join our classes as we Celebrate Communities!
3rd Grade
Third graders were active participants in Hillside’s Veterans Day celebration. They created cards and wrote letters to veterans, thanking them for their service and telling them about what they feel makes America a great country. They were so proud to be part of this event!
In math, we have begun our third unit of study: Multiplication and Division with Units of 0, 1, 6–9, and Multiples of 10. Module 3 extends the study of factors from 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10 to include all units from 0 to 10, as well as multiples of 10 within 100. We continue to have weekly quizzes on multiplication facts. Studying the 6s, 7s, 8s and 9s at home would help in the acquisition of these facts.
We have begun reading Peter Pan as part of our ELA unit: Interpreting Characters’ Relationships in Book Clubs. We are using this classic to study and practice the techniques of books clubs. This will be followed by student book clubs based on books of interest and reading level. As we read Peter Pan, we will discuss and write about how characters move the story along through their actions, words and thoughts. We will also read the book, Duck! Rabbit! To discuss perspective in stories.
Our new social studies unit has begun. We will be immersed in a study of China for the next two months or so. This begins with research about the country’s flag and its history. We are reviewing political and physical maps of China. We will be creating kites, with a special word written in Chinese. Students will continue our work with our artist-in-residence, Alison Marra. Next up, children will paint their own Chinese lantern. Lanterns and kites will be on display during our Chinese Tea Ceremonies before the holiday break.
In STEAM we have finished sharing our arcade games that students built to study forces. Up next we will continue our study of forces in magnetism.
4th Grade
Fourth Graders continue to be focused learners. In math, students have been learning to multiply using a variety of strategies such as partial product, the area model and standard algorithm. Although students may prefer one method over others, we like to think of these strategies as tools in a toolbox. The more tools available, the more aware and capable students become. As we move forward, students will learn to multiply 2 digit by 2 digit problems, and they will learn long division. These are two essential building blocks for math in 4th grade and beyond. Any support you can provide at home will be of great benefit.
In ELA, students are delving deeply into our unit about characters. This month, 4th graders will be reading in partnerships. They will discuss the characters in the books they are reading and how their traits and choices provide valuable information about who they are.
In Social Studies, teachers were incredibly impressed by the beautiful and original longhouses that students brought into school. It is always fascinating to see each child’s vision. Every longhouse is similar to the others and yet so special and unique.
As we move ahead, we will now be learning about the influence of the Dutch on New Amsterdam (otherwise known as modern day Manhattan.) This was an incredible time period in our history that continued to leave a lasting mark.
Communications 1-3
We were very excited to lead the Pledge of Allegiance for Hillside’s Veteran’s Day celebration and would like to thank some friends from our buddy classes who joined us.
In ELA, we have started reading nonfiction books. We will be learning how to use nonfiction texts to learn about different topics. We continue to use our News-2-you subscription to learn about current events and discuss topics of interest. In writing, we will be writing how-to books. Creating these books will reinforce sequencing and using temporal words in our writing.
In Math, we are wrapping up our subtraction unit. We focused on using manipulatives, such as unifix cubes and counters, to figure out our math problems. We will be moving into our measurement unit, where we will be learning about different types of measurement (length, weight, time, temperature and volume). We will be using our measurement skills to help with life skills within the classroom.
In Social Studies, we are learning about communities and will be focusing on rural, urban and suburban communities. In Science, we are wrapping up our unit on the human body and have begun to discuss ways to care for our bodies and some healthy choices we can make.
Learning Lab 1-2
Our first and second grade Learning Lab friends are continuing to practice executive functioning skills throughout all content areas. Examples of these skills are initiating tasks, remaining on task, planning their ideas and work, as well as paying attention. We review our expectations and classroom goals each day to stay motivated and focused.
During our ELA block, students are learning how to blend words with digraphs ch, th, sh, ck, and wh. We are practicing reading these words in isolation and in context. Students know how to use a rubber band to help them “stretch out” the word, tap out the word in two ways, use counters as a manipulative to isolate each sound and write the word that they hear. Students are also distinguishing sentences vs. fragments, as well as correcting “silly sentences”. Students are able to change the meaning of a sentence by changing a word or two, as well as the structure. Learners are self-correcting their work during reading and writing by asking themselves: Does it look right? Does it sound right? Does it make sense? Readers and writers know that when we make a mistake, we don’t move on. Instead we attempt to solve the tricky word by using a variety of strategies that were previously taught and re-taught. Students are learning independence regarding this skill by referring to anchor charts and word walls when they run into trouble.
Mathematicians are building on their foundational skills of number sense and simple addition by building their toolbox of addition strategies. Students know how to solve an addition equation or word problem in various ways. Strategies include counting on and independently using tools such as manipulatives or number lines. Friends are working to master their doubles facts in order to use mental math to solve equations. In addition, students are practicing doubles plus one, doubles minus one, and addition with three addends. We are headed in the direction of using subtraction to solve addition problems (fact families). We will use the taught strategies to help us solve subtraction problems as well.
Learning Lab 3-4
In the Learning Lab we continue to work on study skills such as focused attention, perseverance, and building capacity for independent work. In math, our fourth graders have been learning to multiply using a variety of strategies such as partial product, the area model and standard algorithm. We focus on choosing a strategy that makes sense and can be mastered. As we move forward, students will learn to multiply 2 digit by 2 digit problems, and they will learn division. We will also begin using a calculator at times to check our work or increase our math speed when answering word problems. The calculator will not replace learning foundational skills. Our third graders are continuing to master telling time on an analog clock and reviewing skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s, and 10s. We will be beginning our next unit, Multiplication and Division with Units of 0, 1, 6–9, and Multiples of 10. Studying the multiplication facts at home would help in the acquisition of these facts.
In ELA, students are learning to read in book partnerships and facilitating book talks. Students will be paired with a partner who is reading the same book. They will read a part and then meet to discuss and share their perspectives. We will be thinking deeply about characters and their decisions and how they change throughout a book. We will be working on stamina as we read longer more complex books. As we read we will also be learning about literal versus inferential thinking in order to have a more thorough understanding. We will use rereading to help expand our fluency which will also support our comprehension.
Art
Music
Mr. Campbell’s classes have been very busy making music this month. Kindergarten and first grade students began learning what it means to improvise by creating short rhythmic and melodic patterns as part of a musical conversation. Second graders have begun to learn about solfege and how it can be used to distinguish between high and low sounds. They have also been learning about Verse/Chorus Form and how to read 16th note rhythms. Mr. Campbell’s Fourth graders have been learning about what it means to get faster or slower in music. They have been performing ritardandos and accelerandos in the music they sing, chant, and perform.
Ms. Concra’s classes have also been busy musicians. Kindergarteners and first graders have been working on improvising creative movements and echoing melodic intervals in solfege. Second graders have been using body movements to identify high and low pitches.
Ms. Concra’s third grade students continuing to read and aurally identify basic standard notation including 16th notes and half notes. Fourth grade students just wrapped up the dynamics unit. Students composed their own dynamics, performed each other’s compositions, and listened and identified dynamics in classical and contemporary repertoire.
Both Mr. Campbell and Ms. Concra are very proud of Hillside’s 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students for honoring Hastings Veterans by singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” and “America the Beautiful”.
Physical Education
Hello Everyone! We hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving Holiday. December is going to be an exciting month in the world of Phys. Edu! As we wrap up our Stunts and Tumbling Unit, the third and fourth graders will be performing routines they have created with their groups, using all the skills they have learned during the unit. It is a great time for these students to show off their creativity.
Our next unit is one that all students ask about starting in September and get the most excited for. It is our Obstacle Course Unit. We have a large blow up slide, and another blow up obstacle course that takes up the entire gym. Students have the opportunity to go through the obstacle course and work all muscles while doing so. We will still ask you to make sure that your child wears socks to school during this time as they will not be able to participate without socks. PLEASE NOTE: Once we return from Winter Break, sneakers will be required in Phys Edu as the mats will be away.
Thank you for your continued cooperation and we hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday!