Jackson Journal Parent Edition
November 2018
For this month's edition, several students contributed their thoughts and perspectives about our reading and writing programs.
Just a reminder that our next PTA meeting is on Tuesday, November 13th at 7:00 pm in the library. Come join us for a slice of pizza and a fun demonstration of Jackson's SMALLab learning space. In addition we will offer some a brief overview of the main iPad apps we use. We look forward to seeing you there!
Also, don't forget to visit the Jackson Avenue Web page for our monthly video updates. The full video of our Halloween Thriller Dance is also available there.
On behalf of the entire Jackson Avenue staff , we wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Sincerely,
Dr. Gonzalez
Principal
Third Grade News
We Really Enjoy......
Our ELA curriculum integrates social studies and science content while allowing teachers to explicitly teach reading skills and strategies. In this unit, students focused on identifying main idea and details to support it, analyzing characters, and comparing and contrasting while reading books about culture and obstacles children face around the world.
We asked a group of third graders what they enjoyed about the ELA block.
Here are some of their responses:
I really enjoy....
- learning about different countries
- researching with partners
- learning about other people around the world
- exploring maps
- the work and the writing
Rain School by Kyla Sleeper
In ELA I enjoyed learning about the book Rain School. I liked learning about the book Rain School because it was interesting and fun to learn about the geography of Chad, Africa. In Chad they have to build their school every year. I couldn’t believe reading this because we don’t have to build our school. It was very interesting to learn about the differences between Chad, Africa and the United States.
Culture by Scarlett Cunha
In ELA/SLA I learned about different types of cultures. I liked learning about different types of culture. I got to learn about different types of countries like Peru. Another reason why I like learning about culture is because I get to learn how the culture in one country might be similar or
different from other cultures. The last reason why I like learning about different types culture is because we get to read different types of books that are interesting and fun. That is why I like learning about different types of cultures.
Around the World by Claire Condon
Have you ever traveled all over the world in one ELA lesson? Well my whole class has or at least it feels like that! We have learned about many kids in different countries who have different cultures like Gunther in Germany. He goes to school with candy, pencils, candles, crayons, and toys in a cone. When he gets home he celebrates he’s first day of school with his family. I loved this lesson because I learned about different people and their cultures.
The Best ELA Lesson Ever Created in the History of the Planet by Grant Adell
Hello! My name is Grant and in my opinion, the best ELA lesson is when we searched for the character traits for Thomas in Rain School. I liked this lesson because it was like detective work. You need to take steps or find clues until you find the answer. To find a trait, you need to think about what the character says, does, thinks and feels. A trait Thomas has is determined because he really wants to learn and will do whatever he can to learn. That is one reason I liked when we searched for the character traits of Thomas in “Rain School”.
Fourth Grade News
A Dual Language Perspective by Eliana Lee
Math / Matemáticas
In the bilingual class, we learn many things. We have so much fun in ELA, SLA, math, etc. In matemáticas, we learn great strategies that help make math much more easy and fun. For example, in word problems we use cubes and LDEP to show our work and that we understand. In the past, we learned about área y perímetro y how to pronounce, add, and subtract large numbers usando algoritmo estándar. We learned so many more math estrategias como la tabla de valor posicional y cómo redondear. When we learned about all of these things,we learned with fun!
ELA/SLA
At ELA and SLA, many kids want more time in ELA and SLA because they enjoy it. On the English side, we were working on a huge project called the AKA where we show what we know. We have been working and researching on #HowIsNewYorkUnique. En el lado del español, estamos aprendiendo sobre Puerto Rico y #PorqueirdePRaNY. I enjoy ELA and SLA very much and I bet almost everyone else does too!
Writing/ Escritura
Writing has to be one of my favorite subjects. On the English side, we are writing memoirs that are super detailed. En el lado del español, estamos close reading a really libro interesante llamado “Me llamo Maria Isabel”. Estamos haciendo muchos Flipgrids sobre los capítulos y problemas. También hicimos pequeños proyectos. Por ejemplo, we wrote y dibujamos lo que pasó en los capítulos. Our class loves leaning and in our class, learning is almost the same thing as fun!
Volleyball Instruction in Physical Education
Classical Musicians in the Making
Honing our Observation Skills in Science
One of Our Favorite Lessons By Manuel DaMota and Braedan Malone
One of our favorite lessons this year was about the land bridge theory. It was really interesting to learn about the theory explaining how the first people arrived in the Americas. We read about “Berginia”, a land bridge people say connected Asia and Alaska. The theory says that the first people came to the Americas by crossing the land bridge following the animals they hunted for food. The bridge is now covered by water, but long ago people might have been able to walk over it. These people were called nomads. When they crossed the bridge they spread out through the Americas into different nations and tribes. The nations and tribes spoke different languages and lived in different ways. We had fun learning all of this information by looking at maps, watching interesting videos and by reading several articles and passages about the land bridge theory. That’s why this lesson was one of our favorite lessons.
Our “In School” Field Trip Into American Indian Territory By Isabella Piccirello and Alessia Rosselli
Thanks to the PTA, all fourth grade classes were able to Journey Into American Indian Territory. This program had many interesting things to do, see, and hear about. The presenters were Maddy and Chuck.
One of the most interesting things was the museum. Our gym had 3 different areas for us to visit. First, Chuck showed us different things that the Haudenosaunee used in their everyday lives. He showed us tools, clothing, dolls and much more. Chuck also told us about how the people in the Haudenosaunee tribes worked together. He showed us how the boys hunted and how the girls cleaned the animal hides and got them ready to use. When Chuck finish talking to us, we were able to go see all the items close up. The next area we went to was a model of a longhouse. It was just like a real longhouse only smaller. There were real animal skins and other things hanging in the longhouse that we could touch as we walked through. At the last area in the gym, we got to use an American Indian tool to crush corn that could be used for cooking.
Maddy taught us about the Haudenosaunee government and how everyone had to work together to make the tribes work well. She told us about the “talking stick” and how to use it. We got to try this out in our groups. Only the person holding the stick could talk. When they were done they passed the stick to the next person. This way everyone had a chance to speak and share their ideas. The Haudenosaunee always tried to work together to make things fair in their tribes.
We also watched a video that showed us how the American Indians used to live. We saw how they set traps and fished for food. We saw how they started their fires and cooked their food. Everyone had their own jobs to do in the tribe and family, including the children. Another thing they showed in the film was the games the children played. One of their games was a lot like lacrosse today. There was also a sad part in the video. That was when the government decided to take American Indian children away from their families and put them in special schools to make them more American. They children were taken hundreds of miles away from their families when they were about 4 years old and did not come back until they were about 18. They made them wear clothes that the white people wore, eat different foods and they couldn’t even speak their own language.
If the children broke any rules they would be punished. When they were finally allowed to go home, many could speak with their families because they didn’t know the language anymore! It was very sad.
They last part of the program was a lot of fun! Maddy told us an American Indian tale that explained why the Haudenosaunee dolls did not have faces on them. It was a great story!
Finally, Maddy and Chuck taught us a Haudenosaunee song and a dance. They explained what the song meant and the steps that went with each part of the song. We all sang the song and danced just like American Indian children do. It was a wonderful day of learning!
Upcoming Events
11/9-JA Bingo Night 6:30 PM at the High School
11/13-JA PTA Meeting 7:00 PM in the library
11/30- Parent Teacher Conferences Half Day of school-dismissal at 12:05
12/4-Parent Teacher Conferences Half Day of school-dismissal at 12:05
12/6-Evening Parent Teacher Conferences
12/10-Fourth Grade Concert-7:00 PM High School
Online Parent/Teacher conference sign up is now open. Visit the link on the Jackson Avenue website..
Jackson Avenue School
Email: janetgonzalez@mineola.k12.ny.us
Website: http://www.mineola.k12.ny.us/schools/jackson_avenue
Location: 300 Jackson Avenue, Mineola, NY, United States
Phone: 516-237-2300
Twitter: @Jackson_Ave