Brandt's Weekly Newsletter
6.10.2022
Inside this Edition
- Principal's Message
- 180 Days of School Service Challenge
- Gifts for our 5th Graders
- 5th Grade Night Out Flyer and Sign Up
- Kindness Awards
- Grade Level Updates
- The Counselor's Corner
- Related Arts and Science Updates
- Nurse's Nook
- The Friday Playlist
Principal's Message
With the end of the year comes milestone moments, and we are so excited to celebrate over our last 8 days together these next two weeks. Be sure to check out some pictures below as we surprised our 5th Graders with some gifts on behalf of our awesome PTO. They were treated to Rita's ice and received sweet tie-dyed class shirts along with a Brandt Class of 2022 window/lawn sign.
On Monday, we will celebrate our fabulous Kindergarten students as we host families for our Moving Up ceremonies. They've been practicing for their big moment and I can't wait to see them as we mark the big transition to 1st Grade next year!
Also on Monday, we will receive word on how our 3rd Grade STEAM Tank State Finalists placed in the competition. I am sure we will get great news about Team ScrunchBag ad Team Recyclable Scarf as both teams did a fantastic job pitching their products recently.
Don't forget our Field Days are scheduled for June 14th (K - 2) and June 15th (3 - 5). Remember, Field Days are not open events for the community to attend. Only parent volunteers who sign up to work will be permitted on the field.
Please note our Field Day Rain Day Plan. If it rains on June 14th, K - 2 Field Day will be Thursday, June 16th.
Since the 5th Grade Field Trip to Sandy Hook is on June 16th, we must account for the possibility of rain on their Field Day, June 15th. If there is bad weather forecasted for June 15th, Field Day for grades 3 - 5 will be on June 14th, and K - 2 will shift to June 16th.
Please do me a favor and keep your vibes for Field Day positive and optimistic so we don't have to adjust for weather at all!
It is no secret that service is a big part of what we do here at Brandt School. As is our tradition, we will once again collect items to benefit the Hoboken Community Pantry. I am challenging the community to donate at least 180 assorted hygiene items for the 180th Day of School. See the flyer below for more information.
Please keep in mind the following important dates:
The last day of the Passport to Learning After School Program is today, June 10th. Starting Monday June 13th, you must make appropriate arrangements to pick up your child at the immediate conclusion of the school day.
There is no school on Friday, June 17th for Juneteenth.
June 20 - 23 are all 1:00 PM dismissal days for students. Please ensure you make appropriate arrangements for your child to be picked up at 1:00 PM on these days.
The last day of school is Thursday, June 23rd.
Remember, the most up to date school calendar is always posted on our district website.
https://www.hoboken.k12.nj.us/board_of_education/21-22_b_o_e_approved_calendar.
Remember, you can still send us any updated COVID-19 vaccination records for your child. You can email your updated vaccine records to me and Nurse Renee. Our emails are :
For this week's Friday playlist, I've recently been trading songs and playlists with my daughter Isabella, so here are three from bands she really likes...
Please stay safe out there and have a great weekend!
- Mr. Bartlett
Principal's Challenge - 180 Days of School Service Project
Gifts for 5th Grade
5th Grade Night Out
On June 10, 2022 at 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM in the High School Gymnasium all 5th Grade students from Connors, Wallace and Brandt are invited to attend the 5th Grade Night Out.
Sponsored by the three PTO's, the 5th Grade Night Out will be a music-filled evening to celebrate the move up to Hoboken Middle School. The cost of admission is $5 per student.
If you would like for your child to attend, please complete and submit the Google Form below. You may also Venmo the admission fee to: @Wallace-PTO.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf6JwjYdrgG1HgteKzxFBZH7EBhqSv-N4XyIX2PZ4ugh4uTQg/viewform
Music Encore
Kindness Awards
Elise Schol is always kind to her classmates.
Frank Perez is very helpful in the class.
Edden Walfisch is a great friend and always helps his peers.
Peter Howie is a great classmate who is always sharing his school supplies and markers with his friends.
Anthony Sciarra always shares his supplies and is always willing to help classmates.
Kindergarten
In Math, we have been reviewing numbers by writing and representing teen numbers as groups of tens and some number of ones. We are also reviewing addition and subtraction word problems using different math strategies learned this year.
First Grade
The school year may be winding down but these first graders are still going strong!
This week in first grade, students reviewed concepts from throughout the year and began to reminisce about their favorite memories from first grade. In math, classes worked on math fluency and knowledge of money.
In ELA, classes worked on similes, compound words and cause and effect. In anticipation of summer break, students crafted a Summer Bucket List and shared all of the fun things they hope to do with their classmates.
Second Grade
We can't believe our last full week of second grade is over! In social studies, we spent the week talking about and reflecting on our year in second grade. We brainstormed adjectives to describe our year and then wrote what made second grade so wonderful. We also jotted down ideas on why we loved second grade so much. Second graders also reflected on all of the new skills and lessons they learned throughout this year.
In reading and writing we wrapped up our nonfiction research projects. All of the second graders have been working so hard to research a topic and write an "all about" book for their topic. This week was all about the final draft. We worked hard to complete our books, which includes a table of contents page, several chapters, and a glossary! It has been so much fun learning and writing about our topics.
In math, we wrapped up our unit on measurement. After that we reviewed math concepts learned throughout the year and spent time revisiting three digit addition and subtraction. We also began to work with multiplication word problems!
Third Grade
Most importantly, this week we journeyed to Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ! While there we got to see some natural animal habitats, explore different plants, ate by an eco-friendly waterfall, and saw a few old buildings. The highlight of the trip for some of us was spotting silkworms and a vulture along our walk! Thanks so much to the HPEF for sponsoring this trip for us!
Fourth Grade
Our fourth grade readers are fully immersed in their current novel, Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids by Cynthia Leitich Smith. This week’s focus was on the following Native American tribes: Lummi, Objibwe, Lakota, Chiricahua Apache, Cherokee, and Rosebud Sioux. As students continue to read and discuss the short stories that build this wonderful anthology, they are also able to conduct research into these tribes to learn more about each one. Students have been able to turn their research into Google Slides presentations, hand drawn posters, or Google Docs sharing information about the individual tribe and special aspects about them. While reading the short stories, students are diving into the themes that emerge as the main characters and/or narrator overcome some obstacle on his/her way to the Mother Earth Powwow in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Some short stories center around two different points of view and recount the same situation from each perspective. This allowed students to discuss how the narrator’s point of view ultimately impacts their interpretation of that particular character. Themes that have emerged thus far in class discussion are: 1) choose kindness, you never know when you might encounter an unlikely friend, 2) always tell the truth, even if it’s hard, 3) the importance of being prepared, and 4) always expecting the unexpected.
Our fourth grade writers have been working on crafting summaries based on the short stories they read, discussed, and analyzed in their current novel. Students are working hard to determine what information from the short story is critical to include in their summary. Students must highlight the characters, setting, plot (problem/solution), and theme. These writers are also double checking their work to ensure their summary is organized in sequential order.
Our fourth grade mathematicians are nearing the end of Unit 8, which focuses on comparing situations represented by arithmetic sequences. Students have been analyzing arithmetic patterns and using tables and symbolic notation to model situations involving penny jars and floors and towers. These mathematicians have worked on generating expressions involving multiple operations and multiple variables. Using these expressions, students have completed data tables filling in how many pennies are contained in a specific jar based on information provided. Students then use these expressions to determine how many pennies will be in the same jar at a higher numerica round.
Our fourth grade agents of change are working hard to understand the causes and effects of Westward Expansion. Students have read and discussed topics such as Manifest Destiny, the Oregon Trail, the Mexican-American War, the Louisiana Purchase, and the California Gold Rush. Students learned how the birth of the railroad also transformed travel during the 19th century. These agents of change have explored how Westward Expansion negatively impacted the indigenous peoples and forced them off their land.
Fifth Grade
In English Language Arts, students are reading a variety of materials and working on interesting projects. After reading The Watsons Go To Birmingham, students viewed the film and commented on the negative effects that hate and ignorance had on the family throughout the story. Classes also read the novel, Hoot, and learned why it is so important for young people to have the confidence to share their opinions and voices when it comes to doing what is right.
In Math, 5th graders are practicing their fluency skills by sharpening their knowledge of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. This is the last installment in the district wide fluency program and students have shown a tremendous amount of growth since the beginning of this school year. Finally, fifth graders have been reviewing all of the standards and concepts taught this year in order to take their final assessment.
The Counselor's Corner
This week our 5th graders got a chance to join their mentors from the middle school for some fun team building with peers from around the district. They played kickball, volleyball, and handball and also got a chance to meet the physical education teachers from the middle school. This was the fourth orientation visit our students had with the middle school. These visits have helped them foster a relationship with some staff and students at the middle school and prepare for next year as they move up to 6th grade.
Email: jhosbach@hoboken.k12.nj.us
Individualized Learning Pathway - Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth
Individualized Learning Pathway - Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth
On Mondays - Wednesdays during the Individualized Learning Pathway (ILP) period, students who have qualified to participate in the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) programming engage in a wide array of math course offerings that address their specific strengths and interests. Johns Hopkins CTY believes in researching and advancing ways to identify and nurture academically talented learners. CTY furthers research, guides educators and families and inspires students from diverse communities and backgrounds to pursue their intellectual passions and create the world of tomorrow. This week, we would like to highlight one of the CTY courses offered to our Hoboken students this winter:
Cryptology: Math and Codes
Students in Cryptology have been working with binary code to decode binary numbers to regular decimal form, as well as converting decimal form to binary! They have also been introduced to cryptographic hash functions and have begun encrypting and decrypting RSA messages using a specified decryption key. The students are excited that there are only {1001} days of school left!!
Physical Education
As we end the last full week of school and prepare for a field day, students continued to work on various choices for stations. The K-2 students (and sometimes the older classes) worked on muscular strength of our biceps and triceps. Students learned where each muscle was and how to use it while playing a parachute game. This week the game we played was cat and mouse. Students were given the roll of either a mouse who had to scurry around under the parachute or a cat who chased the mouse. All other students positioned themselves on their knees and worked on bicep curls making large waves to hide the mouse underneath. The objective was for the cat to catch (tag) the mouse who was hidden by the waves created in the parachute!
Grades 3-5 had the opportunity to choose their favorite activity. Each class was given the opportunity to work together to come up with 3 options. Once 3 options were presented the majority vote was the game of the day. Students have demonstrated the ability to work hard all year and now they are being rewarded with a choice from the many games we played all year long. Some of their choices this week were mat ball, GaGa ball, soccer, and even sharks and lifeguards with the parachute.
World Languages
In Mandarin class, the students have been learning the customs and the story about the Dragon Boat Festival. They had fun making their own dragon boat!
端午節安康!
Art
Music
This week in music we continued exploring our different instrument families. After we finished a review on Woodwinds, we moved to Strings. Students have been learning all about many Strings instruments from Violins and Basses to Guitars and Ukuleles.
Also, a big thank you to everyone who came out to support our musicians last Thursday night. We truly loved performing for you all. Have a musical week, Brandt Elementary!
Science
Kindergarten
This week in Kindergarten, students learned about ways people use natural resources and the impact people have on their environment. Students also explored solutions and choices people can make to reduce their impact. We also evaluated the cause-and-effect relationship between the environment and the choices people make to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
1st Grade
This week we turned our attention to animals and their young. We talked about the similarities and differences between animals and their babies. We discovered that some animal babies look very much like their parents while others can look very different. We stressed the word similar when we talked about animal body coverings, animal body parts and animals of the same kind.
2nd Grade
The students in second grade were able to apply their knowledge this week to all that they have learned about changes to the earth and created an experimental model to present to the class.
3rd Grade
In the third grade we started the week learning about the Bald Eagle. We explored its life cycle, diet, why its numbers dropped and how it has come back. On Wednesday we were able to visit the home of the eagles that we'd been watching at Duke Farms as well as many other animals and plant life. We finished the week getting back into the science of flight by learning about Newton’s Laws of Motion.
4th Grade
Mr. Metcalfe's students learned that Earth's water can be affected more by humans' actions even though we can control what we do. They were also able to make the connection that natural hazards can not be controlled, but monitored and at times allow advanced warnings.
5th Grade
Mr. Metcalfe's 5th grade students learned about “three Rs”—reduce, reuse, and recycle and how they could be implemented in order to protect the Earth and its resources. They also were able to make the connection between the manufacturing products and transporting them to society takes a major toll on global supply of all resources.
Nurse's Nook
Medications: All medications must be picked up from the nurse’s office before the end of the last day of school. Any medication that is not picked up by this time will be discarded.
If your child requires medication for the school year 2022-2023, a new doctor’s order and parent authorization form is required. Below are links to the School Medication Form, Asthma Action Treatment Plan, and Food Allergy Action Plan. Any student requiring medication at school for asthma or food allergies must have a treatment plan in place. Please be sure to have your prescribing physician complete the necessary forms in their entirety with signature and office stamp. Additionally, please complete the parent section with all pertinent information and signature. Please provide all necessary paperwork and prescribed medication in a closed package on the first day of school in September 2022.
Email: rbanks@hoboken.k12.nj.us
Website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fabout%2Fsteps-whe