Brandt's Weekly Newsletter
1.6.2023
Inside this Edition
- Principal's Message
- Kindness Awards
- Grade Level Updates
- The Counselor's Corner
- Related Arts and Science Updates
- Nurse's Nook
- The Friday Playlist
Principal's Message
Happy New Year! I am so happy we had a great week of school together to start 2023. Our students and staff continued to be their wonderful, awesome selves as they returned to our routines of teaching and learning.
I would like to take a moment and thank Lt. Drishti and Officer Fesken, our School Resource Officer partners from the Hoboken Police Department. They took some time this morning to address our Brandt School PTO on the topic of school safety.
Speaking of the PTO, I am happy to announce that our next PTO sponsored event, the Kindness Dance for grades 3 - 5, is scheduled for January 27th. Please take a look at the flyer below.
Once again, The Hoboken School District will be participating in The Scripps National Spelling Bee again this year. We will conduct the classroom competition in all Homerooms Grades 2-5 during the week of January 9th-13th. You can reach out to your child's homeroom teacher for more information.
In partnership with the Hoboken Public Library, we are also pleased to announce our Pop Up Library initative! This will take place from February 6th - 9th, and you can find more information in the flyer below my principal's message.
For the first playlist of 2023, I went with three random favorites...
Have a great weekend and please safe!
- Mr. Bartlett
Kindness Awards
Jack Russo is always looking for ways to give friends compliments, especially when someone is struggling. He is a great person to cheer you up whenever you aren’t feeling your best. Jack truly knows how to make anyone feel good about themselves and their efforts.
Benji Anter is always so helpful when anyone is having a technology issue. He is patient when helping others try to understand how to do something complicated with Google Slides.
Leilani Perez is always willing to help and clean up around the classroom. She was so kind and welcoming to our new student in the class. Leilani always has a positive attitude and encourages everyone else to do the same.
Emiliano Hernandez Solano is always willing to be his best and make sure those around him are doing the same. He offers help with not only his teacher, but his classmates as well.
Jane Volkman is always helping in the room. She comes in every morning and asks what she can do to help around the classroom. Jane also helped another classmate clean his desk, as well as helped untangle some headphones so they could be used.
Kindergarten
This week in kindergarten we welcomed the new year by discussing and writing about our resolutions! In Social Studies, we discussed the sights and sounds of winter and illustrated our favorite parts of the season. During ELA, we learned the sight word “do” and our letter of the week was D. We also discussed our neighborhoods and the neighbors we share them with. In Math, we practiced counting multiple units to quantify various lengths. We enjoyed using counting cubes to measure our friend’s shoes.
First Grade
Second Grade
Second grade did a great job kicking off the new year!
In Reading, students continued to work with nonfiction texts. They are reading different stories about real people, places, and animals, and finding facts and information. We are focusing on locating text features, finding the author's purpose of a story, and identifying main ideas and key details. They are excited about all the new things they are learning about their favorite topics!
In Writing, students are continuing their expository writing unit and finalizing their how-to writing pieces. It's great to see the students going into such great detail about every step in the process so their readers fully understand. Our second graders have been doing such a great job following the writing workshop.
In Math, students were introduced to fractions. What a fun unit! We worked on breaking up a whole into halves, fourths, and thirds. They understand that equal shares means every piece is the exact same size. Please have students practice fractions at home with food... It's a great way to encourage fairness and sharing!
In Social Studies, we reflected on the new year and created goals and New Year's Resolutions The students thought about words they want to live by to motivate them inside and outside of the classroom. We are off to a great start in 2023!
Third Grade
HAPPY NEW YEAR! We had a wonderful first week of 2023!
In Mathematics, third graders are using their knowledge of place value to add and subtract. They are currently developing fluency with addition and subtraction. They are deepening their understanding of the structure of the number system, the relationship among the digits of a number, what happens when multiples of 10 and 100 are added to or subtracted from a number, and a number’s magnitude. Students will engage in Capture 5 , which is a Math game that provides practice in adding and subtracting 10s and 1s. Next, students will review the Sticker Station context, a place value context, and sheets of 100 stickers. They solve story problems about stickers that involve adding 2- and 3 digit numbers.
Third grade students are also focussing on Literary Analysis Task and RST Writing. During Writer’s Workshop students are beginning to form an introduction that tells the reader what their essay will focus on. Then, they are developing the body of their writing which uses evidence from the text to support their claim. Last, they are constructing their conclusion that states the main point that they have shown in their writing. Keep up the good work!
In Social Studies, students began to brainstorm their 2023 resolutions. Students wrote a five paragraph essay about New Year’s Resolutions. They dedicated each paragraph to setting a unique New Year’s goal. They chose goals to achieve at school, at home, and a personal goal. They then wrote how they plan to achieve the goal. Afterwards, they shared their writing with their classmates.
Fourth Grade
The fourth graders wish everyone a healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year. For social studies, students created personal and academic New Year’s Resolutions. They were engaged in conversation about setting goals and benchmarks to reach those goals. They designed posters to create visuals of their thinking. In addition, the academic goals which were set in the beginning of the year are revised and posted in class.
In Math, students are continuing with Unit 4 Measuring and Classifying Shapes. They are focusing on measuring length using various tools, determining perimeter, and converting measurements from smaller to larger units. Students have estimated the measurements of various objects and then calculated the actual measurements.They had a focus point discussion about “Why Are Our Measurements Different?”
For ELA, we started our next novel What Would She Do? This book highlights true stories of 25 women who changed the world in different ways. Every story highlights the accomplishments of a role model. It gives a scenario related to issues and problems that girls deal with every day. These amazing women give advice to girls on how to tackle these problems in their everyday lives.
Fifth Grade
In ELA, we started Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan. As we are reading the novel, we are focusing on setting and chapter chats this week. Chapter chats will be done throughout the novel. Our 5th graders will take notes and answer questions pertaining to the certain chapters with partners. As for writing, students are learning the components of a compare and contrast essay.
In Math, we are focusing on adding and subtracting fractions. As we continue to learn the strategies, we are also touching on simplifying and converting improper fractions to mixed numbers. Throughout each lesson, we are also reviewing skills to begin preparation for NSLA.
In Social Studies, we are continuing to explore life before the Civil War. Our 5th grade historians have been reading and analyzing the life and politics involved in the north and south. Famous figures during this time have also been brought to our historians attention as well.
The Counselor's Corner
A big thank you to our amazing PTO, who garciously sponsored the program Prismatic Magic to come in during that week to present an assembly on promoting kindness. The students and staff are looking forward to the show!
Please see the flyer below for some more information and be on the look out for more specific plans for the week as it gets closer.
Email: jhosbach@hoboken.k12.nj.us
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 verbal 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.
Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a relaxing, well-deserved break. Students got right back into the swing of things, as they returned to school to put the finishing touches on their CTY portfolio presentations. Students will be presenting their portfolios some time next week as we celebrate their terrific work!
The CTY Math courses begin Monday, January 9th. We have few students joining CTY for the first time, so welcome aboard! Next week, we will transition our weekly newsletters to overviews of the CTY Math courses. We are looking forward to a great semester of math enrichment.
Physical Education
Happy New Year! Nothing beats starting off the new year giving it your all with fitness and movement.
Students worked on muscular strength and endurance at 10-12 different stations depending on grade level. Each station worked on either cardiovascular endurance or muscular strength using compound movements. The students rotated through the station working at 80-90% intensity for 60-second intervals and 30-second rest.
As our unit comes to a close, students will be evaluated on the Pacer 20-meter running test, sit-ups, and push-ups. Some classes started at the end of this week and others will continue Monday and Tuesday.
Lastly please remind your child to come prepared with sneakers and loose clothing on days of physical education!
World Languages
新年快樂!This week in Mandarin class, the students are starting the unit of “Lunar New Year." The students are learning the upcoming lunar new year culture and celebrations. They enjoyed watching the firecrackers ceremony, lion dance, and dragon dance!
Art
Music
Students reviewed the core music notes from our Rhythm and Notation lessons and then explored how long each note lasts for. We listened, sang, hummed, and wrote the duration of each given note to help with our understanding of how many beats are counted in each. More music exploration is coming soon. Have a musical year, Brandt Elementary!
Theater
Science
This week in Kindergaten, we learned where plants and animals live. We learned that plants and animals get everything that they need where they live. We also learned that plants and animals are part of a system with parts that work together in the natural world.
This week in third grade science, students took a quiz in the Dimensions program on plant life cycles. Students had a blast preparing for the quiz with a fun yet challenging game of Kahoot. After the quiz was completed, students began their next lesson in the unit on animal life cycles. Students enjoyed looking at the pictures of different animals (ranging from adorable to unique) and comparing how the life stages of the animals differed from one another.
As we returned from our winter break we went back to work learning about animals and how they protect themselves. This week we focused on how animals can use their body parts and body coverings to protect them from extreme weather. We then used what we learned to design something that we would wear to hide during the winter.
This week in 4th grade science we talked about New Year’s resolutions and finished up our waves and information transfer unit! We ended the week by taking our final test, and will be moving onto our next unit on Friday. This new unit will focus on input/output of the human brain!
Nurse's Nook
Remember:
If your child develops a fever (above 100.4), please keep them home for 24 hours. They are allowed to return if they had no fever for 24 hours (and without the use of fever reducing medication i.e. ibuprofen or acetaminophen)
Chronic coughs (> 2 weeks) are encouraged to be evaluated by a physician
More than two of these symptoms should be monitored and remain at home; i.e. fever, chills, rigors (shivers), myalgia (muscle aches), headache, sore throat, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, congestion or runny nose
Please send a note stating when your child is allowed to return to school if influenza, RSV, strep throat, or other contagious viruses are diagnosed
Reminder: no medications are allowed during school hours unless you have an order from your physician and a completed Hoboken specific form filled out. This includes benadryl, tylenol, or inhalers. Cough drops are never allowed, as they may pose a choking hazard.
Masks are not mandated by the state of NJ or the district. However, as the parent/guardian you are able to encourage your child to wear a mask during the day if this makes for a more comfortable environment at home. Staff are encouraged to wear a mask as well if you are more comfortable. As always, we promote frequent hand washing and sterilization of workspaces throughout the school day.
Please feel free to contact the school nurse at any point should you have any questions or concerns.
Email: kokeeffe@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