The Mighty Dragon
Ruth C. Kinney Elementary School
October 2017
Contact Us:
1 Spur Drive South, Islip Terrace, NY 11752
Telephone: (631) 581-1862 Absentee Line: (631) 581-0969
Principal's Message
Dear Parents,
It was wonderful to see so many of you at our well attended Meet the Teacher Night. October is National Safety Month. Some highlights include our annual Red Ribbon Week sponsored by our fabulous PTA, and Digital Citizenship Week, October 16-22. We will participate in an activity that helps educate our students how to positively behave on the internet.
I would like to thank the entire RCK Community for complying with our building safety procedures, specifically having photo I.D. ready whenever entering our building. Your cooperation and assistance is appreciated as we strive to provide the safest learning environment for our students.
Our next PTA meeting will be at 7:00 pm. on Tuesday, October 10th. I hope you can join us. This will be our Class Parent meeting, so all class parents should be in attendance to get more information. Prior to the meeting at 6:00 pm grade 5 parents are invited to meet and find out more information about fifth grade events this year. Also, don’t forget to check our calendar for the various PTA-sponsored activities planned for our students and families.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me. I am looking forward to an OUTSTANDING October!
Sincerely,
Hillary Bromberg Ed.D.
East Islip Board of Education
President…………...........Jessica Carney
Vice President…….........Philip Montuori, Sr.
Trustee………...…............Steven Behan
Trustee……………….........William Carpluk
Trustee..........................Christopher Zachry
Some Safety Concerns
There are some safety concerns that have been observed at arrival and dismissal. Please be mindful of the safety of our children and try to refrain from:
- Double parking on Spur Drive
- Making illegal u-turns
- Driving into the "exit only" driveway
- Parking in our side parking lot during dismissal
PTA Happenings
Hello Parents and Students,
Thank you to everyone who attended our first meeting and to all of the parents and teachers who have joined the PTA thus far. It was wonderful meeting so many of you at “Meet the Teacher Night!” Our next meeting is on October 10th at 7pm. This meeting is for General Membership and is a required meeting for all Class Parents. In order to be selected as a Class Parent, you must be a member of the PTA and attend monthly meetings. Thank you to everyone who supported school programs through the Save Around coupon book fundraiser. At this time, there are still outstanding books. If you still have your sample book at home please send in payment for the book or return the book to school. We are charged for unreturned books. We need several volunteers for various events throughout the school year. Please contact a board member if you would like to help.
October 10th at 7:00pm is our General Membership and Class Parent PTA Meeting (6p.m.)
November 1st & 2nd is the Scholastic Book Fair. A class schedule will go home in your child’s backpack. Make sure to be on the lookout for your child’s shopping day and time.
November 3rd at 6:00 is the annual RCK Harvest Zingo and Auction! Bring your whole family out to this night of fun! There will be pizza and snacks available to purchase and great prizes to win. More details to follow.
Red Ribbon Week is approaching. This is a week to help students focus on making good and healthy choices and saying “No” to drugs. A schedule of events will follow as we get closer to the event.
Square1Art order forms will be coming home towards the end of the month! You will have the opportunity to order unique, one of a kind items that feature your child’s artwork. Orders will arrive in time for Hanukkah and Christmas. Remember, the sticker sheet is yours to keep!
We are always looking for volunteers to help make these events a success for our children. Please contact anyone on the PTA board if you would like to get involved!
Thank you for your continued support,
Tiffany Williams
RCK PTA President
631-431-5045
2017-2018 RCK PTA BOARD MEMBERS:
President: Tiffany Williams tifwilliams35@yahoo.com 631-431-5045
1st Vice President: Karen Quintero kaquint8@gmail.com 631-839-1164
2nd Vice President: Anjie Lewis lewny1@optonline.net
Treasurer: Briana Martinez briana_otto@yahoo.com
Recording Secretary: Melissa Smith sunflowerchick7@yahoo.com
Corresponding Sec.: Cheryl Rigogliosi abijazz@verizon.net
October's Patriotic Song
Please take the time to look over the words and join us each morning as we sing and celebrate the great country that we live in!
America the Beautiful
O Beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plains
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with
brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
Music Rehearsals
Chorus (4th graders): 8:10 a.m. - 8:57 a.m. Wednesdays
Chorus (5th graders): 8:10 a.m. - 8:57 a.m. Thursdays
Grade 4 Orchestra & Band: 8:10 a.m. - 8:57 a.m. Tuesdays & Thursdays
All Band and Chorus students are not to arrive before 8:10 a.m. as student supervision does not begin until that time.
Grade 5 Orchestra & Band: 8:10 a.m. - 8:57 a.m. Wednesdays & Fridays
Orchestra tuning will begin at 8:00 a.m.
Box Tops for Education!
The Box Tops for Education program has been very successful. Through the Box Tops for Education program, an everyday trip to the grocery store can make a difference for the students at Ruth C. Kinney Elementary. This program allows families to clip the Box Tops coupons, found on hundreds of common grocery items, and send them into school where they will be combined with coupons from other families. Each coupon is worth 10 cents for your school. The dollars add up quickly! The average family purchases more than 100 Box Tops products each year, and 100 Box Tops totals $10 in earnings for our school. Ruth C. Kinney Elementary can earn up to $20,000 per year with your help.
We look forward to another successful year for Ruth C. Kinney and your children! Thank you in advance for your participation.
Our Makerspace in Action
What is Makerspace?
Makerspace is a unique area in our school that allows for creativity and innovation to occur. Students have the freedom to design, engineer, fabricate, create, build and collaborate. We are starting small, but thinking big! Makerspace is part of the Maker Movement and it incorporates STEAM initiatives – Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics.
A Message from Mrs. Merlucci, the School Social Worker
Can you believe that Fall is here already? As we begin October, children are already looking forward to Halloween. Here are some safety tips to keep in mind while trick or treating:
- Stay in familiar neighborhoods.
- Make sure costumes do not drag on the ground.
- Wear clothing with reflective markings at night.
- Never go out alone.
As a reminder, if your family qualified for the lunch program last school year, a new form is required by October 20, 2017 to continue participation in the 2017-2018 school year. If I can be helpful to you or your child, please feel free to contact me at 224-2000 x 2282.
Character Education Virtue of the Month - Respect
The school wide book of the month, to illustrate our focus on Respect will be the story, Smoky Night, by Eve Bunting. This is a story with a child's view of urban violence. A young boy and his mother are forced to flee their apartment during a night of rioting in Los Angeles. The neighbors, who have always avoided one another, are forced to come together in the face of danger and concern for their missing pets. Enjoy the read aloud below...
Veteran's Day Celebration
Join us as we honor all those who have served our great country at RCK’s annual Veteran's Day Celebration!
(More information to follow)
Thursday, Nov 9, 2017, 09:30 AM
Ruth C Kinney Elementary School, Islip Terrace, NY, United States
Student Showcase
“Falling” Into The New School Year
The students in Mrs. Garrison’s and Mrs. Danowski’s classes have been doing several activities so they can begin to learn about each other. One activity involved writing & sharing interesting facts about themselves. They shared what they like to do for fun and also shared what they hope to learn in 3rd grade this year. Mrs. Danowski’s class realized that each student is a unique individual, we then compared our class to a box of crayons… “Just like a box of crayons, each one of us is unique and when we get together, our classroom is complete.” Below are the unique students that make up our class:
Gryffin, Aiden, Nevaeha, Jaclyn, Aidan, Ryan, Kaylee, Noemi, Makenna, Brian, Griffin, Liliana, Sean, Vivian, Logan, Kathryn, Gavin, Brianna, and Sanaa.
Mrs. Garrison’s class read the book Peanut Butter and Cupcake. The book focused on meeting new friends. After reading the book, the students interviewed a classmate they had never met before. They also completed pennants which included interesting facts about themselves, which are pictured below. Ava, Nicholas, Sean C., Jacob, Faith, Caylee, Priscilla, Matthew, Charlotte, Isabella, Jason, Jake, Madison, Payton, Anthony, Maximus, Victoria, Shay, Kayla, Stephen, Alicia, Caylee, Dylan, Sean W.