November 2016 African Road Elementary Sch ool 600 S. Benita Boulevard Vestal, NY 13850 607-757-2311

ARE Newsletter

PRINCIPAL’S NEWS Dear African Road Families, It doesn’t seem possible to be say ing Happy Nov em ber! A RE has had a bu sy fall with lots of activ ities, ev ents and learning! Plea se read our newsletter for an update on the Nov ember happenings at A RE. Below are a few updates I hav e fr om the main office. Veteran’s Day Our Veteran’s Day assembly will be on Wednesday , Nov ember 9 at 9:30 in the auditorium. All families are inv ited to attend. Our student council created an agenda including some students who will introduce family member s who are v eterans to speak about their experiences, a fifth grade jeopardy game featuring question s about Veteran ’s Day , a presentation of donated care packages a ssembled by each cla ss for soldiers currently serv ing in our military and a slidesh ow of Veterans from ARE. IB Learner profile: Our profile of the month is Risk-Taker. Students w ill lea rn that to be a risk-taker they hav e the courage to try new things, try to solv e problems in many dif-ferent way s, and are determined and resourceful when facing challenges and change. We will connect this pr ofile to Lucy , the main character of our book of the sea son, Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy . Students will reflect in their journals about these concepts. Safety drills: Our safety team meets ev ery month to go ov er sa fety drills and the ov erall safety of our building in general. Officer Talbut join s us for these meeting s and also enjoy s say ing hello to childr en while he is in our building. We hav e done ev acuation s (fire drills), lockdown, and shelter-in-place drills so far. I will email parents a fter drills other than fire drills to let y ou kn ow a drill took place.

Report card reminder: Parents will receiv e three report cards in stead of four this y ear at the elementary lev el. The fir st report card will be coming home with students on Tuesday, November 22. We h a v e a h a lf da y on 12/2/16 a n d a fu ll da y set a si de for 12/9 /16 for Parent Teacher Conferences in December. Feel fr ee to contact me directly if y ou hav e any question s about the r eport cards and h ow they will be distributed this y ear. Thank y ou for supporting our wonderful ARE school. As alway s, my door is alway s open. This month ends with Thanksgiv ing, let us be thankful for our many accomplishments together and most importantly , our children. Hav e a wonderful Thanksgiv ing season !

Sincerely ,

Meghan B. Stenta, Principal

Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow

We ARE African Road Elementary

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Family Fun Breakfast.………………………2

Veteran’s Day…..……………………………..2

Fire Safety…….…………………………………2

Nurse’s News.………….………………….....3

PE……………………...………………………….3

Kindergarten Reading Buddies….………3

Reading….…………………………………..…..4

Art………………………………………………….4

Math Party…...………………………………...5

Library…………………………………………...6

Counselor’s Corner…………………………..6

Third Grade Happenings………………….7

Fifth Grade Candy Election……………….7

Math Facts…………...…………….…………..8

Calendar……………….………………………..10

FAMILY FUN BREAKFAST

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Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Family Fun Breakfast!

At African Road Elementary, a Veterans Day school-wide assembly for students will begin at 9:30 a.m. on November 9 in the African Road Auditorium. Some students will introduce family members who are veterans and then the veterans will

talk about life in the military. Fifth-graders will emcee a game patterned after “Jeopardy” featuring questions about Veterans Day. This remembrance for veterans will also include a presentation of donated care packages assembled by each class for soldiers currently serving in our military. This project was coordinated by the school’s Building Planning Team and Student Council, and the personal-care supply packages will be given to a representative from “Angels over Afghanistan” for distribution to our soldiers serving overseas. The school will also kick off another charitable drive, “Kick for Nick.” Students will collect money to buy soccer balls for children in countries impacted by war.

VETERAN’S DAY

On October 6, 2016 members of the Vestal Fire Department were at African Road Elementary for a presentation on fire safety with

our K-2 students.

FIRE SAFETY

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Physicals

NYSED requires students in grades kindergarten, 2nd and 4th grades to have a physical exam. If a copy of a private physical was not turned in to the health office for your child, he or she will be scheduled for an exam with the school physician during November. If your child had a physical any time after Sept. 1, 2015 by your primary care physician, it is acceptable for this school year. Please contact the health office at 757-2313 with any questions.

Lip Balm

Chapped lip season is already upon us at ARE. Even a minor case of chapped lips can be a distraction and a distress to students. Please consider sending lip balm in for your child to keep in his backpack for his own personal use. Inexpensive unflavored Chapstick in the black and white tube, or tiny tubs of Vaseline Lip Therapy seem to work best. The health office cannot apply petroleum jelly per NYS regulations.

Lynne Dutkowsky RN

ARE Nurse

NURSE’S NOTES

PE

October was a busy month in Physical Education class! We introduced roller blading, a brand new unit to grades 3-5 this year and it went very well. Students had two days to try everything out, and they seemed to really enjoy themselves. We borrowed the equipment from BOCES, this included helmets, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards and roller blades, so students were well protected if they fell!

We also completed our soccer unit, this is always a huge hit because so many students take part in the sport outside of school. Students learned the basic skills of soccer and we played some modified games so that students were able to practice these skills. We ended the month with Fall Games, this includes a collection of various games that we have created to help students get in the spirit of the fall season.

Looking ahead to November when we will be completing our foot-ball unit and helping stu-dents to prepare for the Tur-key Trot.

Mrs. Lenga &

Miss Morningstar

KINDERGARTEN READING BUDDIES

In October, Mrs. Fridrich's Kindergarten students shared their favorite storybooks with

Mrs. Bogart's third grade reading buddies.

Comm on My ths about Learning to Read There has been a great deal of research on early literacy instruction and how children learn to read in recent y ears. Som e of the m ore traditional teaching practices have prov en to be less affectiv e than originally thought. This has lead to m isinformation and confusion. Here are som e of the m ost comm on myths about learning to read: Myth #1 - Level 1 books like Hello Reader, Ready-To-Read, Kids Can Read, My First I Can Read Book and Step Into Reading are excellent for beginning readers. A small sam pling of these “Lev el 1” readers were determined to range in difficulty from a Lev el B to Lev el I. This wide range spans the reading ability of students m id-kindergarten thru the end of 1st grade. The typical kindergartener would not be able to successfully read a book as many as 7 lev els abov e their reading lev el. Myth #2 – Having children read challenging books or books above their current reading level helps them become better readers. “Rather than challenging a child, books that are too difficult can cause children to dislike or resist reading. It can also lead to poor reading habits such as skipping ov er unknown words, making up words and mumble reading as well as ignoring the fact that what he/she has read does not make sense.” (Dr. Richard Allen, 2009) “Research indicates that fluency develops as a result of m any opportunities to practice reading with a high degree of success (90% accuracy ). (Fountas & Pinnell, 1999) “The only way to bring children to grade lev el reading skills is to begin teaching them where they are and mov e them forward step by step” (Fountas & Pinnell, 2006) Myth #3 – Children just memorize the short, easy books. That’s not really reading. Beginning readers are learning reading behaviors such as recognizing that words are printed on the page in a left to right direction and matching spoken words with written words on the page by pointing to each word as they read. They are just figuring out how letters go together to m ake words. They may recognize a few basic sight words, but they rely on the pattern of the story and the pictures to support them as they continue to learn new words and advance their reading skills. Myth #4 – Using the pictures in the book to figure out unknown words is cheating. The pictures should be covered up so children have to sound out the word(s). We teach children a variety of strategies to help them read unfam iliar words. Using the picture clues is one of the first strategies children are introduced to. The pictures help support children in learning new words and understanding the m eaning of the text. Myth #5 – If a child can read all the words in a book correctly; the book is at the child’s reading level. Som e children reach a point where they can decode (say /pronounce) the words in texts at alm ost any lev el. Howev er, reading is not just decoding words. More importantly it is about gaining meaning and understanding from the text. What did he/she learn fr om the reading? Did he/she enjoy the story ? Why did a particular character act a certain way ? These are just some of the ty pes of questions a child should be able to respond to if a book is truly at their reading lev el. Look for additional tips for supporting y our child’s literacy dev elopment in future newsletters.

Ba sed on Fountas Irene & Pinnell, Gay Su. Lev eled Books K-8:

Matching Texts to Readers for Effectiv e Teaching. New Hampshire: Heinemann, 2006.

Wendi Eames A.R.E. Reading Teacher

READING ART

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Dear Family , We hav e partnered with y our child’s school to create a unique opportunity to celebrate their artistic accomplishments while raising much needed funds for the school. Your child ’s custom catalog featuring their artwork sh ould hav e come h ome on Friday . Won’t y ou help m ake y our child feel like an accomplished artist by purchasing keepsakes for the whole family containing their masterpiece? The sch ool earns pr ofit fr om ev ery order. And a s a thank y ou for participating, we pr ov ided each child with a sheet of sticker s imprinted with their artwork — absolutely FREE! All online and paper or der forms must be turned in by November 15th. (No late or ders can be accepted.) Together, we can help support ARE, build y our child ’s self-esteem, and create la sting keepsakes fr om y our child ’s artist ic achiev ements. T HREE EA SY WAYS T O ORDER KEEPSA KES

1. The paper order form attached to their cu stom catalog.

2. Online at [www.square1art.com/sh op]www.square1art.com/sh op. 3. Ph one Customer Care 888-332-3294.

T HANK YOU. Mr s. Mer ta a n d Mr s. Ha n scom

Keep a look out for another math party opportunity coming soon!!

Don’t miss out on the fun!!

What might look like a game to some, really encompasses so many math skills these students will need for future success. Parents saw their child using skills such as subitizing, one-to-one correspondence,

cardinality, comparing by asking how many more do I need and the true art of strategizing to win!

A Math Party!

What does a math party look like you ask?

Children and parents playing together, solving problems and talking about math. The

kindergarten students had quite a bit of fun playing a game with their parents during the math party that recently took place. Parents

had an opportunity to not just play a game with their child but also see the benefits and

connections their children are learning about in their math instruction.

MATH PARTY

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“ Even if we are different from others on the outside, we all have a heart with feelings on the inside.”

LIBRARY

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During Library classes in October, K-5 students had a lesson relating to our book of the season, Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun. After re-reading the story, students discussed the importance of treating others with respect, while also celebrating our differences. To demonstrate this, children were given a Tootsie Pop and talked about how the lollipops could explain the precept that "even though we are different on the outside, we all have a heart with feelings on the inside." In addition, they were given a hot dog bun handout in which they wrote some qualities they felt made them unique individuals. Each class had wonderful insights on how to be more considerate and thoughtful friends and classmates.

Karen Vill

Librarian

COUNSELOR’S CORNER

The third grade has had a full and bu sy start to the y ear. We were so happy to hav e parents come in to help u s plan and celebrate our fa ll party . Thank y ou for the support that y ou giv e to y our children and their cla ssrooms! The third grade students were excited to hav e The Elks join our cla sses. This benev olent gr oup participates in charity , v olun teers and meets needs of the community . They br ought gifts of student dictionaries for ev ery third grade child. The children hav e been eagerly exploring the text features of the dictionaries, the added resources in the back and working on dictionary skills. In reading, children are digging deep into the ELA module as we explore sch ools ar ound the world. Children are learning about how children access books, ev en in rem ote communities. This ELA module also works directly on skills that will help for the ELA exams. Childr en are finding main idea s, su pporting answer s with text details, and answering text dependent question s. Students are reading texts ‘closely ’ to find the author’s purpose, the lesson of the story , the ‘gist ’ of the story and more. With a close rea d, we sometimes will read a story 4 or 5 times to glean more in formation fr om the text. The students are growing more skilled at paragraph writing in this pr ocess, too! In Australia, our current country /community of study , there are many similarities and differences to the United States. The children are comparing and contrast ing communities. We hav e studied Australia ’s g ov ernment (con stitutional monarchy ), currency (Australian dollar), foods, h oliday s, tradition s and more. The children hav e been fa scinated to read about Coober Pedy , an Australian Town made up largely of opal mines. A sk y our child what Kupa Pit i means in the Australian Aborigin al Language. In science, y our child will be combining techn ology , research skills, reading and writing. Each child is choosing an Australian animal to research and present to the class. This integration project makes our curriculum rich with skills that will help y our child in later y ears. Keep up the great work third grade students! Mrs. Lanz and Mrs. Bogart

THIRD GRADE HAPPENINGS

FIFTH GRADE CANDY ELECTION

To go along with our studies of US Government, fifth graders from Mrs.

Jones, Mrs. DiRenzo and Mrs. Blachowiak’s class have been studying about the election process. To "sweeten" up this year's Presidential Election, the

students have created a "Candy Election" to have a hands on experience

with the election process. Students from the K-5 grade classes were invited

to get out and vote on November 8th for which candy they think is the

best: Sour Patch Kids (Chewy Party) or Hershey 's Cookies ‘n’ Cream

(Chocolate party). AND the winner was….Sour Patch Kids!

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