Springtime...lots of news to share!
The staff of KN has been busier than ever, getting current news and finding out about class activities. The reporters have had a great time writing about the interesting happenings at the Ellenville Elementary School.
Meet Miss Finnegan
Miss Finnegan is our new sixth grade reading teacher. This is her first permanent position. She was a substitute teacher in Westchester and a leave replacement in Walden. She enjoys teaching children. Miss Finnegan thinks reading is important in all areas. Personally, she enjoys reading and writing, and hopes that children do, too. She started teaching at our school on January 2. She likes teaching the older children but would like to have the opportunity to teach kindergarten or first grade. Miss Finnegan has many interesting hobbies such as reading, hiking, karate, and playing on her new computer.
New Lunch Program for Grades 5 & 6
The fifth and sixth grades have a new lunch program. Everybody can sit wherever they want. There is a monitor at each table. The monitor has three pieces of paper. Green is for "you're doing fine." Yellow is for "you're getting too loud." Red is for "you're too loud." If someone's bad, the adult monitor can put that person at the time-out table.
All-County Chorus at UCCC
This year, Mrs. Gillette was in charge of All-County Chorus, held March 8, at Ulster County Community College. They sang four songs: Flying Free, I Like Being a Kid, Don't Let the Music Stop, and America Our Heritage. The kids sang in front of over a thousand people and they did well. They got a standing ovation.
When Spring Comes
When Spring comes, the birds sing.
Sixth Grade Band Visits UPAC
On March 20, the sixth grade band went on a field trip to Ulster County Performing Art Center (UPAC) to watch the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. It was all about Beethoven and how he composed. The Philharmonic played a number of symphonies by Beethoven. It was a magnificent performance.
The Life of Library Workers
Most people think that library workers' jobs are easy, but think again. In fact the things they do are sometimes very complicated. They have to shelve and arrange books, check books and magazines in and out of the library, set up bulletin boards, program the computers, and run errands throughout the elementary school. They do many things that are needed for classrooms and they don't have much of a break.
Celtic Dancers Perform for EES Students
On March 13, Celtic Dancers came and played music from Ireland. They talked about the different instruments and the music. They had a banjo, violin, harp, synthesizer, and guitar. If you had a hard day, it is good music to relax you, and makes you feel better and less tense.
Mrs. Poppo's Class
Mrs. Poppo has twelve wonderful kids who love to listen to stories. They are doing many hands-on things, such as planting seeds and learning the sign alphabet. They are planning on writing and illustrating their own books. In Science, they are learning about dirt, plants, and the sun. They are growing tomato plants now, and the children will soon be taking the plants home. They are also studying how plants grow toward the sunlight. They do a lot of computer work. The computer could also be a reward. Students who have moved on from the class help the students who are there now. They went to an insect museum in Albany. In the spring, they want to go to the Bronx Zoo.
I'm Going to Stay in Third Grade
I got my report card today
Mrs. Kane's Class
Mrs. Kane's class is learning the sound B. They play during their free time. They made Easter eggs and baskets for Easter. They do the calendar, and practice the letters and the Pledge of Allegiance. They usually read a story, and do lessons on sounds, rhyming, or listening. In Math, they work on patterning and learning numbers. They like to go outside and play. They love their snack. They are looking forward to a full day of school next year because they enjoy school.
Mrs. Osuba's Class
Mrs. Osuba and her kids are making alphabet books and cooking bread and jello in the shapes of the letters of the alphabet. They are also planting seeds and hoping they can grow in time for Mother's Day. They are studying nutrition. They are planning on taking a trip to Discovery Zone, a science museum, and the Ellenville Public Library.
Mrs. Schoonmaker's Class
In Mrs. Schoonmaker's class they are learning the different sounds of the alphabet. For Mother's Day, they are making flower pots. They are also learning how to plant flowers and help the environment. They know how to read the newspaper because Mrs. Schoonmaker puts articles on the board every day. They know how to say their months, numbers, days of the week, and how many days we have been in school. The class is very smart when it comes to reading. In Math they are learning adding and they're trying to get into the 100 numbers by saying the numbers 1 to 100. In Art, they made Earth Day cards. Every Tuesday, Mrs. Kaplan, the speech teacher, comes in and gives the class a lesson. They are getting ready for the Moving-on Ceremony. That means they are getting ready and preparing for first grade. They are going to the Discovery Zone and the Children's Museum.
Mrs. DuBois's Class
In the morning they do poems. They have learned how to count money and practiced how to write stories. They do daily writing in their binders about anything they want. They write in their binders to see how their writing has improved. They play Memory so they can learn their vocabulary. During their free time, the boys play with blocks and the girls like to write stories and make things out of paper.
Mrs. Sovak's Class
Mrs. Sovak's class is getting ready for spring by planting flowers or bean seeds in the plant unit. They are also writing wonderful stories. Mrs. Sovak said, "They really are wonderful, wonderful stories." In the springtime they are going to the Catskill Game Farm. Have fun!
Mrs. Quinn's Class
Mrs. Quinn's class is going to work on endangered animals. In Science, they are learning about buoyancy. They are going to learn about Africa in Social Studies, and are doing multiplication and division in Math. They just finished writing frog stories.
Ms. Booth's Class
In Ms. Booth's class they're learning double-digit multiplication, properties of matter, and the regions of New York. They are going to the Liberty Science Museum and the D & H Canal Museum.
Mrs. Gerstenhaber's Class
Mrs. Gerstenhaber's class is learning how to multiply traditional ways in Math. In Social Studies, they are studying explorers and learning that there are more explorers than just Christopher Columbus. They did an Indian Project. In Science, they are studying heat and electricity. They do book reports, and they are building something that uses electricity. They think writing is important. After lunch, Mrs. Gerstenhaber reads books to her class. Right now, she is reading Black Beauty.
Mrs. Sharoff's Class
Mrs. Sharoff's class is doing interesting things. They are working on folktale anthologies. They are going to the Liberty Science Museum in June. There are eight kids in her class that do interesting things. They are exempt from English. They are working on adult crossword puzzles and writing the texts of wordless picture books.
Mr. Dishner's Class
Mr. Dishner's class just finished their Social Studies reports on people who have reformed education. They also made reports on the people who changed the idea of slavery in the 1800s.
Mrs. Steinhoff's Class
On March 20, Mrs. Steinhoff's class took a trip to Pizza Hut for a Book It! pizza party. They had to have 10 books read by March 18 to be eligible to go. They had a going-away party for Ms. Haskin, their student teacher.
Mr. Kessler's Class
Mr. Kessler's class recently made buzzers. It was a challenge. They had to put them together from scratch. They used wires, buzzer arms, screws, nails, and batteries. With tools such as screw drivers, templates, and wire cutters, they went to work trying to make them buzz. Some people got their buzzers to buzz really loud and others just got a soft buzz.
Ms. Nemoroff's Class
Mrs. Nemeroff is the substitute for Ms Albert.
On March 20, Ms. Nemeroff's Social Studies class started to draw murals on transportation and communication from the 1800s to the present time. They are starting cooperative learning groups in math. Her class is learning to be Authors in Reading. In Science, they are going to learn about pollution and how to clean up the earth. She is also doing a Good Behavior Chart where her classes get to have a pizza party. (The party was on March 24.)
Fifth Graders Compete in Music
In fifth grade music, they had a contest. They had to write about What Music Means to Me. The music teacher was Ms. Harris. The winners had a pizza party on March 21.
Mrs. Chapin's Class
In Mrs. Chapin's class they are studying Ancient Rome. Later they will learn about the Middle Ages and read the great epic Beowulf and King Arthur and the Round Table.
Mrs. Craft's Class
In Science, Mrs. Craft's class is studying about everyday chemicals, how they're in the food we eat. They completed a unit on the electromagnetic spectrum and rays. Mrs. Craft is excited about the Middle School.
Here are some questions asked to Mrs. Craft:
Mrs. Elias's Class
Mrs. Elias's three Science classes (Mr.Rubin, Mrs. Krulick, and Mrs. Elias) are doing a project about plants, animals, and space. They have to do a bibliography on that. Her classes are also doing food drives for every holiday. They did a project in Science about air. They had to make airplanes and fly them. She also did a unit on aerodynamics. The students had to drop eggs out of the windows to see which one landed first (and did not break).
Mrs. Krulick's & Mr. Rubin's Classes
Mrs. Krulick (Social Studies) and Mr. Rubin (Math) switched subjects. In Math, with Mrs. Krulick, they learned ratio/rate, unit pricing, and proportion. In Social Studies, with Mr. Rubin, they learned about World War I and II. On April 7, Mrs. Krulick's class went to Pizza Hut for Book It! Mrs. Krulick displayed information about Linda Finch and her journey to retrace and finish Amelia Earhart's flight. In Social Studies, with Mrs. Krulick, they worked on reports about European countries.
Mrs. Weller's Class
In Mrs. Weller's class, they are working on the Middle Ages. They are building shields, coats of arms, and castles. In Math, they are working on geometry. In Language Arts, they are doing comparative writing. In Science, they are doing light experiments with mirrors.
Journalism at E.E.S.
This year, Journalism included fifth and sixth graders. Some people are new and some aren't. These students get interviews and take notes. After a certain amount of thinking and time, they complete a newspaper issue. They meet after school on Thursdays. It's like being a reporter in Journalism.
D.A.R.E. & Teachers Benefit Games a Success
The two teams in the championship game were Clemson (28) and Kentucky (25). It was a real battle to the end with Reshawn M and David S leading Clemson and Isaiah M and Gerardo D leading Kentucky. Reshawn M (Clemson) had 18 points and David S (Clemson) had 3 points, 5 assists, and two steals for Clemson. Isaiah M (Kentucky) had 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 steal. Maricio S (Kentucky) had 5 points and 10 rebounds, while Gerardo D (Kentucky) had 10 points and 4 steals.
Eric L, Clemson's coach, said, "Tonight they played as a team. Everybody contributed on the offensive and defensive sides. The second championship was harder than the first, but just as fulfilling. Too bad that Coach Miller and I can't have another shot at a championship because we're graduating." (Coach Levine was very proud of his team.)
Mr. Frederick, Kentucky's coach, said, "They played better than expected. They surprised me. The game was closer than I thought. We didn't have much height and that's hard for us to only have one tall person. I give them credit. They played a good game. We wanted to win but I've got next year. Next year I'm definitely going to win. Our team rose to the occasion and played well. I wish we had another rebounder. Then we would have come a lot closer to beating them. If we could have got that last shot off..."
To me, I thought it was a great game with ups and downs, and lots of thrills to the end. This was Clemson's second championship in the last two years. - MS
Also during that night, the Ellenville Police Department played the Ellenville School Faculty. The score was 42 (Faculty) to 41 (Police).
Ellenville Little League's Opening Day
Saturday, April 12, the Ellenville Little League had its opening day. The League features the Peewees, Minors, Majors, and Seniors. The League's President, John Burns, got the League new jerseys that the players have to buy and keep. At opening day, they didn't play, but had a carnival, or fair, with baked goods. In the Majors, there are only four teams now; the Braves, Mets, Yankees, and Indians.
E.P.T. Select Music Ensemble
Every Monday a group of kids stay after school with Mrs. Peck to work on music. They work very hard playing their instruments. They will perform for Mother's Day and Father's Day at the Senior Nutrition Center.
Spring
Spring, spring,
Mrs. Slotnick Leads Dance Group
Mrs. Slotnick is the teacher of the dance group. She has talent and I meant talent! She is not mean but she is strict. I've been in her group for three years, including this year. Mrs. Slotnick has classes on Monday and Tuesday. Only 20-25 kids get picked out of a lot of kids. Last year, there were over 100 kids that tried out. She has a special group of dancers, too.
Fifth Grade Attends Circus in Poughkeepsie
On April 10, the fifth grade went to the Pickles Circus at the Bardavon Opera House. There were clowns and acrobats. It was a lot of fun. One man did a lot of cool tricks with a bike. A lady had a big ring, attached to a string, and did neat things on it. Amazing gymnasts jumped through hoops. A man juggled bowling pins and balls in pitch blackness. (The things he juggled had lights.) Another lady had a big balloon that bounced around. These two people had a lot of chairs that they balanced in different positions. The man stood on his hands on top of the pile. Four women acted like butterflies while using fabric. A clown gave another clown two big presents. One of them had a fake lion in it and the other had a boy and girls attached with clothing. At the end, Ellenville was the first school group to leave.
E.P.T. Robotics Teaches Special Skills
In Robotics, we built many things such as dinosaurs, elevators, turntables, and carousels. We built them all with Legos and we made them all light up, and run on a motor. Some had sirens, too. They all ran by computer commands. We could make them run by how much light was in the room, too. It was so much fun!
Dance Class Meets with Mrs. Marterer
In Mrs. Marterer's Enchanted Iceland Dance Class, we made masks that we will use to cover up our faces. We will perform a dance in front of the first grade. In the play, there will be two or three parts. The parts will be with wolves, ice queens, and ice trees. It has taken a while to get it together but in a while it will be ready to perform.
PAL Gymnastics
On March 8, 1997, PAL started a Gymnastics Club for girls. The club is held every Tuesday from 6:00 to 7:30 in the High School Gym, but some people come early to help set up the equipment. The people who teach are Stacey Harris, Kathleen Healy, Toni Imperillo, and Rachelle Smith. When we go into Gymnastics, we sign in and wait until everyone is there. Then we start our exercises on the mats. Once we're done with that we work on basic things like form, the vault, and the beam. We do cat leaps and hitch kicks on the mat and on the balance beam. We started somersaults. We practice cartwheels and floor rolls. We will be starting more interesting things in the future. So far, all the girls like it a lot.
D.A.R.E. Completes Another Successful Year
April 10 was D.A.R.E. Day. All the sixth graders went to Liberty Square and raised the D.A.R.E. flag.
I'm glad the D.A.R.E. officers are nice enough to help us learn how bad drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and cigars really are. -Becky Y
A Secretary's Busy Day
Mrs. Doolittle is a secretary in the office. Her job is to answer the telephone and give messages and answer questions. She gives late passes and helps students, teachers, and parents with anything they need help with. She also does a lot of typing on the computer and uses the fax machine. Another one of her jobs is to keep Dr. Steller's schedule and anything Dr. Steller needs done. She keeps the attendance of the kids and staff.
...Mrs. Krulick, Advisor
...Brienne K
...Colleen R
...Matt S
...Deborah J
When Spring comes, the bees sting.
When Spring comes, the flowers grow.
When Spring comes, the fireflies glow.
...Matt S
...Katie T
...Nicholas K
...Becky Y
...Deborah J
and you won't believe what I'm going to say.
I got all D's and only one F
and I know I only have one hour left.
When I get home, I'm going to die.
My mom is going to let out a sigh.
And then I'll stay
in third grade and never pass in any way.
But my teacher made a mix-up!
This report card belongs to _____.
Kindergarten News
...Diane H
...Becky Y
...Joseph S
Grade 1 News
...Diane H
...Joseph S
Grade 3 News
...Diane H
Grade 4 News
...Andy L
...Colleen R
...Deborah J
Grade 5 News
...Becky Y
...Nicholas K
...Thomas K
..Katie T
...Andy L
Grade 6 News
...Matt S
...Joseph S
How do you like teaching?
I love it!
What other teaching experiences do you have?
7 years substituting, Fallsburg Elementary (K, 3,4,5)
What do you like about teaching?
making a difference in lives, making them become life-long learners
...Colleen R
...Joseph S
...Matt S
...Andy L
...Matt S
...Matt S
...Colleen R
...Diane H
It is here.
What a wonderful thing.
It is the season
where flowers bloom.
...Andy L
...Thomas K and Devlin W
...Lauren M
...Thomas K
...Katie T and Deborah J
...Colleen R, Diane H, and Becky Y
D.A.R.E. means Drug Abuse Resistance Education. D.A.R.E. is very important to everyone. In D.A.R.E. class we work in the workbook, role play, read stories about people stuck in a decision if they should do something or not (mostly bad things), and play games. In D.A.R.E. we have a workbook that we have to complete, and we have to write an essay and make a poster in order to graduate. If you don't do this, you don't graduate. (Graduation is May 23.)
...Diane H