HASBROUCK HEIGHTS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Superintendent’s Report
May 24 , 2007

Curriculum and Instruction -
High School –
SOCIAL STUDIES, BUSINESS AND MEDIA DEPARTMENTS -

• Ms. Golle’s World History classes completed a unit on Africa, with a focus on the geography and its effect on the Agricultural Revolution in Africa.  The unit included a subtopic about the importance of art in African societies, a subject that will be reinforced during the freshman class trip to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. 
• Currently, the students are working on the World History Project.  Throughout the school year, we have extensively discussed the topic of human rights, and how to protect them worldwide.  To begin this unit, we surveyed several examples of genocide, including examples from Yugoslavia, Kurdistan, and Rwanda.  As a visual counterpart, the classes watched the film Hotel Rwanda, and were required to maintain detailed notes about the film.  The final phase of this project is a “Call to Action.”  In summary, all students will use their knowledge to develop a project that will either 1) promote awareness about human rights violations worldwide, or 2) actually take action against them.
• Ms. Golle’s  Honors class successfully completed their unit on policy debate.  For their final project, they debated the issue of drilling for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge for Ms. Cassidy’s AP class.
• Mrs. Lewites' US I History POR class is starting to work on the Civil War.  The class will be creating a timeline showing various events and battles that took place during the war. Students will be divided into groups, each group researching a specific time frame and aspect of the war.  The culminating activity will be to put the timeline together with each group presenting their findings.  Students will be able to demonstrate their research skills utilizing the internet and library sources. 
• Ms. Cassidy’s U.S. History I classes have completed study of the period Reconstruction and began the study of homesteaders and the West.   The students will soon begin the study of immigration.
• Ms. Cassidy’s AP History students have taken practice tests in preparation for the AP exam which will be Friday, May 11th.
• Mrs. McGinty’s U.S. II students have completed their study of Kennedy’s New Frontier and Johnson’s Great Society. Special emphasis was placed on social reforms, specifically civil rights, which dove-tailed perfectly into our chapter on The Civil Rights Movement.
• Additionally this month we saw the culmination of the year-long study of immigration. Students presented the findings of their panel discussions and compiled portfolios to highlight the development of their research.
• During the month of May, Mrs. Stinziano’s classes presented their Civil War project.  The students did an exceptional job and some of the projects were:  recreating a battle scene, making a newscast video, making a scrapbook, and creating a Newspaper article.  The students are completing the unit on the Civil War by learning about Reconstruction and how it effected the South.  The last unit of study for the History classes will focus on how migration and industrialization change the United States.
• Mrs. Marzi’s Psychology class is completing the study of development through the life span, concentrating on infancy and early childhood. Shortly we will be starting the study of learning and memory, concentrating on techniques to improve the students' abilities to master classroom materials.
• Mrs. Marzi’s Sociology class has just completed the study of socialization and groups and organizations. We are beginning our study of social stratification, classes and castes, and social mobility.
• Mrs. Mikulka- Library Media Center Among the teachers who brought classes into the Library Media Center this month were Ms. Monetti, Ms. Fernandes, Mr. Pankiewicz, Mrs. Cafferty, Ms. Golle, Mr. Colangelo, Mrs. Shannon, Mrs. Lewites, Mrs. Washburn, Mrs. Stinziano, Mr. Warren, Mrs. Czekaj, Mrs. Kolich, Ms. Kos, Mrs. Dunne, and Mrs. McGinty.
  In addition, this month the Media Center was used for the school budget vote, the Middle Level Science Fair, the Journalism Honor Society Induction, and the Italian Feast.
  A new display in the case near the entrance doors has some really colorful and exotic masks created by Mrs. Kritzer’s art class.

• Mr. Ketcho’s Business classes - HHHS wins Spring 2007 Stock Market Game AGAIN!
  Stephanie Pankiw, Caitlyn Walsh, Zach Ketcho, Junaid Ahmed, and Tenzin Kongpo were the 1st place team profiting $40,784 dollars in a 10 week period. Now that is some coin! Out of 2,479 teams covering the entire state of New Jersey - Stephanie Pankiw the team’s captain navigated a successful investment strategy along with her teammates who fought off a huge onslaught from four very strong Glen Rock High School teams to place in absolute and unequivocally FIRST PLACE! When was the last time anyone competed against 2,500 teams and won the whole thing? Wait…HHHS did it three times before! All winners and parents will be honored at a very special awards ceremony that will be given by PNC Bank and the NJ Council on Economic Education. The event will be May 22nd and held at William Paterson University – two tours are planned for our winners – 1. E-Trade Center and 2. Russ Berrie Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies.
• Accounting I – Finished Chapter 9 – “Recording Adjusting and Closing Entries for a Service Business” - Tests, Study Guide Quizzes, work together & on your own problems, along with homework assignments were completed.
• Automated Accounting II – Finished Chapter 8 – “Plant Assets” and started Chapter 9 – “Corporations”
• Life Management – Finished  Chapter 12 – “Investing In Stocks” and Chapter 13 – “Investing in Bonds”. Tests, activity sheets, terms, facts & ideas in review, life situation problem solving, and applications for decision making were discussed. All Chapters covered in Consumer Economics this semester will be apart of our final exam project – “Financial Household Budget”.
• Word Processing I and II – Began – Oceanview - An Office Assistant Simulation – Jobs #1 to #5 were completed. Word Processing II continued a Microsoft Word project Chapters # (1-6) were covered.
• Computer Applications 9 Cycle – Learning Style Self-Assessment Project to finish the cycle class. New Cycle #4 class began in April. Century 21 Keyboarding was completed and In- Line Rollering Microsoft Word Simulation were completed Jobs #1-#15!

MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT -

• Mr. Aldea's AP Calculus class will be taking their final exam during the first week in May. We will then review multiple choice questions from prior AP exams. After the AP exam, students will study additional topics in Calculus that were not included on the AP Exam.
• Mr. Aldea's Statistcs class will be studying numerous probability distributions in Chapters 8 and 9. These include the Bernoulli, Binomial, Negative Binomial, Geometric, Hypergeometric, Poisson, and Normal Distributions.
• Mr. Aldea's Honors Algebra II class will be finishing Chapter 9 on Polynomials and then will study Rational Functions in Chapter 10.
• Mr. Aldea's Foundations of Advanced Math class will finish the unit on Trigonometry. The class will then study complex numbers and equations of lines. We will then review questions from prior college placement exams.
• Mrs. Healey’s Precalculus classes are studying trigonometric functions and their corresponding graphs.
• Mrs. Healey’s HSPA 11 class has completed their review for the HSPA. Students are now working on reviewing skills for their Algebra II final.
• Mr. Heller’s Geometry classes are completing their study of right triangles and trigonometry, then moving on to the components and special characteristics of circles and the relationships between each of these components.  Students are learning and practicing the use of a variety of related theorems and formulas.  Classroom exercises include group discussions in problem solving and the many practical applications of relationships within circles.
• Mr. Heller's HSPA Math 9 class is continuing its comprehensive review of material regularly found in the math portion of HSPA, with particular focus on combinations, permutations, and probabilities.  In each of these areas, as well as fractions and geometric shapes, the class is solving numerous word problems similar in format and content to those found on the HSPA exam, many of which include or require familiarity with algebraic equations.
• Mr. Heller’s HSPA Math 10 class is continuing its comprehensive review of material regularly found in the math portion of HSPA, with particular focus on combinations, permutations, and probabilities.  In each of these areas, as well as iterations and networks, the class is solving numerous word problems similar in format and content to those found on the HSPA exam, many of which include or require familiarity with algebraic equations.
• Mrs. Marano's Fundamentals of Advanced Mathematics is now working on a review of Algebra. Students have recently completed a unit on solving simple equations that require a minimum of two steps. The algebra review, together with placement test review, will continue through the end of the year.
• Mrs. Marano's HSPA 11 class has completed their review for the HSPA. Students are now working on reviewing skills for their Algebra II final.
• Mrs. Michaeli’s Algebra 2 classes learned how to evaluate logarithms, and how to use properties of logarithms to expand, condense and solve logarithmic equations. Students also learned how to perform operations with polynomials.
• Mr. Monks’ Fundamentals of Geometry has completed its work in Chapter 9 which dealt with right triangles, the Pythagorean Theorem, trigonometric relationships and vectors.
• Mr. Monks’ Algebra I class is working through Chapter 10 which deals with operations with polynomials and factoring. 
• Mr. Monks’ Geometry class is working through Chapter 7 which deals with circles and calculating lengths of the various lines and segments generated from them, as well as determining measures of several types of angles created. 
• Mr. Monks’ HPSA 9 class is directing their focus towards probability, geometric transformations, equivalence relationships and testing techniques. 
• Mrs. O’Brien’s Algebra I are learning how to multiply polynomials.  As well they are learning how to factor polynomials that have a monomial factor, to factor a difference of two squares, to factor perfect square trinomials and how to factor a quadratic trinomials into two binomials.  Soon we will be using factoring to solve a quadratic equations. 
• Mrs. O’Brien’s Fundamentals of Algebra I are learning how to multiply polynomials.  As well they are learning how to factor polynomials that have a monomial factor, to factor a difference of two squares, to factor perfect square trinomials and how to factor a quadratic trinomials into two binomials.  Soon we will be using factoring to solve a quadratic equations. 
• Mrs. O’Brien’s Fundamentals of Algebra II are learning how to identify a relation and a function, how to perform operations with functions, and how to identify inverse relations and inverse functions and to verify that two functions are inverses of each other.  As well they are able to graph the function and its inverse.   
• Mrs. Stoehs ' Geometry students completed work with simplifying square roots, leading to Pythagorean Theorem. This led to review of previous topics of factors and properties of triangles. Presently, we are studying central and inscribed angles of circles. Once again, this affords a review of past work such as diameter, circumference, naming angles and arcs, and solving equations.
• Mrs. Stoehs' Algebra classes have finished working with the multiplication and division properties of exponents. We have just begun graphing two linear equations. This will afford a review of coordinates, graphing, slope, and intercepts.
• Mrs. Rad's Fundamentals of Algebra 2 class is connecting geometry and algebra in order to solve problems. For example, students will use the distributive property in order to find the total area of 2 rectangles attached to one another.
• Mrs. Rad's HSPA 9 class is studying how to use tree diagrams to create systematic list of all possible outcomes, to find the # of possible combinations and how to use the fundamental counting principle.

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS –

• Mrs. Marano's Computer Applications I class is working in  Photoshop CS2. Students are continuing to work through the Adobe training Classroom in a Book
• Mrs. Marano's Computer Applications II class worked on the same projects with the Computer Applications I class.

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT –

• Mr. Binazeski’s Physical Science students continued learning about the following physics topics (work, power, energy, thermal energy, heat, calorimetry, force, displacement, temperature conversions, mechanical energy, mechanical advantage, effort force, effort distance, resistance force, resistance distance, efficiency, simple machines). The students participated in a power lab.
• Mr. Binazeski’s Environmental Science students continued learning about populations, nutrition, growth rates, death rates, alternate energy sources, nuclear energy, and petroleum energy. The students watched the movie "Who killed the electric car" and discussed the benefits of alternate energy resources and the benefit to the environment and cost benefits.
• Mrs. Hicswa’s  Biology classes have just completed their study of invertebrates with a dissection of the crayfish.  This specimen was compared with that dinner-time favorite- lobster.  The classes are beginning their study of vertebrates by using the shark as a specimen.  The discussions held by the classes have included discussing tales, myths, and truths concerning these scavengers of the sea.  The study of the shark will be completed with a viewing of the film- Shark Chronicles.
• Mr. Pignatiello’s Chemistry classes are working on solutions and Molarity.  The students are learning how to make molar solutions physically and mathematically. The students will be performing many labs in the next couple of weeks dealing with solution chemistry.
• Mr. Pignatiello’s AP Chemistry class is preparing for the AP exam on the 15th of May by reviewing and test taking.  The students are working on strategies and tips for success on the upcoming test.  I am also in the process of scheduling an evening review session the night before the test to make sure they have all the tools necessary to do well.
• Mr. Stine’s Physics classes are beginning the study of waves, to include sections on light and sound. This unit will include several labs dealing with transmission of sound, interference of sound waves, and resonance. 
• Mrs. Stoehs' Biology students have begun their study of the animal kingdom with the much anticipated dissections. We're getting used to the scent of preservative wafting from the Bio lab as well as techniques needed to handle the instruments. Once instructed on procedures the students quickly began working independently on their specimen, identifying body parts and systems as they went. They will finish up by completing a lab report.

WORLD LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT -

• Mrs. Cafferty’s Spanish III students are learning about the ancient civilizations of the Incas-Machu Pichu and explored the world of the ancient Indians of Mexico and South America.
• Mrs. Squillace’s Spanish I students learned how to order food in a typical restaurant and request the check as well as talk about food and say where they went.
• Ms. Perdomo’s Spanish I students are learning how to use vocabulary related to shopping. Students now are learning to use direct and indirect objects and commands in sentences related to shopping and family activities.
• Mrs. Carr’s Spanish II students are working on using subjunctive verbs of doubt and disability.
• Mrs. Carr’s Spanish IV students are going to study Cervantes and his masterpiece “Don Quijote.”
• Mrs. Carr’s Spanish students V students will be reading the work of Miguel de Unamuno, a famous Spanish writer.
• Mrs. Washburn’s Italian students are researching information in Italian and English on the internet about their backgrounds as well as their family’s heritage and deliver an oral report. On the internet, they will research the various regions from which the Italians immigrated from as well as where they settled in the United States during the late eighteen and early nineteen hundreds.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT -

• Mr. Ascolese is preparing selections for the marching band and color guard for the Memorial Day Parade and Ceremonies to be held on Monday, May 28, 2007 and the upcoming Spring Concert to be held on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 including Frank Erickson’s “Citadel” and Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 9.”  Also, preparations are under way for next year’s marching band season.
•  Mr. Ascolese’s MusicTheory students are presenting reports on various classical composers representing the romantic and contemporary periods.
•  Mr. Taylor is preparing vocal selections like “Ballad of the Tempest” and “Star of the County Down” and “Land of Our Dreams” with the Concert Choir.
  

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT -

• Mr. Smith’s English 9 classes have recently completed their in-depth study of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. After taking a final test on vocabulary, reading strategies, and major elements of plot, students will view and write a comparative analysis essay on the movie version of Romeo and Juliet and Westside Story.
• Mr. Smith’s HSPA English 10 class continues to work on guided reading strategies with various short stories. Time and attention is being given to students reading strategies and note taking as they read.
• Mr. Smith is happy to report that staff selection for the 2008 Coronian Yearbook is now complete. The staff is comprised of hardworking students and we are looking forward to another great year. A select number of students will attend a design clinic on May 15th in order to design the cover of next year’s book.
• Mrs. Fernandes’s Genres & Critical Issues classes will be exploring the themes of the Western genre with the film The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.  Later in the month we will begin the drama genre.  Students will watch The Shawshank Redemption and Citizen Kane, each ending with a written project.
• Mrs. Fernandes’s HSPA English 10 and 11 classesare exploring the personal narrative.  The class is reading narrative texts; we are concentrating on form and comprehension.  In addition to reading, students will write their own personal story.
• Miss Venneman’s HSPA 9 classes will be looking at various reading passages that are modeled after the HSPA exam such as informative, persuasive and narrative.  Students will be reading these different types of passages so that they might better understand the information that needs to be gathered and analyzed in these types of texts.
• Mrs. Schneeweiss’ Drama class is viewing academy award winning or nominated films and highlighting outstanding acting performances that they will emulate in scenes and monologues.
• Mrs. Schneeweiss’ Communications classes are beginning a film study unit in which they will become critical viewers of film. They will take themselves out of the concept of simply being entertainment and dissect the films in a variety of areas including special effects, directing choices, camera angles, costumes, and makeup.
• Ms. Monetti’s SAT Cycle class is currently working on the “improving paragraphs” task on the SAT.  In addition, students are building their vocabulary by learning Latin bases and words that contain Latin bases.  Finally, to improve reading comprehension and build vocabulary, classes read from the New York Times on a weekly basis.
• Ms. Monetti’s Genre and Critical Issues class is moving on to viewing documentaries.  We will start with An Inconvenient Truth and move on to Super Size Me.  Students have also been assigned the final exam project.  For this project students will read a book that has been turned into a movie and compare and contrast the book to the movie.
• Ms. Monetti’s English 10 classes have handed in the first draft of their research paper, are still working on reading and analyzing The Great Gatsby, and are coming to the end of the sophomore SAT vocabulary list.  Classes have weekly quizzes on The Great Gatsby and the SAT vocabulary. 
• Ms. Monetti’s English 11 classes have handed in the final draft of their research paper.  Classes have also read the first act of Macbeth and are currently working on analyzing specific quotes from the reading. 
• Mrs. Geftic’s journalism students are currently working on the last edition of the Pilot’s Log.  This issue will feature a salute to the class of 2007.  Articles of note focus on such school events as Youth Week, the Blood Drive and safety.  The latter was prompted by the shootings at Virginia Tech. 
• The Pilot’s Log is pleased to announce that the newspaper was awarded First Place With Distinction from American Scholastic Press Association scoring 975 points out of 1000.  In addition, Caitlyn J. Walsh and Wade Friedel were awarded First Place, Non-school related News Story by American Scholastic Press.
• Mrs. Geftic’s English 12 students are currently studying the Holocaust and the effects of prejudice.  They are currently reading Night by Elie Wiesel. Night is Elie Wiesel’s masterpiece-- a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps.  In conjunction with this unit, students are writing journals about their own experiences and reading such works as “The Hangman” by Maurice Ogden,  Maus by Art Spiegelman, and “Little Things are Big” by Jesus Colon.
• Mrs. Meyer’s English 9 students are finishing their study of Romeo and Juliet and will compare the text by William Shakespeare to the movie version directed by Franco Zeffirelli. The unit will concluded with a writing assignment based on one of the major themes of the work.
• Mrs. Meyer’s English 9H class has begun their in-depth study of William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies. This will be the final major work that the class will study this year.
• Ms. Kos’ English 9 class is currently working on a short story unit in their textbooks. In this unit, students will read, discuss, and write about a number of short stories and will work specifically on literary devices and conventions as well as vocabulary development.
• Ms. Kos’ English 10 class is reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s American novel, The Great Gatsby. In addition to reading each chapter aloud, students will do a number of quizzes and activities, as outlined in the HSPA unit for this novel. At its completion, students will view the movie version of this novel.
• Ms. Kos’ English 11 class will spend the month of May working on their 11th grade research projects. As outlined by department guidelines, students will work on developing their writing ability, as well as honing their research skills by doing real research on two viable careers. Papers with formal MLA citations will be due on May 24.
• Ms. Kos’ English 12 class just finished writing critical essays on Jerzy Kosninski’s novel, Being There. They enjoyed this novel a great deal and are beginning work on their final writing project of the year, which involves synthesizing many of the themes and ideas addressed this year in the World Literature course of study. These projects, which students are developing independently involve creative writing and critical thinking. They will be presented to the class in the first week of June.
• Mr. Pankiewicz’s English and English 10 Honors classes completed a study of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman’s poetry- making parallels to the poetry of Langston Hughes.  Langston Hughes’ poem, “A Dream Deferred”, was used as a transition into acting out Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun in class.
• Mrs. Czekaj’s English 10 classes have been studying Transcendentalism through the writings of Emerson and Thoreau.  They are choosing a quotation from one of these writers and creating an illustrated poster based around it.
• Mrs. Czekaj’s AP/College English class concluded preparation for the May AP test of English Literature and Composition by reviewing all the terms of literary analysis and the novels and plays they read this year.  Their final novel was Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres, a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s King Lear.
• Mrs. Czekaj’s Shakespeare Honors classes were brilliant in their comical presentation to the 9th grade in an assembly celebrating Shakespeare’s birthday.  They are now reading Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew and comparing it to the modern movie they all know well, 10 Things I Hate About You, which uses the same premise for its plot and comic effect as this play.  They also entered an online contest sponsored by Bantam books for which they analyzed a Shakespearean character’s journey.
• Mr. Van Dam’s English 11/British Literature classes are reading and comparing selected tales from Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.  The classes are focusing on the stereotypes and characterizations that were prevalent during the English Medieval period and have been evaluating their current relevance.
• Mr. Van Dam’s English 11-Honors/British Literature class is reading and analyzing Shakespeare’s Macbeth.  The students are applying the Senecan definition for a proper tragedy to this play as well as expanding their ability to identify and analyze dramatic and literary devices.
• Mr. Van Dam’s English 12/World Literature class has completed their comparative study of tragedies by reading Shakespeare’s Hamlet.   The students are now beginning to research selected authors of “classic” poems or novels and will be preparing presentations that will be taught to their peers.
• Mr. Van Dam’s English 12-Honors/World Literature class continues to read, dramatize and analyze the tragedy of Hamlet.  The students continue to also compare and contrast various video interpretations of this classic.

ART DEPARTMENT –

• Ms. Caputo’s painting classes are finishing the Andy Warhol reproduction paintings.  They were asked to create a self-portrait or find a picture of a celebrity and mass produce this.  They then had to paint each face as if they were different compositions.  For the next project the students will be working on canvas.
• Ms. Caputo’s graphic design class is working on their artist cube project.  They still have two more reproductions to finish.  There will be more of a variety of mediums to choose from.  Towards the middle of the month they will need to take their six reproductions and create a three dimensional work.
• Mrs. Kritzer’s Advanced Art class are completing the last semester with independent projects.  They must paint a large canvas in the style of their choice.  The students are body casting using packing tape.  The casting will be done in sections, which will be constructed together.
• Mrs. Kritzer’s  painting classes are in the watercolor unit.  After doing an abstract using various watercolor techniques, the students are painting sea life watercolors.  The paintings will be done in sections in which the students will demonstrate their knowledge for watercolor techniques.
• Mrs. Brinker’s Leadership Class is currently working on creating an organized pamphlet of all the HHHS club and extracurricular offerings for incoming freshmen for the school year 07-08.
• Mrs. Brinker’s Multicultural Arts is working on relief print-making and is getting ready to begin work on the glass-etching unit.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION / HEALTH EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS –

• Grades 9 – 12.  All Physical Education classes are continuing units in tennis, soccer, power walking, wiffleball and use the cardio fitness room.
• Ms. Gaccione’s 9th grade health class is discussing Body Fat percentages and the Body Mass Index.  They performed a lab where they calculated their body fat percentages using the skin fold calipers.
• Mrs. Kolich’s and Mrs. Miller’s  11th and 12th grade health classes had Sergeant Ken Kolich from the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office give a power point presentation on the use and effects of different types of club drugs, including ecstasy, rohypnol, and ketamine.  They are also starting the DARE portion of the drug and alcohol unit.

INDUSTRIAL ART DEPARTMENT –

• Mr. Masucci’s classes are making dog cut outs for the field.  The advance classes are making shelves for the band room for their instruments.

USE OF LAPTOP -

• Mrs. McGinty’s Technology Utilizing The American’s software and the LCD projector, students benefited from a PowerPoint review of the chapter to prepare for the assessment.   
• Mr. Ketcho’s Technology Once again I am using my laptop for pretty much everything I do. Word, Excel, PowerPoint files help me manage all of my day to day tasks. Coupled with a document camera and LCD projector I lead my instruction with my laptop everyday.
• Mrs. Healey:  The laptop is being used for research, presentations, grades, and email to communicate with students, parents, and staff.  Students were able to use it to research colleges.
• Mr.  Monks:  Grades and reports were calculated on Excel. Lesson plans have been generated in Word.  Tests, quizzes and extra help worksheets have been generated in Word.  Email has been used to communicate with parents and department teachers.
• Mrs. Stoehs:  Using the laptop has been even more convenient as we now can print directly to the copy machine. This allows us to work from our rooms or even on hall duty and have the work ready for pick up without delay between classes. Mr. Kervin Herring has been invaluable in his assistance with setting up the computers and answering our many questions.
• Mrs. Schneeweiss and her classes have used the laptop to research scholarships, film festivals, and scripts for next year’s musicals and to research the back stories of the films they will be viewing for the fourth marking period.
• Mrs. Geftic’s Journalism students used the laptop to create graphics for the newspaper as well as to prepare articles for publication.  English 12 students viewed the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s presentation of Elie Wiesel and Oprah Winfrey as they discussed Night on location in Auschwitz.  They also viewed “Little Things Are Big,” a presentation by Facing History and Ourselves.  The new LDC acquired through the Best Buy grant made these activities possible.
• Mr. Pankiewicz used the laptop to display various web sites that portray the 1950s to help understand the play A Raisin in the Sun in English class.  The laptop continues to be used for layout and design of The Pilot’s Log and Identification.

Middle School- Mathematics Department-

• Miss Keller’s 6th grade mainstream Geometry classes will learn to solve a simpler problem.  In this section, the students will learn to simplify multi-step problems in order to solving them easier.  After completing this section the students will begin to look at scale drawings.  In this section the students will learn how use the scale on maps and drawings in order to determine the actual size of objects.  The class will then move on to explore problems that contain too much or too little information.  Throughout this section the students will analyze word problems to determine what is needed or not needed to solve the problem.  As the month of May continues the student will begin to work with probability.
• Miss Keller’s 6th grade Honors Geometry class students will begin May by learn about symmetry and reflections.  In this section the class will be introduced to the coordinate plane, and how points are reflected over the x and y axis.  Once the students have grasped the concept of reflection, they will begin to explore rotations.  During this section the students will be able to rotate an image around a point of rotation.  After the students have completed these two sections they will begin to learn about probability. 
• Miss DiPiano’s 6th grade Algebra students have been working with exponents and the distributive property.  We will then move on to functions and the coordinate plane.  They learned about the meaning of exponents and how to use the calculator to display exponents.  The students will be learning about the coordinate plane and function tables.  They will also begin to graph functions on the coordinate plane.
• Miss DiPiano’s6th grade Honors Algebra students have completed working with ratios and proportions as well as percents.  They are currently working on exponents and the order of operations and will soon begin word problems that involve looking for patterns using their knowledge of exponents.  The students are also looking forward to exploring square roots as we continue on in the chapter. 
• Mrs. Caputo’s 7th grade mainstream Algebra classes are continuing with Chapter Ten on Algebra:  Patterns & Functions.  We are currently working on Scientific Notation in class.  We will soon be having our mid-chapter test on the first half of the chapter.  This will be the sixth assessment in the fourth marking period.  
• Mrs. Caputo’s 7th grade Honors Algebra class is currently working on Chapter Ten, entitled, Functions and Polynomials.  We are currently working on adding polynomials, and we’ll soon have a mid-chapter test this week.  This will be our fifth assessment for the fourth marking period.   
• Mrs. Caputo:  The students are very excited about the upcoming trips, Wetlands and camping.
• Mr. Sickels’ 7th grade Geometry mainstream students are currently preparing for a chapter assessment on Chapter 9, Using Probability.  This chapter includes: experimental probability, theoretical probability, sample spaces, permutations, and combinations.  The next and last topics to be covered will be Graphing in the Coordinate Plane.  
• Mr. Sickels’ 7th grade Geometry Honors class is currently preparing for a chapter assessment on Chapter 9, Geometry and Measurement.  We will learn about surface area and volume of three-dimensional figures. The next and last topics to be covered will be Probability. 
• Mr. Sickels:  Congratulations to for being named Student of the Month, Bernardo Valente and. Rebecca Fortoul. 
• Mr. Mastropietro’s 8th grade Geometry classes are finishing chapter 11, “Probability”.  We are beginning the “Mall Project”.  The students will be entrepreneurs and open up “stores” in the mall.  They will realize the difficulties of opening up their own store.  They will be working with the income and expenses.
• Mr. Mastropietro’s 8th grade Honors Topics class is finishing the chapter 11 entitled Quadratic equations in the algebra book.  They will also be working on the Mall project (with some extra parts that the mainstream students will not have)i.  
• Mrs. Dunne’s 8th grade Algebra I class completed multiplication of polynomials.  Upon their return from the class trip, the factoring unit will be taught.
• Mrs. Dunne’s Math 8 classes are extending solving equations.  They are presently finding the solutions of literal equations.
• Mrs. Dunne:  Ms. Stroinski has completed her student teaching experience.

Science Department-

• Mr. Rispoli’s 6th grade science students are learning about the human body.  They learned how the body maintains its inner balance by homeostasis.  Students were able to identify how the body reacts to different factors while maintaining homeostasis.  The skeletal system is the first body system they will learn.  So far they know the five functions of the system and the types of joints in the system.  They also took a quiz in which they had to identify 20 major bones in the skeletal system.  The muscular system and skin system are next.
• Mrs. Toy’s 7th grade science classes are in the middle of the arthropod unit.  They are witnessing first hand, insects going through the stages of metamorphosis.  Our Wetland Trip had to be moved to May 11th and 14th, due to the flooding in April.  The students are preparing for their camping trip which starts at the end of this month. 
• Mr. Cassiere’s 8th grade students are concluding a lengthy section on chemical bonding.  A lab was recently completed illustrating the characteristics of covalent & ionic bonds from various materials.  Students will now be introduced to organic chemistry (Ch. 13) Next week students will be synthesizing aspirin by combining 2 fundamental organic compounds.  A brief introduction to nomenclature will be conducted prior to this chapter.   

Art Department

• Ms. Caputo’s new technology cycle is starting off with their first project, origami construction.  They will be using this week to work on them. For the next couple of weeks they will be creating layouts, making three dimensional models, keeping in mind all the pre set requirements for each project.
• Mrs. Kritzer’s Cycle 8 art have begun the drawing unit.  These lessons are done so that the 8th graders are not insecure with taking a high school drawing class.
• Mrs. Kritzer’s Cycle 7 art classes recently completed their study of Georgia O’Keefe flowers.  They are now studying medieval art.  They are making gargoyle stained glass using acetate and markers.
• Mrs. Brinker’s Cycle 6 Art Class is currently working on abstract name designs which will be on display in their 6th grade social studies classroom when they are done.  There is currently a display of 6th grade “pizza planet” projects on display in the HS Media Center.

Physical Education/Health-

• 6th, 7th and 8th grade PE classes are all participating in either softball or tennis, unless the activity must be indoors due to inclement weather, where the will play waffle ball or use the cardio room.

• Ms. Gaccione’s 8th grade Health class has begun the new cycle with discussing drugs and alcohol and participating in the DARE program with Lt. Mullins.
• Mrs. Miller’s 6th grade Health cycle is starting the new cycle discussing friendships and peer pressure.  They will be designing posters entitled “All About Me” where the students make collages of things that describe themselves.
• Mr. Delcalzo’s 7th grade Health class is continuing the unit on drugs and alcohol.

Industrial Art-

•  Mr. Masucci’s new cycle class will  be starting up with review and safety  of hand tools

Social Studies

• Mr. Warren’s Social Studies 6 Classes were introduced to the world of Ancient Greece.  The students described the various geographic features that helped and hindered the development of the country.  They analyzed maps that depicted the important trade routes with neighboring countries and developed reasons why trading would be important to the country of Greece.  The Phoenician and Greek Alphabets were introduced to the students and as part of an in-class project; they wrote their names using both ancient alphabets.  Before the Spring Break, the students demonstrated by pantomime using group and whole-class techniques, the various types of governments developed by the Ancient Greeks: monarchy, oligarchy, aristocracy, and democracy.  Also, the students were able to choose a marking period long-term project.  The project choices consisted of the following:  research a Greek god or goddess, create ancient Greek coins out of clay, diagram a map of Ancient Greek and the surrounding areas, and perform a five minute play based on one of Aesop’s Fables.  The students recently spent a class period in the Media Center to research their projects.
• Mrs. Gay’s Social Studies 7 students are learning about the physical geography of the United States and Canada, and how it influences the economic development of the regions within these countries.  They will also examine the values and beliefs that have influenced the history, government, economics and culture of the United States.  Students took the National Geography Challenge test, and the scores of the top ten students were submitted to the contest to determine how they rank with other seventh grade students throughout the United States who participated in the Challenge.
• Mrs. Rucci’s 8th Grade Social Studies – The highlight of the past month was definitely the trip to Washington, DC.  Evidently, the eighth graders learned a great deal while having fun with their friends.  Back in the classroom, we are reviewing some of the trivia questions about DC and getting the Washington projects ready.  Those who went on the trip are making a scrapbook and those who stayed are researching the sites and making small-scale models of them.
• In the textbook and in our notes, we covered the Spanish-American War, Teddy Roosevelt, the annexation of Alaska and Hawaii, the Panama Canal, and World War I.  There was also a lesson on all the wars in which the U.S. was involved, in preparation for some of the memorials in Washington.
  In the Junior Scholastic magazines we read about American children who have fathers that are in Iraq right now and about the economic hardships in Nigeria.

English Department

• Mrs. Rowland’s 7th grade English classes are finishing an interdisciplinary unit on the Wetlands. In English students wrote a persuasive essay, highlighting all statistics and factual information that pertained to their point of view on building on or preserving the Meadowlands.  The students’ final destination will culminate in a trip to the Meadowlands where they will obtain first-hand knowledge of how valuable this land is.
• Miss Venneman’s 7th grade Literature classes will be completing the novel The Wave and giving further analysis to character and plot development.  Students have been responding to open-ended questions that refer to the text throughout the novel. Students will be writing a persuasive letter from a character’s point of view that will demonstrate student understanding of the material as well as provide practice for persuasive writing. 
• Ms. Dolan’s Sixth Grade Literature Students have begun reading Kindertransport, by Olga Levy Drucker.  This autobiography details Mrs. Drucker’s escape from Nazi Germany to England during World War II.  It is the last book that the students will read for the year.  To end the unit, students will watch the movie “Into the Arms” of strangers, which tells the first person stories of Jews who survived the Holocaust because of the Kindertransport system that was established in the 1930’s.  This book allows the students to see a first person account of the Holocaust, through the eyes of a girl that is their age.
• Ms. Wolf’s English 6 classes have spent the last month learning about several rules in grammar and writing.  They have started to understand how to distinguish between commonly confusing words.  They also have started understanding rules for capitalization and punctuation. Last month, Ms. Wolf’s classes took part in a mini unit dealing with an understanding of the Holocaust.  During this time, they read about children who were a part of the Holocaust.  In addition, the students watched a movie to help in their understanding. The students have continued enhancing their writing skills with bi-weekly writing assignments.  All of the writing assignments follow the format of the NJ standardized tests. The writing is based on pictures or scenarios for writing tasks.  Many of the writing tasks ask the students to create “persuasive writing” pieces.  In addition, the students have also continued to broaden their vocabulary with daily words and bi-weekly spelling units.
• Mr Stillman’s Literature 8 classes are wrapping up their interdisciplinary unit on the 1960’s and the film Planet of the Apes. The students used the analytical skills that they have been developing to identify how the real world influenced the moral of the film. They were able to pick out scenes and themes that specifically related to the Cold War, race relations, and society in general.
• Mr. Sicilian’s English 8 classes are continuing work on their vocabulary units, emphasizing word usage in multiple forms, and original sentence writing. Classes are also working on constructing varieties of sentences using dependent clauses, transitional word phrases, and participial phrases. Students are continuing to enjoy the “free choice” journal essay topics in which they choose a broad/generic topic and create their own title and essay theme.
• Mr. Sicilian’s English 8 Honors class has recently submitted proposals for the autobiography project and is now in full swing in writing their autobiographies. Students are working at home and in school, utilizing computer technology, Internet sources, power point activities, etc. The students have also planned a full week of classes in which they will work on writing specific pieces for the autobiography. This project is in addition to the curriculum/activities covered in the standard classes.
• Mr. Stillman’s Literature 8 Honors class has just completed the novel On the Beach which was included in their interdisciplinary unit on the 1960’s and the film Planet of the Apes. In addition to utilizing the same skills as the regular classes, the honors class had to also relate the novel’s theme to their unit.
• Mr. Colangelo’s Study Skills 6 class is in transition.  The students will begin their final, 6th grade cycle class.  The students will be studying from their Study Skills notebook, You Can Take Charge.  There will be an emphasis on note-taking.
• Mr. Colangelo’s Creative Writing 7 class is in transition.  The students will begin their final 7th grade cycle class.  The students will be writing in a variety of forms.  They will begin with journal writing and move on to autobiographies, newspaper articles, stories without endings, and two movie reviews.
• Mr. Colangelo’s Literature 7 classes will be completing the novel The Wave and giving further analysis to character and plot development.  Students have been responding to open-ended questions that refer to the text throughout the novel.  The students will engage in a group project where they will be asked to analyze a character from the novel and break down his/her character traits/flaws. 
• Mr. Colangelo’s Literature 8 class is wrapping up its interdisciplinary unit on the 1960’s and the film Planet of the Apes.  They were able to pick out scenes and themes that specifically related to the Cold War, Vietnam War, space travel, race relations, and society in general.  The students will begin reading Soldier X at the conclusion of the film.

Foreign Languages-

• Mrs. Cafferty’s eighth graders are learning about South and Central America and the Caribbean by creating maps and doing presentations on the various regions in those areas.
• Ms. Perdomo’s seventh graders are starting the cycle and are learning about important reasons to study Spanish, the use of cognates to understand dialogs and school supplies in Spanish.
• Ms. Perdomo’s sixth graders are becoming familiar with the Spanish language by learning about differences between Spanish and English alphabets, the use of cognate words to understand general ideas as well as commands heard and said in the classroom.

Music Department-

• Mr. McCarthy -seventh grade vocal music class are working on voice placement, breathing, polyphony, sol feggio, and simple songs.
• Mr. McCarthy is working on American Music with the 8th grade general music class and the Baroque and Classical Periods with the seventh grade general music class.
• Ms. Moroney’s sixth and seventh grade band is practicing “As Winds Dance”, “You Raise Me Up” and “Northpointe Fantasy.” Stress is being placed on an introduction to tone production and hand position. Practice continues for the Spring Concert with the middle level choir.
• Mr. Taylor reports practice continues with the Middle Level Choir in two and three part harmony for the upcoming Spring Concert. Selections include “Et in Terra Pax” as well as “The Best That I Can Be.”

6th Grade Technology Pilot Program

May 2007

Michelle DiPiano – Math

Weekly quizzes, tests, and worksheets are created using Microsoft Word.  Weekly lesson plans are created weekly using Microsoft Excel.  Grades are entered weekly using the Grade Quick Program.  The program was also used to calculate marking period 3 report cards, as well as a reference when speaking with students and parents.  We are also currently receiving training in Edline and hoping to be up and running soon.The students in both classes are becoming familiar with the TI 30 II calculators.  They are learning how to use these tools to enhance their learning and understanding of the subjects.  We will also be completing an interactive calculator lesson from the Texas Instruments site during the month.  The students are looking forward to doing more calculator work in the future.  Miss DiPiano’s webpage at teacherweb.com is still being used daily.  The students check homework, update notes, and to complete extra practice on the topics they are learning in class.

Karen Dolan – Literature

Ms. Dolan used her laptop in many different ways to benefit and assist her in her teaching duties in May  2007.  Once again, all quizzes and tests are created using this valuable tool. In preparation for the reading of Kindertransport, Ms. Dolan conducted extensive research using her laptop.  The students will use the projector to explore the site of the US Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. to better understand the plight of the Jews during WWII in Europe.Once again, Ms. Dolan will supplement the school issued progress report with a detailed progress report using the GradeQuick program.  The progress reports created using GradeQuick allow the parents to see a detailed view of their child’s progress in literature, with an average of where the students stand.  It is much more detailed than the basic “S” or “U” of the school issued progress report. 

Michelle Keller - Math

Throughout the month of May, Miss Keller will use her lap top in a number of ways to help improve her teaching.  With each quiz and test Miss Keller administers to her students she uses Grade Quick to organize and keep track of her students’ averages. 
On May 3rd, Miss Keller will attend a workshop where she will be trained in the Ed-Line program.  Through Ed-Line Miss Keller will be able to upload the students’ grades, allowing parents to access their child’s progress in her Geometry class.  Miss Keller has also used her computer in other helpful ways.  Through the use of Microsoft Word, Miss Keller has created test, quizzes and worksheets that have been used in her Geometry classes.  Having internet access allows Miss Keller to keep in contact with parents and administrators through the use of e-mail.  Educational websites have also helped her with lesson plans and group activities which the students can complete in order to grasp the topic in which they are learning.  These educational websites also provide Miss Keller with additional problems the students can use to practice their math skills.

David Rispoli – Science

The laptop in Mr. Rispoli’s possession has been used daily for recording grades, homework and preparing worksheets.  It was used to create tests, quizzes and study guides.   It is also used daily to research questions the students ask during discussions.  The laptop was used in coordination with the projector to show updates in space science by showing and discussing articles on cnn.com.  A PowerPoint presentation was found on the web on the digestive system will be shown to the students next week.  Also, several video clips from www.unitedstreaming.com were shown to the class on the skeletal system and muscular system.

Michael Warren – Social Studies

The school issued laptop was used to show students pictures and depictions of Ancient Greek art and images of the Greek gods.  The rubrics and instructions for the Marking Period 4 projects were all created using the software that is installed in the laptop computer.  The students also reviewed for the Chapter 11 Test by answering computer generated questions projected onto the screen with visual and audio aids to enhance the production.Daily updates of Mr. Warren’s website, the use of GradeQuick for attendance and grade book updates, and the utilization of Microsoft Word 2007 to make professional looking lesson plans were all capable of being done on the school issued laptop.  The teacher resource CD-ROMS were used to access graphic organizers for the students to use in class and show them maps of the places we are currently learning about.   

Allison Wolf – English

Ms. Wolf has made great use of technology in the past month with her school provided laptop.  The laptop has been used as an instruction, communication, grading, and preparation for class. As an instructional tool, Ms. Wolf has used the laptop to help students in her “Pull out Support” class.  They use the programs and games as a review of material learned in class.  This past month, the laptop was a great source of information in order to enhance the students’ learning experience when understanding the effects of The Holocaust.The laptop continues to be a great source of communication with the parents.  Ms. Wolf is able to communicate quickly with parents about their child.  This is a great tool for a specific response to a question, an update on a grade, or a behavioral issue.  Over the past few months, Ms. Wolf has started to use the “Grade Quick” program on her computer.  This program allows Ms. Wolf to keep record of all of the grades for tests, quizzes, and homework. The program also allows Ms. Wolf to send home computer-generated progress reports to parents to update them throughout the marking period.  In addition, the laptop continues to be used to create all tests, quizzes, and assessments for Ms. Wolf’s classes.  This is a very quick and convenient tool.

 

Euclid School

Math

• Kindergarten is working on addition by counting up.  They are creating addition stories utilizing their lunches.  They are also adding using pictures. They are working on problem solving and creating an addition sentence with illustrations. They are working with tally tables and exploring probability.
• Grade One continues their study of open and closed figures.  They are working with symmetry and identifying and objects turn or slide.  They are reviewing addition and subtraction. 
• Grade Two continues their study of money.  They are working on sharpening their math skills by working quickly and accurately.
• Grade Three is working with mixed numbers and equivalent fractions.  They are working with manipulatives to further understand the concept.  They are comparing and order fractions.  They are reenacting word problems and practicing their mad minutes.
• Grade Four continues to work on division.  They are reviewing their divisibility rules.  They are working with factors and multiples and using arrays and number lines.  They are identifying prime and composite numbers and finding the square roots of given numbers.
• Grade Five is reviewing multiple skills.  They are working on the division of fractions and taking the Chapter 19 test.  They are reviewing percent and decimals.  They continue to complete mixed reviews and work on mad minutes.  They are reviewing the various problem-solving strategies learned this year.  

Science-

• Kindergarten is learning simple about familiar objects as a system of a part.  They are reading about simple machines and experimenting with levees, pulleys, and inclined planes, and wedges. 
• Grade One is working through multiple mini lessons.  They did various experiments on evaporation, the water cycle, and light reflection.  They created oceans in bottles to show erosion.
• Grade Two continues to study our earth’s natural resources.  They completed projects identifying how natural resources change over time.  They will then begin a study of the water cycle and various elements of weather.
• Grade Three is learning about rocks and minerals.  They are studying the various characteristics and creating charts.  
• Grade Four continues their study of the various ecosystems.  They are learning that most living things use energy from the sun to live and grow.  They are categorizing animals according to their appropriate groups like herbivores and carnivores.
• Grade Five is going to begin to work on different types of energy.  They will classify various activities as kinetic or potential.  They will create charts related to light, heat, and sound energy. 

Social Studies-

• Kindergarten is learning about different careers.  They are identifying what each person does.  They are creating charts of different jobs depicting the necessary clothing.  They are reviewing safety while traveling in preparation for their trip.
• Grade One completed their unit that focused on the earth’s natural resources.  The students created posters to emphasize the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling. 
• Grade Two is studying early Americans.  They are reading about our country from long ago.  They are identifying the thirteen original colonies.
• Grade Three is completing their volcano and earthquake reports.  They are learning how to utilize resources to make goods.  They are identifying resources as renewable and nonrenewable.  They are learning how many things are interdependent and count on one another. 
• Grade Four is completing their introduction to the Holocaust by listening to an oral reading of Snow Treasure.
• Grade Five has completed their study of the American Revolution.  They compared and contrasted the geography of the 13 colonies.  They identified the causes of such events as the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts.  They identified significant contributions of individuals associated with this time period and analyzed the causes and effect of the event leading up to the American Revolution as well as afterward.

Language Arts-

• Kindergarten is matching and isolating initial phonemes.  They continue to practice blending their sounds to formulate words.  They are retelling stories and illustrating segment words.  They are matching medial sounds and recording in their daily journals. They are continuing to practice writing their names.
• Grade One is practicing their word building on graph paper.  They are retelling stories identifying the beginning, middle and end.  They are working with describing words.  They are practicing their following of directions and practicing their presentation skills by sharing paragraphs they have written.  Grade Two is working on subject verb agreement. 
• Grade Two is focusing on blending consonants and working with digraphs.  They are working with verbs and improving their picture prompts.  The students are creating problem solution charts and story webs.
• Grade Three is working with adjectives and identifying them in sentences.  They are writing and illustrating stories that contain verbs.  They are practicing their summarization and working on comprehension skills.
• Grade Four continues to work with troublesome homophones through various activities.  They are completing a study of the parts of speech.  They are readdressing the different types of writing they been working on like persuasive pieces, narratives, and picture prompts. 
• Grade Five continues their study of various prefixes.  They are determining their meanings and understanding how they affect the meaning of a word.  They are identifying vocabulary words and working on critical thinking skills through question and answer responses.  They are working with main idea and identifying key details.  They are summarizing magazine articles and creating a health brochure.  They are utilizing the computer to publish various pieces of writing like open-ended essays.

Art –

• Kindergarten is creating flower shapes with watercolors.  They are sculpting animals out of clay and painting them. 
• Grade one is working with crayon resistance. 
• Grade 2 is creating an underwater city with crayon resistance. 
• Grade 3 is working on shading and creating planets. 
• Grade 4 is creating an angle design and
• Grade 5 continues to work with plaster.

Music

• Kindergarten is working on a C-G ensemble.  They are also working on the recognition of a beat through various songs. 
• Grade One is working on a complex rhythm.  They are reinforcing the concept by clapping different types of rhythmic patterns and then transferring those patterns to instruments. 
• Grade Two is working on solo rhythmic patterns and practicing them on melodic instruments.  They are also doing solo and group presentations. 
• Third grade is working on a themed musical script.  They are being assigned speaking parts and learning to do a presentation. 
• Grades Four and Five are working on balance ensembles.  They are from the Latin and African Cultures.  They also continue to prepare for their Spring Concert. 

Physical Education –

• Kindergarten through Grade 2 is preparing for Field Day.  They are developing various motor/loco motor skills by participating in relay activities.  Emphasis is being placed on how relay races are run and specific relay equipment.  They are running, skipping, galloping, and doing a beanbag balance.
• Grades 3-5 are also preparing for field day.  They are learning about running events, field events, and team events.  They are learning how the day is run and choosing their best events to participate in. 

World Language-

• Kindergartners are learning the names of familiar animals and are making posters. Students in first grade are making posters of the four seasons. Second graders are learning the members of a Spanish family and familiar animals.
• Third graders are learning about the names of familiar foods.
• Fourth graders are learning about familiar foods and the Spanish alphabet.
• Fifth graders are learning about Spain and the Spanish speaking countries.

Library/Computers

• Kindergarten is identifying an e-mail as a way to communicate on the Internet.  They are working on lessons in the I-Safe manual.  They are identifying signs of spring in a story and then working with Sammy’s Science House.  They are identifying animals and printing animal pictures. 
• Grade One is identifying and reading e-mails.  They are reading and discussing FBI safety tips. 
• Grade Two is creating a text document with graphics using the formatting tools, borders, and clip art. 
• Grades Three and Four are practicing their keyboarding skills using Type to Learn.  They are working with Windshield Typers and Key Figures. 
• Grade Five is learning to copy and save a graphic from the Internet as well as text. 

Lincoln School -
Mathematics:

• Kindergarten students learned many new skills and concepts in our geometry and fractions chapter, including 2-dimensional shapes, 3-dimensional shapes, symmetry, sides and corners, slides and turns, and equal parts.  We have just begun our chapter on graphing.
• Our first graders are learning about basic geometric figures. 
• The second grade classes reviewed the skills of solving word problems with addition and subtraction with regrouping.  They also reviewed the multiplication tables to five.
• The third grade classrooms are relating fractions to decimals.  This month we have mastered:  writing decimals in tenths, hundredths, and decimals greater than one, and comparing and ordering decimals.  We are currently dividing one, two, and three digit numbers with remainders.
• Fourth graders upon returning from Spring Break, the learners spent some time reviewing the basics of fractions. Reviewing the basics of fractions helped the students take what they already know a step further, as they learn how to add and subtract "unlike fractions." On Monday, May 7th the learners successfully completed a quiz on adding and subtracting "unlike fractions."  In the upcoming weeks of May, the learners will be able to work with Probability as a Fraction using hands-on activities. For example, It's in the Bag, "Fraction Pizza Plates" using Bags, markers, plates, scissors, and teacher-made ditto.  In addition, the learners will continue weekly timed Mad Min Quizzes and Problems of the Week to go along with each topic.
• The fifth graders are reviewing the relationship between percents, fractions and decimals in preparation for the QAAR post test.  They have completed a unit on multiplying and dividing fractions as well as ratios and proportion.

Science:

• Kindergarten students have been learning all about the earth including what makes up the earth, landforms, and ways we can take care of the earth.  In honor of Earth Day, we shared ideas about taking care of the earth including recycling, reusing, and reducing.  We have just begun our chapter on matter.
• Our first graders are studying and the solar system.
• The second graders completed their unit on Sound.  Concepts reviewed included: How sound travels, pitch, and loudness. They also discussed the elements of weather.
• The third