Curriculum and Instruction -
High School –
HISTORY DEPARTMENT -

• Mrs. Lewites’ U.S. History I POR class just completed a unit on the American Revolution and is beginning a section on the Shaping of this New Nation.  We will examine the challenges facing this new nation and see how the American beliefs and principles are reflected in the U.S establishing an effective system of government.  This will lead us to a unit on the American Constitution.  The students will complete this section by creating their own Bill of Rights and Constitution.
• Ms. Golle’s World History classes are studying major world religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.  Graphic organizers were distributed for each religion, and have helped the students to arrange their notes for comparative analysis.  Students completed a group project to differentiate between the religious and cultural elements of various holidays, specifically Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.  Furthermore, students delved into specific characteristics of Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu culture such as the Five Pillars, Hindu gods, the Dalai Lama, and Mediation.  They read a New York Times article that describes the Sunni and Shiites on brink of civil war in Iraq, and were required to distinguish between the two denominations. Following the unit test, students will complete a brief current events assignment to examine various opinions for U.S.-involvement in Iraq. 
• Ms. Cassidy/Mr. Gossman US History I classes completed Chapter 4 on the War for Independence.  Students learned about the growing conflict between Great Britain and the American colonies in order to understand the American Revolution and how it began.  We also discussed the debates in the Continental Congress and increasing tensions in the colonies in 1775-1776 in order to understand why Americans declared independence in spite of their divided loyalties.  We also analyzed the creation of the Declaration of Independence and examined how colonists were forced to choose sides.  Students were able to understand how civilian help led to a major defeat of the British at Saratoga and what colonial life consisted of during the war.  Students took a quiz on the military strengths and weaknesses of the United States and Great Britain.  Lastly, we discussed the southern campaign of the Revolutionary War and the colonists’ maneuvers to reverse British advances that led to an American victory that became a symbol of liberty.    On November 17th, our two classes went on a field trip to New Bridge Landing, located in River Edge, NJ.  We were able to go into the Steuben House to view a collection of artifacts as students got background on how the site served as a Revolutionary War Headquarters to General George Washington.  The trip was an excellent opportunity for our classes to actually see first hand that we had studied.  We are currently studying how the United States Government was formed, including the Articles of Confederation, the drafting of the Constitution, and the eventual ratification of the Constitution, that led to the adoption of the Bill of Rights.
• Ms. Cassidy’s A. P. History class completed the study of the “Era of Good Feelings” and will begin the study of the “Age of Jackson”.  Students continue to write essays, participate in numerous related activities and answer DBQ’s.
• Mr. Warren's U.S. History I students have begun to analyze the formation of the U.S. Constitution including the three branches of the U.S. government and how they function.  This is followed by an in-depth summary of the Bill of Rights and why they were so important to the ratification of the Constitution.  The students will then synthesize their own contemporary Bill of Rights and give an explanation to the importance of each one they create.  Finally, the students will identify and explain the powers the Articles of the Constitution give to each branch of our government.
• Mrs. McGinty’s U.S. History II students are engaged in the study of the Great Depression. They are analyzing the causes and consequences, as well as the futility of President Hoover’s actions to limit the damage. They will end the month with an examination of President Roosevelt’s New Deal legislations and the impact of these policies on the American nation.

Additionally, the honors class will be completing and presenting their Unit II projects this month. They continue  to develop their critical thinking skills with the completion of each document based question assessment.

• Mrs. Marzi’s Psychology class completed the study of the principles of learning and is now studying memory.  In this unit we will be studying learning and various study strategies, using modeling and experiments to show each advantage.  We will then begin the study of intelligence, incorporating multiple intelligences and study strategies for each intelligence style.
• Mrs. Marzi’s Sociology class completed the study of groups and has begun a unit on social class. We are using materials from PBS’s Social Class in America and are also studying social stratification in other cultures. The next topics will be gender roles and the family.
• The Library Media Center was used for photo make-ups and as a polling place on Election Day this month.  Mr. Warren brought in his U.S. History II classes to see the voting machines and witness just what is involved in coming out to vote.

Teachers who brought classes in for research this month were Mrs. McGinty, Ms. Golle, Mrs. Geftic, Mrs. Czekaj, Ms. Perdomo, Ms. Monetti, Mrs. Meyer, Mr. Binazeski, and Ms. Kos.  Additional classes who used the Library were Mr. Pankiewicz’s Journalism students, Mrs. Czekaj’s AP students, Ms. Perdomo’s Spanish students, and Mrs. Ricci’s math students.  Mrs. Geftic’s seniors came in to select novels for book reports.

BUSINESS DEPARTMENT –
FDU Business Idea  Contest- Each of Mr. Ketcho’s  students  completed the beginning of this Microsoft Word Essay:
           The Business Idea consists of the following…
Company Name
Brief Business Concept
Complete Idea – Business Plan
Customers – Target Market
Competitors
Usefulness To Society Overall
Business & Personnel Goals
Mr. Ketcho’s Computer Programming classes – Programming concepts – Comparisons: Using Expressions to Compare Values & Making Your Computer Do Something: Writing Your First Procedure. Lesson 5: Using Branching & Recursion & Lesson 6: Object Oriented Programming Fundamentals. The eight steps to the interviewing process were examined.
Mr. Ketcho’s Accounting I classes- Finished Chapter 3 – Analyzing Transactions into Debit & Credit Parts. Tests, study guide quiz, work together problems, on your own problems, and homework assignments covered. Began Chapter 4 – Journalizing Transactions. In addition, the eight steps to the interviewing process were covered.
Mr. Ketcho’s Automated Accounting II classes – Chapter 3 – GL – End of Fiscal Period for a Service Business and Bank Reconciliation was completed and Chapter 4 – Purchases and Cash Payments was started.
Mr. Ketcho’s Life Management classes – Finished Chapter 3 – “Managing Family Life” – understanding a person’s life cycle and different family structures were covered. We also began Chapter 6 – Planning for Work. Reasons and why one works along with steps to finding a job were discussed. The eight steps to the interviewing process were reviewed.
Mr. Ketcho’s Word Processing I and II classes - Finished101 Spreadsheet Exercises –     Exercise#53 to #101. We also began 101 Word Processing Exercises.
Mr. Ketcho’s Computer Applications 9 Cycle - Century 21 – Back To Basics Keyboarding p. 27-48 were completed. Encore – A Keyboarding Simulation Jobs #1 - #12 were also done.
The Fall 2006 Stock Market Game – Hasbrouck Heights High School and Middle School students are doing fabulously in the Fall ’06 competition. Our schools are excelling against sixteen hundred other schools through out the state of New Jersey.  Ten Hasbrouck Heights high school students are in the lead.  Seven middle school students are leading in their division.

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT -

• Mr. Binazeski’s physical science classes worked on a global warming project that will be presented to the school via PowerPoint presentations in January as well as learned about renewable energy resources. The class is currently working on map making techniques as well as learning how weathering and erosion occur and assist in the development of streams and rivers
• Mr. Binazeski’s Environmental Science class presented a PowerPoint presentation on various Environmental Legislation. The students have been learning about ecosystems and biodiversity. A HSPA review is being started with emphasis on Chemistry this month.
• Mrs. Hicswa’s  Biology classes have just completed their study of the cell.  They have taken part in a lab activity in which various cell types are observed, cell parts are identified, and staining techniques are developed.  The students were required to construct 3D models of either the plant or the animal cell.  Projects will be on display in the Media Center.  For extra credit, many students baked cakes or brownies.  They then decorated the cake/brownies with different color icings and/or candy to represent the cell parts.  The classes are presently completing the topics of cell transport and cell reproduction.  In addition to these topics, the Honors Biology class studied photosynthesis and cell respiration.  They will be constructing illustrations of photosynthesis using cartoon comic, etc. characters.
• Mr. Pignatiello’s chemistry classes are currently working on stoichiometric problems.  They are also learning how to convert percent composition to empirical formulas.  The chemistry honors class has just completed limiting reagents and how they play an important role in determining the correct amounts of chemicals to use with a small amount of excess or waste.  The AP chemistry class is working on thermochemistry.  They have just worked out many Hess’s law problems and will be diving into heats of reaction, combustion, solution, and formation.  The AP students are also getting ready for a trip next Friday to the Mutter and the Franklin museums in Philadelphia.
• Mr. Stine’s Physics classes are completing a series of labs involving torque, Hookes law, and simple harmonic motion. The study of these topics will conclude with a quiz on 12/6/06.
• Mrs. Stoehs' Biology students finished their study of cell parts with the annual "cell project". They created 3D cells containing 24 parts in correct number and proportion. Some students also showed their creativity by making cakes using edible treats to be shared by all.

MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT -

• Mr. Aldea's AP Calculus class is finishing Chapter 4 on applications of derivatives during the first two weeks of December. The class will then be introduced to integration in Chapter 5.
• Mr. Aldea's Calculus class is studying derivatives in Chapter 3.
• Mr. Aldea's Honors Algebra II class will be working on quadratic equations and parabolas. The class has also started HSPA Cluster III on Probability.
• Mr. Aldea's Foundations of Advanced Math class will be finishing their study of functions during the first week of December. The class will then move on to an extensive study of calculating by means of exponents to base 10.
• Mrs. Healey’s Precalculus classes are learning to apply their knowledge of exponents to logarithms.  In Section 4 the students will learn the applications of exponential and logarithmic functions. 
• Mrs. Healey’s HSPA 11 class has begun Cluster III which focuses on probability and statistics
• Mr. Heller’s Geometry classes have expanded their study of triangles, focusing on the relationships between sides and angles, both within individual triangles and across multiple triangles.  Students have been learning and proving a variety of theorems and formulas associated with these relationships.  Classroom exercises have included group discussions in problem solving and developing proofs, and a variety of drawing exercises to help compare and contrast new terminology, such as altitudes, medians, and bisectors. 
• Mr. Heller's HSPA Math 9 class has studied how to evaluate inequalities, algebraic expressions, and how to solve equations and word problems with variables.  The class has demonstrated its understanding of problem solving approaches by responding to numerous practice problems and employing self-checking techniques. 
• Mr. Heller’s HSPA Math 10 class been studying three-dimensional shapes and how to calculate their surface area and volume.  Classroom exercises have included numerous drawings and sketches to confirm the students' understanding of the terminology and patterns involved.
• Mrs. Marano's Fundamentals of Advanced Mathematics class has continued working on review of skills needed for college placement exams. Students are sharpening their skills on percents and fraction-decimal equivalents. Word problems with percents will be the next area to be covered. 
• Mrs. Marano's HSPA 11 class is currently working on Cluster III—Probability. 
• Mrs. Marano's HSPA 12 class is continuing work on the SRA process.
• Mrs. Michaeli’s Algebra 2 classes learned how to solve systems of linear equations by graphing, substitution, and linear combinations. They used systems of equations to solve word problems and they sketched the graphs of linear inequalities. Students also reviewed HSPA problems involving cluster 2.
• Mr. Monks’ Fundamentals of Geometry class is currently working in Chapter 6 identifying polygons and using properties of parallelograms to calculate missing measurements.
• Mr. Monks’ Algebra I class finished their work in Chapter 3 and are beginning to examine several techniques to graph lines on the coordinate plane. 
• Mr. Monks’ Geometry class is currently working in Chapter 3 which focuses on several methods to proving triangles congruent and using congruent triangles to show other congruencies.
• Mr. Monks’ HPSA 9 class worked through several types of percentage problems and is continuing to examine ways to translate phrases from word problems into mathematical expressions.
• Mrs. O’Brien’s Algebra I and Fundamentals of Algebra I finished their work in Chapter 3 and are beginning to examine several techniques to graph lines on the coordinate plane.
• Mrs. O’Brien’s Fundamentals of Algebra II class is learning how to sketch the graph of a line using a table of values,  using intercepts and using slope and y intercept.  They will also be writing equations of lines.
• Mrs. Stoehs ' geometry class has been working on properties of triangles. Students used string of varying lengths to form triangles. They learned only certain lengths worked and how to determine which ones would create triangles.
• Mrs. Stoehs' Algebra students have been working with multi-step equations and like terms. They will now use their skills to solve word problems.
• Mrs. Marano's Computer Applications I class has been working with Excel spreadsheets and data manipulation. Recently students have learned to create an columnar order form with shaded columns and oriented text. Students are currently working on creating Forms using Microsoft Word.
• Mrs. Marano's Computer Applications II class worked on the same projects with the Computer Applications I class.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT –

• Mrs. Fernandes’s Genre & Critical Issues students are viewing films from the war genre.  They began the   genre with the classic war film The Bridge on the River Kwai.  Students will also be enjoying holiday film favorites when we approach the winter holiday season.
• Mrs. Fernandes’s HSPA English 10 students continue to sharpen their HSPA skills by concentrating on reading comprehension.  The students will complete a project that explores the persuasive techniques of advertisements.
• Mrs. Fernandes’s HSPA English 11 students are preparing for the HSPA exam by concentrating on reading comprehension and open-ended questions.  The class is reading various essays and questioning author’s intent.  The students will complete a project that explores the persuasive techniques of advertisements.
• Mr. Smith’s English 9 classes have concluded their study of the short story genre by examining the symbolism and theme in The Scarlet Ibis.  Next, we will spend roughly 4 weeks on our study of plot, characterization, and theme in Steinbeck’s The Pearl.
• Mr. Smith’s HSPA English 10 class continues to prepare for the Language Arts portion of the HSPA by completing daily exercises in reading and writing. Recently, time and attention has been given to speculative writing and how to approach/plan out a picture prompt. This was a review of what we’ve previously been working on. We will soon be working on a project dealing with persuasion as used in the Bergen Record.
• Mrs. Czekaj’s English 10 classes have finished reading and performing The Crucible in class.  Students are demonstrating comprehension of the play by comparing the performances of three main characters in the movie version to their expectations based on their classmates’ interpretations by writing a HSPA-style timed essay in class.
• Mrs. Czekaj’s AP English 12 class compiled autobiographical portfolios and presented them to the class.  They are now reading Hamlet, practicing the close reading skills so vital for the AP test and college-level work.
• Mrs. Czekaj’s Shakespeare H classes have finished reading the comedy Much Ado About Nothing and are working in small Acting Companies to edit, stage, and perform a short scene from the play, selected by the group.
• Mrs. Geftic’s Journalism students are currently working on the second edition of the Pilot’s Log.  This issue will feature in-depth articles on the impact of advertisements and how marketers target teenagers.  Other articles of note focus on two recent immigrants in our school, the refurbishing of Depken Field, and important facts about how to get help for depression and suicidal thoughts.
• Mrs. Geftic’s English 12 students are currently reading Oedipus Rex.  This shocking play includes king-killing, father-murdering, suicide, and public disgrace.  Besides acting out the play, the students discussed such themes as the power of unwritten law, the willingness to ignore the truth, and the limits of free will.  As a culminating activity, students will write a modern version of Oedipus which they will perform in class.
• Miss Venneman’s HSPA 9 students are preparing for the HSPA exam by enriching their essay writing skills with details that appeal to the senses.  Students are focusing on descriptive and narrative essays.  Students are also continuing to practice Latin-root vocabulary.
• Mr. Van Dam’s English 11/British Literature classes have completed their Anglo-Saxon poetry unit and are beginning to study the Arthurian legend.  Various sources, including Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte D’arthur, will be utilized in this study and the focus will be on evaluating the changes in social values that occurred during the transition between a warrior society and feudalism.
• Mr. Van Dam’s English 11-Honors/British Literature class is currently sharing group presentations that are evaluating the content and themes developed in John Gardner’s Grendel.  Following the presentations and the ensuing assessments, the students will begin a mini-unit on Anglo-Saxon poetry.
• Mr. Van Dam’s English 12/World Literature class continues to study Homer’s epic The Odyssey.  Individual students are leading the class in discussing the significant characters, conflicts, and themes that are developed in this classic poem. 
• Mr. Van Dam’s English 12-Honors/World Literature class is completing their final essays on an evaluation of the modern relevance of the themes that are developed in the epic of Gilgamesh.  The class will begin to read Homer’s The Odyssey and compare the themes and values developed by the Sumerians with those of the Greeks.
• Mr. Van Dam’s English 12 SRA class has started their third PAT task.  The task requires the students to read and respond to a persuasive article. 
• Ms. Kos’ English 9 classes are finishing a biography unit in which they read the book Night by Eli Weisel. Students appreciated the honest chronicle of a young Holocaust victim and wrote numerous reader response journals in which they examined their own responses and emotions as a result of the book. They are currently working on papers to conclude the unit and will view the Italian film, Life is Beautiful, sometime before the holiday break.
• Ms. Kos’ English 10 class is continuing their work on The Crucible. Students are reading the play aloud in parts and seem to be enjoying the process. In this unit, historical context is being emphasized and their work in their history class is timed to provide a multi-disciplinary approach to this period in history.
• Ms. Kos’ English 11 class is reading William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, and is doing a number of supplementary activities aimed at enhancing their understanding of some of the larger cultural/social and psychological questions posed by the book. This class also continues to devote a good deal of time to preparing for the HSPA exam, which they will take this spring.
• Ms. Kos’ English 12 class recently completed their reading of Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. At its completion, they watched the film version starring Gregory Peck. Their culminating assignment involved writing a “preface” to the book (for other students) in which they provided historical and biographical information. They will begin reading Maya Angelou’s autobiographical novel; I know Why the Caged Bird Sings,this month. Again, themes of racial identity and cultural forces will be explored.
• Mr. Pankiewicz’s English 10 and English 10 Honors classes completed their study on Miller’s The Crucible by constructing group presentations on various elements of the play.  The students were issued a group presentation rubric to be used to create an effective presentation.  The group presentation served as additional review for their open-ended unit test.
• Mr. Pankiewicz’s journalism classes viewed the journalism program’s featured episode on NJN’s “Classroom-Closeup, NJ”.  After completing articles for submission to the Pilot’s Log, students created informational charts, graphs, and lists to be used as sidebars for their articles.  Currently, the students are working on opinion writing as “Letters to the Editor.”
• Mrs. Meyer’s English 9 class has just finished their short story unit and is beginning their study of John Steinbeck’s The Pearl.  With each unit they expand their vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing skills.
• Mrs. Meyer’s English 9 Honors class has been working on the structure of the English language reviewing the parts of speech and practicing composing more advanced complex sentences.  When they return to literature, they will study John Steinbeck’s The Pearl.
• Ms. Monetti’s Genre & Critical Issues classes are in the middle of the action genre.  We started with The Matrix (1999), and are now going back to the early 1980’s with our viewing of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.   
• Ms. Monetti’s English 10 classes are in the process of reading and analyzing Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible.  Students are doing a great job with the early American dialect while we read out loud in class.  We have just finished the first act and are about to take our second quiz.
• Ms. Monetti’s English 11 classes have been working on Anglo-Saxon riddles, SAT vocabulary, and strategizing to write better persuasive essays and letters.  We had a lesson on interpreting the NJ Holistic Scoring Rubric after writing a persuasive letter supporting or opposing removing The Epic of Beowulf from the curriculum(of course it’s make believe, but most students wished it wasn’t).  Nevertheless, we viewed and discussed the rubric and how students’ can improve their writing. Our next unit is The Arthurian Legend.
• Mrs. Schnneeweiss' Communications and Drama classes are currently finishing their original children's stories for Tomorrow's Children at Hackensack Hospital. The Drama class is going to see Annie at the Madison Square Garden Theater on December 14th.

ART DEPARTMENT -

• Mrs. Reed’s drawing classes have completed their stipple drawings where students used dots to create images.  The class has learned about blind and modified contour drawing and has created drawings in these styles.  Presently students are working on a colored pencil project where they create half of a magazine photo in colored pencils, students learned how to create tones and shades with the use of colored pencils.
• Mrs. Reed’s graphic design class has created transformation drawing, where they took an art supply and transformed it into another image with a total different meaning.  Students then created backgrounds for their images to complete the project.  Presently students are working on creative 3D menu designs.  Students are using the three design elements and what they have learned about layouts to create an interesting design.
• Mrs. Kritzer’s Advanced Art class did a self portrait using nine small pieces.  The students had to do their self portrait in the style of nine different artists.
• Mrs. Kritzer’s drawing classes have completed their colored pencil unit.  They are beginning a marker unit in which the students will portray a video game character in bold colors.  The students will learn how to manipulate the marker as a true comic artist does.
• Mrs.Kritzer’s Student Council have adopted a family for Christmas.  They’re a needy family provided by The Tomorrow’s Children Fund,  The students are collecting money and gifts for the family.  The monies collected from the spirit week penny war will provide a food gift card for their holiday dinner.
• Mrs. Brinker’s Leadership class has been working hard to put together the final details for the Senior Luncheon to be held at The Landmark on December 20th.  These seniors have been learning how to organize table arrangements and plan an event.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION / HEALTH EDUCATION -

• Grades 9 – 12 All classes are participating in a volleyball unit, drills and games. The students are also using the fitness center.
• Ms. Gaccione’s 9th grade health class has finished the unit on nutrition and injury prevention. The next unit began last week on alcohol and stimulants.  Tobacco use will be covered also.
• Mr. Delcalzo and Mr.Tessaro’s driver education classes had Lieutenant Mullins speak to the classes on the DWI laws. He also demonstrated the drunken driving goggles. The students had a chance to put them on to see how it would be if they were drinking.
• On December 1, 2006 was AIDS awareness day.  Kenese Robinson from the health department spoke to the classes about HIV/AIDS prevention. Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Kolich collected money from the faculty to wear red on that day and made a donation to Broadway House Continuing Care in Newark.

INDUSTRIAL ART DEPARTMENT -

• Mr. Masucci’s. His classes are continuing to make lamps.

WORLD LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT -

• Mrs. Cafferty’s Spanish III class is learning about traveling through the jungle and describing that adventure. The students discussed different professions that relate to exploring.
• Mrs. Squillace’s Spanish I class is learning how to conjugate the –ir and –er verbs. They will be able to express obligation using phrases to express time and school schedules
• Mrs. Carr’s Spanish II class are using spelling competition as a way to review last year’s vocabulary while the Spanish IV class finished reading a short story and developed a show and tell on the story.
• Mrs. Carr’s Spanish V class prepared a presentation about prejudice and stereotyping by interviewing people. One group made a video while another made posters and talked about their country of origin and their experiences.
• Ms. Perdomo’s Spanish I class have been learning how to use the verb “tener” together with adverbs to say how often they do things. Talking about time, weather, and school related vocabulary was also discussed in class.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT –

• Mr. Ascolese reports that the concert and jazz bands are rehearsing in the evening for the upcoming holiday concert on December 20, 2006.
• Mr. McCarthy reports that the choral classes have worked on breathing, voice placement, voice production, extending range and power, sol feggio, and intervals in preparation for the holiday concert program.
• Mr. Taylor has continued practicing the material that Mr. McCarthy started including Silent Night, Auld Lang Syne, and O Holy Night as well as the pops sing-along with the concert band.   

USE OF LAPTOP -

• Mrs. McGinty utilized the LCD and The Americans software; students participated in a PowerPoint review focusing on the key terms and concepts of the materials covered in class.
• Mr. Ketcho utilizes the laptop computer for all class work.  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 to communicate with students, parents, and teachers via email.  Excel and Word is used to create necessary periodic reports and testing materials for the department.
• 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:  The laptop was used in biology to explore various websites on the cell.
• Mrs. Geftic used the laptop computer to show journalism students the video of Classroom Close-up as well as various newspaper design samples.  In addition, the laptop was used in English 12 to enhance a lesson on Greek music.
• Mr. Pankiewicz used the laptop computer to complete Pilot’s Log layout and design.  The computer was also used as a research tool in creative writing and English classes.  Additionally, the computer was used to write multiple college recommendations.
• Mrs. Schneeweiss and class are using the laptop to write college letters of recommendation, search for information on children’s stories and to type the program for the middle level play.  Students have also used the laptop to apply to colleges online.

MIDDLE SCHOOL-
MATHMATICS DEPARTMENT

• Miss Keller’s 6th grade mainstream Geometry classes will be identifying congruent and similar figures.  Next, the students will be able to determine whether a figure has line symmetry as well as be able to complete figures using their line symmetry.  The classes will then begin to investigate circles.  Next our attention will focus on slides, flips and turns.  In this section, the students will learn what happens to figures when they are translated and reflected over a line.  We will also explore what happens to figures when they are rotated around a certain point.  The students will be able to draw figures after they have been translated and rotated.  After the students have completed a test, they will learn how to estimate area using grid paper.
• Miss Keller’s 6th grade accelerated Geometry class will learn how to find and construct bisectors.  The students will begin to investigate circle graphs, learn how to read and interpret them, as well as create their own graphs.  Next, the class will begin to explore congruent triangles.  During this section, the students will be able to determine whether or not figures are congruent based on their side lengths and angle measures.  The class will investigate polygons and quadrilaterals, identifying them based on the number of sides they have.  Next, they will learn how to classify quadrilaterals based on different characteristics.  Once the students have a good understanding of polygons and quadrilaterals, they will move on to finding the area of parallelograms and then finding the area of triangles. 
• Miss Keller is impressed with the students’ progress so far this year.  She is determined to keep the students focused and on track throughout the course of the month. 
• Miss DiPiano’s 6th grade Algebra classes have been busy investigating fractions. They are learning to estimate fractions by rounding to the nearest whole number and to one-half.  They are also learning to add and subtract fractions with like and unlike denominators.  Students also will learn how to use equivalent fractions.  The students have also completed Cluster I B of the Gepa Packets and will soon be completing Cluster I A.  By the end of the month the students will complete a pie calculator project.  This will be a tactile teaching tool to help demonstrate fraction relationships and mixed numbers using concrete models. 
• Miss DiPiano’s6th grade accelerated Algebra students are busy investigating fractions.  They are learning how to model fractions, finding equivalent fractions, and use least common multiple to compare and order fractions.  The students are becoming more comfortable using pattern blocks and fraction bars to display different types of fractions.  They are eager to complete the rest of Chapter 4 to learn about exponents, prime factorization, and working with fractions as decimals. 
• Miss DiPiano’s webpage at teacherweb.com is proving to be a great tool for the students.  They use the site daily to check homework, update notes, and to complete extra practice on the topics they are learning in class.
• Mrs. Caputo’s 7th grade mainstream algebra classes are completing Chapter Three, Integers and Equations.  We will continue to master writing two-step equations.  We will then continue with Fractions and Number theory, Chapter Four.  The 7th graders are currently preparing to take their first Gepa quiz on cluster I.
• Mrs. Caputo’s 7th grade accelerated algebra class is working with Chapter Three, Equations and Inequalities.  After the chapter test we will continue with Chapter Four, Graphing in the Coordinate Plane.  The 7th graders are currently preparing to take their first Gepa quiz on Cluster I.
• Mr. Sickels’ 7th grade geometry mainstream students are currently in the process of completing Chapter Seven, Investigating Geometry.  We will then continue with Chapter Eight, Geometry and Measurement.  In this chapter we will study area.  The 7th graders are currently working on Gepa cluster II B, which will be collected on December 15. 
• Mr. Sickels’ 7th grade geometry accelerated class is currently completing Chapter Eight, Patterns in Geometry.  We then continue with Chapter Nine, Geometry and Measurement.  In this chapter the students will learn about three-dimensional figures, surface area, and volume.  The 7th graders are currently working on Gepa Cluster II B, which will be collected on December 15. 
• Mr. Mastropietro’s 8th grade geometry classes are working on Chapter 6, Applications of Proportions.  Chapter 9 will address Geometry and Measurement.  The students will finish the Cluster 2 Gepa Packets followed by the Cluster 3 Gepa Packets. 
• Mr. Mastropietro’s 8th grade honors topics class will finish Chapter 12 on Probability.  Next we will be working on Chapter 14, Surface Area and Volume.  The students will finish the Cluster 2 Gepa Packets followed by the Cluster 3 Gepa Packets.
• Mrs. Dunne’s 8th grade Algebra I class has completed Chapter 3, equations, and will be tested on 12/6.  The class will begin Chapter 4, graphing linear equations.  
• Mrs. Dunne’s Math 8 classes are using the four operations with rational numbers.

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT-

• Mr. Rispoli’s 6th grade science classes the students are preparing for their trip to the Buehler Challenger and Science Center. They began by fill out job applications.  They read the skills needed for each job.  Each student then chose the job they felt they were most qualified for.  After each student was assigned to a team, the teams started their Buehler activities.  The activities include, but are not limited to, plotting coordinates, testing reflexes, finding pulses, learning about the light spectrum, building circuits, collecting and analyzing data, and learning about space flight and space missions.  The field trip to Buehler will be on Dec. 20th and Dec. 21st.
• Mrs. Toy’s 7th grade science class has begun the criminal justice unit.  They will be learning about DNA and how it is used to solve crime investigations. 
• Mr. Cassiere’s  8th grade science students are examining the properties of substances and their potentials for change.  They will conduct several experiments illustrating how matter changes and the various phases of matter.  These experiments will parallel chapters 8 and 9. 

ART DEPARTMENT-

• Mrs. Brinker’s Art 6 cycle class

Cycle 6 Art Class has been working on paintings on canvas, learning how to blend and mix colors to create “planet landscapes.”  Paintings will be displayed in Mr. Rispoli’s science room when they are completed.

• Mrs. Kritzer’s Cycle 7 Art is studying Michelangelo. The students have made foil figures showing movement.  The students will cover the sculptures in plaster of paris strips.  Cycle 8 Art are doing watercolor self portraits.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION-

• 6th, 7th and 8th grade classes are participating in an in volleyball unit. They are doing drills and learning the game.

HEALTH-

• Ms. Gaccione’s Health class is finishing up the CPR unit.  Students have been demonstrating skills in adult and child CPR.  Students will be able to practice skills while watching the video by the American Heart Association.
• Mr. Delcalzo’s Health class is working on communicating skills how to say know to negative peer pressure.
• Mrs. Miller’s/Mr. Ciappina (student teacher) 6-grade health class is working on drug and alcohol unit. The unit deals with facts about drugs and tobacco how kids can get addicted and treatment for their addiction.They taught the kids technique on how to say no.

SOCIAL STUDIES-

• Ms. Wallace’s sixth grade Social Studies classes are presently studying Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.  Students played review games using the website Classzone.com that is presented by the publisher of the textbook.  Flash Card games and review Jeopardy are also played on the PowerPoint CD’s. 
• Students in Mrs. Gay's Social Studies 7 classes adopted the persona of either a Patriot or a Loyalist in the American colonies during the 1770's.  They created political flyers or penned letters to the editor of the "Colonial Times" in an attempt to convince their fellow citizens to support the Second Continental Congress in fighting for independence, or to remain steadfast and loyal to the British crown. Some of the student work is displayed in the Middle Level hallway.
• Mrs. Rucci/Mr. Gossman

Upon finishing the test about the American Revolution, students reviewed the facets of the new government.  They learned how all of the compromises and foresight in the design of the Constitution allowed our government to be organized and successful.  We also discussed the rights and responsibilities of citizens.  They found out that even as eighth graders there are many ways to contribute to the good of the community.  We have continued in the text book with the highlights of the first four presidential administrations.  In the Junior Scholastic magazine there were articles about North Korea becoming a  nuclear country, peaceful but strict philosophies in Madrasa’s (Islamic schools), and some of our most impacting Supreme Court cases.
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT -

• Mr. Sicilian’s English 8 classes are continuing work on vocabulary development units, revising and editing units with special focus on sentence construction, and sentence/paragraph writing with emphasis on strong word choice. Several 8th grade students are to be commended for their selection as winners of the VFW Patriots Pen Essay contest sponsored by the Hasbrouck Heights VFW. Tiffany Amaruita won first place and Maggie Biedenkapp was awarded second. Tiffany has now won in back to back years.
• Mr. Sicilian’s 8th Grade Honors students are continuing work on the middle school morning show, will be working on the PSA contest sponsored by the NJ Partnership for a Drug Free America, and will begin work on resume/autobiography project.
• Mr. Stillman’s Literature 8 & Literature 8 Honors classes have begun their study of Edgar Allan Poe by participating in an interactive PowerPoint presentation on his life and works. After viewing the A&E Biography on his life, the classes will go their separate ways by studying different stories that are appropriate for each class. The Honors class is continuing their work on Good Morning Middle School and hopes to have the first episode air within the school before the end of December.
• Ms. Wolf’s sixth graders Over the past month, have been busy continuing their unit on grammar. They are currently half-way through the “Parts of Speech” unit.  The students have learned several study techniques to identify the parts of speech including a song for the Helping Verbs.  This unit will conclude within the next couple of weeks with a group project for all of the classes.

In addition to grammar, 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.   The students have also continued to broaden their vocabulary with daily words and bi-weekly spelling units.

• Mrs. Rowland’s 7th grade English students are studying varied sentence structure.  In addition students will be working on imagery and enhancing skills in writing.  These skills will be utilized in the black and white picture prompt.
• Mr. Colangelo’s 6th grade Study Skills class will continue to work out of their Study Skills workbook, You Can Take Charge.  Accurate note taking is an important part of this class.
• Mr. Colangelo’s 7th grade Creative Writing class will continue writing in various styles.  They have completed journal writing, autobiographies, and movie reviews.  They will conclude the cycle by writing stories without endings and newspaper articles.
• Mr. Colangelo’s 7th grade Literature classes will continue reading The River.  They will follow the adventures of Brian Robison (Hatchet) as he tries to survive in the wilderness for a second time.  There will be an emphasis on vocabulary during the reading of The River.
• Mr. Colangelo’s 8th grade Literature class will begin their reading of Edgar Allan Poe.  They will be reading three short stories which include:  The Tell-Tale Heart, Black Cat andThe Fall of the House of Usher.  There will be an emphasis on vocabulary during the reading of these stories. 
• Miss Venneman’s Literature 7 classes are exploring themes present in The River.  Students will identify with the idea of survival and coming-of-age as themes present in The River. This will help students relate to and better understand the main character as well as reflect on real life thoughts and experiences.
• Ms. Dolan’s literature classes have been busy reading The Giver by Lois Lowry.  In this futuristic novel, the students are exploring what must be given up in order to have a perfect society.  The students will be taking their final test for The Giver on December 18, 2006. 
• Ms. Dolan’s literature classes have also been busy preparing for the NJ ASK test.  The students study a specific reading skill each Tuesday, and their writing folders are getting quite thick.  The students have been studying skills such as compare and contrast, distinguishing fact from opinion, and studying characterization.

FOREIGN LANGUAGES-

• Ms. Perdomo’s sixth grade Spanish cycle have been learning to put together the vocabulary and phrases they’ve learned in order to write basic dialogs that include questions they ask when they meet someone like name, age, origin, likes and dislikes in Spanish. They also have been practicing useful phrases on a daily basis.
• Ms. Perdomo’s seventh grade Spanish cycle are learning the vocabulary to describe what is in their room. Students are also learning about Mexico by making a piñata, masks, and different accessories for the fiesta to end the cycle on December 22nd.
• Mrs. Cafferty’s eighth grade Spanish cycle are creating brochures on a South American country to persuade their classmates to take their vacations there.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT-

•  Ms. Moroney continues to rehearse the sixth and seventh grade bands (instrumental cycle) for the holiday concert on December 20. They are also doing some sight reading for the pops concert and are working on group sound, blend, and balance. They have added G Concert and D Concert to their list of scales to master this month.
• Mr. McCarthy’s 6th grade vocal cycle class has completed work on voice production, breathing, voice placement, songs, and carols.
• Mr. McCarthy’s 7th grade vocal cycle continues work on voice and songs and carols.
• Mr. Taylor reports that the sixth grade vocal cycle is learning the music for the holiday concert including Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
• Mr. McCarthy At the end of all cycles, reports that students will have the opportunity to sing solos for extra credit

 6th Grade Technology Pilot Program

Sixth Grade Team

The Sixth Grade Team is please with the new grading program that has been installed on some of their computers.  With this new program, some of the teachers have begun sending home comprehensive progress reports, which will allow parents to see how their child is doing in each subject.  We are anxious to have this program installed on every sixth grade computer. 

Michelle DiPiano – Math

Weekly quizzes, tests, and worksheets are created using Microsoft Word and the Prentice Hall Computer Item Generator CD.  Grades and homework assignments are entered daily using Microsoft Excel.  Grades have also been transferred to the new Gradequick Program.

Students in Miss DiPiano’s Algebra classes have been busy investigating fractions.  Fractions have been references at illuminations.nctm.org.  The fraction lesson is accessible on Miss DiPiano’s webpage.  This tool explores several representations for fractions using adjustable numerators and denominators. You can see decimal and percent equivalents, as well as a model that represents the fraction.  The students really enjoy the site and they say that it really helps to understand fractions.

Miss DiPiano’s webpage at teacherweb.com is a great tool for the students.  They use the site daily to check homework, update notes, and to complete extra practice on the topics they are learning in class.  Miss DiPiano has received a lot of feedback from both students and parents who are very happy with the site.

 

Karen Dolan – Literature

This month, GradeQuick was installed in Ms. Dolan’s computer.  This grading program keeps a running grade for all of the students.  It also allows an easy way to send progress reports to the parents, more comprehensive to an “S” or a “U.”  The first wave of progress reports were sent home with the students on December 1, 2006 and the parents were happy to see their student’s progress. 

Additionally, Ms. Dolan continues to use the computer for all administrative activities associated with her position as a teacher.  This includes, but is not limited to grading, creation of test and quizzes, internet research to assist with her lessons, and, most importantly, communication with the parents. 

Finally, as technology liaison, Ms. Dolan once again met with Mr. Luongo to address the concerns that the Sixth Grade Team has with the installation of Gradequick and Edline on the sixth grade computers. 
Michelle Keller - Math

During the month of December Miss Keller will use her laptop in multiple ways.  Each week when planning her lessons she uses excel to set up and organize her lesson plans.  By writing her lesson plans electronically, she feels it is easier to alter lesson plans during the week if necessary.  She will also use her laptop to create quizzes and tests, as well as worksheets given to the students as class work and as homework.  Instead of using a traditional grade book, Miss Keller uses Microsoft Excel to input and store her grades.  By using Microsoft Excel for her grade book, it is easy for Miss Keller Having internet access on the laptop allows Miss Keller to research math websites that contain examples and lesson plan ideas that she can use in her classroom.  

David Rispoli – Science

The laptop in Mr. Rispoli’s possession has been used daily for recording grades, homework and preparing worksheets.  It has also been setup daily to display a countdown for liftoff at Buehler.  The Buehler website has a countdown of the days, hours, minutes and seconds until liftoff, just like NASA uses for their launches.  The students have been very excited by this.  The website has also been used to help prepare the students for the trip.  Individual teams have used the laptop for research to gather information about comets.  Other teams have used the laptop to research and gather information about planets and their satellites.

The laptop was used with the projector to teach the students about Edmund Halley and Halley’s comet.  The students could see the parts of the comet, the path the comet, the shape of the comet’s orbit and actual photos of the comet.  Grade Quick was installed on my computer.  I entered the names for each period and am in the process of transferring second marking period grades into the program.

Candace Wallace – Social Studies

Ms. Wallace’s sixth grade Social Studies classes are presently studying Ancient
Egypt and other lands of the Mesopotamia.  Students play review games using the website Classzone.com that is presented by the publisher of the textbook.  Flash Card games and review Jeopardy are also played on the PowerPoint CD’s.  Although Gradebook is not yet loaded onto the Social Studies laptop, Mrs. Wallace utilizes the templates she created in Microsoft Excel and presented to teachers of the twelve school districts in a Professional Development workshop for the South Bergen Jointure Commission in the Fall.

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 show power point presentations for review of material learned in class.  She has also used the software on the laptop with smaller groups of students during after-school help and pull-out support.

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 two weeks, Ms. Wolf has started to use the recently added “Grade Quick” program on her computer.  This program allows Ms. Wolf to keep record of all of the grades for tests, quizzes, and homework. It was a quick and easy tool during conferences with the parents. In addition, the laptop continues to be used to create all tests, quizzes, and assessments for Ms. Wolf’s classes. 

 

Euclid School –
Math-
Kindergarten is exploring the concept of a whole, a half and a fourth.  They are also reviewing shapes.  They are recognizing slides and turns and working with flipping objects.
Grade 1 is working with sorting and classifying objects.  They are creating and comparing bar graphs and picture graphs.  They are making a table by using tally marks. 
Grade 2 is using the strategy “Use a Model” to solve problems.  They continue working on addition with regrouping of tens and ones.  They are completing test preparation activities for the Terra Nova Tests this spring.
Grade 3 is telling time to the nearest minute.  They are writing times correctly distinguishing between am and pm.  They are working with elapsed time and formulating a schedule.
Grade 4 is working with the problem solving strategy of predict and test.  They continue their study of division as well as a review of previously learned skills.  They are using place value to estimate the quotient in various equations.  They continue to practice their mad minutes in the areas of multiplication and division.
Grade 5 is working on division.  They are dividing two and three digit numbers by two numbers with and without remainders.  They are continuing their timed tests on multiplication and division.  They are working on various problem-solving strategies involving multiplication and division. 

Science-

Kindergarten is continuing their study of how things move.  They are distinguishing the difference between fast and slow through listening activities and role-playing.
Grade 1 is completing their study of the various habitats.  They created flipbooks showing the characteristics of the desert, ocean, wetlands, and forest.
Grade 2 is learning about tall tale heroes and their place in history.  Stories have been read about Johnny AppleSeed.  Students are involved in oral readings and activities tying social studies to science involving seeds and planting.
Grade 3 is identifying the components of an ecosystem.  They are describing its characteristics and explaining its interactive needs. They are creating charts of the various ecosystems and orally presenting information.  Grade 4 and 5 do not have science this marking period.

Social Studies-

Kindergarten is continuing their study of the December holidays celebrated around the world. 
Grade 1 is reading multiple holiday stories related to Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.  They are class stories about the holidays they are studying.
Grade 2 is focusing on the roles of producers and consumers.  They are completing various activities to reinforce these concepts. In addition, they continue to study landforms.

Grade 3 is focusing on the importance of currency within a society.  They are discussing the uses of money in daily life and working with money to simulate real life situations.  They are also practicing the use of a calendar and identifying major events listed on a calendar. 
Grade 4 is continuing their study of New Jersey Regions.  They are focusing on the Valley, Highlands, and Appalachian Ridge.  They are utilizing their writing skills to create informational brochures that depict the regions being studied.  They are creating Venn Diagrams that compare urban and suburban areas and reinforcing their map labeling skills.

 

Grade 5 is focusing on European Explorers.  Their routes have been traced and posters have been created on their accomplishments.  Students are orally presenting their projects.  They are comparing and contrasting the trading of goods of Mali and Ghana and the kingdoms of Africa. They are creating timelines with partners to plan a trading empire.

Language Arts-

Kindergarten is creating and sending pictures and letters to our armed forces.  They are working with the short vowel sound of “I” and the phonogram “it”.  They are using “sit” the word of the week in their writing. 
Grade 1 is identifying the initial phoneme of “sh”.  They are working on phoneme isolation and substitution.  They are practicing their high frequency words.  They are identifying nouns as a person, place, or thing.  They are reading and retelling stories in sequence.
            Grade 2 is identifying words with the controlled r sound as well as the phonemes “ear and eer”.  They created story maps and identified various literary elements.  They are working on identifying details within a story.  They are working with proper nouns and beginning to practice their script. Students are focusing on writing a summary for a story including two sentences about the beginning, middle and end of the story.  Students have also written Friendship Recipes.
Grade 3 is working on singular and plural nouns.  They are responding to poetry prompts and utilizing context clues to define vocabulary.  They are learning to write directions and focusing on comparing and contrasting.  In addition, they are completing a “How To” essay and beginning their study of singular and possessive nouns.
Grade 4 is focusing on singular and plural nouns.  They are changing nouns from one to the other.  They are writing summaries that focus on main idea. They are creating graphic organizers to use as a guide to writing. They are working on possessive nouns and introducing dialogue into their stories. Students are creating KWL charts.  They are working on cause and effect and completing NJ ASK test preparation activities.
Grade 5 is reading the novel Island of the Blue Dolphins.  They are focusing on building vocabulary words and utilizing them in their writing.  Students are tracking character changes within the story and justifying their answers.  Students are taking a Holistic Assessment Test and focusing on inferential comprehension questions.  Students are working on their DARE essays.  They are identifying clauses within sentences and focusing on complex sentences.  They are writing “How To” essays

Art –

Kindergarten through grade 5 is busy making holiday decorations, such as wreaths, sculptures, etc.

Music –

Kindergarten through grade 2 is practicing on their choral and instrumental ensembles.  Grade 3 is working on their singing balance.  Grades 4 and 5 are preparing for their winter concert.  

Physical Education –

Kindergarten to Grade 3 is working on the development of the overhand throw and the two handed catch.  Emphasis is being placed on watching the ball go into their hands and using the proper arm swing.  The game is modified for Kindergarten classes.  Grades 4 and 5 are working on football.  Students are preparing for the playoffs and championship game.  They are focusing on learned skills and working as a team. 

World Language-

Kindergarten students are learning colors and numbers.  Grade 1 students are learning house vocabulary and colors.  Grade 2 students are learning the numbers one to twenty.  Grade 3 students are learning room vocabulary in a house and creating sentences using vocabulary of people and their families.  Grade 4 students are learning the clothing and color vocabulary.  Grade 5 students are learning about different professions and places where people work.

Library/Computers –

Kindergarten is listening to stories about Hanukkah and Christmas.  They are locating letters on the keyboard and learning to use the shift.
Grade 1 is practicing capital letters by using the shift key.  They are reviewing the space bar and enter key.
Grade 2 is working on opening and closing a computer and using the direction keys.
Grade 3 is working on typing a poem and inserting graphics and print.
Grade 4 is working on numbering a list and bulleting a list.
Grade 5 is working on creating safe passwords and screen names.

Lincoln School -
Mathematics:
Kindergarten classes have been learning about the numbers 6-10 in Chapter 4 of our Harcourt Math series.  We have been identifying numbers, counting groups, and matching numbers with the correct groups.  We have also been learning about the concepts of more than and less than.  We are now beginning to learn about the numbers 10-30. Our first graders are continuing to review addition and subtraction facts. We began graphing and tallying. The second grade reviewed the skills of two digit addition with and without regrouping. The third graders are working on money, time, and elapsed time, reviewing multiplication facts, and starting 2-digit by 1-digit multiplication. We will soon start simple division. Fourth graders have just completed Chapters 13 and 14-Long Division.  The learners were taught to follow the steps of Long Division by learning the phrase "Does McDonald's Serve Cheeseburgers Daily?" (DIVIDE-MULTIPLY-SUBTRACT-CHECK-DOWN) The Division lessons were also taught with hands on manipulatives (mini-chalkboards for each student, counters, etc.) In addition, the students completed a problem of the week to finalize the lesson. Upon successful completion, of a long division test on Monday, December 4th, the learners got a chance to run through a week long fifth grade lesson using two-digit divisors. The learners completed the task with a successful quiz on Thursday, December 7th.
        Starting the week of Monday, December 11th the students will begin Chapter 16, Number Theories. On Monday, the students will learn Mean, Median, and Mode using a teacher-made poem, Measuring Up, text, and worksheets. The chapter will continue with various number Theory Concepts. Each of these concepts will not only be modeled using the Harcourt text, but will also be mirrored through "Measuring Up" to help the students continue the preparation for the NJASK testing in March.
 The fifth graders recently completed a unit on multiplication of decimals and are beginning a unit on division.

Science:
Kindergarten classes have been continuing to study plants and animals.  Our new chapter is about how plants and animals grow and change. Our first graders are discussing Chapter 3 “Life Cycles.”  The second graders recently completed their unit on how plants and animals live together and are presently discussing how living things grow and change.  They also enjoyed participating in the Chem-Tex Program that was focused on introducing the students to the concept of chemistry. The third graders have completed Chapter 4, Plants and Animals Living Together. We are now on Chapter 7, Rocks and Soil.  Our fourth and fifth graders enjoyed a visit from the High Touch-High Tech traveling science program where they learned about osmosis, DNA and the parts of an animal cell.

 

Social Studies:
Our kindergarten students have been learning about the holidays with our Holiday Passports.  We are pretending to visit other countries to learn about customs and cultures.  We have traveled to Holland and learned about St. Nick's Day.  We will also be learning about Diwali, Ramadan, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas.  Within our Scott Foresman Social Studies series, we are discovering new things about the first Americans, explorers, scientists, and inventors. The first graders completed Unit 2.  We are discussing holidays around the world. The second grade classes learned about Our Earth and discussed such concepts as landforms, natural resources, conservation, and producer and consumer.  They also learned about the contributions of the Pilgrims and Indians and the significance of the First Thanksgiving. The third graders have completed Chapter 2. It focused on identifying, comparing, and contrasting the different types of communities. We are currently working on comparing ethnic and cultural celebrations. Our map skills will be focused on the different hemispheres. The fourth grade students just completed memorizing the placement and spelling of all 21 NJ counties.  Students have also been learning about the characteristics of each of NJ's 4 regions. The fifth graders are learning all about learning early Spanish Exploration in the Americas.

Language Arts:
The kindergarteners have been learning all about the letters A,D,G,and F.  We have been learning about the new high frequency words go, on, and we.  We have also been learning about rhyming words and how to read short a words. Our first graders completed their second book. We are now beginning the third book “Here and There” this week. We introduced the “ch” blend. The second graders have completed reading "Lemonade for Sale.  The focus skill for this story was comparing and contrasting and the review of charts and graphs. In spelling, the second grade classes have completed their last spelling unit of the second theme. Emphasis was on the sounds of ar, arm, and ark. In English, the second grade classes reviewed the concepts of capitalization with emphasis on capitalizing the names of animals and special places.  Common abbreviation skills were also reviewed. In phonics, the second grade classes reviewed the long vowel sounds of a, e, i, o, and u and reinforced their phonemic awareness through various listening and writing activities. The third grade students have been using pronouns in sentences. We are working on persuasive paragraphs, their inventions, with facts and opinions, persuading people to buy their inventions. The third graders are continuing reading and understanding realistic fiction. We have finished the second theme of the reader and have completed the Holistic Assessment. The fourth graders Students are beginning a unit on Nouns.  This unit will include common nouns, proper nouns, singular nouns, plural nouns, singular possessive nouns and plural possessive nouns. Students are currently writing narratives based on picture prompts.  Students are concentrating on writing stories with a strong beginning, middle, and end. This month the students will be starting their test prep book preparing for the NJ ASK. We will also be continuing the book HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS.  The skills from the reading series that will be covered are making and confirming predictions, guided comprehension, sequence, classifying, cause and effect and word relationships. The fifth graders recently completed their informative speeches and have begun a grammar unit on verbs. In reading the students have completed Chapters 1 & 2 in the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

 

Physical Education:
Kindergarten-2nd grade students were involved with a fitness walk/run.  They played crab soccer and a game called "guard the pins”. The classes are now preparing for their jump-rope unit

3rd, 4th & 5th grades were also involved with a cardio fitness walk/run activity. These grades will also be involved in preparing for our jump rope unit as well as the "Elks Hoop Shoot Contest". 

 

 

Music: (All Elementary Schools)

Grade 4- Wind and brass are working on notes B-F. Percussion group is working on multiple bounce strokes on the snare drum.
Grade 5- Students are preparing for the winter concert.

World Language:
Grades 4-5 are spending more time practicing writing while grades 1-3 are more focused on reading Spanish. Students are enjoying practicing what they have learned with challenging crossword puzzles, bingo games, Simon says, coloring and music CD’s and puppets. Additionally, colored miscellaneous ditto sheets at different grade levels were distributed to review colors.

Students in grades K-5 are learning their numbers with Kindergarten learning colors and preparing a book. Grade 1 and 2 are learning the vocabulary of familiar objects and colors in Spanish as well as preparing a book. Grade 3 students are learning to make sentences with objects in the classroom as well as with colors. Grades 4 and 5 students are preparing signs to be placed around the classroom with classroom objects.

Media Center:

Grades K-2 are working on the Internet safety curriculum
Third grade is working on Microsoft Word.
Grades 4-5 are working on Microsoft Word processing skills

.
Workshops -
High School –

• Mr. Pankiewicz attended the NJEA Convention.  In particular, he experienced a workshop on grant writing.
• Mrs. Carr has attended workshops on suicide prevention and information on Avian influenza.
• Ms. Perdomo attended her graduate course on the Foundations of Early Childhood and Fly Studies with emphasis on different approaches for curriculum development.

 

Middle School- 

• Ms. Perdomo continues with her graduate course entitled “Foundations of Early Childhood and Fly Studies” in which the students are learning about different curriculum approaches.

• Mrs. Caputo will be attending GEPA Workshops at Rutgers in January and May.
• Mr. Sickels’ will be attending a GEPA workshop in January at Rutgers.

 

Euclid School –

• 12/7/06 – Effective Writing Strategies for Students with Learning Disability – Kara Doyle
• 12/11/06- Understanding the Epi Pen – Mrs. O’Donnell
• 12/12/06 – Understanding How Your Children Learns Part 2 – Presented by Rosemary Dolinsky of the Cutting Edge / Mrs. Simmons
• 12/13/06- NJASK Preparation for Language Arts – Ms. DeFilippis / Mrs. Cerneka
• 12/18/06 – Professional Development with the SBJ – Mrs. Simmons / Mrs. Catapane
• 12/21/06 – NJASK Test Results Presentation – Mrs. Simmons / Mr. Forte

Lincoln School -

General Administration - fire drills, day, date and time - from beginning of school year

High School –
Successful fire drills were held on:

• 9/12/06 @ 10:05 am
• 9/21/06 @ 9:04 am
• 10/3/06 @ 12:02 pm
• 10/20/06 @ 2:38 pm
• 11/3/06 @ 1:17 pm
• 11/16/06 @ 9:49 am
• 12/7/06 @ 1:17 pm

Lock Down:

Elevator Tests:

• 9/18/06
• 10/13/06
• 11/15/06
• 12/9/06     

 

            Middle School-

• 9/12/06 @ 10:05 am
•       9/21/06 @ 9:04 am
•       10/3/06 @ 12:02 pm
•       10/20/06 @ 2: 38 pm
•       11/3/06 @ 1:17 pm
•       11/16/06 @ 9:49 am
•       12/7/06 @ 1:17 pm

Elevator Tests:

• 9/18/06
• 10/13/06
• 11/15/06
• 12/9/06

 

Lock Down-
              

 
Euclid School –
Fire Drills
9/13/06
10/10/06
10/18/06
10/19/06
11/17/06
11/27/06
12/07/06
12/11/06
Lockdowns
10/31/06
11/06/06
11/30/06

Elevator Checks
9/21/06
10/16/06
11/15/06
12/12/06

Lincoln School -
Fire Drills
9/13/06
9/22/06
10/16/06
10/24/06
11/6/06
11/29/06
12/12/06
12/13/06

Lock Down
9/22/06
10/25/06
11/20/06

Elevator Check
9/22/06
10/16/06
11/06/06

 

Lincoln School -           

Accomplishments -
High School –

• Pilot’s Log; National Awards / T.V. Appearance.