Her students also recently examined the patterns that exist are multiples. For example, if students looked at the multiples of 2, 3, and 6 on one chart, they can notice the pattern that every multiple of 6 is also a multiple of 2 and 3. They’ve been associating multiples with skip counting and practicing their skip counting skills.
Students learned factors are the two numbers that multiply together to get a product. They’ve practiced identifying all of the factors of a product and determining whether a number is prime or composite.
A prime number only has two factors (1 and itself), while a composite number has more than 2 factors.
Middle school students often build catapults in technology class because it’s a hands-on way to teach several important skills and concepts at once! They’re learning engineering basics and physics concepts as well as important problem solving, creativity and critical thinking skills. Students also have hands-on engagement building something. There’s even a history component to their work as well, because students have learned how simple machines were used and what their functions were before modern technology.
Not only are they building fundamental motor skills, activities like this support healthy physical development, develop better brain-body connections and build confidence, a sense of accomplishment and willingness to try even more fun things in physical education class! Activities like these can help to establish lifelong healthy physical activity habits, too!
IT’S TIME TO RALLY IN THE VALLEY!
The Cheerleading program invites you to attend its "Rally in the Valley Cheer Competition" at the High School on Saturday, Jan. 10. You'll be impressed with this high quality competition and talented participants!
Session 1: Rec teams – 9:30 a.m.
Session 2: JV teams – 12:12 p.m.
Session 3: Varsity teams – 2:12 p.m.
SPECIAL NOTE: The JV team performs at 1:18 p.m.; and the Varsity team performs at 4 p.m. --- so you want to be sure to be there earlier than their actual performance times to get the best viewing spot!
Admission: Adults: $10, students: $5, children under 5: Free
Event T-shirt sales, cheer apparel, and more!
Concessions available
This reading exercise focused on the moon. Students learned the moon doesn’t give off any light of its own but instead reflects the light of the sun. They also discussed how the moon looks different at different times of the month because of how much light from the sun is being reflected and how much of the moon can been seen from the Earth.
Choral reading helps students practice smooth reading, proper pace and expression and rhythm. Because everyone reads together, students hear fluent reading while doing it themselves. Besides the student interaction and social component, choral reading also strengthens speaking and listening skills, improves pronunciation and vocabulary and strengthens comprehension
Mixed media art is simply combining two or more different types of art materials in one project. For this project, Mrs. Kaufman’s little students had a variety of fun materials to work with in this colorful project with a seasonal connection. No two snowmen are alike!
Students learned yoga is an activity that we can do no matter what one’s age is. They now know it’s important to constantly work on physical flexibility because as they get older, they’ll find they may become less flexible. Throughout the unit, students learned different stretches and balances. To mark the conclusion of their yoga work, students (in groups) created a yoga sequence which they performed for the class featuring different poses they learned.
Yoga began in ancient India thousands of years ago as a spiritual practice to unite mind, body, and breath. Early teachings were written in sacred texts and later organized by the teacher Patanjali. Over time, yoga included physical postures and breathing exercises. In the modern era, it spread around the world and is often practiced for health and relaxation.
Joan Giardina’s IS third-grade art students have been using a watercolor “wet-on-wet” technique of painting to create a wash of color that had no lines separating the individual colors.
Students had to choose either warm or cool colors to create a sunrise or sunset for the background of their paintings. They know that warm colors (reds, oranges, yellows) evoke energy, sunshine, and coziness, like fire or the sun; while cool colors (blues, greens, purples) create calm, spacious feelings, resembling water or the sky.
This background is the first phase of their winterscape project which will feature birch trees and a cute forest critter!
Watercolor "wet-on-wet" is a technique where wet paint is applied to a wet or damp paper surface, causing colors to spread, bloom, and blend on their own. This results in soft, blended edges and is ideal for creating washes of color, like skies or water, and achieving a magical, flowing effect.
WE LOVE IT when our business community colleagues visit us and meet with students!
Thank you to Shoprite of Wallkill Store Manager Chelsea Stanton and Nina Fuentes, who handles human resources for the store, for visiting Victoria Ingrassia’s eighth-grade FACS class yesterday, Jan. 6.
Their store is one of 32 Shoprite stores in Orange, Sullivan and Dutchess counties in addition to Pennsylvania.
Among many topics, Ms. Stanton spoke to students about the store’s 24 hour operations; the various departments and what they do; overall food safety and how that’s safeguarded; product availability and the ordering process (Halloween candy and school supplies have already been ordered for this year); special promotions (the annual “Can-Can Sale” -- Shoprite's biggest sale of the year --- is taking place now); working with local, regional and national vendors; a grocery store’s work environment; and even its Bowl and Basket private label (Wise makes Bowl and Basket potato chips).
Ms. Fuentes spoke to students about staffing and job availability; how to apply and prepare for a job and job interview, as students will very soon be nearing the age where they can get their working papers and get a part-time job. She also offered interview tips for success.
Their presentation supported and supplemented class discussions about general food business operations and food safety, and more! It was a great opportunity for students to see firsthand how the varied FACS topics discussed in class actually do have a real-world application.
PLUS: Everyone was gifted a Shoprite reusable goodie bag featuring a variety of Bowl and Basket snacks and other treats!
PLUS: Thirteen wrestlers placed in the Top 6 in their weight class! AMAZING! Well-done to all!
Champions
--- Keira Filip, 114-pound weight class
--- Jaida Macaluso, 165-pound weight class
Second Place
--- Sara Pauls, 126-pound weight class
--- Treven Costello, 152-pound weight class
--- Caitlin McIlroy, 165-pound weight class
5th Place
--- Aubrey Weed, 138-pound weight class
6th Place
--- Calista Vargas, 100-pound weight class
--- Makenna Matone, 107-pound weight class
--- Amelia Patzelt,120-pound weight class
--- Paris Deslandes, 126-pound weight class
--- Avery Wingen, 132-pound weight class
--- Olivia Miller, 138-pound weight class
--- Brooke Besson, 152-pound weight class
WELL-DONE! The varsity girls and boys indoor track & field teams were busy over the recent break, competing in three invitational competitions:
At the recent Jim Mitchell Invitational, held at the Armory Track & Field Center, Minisink Valley collected one program record and event win, a trio of runner-up finishes, and a number of top-10 finishes:
•In the field events, junior Ella Michelitch won the individual title in the girls high jump, clearing a new program best bar of 5'10". Michelitch and teammate Delila Kronimus also earned second-place finishes in the girls long jump and pole vault, respectively.
•In the 4xMile relay, the boys quartet of Santiago Martinez, Luciano Palacios, Carter Rossi and Landon Straw produced a runner-up showing in 19:15.70.
At the recent Ocean Breeze Holiday Festival, Minisink Valley collected two event wins and five podium finishes:
•Delila Kronimus was victorious in the girls pole vault, continuing her strong start to the young season with a win at 11'6".
•The quartet of Robert LaBarbera, Angel Mendez, Stetson Terpak and Maximillian Wickrath closed out the meet as champions in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:29.18, with the 'B' lineup of Jeremiah Alexis, Logan Cohen, Chase Lattimer and Michael Moran taking fifth place.
•The boys distance medley relay team of Daniel Oenga, Luciano Palacios, Carter Rossi and Elijah Zittel earned a fourth place finish in 11:30.77; and the girls 4x400 meter relay squad of Lyla LaBarbera, Salma Samdaoui, Danica Martinez and Jerlivia Frederick nabbed the final podium position in 4:20.33.
And at the recent Ocean Breeze Freedom Games:
•Delila Kronimus earned her second consecutive win at 11'6" in the girls pole vault event.
•In the boys 4x400 meter relay, the quartet of Robert LaBarbera, Stetson Terpak, Maximillian Wickrath and Angel Mendez were runners-up in a season best 3:26.27.
•In the girls 4x200 meter relay team of Kessler Hirsch, Ferrah Hill, Chloe Beck and Ella Michelitch produced a strong showing in the preliminaries in 1:46.29 and finished fourth in the finals in 1:47.31.
See more photos on the district's Facebook page!
Minisink Valley returns to the track at The Armory tomorrow, Jan. 7, looking to advance the 4x400 and 4x800 meter relay teams to the prestigious Millrose Games.
As part of their work, students represented their thinking by using drawings, objects and number sentences to model each problem. They also solved “how many more” comparison problems, demonstrating their understanding through visual representations and equations with unknowns.
This important math work ensures students can effectively model and solve one-step word problems using both addition and subtraction. This also helps students to them build a foundation for understanding comparison and equality in mathematical situations.
Kindergarteners learn about 3D shapes because it builds important early math and spatial-thinking skills in a way that matches how young children naturally explore the world. We all interact with 3D objects constantly,having these little ones learn the names and features of these shapes helps them connect math to everyday life as well as how things look from different angles. Learning about 3D shapes also builds problem-solving and critical thinking and starts to prepare students for more advanced math in their academic careers!
Marshmallows and toothpicks are popular in kindergarten STEM projects because they're simple, safe, hands-on building materials that help young children explore engineering and geometry. Marshmallows are soft and non-sharp and toothpicks provide structure but are still manageable for young students with supervision. They’re perfect for building because marshmallows act like flexible connectors while toothpick mimic rigid beams. Together, they’re perfect for little students to build 3D models.
Long division is a step-by-step method for dividing large numbers by breaking the problem into smaller, manageable steps, involving a repeated cycle of Divide (D), Multiply, (M), Subtract (S), Bring Down (BD) digits from the dividend to find the quotient and any remainder, using a special bracket to organize the process…and then Repeat (R) the process….or D M S BD R.
Like all district fourth-graders, Elizabeth Sirico’s and Susan Green’s IS fourth-graders have been practicing long division during their math lessons. Their students were reminded to write the letters D M S BD R on the side of their papers to help guide their work through each step of the math problem. Some students even demonstrated their strategies and explained who they arrived at their answers, which helped reinforce understanding for the class.
Long division is important because it's an efficient method for dividing large numbers, it serves as a foundation for more advanced math concepts like polynomials and calculus, and it teaches valuable problem-solving skills such as precision, attention to detail, and breaking down complex problems into smaller steps. It is a useful tool for tasks requiring exact answers, even when a calculator isn't available or the user needs to understand the underlying process and verify the result.
Students predicted which cookie would dissolve into the milk first. They then started a timer and carefully recorded their observations. After testing an Oreo, a Chewy Chips Ahoy and a regular Chips Ahoy, they discovered that the regular Chips Ahoy dissolved the fastest. Why? Because cookies that are dry and crumbly dissolve faster in milk than cookies that are soft and chewy!
To conclude this interesting lesson, students were tasked with a hugely fun STEM activity: Creating a Polar Bear Den! Students, functioning as engineers, were tasked with helping a polar bear survive in the Arctic by building a den using marshmallows (as snow/ice) and toothpicks (as supports), that can protect their polar bear from cold and wind. It was a great classroom activity giving students an opportunity to build their growing engineering, science, teamwork, creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills! Plus, who doesn’t have fun working with marshmallows?
What made it even more memorable was that after the show, the director, cast, and crew members took some time to participate in a "talk back" with students, who asked all kinds of questions and were given an understanding of the skill, athleticism, and the vocal training necessary to garner professional roles.
The children who were cast in the show were also in middle school, and everyone connected and commiserated that they had to make up school work when they weren't at school for a performance...or a field trip!
“The students worked hard and earned this field trip,” said Drama Club Advisor Teresia Parker, who thanked the parent/staff/faculty chaperones, middle school administration, Transportation and Food Services teams for their support. “I'm so very proud of this club. These students are exceptional.”
CONGRATULATIONS AND WELL-DONE! The work of 15 High School student artists from Jenna McElroy’s Drawing & Painting and AP Art classes was part of SUNY Orange’s recent and annual “An Artist’s Response to Human Rights” exhibition.
Seniors Jenna Bartels, Audrey DeFazio-Schultz, Melanie Jans, and Madisyn Nunez-Troy; juniors Sadie Lambro, Zoey Wagner, and Josephine Witherow; and sophomores Vitalia Carlucci, Sabrina Listwon, Gianna Miller-Bianchi, Addison Sacco, Ava Schoenleber, Zoe Schultz, Elsa Suen, and Mia Whiting had work on display at SUNY Orange’s Orange Hall Gallery from Dec. 3 through 15.
Students were challenged to create a work of art that illustrates, educates, or raises awareness about one of the articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations in 1948 that lists the basic rights and freedoms every person should have, such as the right to life, freedom of speech, education, and fair treatment. It applies to everyone, everywhere, and is meant to guide countries in treating people with dignity and equality.
The document’s basic rights and freedoms include:
• Right to life, liberty, and security
• Freedom from slavery and torture
• Right to equality before the law
• Right to a fair trial
• Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion
• Freedom of opinion and expression
• Freedom of peaceful assembly and association
• Right to privacy
• Right to nationality
• Right to marry and have a family
• Right to education
• Right to work and fair wages
• Right to rest and leisure
• Right to an adequate standard of living (food, housing, healthcare)
• Right to participate in cultural and public life
