Ross Potter’s IS physical education third-graders are getting really good at playing floor hockey!
Floor hockey is a simplified version of ice hockey played indoors on a flat surface, where players use sticks to hit a plastic puck or ball into a goal, typically with modified rules to suit younger children's abilities and often played in a gym setting as part of physical education classes. Often, the main focus at this level is usually on basic skills like dribbling, passing, and shooting while learning the game's fundamental concepts like positions and scoring
Like all district third-graders, Shari Cannone’s IS third-graders are learning about the distributive property of multiplication during their math lessons.
The distributive property is important because it helps students break down complex multiplication problems into smaller, more manageable parts, allowing them to use basic multiplication facts to solve larger numbers, develop number sense, and build a foundation for more advanced math concepts as they advance to higher grade levels.. This property shows them how to "distribute" a multiplication operation across addition, making calculations easier.
Create --- Sing ---Read
IS Art Teacher Joan Joan Giardina, Music Teacher Deanna Feuerbach and Librarian Aimee Hardy are happy to share these important key words they reinforce to their students every day
Jennifer Carroll’s IS fifth-graders, like other fifth-grade classes, continue to be involved in partner reading, using materials they’ve been discussing and studying in social studies.
Partner reading allows students to practice reading aloud in a low-pressure environment, build fluency, improve comprehension, develop vocabulary, and gain confidence by supporting each other while reading, while giving teachers an opportunity to monitor individual progress and provide targeted support.
WATCH FOR THESE FANCY PANTS!
Joan Giardina’s IS art students recently submitted their best drawings which showed her the concepts they learned in art class, which included the concepts of detail, value, shading and more!
Winning drawings were chosen and those winning students continue to be in the process of adding their artwork to Mrs. Giardina’s JEANS, which she will proudly wear at the spring District Art Show (and beforehand as well!)
Students visited her art room during extra art time at the end of the day to work on the jeans. WHAT A COOL PROJECT!
But! This is just the beginning, as the contest was open to all students and there’s a wide range of winners in each grade. More drawings will continue to be added until the jeans are completely filled with wonderful art! What a wonderful example of wearable art! Wearable art is pushes the boundaries of creativity, offering the wearer an opportunity to embody art and make a personal statement.
Detail, value, and shading in art are crucial because they collectively create the illusion of depth, form, and realism in a piece by accurately depicting how light interacts with objects, allowing the viewer to perceive three-dimensional shapes and understand the spatial relationships within a scene. See more photos on the district's Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/MinisinkValleyCSD
Jenn Kemmerer’s, Cheryl Wilson’s and Jessica Venettozzi's IS fourth-graders recently visited each other’s classrooms to see their outstandingly creative New York State Native American dioramas. Students displayed their work as their peers stopped by their desks to ask questions.
Students were tasked with designing and building either a longhouse or wigwam to show their specific understanding of Iroquois an Algonquian housing. As part of their project work, students were also tasked with writing about their home, who lived in t and other details. While this was a student-centered home project, families were encouraged to also take part!
Building a longhouse or wigwam is much more than just a creative project. This project helps students understand how Native American tribes adapted their housing to their environment and lifestyle, particularly the importance of communal living in a longhouse for large families and the flexibility of a wigwam for nomadic tribes who needed to move frequently depending on food sources. It teaches them about the practical reasons behind different types of shelters based on the needs of the people who built them.
The Intermediate School PTO "elves" have helped many students with their holiday shopping this year at the PTO Holiday Kidz Boutique! Shh....don't give away any surprises!
Presenting the winners of the annual Intermediate School Staff Bakeoff: Best Tasting: Shawona Ellison; Most Festive: Cecilia Kosowicz; Best Overall: Sheri Gurney; Best from Scratch: Jayna Plocharczyk; and Best Not a Cookie: Karen Nicholson!
Do you remember how to solve word problems that involve multiplying fractions with mixed numbers?
Fifth-graders, like Michael Sirico’s IS fifth-graders, do! Ask them to give you a refresher!
Take a peek at Mr. Sirico’s students recently solving word problems that involved multiplying fractions with mixed numbers. They were taught to start by summarizing their word problems by writing down each number and labeling what was important about each.
Then they were shown how to recognize an "of problem." Later, students had to change mixed numbers into improper fractions to solve these problems, and were shown how to properly label their answers, including the unit involved with their answers.
Deanna Feuerbach’s IS fourth-grade music students have been having a great time using boomwhackers in class, which includes using them for holiday song play-along videos!
Boomwhackers are percussion instruments that are lightweight, color-coded plastic tubes that are tuned to different musical pitches. They are tuned to a C Major scale.
Each student is given a different colored pitch, and must wait their turn to play their note when it appears on the screen. The students are able to perform together as an ensemble to create music which helps enhance social skills and work towards a common goal.
Boomwhackers are a popular instrument in elementary music classrooms because they’re a fun and engaging way to teach music concepts such as rhythm and pitch, harmony and melody as well as timing, focus and concentration, teamwork, collaboration and hand-eye coordination.
Craig Ramsell invented the instrument in 1994 while cutting down a cardboard gift-wrap tube for recycling. He noticed the different tones produced by the two pieces of the tube and realized he could tune them to play music. Ramsell experimented with different plastics, eventually settling on plastic mailing tubes. He and his wife created the first plastic model in 1995.
CAN YOU HELP? The High School's Youth Against Cancer Club is in the midst of a donation drive through Dec. 16 to collect items to brighten the days of Garnet Medical Center patients. See the flyer for what students are hopeful to collect! Your contributions would be most welcome!
CAN YOU HELP?
The High School cheerleaders' SOCK, HAT and GLOVE DRIVE runs through Dec. 20. Please see the details and thanks for sharing!
Scoot is a great game to play, particularly when it’s time for subtraction review!
Candace Gale and Cecilia Kosowicz’s IS third-graders paired up to work together on their subtraction review work! They did great work, by the way!
Scoot is a game that can be used to review or reinforce concepts in math and other subjects. The teacher places question cards around the room, and students move from one card to another answering questions. The game can be used to assess students in a variety of subjects, including math, language arts, and science.
JOIN US tonight, Dec. 2, for the Intermediate School Chorus Concert at 7 p.m.!
THE TRADITION CONTINUES!
Now in its 25th YEAR, the Intermediate School Fifth-Grade held its annual Thanksgiving luncheon on Nov. 26!
Fifth-grade teacher Mike Conklin offered comments before the luncheon began reminding everyone about the importance of being thankful, kind and generous and that there's always something to be thankful for. He also noted he believed they would remember this day during the rest of their school careers as well.
The luncheon was made possible due to the kindness and generosity of parents, faculty and staff who provided all turkeys, hams, side dishes and desserts and related treats to have a delicious hot Thanksgiving meal!
THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the luncheon's success. Everyone had a great time eating and socializing...and they were very well-fed! SEE MORE photos on the district's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MinisinkValleyCSD
Motivational speaker, former Harlem Globetrotters player and eight-time Guinness record holder Corey “The Dribbler” Rich visited the Intermediate School yesterday, Nov. 25, for two character education assemblies showcasing his very cool basketball talents...which often included students and faculty! Take a peek at the fun
Most important: As Corey spoke demonstrated his skills, he spoke to students about the importance of working together with their “team,” treating others like you would like to be treated and the importance of working hard to achieve goals.
His incredible ball-handling skills include dribbling six basketballs at once! Cory has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, ESPN First Take, Comcast Sportsnet, Fox News and is widely considered the “World’s Greatest Dribbler!” Along with performing his amazing talents at NBA Halftime Shows, Corey travels the country inspiring students with his character education message: The 4Rs for success: Respect, responsibility, ready to learn and reading is power.
Character education programs take place in all our buildings throughout the year. THANK YOU to the IS PTO for sponsoring this important program!
The Intermediate School’s Girls on the Run (GOTR) program has been quite busy this fall! In addition to training, the group has been participating in lessons and activities that build confidence and character.
For its community project, the IS GOTR collected Thanksgiving food items which was recently delivered to the soup kitchen in Middletown for families in need.
The girls also recently completed a 5K run at Rockland Lake State Park! Well-done to all!
November is National Men’s Health Awareness Month! Join us and wear purple attire to help bring awareness to unique health issues of men!
Please join the efforts of the district's Buildings & Grounds team to bring awareness to important men's physical and mental health issues!
November is also "No-Shave November" and "Movember," movements created to encourage conversations about cancer awareness among men.
Call for photos: Share your student's purple attire for a forthcoming photo gallery by emailing to communications@minisink.com by 3 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22!
GET WINGS and support the Class of 2025!
Buffalo Wild Wings in Middletown will donate 10% of your purchase on Saturday, Nov. 23 to support Class of 2025 initiatives. Make sure you bring this ticket!
HANDS UP!
Who needs jazz hands when you have “white board hands?”
Adrianna Ciccarelli’s IS fourth-graders are using “white board hands” to quickly answer rounding questions during math review. What a fun way to do work!
