Lynda McKeon’s and Taryn Richards’ IS third-graders are getting really skilled at rounding two and three-digit numbers to the nearest 10 on a vertical number line!
During a recent lesson, students began by renaming numbers in unit form to help round to the nearest 10. This practice helps students to understand how many 10s are in the number and what the next 10 is. Then, they established the halfway mark between 10s. Students have to decide if the number is “more” than halfway or “less” than halfway. This practice helps the students round to the nearest 10 more efficiently.
This skill helps students to develop a greater foundational understanding of place value, estimation and simplifying numbers to make calculations easier in real-world situations where exact precision isn't always necessary.
Candace Gale’s and Cecilia Kosowicz’s IS third-graders, like all district third-graders, are perfecting their plotting and labelling skills during math lessons. This is important because it teaches students how to organize and visually represent data, allowing them to analyze information, identify patterns, and draw conclusions which is a crucial skill for understanding and applying math in everyday life. Students also have the opportunity to work on their critical thinking skills by interpreting data and communicating findings effectively through graphs.
Here's another great school food drive that will welcome your support: The Elementary School PTO/Intermediate School PTO Food Drive!
IS/ES families: Missing anything?
IS/ES security aide Kevin Murphy is reminding you to think about this, as he's currently the trusted keeper and safeguarder of a very large selection of sweatshirts and jackets --- as well as other items--- that are missing their owners!
You'll be able to take a firsthand look during the upcoming IS/ES Parent/Teacher Conference days, but check to see what might be missing in your closets now. Once these conferences are completed, any unclaimed items will be donated to those in need.
CAN YOU HELP?
The High School's FBLA Club is hosting its annual Food Drive, with donations being accepted through Friday, Nov. 22.
Community donations may be delivered to the high school's main entrance, where it will be collected for distribution.
Intermediate School students, faculty and staff may have noticed that IS/ES School Security Aide Kevin Murphy had a very able assistant helping him make rounds in recent days! IS third-grader Kinsley Starkey won a recent IS PTO contest which allowed her to go on patrol with Mr. Murphy. She was presented with a special badge which allowed her to accompany Mr. Murphy and provide her valuable assistance, observations and counsel! That also included a stop by Superintendent Monahan’s office, where she shared some of her suggestions!
Support the Class of 2025 and add to your collection of outstanding Minisink Valley attire! The selections are great to wear for any occasion and for any event in any building!
Joan Giardina’s IS fourth-grade art students are learning about the importance of scale in composition, using cat stencils!
In art composition, scale refers to the relative size of an object or artwork in relation to another object or the viewer's body. It can also refer to the relationship between different parts of an image.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Briana Barrett’s and Nicole VanderDrift's IS fifth-graders are masters at completing the Candy Corn Tower STEM Challenge...on National Candy Corn Day! First, students had to brainstorm and sketch their candy corn tower design with their group. Then, they had 20 minutes to use 25 toothpicks and 25 candy corn pieces to build their design. The highest tower reached 7.75 inches tall! Well-done!
It’s not over yet, Yankee fans! Think positive….and as part of that positivity, the Intermediate School presented students with their Aaron Judge ALL RISE Summer Reading Programs certificate received earlier in the week!
Congratulations and well-done to Callan D'Antono, Nico Santiago, Rehan Usman and Mariah Carrion Castenada!
The Aaron Judge ALL RISE Foundation, founder of this group and the Yankees’ captain, is a nonprofit that aims to inspire children and youth to become responsible citizens. Its summer reading program is a literacy initiative that encourages children and youth to read. This past summer, Minisink Valley invited all students to participate in this summer reading initiative, organized by Physical Education Teacher Theresa Uhelsky.
Every Intermediate School student was invited to pick a pumpkin from the "IS Pumpkin Patch" on the way to their buses today, Oct. 29!
The Intermediate School’s annual GREAT PUMPKIN Decorating Contest, sponsored by the IS PTO, was a grand success and great time for all! All classes, under the guidance of IS Art Joan Giardina, designed and decorated a unique class pumpkin. All were on display and everyone voted on their favorite (Note: they could not vote on their own pumpkin). Take a look at these very creative pumpkins! The votes were tallied and the winners are:
•Fifth-grade: “Devil Bat,” created by Briana Barrett/Nicole Vanderdrift/ Kendra Soule’s class
•Fourth-grade: “King Bob,” created by Jessica Venettozzi’s class
•Third-grade: “Hot Chocolate,” created by Andrew Fenner’s class
Mrs. Giardina delivered the coveted GOLDEN PUMPKIN trophies to the first-place winners for each grade level, who will now proudly display them in their classes. THANK YOU to the IS PTO for providing these very awesome trophies!
Leyla Johnson’s IS fourth-grade physical education students are learning the basics about controlling a soccer ball as they begin their soccer unit. Maybe here’s some future World Cup players in this group!
Tomorrow's the big day! The Intermediate School PTO’s Halloween-themed "Fun Run" at 12 noon. Be sure you're registered!
The “Monster Dash” is open to all district students. The course measures just over a mile and will flow along the fields below the Slate Hill campus’ tennis courts. Runners, who are invited to run in costume, will “dash” from station to station through the course collecting prizes in their supplied tote bags.
The registration fee is $15 per runner and includes a “Minisink Valley Monster Dash” reusable tote bag.
Following the run’s conclusion, a “Trunk or Treat” will be held in the tennis court parking lot.
To register, donate to a participating student or become a local business sponsor, visit: visit myfunrun.com/monsterdash.
The PTO will use all proceeds to fiancé school assemblies, fifth-grade “Class of 2032” t-shirts and “Minisink Valley spirit t-shirts” for third and fourth-grade students.
To learn more, email to: chair.is@minisinkvalleypto.com
Registration is open for the Intermediate School PTO’s Halloween-themed "Fun Run" which will take place Saturday, Oct. 26 beginning at 12 noon. PLEASE SHARE!
The “Monster Dash” is open to all district students. The course measures just over a mile and will flow along the fields below the Slate Hill campus’ tennis courts. Runners, who are invited to run in costume, will “dash” from station to station through the course collecting prizes in their supplied tote bags.
The registration fee is $15 per runner and includes a “Minisink Valley Monster Dash” reusable tote bag.
Following the run’s conclusion, a “Trunk or Treat” will be held in the tennis court parking lot.
To register, donate to a participating student or become a local business sponsor, visit: visit myfunrun.com/monsterdash.
The PTO will use all proceeds to fiancé school assemblies, fifth-grade “Class of 2032” t-shirts and “Minisink Valley spirit t-shirts” for third and fourth-grade students.
To learn more, email to: chair.is@minisinkvalleypto.com
Kudos to fourth-graders Tyler Sturge and Kathleen Sanchez, who gave a preview of the movie “Wonder” on the morning announcements today, Oct. 21. Intermediate School students will be watching the movie on Oct. 30 in a special assembly!
“Wonder” is the story of August, a 10-year-old with facial differences, who goes to a traditional school for the first time in fifth-grade. In school, August makes new friends, has conflicts with friends and deals with a bully. The experiences help August to see that he is capable of being independent.
THINK PINK! The district is "going pink" on Thursday, Oct. 24 to support National Breast Cancer Awareness Month efforts!
Be part of the district's KINDNESS movement!
Support the good work of the Middle School's "Minisink Motivates" Club and by getting yourself some great KINDNESS apparel! The club will earn $6 from every order and will use it to spread kindness around the district!
District fourth-graders, like Jen Kemmerer and Cheryl Wilson’s IS fourth-graders, are working on their personal narratives as part of the ELA work. A personal narrative is a true story about a person's life, and is a common writing assignment for fourth graders.
Their students are now focusing on the use of transition words in their writing and were reminded they can pick words from their “transition word bank” to use as they continue with their assignment of writing details about their personal topic of choice in chronological order.
Deanna Feuerbach’s IS fifth-grade music students have been studying the “science of sound” in a very creative way!
Sound is vibration that is measured in waves. All instruments create sound through vibrations. Students can sort the way instruments vibrate to make sound into five sound families:
•Aerophones are instruments that vibrate when air is blown into them.
•Chordophones are instruments that vibrate when strings are plucked.
• Membranophones are instruments that vibrate when a stretched surface is hit (all drums).
•Idiophones are instruments that vibrate themselves (rain sticks, maracas, jingle bells, shakers, etc.).
•Electrophones are instruments that vibrate through electricity.
As part of this lesson, five-graders were tasked with creating their own instrument made out of recycled materials. They identified which sound family their instrument belongs to and what recycled materials were used when they presented their instrument project to the class. Take a peek at a sampling of their creative work! Well done to all! This
