Jen Paglia’s ES first-graders, like all district first-graders, are learning about Mesopotamia during their CKLA (Core Knowledge Language Arts) lessons about early world civilizations.
First-grade students study Mesopotamia to learn the foundational concepts of early civilizations, such as the importance of rivers, farming, and writing. It’s also a great introduction to world history, introducing students to different cultures and civilizations while highlighting early human achievements that shaped the world. Lessons like this also help students to continue to develop critical thinking skills through the comparison or contrasting of ancient civilizations. Plus, it’s always a great idea to take crayons and draw a picture of what they’ve been talking about, too!
Students need to apply greater or lesser force depending on the item and distance they are throwing and they’re doing this through their activity is called "Flip the Hoop." Students start at the black line with a bean bag and hula hoop. Every time they throw their bean bag into the hoop, they flip it over toward the middle of the gym. When they flip their hoop all the way to the middle of the gym where their polyspot (non-slip marker) is located, they can trade their bean bag in for a new item to throw!
Learning to throw underhand is important for young students because it develops fundamental motor skills, such as hand-eye coordination and large muscle control, and is a foundational skill for many sports and activities. It's easier for children to learn due to its simpler motion and lower velocity, making it a good starting point for building confidence and strength before moving on to more complex overhand throws. Also: Mastering underhand throwing helps with skills like spatial awareness and balance, which are crucial for a child's overall physical development.
Do you know them? We’ll help: The five traditional senses are sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. These senses are used to perceive the world through sensory organs like the eyes, ears, nose, tongue. and skin. Kindergarteners learn about the five senses to develop observational skills, build language, and lay the foundation for scientific thinking. This knowledge helps children understand how their bodies work, how to interact with the world and how to describe their experiences, all while nurturing curiosity and cognitive development!
Elementary School second-graders were treated to a special visit by Bill Robinson of Robinson’s Wildlife Lectures of Saugerties this past Friday! They met a turkey vulture, falcon and "other friends" during his "Birds of Prey" presentation!
Mr. Robinson, the founder and past president of the New York State Falconry Association and a member of the state’s Falconry Advisory Board, brought some of his “birds of prey friends” and “other friends” to meet students. Mr. Robinson routinely gives talks to students of all grade levels about these creatures of the wild while also teaching field biology, ornithology and animal life courses at SUNY New Paltz.
His presentation supports the district’s elementary science curriculum and was made possible through the generosity of the Elementary PTO! Thank you to the PTO for sponsoring this terrific enrichment program to support classroom instruction!
VERY COOL: Mr. Robinson and his birds and animals have appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The David Letterman Show; and his trained falcons have appeared in many movies, including “The Royal Tenenbaums!”
Sally Mankoo’s ES kindergarteners spent time yesterday, Oct. 22, with Minisink Valley resident Simran Cheema and her mother-in-law who is visiting from India and learned about Diwali! These little students had a wonderful time learning about Diwali traditions from their special visitors!
Diwali is the "Festival of Lights," a five-day holiday celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists that symbolizes the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. It is celebrated with the lighting of lamps and candles, feasting, gift-giving, and prayer, with the specific stories behind it varying by religion.
•The word Diwali (or Deepavali as it’s sometimes called) means “row of lights” in an ancient language of India, called Sanskrit. During this festival, people decorate their homes with lights and oil lamps, called “diyas.”
•For many people, Diwali honors Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. The lights and lamps are said to help Lakshmi find her way into peoples’ homes, bringing prosperity in the year to come.
These designs are temporary, intricate patterns drawn on the skin using a paste made from the henna plant. The art is a temporary "tattoo" used for celebrations like weddings and festivals, and in the Indian culture, are often floral or paisley designs. The finished design typically ranges in color from reddish-brown to a deep burgundy and can last one to three weeks.
Students created their own designs on paper with markers and learned that henna dye comes from the hyena plant and dries into a reddish/dark brown after application. Take a look!
They also learned about Rangoli designs, which are decorative, colorful patterns made on the floor or tabletop using materials like colored powders, rice flour, rice, and flower petals. Originating from the Indian subcontinent, these designs are intended to welcome guests and deities, symbolize prosperity, and are a part of many festivals like Diwali. What a fun cultural lesson!
JOIN IN on the seasonal art fun and support the High School's Art Club!
The High School's Art Club is hosting its next "Paint n' Snack" fundraiser on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 4:30 p.m. in Room 217 at the High School.
A talented Minisink Valley Art Club student will guide participants in creating a beautiful fall-themed painting. There'll be apple cider to sip and yummy treats to snack on while painting.
Adults and children of all ages are welcome, but seating is limited to 25 people, so act fast if interested! All supplies and food are included with admission and all proceeds will go toward art scholarships, museums field trips for art students, future events, and additional supplies for the Art Club studio. THIS EVENT WILL SELL OUT, so sign-up now and don't miss out!
Pricing (cash at the door): Adults - $12; children/students - $10; and siblings discount: $5 per additional sibling. To reserve your spot, click here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeFcFIzph-R4RHdlh3S0YmBrlAi_BxFCxZ7woOyck9kGSe2rQ/viewform
Introducing new vocabulary in first grade is crucial because it improves reading comprehension and academic success. A strong vocabulary helps students understand texts, express themselves more clearly in both writing and speech, and build a foundation for more complex learning in later grades.
Choral reading is a whole-class or small-group technique where the teacher and students read a text aloud together in unison, developing fluency, pronunciation, and expression. The strategy uses repetition and unison reading to improve sight word recognition, build confidence, and make reading more engaging for young learners, often with texts that have rhythmic patterns or repeating phrases.
A sand tray is a tool for tactile, multisensory learning, typically used for practicing letter formation and handwriting, as well as for developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Students use their fingers to trace letters, numbers, and words in the fine-grain sand within the tray, which helps them retain information through kinesthetic and visual pathways. The dark-colored bottom of the tray makes the sand letters stand out, providing a more interactive and less messy way to practice writing than traditional pencil and paper.
Orton-Gillingham refers to a teaching approach named after Dr. Samuel Orton, a neuropsychiatrist, and Anna Gillingham, an educator and psychologist. Developed in the 1930s, it's a multisensory, structured literacy method for teaching reading, spelling, and writing which breaks down language into smaller components and uses auditory, visual, and kinesthetic (tactile, movement) channels to reinforce learning.
Two weeks from today! The annual Halloween parades at Otisville Elementary and the Elementary School, each led by divisions of the Mighty Minisink Valley Marching Band!
CALL FOR PHOTOS! See details:
Ms. Iannucci also talked about why some animals don’t make good pets while showing them a toad, parrot, tortoise, bearded dragon, chinchilla, ball python and kangaroo!
This traveling animal program educates the public and school children about animals, their welfare and conservation, while fostering kindness and empathy for all living things. Thank you to the Elementary School PTO for sponsoring the fun and educational visit! See more photos on the district's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MinisinkValleyCSD
Manipulative skills are practiced in physical education to achieve expertise in a particular activity. Children learn and require patience and determination to attain basic manipulation skills, as well as learning accuracy and applicable force.
In this instance, students are throwing and catching using a bean bag. And, Mr. Pascarelli is showing them some challenges, or “tricks” as he’s telling them, that they can do on their own with a bean bag. If you have one at home, ask your student to show you!
The district has equipped its entire bus fleet with cameras to catch vehicles that illegally pass a stopped school bus. If you see a bus’ red lights flashing and stop-arm extended, STOP! Otherwise, you and the vehicle you’re driving will be photographed and you WILL GET A $250 FINE.
Don't say we didn't tell you: Please pay attention and drive safe!
READ MORE: https://www.minisink.com/article/2365311
Working in pairs, students were given meters and rulers to document their measurements on paper. While outside, they chose different objects to measure and had to determine whether they should use a ruler or a meter stick. They drew a picture of the object they measured and labeled it with their measurements.
Learning how to measure in second-grade is important because it builds a foundational skill for understanding and interacting with the world, enhances problem-solving abilities, and develops crucial cognitive skills like spatial awareness. PLUS: Measuring skills directly apply to everyday tasks such as cooking or assembling items and is a fundamental concept in math and science.
Rulers are used to measure shorter objects, like a pencil or an eraser, and a meter stick (or yardstick) for longer objects, like a table or the distance across a classroom. To decide which tool to use, think about the size of the object you are measuring: smaller objects need shorter tools, and larger objects need longer tools.
Take a peek at the spooky skeletons, made with Q-tips! Students completed their projects while learning about the skeletal system during their Human Body unit! students labeled several bones and added a few sentences to describe what their skeletons help them do or what they would not be able to do with them!
This was a great STEM lesson which offered a hands-on and creative learning activity combining simple materials with the spooky theme of Halloween and the learning of human anatomy!
BE BOLD! BE COLD!
FREEZE FOR A GREAT CAUSE!
Minisink Valley is again creating a team for the 2025 Orange County Polar Plunge to support Special Olympics New York! The plunge will be held Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Rez in Highland Mills!
JOIN OUR TEAM and help us retain our title as the “Cool School Challenge” winner! Last year, Minisink Valley won the 2024 Cool School Challenge (retaining this title earned in 2023) and raised $4,022! We are looking to exceed this amount this year!
The “Cool School Challenge” is a friendly competition between local schools as part of the 2025 Orange County Polar Plunge. Not only are our school clubs and teams as well as families and students invited to join us our team, we’re looking for community members to be a part of it, too! It was great to see the large number of people participating last year and we’re hopeful to see this number grow this year!
Director of PPS Jeff Finton is overseeing Minisink Valley’s efforts to create a team. JOIN US and BE COLD: Email Jeff Finton at: jfinton@minisink.com.
Thank you for whatever you’re able to do to support this initiative!
