Otisville Elementary School

Kelly Manganiello’s and Tara Frawley’s Otisville fifth-graders, like all district fifth-graders, are currently learning about The Renaissance. As part of their discussions, their students been researching different sculptures and artists, including Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (known simply as Michelangelo) --- the sculptor, painter, architect, and poet from the Italian High Renaissance ---and his painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. In a very unique class activity, students simulated painting like Michelangelo via an under-the-table mural activity. They taped paper underneath their desks, laid on the floor and created artwork experiencing the similar challenges that Michelangelo did. Michelangelo is most celebrated for the Pietà, the Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes, and the David. These works, along with his architectural designs like the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica, have cemented his legacy as a true Renaissance master. •Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel is renowned for its stunning frescoes depicting scenes from the Old Testament. Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II to paint the ceiling between 1508 and 1512. •Michelangelo was primarily a sculptor, not a painter, and initially resisted the commission. •The frescoes cover a massive area, with the ceiling painting alone spanning 12,000 square feet. •The Sistine Chapel is the site of the papal conclave, where cardinals gather to elect a new pope.

Last evening's K-12 Art Show was beyond beautiful! It was bright, colorful, unique creative and full of pride by everyone who attended! We hope you were there! Take a peek at some of our proud student-artists who were thrilled to show their works of art. Did you know that approximately 1,000 students had at least one piece of art on exhibit? THANK YOU to our awesome art faculty in our five buildings for their work to stage such a gorgeous exhibit! We appreciate you! See more photos on the district's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MinisinkValleyCSD

All district kindergarten classes have recent spent time learning about colonial townspeople. As part of their studies, Jessica Kahn’s and Julia Ferguson’s Otisville kindergarteners made butter following how colonialists did! Students shook a jar of heavy whipping cream and watched it transform into butter, later tasting their creation with rolls! Making butter in kindergarten offers a hands-on, engaging way for young students to learn about colonial life. By replicating the process of making butter, they can understand how colonists relied on their own resources, specifically dairy products, to provide essential food. This activity helps them grasp the daily tasks and responsibilities of colonial families, highlighting how they prepared food that is now readily available in stores. In addition to the social studies/history component of making butter, there’s science involved, too! In this activity, these young students learned about the characteristics of liquids and solids. There are fat molecules suspended in the milk liquid. Briskly agitating the heavy whipping cream causes the fat molecules to collide with each other and eventually stick together, making butter!

Otisville K-5 students are taking advantage of today’s gorgeous weather to create some spectacular “chalk art” art, which includes messages of kindness, to welcome voters when they visit the school tomorrow to vote for the proposed school budget and Board of Education candidates. What was also a fun, educational experience for them , arranged by librarian Erin Andersen, was they took part in a “walk and read” activity inspired by Bill Thompson’s book called “Chalk.” His book is a wordless picture book which tells the story of three children who find a bag of magical chalk at the playground on a rainy day. Their drawings come to life, which seems great when a drawing of the sun stops the rain, but is scary when a dinosaur stalks them. However, a drawing of a rain cloud inside a play tube brings the rain back and dissolves the frightening creature . What a great visual and outdoor storytelling opportunity!

CAN YOU HELP? Mark your calendar, ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! Giving back has never been cooler! Join us at Rita's on Dolson Avenue on Thursday, May 22 from 5 to 8 p.m. for a refreshing ice or custard and a portion of your money spent will go to the Tyrell J. Audian Memorial Scholarship at the High School! TJ was a 2019 graduate and dedicated his life to our nation by enlisting in the Marines right out of high school. Tragically, TJ suddenly passed away during a training exercise with his unit. A track scholarship in his honor has been created in collaboration with High School yearbook. Please consider supporting of this worthy cause!

These adorable Otisville incoming kindergarteners visited their soon-to-be new school last week to have their own special Physical Education class and get a feel for all the physical education fun that awaits them beginning this September! Take a peek; and thank you to Physical Education teacher Stephanie Guifre for spending time with them!

Mother's Day is Sunday; Happy Mother's Day to all our school community's mothers, important mother figures, grandmothers and the "special someones" who play critically important roles in the lives of our students! Thanks to the generosity of the Otisville PTO, all K-5 students are making special gifts for the special people in their lives today! (Don't look if you're one of them...or act surprised when the gift is presented to you!)

Otisville Elementary runners "On your mark, get set, go!" The Fastest Runner competition is set for Tuesday, May 27! The deadline to register is Wednesday, May 21! We invite you to register your student to be part of this physically fun event! Scan the QR code for details!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW! One of the biggest district-wide events will take place Tuesday, May 20: The annual annual District Art Show/K-12 Exhibition! Over 400 student artists representing the High School, Middle School, Otisville Elementary the Intermediate School and the Elementary School will have work on display from 5 to 8 p.m. at the High School cafeteria and auditorium. It's always a gorgeous and vibrantly colorful exhibition, featured all kinds of art mediums! This exhibition is equally wonderful because of the smiles on the proud families and students! Please join us!

Congratulations to the 17 students who were recognized at the NYSAHPERD Catskill Zone Leadership Awards Ceremony, held this past Saturday at Wallkill High School! This event honors top-grade-level students who exemplify excellence in fitness, leadership, and citizenship—key components of New York State learning standards. These students were selected for their commitment to an active lifestyle, responsible behavior, leadership qualities, and contributions to their school community. While athletic ability is not a requirement, each honoree embodies the spirit of personal growth and positive influence. "These students are role models who lead by example, showing us the power of character, effort, and service in physical education and beyond,” said Physical Education teacher Theresa Uhelsky, the organization’s past president. Students honored were: Middle School • Mason King • Ben Ziegler • Lennox Addo • Erin Arias • Lyla LeBarbera Otisville Elementary • Leah Galligan • Quinn Lattimer • Luca Artola • Eliya Graziano Intermediate School • Ella Manzie • Madison Worden • Jemma Marsala • Charlotte Kohler Elementary School • James Santos • Gary Boyajian • Declan Barry • Kaylee Jackler

Did you know that today is National Tie Dye Day? Otisville Elementary does! With their bright colors and smiling faces, these photos were just too cute to not share! PS: All these shirts were created at the PTO's recent Family Craft and Tie Dye Night!

Physical education teachers Stephanie Giufre and Tom Uhrig created a recent SUPER FUN and colorful obstacle course for their K-1 students! There are so many learning opportunities for these young students to gain besides the thrill of course completion! This obstacle course helps them to better understand concepts like “in,” “out,” “over,” “ under,” “around,” “through,” “up” and “down.” PLUS...the course also promotes overall physical fitness, gross motor development (using large muscles), bilateral coordination (using both sides of the body at the same time), perceptual motor development (receive, interpret and respond to sensory information), agility, coordination, spatial awareness, listening skills and balance.

Otisville’s Family Craft and Tie Dye Night, held this past Friday night, was a huge success! Everyone had a great time and there’s lots of wonderful crafts which now have a place of distinction at home! Thank you to the Otisville PTO and everyone who contributed to the evening’s success! Art teacher Kara Welsh used fabric dye given to her from former art teacher for tie dying over 160 people tie dyed items! Students also had fun at paper airplane/origami, air dry clay sculpting, tissue flowers, magnet decoration and pom-pom coaster stations! See more photos on the district's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MinisinkValleyCSD/

Tara Frawley’s and Kelly Manganiello's Otisville fifth-graders recently completed a science experiment about energy using Hot Wheels cars! The purpose of this energy transfer experiment was to test two predictions that students know about potential, kinetic energy and friction. They did this by taking a car and placing it on a track higher than another car will travel further along the track and then covering the track with salt to see if the car will not travel as far as one without salt on the track During the experiment, students taped Hot Wheels tracks together and built a stack of books 40 centimeters and 20 centimeters high. They positioned a Hot Wheels car on the edge of the slope and released it. Students then measured the distance travelled in centimeters after three releases on their data sheets. They also tested what happened to the Hot Wheels cars’ distance once salt was added to the track. Finally, students calculated the average distance to determine which height the car travelled further on- the high or low height. •Potential energy is stored energy within an object or system, waiting to be released and used. •Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. It's the energy possessed by an object due to its movement. •Friction is a force that opposes motion between two surfaces that are in contact, •According to manufacturer Mattel, eight Hot Wheels cars are sold every second. There’s more than 800 models and 11,000 variations.

Lillian Preziosi’s Otisville fifth-graders, like all district fifth-graders, are studying ocean ecosystems as part of their science lessons. During their recent CKLA Grade 5 Pilot Unit “Lesson 1: Introducing Ocean Ecosystems and Their Inhabitants,” students explored the diversity of animal and plant life within six ocean ecosystems. When an image was displayed, students brainstormed about the characteristics of the ecosystem and then took turns recording their observations. And after reading Chapter 1, they worked together to identify unique characteristics of each ecosystem (coral reefs, kelp forests, estuaries, mangrove forests, the open ocean and the deep sea) by looking closely at their biotic and abiotic features. They had a great time collaborating and learning together…and collaboration is an important life skill! In an ecosystem, biotic factors are the living organisms (like plants, animals, and bacteria), while abiotic factors are the non-living, physical and chemical components (like sunlight, water, and soil)

TODAY IS EARTH DAY! Today’s gorgeous weather and temperatures was the perfect opportunity for Jessica Kahn’s/Julia Ferguson’s and AnneMarie Guido’s Otisville kindergarteners to spend some time outside enjoying the outdoors and appreciating nature and the sunshine. Erica Alders’/Alexa Roach’s fifth-graders and Rachel Sebold's third-graders did the same, too, along with a very cool Earth Day-related scavenger hunt! Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22 that focuses on raising awareness and promoting environmental protection. It's a time to demonstrate support for the environment, with a wide range of events coordinated globally to encourage action and behavioral changes to protect the planet!

Otisville Elementary was proud to have a small role in welcoming home veterans who were part of Hudson Valley Honor Flight's recent Mission 35 to Washington, D.C.! This WELCOME HOME banner was signed by everyone at Otisville! Students also made beautiful cards of appreciation!

Reminder: The 2025-26 student calendar has been available for everyone's use!

Today, April 11, Otisville Elementary welcomed members of its incoming kindergarten class for a fun morning learning about the library and music classes they will attend this fall! It's always an adorable morning when these little ones and their parents/grandparents/guardians visit to see all that awaits them. Take a peek at their cutie-pie faces! We always appreciate Librarian Erin Andersen's and Music Teacher Skyler Klein's making them feel so welcome!

READY, SET....GO! THANK YOU to everyone who helped make the annual Otisville Kindergarten Spring Egg Hunt (it may have been more like a race ) so much FUN for these little ones, who joyfully and gleefully ran around to gather as many eggs as they could! Everyone went home with eggs filled with goodies and smiles on their faces! It's a wonderful school tradition, which involves the "big kid" second-graders who set up the "hunt!"