Do you know what the “arrow way” strategy is in math? Second-graders, like Lisa Anglemyer’s Otisville second-graders do! Ask them!
In second-grade math, the "arrow way" strategy refers to a method of simplifying addition problems.
The strategy helps the students improve their knowledge of basic math facts, place value and their mental math skills by using arrows to show how a number changes when adding or subtracting chunks, essentially breaking down a larger problem into smaller, more manageable steps.
When using the "Arrow Way" method, students are taught to break down one of the addends in the problem by units. The students are then able to solve the problem by adding the like units, one unit at a time. This method also allows students to visually represent their thought process as they solve problems.
What’s a great thing to do to get ready for lunch? DANCE! That’s what Jessica Kahn and Julia Ferguson’s Otisville kindergarteners often do before lining up for their lunch break. Don’t they look adorable?
JOIN US tonight, Dec. 4 for the Otisville Elementary Chorus Concert at 7 p.m.!
Bryon Imbarrato’s Otisville third-graders concluded their recent ELA unit on the human body with a guest speaker who talked to them more about the wonders of the human body!
Gina Torres, a Northwell Health administrator and class parent, gave a fantastic presentation to students, who were happy to know what they’re talking about in class has real-life applications. After students completed a review of their content knowledge, they went on an in-class scavenger hunt where they read fun facts about the human body systems and responded to questions. THANK YOU, Mrs. Torres, for visiting!
Otisville PTO Book Swap...leave a book and take a book!. All students went home today with a book! Swapping books is a great way to expand knowledge!
How fun! Otisville's K-2 Quarter 1 STAR students recently attended a special "Breakfast with the Principal" to celebrate their important recognition! Plus: Their breakfast gathering included "selfies" with Principal Julia Downey!
Otisville Elementary physical education teacher Stephanie Giufre’s Grades 2-5 students are seeing how feeling grateful can be part of physical education class!
First, she and students talked about what gratitude is and things they are grateful for. Then, she tasked them with creating a “Gratitude Wreath!” The object was for teams to work together to create a unique gratitude wreath.
On the start signal, one student from each team rolled the 🎲die.🎲 The entire team performed the activity determined by the number rolled/exercise identified on the activity card.
The team’s movement “earned” them one item to add to their gratitude wreath. One student from the team went to the center of the activity area and brought one item (bean bag, scarf, deck ring, yarn ball, etc.) back to add to the team’s wreath and says something he/she is grateful for. Every student had a chance roll the die and choose (and place) the item added to the wreath.
Students continued this process until wreaths are complete or until they heard the stop signal. What a creative class tied to this season of being grateful!
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!
As part of last Friday’s Otisville K-2 Quarter 1 Awards Ceremony, K-2 students were treated to a special performance of the Aseop’s fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare.” Guest performers third-grade teacher Bryon Imbarrato narrated the fable, with musical accompaniment by Music teachers Maria Fenfert on the French horn and Sklyer Klein on piano. What a creative way to impart a lesson!
In the fable "The Tortoise and the Hare," a boastful hare challenges a slow-moving tortoise to a race, confident in his superior speed. However, the hare becomes complacent, stops to take a nap during the race, and ends up losing to the tortoise who steadily continued moving without stopping, illustrating the moral that "slow and steady wins the race."
Aesop was a Greek fabulist and former slave credited with inventing the genre we now call fables. He caught the attention of many ancient Greek poets, playwrights and historians with his stories.
Aesop's fables are intended to be told to children. The fables’ characters are generally animals with human characteristics, and the stories provide an entertaining way to impart life lessons to young people.
Join us!
The Otisville fourth-grade teaching team of Jenna Colman/Victoria Frascone, Erica Alders/Alexa Roach, Susie Balfour and Adriana Eichwald celebrated the end of ELA Unit 2, “Empires in the Middle Ages,” with a themed medieval celebration for their students!
During this unit, students learned about castles, knights and other topics. After taking a virtual tour of a medieval castle’s Great Hall, students learned about the long tables that the nobles would gather at for meals.
Sitting at these long tables under "candlelit chandeliers," students created beautiful stained-glass windows. During the unit, students learned about "rose windows," a type of stained-glass window that looks like a flower. Students used tissue paper and laminating pockets to make their own stained-glass creations that look beautiful when the sun shines through, just like a real stained-glass window.
Students also sat by the Great Hall’s roaring "fire" and created family crests, similar to what would represent a noble family during this time. What a fun and creative way to reinforce Middle Age lessons!
Studying the Middle Ages in fourth-grade is important because it provides a foundation for understanding Western civilization and introduces key concepts like feudalism, the role of the Church, and the development of early European societies and more, which significantly shaped the world we live in today. It also allows students to explore fascinating stories and imagery from this period!
Congratulations to the incoming 2024-25 Otisville K-Kids officers, who recently assumed their new roles during the group’s Fall Installation, where 21 new members were inducted. New officers are Jillian O'Sullivan, president; Quinn Lattimer, vice president; Peter Caputo, treasurer; and Ariana Rodriguez, secretary.
The Otisville K-Kids Club is sponsored by Minisink Valley Kiwanis, and is a leadership program for primary/elementary school age students. Club members improve their schools and communities — an experience that helps them develop a passion to serve, a desire to lead and the ability to engage and collaborate with others.
Minisink Valley Kiwanis President Grace White and K-Kids Advisors Andrea Yager and Logan Reggio attended the ceremony to support the club, its achievements, and vision for the future.
The group’s recent projects were the Little Free Library, Treats for Troops, "Souper Seniors", raising money for Room to Read and a local animal shelter, playground signs for the playgrounds at Otisville, and cards for patients at Garnet Medical Center.
"We are looking forward to a busy year of community service,” said School Club Advisor Danielle Ulbrich.
Lillian Preziosi’s Otisville fifth-graders have been working with their reading partners to learn about an ancient Maya myth that explains the creation of the Earth and its people. Afterward, they continued working together to answer comprehension questions about the chapter and discuss the characteristics of a myth. Kudos to them for their hard work to develop their partner reading skills and learn how to work together in order to complete activities in a productive and efficient manner. Take a look!
Their reading and comprehension work focused on learning that large complex civilizations, including those of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca, developed in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans. They learned about the geography, climate, flora, and fauna of the Americas as well as the overall history and timeline highlighting the rise and fall of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations. Students also learned the innovations and discoveries of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca; and their reading unit featured myths from these ancient civilizations.
Please join us in thanking and saluting Otisville School Resource Officer (SRO) Sean Burke, who is retiring from the Mount Hope Police Department. His last day as Otisville's SRO is today, Nov. 7.
Officer Burke has been a trusted, calm, caring and professional face at the Otisville campus who has always put the safety and security of Otisville students, faculty and staff as his first and most important priority. The school community will miss him tremendously, and wishes him much good health, happiness and fulfillment on his next adventures in life.
Today, Nov. 7, the Otisville school community honored Officer Burke with a special school celebration, with students, faculty and staff presenting him with notes, cards and signs.
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.
Lindsay Kane’s Otisville first-graders have completed a very important class election: Which fruit they liked best! Congratulations to WATERMELON!
The lesson tied perfectly with current events and civics. Students learned that voting is how they say what they want (which fruit they liked best); that when a group of people vote, it’s called an election; the “candidates,” in this instance, were different fruits; when people vote, they use ballots, or forms that show voters the choices they have in an election (sometimes paper, sometimes a machine); and people mark their ballots so they can indicate their choice – their vote.
But there was also an important math, data compilation, graphing and ELA component, too! Students had to count and tally up the results, graph those results and then write a sentence about the results of their fruit election
And of course, just like adults are offered at their polling locations, every student voter received a “I voted” sticker!
See more photos on the district's Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/MinisinkValleyCSD
Skyler Klein’s Otisville fourth-grade music students have recently learned a "round" (type of song) called "Come to the Top of the Path in the Garden." This particular song choice was a "visual round," meaning not only was the song performed in parts at different times, but each group was represented visually by a circle performing movements as they sang. Take a look!
In music, a “round” is a short, repetitive song where multiple people sing the same melody, but each person starts singing at a different time. Rounds are a great way for students to develop musical independence, to perform and listen at the same time.
Otisville concludes its Spirit Week today, Nov. 1, with "Green and White"Day! As expected, students looked fabulous!
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!
