There’s always important ELA work for first-graders to complete, such as for Lindsay Kane’s Otisville first-graders, who were recently working on answering comprehension questions for the story "Lunch at the King's Pub." Once that work was completed, students worked on their “Pausing Point” pages that review skills they have learned throughout this unit.
Checking work done in class is important! And, raise your hand if you know the answer! Erica Alders’ and Alexa Roach’s Otisville fourth-graders are ready to share what they know!
It's Day 3 of Otisville Elementary's Spirit Week! Today's theme: SILLY SOCK DAY! Students and staff did not disappoint!
It’s not over yet, Yankee fans! Think positive….and as part of that positivity, Otisville Elementary presented students with their Aaron Judge ALL RISE Summer Reading Programs certificate received earlier in the week!
Congratulations and well-done to Adam Weber and Aria Basso!
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.
REMINDER: Tomorrow, Oct. 31, Otisville Elementary and the Elementary School will hold their annual Halloween parades! You're invited to view the parades! It's one of our most memorable days of the year for our elementary students!
CALL FOR PHOTOS: Share a photo of your student's parade costume for a Halloween photo gallery!
Alyssa Pagano’s and Mary Louey’s Otisville fifth-graders are using differentiated math games which work perfectly for students who have different needs in math!
Students who need to work on their multiplication facts are playing a multiplication game called “Multiplication War,” while other students are playing a division game with remainders called “Remainders Wanted.” It’s a fun and innovative way to meet the math needs of all students!
Math games like these help students in many ways, including: Improving math proficiency, developing problem solving skills, building computational fluency fostering collaboration, personalized learning and even reducing math anxiety!
It's Day 2 of Otisville Elementary's Spirit Week: Today is "Inside out --- Backwards---Mismatch" Day!
Stephanie Guifre and Tom Uhrig’s Otisville physical education students are having a “pumpkin palooza” time in their Halloween-themed classes which combine literacy, seasonality and physical activity!
The teachers used Dan Yaccarino’s “Five Little Pumpkins” (which is read in kindergarten classes) as a springboard to physical fitness fun and games!
Students read the book’s poem and reviewed the book's hand gestures. Then, students threw balls to knock over the little pumpkins on the cones of the opposing team. (Each side has five pumpkins.) The lesson also offered students a chance to work on throwing/rolling skills while learning the beginning elements of offense and defense in addition to working together as a team!
Spirit Week kicks off at Otisville Elementary today, Oct 28, with USA Day1 Take a peek at a sampling of the marvelous patriotic attire seen throughout the building!
Kudos to Otisville fifth-grader Leah Galligan and second-grader Brielle Bucksbee, who represented students as they read a heartfelt morning announcement noting the school's appreciation of Principal Julia Downey. October is National Principal Appreciation Month!
Did you know that this past Saturday, Oct. 26 was National Pumpkin Day? Cynthia Muccari’s and Tasha Buchler’s Otisville second/third-graders did! They spent last Friday marking the day with a STEM-filled afternoon of amazing pumpkin activities!
Students were divided into small groups and went from classroom to classroom to take part in different math and science centers. In Mrs. Muccari's room, they practiced estimation and measuring by using cubes to measure the height and circumference of a pumpkin, as well as their counting skills by counting the seeds from inside of the pumpkin. Students also practiced making small groups of 2s and 5s to practice their skip counting. The pumpkin was 16 cubes tall and 37 cubes around with about 500 seeds inside (students practiced rounding too)!
In Ms. Buchler's room, students completed a STEM challenge of creating a tower using toothpicks and candy corn pumpkins and also saw what happens when they put candy corn in different liquids! The candy corn dissolved the fastest in warm water, with vinegar being next, and then dish soap being last. The dish soap liquid turned brown when it was fully dissolved!
They took a quick break to author Joe Troiano read his story “The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin,” which was part of a live virtual program via Scholastic's “Storyvoice.”
Finally, to conclude the afternoon, students went outside on a beautiful to see what happens when baking soda and vinegar mix together inside a pumpkin: It becomes a pumpkin volcano! Plus, adding in dish soap makes it foamier! What a wonderful STEM lesson tied to seasonality!
Instead of decorating pumpkins this year, Otisville Elementary involved the entire school in a scarecrow competition, with a grade-level scarecrows and scarecrows created by the school’s administrative offices created. Students were invited to vote (they could not vote on their own) on their top choice, all entries were presented anonymously. Take a look at the amazing creativity of all scarecrow designs! Winners, as selected by students:
1st Place:
“Beetlejuice,” concept created and scarecrow made by the Occupational/Physical Therapy Department.
2nd Place:
“Spider Witch,” concept created and scarecrow made by the Main Office.
3rd Place
“Unicorn,” concept created and scarecrow made by the School Psychologist’s Office.
Honorable Mentions
• Kindergarten for its “Bucket Filler Superhero Scarecrow”
• First-Grade for its “Book of Scary” words.
Elizabeth Hagerty’s Otisville fifth-graders, like all district fifth-graders, have been spending quality time during ELA lessons working on reading and writing personal narratives.
For her class, this recent lesson was near the end of the unit where students are writing a personal narrative about a time they were “surprised.” Students used organizers to make sure their stories were in a logical sequence. They were tasked with adding sensory details as well as similes and metaphors to give their readers a clearer mental image and to make their writing more interesting. Some of their topics included being surprised with a new pet, having a birthday surprise, a surprise snow day, and a surprise trip!
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Otisville Elementary's and the Elementary School's annual Halloween parades is just one week away! And you're invited to view the parades! It's one of our most memorable days of the year for our elementary students!
CALL FOR PHOTOS: Share a photo of your student's parade costume for a Halloween photo gallery!
It's Day 2 of Otisville Elementary's annual Fire Safety Program, made possible through the support of our local fire agencies. Our firefighter partners presented important life saving awareness assemblies to our Grades 4 and 5 students. Ask them about it!
It was Fire Safety Day today, Oct. 22, for our Otisville K-3 students! Thank you to our firefighter partners for teaching our students and reminding them about important life-saving information. Ask your student about this!
Kara Welsh's third-grade art students are learning about "Surrealism," studying the work of surrealist artists Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, and Rene Magritte.
They were challenged to create a surrealist work, where the objects are drawn realistically, but what's happening is dream-like or irrational. Students were able to choose what art material best suited the completion of their work- paint sticks, colored pencil, marker, or oil pastel. Most used a combination of materials!
Surrealism is an artistic, literary, and philosophical movement that originated in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. Surrealism is a style in art and literature in which ideas, images, and objects are combined in a strange way, like in a dream.
Instrument lessons are an important part of a student musician's success! (But! They also need to practice at home!) Take a peek at Maria Fenfert’s Otisville “trumpeters” having their instrument-specific music lessons!
The trumpet is a versatile instrument that plays a central role in many types of music, including jazz, pop, and classical. It's often the lead instrument in a band or orchestra, carrying the melody. Trumpets are also known for their loud, bright sound and ability to project over long distances! The trumpet has a long history, dating back to 1,500 B.C. It was originally used as a signaling tool in wars, and later for entertainment. The trumpet has also been associated with royalty and celebrations, such as announcing the arrival of royalty.
COOKIE CRISP CEREAL AND DIVISION! Rachel Sebold and Stephanie Gove/Kirsten Reid’s Otisville third-graders have been learning about division in a very delicious way!
“Equal sets” is typically the first division strategy taught, so the teachers used Pat Hutchins’ “The Doorbell Rang,” a story about friendship, sharing and cookies --- and which gives a great introduction to basic math concepts --- as their introduction to equal groups in math.
In the book, the mother makes12 cookies for her son and daughter to share and they are happy because they each get six. Then two more people come and they have to split the cookies by four, then six, and finally 12.
Students used their recording booklets and modeled division using the Cookie Crisp cereal to represent the cookies the children get in the book utilizing the fair share method. What a creative way to have a hands-on math lesson using cookie manipulatives, which were happily eaten once the lesson concluded!
