The Intermediate School PTO "elves" have helped many students with their holiday shopping this year at the PTO Holiday Kidz Boutique! Shh....don't give away any surprises!
Presenting the winners of the annual Intermediate School Staff Bakeoff: Best Tasting: Shawona Ellison; Most Festive: Cecilia Kosowicz; Best Overall: Sheri Gurney; Best from Scratch: Jayna Plocharczyk; and Best Not a Cookie: Karen Nicholson!
Do you remember how to solve word problems that involve multiplying fractions with mixed numbers?
Fifth-graders, like Michael Sirico’s IS fifth-graders, do! Ask them to give you a refresher!
Take a peek at Mr. Sirico’s students recently solving word problems that involved multiplying fractions with mixed numbers. They were taught to start by summarizing their word problems by writing down each number and labeling what was important about each.
Then they were shown how to recognize an "of problem." Later, students had to change mixed numbers into improper fractions to solve these problems, and were shown how to properly label their answers, including the unit involved with their answers.
Deanna Feuerbach’s IS fourth-grade music students have been having a great time using boomwhackers in class, which includes using them for holiday song play-along videos!
Boomwhackers are percussion instruments that are lightweight, color-coded plastic tubes that are tuned to different musical pitches. They are tuned to a C Major scale.
Each student is given a different colored pitch, and must wait their turn to play their note when it appears on the screen. The students are able to perform together as an ensemble to create music which helps enhance social skills and work towards a common goal.
Boomwhackers are a popular instrument in elementary music classrooms because they’re a fun and engaging way to teach music concepts such as rhythm and pitch, harmony and melody as well as timing, focus and concentration, teamwork, collaboration and hand-eye coordination.
Craig Ramsell invented the instrument in 1994 while cutting down a cardboard gift-wrap tube for recycling. He noticed the different tones produced by the two pieces of the tube and realized he could tune them to play music. Ramsell experimented with different plastics, eventually settling on plastic mailing tubes. He and his wife created the first plastic model in 1995.
CAN YOU HELP? The High School's Youth Against Cancer Club is in the midst of a donation drive through Dec. 16 to collect items to brighten the days of Garnet Medical Center patients. See the flyer for what students are hopeful to collect! Your contributions would be most welcome!
CAN YOU HELP?
The High School cheerleaders' SOCK, HAT and GLOVE DRIVE runs through Dec. 20. Please see the details and thanks for sharing!
Scoot is a great game to play, particularly when it’s time for subtraction review!
Candace Gale and Cecilia Kosowicz’s IS third-graders paired up to work together on their subtraction review work! They did great work, by the way!
Scoot is a game that can be used to review or reinforce concepts in math and other subjects. The teacher places question cards around the room, and students move from one card to another answering questions. The game can be used to assess students in a variety of subjects, including math, language arts, and science.
JOIN US tonight, Dec. 2, for the Intermediate School Chorus Concert at 7 p.m.!
THE TRADITION CONTINUES!
Now in its 25th YEAR, the Intermediate School Fifth-Grade held its annual Thanksgiving luncheon on Nov. 26!
Fifth-grade teacher Mike Conklin offered comments before the luncheon began reminding everyone about the importance of being thankful, kind and generous and that there's always something to be thankful for. He also noted he believed they would remember this day during the rest of their school careers as well.
The luncheon was made possible due to the kindness and generosity of parents, faculty and staff who provided all turkeys, hams, side dishes and desserts and related treats to have a delicious hot Thanksgiving meal!
THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the luncheon's success. Everyone had a great time eating and socializing...and they were very well-fed! SEE MORE photos on the district's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MinisinkValleyCSD
Motivational speaker, former Harlem Globetrotters player and eight-time Guinness record holder Corey “The Dribbler” Rich visited the Intermediate School yesterday, Nov. 25, for two character education assemblies showcasing his very cool basketball talents...which often included students and faculty! Take a peek at the fun
Most important: As Corey spoke demonstrated his skills, he spoke to students about the importance of working together with their “team,” treating others like you would like to be treated and the importance of working hard to achieve goals.
His incredible ball-handling skills include dribbling six basketballs at once! Cory has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, ESPN First Take, Comcast Sportsnet, Fox News and is widely considered the “World’s Greatest Dribbler!” Along with performing his amazing talents at NBA Halftime Shows, Corey travels the country inspiring students with his character education message: The 4Rs for success: Respect, responsibility, ready to learn and reading is power.
Character education programs take place in all our buildings throughout the year. THANK YOU to the IS PTO for sponsoring this important program!
The Intermediate School’s Girls on the Run (GOTR) program has been quite busy this fall! In addition to training, the group has been participating in lessons and activities that build confidence and character.
For its community project, the IS GOTR collected Thanksgiving food items which was recently delivered to the soup kitchen in Middletown for families in need.
The girls also recently completed a 5K run at Rockland Lake State Park! Well-done to all!
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!
HANDS UP!
Who needs jazz hands when you have “white board hands?”
Adrianna Ciccarelli’s IS fourth-graders are using “white board hands” to quickly answer rounding questions during math review. What a fun way to do work!
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!
