Mia McLean's ES kindergarten library students are reading a perfect book which aligns with Hispanic Heritage Month: Roseanne Thong's "Round is a Tortilla." The book introduces these young students to some Spanish language words while reinforcing many shapes found in every child’s day! For example, rectangles are ice-cream carts and stone metates, while triangles are slices of watermelon and quesadillas!
Sally Mankoo's ES kindergarteners are working on fine motor and social/emotional learning skills using Play-Doh!
Students "found" a face they wanted to decorate with Play-Doh and used their fingers to make lines, shapes to put onto their face to show they are feeling that day! Plus, who doesn't love playing with Play-Doh?
Leyla Johnson’s ES K-2 physical education classes have been working on practicing locomotor movements, which involve moving the body through space from one location to another in different ways. Take a look!
Some locomotor movements include walking, skipping, galloping, sliding, running, jumping, leaping and hopping. Students have also been working on learning different pathways, which are the paths that people take as they move from one place to another A pathway can be “straight,” “curved,” “zigzag” or a combination of these.
As part of their physical education class, students get to take turns “following the leader” to music! They get to choose the locomotor movement and the pathway while the rest of the class follows along. Not only are they learning, they’re having a chance to be creative and silly!
It’s a big deal when you can pick out a library book and check the book out of the library by yourself! Kindergarten students, like Mia McLean’s ES kindergarten library students,, recently had their first chance to do just this! Mrs. McLean reviewed the process for picking out a book and how to check out that book with her. Take a peek! Now, with every visit to the library, these little students will be taking a book home to read.
Mary Kelly's second-graders are learning the six rules of partner reading while reading "The Snack Mix" from their ELA reader "The Cat Bandit."
Rule 1: Sit next to your partner (knee to knee, elbow to elbow)
Rule 2: Listen carefully to the partner that is reading.
Rule 3: Use a voice that only your partner can hear.
Rule 4: Be patient and give your partner a chance to sound out a difficult word.
Rule 5: Read the whole time and know your job.
Rule 6: If you finish early, reread the story or one already read.
ES art teacher Ilana Kaufman is introducing her kindergarten students how to properly use a paint brush as part of their initial project work creating and coloring abstract lines using oil pastels and watercolor paint.
Ask your student how they know “if the paints are sleeping,” “how to wake up paint” and why they need to hold a paint brush as if it were a “ballerina on her toes!” They know what this means!
GOING GOLD! Thank you to everyone for bringing awareness to the need for more research dollars to fund research for cures to pediatric cancer. The district glowed in various shades of yellow and gold!
Visit our Facebook page to see photo galleries of our students, faculty and staff in their gold/yellow attire! https://www.facebook.com/MinisinkValleyCSD
Ian Walker's second-graders are learning about how the ancient Egyptians measured! Using the cubit (elbow to fingertips) and the palm (width of your four fingers) students measured many objects around the room. Ask them about this!
Tracey Salinardi's ES second-graders are learning about the metric system. They’re using tools such as meter sticks, centimeter rulers and centimeter cubes to measure different objects. Students are learning to choose appropriate tools according to the sizes of the objects. For instance, students measured the door with a meter stick but measured their markers with a centimeter ruler!
The metric system is a system of measurement that uses the meter, liter, and gram as base units of length (distance), capacity (volume), and weight (mass) respectively.
Today is Security Appreciation Day! Each grade level decorated a slice of pizza to complete a pie, which became a beautiful piece of artwork and presented their "pizzas" them to the security team!
It’s school photo season, and it’s PHOTO DAY at the Elementary School today, Sept. 27! Take a peek how keepsake school photos are created, with these adorable first-graders are showing us how they’re done. We’re seeing a lot of adorable dresses, hair bows and collared shirts in the building today!
The High School’s Career Achievement Program (CAP) students provide weekly assistance to teachers and educators in various buildings throughout the Slate Hill campus. It’s a great inter-school collaboration! Students recently helped ES reading teacher Valerie Zubikowski prepare for her lesson by gathering, organizing and cutting letter sounds cards. Using these letter sound cards, students will be practicing being able to fluently say the sounds of letters to help build their phonics skills!
Letter sound cards are a tool used to help students learn the relationship between letters and the sounds they make. They can be used to help children learn to automatically associate letters with sounds; to review letters and sounds to help students become more fluent; support phonological awareness by helping students sound out letters and combinations of letters; and support spelling through the review spelling sounds!
Reminder: We're GOING GOLD on Monday, Sept. 30! Please join our efforts to bring awareness of the need for new treatments and hopeful cures for pediatric cancer. Thank you to the High School's Youth Against Cancer Club for spearheading this initiative.
CALL FOR PHOTOS: Share photos of your student's gold/yellow attire! Email to communications@minisink.com to be included in a forthcoming photo gallery!
Looking for a place for your children to go during the school breaks this year?
Our long-time Middletown YMCA partner ---who runs our terrific onsite Club Kid before and after school program at our Slate Hill and Otisville campuses --- offers a great option when schools are closed.
During Vacation Camp days, campers spend time in active play, group games, arts and crafts, teambuilding activities, and even swim when possible! The first set of Vacation Camp days are on Oct. 3 and 4. Registration deadline is Sept. 30! Space is limited! Note: Minisink Valley schools are closed on Oct. 3 in observance of Rosh Hashanah; but other districts are closed Oct. 3 and 4.
Click here for more registration information: https://middletownymca.org/vacation-camps/
DON’T LET THIS TROPHY LEAVE THE DISTRICT!
We invite you to be part of the Orange County “Cool School Challenge! ” Join the team representing Minisink Valley and participating in the Nov. 9 Polar Bear Challenge at the Rez in Highland Mills! We want to retain our title as the “Cool School Challenge” winner!
The “Cool School Challenge” is a friendly competition between local schools as part of the 2024 Orange County Polar Plunge. Students, staff and community members are encouraged to create a team of “Plungers” to support the good work of Special Olympics New York. Because of your efforts, Minisink Valley won the 2023 Cool School Challenge, and we're proudly displaying this trophy in Central Office!
Director of PPS Jeff Finton is overseeing Minisink Valley’s efforts to create a team. Join Minisink Valley’s team by clicking on the QR code in this flyer or email Mr. Finton at jfinton@minisink.com If. If you know of community members, families or students or student clubs who’d like to represent Minisink Valley, please share this flyer.
We hope you can join our team!
Do you know who artist Reggie Laurent is? Second-graders do! Art teacher Ilana Kaufman is telling them about this abstract artist and his multicolor paintings using big and small, round and square, triangular and trapezoidal shapes. Soon, they’ll be working on a project inspired by his work!
Megan St. Clair and Sarah Kocot’s ES second-graders had a great time at their recent pancake party celebrating Paul Bunyan, the giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His tall tales revolve around his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox, his pet and working animal.
Students recently completed their fairytales and tall tales knowledge unit, where they learned all about exaggerations and ”larger than life” characters. They read about Paul Bunyan, who was so strong he could do the job of 100 men! According to folklore, Bunyan and Babe’s favorite food was pancakes! After working so hard on this knowledge unit, students were treated with delicious pancakes!
Cliff Loretto’s ES kindergarten music students have started their year in music by learning to keep a steady beat on their bodies and with simple classroom instruments. They recently learn how to sing "Frog in the Meadow" while keeping the beat on an instrument called a “frog rasp.” Students had a great time acting out the song and sharing the instruments so that everyone had a turn!
A frog rasp is a wooden instrument that makes sounds similar to a frog croaking, guiro, or wood block. It's played by gently scraping the frog's back with a wooden stick or lightly tapping its nose with the end of a striker.
Anthony Pascarelli's physical education first-graders are having a very fun time playing "Musical Lines." They're being tasked with walking, then skipping and running on different lines in the gym!
Jess Paglia’s Elementary School first-graders are marking the International Day of Peace (which is tomorrow, Sept. 21) with these lovely and colorful peace signs.!
The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution. Peace Day, which is officially marked on Sept. 21, provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a culture of peace.
