“Together we can and do

make a difference!”

The Globe

Issue No. XVIII June 4, 2015

Curriculum Matters

A Great Time to Bump

into Math! As we bring the school year to

a close, families are making plans

for how they will spend the

summer months. Summer is a great time to continue

exploration and learning through inquiry; letting new

experiences lead where they may. It is a time to let the

mind ponder new ideas and to see where their newly

learned concepts are used in the world. Some of the areas

they can explore include: measurement, fractions, money

and consumer skills, time, and map skills. Children will

also strengthen their understanding of number

relationships and computation through real-life problems

they solve.

What can children do to use math throughout the summer?

Earn money doing chores, and start a savings account;

Plan a family trip using maps;

Learn to give directions using directional and distance terms;

Build a patio or help on another home project;

Build a fort;

Observe nature: What math do you see?

Time how long it takes to complete a challenge. Practice to decrease the time;

Develop and maintain a calendar of summertime events;

Use clocks to tell time and to determine how much time has passed;

Help plan the grocery shopping, and figure out how much will be saved using coupons;

Charter Oak International Academy 425 Oakwood Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06110 • Telephone: 860-233-8506 • Fax: 860-231-9654

Mary Thompson, Principal

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

2:00 Dismissal

REPORT CARDS

Report cards will be sent home on

Friday, June 12, 2015

with the students.

Determine the best buy at the store, using unit prices for comparison;

Learn how to keep score for your favorite sport;

Use recipes to prepare food at home;

Plant a garden and keep track of plant growth

and produce;

Look for the math in advertisements. Determine what the math is telling you;

Play games that use math – card games, strategy games, and games where players keep track of their score;

Please see the attachment to this Globe that lists

places to visit for great summer experiences. There are

many experiences that offer mathematical thinking. The

museums with “*” before them have passes you can

reserve through the library.

Happy Exploring!

Kate Jerram

Curriculum Specialist

2 THE GLOBE

Date/Event Time Location Thursday, 6/4

Gr. 2 Field Trip 8:45 Ct Historical

Society

Friday, 6/5

Town wide Track & Field All Day Conard High School

Spring Picnic 5:30-8:00 pm Blacktop

Thursday, 6/11

Gr. 5 Exhibition/Recognition 6:30-8:00 Gym - Auditorium

and Cafeteria

Friday, 6/12

Summer Reading Giveaway All Day Media Center

Farmer’s Market 3:20-4:30 Blacktop

Talent Show Rehearsal 3:20-4:20 Auditorium

Spring Picnic (Rain date) 5:30-8:00 pm Blacktop

Monday, 6/15

Gr. 5 Field Trip 8:40-1:30 Wampanoag C.C.

Kindergarten Celebration 10:00-11:30 Auditorium

Tuesday, 6/16

Talent Show 9:00-11:30 Sterling Field

DISMISSAL 2:00

Student Activities

FIFTH GRADE

Class of 2015

Rasheed A.

Usman A.

Neil B.

Rebecca B-R-G.

Sébastien B.

Christopher C.

Emily C.

Jasmine C.

Eric C.

Ethel C.

Keilynn C.

Agatha D-P.

Christina G.

John G-M.

Angelica G.

Lydia G.

JoAnn H.

Kyla H.

Angelina H.

Gurleen K.

Francis L.

Israel L.

Dez’ray L.

Maya M.

Janelle M.

Kaitlyn M.

Sha’Rae M.

Taylon M.

Cielo M.

Hassan M.

Amelia N.

Brandon N.

Kevin N.

Anthony N-G.

Hannah O.

Nyssa P.

Christian R.

Joshua R.

Emily R.

Ashley R.

Emilia S.

Kevin Se.

Kevin Sh.

MaryChun S.

Connor S.

Julius S.

Maria S.

Sierra S.

Bryan S.

Amy V.

David V.

Nina V.

Kimberly W.

Olivia Y.

Julian Z.

STAR STUDENTS

Congratulations to the following students who

were Charter Oak International Academy

STARS for the month of May.

Brooklyn A. Nayla G-C.

Neil B. Ana Lara G-P.

Faith B. Gurleen K.

Emma D. Preethy K.

Zoe D. Alexis N.

Caelyn D. Kevin N.

Nghi D. Michael S.

Gabriel G. Danejah T.

Angel G-F. AJha’nae W.

3 THE GLOBE

All students will get their Summer Reading

book for next year, Summer Reading packets and

other treats to help make this summer great. We are

always trying to do what's best for our environment,

so please send in one bag (big enough to hold some

books) with your student on Friday June 12, so

that we can fill it up with books and ideas.

Resist the Summer Slump!

READ! READ! READ!

Last Week For Color-cycling !

Medication Pick-Up

State regulations require that medications not in use,

or outdated, be removed from the health room and

returned to the parent or guardian. If your child has

medication in the health room, please make

arrangements to pick up the medication by the last day

of school. (An adult must pick up the medication).

If I do not hear from you by then, I will assume that

you have consented to the destruction of these

medications.

If you have any questions, please contact me at

860-233-8506.

Eileen McCormick

Nurse

Summer Reading Giveaway

Please bring in any dried-out markers (any style,

any brand) and we'll send them back to Crayola to

be melted down and reused. A collection box is in

the library.

Thanks for keeping our planet healthy!

Mrs. Rebecca Cochrane

Media Specialist

Spring Picnic

Friday, June 5, 2015

5:30-8:00 p.m.

Gr. 5 Exhibition/Recognition

Thursday, June 11, 2015

6:30-8:00 p.m.

Farmer’s Market

Friday, June 12, 2015

3:20-4:30

Talent Show

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

9:00-11:30

https://www.smore.com/zuqer

The Stacks, an electronic newsletter, from

Mrs. Cochrane in the library is available

here.

4 THE GLOBE

HAVE A WONDERFUL SUMMER

AND REMEMBER...

We are excited to announce that there are a

limited number of spaces in our NAEYC accredited

Prekindergarten program at Braeburn Elementary

School for the 2015-16 school year. The program

follows the elementary school day and school year

calendar. This program is open to children who were

born in 2011. Tuition is determined on a sliding

scale. Transportation is available if you live in the

Braeburn, Charter Oak, or Smith school zone;

otherwise, parents will be responsible for

transporting students to school. For more

information, please call the Residency Office at

860-561-6620 or Mary Stone at 860-561-6635.

The Charter Oak Odyssey of The Mind team

rose at the crack of dawn to prepare for the team’s

final performance while attending the Odyssey of

the Mind World competition at Michigan State

University on May 23, 2015. The team was

awarded the honor of competing in Michigan after

spending months preparing and then winning first

place at the Connecticut state competition on March

2, 2015. China, Poland, South Korea, Togo, and

Mexico were just a few of the countries that COIA

competed against during this international problem

solving competition.

The crowd applauded loudly as the team took

the stage one last time. All their hard work and

creative ideas were showcased in front of seven

judges that had to score 65 performances in the

team’s division during the 3-day event. The team’s

performance was spot on, no one missed a beat. In

the end, the team placed 16th in the World. Way to

go!

Charter Oak International Academy

Odyssey of the Mind Team Members

Christina G.

Kevin S.

Lydia G.

Kimberly W.

Nyssa P.

Sébastien B.

Amelia N.

Coach: Michele Hadlock

Quest Teacher

Places to Visit While Sharing Experiences with Children

Some suggested destinations for nature experiences:

*CT State and West Hartford parks and forests

Westmoor Park – West Hartford (farm animals, gardens, hiking trails)

Spicebush Swamp – West Hartford (pond and river)

Dinosaur State Park – Rocky Hill (dinosaur tracks, hiking trails, films and exhibits)

Talcott Mountain State Park (hiking, Heublein Tower, view)

Roaring Brook Nature Center – Canton (live animals, displays, trails)

The Audubon Society – Glastonbury (live animals, hands-on activities, trails and a pond)

*The Beardsley Zoo – Bridgeport

Wickham Park – Manchester (playground, bee-keeping exhibit, a brand new wetlands trail and an

aviary)

Other museums that offer to build a deeper understanding through play and hands-on activities with science and

social studies:

*The Children’s Museum – West Hartford (hands on science with new exhibits)

*Imagine Nation - Bristol

*The Lutz Museum – Manchester (live animals, hands on fun for younger children)

Connecticut Science Museum – Hartford (hands on science)

Stepping Stones Museum for Children - Norwalk

Additional trips will allow your family to explore our history through a museum experience. Some of these

trips are more suitable for children in grades 2 and up.

*Connecticut Trolley Museum – East Windsor

*Mystic Aquarium – Mystic (aquatic animals, titanic exhibit, hands-on and shows)

Old Mystic Seaport – Mystic (hands-on exhibits, period buildings and staff dress, ships)

*New Britain Museum of American Art – New Britain (children’s area for hands on experiences)

*New England Air Museum – Windsor Locks (historical airplanes, “open cockpit” days during which

visitors may enter planes)

*Noah Webster House – West Hartford (hands on activities about colonial times)

*Wadsworth Athenaeum – Hartford (variety of art for viewing)

*Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

The Peabody Museum of Natural History – New Haven

Connecticut River Museum - Essex

Nautilus and Submarine museum – Groton

*Discovery Museum and Planetarium - Bridgeport

(* The West Hartford Public Library has a pass to this museum that may be reserved for the day.)

More Summer Tips for Sharing Experiences with Children

Provide your child with books to read. Help him select books on topics he is interested in and on his

reading level. A way to select a book on your child’s reading level is to have him choose a page in the

book (not the first one) and read it. If he doesn’t know five or more of the words, then the book is too

hard for independent, pleasure reading.

Read a book that is above your child’s reading level to him aloud and then discuss and create

illustrations of the story.

Get your child her own library card. Take your child to the library often to browse for books and enjoy

special activities.

If you are planning a vacation this summer, write to the visitors’ bureau of places you will be visiting

and ask for information on the area and any special attractions, check out books from the library to get

background information.

Hang a map of Connecticut and mark the places you will be visiting. Mark the route, and talk about the

major roadways that you will travel along the way. This will help your children build an awareness of

direction, distance, and location of geographic landmarks.

As you visit parks and museums, collect the maps you are given:

o Use these maps to navigate during your visit, and then after the visit to talk about what you saw.

o Hang the maps on a wall or add them to the summer journal your child is creating.

o Return to the maps for “Remember when …?” conversations.

o Talk about the map design - what symbols are used - how do the symbols help you?

Play board games and complete picture puzzles (Scrabble Jr., Memory, Sorry!, Apples to Apples Jr.,

Checkers, Chess, BINGO, Sum Swamp, Math Shark, I Spy Word Scramble, Pay Day, Monopoly,

Rummy-O, Mancala, Parcheesi, Mastermind, Blokus, Dominoes)

Spend time with math through: Measuring (Bring out the measuring cups and spoons. Add a little food

coloring to water, and measure away!); Money (Play with coins to help practice identifying and counting

money); Time (Make your schedule for the day, and use the clock to stay on track. For younger

children, schedule activities to start on the hour or half hour. For older children, schedule activities to

start on fifteen minute, ten or five minute intervals.)

Stay Connected – Visit the Library website at http://www.westhartfordlibrary.org/ and click “Children” to

find out what programs are available. Select “Computers and Children’s Resources” for great reading

opportunities and other activities for kids!

The West Hartford Public Library has a pass to many museums as well as to Connecticut State Parks

through the Museum Pass Program, sponsored by the Friends of the West Hartford Library. Visit the

West Hartford Public Library website at http://westhartfordlibrary.org and select the “Children” tab or

Call (860) 561-6980 for more information. Please plan ahead, as passes are limited and may need to be

reserved using your library card. (See museums above, marked with an “*”.

Have a great summer!

Kate Jerram,

Curriculum Specialist