MONITOR From the Principal… Hello Mathewson Families! May is always an exciting month. We have so many fun social and academic celebrations going on in our school. It seems like right when we come back from April vacation our time flies so quickly, this year even faster with our end date! This month we have lots of PTA events from our Mother's Day Plant Sale to our Book Fair. We will celebrate our last Be a Top Dog Assembly at the end of the month as well as our last Be Kind Ambassador Breakfast. We also are busy in our units of study and celebrating our learning with various celebrations of learning as planned by your child's teacher. May is also a month for assessment. Teachers will be working with your child in math and reading to get their levels of performance via our DRA2 and NWEA assessments. While the weather gets more beautiful and celebrations abound, we want to take this time to remind everyone that we still hope you are reading nightly and keeping up on all work. We work until the last day of school so keep up the great work! As always thank you for your support of our school and we hope to see you soon! Live, Learn and Be PAWsitive, Melissa Currier, Principal ___________________________________________________________________________________ Mathewson Monitor May 2016 June 3 – Spirit Day June 6- Spirit Day (rain date) June 7- PTA Council Meeting June 8- Early Dismissal June 8- 5 th Grade End of the Year Celebration June 9- Early Dismissal June 10- Last Day of School June 13- BOE Meeting
Transcript
MONITOR
From the Principal… Hello Mathewson Families! May is always an exciting month. We have so many fun social and academic celebrations going on in our school. It seems like right when we come back from April vacation our time flies so quickly, this year even faster with our end date! This month we have lots of PTA events from our Mother's Day Plant Sale to our Book Fair. We will celebrate our last Be a Top Dog Assembly at the end of the month as well as our last Be Kind Ambassador Breakfast. We also are busy in our units of study and celebrating our learning with various celebrations of learning as planned by your child's teacher. May is also a month for assessment. Teachers will be working with your child in math and reading to get their levels of performance via our DRA2 and NWEA assessments. While the weather gets more beautiful and celebrations abound, we want to take this time to remind everyone that we still hope you are reading nightly and keeping up on all work. We work until the last day of school so keep up the great work! As always thank you for your support of our school and we hope to see you soon!
Live, Learn and Be PAWsitive, Melissa Currier, Principal
June 3 – Spirit Day June 6- Spirit Day (rain date) June 7- PTA Council Meeting June 8- Early Dismissal
June 8- 5th Grade End of the Year Celebration June 9- Early Dismissal June 10- Last Day of School June 13- BOE Meeting
________________________________________ President’s Message Welcome Back! I hope you all had a wonderful spring break. I cannot believe we only have 1 month left of school. This year has flown by so quickly. May has proven to be another busy month for the PTA. Our Mathewson teachers were treated to breakfast and lunch during teacher appreciation week courtesy of the PTA. Thank you to Cheryl Netercott and Renee Kugit for organizing. We also had our annual Mother’s Day Plant sale. Even though the weather did not cooperate the students still had a great time shopping for plants. Thank you to Shawn and Shannon Leska for organizing. And as if May wasn’t full enough, we decided to throw in our BOGO book fair! ;-) This is always very popular with our students. Thank you so much to Renee Kugit for chairing this event. Our next big event for the students will be Spirit Day. This event will be held on June 3rd with a rain date of June 6th. Please be on the lookout for more detailed information. If you are interested in volunteering for this daytime event, please email Emmeline Harrigan @ [email protected]. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the month. Please join us for our next PTA meeting on Tuesday June 7th. Time and place TBD. Sincerely, Malinda Childs ________________________________________ Become a Mathewson PTA Member! The Mathewson PTA is a collaboration between Parents, Teachers and Administrators who come together to better our students learning environment. By the joining the PTA, you help improve the school experience for our children. Our PTA provides valuable programs, helps fund field trips, and fun family events for our Mathewson community. We can always use volunteers but you can choose how
involved you want to be. You can join and your membership fee helps pay for these programs. You can view our list of events and committees and choose to donate your time to help with a specific even or program. Or, you can donate products that help improve events. How much you want to do is up to you! The membership form is on the PTA website at http://www.milforded.org/page.cfm?p=8593. Please complete the form and send your membership fee of $8.00 in to school directed to PTA membership. If you have any questions, please contact Nicole Croce at [email protected]. ________________________________________
Who is the PTA? YOU! You are the PTA!
Any parent, grandparent, friend, or teacher of the Mathewson Community can
join the PTA! The PTA is lead this year by your Executive
________________________________________ We are on Facebook! "LIKE" the Mathewson School PTA on Facebook today! This is a great way to keep up quickly with things going on in and around the school! We will remind you of upcoming events, sign up deadlines, etc. Find "Mathewson PTA" and click "LIKE".
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The PTA has some shoes to fill! We are looking for parents to help fill the Mathewson PTA Board for the 2016-2017 school year. All board position and committee positions are available. If you are interested
or have any question regarding the available positions please email [email protected]. Training is provided for all positions. We are in need of the following positions before the start of school: President Treasurer President elect Secretary Vice President Recording Secretary We also need the following committees filled: Membership Apparel After School Academy Volunteer Coordinator Sunshine Website Facebook Page Monitor Directory Bulldog Run Book Fair & Box tops ________________________________________
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Below is a list of Be Kind Ambassadors for March 2016:
Kindergarten Mrs. Buckholz Alisha D, Alex C Ms. Murphy Madeleine J Ms. Rodrigues Sahana P, Ella A Ms. Wocl Sahithi A, Eric F First Grade Mrs. Canevari Mila W, Ethan P Mrs. Fitzsimons Abigel F, Jaden S Ms. Jaggers Avery O, Emma B Ms. Wayne Tyler H Second Grade Ms. Blomberg Skye P, Angelina P Ms. Buggé Sarah M, Ben W Mrs. Tuozzola Joey C, Molly C Third Grade Mrs. Camperlengo Natalia G, Joshua H Mr. Magazine Isabella D Mrs. Munroe Sofia B, Kyle C Ms. Torreso Yazmin R, Addison A Fourth Grade Mrs. Aronin Michael C, Molly S Mrs. Barile Josh R Mrs. Seward Grace H Fifth Grade Mrs. DiFederico Faith B Mr. LaPierre Katelee G, Ananya S Ms. Markovics Jackson R
Come on in! Offering Breakfast Daily from 8:00-8:30. Options are: *cereal (variety) *muffins *fresh fruit *milk *cheese or yogurt Come on in! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** **
Top Dog Award for the Bulldog Brigade Safety Projects &
Outstanding Bus Safety Patrol Member
Arlene Banavong received a special recognition from the Office of the Secretary of the State of Connecticut for her outstanding dedication and service to the school and community through her work in the Bulldog Brigade Safety projects and as an Outstanding Bus Safety Patrol member.
Congratulations to Emma Vaccino for receiving the Mayor's Youth Award! Also congratulations to Kyle Corretti who was also recognized for his service to his community! ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** *
Teacher, Para & Parent of the Year
Pictured above is photo of Spike with Teacher Para and Parent of the year Teacher of the Year – Ms. Nikki Wocl - Kindergarten Para of the Year – Ms. Cathy Smith Parent of the Year – Ms. Melinda Childs * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** **
Buddy Bench Winners Party Pictured above are third graders: Jeet, Ethan & Charlie and second grader Ben with Grade 2 teachers Mrs. Tuozzola and Mrs. Buggé, who were winners of the Scavenger Hunt Pirate Party. Each winner was allowed to invite a friend. The students had to solve clues and search for prizes around the school. At the end they had a pirate party! Everyone had a blast!!! Buddy Bench Raffle Winner Jakob Gonza from Mrs. Bugge's 2nd grade class (pictured above) won an activity where Spike would join him. Jakob picked a Dance Party and on Friday, May 13th Spike went to Room 5 and showed off his dancing skills. The children had a blast and were excited to share Jakob's prize!
Are you ready to #SignUpLaceUp for this summer’s most memorable morning?? HALLE’S HOPE is back for their 2nd Annual Run for the Stars 5k and Shooting Stars Kids’ Color Run! On June 18th, they promise to provide the STARS, the COLOR, and the FUN! With top sponsors like Sierra Nevada Brewing, keeping you hydrated; Chips Pancakes, keeping you fed; and Guess Watches, keeping you styled … you won’t want to miss this event on Walnut Beach in Milford. Learn all the details and register here: www.halleshope.org. Want to be a sponsor? Email Marilee Root: [email protected]. ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** *
All of kindergarten thru fourth grade here at Mathewson participated in writing & illustrating a class book. The children and teachers had to go through the entire writing process: picking a title/theme, creating their own page, editing and rewriting their work, rough draft and final draft of illustrations. Then as a class they had to create covers, title & dedications pages and then ship it off the the published. Hard cover books were available for parents to purchase. Book will shipped back to Mathewson in early June. The staff would like to send a huge thank you to the PTA for purchasing 1 copy of each classroom book to keep in the media center. Congratulations to all students and teachers! (Pictured are: Miss Wocl kindergarten book cover and Mrs. Buuge's 2nd grade cover book cover).
Mathewson Students are Authors and Illustrators
Fine Arts Presentation
Thank you Mathewson PTA for bringing Caryn Lin and the Science of Sound for a special presentation today! Students were treated to a rockin' presentation on the science and technology behind music. -Ms. Alecia Coffine & Ms. Amy Bugge
Braidy Rope Story Maker
Pictured above are Ms. Musante and Ms. Finnegan working with parents and their kindergarten students in a workshop using the Braidy Rope Story Marker. This strategy and tool helps students to retell stories.
Kids Count Legislative Breakfast
Pictured above are Mr. Magazine’s (Grade 3) Class, who sang at the Kids Count Legislative Breakfast held on April 13, 2016.
Egg Drop
The 5th graders at Mathewson School participated in an egg drop activity this past Wednesday. The fifth Grade teachers along with Mr. Stack, Mathewson's enrichment teacher, organized the activity. The purpose was to design a small 1 foot by 1 foot storage container, using no more than four different types of materials that would protect an uncooked egg while being dropped from a distance of over 100 feet. We were helped by the Milford Fire Department, who supplied the 100 foot ladder truck as well as two fireman who guided Mrs. Currier, Ms. Markovics, and Mrs. DiFederico up the 100 foot ladder as each classes' egg drop containers were dropped. In addition to the fire truck, Mr. Stack supplied a zip line obstacle course as well as a giant slingshot; both of which tested the durability of each of the containers. The students utilized both math and science skills as they came up with designs for their respective containers. As a result of these efforts, roughly 80% of the eggs survived all three test stations. It proved to be a wonderful hands on activity and learning experience for the students.
Room 30 News Mrs. Canevari's first grade class has been working since March to collect and recycle for "Bottles to Books." Our goal was to collect and recycle as many bottles as we can and then use the money to buy books at the BOGO Book Fair. Students made signs and put them up around the school to make others aware we were collecting. Each lunch wave, a few students at a time would go around to collect bottles. We also received so many bottle donations from our families and the staff at school. Some students even went around their neighborhood on recycle night to collect!! (Kieran) Our parent recyclers then recycled them for us and after counting up all our collections, our total came to $130.80!!! We just spent our money at the BOGO Book Fair and are so excited to have some new, "free," books to read this summer! Great teamwork, Canevari Crew!!!
Shhh, Secret Book Report! All 2nd graders had to read a book and create a Secret Book Report. They were to design the outside of a bag and then write 5 clues about their book without giving it away: characters, setting, problem solution & favorite part. The students had fun guessing the book title or series. Science: The second graders have been busy in class learning about plant life in science. They currently have a variety of plants growing in their rooms, both vegetables & flowers. The will water them, observe them and watch them grow for the remainder of the school year.
Field Trip Fun! On May 3rd all of the second graders went to Bridgeport Cabaret Theater to see The Princess and the Pea. It was very entertaining for both students & chaperones. The 2nd graders and their teachers would like to send a big thank you to the PTA for their field trip allowance and sponsoring this trip. Ms. Blomberg, Mrs. Bugge' & Mrs. Tuozzola would like to thank all the parents & the PTA for their support this year and wish all their students a fabulous & fun summer!
-Ms. Amy Bugge Room 5 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * Mrs. Camperlengo and Mr. Magazine's classes have enjoyed exploring the Structures of Life with our crayfish and Bess beetle friends. We have observed behavior and ways that living things adapt to their environment. It was an exciting time in 3rd grade! -Ms. Rebecca Camperlengo * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * March is known to be a windy month. Ms. Jaggers wanted to take advantage of this kind of weather. So, her class learned how to make paper kites. One of her students, thanks Adam, wanted his class to teach their 5th grade buddies how to make them. On a nice, slightly windy day, Ms. Jaggers’ class showed Ms. Markovics’ class how to make a paper kite. After completion, these two buddy classrooms took to the field and flew their kites. What a great experience for both classes. -Ms. Angela Jaggers * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * *
Literacy Coach *** Congratulations to Emily from Miss Torreso’s third grade class for winning the “Big Basket of Books” from Mathewson’s Buddy Bench raffle. Happy reading, Emily! *** Fun with Nonfiction Books
Children love to read about real people, places, and events. However, most children read a lot more fiction than nonfiction, so spending some time helping your reader to navigate a nonfiction book can be very worthwhile.
Most nonfiction books will have features that are helpful in navigating the text. Share the purpose of these features with your reader:
Table of Contents: Located at the front of a book, the table of contents displays a list of the big ideas within the book and where to find them. Index: An index is an alphabetical list of almost everything covered within the book, with page numbers. Readers can use the index to look up
specific terms or concepts and go right to that specific information.
Glossary: Located at the back of the book, a glossary contains key words and definitions that are related to the topic. These
definitions provide more information about new vocabulary words.
Captions: Captions are usually right under photographs, figures, maps, and charts. Captions give a quick summary of
what information is presented in the graphic.
Photos/Charts: A lot of information can be found by "reading" charts and photos. Readers need to figure out what information is presented and how to understand
the information. Help your reader learn more about the different ways information can be displayed. Encourage your child to be an active reader who asks lots of questions. Parents can model these behaviors by talking or thinking out loud as you turn the pages of the book. This is a helpful way for your child to see and hear what a successful reader does when faced with unfamiliar topics. Then talk together about how and what you would need to do to find the answer to the questions. This will reinforce that many questions can be answered by reading a text closely and by using the nonfiction text features mentioned above. -Adapted from readingrockets.org
Here is a place to look for popular nonfiction titles: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1557.Best_Children_s_Nonfiction
Welcome to the wonders of spring! Not meaning to “burst our bubble,” here are a few not-so-pleasant items that come with the change to warmer weather. POISON IVY AND POISON OAK
Teach your child the little poem, “Leaves of 3, let them be!” Poison ivy is a red-stemmed, 3-leafed plant with shiny green leaves during the spring. Poison
oak also has similar green, shiny leaves that grow 3 to the stem. That means if your children spend time in woods or fields, make sure they know what these plants look like. Almost half the children who come in contact with these plants have an allergic reaction. The skin becomes reddened, swollen and blistered and the rash is shaped in “lines” or patches. It can make us miserably itchy and/or give us a burning sensation. Poison ivy or oak shows up 1-4 days after exposure. What’s the best advice? Avoid exposure in the first place! Leaves of 3! Let it be! The unfortunate reality is that many children and adult are exposed.
What do you do if you or your child come into contact with the plant?
Immediately wash with soap and water to remove as much of the resin as possible. This will keep skin absorption to a minimum. Keep in mind the rash is not contagious, but pets that play outdoors can be a
source of exposure to you and your children, bringing it to you on their fur. If the rash, itch and/or oozing do appear, have your child soak the affected area in cool water for a few minutes or rub the site gently for 10-20 minutes, a few times a day, with an ice cube. Then allow the skin to air dry. Hydrocortisone cream can help, too. Mild cases can be treated at home, but do call the pediatrician if the rash is severe, on the face or groin, or might be infected (with fever, redness and swelling beyond the location of the lesions.) Keep in mind, too, the rash from poison ivy or oak can take up to a full 2 weeks to heal. INSECT STINGS
We know our children are naturally curious and can be very interested in
bugs. As a result, they can sometimes get themselves into quite an unpleasant
situation if they meet up with a bee, wasp, yellow jacket, hornet or fire ant. How to keep this to a minimum?
Where ever your children will be playing, check for nests first. These are usually in tree stumps, holes in the ground, or around rooting wood. Stay away from garbage cans and dumpsters. Have your children wear shoes (no “bare-footin”!) and avoid wearing bright colors that let an insect think it’s nearing a flower! Green, tan, khaki and white are colors that do not attract bugs. If you are eating outside (which is such fun!) avoid sweet foods that bugs like, such as watermelon and peanut butter and jelly. Any sweet drinks and sweet treats (like ice cream, for example) - unfortunately- do attract insects.
If you know your child is allergic to an insect sting, never let him or her play alone outside, when stinging insects are out and about. Even a dead insect can sting if you step on it or pick it up. Your allergic child should wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace. Finally, if there are these insects near you, do not run or swat at them. Teach your children this plan- you don’t want to start an attack. If they start swarming near you, curl up in a ball as tightly as you can so there is less skin exposure. Keep your head down and your face covered with your arms. Have a professional exterminator remove any insect nests to
really be on the safe side. We want to be on the safe side! SUNBURN
Most skin damage occurs in childhood. Everyone is at risk for sunburn, no
matter what your skin color is. We need to protect our children from
a source that can lead to wrinkling, skin toughening, and freckling or even
skin cancer later on in their lives. We don’t even have to be “burned” to be harmed by sunlight. Just like other burns, sunburn will leave the skin red, warm and painful. Severe cases cause blistering, fever, chills, headache and feeling sick. If one or more of these symptoms are present, please call your pediatrician. Keep in mind that the sun does not need to be burning brightly to burn us. Those invisible ultraviolet rays are very harmful, as well. Let’s talk about avoidance first. Always use a sunscreen to block the damaging UV rays. Choose a sunscreen for children with a SPF (sun protection factor) of at least 15. Check the label carefully. Apply 15-30 minutes before going outdoors with your child and try to keep him or her out of the sun when the UV light peaks, between 10am and 4pm. This is tough- I know. No sunscreen is truly waterproof so it needs to be reapplied every 1.5-2 hours if your child is in the water. Whenever possible, have your son or daughter in lightweight cotton clothing with longer sleeves and longer pant legs. At the beach or anywhere you can, use a big umbrella to stay in the shade. Always have a hat with a wide brim on their heads. If your child does get sunburned, you can treat it yourself if it’s not too severe. If the burn is just red, warm and a bit painful, apply cool compresses to the burned areas or have your child bathe in cool water. You can give acetaminophen for the discomfort. As described above, call the pediatrician for more severe cases. Severe sunburn can lead to dangerous dehydration or fainting. This is very serious business. Thanks for reading and I hope this is helpful in keeping your children happy and healthy. Call me with any questions, at any time.
Our Top Dog book, Wilma Unlimited, written by Kathleen Krull and illustrated by David Diaz, is an inspiring story about Wilma Randolph, the first American woman to earn three gold medals in a single Olympics. The determination Wilma showed as a young child to overcome her physical limitations due to polio sets an example for all of us. This truly amazing story, with beautiful illustrations, will provide your family with many discussion points. The power of hard work which led to Wilma’s triumph over such overwhelming odds sends a message to be shared and explored by your family. Thank you! -Joanne Cyr, MSW Mathewson Social Worker * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * *
Media Center The library has been a busy place! Last week, our 3rd graders Skyped with author Kathleen Krull. She is the author of our One City, One Story book Wilma
Unlimited. It was so cool to hear her tell us about what it is like to be an author! Our 5th graders are just finishing up a unit on book trailers. Students worked by themselves or with a partner, and used the website www.animoto.comto create a trailer for a chapter book of their choice. They worked so hard and they turned out so wonderful. They are posted on the media center website at http://mathewsonmedia.weebly.com/book-trailers.html if you would like to see your son/daughter's work. In 4th grade, students have been working on digital stories using a website called www.storyjumper.com
This has been such a fun project. Students created
their own works of fiction and brought it to life using digital tools. Ask your son/daughter what they wrote about in library class! I post updates about the library media center on our blog at www.mathewsonmedia.weebly.com. Keep reading! -Ms. Lauren Hunt Library Media Specialist * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * Statement of Compliance In compliance with Title VI, Title IX and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Milford Public School system does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, or disability in establishing and implementing hiring and employment practices and establishing and providing school activities and educational programs. The Title VI and Title IX Coordinator and Compliance Officer is Wendy Kopazna. The Section 504 Compliance Officer is Susan Kelleher. They may be contacted by mail at the Milford Public Schools, 70 West River Street, Milford, CT 06460 or by phone at (203) 783-3400. Questions, concerns or comments regarding possible discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) should be made in person or in writing to the following: Regarding Facilities: James L. Richetelli, Jr. /Chief Operations Officer Regarding Employment: Wendy Kopazna/Director of Human Resources Regarding Programs: Susan Kelleher/Director of Pupil Personnel Services ________________________________________
Note from the Monitor Crew… Thank you for your timely submissions. We look forward to seeing you in the fall! The deadline for the June edition of the Monitor will be May 31, 2016. Submissions can be sent to Susmitha Bhatnagar at [email protected].
