What’s coming up

May?

2nd

6th

6th

through

10th

Spring Art Festival and Chorus Concert - 7:00 pm

NMS 6th Grade Parent Orientation

Math Night for Parents – Aston Elem. 6:30 pm

Spring Book Fair During library

Teacher Appreciation Week

Spring MAP Testing

13th

14th

5th Grade Shadow Day at NMS

FINAL PTL Meeting 6:30 pm / Library

17th Field Day

21st

23rd

24th

27th

“A” Band Spring Concert 7:00 pm / SVHS

“B” Band Spring Concert 7:00 pm / SVHS

1:15 pm Early Dismissal

Memorial Day No School

PENNELL IN PRINT

MAY 2013

PENNELL ELEMENTARY

3300 RICHARD ROAD * ASTON, PA 19014 * 610.497.6300 x 7500

PENNELL ELEMENTARY NEWSLETTER

Happy May Parents!

Although PSSA testing consumed most of the month of April, we had some wonderful

things to celebrate here at Pennell!

On Monday, April 22nd, we formally re-dedicated and opened our outdoor classroom.

The ceremony included special guests from the past and present, and between our

student body and guests, over 500 people were in attendance. More information and

pictures can be found on the Pennell and P.D.S.D. Facebook pages, and page 2 of this

newsletter.

Pennell also had two special visitors on Friday, April 26th. Dr. Jerry Joyce and Dr. Gregg

Amore from DeSales University spent several hours at Pennell, touring our school and

presenting us with the PA School of Character banner shown in the picture. Our next

challenge...to earn National School of Character honors!

Pictured left to

right:

Dr. Jerry Joyce,

DeSales University,

Mr. Shawn

Dutkiewicz,

Pennell Principal,

Mrs. Fran Im,

Pennell Guidance

Counselor, and

Dr. Gregg Amore,

DeSales University.

As mentioned, PSSA testing consumed a great deal of our time in April. I want to thank

our parents and students again for their focus and efforts on this very important annual

state assessment. We are confident that the hard work will once again bring very

positive results that we can share at the start of the 2013-2014 school year.

Best regards,

Mr. Shawn Dutkiewicz, Pennell Principal

On Earth Day, Monday,

April 22nd, Pennell

formally re-dedicated and

opened our outdoor

classroom!

The classroom has been a

school-community project

in every sense of the

word! Over the last five

years, we have been very

thankful for the

generosity, time, and

energy that the Pennell

PTL and community has

put into this wonderful

endeavor!

The ceremony included some special

guests including: Mr. John Monaghan,

previous Pennell Principal, Pennell

retirees, Mrs. Jackie Abrams and Mrs.

Molly Klein, family members of the

people in which the classroom was

dedicated (Jason Voss, Cooper Hall,

Stewart Smith, and Tom Calvecchio),

P.D.S.D. Superintendent, Dr. Steinhoff,

Assistant Superintendent, Dr. McGloin,

HR Director, Mrs. Albence, and School

Board President, Mrs. Kim Robinson.

We are very grateful for their time and

support!

THE OUTDOOR CLASSROOM IS OPEN!

CONGRATULATIONS TO APRIL’S CORE ESSENTIAL OF THE MONTH RECIPIENTS!

The following students were recognized for showing the core value of Friendship!

KINDERGARTEN - 1ST GRADE RECIPIENTS

Dino DiEmidio 103

Molly Ann Mucklow 103

Sean Nolan 101

Christian Durkee 101

Mikya Jackson 101

Seamus McGroary 107

Nathan Panusky 107

Riley Johnston 108

Octavius Slaughter 108

Delaney Kilgore 101

Landon Stafford 109

Nick Pellegrino 108

Justin Hickman 109

Matthew Gartland 108

2ND GRADE RECIPIENTS

Sophia Esposito 210

Justin Maiorine 210

Janay Kennon 211

Tyler Digan 211

John Nolek 212

Sophia Possenti 212

Andrew Parker 211

Ava Calvecchio 211

3RD GRADE RECIPIENTS

Alex Volturo 206

Kathryn Gricco 206

Madison Reilley 208

Dora Sy 208

Catherine Taylor 209

Jaimy Johnston 209

Darren Panusky 206

Patricia Young 209

4TH GRADE RECIPIENTS

Brandon Cairy 203

Kristine Guenther 203

Brenden Howley 204

Julia McGehean 204

Ethan Papa 205

Kaylie Hunt 205

Patrick Gill 203

Tyler Thornton 204

5TH GRADE RECIPIENTS

Gabbie Lobb 200

Jared Kosierowski 200

Riley Price 200

Jaimee Higgins 201

Ryley Marker 201

Makaila Carter 202

Breanna Kalb 202

Jenna Ford 201

WHAT’S ON THE FRIDGE THIS MONTH?

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to our

Young Author Winners!

Darren Panusky – Ms. Raucci – "The Big Fish and the Three Sharks"

Sarah Gartland – Mr. Zebley - "The Fight"

Caitlin McShane – Mr. Gorniok - "My Trip on the RMS Titanic"

Randy Marker – Mrs. McDougall – “Inside the Park"

Alyssa Michael – Mrs. Wood - "The Dark Tunnel"

Patrick Gill – Mrs. Nielsen - "My Magic Potion"

Sarah Kunze – Mrs. Lindsey - "Snowman Secrets"

HUGE CONGRATS to the Woman’s Club of Aston –

Student Literature Contest Winners!

Poetry Division

Grade 1

2nd Place – Jackson Nagle – Mrs. Lindsey – “Red”

3rd Place – Matthew Garland – Mrs. Lindsey – “Black”

Grade 3

1st Place – Ryan McKenna – Mrs. Lumley – “All About Me”

2nd Place – Emily Zarmanian – Mrs. Lumley – “This is Why I Love April”

Short Story Division

Grade 1

1st Place – Vincent Hanobeck – Mr. Sciecinski – “The Beach”

2nd Place – Abby Carr – Mr. Sciecinski – “Sea Isle City”

3rd Place – Cayden Price – Mr. Sciecinski – “When I Am A Spy” Grade 2

1st Place – Cole Postlewait – Mrs. Rosset – “My Pop Pop’s Boat”

2nd Place – Lindsay Nearey – Mrs. Rosset – “The House”

3rd Place – Catherine Diamond – Mrs. Rosset – “The Black-Headed Dragon” Grade 5

1st Place – Emma Robinson – Mrs. McDougall –

“My Cheerleading Competition”

Each month, Pennell focuses on a core value/essential that we hope students will practice and apply in their daily lives. We recognize students who exemplify our core essentials by giving them “team tickets”. Team tickets are awarded to students and then displayed in our lobby. At the end of the month, students who received a team ticket are chosen randomly to have lunch with the Principal, Mr. Dutkiewicz.

MAY’S MONTHLY VALUE:

PATIENCE - waiting until later for what you want now

Open Wide – JUST FOR FUN: What is your favorite food?

DISCUSSION STARTER:

Did you know that a spider is one of the most patient creatures?

While other animals rely on their strength and speed to capture

their food, a spider must rely on her ability to spin a web. The more

time she spends weaving an elaborate, complex web, the more

attractive it will be to her next meal. Once the web is spun, a spider

must wait patiently for her meal to fly into her delicately-woven

trap.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

How does a spider show patience?

What are some things that you have to wait for?

What is hard about waiting?

Can you think of one reason why patience is important?

REST:

K-2: Horton Hatches the Egg by: Dr. Seuss; Poor Horton. The kindly elephant is persuaded to sit on an egg while its

mother, the good-for-nothing bird Lazy Mayzie, takes a break. Little does Horton know, Mayzie is setting off for a

permanent vacation in Palm Springs. He waits, and waits, never leaving his precarious branch, even through a

freezing winter and a spring that's punctuated by the insults of his friends. Further indignities await, but Horton’s

patience is rewarded in the end by the surprise birth of... an elephant-bird.

3-5: A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620 by: Kathryn Lasky; A

Pilgrim girl makes the dangerous journey on the Mayflower to a new world filled with promise and unexpected

hardships.

EXPERIENCE: We all have things we want. And we want them NOW. But rarely, are we able to get what we want

as soon as we want it. Whether it’s a new skateboard, video game, or pool float, we all have to learn to wait until

later for what we want now. This month, teach your child about the importance of patience through setting up an

allowance system. Allow your child to earn money through chores or allocate a certain amount per week. Dedicate

1/3 of that money to giving, 1/3 of the money to saving, and 1/3 of the money to spending. Let them earn and save

the money they need to purchase the dream item!

CORE ESSENTIALS: VALUE OF THE MONTH

With Scholastic Reading Counts your child participates in an independent reading

program that tracks their success on the books they read, in and out of school. This

technology-based program creates a personalized and engaging learning environment

that ensures independent reading accountability.

This year, our school-wide Reading Counts goal is 113,000,000!

As of April 29th 2013: Congrats to the students who have read at least 1,000,000 words!

Students Total Words Read

Jalyn Slaughter 4,811,672

Darren Panusky 4,206,288

Sara Chodak 3,158,908

Chelsea Hendrix 2,719,526

Kelsey Celestino 2,484,096

Colin Bradley 2,423,260

Nicole Buscaglia 2,158,659

Christian Hansen 1,868,021

Devin Widmaier 1,832,134

Randy Marker 1,704,223

Shannon Purfield 1,683,394

Jenna Ford 1,506,077

Ryley Marker 1,479,854

Luke Rice 1,443,234

Sophia Pantuliano 1,296,954

Jacqueline Oldham 1,217,881

Abigail Otsyina 1,206,604

Shalane Buck 1,205,062

Erin Kelly 1,202,607

Zachary Seddon 1,197,463

Brett Michaels 1,167,209

Ava Ruggieri 1,132,192

Justin Hassel 1,130,763

Nicholas Maiale 1,086,080

Gabrielle Lobb 1,065,440

Emmanuel Otsyina 1,040,149

Kassidy Lambert 1,012,930

Sophia Belgiorno 1,006,856

Xavier Slaughter 1,001,573

Christopher Piccioni 1,001,471

READING COUNTS

Technology…Transforming

Teaching and Learning

By Anne Dudley and Rosemary Fowler, Curriculum Supervisors

Teaching and learning in the Social Studies classrooms have been transformed with the use of technology. Unlike

Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off pleading for students to wake up and respond to his boring monotone lecture

(“Anyone?...Anyone?”), teachers in Grades 4 through 11 use Social Studies/ History Alive! to engage and motivate

students as they learn about the world, past and present. This interactive social studies curriculum provides a

multitude of resources that supplement the text with activities and experiences that encourage students to make

connections to their own lives while mastering social studies standards. Each lesson has an interesting

presentation that provides content, utilizes interactive whiteboard activities, and involves students in classroom

experiences and simulations that make the past and present real to them.

Students in social studies classes at Northley Middle School have begun using My Big Campus, an online

collaborative learning platform that provides access to resources in a safe social network environment. During a

study of ancient Egypt’s social pyramid (peasants, artisans, priests, government officials, scribes, and pharaoh),

students were divided into groups in which each became an expert on one of these social groups. PowerPoint

presentations were uploaded to MBC and shared with all of the students. Each student then became the “teacher”

for the topic and presented it to other students. Teachers have also begun uploading study guides and resources to

MBC for the students to access and have had students take a quiz from MBC using iPads.

The History Alive! classes in 9th and 11th grade are exploring the possibility of “flipping” their classrooms. Rather

than coming to class to hear a teacher lecture and then going home to reinforce their learning through homework,

students can access the content online at home and then come to class ready to explore and expand their

knowledge in class. Students can adjust the pacing of content delivery to match their learning needs and then

engage in classroom activities that require them to practice and apply their learning with teacher feedback. The

teachers are also exploring the possibility of having the interactive notebook go digital in the 2013-14 school year.

The Popular Culture course is almost entirely web based. Students are investigating the history of the United States

through the lens of popular entertainment and pastimes and then creating their own scripts and movies,

using iMovie and other presentations, to illustrate what they have learned. Digital tools help bring the past and

present alive for students.

Apps:

History: Maps of the World - "Explore the world through interactive maps illustrating geopolitical and geographic shifts over time". Link to app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/history-maps-of-world/id303282377?mt=8

Google Earth - "Fly around the planet with a swipe of your finger with Google Earth for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch." Link to app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-earth/id293622097?mt=8

Websites:

Primary and Secondary Resources: http://www.historyonthenet.com/Lessons/sources/sourcesexplain.htm

TCI/History Alive: http://www.teachtci.com/programs/interactive-social-studies-textbooks-and-curriculum.html

SPOTLIGHT ON CURRICULUM