Download - Gayhead Elementary School MAY 2011...Spelling Bee just took place on May 2. the spelling bee winner be going to the District Spelling Bee held in early June. Congratulations, Cordelia!!

Gayhead Elementary School 15 Entry Road

Hopewell Junction, NY 12533 Tel.: 845-227-1756

Fax.: 845-227-1764 MAY 2011

From Mr. Olavarría Dear Parents and Guardians:

We have an unusually busy month coming up. Our

Spelling Bee just took place on May 2. Cordelia Ko is

the spelling bee winner from our school. Cordelia will

be going to the District Spelling Bee held in early June.

Congratulations, Cordelia!!

The New York State assessments for grades 3-5 in

English language arts and mathematics are coming up on

May 4, 5, 6 and May 11-13 respectively.

We have an important PTA meeting coming up on May

10 at 6:30p.m. Each year school districts across New

York are required to present a plan (budget) as to how

funds will be spent for the next school year. Our

Superintendent Jim Parla will be at Gayhead School to

speak to us about the budget and upcoming budget

vote. Please try to attend. The Wappingers district

website has a message from Mr. Parla that contains

important information. Please click on

www.wappingersschools.org to read all about it.

Our orchestra is performing on May 4 at the South

Pyramid Concert. The fifth grade chorus will be

performing on May 11 and the fourth grade choruses

will be performing in concert on May 12. All concerts

take place at John Jay High School at 7:00 p.m. Our

band is performing on May 18 at the South Pyramid

Concert. On May 19th there will be a bake sale to

benefit the fifth grade picnic. There will be a School

Leadership Team meeting at 8:00 a.m. in the primary

library on May 24. School will be in session on May

27th. May 30th is a holiday – Memorial Day – there is no

school on this day. Enjoy the weekend!

Please remember, on Tuesday, May 17th be sure to stop

off at Gayhead School (or your local school district

voting location) to vote on the Wappingers Central

School District Budget.

It only takes a minute, but it is one of the most

important things you can do that will directly affect

your children and your community. The polls will be open

all day from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

If you are registered to vote in general elections,

you are automatically registered to vote in school

District elections. If you have any questions, please

call Susan Penney, the Board Clerk at 298-5000

extension 145.

Sincerely,

José Olavarría

Principal

If you would like to receive weekly bulletins, the latest

information about special events at our building, and

notification about school delays and cancellations via e-mail,

please subscribe to Gayhead School News by visiting

http://groups.google.com/group/gayhead-school-news.

You may also access the registration screen for Gayhead School News by clicking on the link found on our school

website.

http://www.wappingersschools.org/

GAYHEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MAY 2011 PAGE 2

The Wappingers Congress of Teachers

(WCT) will be running the 3rd annual food

drive from May 17 through May 24 at

Gayhead School as well as all the WCSD

schools. Mrs. Ross, one of our school

psychologists is spearheading this

effort.

The WCT welcomes contributions from

everyone - parents, students, staff and

members of the community for this food

collection. There will be large boxes in or

near the main office to collect non-

perishable food items (rice, can tuna,

peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, canned

fruits/vegetables/juice, coffee, tea,

boxes of pasta, gravies, macaroni &

cheese, boxes of crackers, salad

dressing, oil, etc.).

Last year, nearly 3,800 pounds of food

were collected!! The WCT would like to

donate even more this year.

The collected food will go to the Zion

Food Pantry, located at the Zion

Episcopal Church. The food pantry is

100% non-denominational with regard to

the people they serve.

Thank you so much for your generosity;

your help is greatly appreciated in this

effort to give back to our community!

May is Better Speech and

Hearing Month!

Communication for young and developing

students is very important in a school

setting. The American Speech-Language-

Hearing Association is a great source for

information.

Your child may have trouble with

communication if he or she:

-Began talking later than expected

-Is having difficulty learning to read

-Cannot seem to express his/her

thoughts and ideas

-Has problems understanding others and

following directions

-Does not pick up on social cues

-Has problems taking tests

-Says “huh” a lot and needs things

repeated often

-Does not respond consistently to sounds

Mrs. Munoz, Mrs. Tarantino, and Mrs. Lombardo's fourth grade class has completed their Earth

Day project. The students have come up with different ways to educate all of us at Gayhead

School about Earth Day and get everyone involved.

The winners of the door decorating contest each received a certificate and will also receive a

plant to put in Gayhead’s Garden of Life. The winners were:

Kindergarten: First Grade: Second Grade:

Mrs. O’Hearon’s Class-Room 2 Mrs. Smith’s Class-Room 8 Mrs. Hack’s Class-Room 4

Third Grade: Fourth Grade: Fifth Grade:

Miss Scalzo’s Class-Room 26 Mrs. Valentino & Room 40 Mrs. Robinson and Children


The students of Room 35 had a lot of fun judging and want to thank all of the

teachers who participated in the competition. Happy Earth Day! Go Green!

In the Special Area/Other

Category, Mrs. Robinson’s door was

created with the help of students

in Mrs. Raskin’s fifth grade class.

And…the overall winner was the door created by

Miss Scalzo’s third grade class!!

Along with their certificate and plant, they also

received a student-made trophy that the students in

room 35 created with our art teacher,

Mrs. Robinson’s help.


When times get tough and and you feel as if you've been shaken

to your roots, give this a try.

As your school bus rattles up the road to Gayhead, take a glance at

Gayhead's Mighty Oak Tree to gather the strength you need to

push through another day.

Here's a poem and a picture of that Mighty Oak to inspire you:


The Oak Tree by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr.

A mighty wind blew night and day. It stole the Oak Tree's leaves away.

Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark

until the Oak was tired and stark.

But still the Oak Tree held its ground

while other trees fell all around. The weary wind gave up and spoke,

"How can you still be standing Oak?"

The Oak Tree said, “I know that you

can break each branch of mine in two, carry every leaf away,

shake my limbs and make me sway.” “But I have roots stretched in the earth,

growing stronger since my birth. You'll never touch them, for you see

they are the deepest part of me.”

“Until today, I wasn't sure

of just how much I could endure. But now I've found, with thanks to you,

I'm stronger than I ever knew.”

The Gayhead Spelling Bee took place on the Gayhead Stage on Monday, May 2nd. Mrs. Seemha

Bhatt, the PTA chairperson, did a superb job of organizing the grade level spelling bees and the

final Gayhead spelling bee. Ms. Kim Barnett, from PTA made the introductions and gave an

overview of the rules. Our Assistant Principal, Josh Cohen was the official word announcer and

the judges were Mrs. Kelley Lewis and Mrs. Tiffany Sweeney.

The winner of the 2011 Gayhead Spelling Bee was Cordelia Ko from fourth grade. Mr. Olavarría,

our Principal, and Mr. Cohen awarded the prizes. Congratulations to all the participants and

winners!! Great job, Cordelia! Cordelia will go on to the Wappingers Central School District

Spelling Bee held in early June.


Gayhead kindergarten students enjoyed a special treat brought to our school as part of the Arts

in Education program funded through PTA.

All three kindergarten classes were visited by Henry and Skitch from The Madden Outdoor

Education Center, part of Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES. Henry engaged the children in a

discussion about birds and brought along feathers, talons and nests for the kids to explore at

their tables.

As Henry spoke to the children, Skitch was preparing for his debut! When Henry finally took

Skitch out of his crate, the children were prepared and excited to see him.



MAY!! 2 Gayhead Spelling Bee

4, 5, 6 New York State ELA Exams, Gr. 3-5

4 Orchestra South Pyramid Concert-7:00p.m. @ JJ

10 PTA Mtg. with Superintendent Parla 6:30 p.m.

11-13 New York State Math Exams, Gr. 3-5

11 South Pyramid Concert-5th Gr. Chorus 7:00p.m. @JJ

12 Spring Concert – 4th Gr. Choruses 7:00p.m. @ JJ

14 Festival of the Arts in the Village of

Wappingers Falls, Mesier Park 10:00am-4:00pm

17 Budget Vote – polls open 7:30a.m.-9:00p.m.

18 Band South Pyramid 7:00p.m. @ JJ

19 Bake Sale to benefit 5th Grade Picnic

24 SLT Meeting 8:00 a.m.

27 School is in session as usual- (make-up)

30 School is closed - Memorial Day

To Parents and Guardians,

Re: Pick-up Notes:

Please print or write

legibly the first and last

name of the person

picking up your child.

The secretaries must

record on our pick-up list

the name of the person

picking up each child.

They must be able to

read the name.

Thank you for helping us

to keep your children

safe!!