
Theodore Roosevelt School
January 2018 Newsletter
Instrumental Music
String Enrichment began in the first week of October this school year. The number of students participating in the program here at TRS has increased from 21 to almost 30 members since that first session, and all of the students have been making tremendous progress on their instruments at each of our meetings.
So far, we have been studying a variety of fundamental string techniques. These techniques range from some basic bowing exercises like our “Rosin Raps” (where we learned about down bows and up bows) to exercises where we pluck on the strings (a style of performance called pizzicato) and learned new notes and fingerings, to most recently, learning our first major scale and performing it in small groups and in a “round” (when each group plays the same scale but starts at a different time).
I am extremely excited about the growth and progress of the Enrichment program here at TRS. I’m looking forward to continuing to see the students learn more about playing string instruments, orchestras, famous violinists and cellists and I have a number of fun and interesting ideas for the program that students will see and experience during the coming weeks!
-Mr. Gorman
Zing
Zing
I am very pleased to inform you that our District now has access to Zing, a digital library that you can access from anywhere. This is intensifying our efforts for students to develop reading stamina, increase reading time and making reading accessible from anywhere at anytime.
Zing opens the door to a world of learning possibilities by providing your child with access to thousands of fiction and nonfiction eBooks and short digital texts. While reading, your child can access several on-demand features, including digital note taking, highlighting, bookmarks, and a dictionary tool powered by the Collins COBUILD Dictionary.
Your child can access all of the content on Zing on a Apple iPad 3 and higher, a laptop, desktop, or Chromebook by going to: http://www.zingreading.com.
Ocearch
Our fifth and sixth grade students have been tracking sharks using the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker program in their science classes. Students enjoy tracking sharks that are close to home. They have been tracking sharks near the Jersey shore that have traveled from Massachusetts area. Two of their favorite sharks are Mary Lee and Vader.
Future Ready
All three Weehawken schools were honored as Future Ready Schools at the annual School Boards Convention in Atlantic City. Each school had to complete a rigorous application process to demonstrate that we are indeed Future Ready. Thanks to faculty members Ms. Turner, Ms. Yankauskas, Mrs. Sendul, Ms. Yanuzzi and Ms. Krieg for heading up the TRS committee.
Ambassadors of Kindness
With the help of counselor John Munro, many students took the opportunity to become Ambassadors of Kindness, a new program instituted as an anti-bullying measure. In the program student agree to act with kindness, and to model kind behavior in school. There are currently 70 students enrolled in this program.
Achieve 3000
Across all demographics, students using Achieve3000’s literacy solutions regularly exceeded their expected Lexile reading growth by an average of 72 points, or more than 2X times the expected reading gains. Achieve3000’s literacy solutions are uniquely designed to meet the needs of classrooms with a diverse mix of student abilities and needs: every student in class reads the same grade-appropriate content differentiated at their individual reading level, empowering all students to fully participate in whole-class instruction and discussions. At TRS, all students are using this program in Science and Social Studies class at least once per week.
The program includes deeply differentiated instruction; an adaptive content system that integrates ongoing assessment, engaging nonfiction content, and robust scaffolds; and linguistic supports for struggling students and English language learners.
Parents can track their child’s Achieve 3000 progress by doing the following:
Log on to https://login.achieve3000.com with the following username and password.
Username: your child's email address: firstname.lastname@trsweehawken.net (TRS) Your child's password: weehawken ● Find your child’s name in the upper right hand corner of the page. ● Click the little down arrow near his/her name. ● Select Create Parent Login. Be sure to enable the popup window. ● Add your personal parent security code. This information was mailed to you in a letter. If you don’t have it, please email Ms. Amato at FAmato@weehawken.k12.nj.us.
Teacher Websites
For parents looking for more specific information about their child’s teacher, please visit the teacher’s website. Below are directions on how to find the sites.
Step 1: Visit www.weehawkenschools.net
Step 2: Click on Schools then Roosevelt School
Step 3: Click on About Us and then Staff Directory
Step 4: Then find your child’s teacher
Upcoming Events
January 6- Parent University at TRS
January 9 - 2nd Grade Transition Night at TRS
January 18 - 5th Grade Science Fair
January 25 - 3rd Grade Science Fair
@WeehawkenTSD ~ weehawkenschools.net
Theodore Roosevelt School
1 Louisa Place
Weehawken, NJ 07086
Principal Suzanne P. Mera