The Royal Scroll - April

Our kindergartners have learned that sometimes the best teachers are kids, just like them. Mrs. Knapp's third graders have been helping out in kindergarten. They have paired up with students in Ms. Iezzi's and Ms. McMeaken's classes to help them with letter fluency and sight words. They also have learned how much work it takes to be a teacher, but also how great it feels when their buddy meets with success!

Fourth grade has started and completed our first Social Studies unit. Students spent time learning about the five regions of the United States. The states in each region share characteristics like geography or climate that help group them together. Significant time was spent practicing map skills during this unit. Students learned how to use longitude and latitude lines to locate exact locations on a map. Map keys and map scales were used to help identify symbols and measure distances. Students also used cardinal (North, South, East and West) and intermediate directions (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest) to determine where locations were in relation to one another.

Math finds students applying their knowledge of fractions to understand decimals. Students practiced writing numbers as both a fraction and a decimal. Equivalent fractions also helped students comprehend decimal equivalency. Students are moving into their study of Geometry. They are starting the unit by identifying lines, line segments, rays and angles. Soon they will move to measuring angles and solving to find the missing measurement of connected angles.

In ELA, students have started our eighth module “Food for Thought.” This module finds students mostly focusing on nonfiction. Students will read pieces that help students identify the main idea, supporting details, author’s purpose, as well as text and graphic features. Students are also spending time doing research this marking period. Students are taught to paraphrase information and not plagiarize from sources. Students will use the research to write an expository essay on their assigned topic.

The BH Jazz Band rocked the stage at the Upper Darby High School Indoor Drumline Community Preview Show! Our talented musicians brought the energy, showing off some fresh new tunes as we gear up for our big festival this Friday. It was an awesome night of music, and we can't wait to keep the groove going!

Judge Mattox recently stopped by our Royal Seminar class for an engaging visit! He shared valuable insights about the role of a judge, sprinkled in some funny stories, and even gifted each student a pencil gavel. Our seminar scholars impressed with thoughtful questions—what a great day for our Royals!

Students had to throw ping pong balls into a net worn by the teacher. Always a laugh and a good time!

The Red Cross reviewed Fire Safety with 1st grade. Students even practice staying low to avoid the smoke.

2nd grade scientists examine the power of water and its role in erosion.

3rd graders observed the metamorphosis of butterflies. Students watched their class butterflies go through 4 stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult. Once their butterflies could fly they students released their pollinators!

Theme: Community

The March 11th Board meeting showcased the wonderful things happening at Garrettford Elementary. Jane Felmey joined some Bywood students in leading the Pledge of Allegance. Mr. Brydges and Ms. Mantzaridis presented about the Walking School Bus and the success we have had with building community and increasing attendance rates. Mrs. Pinto, our Special Education Assistant, was honored for twenty-five years of service to the students of UDSD. Mr. Carey was honored for winning the Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union Excellence in Teaching Award. It was a proud night for Garrettford!

This year's Chess Club Winners are: (L to R) Layla Innis (3rd Place), Carter Yarusso (1st Place) and Ishak Elomari (2nd Place).

Mr. Donahue runs Garrettford's chess club after school twice a week from December through February. All participants compete in a tournament in early March. This year we had 20 participants and the top 3 players are awarded a trophy. Chess club members learn how to strategize and use critical thinking. Members also love to socialize, make new friends, and learn something new.

The Wawa Littles spend time with their Bigs in March going on an engineering scavenger hunt! They always have a great time with their Big Brothers/Big Sisters mentors. Shout out to Mrs. Hanna for organizing this amazing program!

Second graders worked on our erosion solution project using sand, pebbles and clay. They all stopped the water from coming on their beach.

3rd grade has been working hard to prepare for their end of the year show!

What a happy day for third grade!!! We completed our science module “Welcome to the Biodome”, where we studied the life cycles of plants and animals. Today is the day we set our butterflies free!!

Students in Mrs. Bonhage's class took a trip outside to see if they could find any signs of spring!

Autism Awareness Day is a special day to help young children understand and celebrate differences in others. The day encourages acceptance, empathy, and friendship, teaching children that everyone is unique and deserves to be treated with respect.

April is National Autism Acceptance Month. April 2nd is National Autism Acceptance day. To celebrate Primos students and staff dressed in their Celebrate Minds of all Kinds shirts!

To raise spirits for PSSA, Student Council hosted the Pie a Teacher pep rally! Students had the opportunity to purchase tickets and vote for the teacher of their choice to be pied in front of the whole school! Big thank you to all of the staff volunteers who were willing to get pied in the face!

Multicultural night was filled with art, music, games, delicious food, and togetherness as we celebrated the many cultures of our families at Stonehurst Hills.

In this issue we are featuring a third grader, Brisnhey!

Brisnhey came to America when she was six years old with her mom and dad.

1. What was the weather like in Ecuador?

Sometimes it would be hot but as the weather changed it started to get cold. It rained a lot and I got sick. That is why my family came to America. We didn't have money for medicine.

2. Did you go to school in Ecuador?

Yes, I went to school when I was in Ecuador. My favorite subject was math. It was different then here because we had to buy our food or our parents had to send us with food.

3. What is your favorite Ecuadorian food?

My favorite Ecuadorian food was fruit salad with apples, bananas, and papayas.

4. What did you do for fun in Ecuador?

My friends and I liked to play with baby dolls.

5. What do you miss most about Ecuador?

I miss my friends the most.

In Gym we completed a climbing and gymnastics unit. I was very impressed by the growth and skill progression of our students since last year. Looking ahead we will be practicing activities for color day!

The Shark Lady was one of our featured books for Women’s History Month. After enjoying the story, students dove into shark research using technology. As a follow-up, third through fifth graders wrote creative applications to join the Westbrook Park Library “Shark Tank.” Meanwhile, first and second graders used their new knowledge to label detailed diagrams of sharks. Our Westbrook Park “aquarium” is filling up fast with all the qualified shark experts! We all survived SHARK WEEK—and had a fin-tastic time doing it!

In art class we are currently working on the following art projects. In First Grade we are working on Georgia O’Keffe flower paintings. In Second Grade we are working on shape crayon reduction designs. In Third Grade we are working on sunset landscapes. In Fourth Grade we are finishing our optical art pictures. In Fifth Grade we are working on illustrated name pictures.

We have been very busy in all of our classes these last couple weeks. First and second grade are having their showcase tomorrow at 2PM, both of which gave amazing dress rehearsals. We also have our soloists selected for my original choral piece. They are Zoe Perez, Sophia Deitrich, Nina Thompson, and Brandon Budu. As we now have everything set in place for the concert next month, we are looking forward to giving another fantastic performance. Third grade has finished up with the recorders and have been doing great on other instruments like xylophones. Fourth and fifth grade have been doing some reviewing on reading notes on both the treble and bass clef staffs. We are looking forward to seeing what the end of the year has in store for us.

On April 3rd, Emilio Sampson performed at the PMEA Delco Band Fest held at Marple Newtown High School. He represented Westbrook Park, joining over 100 advanced students from all around the county. In order to be prepared, he had to put in many hours of extra practice at school and at home in order to learn an entire folder of advanced music. Congratulations, Emilio!

Students in Kindergarten were working on place value in math class. They created place value butterflies focusing on tens and ones.

Upper Darby High School celebrated Autism Acceptance month with its annual "April Showers" rain rally. Students help individual fundraisers to collect money for Special Olympics, which sponsored the event. The Upper Darby Fire Department was there to lend the "showers" to the event, in which students and staff ran under hoses in the school's back soccer field. In addition to the showers, the students played games and had fun dancing and socializing. Learning Support Teacher Jessica Conroy led efforts to help contribute to the event by creating and selling "Inclusion Matters" t-shirts (created by Emotional Support Teacher Amanda Verdi) to anyone in the district who was interested.

Student teacher Felice Gonzalez runs with Ny'Ron.

Ryder reunites with Miss Lisa from Drexel Hill Middle School as Mr. Jasper smiles on.

Mrs. Kurz with some happy students.

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Upper Darby High School's spring musical, "Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," on their FOURTEEN Cappie nominations!

The Greater Philadelphia chapter of the Cappies Awards focuses on journalism through peer reviews of each participating school's production. At the end of each Cappies season, critics vote on different award categories culminating with the annual gala where the winners are announced! We are honored that this year's gala will be back home in the Performing Arts Center on June 1st!

The school version of the famed Stephen Sondheim musical ran at UDHS March 21, 22 and 28th at 7:30PM, and at 2PM and 7:30PM on March 29 to great acclaim. The 14 nominations (see pic below) include plaudits for hair and makeup, featured actor/supporting actor/lead actor in both female and male categories, among others. See above for the full list, and see below for pics from the show.

On Thursday, April 10, Upper Darby High School hosted the annual Annenberg Science Symposium. Through a series of three case studies, our students gave a creative and informational presentation titled Under Pressure: An Analysis of Hypertension, covering many aspects of blood pressure from testing and symptoms down to the molecular level and interactions in the kidneys. The Main Line Health judges gave UDHS the following award: Hyper-Educators: Most Comprehensive Explanation of a Common Medical Problem.

In addition, students from Friends Central presented on Post-Partum Depression and students from Malvern Prep presented on the use of AI in Medicine. The tenor of the evening was described by one attendee as “fun and memorable” and by another as “warm and educational.” Congratulations to our students and thank you for representing our school so positively and making us proud!