Curriculum Corner

SEPTA and WINGS teacher Mara Karfinkel hosted a successful STEM Night featuring games and activities that were sure to meet the interests of all students! Some required collaboration, like suspending a marshmallow atop a tower of uncooked spaghetti, or independent creativity, such as through paper crafts or slime creation.

In November, teachers, social workers, nurses and administrators hosted fifth and sixth grade parents to preview our Growth and Development program, which will be presented to students in January. Parents viewed the video that will be shown to their children, received an overview of the conversations that will take place in the classroom, and asked the educators who will deliver the instruction questions about the lessons.

The Literacy Committee, which includes principals and teacher representatives from all three buildings, met to continue ongoing discussions about shifts in literacy instruction. This includes the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Program and Fundations, comprehensive systems of phonics instruction for young learners in our K-2 classrooms. A literacy survey was sent out to parents to gather information about knowledge of our literacy instruction and programs.

We have implemented Fundations into the K-2 curriculum and will soon continue the instruction in grade 3 classes this winter. Fundations brings a unique approach to lessons on reading, spelling and handwriting, laying the groundwork for lifelong literacy skills. Its multisensory approach to instruction makes learning efficient and effective while maximizing valuable classroom time. We can't wait to see how our third graders continue to develop with this support in place!

K-2 teachers received an exciting new literacy tool: Jump Rope Readers! These decodable reader sets feature both fiction and nonfiction stories and cover a range of highly engaging, kid-friendly topics. With Jump Rope Readers, our beginning readers are gradually and systematically introduced to new letter-sound correspondences and high-frequency words. Along the way, they will also be introduced to memorable characters, exciting adventures and foundational elements of literary fiction. This is yet another tool in the already expansive toolkit teachers have at their disposal.

North Merrick Schools will once again offer Saturday Enrichment through SCOPE this year. Designed for all students from kindergarten to sixth grade, students can participate in many exciting courses, including "Books and Bots," "Cartooning, Comic Books and Graphic Novel Design," "Jewelry and Fashion Design" and "Spartan Warrior Sports." For more information, click the flyer.

Stay tuned for our next Curriculum Corner in February where we will showcase exciting new happenings in our science, social studies and math curriculums!

K-6 Public School District

Website: http://www.nmerrickschools.org
Location: 1057 Merrick Avenue, North Merrick, NY
Phone: 516-623-1906
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nmerrickschools/
Twitter: @NMerrickSchools