Parent Communication

Hello CHAMPS Families! During the month of November, we often reflect on thankfulness and gratitude. It’s a wonderful time to encourage our children, and even ourselves, to recognize and appreciate the positive aspects of our lives, from family and friends to the small joys of each day. We invite you to share moments of gratitude with your child and discuss what they are thankful for. This practice can foster a sense of community and support as we continue to grow and learn together.

As we have just finished the 1st quarter of the school year, we want to take a moment to reflect on the progress our students have made. They have already shown incredible growth in their academic skills and social development. We encourage you to continue supporting your child’s learning at home by reading together and discussing their day.

Thank you for your partnership in making this a successful start to the school year. We look forward to sharing more about your child's achievements and their individual growth during our upcoming conferences on November 5th or November 14th. Thank you for being an essential part of our school family!

C.H.A.M.P.S.: Courageous Hardworking Accountable Motivated Persistent Safe

Van Duyn is an inclusive learning environment where everyone is respected, empowered, encouraged, and supported to thrive and succeed as responsible global citizens while being held to a standard of excellence in academic achievement and personal character

We are an inclusive community that believes all students can learn.

Hello, my name is Ms. Talham and I am the Art teacher at Van Duyn.

I have a bachelor's degree from the Maryland Institute of Art and a master's in teaching from

Oswego state University.

I am looking forward to working with all the CHAMPS at Van Duyn.

If you would like to contact me, please feel free to email me at.

ltalham@scsd.us

HI! I’m Ms. Hurne and I’m the music teacher here at Van Duyn. I get to teach all grade levels classroom music and our 4th and 5th grade CHAMPS Band and Orchestra. When I’m not teaching music, I like to hang out with my 3 kids and my dog, lead music at my church and spend time outdoors hiking. Please feel free to contact me on Talking Points or email khurne@scsd.us with any questions 😊

Hi everyone! My name is EJ Zawadzki, and I am one of the Physical Education Teachers here at Van Duyn! This is my second-year teaching Physical Education and first full school year at Van Duyn! I have a B.S. in Physical Education and a M.S. in Sport Management from SUNY Cortland. When I’m not teaching, I spend most of my time playing, watching, or officiating different sports around the city of Syracuse. As a Physical Educator, my goal is to inspire my students to reach their full potential, help them set and achieve their goals as they grow through elementary school, and be a positive role model for them on a daily basis to prepare them for their lives ahead. If you would like to contact me, my email address is ezawad38@scsd.us, please don’t hesitate to reach out! I’m looking forward to a great rest of the school year.

Hello Van Duyn Families!! My name is Andrew Grecco. This is my first-year teaching at Van Duyn and third year teaching overall. I received my undergraduate degree from SUNY Cortland, and I am currently pursuing my master’s degree at SUNY Oswego. Outside of teaching, I like to stay active by exercising and playing recreation sports. My favorite sports are baseball, basketball and football. I am also an avid fan of the Dallas Cowboys, Boston Red Sox and Syracuse Orange. I am very excited to have the opportunity to teach your children in Physical Education class! If you would like to contact me my email address is agrecco@scsd.us. Please feel free to reach out. Again, I am excited to teach the students of Van Duyn and I am looking forward to a great school year!

Hello, My name is Jennifer Kailer and I am the librarian at Van Duyn. I have been at Van Duyn for 11 years! I got my Masters of Library and Information Science from Syracuse University. I love reading and spending my time outdoors with my family. My hope is to bring my love of reading to all my classes. You can reach me at jkailer@scsd.us

Hello, My name is Milena Hernandez and I am the Spanish teacher at Van Duyn. I am from Cuba. I have taught in Cuba and Florida. This is my first year teaching in the Syracuse City School District. I'm excited to work with your kids. You can reach me at mherna01@scsd.us

Our kids are off to a great start learning their letter sounds as well as forming letters correctly in reading. Please be sure that your child is holding their pencil using a tripod grip. In Math, we have been working on classifying objects that are the same and not exactly the same. We are learning how to count group of objects up to as well as learning how to form numbers correctly up to 10. In Science we have been working on our Trees and Weather Unit. Within this unit we discuss trees are living plants. Plants have basic needs. Weather can change and it is the condition in the air outdoors and can be described. If you have not done so, please reach out to your child teacher to sign up for a Parent Conference time. Parent teacher conferences will be on November 5, 2024, from 8:15 am to 3:00 pm and November 14, 2024, from 5:40 pm to 7:10 pm. Please make sure to check your child red folder daily for important information.

😊 Ms. Fagan, Ms. King, Ms. Allen, and Ms. Bridges

This month first graders will be working on adding and subtracting numbers up to 20! In ELA, we are working on sentence structure. We encourage families to help students practice math facts and site words at home! In science, we are identifying what is air.

We would love to highlight Tytan A., Elijah H., Khalil T., and Levi M. for outstanding behavior and following the Van Duyn Procedures and expectations. Khalil T. has done a wonderful job making progress in both ELA and Math. Another shoutout to Peter T. for making great progress with his math fluency!

😊 Ms. Glover, Ms. Acevedo, Ms. Peneston and Ms. Floyd

In 2nd grade we are working on a number of new topics. In math we have just a begun a new unit on place value, adding and subtracting within 1,000, and word problems. In our ELA Reading and Skills unit, we just completed our opinion writing, and will begin learning close reading strategies and will be reading a 2nd grade chapter book. For social studies, we are almost done with our unit on “Using our voices and making choices” and will begin science very soon!

Please continue to read at home for at least 20 minutes each night!

Student Shoutout: Anthony W. in Ms. Garcia and Mrs. Napolitano’s class for being a great remodel and always doing his work in school! Shoutout to A’nariee M. in Mrs. Tzetzis’ class for being a great friend and working with other students!

😊Ms. Garcia, Ms. Napolitano, and Ms. Tzetzis

In math, we are beginning Module 2, which focuses on place value and problem-solving with units of measure, particularly time.

In humanities, our emphasis is on informational texts and their features to enhance comprehension, as well as summarizing texts with a focus on claims and evidence.

In science, students will be planning and conducting investigations to explore the relationships between weather and climate within Earth systems.

Shoutouts

We would like to recognize Aubrey C for her impressive improvement in oral reading fluency, increasing from 39 to 58 words per minute. We also want to commend Marius M for completing his entire multiplication by three pattern sheet.

😊Ms. DelaCruz, Ms. Kendall, and Ms. Perez

Humanities:

In humanities, we are working to build a sense of belonging for all our champs through stories and conversations. So far students have been introduced to several texts that include learning about different themes and key details that support the theme of the stories. They have also learned about figurative language and sensory language throughout the text. Followed by strategically answering multiple choice questions and completed C.E.R. responses based on the text.

Writing & Science:

Writing: We completed our opinion pieces. Students picked their topics, wrote a thesis statement, and provided evidence to support their thesis.

Science: In science, students will create a model stream system to investigate the variables involved with the phenomena of erosion and deposition of weathered earth material by flowing water. Students pursue explanations for the phenomenon of fossils found in layers of sedimentary rock, and what fossils tells us about life on Earth.

Math:

We are starting division and multiplication! We will be multiplying up to the thousands using the area model and standard algorithm. In division we will be dividing with remainders using the area model and standard algorithm. Please practice the multiplication facts with our champs at home to help them succeed in this unit.

😊Ms. Huynh-Boyle, Ms. Newton, Ms. Markland, and Mr. Montgomery

In 5th grade this month we are covering a variety of topics. In Humanities, we will be learning about early American History and government. Later in the month, we will move into our Native American studies unit. In writing, students are learning how to write literary essays. Finally, in math we are focusing on multiplying and dividing whole numbers as well as decimals. Please take a look at our important November dates below. Feel to free to reach out to us if you have any questions.

Important November Dates:

Parent Teacher Conferences on November 5th during the day and November 14th in the evening.

No School November 5th or 11th

Field trip to the MOST November 12th

No school November 27th-29th

😊Ms. Dewey, Mrs. Marquis, Ms. Grady and Mr. Simmons

School attendance builds a strong foundation for learning that helps students succeed in the future. It's difficult to make up for too many absences with homework or take-home assignments.

• NOV 5: Parent Teacher Conferences (No School for Students)
• NOV 11: NO SCHOOL
• NOV 14: Parent Teacher Conferences (5:30-7:30)

• PFO meetings are once a month
• Next Meeting is on November 18th at 4:30pm

Please enter at door 3 (by the playground)

• All Champ family members are welcome to join PFO.
• PFO is holding a Yankee Candle fundraiser this month. Please look out for the order form, it will be coming out soon!

Contact information:

Van Duyn PFO President Monique Hill

Email: vanduynpfo@gmail.com

Phone: 315-435-5406

ARRIVAL:

• Doors open at 9:05am.
• At 9:15am Door 2 will close and all students must go through Door 1. All late students who arrive between 9:15am-9:30am will enter Door 1 and be signed in.

DISMISSAL:

• Dismissal starts at 3:35pm.
• Parents picking up children in K-5 may pick up their child outside Door 1. Parents picking up a PreK student may pick up their child at Door 3. (By the Playground).
• We do not dismiss between 3:15pm and 3:35pm. If you need to sign your child out before that, please call the main office and let them know.

Before school arrival time is 7:45am. Students cannot enter before school after 8:35am. They will have to wait until the start of the school day if arrive after 8:35am. After school dismissal time is 5:20pm. Student pick up for afterschool will be at door 1. There is no after school on Fridays and for the month of November there will be NO after school on the 5th, 11th, 14th, 25th and 26th.

Website: https://www.syracusecityschools.com/vanduyn
Location: 401 Loomis Ave Syracuse NY 13207
Phone: (315)435-4660
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vanduynchamps

Principal: Amanda Thomas

Vice Principal: Nicole Heath

Dean of Students: Zakia Richardson

Social Worker: Molly Phelps

Guidance Counselor: Sharon Boatwright

Board of Education Officers

Tamica Barnett-President

Twiggy Billue-Commissioner of Education

Nyatwa Bullock-Commissioner of Education

Karen Cordano-Commissioner of Education

Mary Habib-Commissioner of Education

Gwendolyn Raeford-Commissioner of Education

Ranette Releford-Commissioner of Education

Administrative Staff

Anthony Q. Davis, Superintendent

Pamela Odom, Deputy Superintendent

Britt Britton, Chief Academic Officer

Rob DiFlorio, Chief Operations Officer

Timothy Moon, Chief Accountability Officer

Laura Kelley, ED.D., Chief of Student Support Services

Scott Persampieri, Chief Human Resources Officer

Michael Puntschenko, Chief Financial Officer

Monique Wright-Williams, Chief of Staff

Katie Moulton, Assistant Superintendent