Whitehouse News - October

October 2024

It has been a pleasure to launch another exciting and rewarding school year. Wow! There has been so much learning and growing going on around here. Your children can tell you all of the ways that they are becoming better readers, writers, mathematicians, scientists, geographers, artists, musicians, thinkers, etc. However, I bet if you asked them what the most memorable thing about the first month of school was, they just might tell you all about the NEW PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT!

Although we planned to add some new pieces to the area in time for school, the contractors were delayed. The silver lining was that the students were able to witness the installation process, so it created a palpable sense of excitement in the air. It warmed all of our hearts to see how happy it made the children! Pictured below, first grade teachers stop the ride to pose with children.

In the upcoming month, we hope to receive the musical wall that we ordered for the K-3 playground and also look forward to having our new preschool playground, as well as our Art Room renovations completed.

Warmly,

Dr. Ann T. DeRosa

A special thank you to the Rutgers Master Gardeners for their love and care each year in helping us cultivate a garden full of fruits, vegetables, and wildflowers. Third grade teacher, Mrs. Anna Shinn, is pictured here harvesting wildflowers with Tyler Sherwood and Juliet Usas.

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. STEM education in elementary school integrates these subjects into meaningful projects that help students understand the world around them. STEM education can help students develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills, which benefits them throughout their lives. This year, all students will have a chance to visit the STEM Lab and engage with the engineering process. For instance, during our first week, second and third graders had to build the tallest tower possible using only 12 index cards and 24 dot stickers. The largest tower was engineered by Axele Sanz!

Check out other thoughtful constructions below! (Left) Declan Mest, Sunny Stelter, & Nora Marcucci (Middle) Gabriella Kalb & Faya Trainor and (Right)Taylor Dugan & Elle Bakerman.

Students celebrated "Dot Day" with Mrs. Barca and Mrs. Reardon by rotating through several STEM stations. Stations included using our friendly Bee Bot robots, creating pixel art with Dot markers, and creating a structure using Play-Doh dots.

Additionally, the STEM teachers focus on "digital citizenship" on an ongoing basis. Students understand the district's acceptable use expectations for all technologies. In fact, there is also a week devoted to it annually on the national level. This year it will be held from October 14 - 18. Digital Citizenship Week is a campaign to promote a healthy, balanced, and positive approach to media and technology.

Meet some of the people who make Whitehouse School such an amazing place!

Each month, three staff members are randomly chosen and are showcased in this segment.

Please encourage your children to continue to show good character as they earn your permission to shade in pieces of their “Friendliness” bucket puzzle!