The Royal Scroll - November

The first grade has been very busy this month! They have been working on addition and subtraction strategies within 20. If you ask any first grader about double facts, you are sure to get a correct answer.

During ELA time, the first-grade students are instructed in Unit 3 of Fundations. We continue to encourage the students to use correct letter formation and to bump the lines when writing letters. Keep practicing those digraphs!

The Fall Festival Parade was enjoyed by all! The students and teachers paraded outside on the Aronimink grounds. It was terrific to see all the smiling faces! Please continue to read with your child. Choral, repeated, and echo reading are all great ways to build reading fluency. Happy November!

Second grade has done a great job settling into our school routines. The students enjoyed participating in the Red Ribbon Week theme days. They also had a blast walking around the field in the fall festival and seeing all of the costumes and families that came to watch. In ELA, they worked on spelling words with 3 consonant blends, contractions, and the "schwa" sound. They continued to learn about central idea, setting, and author’s purpose in reading. In math, they practiced adding two-digit numbers using a variety of strategies, including the hundred chart, open number lines, compensation, and breaking apart the addends. In social studies, they became experts when they learned all about maps and geographical features. We are looking forward to the exciting activities and events that are still to come!

5th grade students got to celebrate Halloween Healthy Style in Mrs. Woodbridge's class. Check out the different stations the students enjoyed, as well as a fun mummy making contest!

Both of our football teams finished out the season with wins over the Drexel Hill Royals! Great job!

Teachers and students decorated pumpkins to get ready for the fall season. Everyone got very creative with their ideas and everyone was happy to help out! Thank you to Home and School for getting the pumpkins!

FIRST GRADE

SECOND GRADE

THIRD GRADE

FOURTH GRADE

FIFTH GRADE

SPECIALS

MINUTE TO WIN IT GAMES

Our first grade students recently visited Sugartown Strawberries Farm. Sugartown is located on Willisbrook Farm in Chester County and is comprised of approximately 230 acres. It is a working family farm in existence since 1896. The farm has 100 acres of tillable land, 50 acres of pastureland and 80 acres of woodland. More than 20 horses are boarded on the farm. Our students were able to experience nature first hand, discover how farms work and how the weather effects crop growth. The students also went on a hayride with Farmer Bob, the owner/operator of the farm. Farmer Bob taught the students how this year's past weather determined the growth of the pumpkins that the children were able to choose from to bring home.

Our wonderful Home and School Association hosted Costume Bingo and not only was it a fun family time, they also made a good amount of money for the school. Families came, many in costume, to play bingo, share a tasty treat and socialize with one another. There was also a costume contest. Several staff members attended and the children really enjoyed themselves.

The annual Fall Festival Parade is a cherished Garrettford tradition which draws a crowd from the neighborhood. This year we had many unique costumes and a majority of the staff dressed as characters from the movie Inside Out 2. The children paraded through the school and out the front doors to the playground while Halloween themed music played. Afterwards they ate tasty treats.

Highland Park's Home & School hosted a Fall Festival on Saturday, October 26, 2024. They had a wonderful turn out, including students with their families, teachers and their families, and even some former students that came back to visit and support our Home & School. Everyone had a great time!

Even though the temperature should be cooling down, things are really heating up in third grade! Now that our daily routines are firmly in place, it’s time to L-E-A-R-N. In math, we have been learning about the Properties of Multiplication. To help us learn about the Associative Property (the grouping property), we used some real- life actors to portray the parentheses! There was a slight learning “curve”, but the class worked hard to master the skill!

And if the month wasn’t busy enough, we ended October on a high note (80°🨸day!!!). We had our annual Fall Festival Party and Parade. It looked pretty “spooky” all around the Hillcrest campus. Thank you for all of our families and friends coming out to show your support! It was a wonderful day for all!

Growing pumpkin seeds in kindergarten is a fantastic hands-on project that combines science, nature, and a bit of magic!

In Music Class, we continue to start off every class with our Hello Song. We continue to work on rhythm and steady beat, and now we have begun adding pitch. We are slowly learning solfege syllables, which is do re mi fa sol la ti do. It is a transferable skill they can use to read just about any music.

First grade has been working on singing fast and slow, and high and low. They sang some spooky songs for the end of October, and focused on learning about form. They just recently learned their first two solfege syllables: sol and mi. In the future, they will begin learning about rhythm.

Second grade has been very busy! They have been singing, playing passing games, and dancing. They have been working on pitch and rhythm, learning ta, ta-di, sh, ta-ah, mi, sol, and la. Most impressively, second grade has been learning how to dictate rhythms. First, they sing it. Then, they can write it down. They are getting very good!

Third grade has just learned a new rhythm: takadimi! They also have been working on learning new pitches mi, sol, and la. They, along with second grade, enjoy our new solfege game: SolLaMi. In this game, they echo every pattern that Miss H sings except the pattern sol la mi. If she tricks them into singing it, she gets a point. If they stay silent after hearing sol la mi, they win a point!

Fourth and fifth grade have just started instruments! They have been playing rhythm stick xylophones, and metallophones. They also learned mi, sol, and la earlier in October. As they go on, they will be learning more complex rhythms and solfege syllables.

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

Tifany moved here from Ecuador eight months ago with her family.

1. What was the weather like in Ecuador?

The weather was hot and sometimes chilly. It rained sometimes.

2. Did you go to school in Ecuador?

Yes, I went to school. I had social studies, English, math, and geography. My favorite subjects were math, English, and art.

3. What is your favorite Ecuadorian food?

My favorite food in Ecuador was encebollado soup which is made with lemon, fish, and onions.

4. What did you do for fun in Ecuador?

I watched movies with my parents. We would go to the park and the market. I went to the waterpark with my friends.

5. What do you miss most about Colombia?

I miss my friends and my dog, Vety.

This month our bilingual buddies read a book about pumpkins to our newcomer students. Newcomer students received their very own pumpkin. Their buddies helped them write adjectives about their pumpkin. They finished by adding a cute face to their pumpkins.

Multilingual mentors met for the first time this month. Our mentors Angie, Genesis, Wilmer and Flor reviewed math activities. They discussed strategies on how to use their math resources to mentor younger students in the first and second grade. Multilingual mentors also created their very own bag to store their materials. They can’t wait to start mentoring!

5th grade student Mayely Maite Guanuchi Vasquez (Bilingual Buddy) took student Brandon Mizhqiuiri on an adapted welcome walk. She showed him the cafeteria, water fountain, gym, library, sensory wall and walked him to his classroom. His mom seemed happy to talk to Maite in Spanish. Kids did a great job!

This month in PE, we've been focusing on practicing key basketball skills like dribbling, shooting, and passing to strengthen our game. We’ve worked on individual techniques in an open gym setting, helping everyone improve their coordination and teamwork. It’s been exciting to see progress as we challenge ourselves and support each other. Remember, wearing the right sneakers in the gym is important to prevent injuries and give you the support you need during all activities!

We’re excited to invite you to our upcoming Scholastic Book Fair. This event is an opportunity for students of all ages to build their home libraries and further their love of reading. As always, all purchases benefit our school library.

In art class we are currently working on the following art projects. In First Grade, we are continuing our work on our large portrait drawings. In Second Grade, we are continuing our work on our creature paintings that are based on the book,” Where the Wild Things Are”, written by Maurice Sendak. In Third Grade, we are continuing our work on our carousel horse drawings that we will eventually paint. In Fourth Grade, we are continuing our work on our symmetrical fall tree pictures. In Fifth Grade, we are continuing our work on our reflective landscapes.

As we approach the winter concert coming up, the students in chorus are doing a fantastic job in shaping their sound and showing their energy through the music. They are also starting to become quite comfortable with beginning to memorize their music. Here is a reminder that the winter concert will be taking place here at Westbrook Park on Wednesday, December 11th at 7PM in the gym! As for music class, the students have been doing an excellent job at improving on their instrument playing skills. First grade has gotten introduced to playing instruments to the steady beat, and they are so excited to learn more. Fifth grade has been getting into creating, including with body percussion. Later this month, they will be creating their own rhythms with instruments to play along to many different songs.

The Marching Royals had an incredible performance at the USBands 5A National Championship on November 3. The competition was held in Allentown, PA. The Royals earned the bronze medal and scored 93.1. The competition was tight, with the top three bands all within 1.5 points. The Royals won with a significant 2-point lead over fourth place. The Royals also brought home the award for Best Overall Percussion.

Says Director of Bands Doug Ballard, "This season has been a remarkable journey for the students, as they consistently performed at their best and often received the highest scores at various shows. Their hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm were evident in every performance, and they made Upper Darby proud."

Our Royal Math Team did it again, making it to the Final Four in the school's competition bracket. We achieved this by defeating the Crespi Carmelite Celts, a college prep school in Encino, CA. The final score: Royals-22, Celts-19. Our high scorer was Khandakar Mahin with 6 points, and scoring 4 points were team members Jacob Aaron, Sophie DeMott, Nick Fitzpatrick, Abdalla Elokely, and Iftakhar Tarunno

The team competed in the semifinal round Friday, December 6, and went up against the Sage Hill School in Newport Beach, CA. Upper Darby is the only Pennsylvania team left in any of the five Math Madness brackets.