Malta Ave Summer Newsletter

August 1st, 2024

I hope this newsletter finds you well and you are enjoying this beautiful summer weather! I wanted to take a moment to send out a few updates and announcements.

Malta Avenue Calendar

Wednesday, September 4th: Kindergarten Orientation; 10:00-11:00 a.m. (see below)

Wednesday, September 4th: Grades 1-5 School Walk Through; 3:00-3:30 p.m. (see below)

Wednesday, September 4th: Welcome Back Ice Cream Social; 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.; Malta Ave

Thursday, September 5th: First Day of School!

Tuesday, September 10th: PTA Meeting; 6:30-7:30 p.m. via Google Meet

Thursday, September 19th: Meet the Teacher Night; 6:30-7:30

Friday, September 27th: Staff Development Day-½ day of classes in the morning

Kindergarten Orientation

Kindergarten Orientation will be held on Wednesday, September 4th. The program will run from approximately 10:00-11:00 a.m. This is an opportunity for incoming kindergartners and their parents/caretakers to meet the kindergarten staff and see their classrooms. Students will spend some time with their teacher and will also have a short bus ride to learn the rules of the bus.

We want to make your child feel comfortable with the transition and to offer a fun, positive experience welcoming him/her to kindergarten.

Grades 1-5 School Walk Through

Students in grades 1-5 are invited to take part in our school walk through on Wednesday, September 4th from 3:00-3:30 p.m. Feel free to come in and locate your new room. You can bring in your class supplies that day as well. Don’t forget to stick around for our Welcome Back Ice Cream Social.

Welcome Back Ice Cream Social

On Wednesday, September 4th, from 3:30-5:00 p.m. we will hold our Welcome Back Ice Cream Social. This event will allow students and families to spend time on our beautiful Malta Avenue campus. Students, family members, caretakers, and staff will have time to enjoy our playground, meet and play with their classmates, and enjoy some ice cream or popsicles. One of our core values at Malta Avenue is community, so this will be our first event of the 2024-2025 school year to spend time building community with one another.

Summer Activities

During the summer there are many wonderful resources available to keep our students learning and spark their curiosity. Check out the incredible resources below:

Barnes and Noble- Barnes and Noble has a reading program where students can earn a free book! Simply read a set number of books, complete a quick reading journal, and bring the journal to a local store. Details and the journal can be found here:

Barnes and Noble Summer Reading

Ballston Spa Public Library- Ballston Spa Public Library has a wonderful summer reading program. There is still time to participate! For more information, go to:

Ballston Spa Public Library Summer Reading Program

The New York State Museum in Albany - The NY State Museum in Albany is always free and is a great place to visit to learn more about our state! For more information, visit:

The NY State Museum

Book Recommendations from Mrs. Rudolph, Malta Ave Librarian

Any book in the Pig the Pug series, by Aaron Blabey!

The Magical Yet, by Angela DiTerlizzi

The Leaf Thief, by Alice Hemming

Big Truck Little Island by Chris Van Dusen - Kids come up with a smart solution when a truck gets stuck on a narrow road and traffic gets backed up.

Grade 1

Any book in the Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast series, by Josh Funk

Elephant and Piggie books, by Mo Willems, are always a great idea for beginning readers and they are so funny!

More Dung: A Beetle Tale, by Frank Weber - a funny book about a greedy dung beetle.

Unicorn and Yeti series, by Heather Ayris Burnell

Grade 2

Diary of a Pug series, by Aaron Blabey

Dragon Masters series, by Tracey West - Love this one!

The Last Firehawk series, by Katrina Charman

Grade 3

The One and Only Family, by Katherine Applegate - the newest book in The One and Only Ivan series

Cookie Chronicles series, by Matthew Swanson (Book 1 is Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom)

Dog Squad series, by Chris Grabenstein.

Real Pigeons Fight Crime, by Andrew McDonald

Grade 4-5

The One and Only Family, by Katherine Applegate - the newest book in The One and Only Ivan series

Amulet: Waverider - Book 9 in the series and the last one! Be sure to read this series in order.

Amari and the Night Brothers, by B. B. Alston - students at Malta Avenue have recommended this book.

The Gregor the Overlander series, by Suzanne Collins (author of the Hunger Games) if you love the Fantasy genre. This series by this author is perfect for elementary students. Mrs. Rudolph loved this series. Be sure to read the series in order.

Dust, by Dusti Bowling

All grades: Check out some books by author Beth Ferry, who will be visiting Malta Avenue in March! Here is a link to the author's website: https://www.bethferry.com/

Got book recommendations?

We love to read at Malta Ave and we are always looking for book recommendations! If you have a book recommendation, please email Mrs. Johnson (sjohnson@bscsd.org) pictures of you and your child(ren) reading each night. We will post pictures on our Malta Avenue Twitter feed- @MaltaAveElem

Summer Fun

Youth in Motion Summer Camp- It's always wonderful to see our incredible Malta Ave students having fun over the summer. Six of our amazing students participated in the Youth in Motion summer program through SPAC School of the arts. It was a pleasure watching them perform at the end of the program!

Carpe Diem- We had quite a few Malta Ave students participate in the Carpe Diem summer camp. The camp culminated with a wonderful production of Finding Nemo. Bravo students!