See what our amazing scholars were up to during the first marking period!
INSIDE THIS EDITION
- Principal's Message
The awesome happenings in:
- Kindergarten
- First Grade
- Second Grade
- Third Grade
- Fourth Grade
- Fifth Grade
- Science
- CTY
- World Language (Mandarin)
- Physical Education
- Art
- Music
Don't forget to check out the:
- Counselor's Corner
- Nurse's Nook
Hello Brandt School Family -
I hope this message finds you all well as we reach the midpoint of the school year. It's been an eventful journey so far, filled with growth, achievements, and memorable moments. As we pause to reflect on our progress, I am thrilled to share some highlights of our vibrant and thriving school community from the second marking period.
Our commitment to high academic standards remains unwavering, and I'm proud to report that our students continue to excel in their studies. From mastering mathematical concepts to exploring the wonders of literature, our classrooms are buzzing with intellectual curiosity and engagement. Our dedicated teachers have been instrumental in fostering a love for learning and providing tailored support to every student.
In addition to academic success, our focus on social-emotional learning has been paramount in shaping well-rounded individuals. Through various initiatives and programs, we have nurtured empathy, resilience, and self-awareness among our students. From mindfulness practices to collaborative projects promoting empathy and kindness, our school culture thrives. This was fully on display recently as we took part in the Great Kindness Challenge and were awarded the status of Kindness Certified School for the fourth consecutive year. We can show this again through our 100 Days of School Community Service Project to benefit the Hoboken Community Center with our toothpaste collection.
During the winter months, we've learned about the traditions and celebrations of many cultures comprising our school family. Through our inclusive curriculum, and open dialogue, we celebrate the unique backgrounds and identities that make our school community so vibrant and special. We will continue to celebrate this wonderful diversity during Black History Month and Women's History Month during February and March, respectively.
As we embark on the second half of the school year, let us continue to build upon our successes and tackle new challenges with optimism and resilience.
- Mr. Bartlett
Kindergarten
Our Kindergarteners have been off to an amazing start in the new year, brimming with curiosity and enthusiasm for learning! From building foundational reading and writing skills to exploring math concepts in fun and interactive ways, our young learners have been busy growing every day.
ELA Adventures: Building Strong Readers and Writers
This marking period, our students have been working hard on letter identification and mastering letter sounds. They are strengthening their ability to blend sounds together to form words, which is helping them become more confident readers. We’ve been focusing on sight words and CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, and students are practicing using these words in complete sentences during writing activities.
In writing, our Kindergarteners are developing their storytelling skills by creating sentences that include a beginning, middle, and end. They are also illustrating their ideas, using their drawings to support their written work. We’ve introduced nouns, verbs, and adjectives, helping students describe characters, actions, and settings in the stories they read and write.
During read-alouds and independent reading time, students are learning how to identify key story elements such as characters, settings, and major events. They are practicing retelling stories in sequential order and identifying the main idea and details of a text. These skills are essential building blocks as they continue on their reading journey!
Math Magic: Exploring Numbers, Shapes, and Equations
Our young mathematicians have been busy practicing number recognition, counting, and writing numbers up to 20. They have been working on understanding the relationship between numbers and quantities, using objects and ten frames to develop a deeper understanding of counting and comparing numbers.
We recently wrapped up a unit on 2D shapes, where students identified, named, and created different shapes using hands-on activities. They also explored how to compose larger shapes using smaller ones.
Now, we’re diving into the exciting world of addition and subtraction! Students are learning different strategies to solve equations within 10, such as using counters, drawing pictures, and counting on. We’re also introducing simple word problems, encouraging students to use problem-solving skills to find solutions. Up next, we’ll be exploring 3D shapes, where students will get to compare and sort shapes based on their attributes.
Social Studies Spotlight: Learning About Ourselves and Our World
In Social Studies, we spent time discussing what makes each of us special. Students shared stories about their families, traditions, and personal experiences, helping them develop a greater appreciation for the diversity in our classroom community.
During the holiday season, we explored celebrations and traditions from around the world, comparing how different cultures observe special occasions. Our students created a wonderful project showcasing what makes them unique and presented their work to their classmates.
As part of our focus on being kind, respectful, and inclusive, we have been discussing the importance of teamwork, friendship, and helping others. Through read-alouds, discussions and the Move This World curriculum our Kindergarteners are learning how to express their feelings and be thoughtful, caring classmates.
We are so proud of how much our Kindergarteners have learned and grown so far this year! We can’t wait to see what new discoveries and achievements lie ahead.
First Grade
ELA: Students continue to build on their phonic skills as they work on reading, writing, and spelling long vowel words with the magic of the “silent e.” Our First Graders continue to work on possessive nouns, alphabetical order, contractions, and plural nouns by adding -s and -es. During the writer's workshop, the students have moved from narrative writing to opinion writing for our winter months.
Math: Students began the quarter exploring various strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems. Students have found their favorite strategy and are continuing to practice addition and subtraction fluency. Students worked on measuring and comparing lengths of objects using non standard units of measurement.
Social Studies: Students spent November learning about Native Americans. They learned about how they grew their own food, made clothes, and made pottery for plates, bowls and cups. In December, students learned how communities celebrate holidays and traditions, exploring different cultural practices and how they make each community unique.
Second Grade
ELA: In reading, 2nd grade students have added many skills to their toolbox this marking period. Students worked on being able to identify the main idea of a text while supporting their responses with evidence and supporting details. 2nd graders also worked on being able to make, revise and confirm predictions about the grade level texts they are reading. Later in the marking period we moved on to reading poetry and taking a deeper look at figurative language. Students identified various examples of how authors use this in our Reading Wonders curriculum as well as texts at their level.
In writing, students have engaged with many tasks so far this year, and we are just wrapping up our expository writing! In writing we have talked about nonfiction kinds of writing and students have taken a look at how to teach all about a particular topic. We were able to come up with facts about animals with the help of the internet, magazines, and of course the Hoboken Public Library sending some books over to help us get as many facts as we can. We are learning how to write full paragraphs and create chapters based on these animals. Students have worked very hard in making sure they are using indentation to create full paragraphs as well as teaching readers about these topics. Looking forward to seeing what our final products will look like!
Math: We started off this marking period by focusing heavily on two-digit addition and subtraction. While this is a topic that they learned last year, in second grade we dive a little deeper and learn how to regroup. With a ton of practice, the students have mastered these skills and really love solving them as they are more challenging.
Halfway through the marking period we started on Unit 3 of Investigations, which focuses on place value and word problems. We took a deep dive into analyzing how to solve a word problem when we only have some information. We also use different strategies to check our work. This entails using multiple strategies such as working backwards, or counting up to solve the problem, as the total is already given to us.
Additionally, students are practicing writing 2, 3, and even 4 digit numbers in place value form, standard form, word form, expanded form, and unit form. We are learning how numbers can be represented in so many different ways. Next up, we’ll start Unit 4 which will be all about graphing and analyzing data.
Social Studies: We started the marking period off by talking about different cultures and our family heritages. Students also spoke about family traditions and we discussed how traditions have changed from the past to the present. Students spent time discussing their own traditions, especially around the holidays. This led us into one of our favorite units - Holidays Around the World. The month of December was spent learning about different countries, cultures, and traditions. Students read articles and books about how other countries and religions celebrate the holidays. It was so fun to compare and contrast these traditions to our own. We learned so much and saw so many similarities!
After the holidays, we jumped right into January by talking about the new year and our goals for 2025. We also turned our attention back to school rules and what it means to be a good school citizen. Students took the time to discuss what makes a good citizen and how we can be good citizens in our community.
As the marking period came to an end, students began to talk about how we can use our voices to change the world in a positive way. We talked about the positive ways we can change our attitudes, growth mindset, thinking, and interactions. This led us right into Black History Month where students have begun taking the time to highlight the achievements of influential African Americans who used their voices to help make a positive impact or change on the world.
Third Grade
ELA: This quarter students in Third Grade took a deep dive into their third grade Reading Wonders curriculum. Through a variety of books and articles, students explored several different themes including: Why is working together a good way to solve a problem? Why do people immigrate to new places? How do people make government work?
Students also learned how to construct Research Simulation Task (R.S.T.) and Literary Analysis Task (L.A.T.) An L.A.T. is a task that requires students to read two literary texts that are purposely paired. Students read the texts, answer questions for each text and for the texts as a pair, and then write an analytic essay. These tasks are aligned with the standards and expectations for third grade. A Research Simulation Task requires students to analyze an informational topic through several articles or multimedia stimuli. Students read and respond to a series of questions and synthesize information from multiple sources in order to write an analytic essay.
Math: This quarter students in Third Grade focused on the meaning and structure of multiplication and division and the relationship between them: solving multiplication and division problems, multiplying by a multiple of 10, and learning the remaining multiplication facts to 10 × 10.
As well as understanding the meaning of fractions as numbers and as equal parts of a whole, reasoning about equivalent fractions, comparing fractions, and using notation to model fractions and fraction relationships.
Students also focused on developing ideas about distributive property of multiplication and how to apply this method of multiplying within larger numbers. Students use number lines to compare fractions and find equivalent fractions.
Social Studies: This quarter students used the provided resources to explore the workings of state government. Students learned that citizenship is both a privilege and a duty in a democratic society. As citizens of their state, students analyzed the importance of becoming well-informed and responsible individuals.
Students learned the powers of state government through the three branches:
Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
Judicial branch
The concepts of this unit helped to promote civic responsibility and help to establish a life-long process of a citizen’s role in their state. Students finished the unit understanding the importance of the government’s role within their lives and how they can affect change in their own state.
Fourth Grade
ELA: Fourth Grade students have had an exciting time in ELA this marking period! Our fourth-grade readers continued their study of Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids, a collection of short stories that highlight the cultural significance of powwows. As we read, students were making connections between the different stories, noticing how characters reappear and how each narrative ties into the larger theme of family, culture, and resilience. In our reading discussions, we were exploring the traditions of different Native American tribes, comparing their unique customs while also recognizing their shared experiences. Students were using text evidence to support their comprehension responses, helping them develop critical thinking skills. As a culminating project, students wrote their own intertribal short story inspired by Ancestor Approved. They selected a tribe featured in the book and crafted a realistic fiction piece, incorporating the themes we've had explored in class.
In January, we started our next novel What Would She Do? This book highlights true stories of 25 women who changed the world in different ways. Every story highlights the accomplishments of a role model. It gave a scenario related to issues and problems that girls deal with every day. These amazing women give advice to girls on how to tackle these problems. We began this unit by putting ourselves in someone else's shoes and thinking about other perspectives and points of view. The focus of the discussions were, “What can we learn from the lives of these women and how can we apply the lessons in our everyday lives?”
Students also dived into the Genre- Poetry and Drama in the Wonders Reading Anthology. They read how poets use creative thinking to write about animals. Students read several poems and found text evidence to support the characters' perspective. They compared and contrasted poems and had discussions about the rhythm and structure. In addition, students chose an animal of their choice and crafted a poem using figurative language. They also studied various dramas and analyzed/ compared their elements.
In writing, we began their narrative unit! Students were drafting creative stories that focused on point of view and dialogue, using their imaginations to develop rich characters and meaningful storylines. We were able to apply the skills we learned by writing about our experience at the science field trip. We had practiced adding thoughts/feelings, meaningful dialogue, and detailed descriptions to keep the reader engaged and interested. We are so proud of the creativity and engagement our students have shown in ELA!
Math: In math, we started Unit 5 which focused on diving deeper into addition and subtraction strategies for larger numbers. Students learned to represent numbers in expanded form and utilize number lines effectively. The classes practiced new strategies to solve 4-digit addition problems, enhancing their computational skills. Students were reading and writing multi-digit whole numbers using base-ten numerals, number names, and expanded forms. They compared and ordered these numbers based on place value. They used place value concepts to round multi-digit whole numbers. We also explored various subtraction and addition methods, including subtracting in parts, standard algorithms, and adjusting numbers to find solutions.
Social Studies: In social studies, we have learned about why the Europeans came to the Americas, specifically the Pilgrims and how they founded their own colony. We discussed the hardships colonists had to face, as well as the implications of them coming onto Native land. Students learned about Spanish conquistadors in the16th century. They had discussions about Spanish explorers in the Americas in the 1500s and learned about how the explorers' actions affected future expeditions in North America. In the spirit of the Holidays season, students worked on Holidays Around the World project. They learned about the traditions and cultural celebrations from all over the world. They are comparing and contrasting each holiday with their own holiday celebration.
Fifth Grade
ELA: Fifth graders began Marking Period 2 by completing their novel study of the fantasy story Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Students enjoyed the opportunity to engage with such a fantastical novel, analyzing mood, tone, and character development for all the unique characters they met throughout their reading! They were also eager to craft original fantasy stories to show their knowledge of fantasy elements. To end the unit, students participated in an author’s circle to share their published work!
After demonstrating their knowledge on the Coraline assessment, students began their next nonfiction novel study, Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, which examines the 12 day manhunt to find Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth. In addition to applying nonfiction reading strategies, students were eager to script and film a breaking news story to inform the public of the assassination. Fifth graders are continuing to work on this project and perfect their news anchor voices!
Math: During marking period 2, students worked on the third math unit of the year, Rectangles, Clocks and Towers. In this unit, fifth graders focused on deepening and extending their understanding of fractions using area models, rotation models and linear models to compare and order fractions. They added and subtracted fractions with unlike denominators and mixed numbers while playing games and solving real world word problems.
After showing their mastery on the unit assessment, students began the fourth math unit of the year, How Many People and Teams? During this unit, fifth graders focused on the operations of multiplication and division. Students refined their strategies for solving multiplication problems fluently, including using the U.S. standard algorithm. They continued using the relationship between multiplication and division to efficiently solve division problems with 4-digit dividends and 2- digit divisors.
Social Studies: Our 5th graders began the second marking period with a new social studies unit- Divisions in National Perspectives. During this unit, students learned about the acts, compromises, and events leading up to and ultimately causing the Civil War. They learned about important abolitionists like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman and analyzed the impact of events such as the Kansas-Nebraska Act and Nat Turner’s Rebellion. As we look ahead to our next unit, historians will be examining the most significant battles of the Civil War and the impact that each had on the overall course of the war. They will consider the differences in battle strategies for the North and the South as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each heading into battle.
Kindergarten
This marking period in Science, the Kindergarten students explored and identified forces as pushes and pulls through books, a scavenger hunt, and observation of daily activities. Students identified different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object. Students used the design process to design, build and test a toy model that can push and/or pull.
Students also learned about different kinds of weather. Students were able to explore observable weather patterns, use patterns as evidence to describe weather conditions, ask questions to find out about different kinds of weather, and explore technologies meteorologists use to predict weather.
They are excited about their upcoming Science Expo and have been working very hard on their projects. Great job to our little scientists!
CTY
The second marking period was one of growth, accomplishment, fun, and new faces.
CTY verbal students completed their courses’ final units, using their newly forged skills to write insightful character analyses, captivating narratives, and the most persuasive of essays. To showcase their efforts, some students chose to create digital portfolios while others chose to write dialogues between characters from different books. After squeezing in a pair of exciting field trips to the Meadowlands Environment Center, we welcomed parents to the CTY classroom just before winter break to watch the children proudly present their digital portfolios and perform their dialogues. The kids rose to the occasion and bravely delivered stellar performances at this genuinely heartwarming event.
Upon returning from winter break, we were thrilled to welcome nearly 30 first-time CTY students for the math semester. The veteran CTYers have done a wonderful job helping the newcomers navigate their CTY courses. Newcomers and veterans alike have displayed an excellent work ethic as they sharpen previously learned mathematical skills and acquire new ones.
The kids are on track for a superb third marking period!
World Language
Physical Education
To start off this quarter, we looked for creative ways to help students develop essential motor skills while fostering a love for physical activity. So far this year, we introduced a variety of engaging activities into our physical education program, including miniature golf, table tennis, air hockey, skee ball, and cup stacking, to name a few. These activities not only bring excitement to our PE classes but also play a critical role in developing hand-eye coordination and promoting lifelong fitness habits.
We continued this idea as December rolled in, creating a Holiday Games Unit to attempt to honor all holidays From Christmas and Hanukkah to Kwanzaa and beyond. Students embraced the spirit of the season with the annual game of Holiday Light Show, where the activity combined festive fun with skill-building as students rolled a die, each number corresponding to a specific color of light.
We also embraced this theme to introduce an innovative and festive activity called “Feed the Reindeer”, where students playing the role of “Farmer” propel themselves on scooters across the gym floors to retrieve bean bags, representing food, the “Feeders” practiced their underhand throws to pass the food to their “Reindeer” partners, who aimed to catch the bean bags in baskets held in their hands- symbolizing the reindeer’ s mouths.
To end the Holiday Unit, students engaged in a friendly competitive snowball fight activity. This friendly competition wasn’t just about dodging yarn balls and landing the perfect “snowball” hit; it was an event that perfectly captured the essence of both the holiday spirit and our physical education philosophy. Students worked in teams, strategizing and supporting one another. Students had to design their own forts. The friendly rivalry between classes encouraged collaboration and strengthened bonds, reminding us that competition can also bring students closer.
This week we shifted gears back to a favorite unit: Basketball. The students started out the unit practicing their ball handling abilities. Students learned the parts of the hand that should be used to successfully dribble a basketball with control, execute a chest and bounce pass, and properly shoot the ball. Students in K-2 were in the “building the basics” phase, learning each skill separately to get more practice to eventually master the skills. Grades 3-5 embared the spirit of the game playing simulated and small sided games.
Off to Quarter #3: starting off with Floor Hockey!
Art
We then moved onto a seasonal project, snow globes which they really enjoyed especially for Winter and the holidays. Students glued together paper to construct the style and shape of a snow globe. Then, they filled in the globe with fireplace drawings, snowman, winter scenes, and holiday scenes. The students used a white crayon to use the crayon resist method and color their snow and snowflakes. They then used watercolor to complete the entire scene and fill it with all different beautiful shades and colors.
We have been currently working on Pointillism and learning about artist George Seurat. They were amazed to see how large his paintings actually were and how he constructed his images simply by using dots as his painting technique. The students went on to drawing their own landscape scene, outlining it with sharpie markers, and then using colored markers dotting small dots all over the paper using the pointillism style of painting. They came out amazing! I am so proud of all the work I have seen thus far and I am looking forward to the next few months for many more beautiful art projects and work from all the classes!
Music
Throughout the 2nd marking period, our Kindergarten through 2nd Grade students added more musical concepts to their toolbox. They learned how to conduct different tempos, gain melody skills from playing boomwhackers, and worked together to make the music class enjoyable and fun for everyone. When we can make our young learners think outside the box, our students gain full potential and bring out their creativity. It is always a joy to see our kids grow in leaps and bounds through music! Brandt School, keep on rocking!
Third grade music has had a great marking period. They started out learning about the Classical Period of music. We played some classical songs on xylophones and studied three of the most famous composers from the period: Beethoven, Haydn, and Mozart. We then talked about dynamics, playing a game called “Garden Key” and made it “rain” in the music room! We are looking forward to getting recorders in two weeks.
Fourth grade had an extremely productive marking period applying many of the concepts we learned in the first marking period to our bucket drumming. Some of these concepts include steady beat, note and rest values, and rondo form. They even got a chance to perform on the bucket drums for their parents at the theater showcase!
Fifth grade was able to test out the bucket drumming as well with a few fun and short holiday songs. We have then explored instrument families; woodwinds, brass, percussion, strings, and keyboards. The students culminated this unit with presentations to their peers about two instruments.
Counselor's Corner
On Wednesday, November 13th we celebrated World Kindness Day 2024!! World Kindness Day (WKD) is a global celebration day each year on November 13 that promotes the importance of being kind to each other, to yourself, and to the world.
We have kicked off our 5th grade peer mentors program this month. Our 5th grade students have the opportunity to sign up to be a peer mentor to our younger learners in the building. They have lended their time to the classrooms to work with the students on lessons, read a story and encourage them to always do their best. Our peer mentors will continue to volunteer around the building to promote kindness, inclusivity and serve as mentors to our community.
The students and staff enjoyed a great week celebrating the different holiday traditions with Holiday spirit week. It is always one of my favorite times. Our Brandt family once again did an amazing job spreading kindness in our school and around our community.
We are starting the year out strong and getting ready to participate for the 4th year in The Great Kindness Challenge. From January 27-31 we will be promoting kindness throughout the school district.
