January in Review

• Another busy month of learning and having fun! Students have completed mid-year reading and math assessments, and teachers are adjusting instructional groupings. It is exciting to see the growth and new skills each month. See this link for more information for parents/guardians about the i-Ready program that is used to supplement classroom instruction and provide useful assessment data. We are not using the "at-home" instructional component at this time.
  
  
• Our focus this month in the CUBS program is on FRIENDSHIP. Students will be working with their buddy classes on friendship activities, such as making bracelets.
  
  
• The school day starts at 9:05 am. We keep the "drop off door" open from 8:50-9:10 as a courtesy. Students arriving after 9:10 need to be signed in at the front door and will be marked as "tardy".
  
  
• The school day ends at 3:20. Due to the large numbers of students being picked up on a daily basis, the "pick-up door" is open from 3:10-3:30. Students should not be leaving before 3:10 unless they have an appointment, etc. Pickups prior to 3:10 are disruptive to the school day and students are missing academic work if they leave early. The front door "closes" at 3:00 as we are preparing for bus student dismissal.
  
  
• Thank you for your help in these areas....ongoing late arrivals and early departures adds up to a significant amount of missed instructional time.
  
  
• We are now past the halfway point of the school year, as we have had 91 days of school. To stay under the benchmark for attendance concerns (10%), we hope for students to have had 9 or fewer absences at this point in the year. Please be sure to call the school and send a written note when your child is out sick.
  
  
• Please be sure that students are dressed for the weather....we will go outside as much as possible if it's not raining and the windchill is warmer than 20 degrees.
  
  
• Be on the look-out for information about the Science Fair on Thursday, March 7th at 6:30 p.m.
  
  
• No School on Friday, February 16th & Monday, February 19th.
  
  
• Save the Date: Internet/Social Media Safety for Kids (Session for Parents/Guardians) - Monday, March 4th at 5:30 p.m. in the Brookside Cafeteria.

• Please join us for the Valentine's Family Fun Night on Friday, February 9th from 6:00-7:30. This is NOT a formal "dance".
  
  

Thank you all for supporting the PTA through the WizFit Challenge and the SV Staff vs. Harlem Wizards game! Both staff and students had a fantastic time and a great profit will go to the PTA for future programs and items to support our school!

Our focus in this issue will be on SCIENCE! For the first time this year, our 5th grade students will be taking a new NYS Science Test. They will also be participating in four investigations which must be completed prior to participating in the NYS written test (May 14th).

Additionally, representatives from Cornell Cooperative Extension will visit all classrooms next week for "Agriculture in the Classroom" lessons. This is always a fun, enriching experience.

Fifth graders in Mrs. Harlow's class learned about how the sun's position changes in the sky throughout the day and made their own working sun dials. Students saw how the sun's position in the sky told them the time of day when they took their sun dials outside!

Kindergarten has been learning all about animals in winter and hibernation. We learned about different types of penguins, one being a Gentoo! We also learned all of the animals that hibernate in winter time and how they can each stay warm in their own specific way. We will be wrapping up our animals in winter unit with a special visit from Cornell Cooperative Extension at the end of the month. We are excited to get to see some of the animals we have been learning about along with hearing more about them!

Throughout the year, 1st graders are exposed to many Science topics through the Listening and Learning strands including:

*The Human Body

*Astronomy

*The History of the Earth

*Animals & Habitats

Which help them build their background knowledge and vocabulary, providing them with an opportunity to increase their listening and reading comprehension skills.

Second graders have spent their time in Science learning about matter and its different states. We've discussed the properties of solids, liquids, and gases. We are moving into the Cycles of Nature, learning about the seasonal cycle, plant and animal life cycle, and the water cycle.

In Science for the last few weeks we’ve been learning about the traits of animals and plants. We have been asking ourselves questions about the way animals and plants are like their parents and the different attributes they can have. For example, we learned that different breeds of dogs have traits of their parents, that lizards on Lizard Island survived by being quicker than the brown anoles that were trying to eat them. We learned with plants how they have different sizes of fruits and vegetables and how to classify them by their appearance on the inside and outside. We also learned how animals are adapted to their environments and that many animals work in groups in order to live and survive. We will be using this information to help us as we explore and learn about penguins and how they are suited to where they live in the world and all about their amazing adaptations.

Happy January! Fourth grade science class has been very busy exploring the eye and how it functions. We have investigated the anatomy of the eye with scientific diagrams and explored how the retina and the cornea lens can impact vision. It has been exciting to watch the students question and learn about how different parts of the eye work. Be sure to ask your child, why do some people have blurry vision?

5th graders have been working on the Solar System in Science. We investigated the inner and outer planets. We did a yummy Oreo lab where we turned the cookies into the moon phases. We developed a better understanding of gravity which explains why the moon and Earth behave the way they do. We studied the four spheres that make up the Earth (Geosphere, Biosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere). We discovered what makes up the earth and completed a lab using a hard boiled egg to show the crust (shell), mantle (egg white) and the core (yolk).

Our first session of 5th grade peer tutors just finished with a celebration along with their Kindergarten tutees. Tutors worked every week to help Kindergarten students on their reading skills. The next group will be starting next week. A huge THANKS and GREAT JOB to all of our tutors for being so kind and helpful to their Kindergarten friends.

Hello Brookside families! The library has been a busy place! This month, we focused on winter, snow, animals and more!

The younger grades read stories such as, “Snowmen at Night” and Jan Brett’s, “The Mitten” or “The Hat”. We imagined what our snowmen might do at night and preschool found out how many friends actually fit into a mitten. We are looking forward to doing more author studies, where we read and interact with groups of books from the same author.

Second grade finished their beginning research review unit, where we practiced KWL charts. (what I Know, what I Want to know, what I Learned).

The older grades are beginning a unit on Internet safety. We discuss the following online issues: satire disguised as truth, bullying, and what personal information might be okay to share online (with parental guidance).

We all look forward to the longer days and warmer weather coming our way soon!

On March 13th (Wednesday), the Brookside Chorus and 5th Grade Band will be performing at the Oakdale Commons in Johnson City from 12:15-12:45pm. This performance will take place at the Center Court. Please make sure your child wears their concert black attire for this event to school that day.

🎵These students will be having a pizza party at school after their performance on March 13th. This will take place when they return to Brookside. Please have your child turn in an envelope with $5 (cash only) along with their signed bus permission slip. Make sure their name is written on the envelope. The bus permission slip is attached to the informational letter that went home concerning this event.

Let us know if you have any questions or concerns.🎵 See you all soon!

Band: Mr. Rob Johnson (rjohnson@svsabers.org)

Chorus: Mrs. Kelly Dyson (kdyson@svsabers.org)

The 5th Grade Orchestra is proud to announce that it will also be performing for the community with the Donnelly Orchestra at the Oakdale Commons' Center Court on March 8th at 11:15. Parents are welcome to attend and cheer us on!

The students received blue permission slips and should return them with $10 for lunch at McDonald's to celebrate following the performance. Please contact Mrs. Miller if you have any questions.

Students are continuing to make their best work so that Ms. Sumner can have 2 pieces from every student in the District Art Show. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, May 21, 4-8 pm! You can drop in at any point, it is not required to stay the whole time! Many families come before or after sports events or practices!

Students will be starting to get projects to bring home as selections are made for the show. Keep your eyes peeled on your student's book bags! Thank you for your continued support!

-Ms. Sumner

In January, all PE classes participated in the WizFit Challenge. TheWizFit Challenge was a series of fun interactive videos, featuring The World Famous Harlem Wizards, that combined fitness, basketball skills, yoga, mindful meditation, and character education. The classes all learned the WizFit Shuffle which they performed perfectly along with the visiting Harlem Wizards in our morning assembly on January 24! The kids also had fun creating, and then showing off, their own moves, skills, and basketball tricks in a personalized version of the shuffle called the WizFit Shuffle Remix!

Look out for information for the Fit Kids Club with Ms. Simpson for PK-2nd grade. This takes place before school starting on February 13th (see flyer for which grades come on each day). Info is also attached here.