Letter from the Principal

Volume 1, Issue 8

Marbletown

Elementary School

May 18, 2012

MES

NEWS

Letter from the

Principal

1

Library Corner 2

Stone Ridge

Library Fair

3

Early Dismissal

Reminder

3

Educational Apps

& Websites

3

Star Student

Recognition

4

Calendar of

Events

4

Grade Level News 5

4th Grade

Science Fair

6

Student Poetry 7

Nurse’s Note 8

Inside this

Issue:

Dear Students and Parents,

I want to thank you for another great school year. It is comforting to know that there

are so many of us that support and understand the value of public education. I am looking

forward to being able to accomplish even more next year as our school community grows.

So far we have completed kindergarten registration, screening, and parent orientation. If

anyone knows of an incoming kindergartner who has not registered for school in the fall yet,

please call the main office at 687-0284 to begin the process.

To welcome and support the RES community, MES and RES are participating in the

following transition activities:

*Grade level meetings to determine class lists for next year

*Pen Pals

*Joint PTF meetings

*Field Day for grade 3 and 4 May 17, 18

*June 4,5,6 Grades K,1,2 RES students visit MES

*June 18 students will meet their teacher for next year

*June 18 6-7 p.m. Orientation for parents/meet your child’s teacher for next year

*August 6-17 Jump Start for kindergarten students

It gives me great pleasure to introduce and congratulate the PTF Officers for next year.

Rochelle Victor – President

Lori Traver – Co-Vice President

Sopia Rob-Downs – Co-Vice President

Joe Bartolone – Treasurer

Shonda Balogh –Corresponding Secretary

Barbara Jordan – Recording Secretary

In closing, I want to remind everyone of the importance of daily reading, writing,

conversations and problem solving over the summer. To this end, I would like to

congratulate Mrs. Bullock’s class for receiving 65 books from the Pearson Foundation. The

students are: Kasey Arnold, Sarah Banks, Breanna Camacho, Dominic Carlucci, Lucia

Coache, Matthew Deschenes, Logan Erlwein, Nicholas Garbacki, Cianna Kirshy-Chapman,

Jonathan Langer, Ethan LaSalvia, Matthew Nusbaum, Kazimir Nyzio, Andy Rosas, and

LeAnn Sindt.

Please remember over the summer to learn and spend time with your family. I

continued to be inspired and honored to be part of such a wonderful school community.

Thank you,

Mr. Cafiero

Volume 1, Issue 8 Page 2

Library Corner Thoughts turn to summer fun as we head toward the end of the school year! Here are a few books that would

be great selections for summer reading!

Summertime in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Summer is here! The

warm days of summer have arrived, and that means Laura gets to spend fun-filled

days outdoors! The winter is finally over, and now it is summertime! Laura and

Mary are busy all day helping Ma in the garden and playing outside. Renee

Graef’s enchanting full-color illustrations, inspired by Garth Williams’ classic

artwork, bring Laura and her family lovingly to life in this sixth title in the My

First Little House book series, picture books adapted from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s

beloved storybooks. The winter is finally over, and now it is summertime! Laura

and Mary are busy all day helping Ma in the garden and playing outside. Renee

Graef’s enchanting full-color illustrations, inspired by Garth Williams’ classic artwork, bring Laura and her

family lovingly to life in this sixth title in the My First Little House book series, picture books adapted from

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved storybooks. (Grades K-2) —Amazon

Lionel in the Summer by Stephen Krensky. Lionel has made many plans for the longest

day of the year. When a friend explains that the longest day doesn't have any more hours

in it than a regular day, Lionel decides to go straight to the most important thing-doing

nothing. In another chapter, Lionel wants to stay up for the fireworks at the Fourth of

July carnival so he goes into the Haunted House and scares himself wide awake. In the

next episode, when the boy sets up a lemonade stand, his know-it-all sister tells him that

he's doing everything wrong. He then tricks Louise into buying his business and gets the

better of her—at least this time. In the last selection, the siblings drop not very subtle

hints that they really need to stop for ice cream during a long car trip. Children will

identify with and laugh with the characters. (Grades1-3) —School Library Journal

Werewolves Don’t Go to Summer Camp (Adventures of the Bailey School Kids Series)

by Debbie Dadey. The new director at Camp Lone Wolf seems like a nice guy. But

when the kids learn the legend of a local boy who disappeared and the wolf that prowls

the campgrounds howling in the night, they start to wonder if Camp Lone Wolf is more

than just a name. Mr. Jenkins is covered in hair, eats his meat almost raw, and has an

obsession with wolves. But could he really be a werewolf? The Bailey Elementary

third-graders are greeted at camp by the growling, barefoot Mr. Jenkins. He eats nearly

raw hamburgers, avoids lights and campfires, and warns the campers about the legend of

a little boy's disappearance and the howl of a lone wolf. Could Mr. Jenkins be a

werewolf? (Grades 2-4) —Barnes and Noble

Check out these fun and educational apps! All are available for download in iTunes.

Educational Apps & Websites

Super Why!: This is sure to catch your

child’s attention! This app includes four

interactive games, each one featuring a

different character from the popular PBS

Kids show, "Super Why!". Games feature

letter hunts, letter-tracing practice, finding

rhyming words from a group, and selecting

the word missing from a sentence. ($2.99)

Math Ninja HD Free: Use your math skills to defend your treehouse against a hungry tomato and

his robotic army in this fun action packed game! Choose between ninja stars, smoke bombs, or

ninja magic - and choose your upgrades wisely! Action-packed strategy in the castle defense genre!

You'll have so much fun you won't even realize you're learning Math! Humorous story starring the

ever-hungry Tomato-San, who is building a robotic army to steal your tasty math treasure! (FREE)

*These websites are both fun and educational! Check them out!

Wordle: Create beautiful “word clouds” or artwork using words! http://www.wordle.net/

Timez Attack: Kids will love learning multiplication tables with this game! Start with the free version.

http://www.bigbrainz.com/

Pirate Scribblebeard's Treasure with

Oscar & Josephine: AAARRGGHH, it's a

pirate themed drawing app and you should

definitely get. Want to see a happy kid?

Give them an app where other kids narrate

and guide them through drawing a pirate

adventure! Did I mention that it's pirates

and drawings? Enough said. ($2.99)

Stone Ridge Library Fair

Early Dismissal Reminder

Calendar of Events Below is a list of upcoming events at MES for May and June.

Friday, May 25th School Closed—Emergency Closing Give Back Day

Monday, May 28th School Closed—Memorial Day Observed

Wednesday, May 30th 4th Grade Trip to Albany

Monday, June 4th 2nd Grade Harvey Museum Trip

Monday, June 4th 4th Grade NYS Science Test

Thursday June 7th MES Field Day (Rain date—Friday, June 8th)

Thursday, June 7th PTF Meeting—3:30

Friday, June 8th Grades 3rd & 4th —Concert and Barbecue 11:30-1:30

Saturday, June 9th Stone Ridge Library Fair 10:00-3:00

Tuesday, June 12th 3rd Grade Country Fair

June 13th-20th Early Dismissal — Students dismiss at 2:20

Friday, June 15th Kindergarten Graduation

Monday, June 18th Meet the Teacher Orientation—6:00-7:00

Monday. June 18th RES K-2 Move-Up Day to MES

Thursday, June 21st Last Day of School for Students — Dismissal at 12:30

Volume 1, Issue 8 Marbletown

Star Student Recognition! The following student has been recognized for her star student

behavior!

Alexandra Olivieri is such a wonderful, caring and kind friend!

Her quiet and gentle nature brings love and joy to our class.

Fantastic job, Alex!

Kindergarten: The Kindergarten classes have been learning about plants and parts of plants. We planted

marigolds and bean stalks! We have been reading different versions of the story "Jack and the

Beanstalk." They loved comparing the stories. We are practicing our song for the school play and are looking

forward to the play on May 18th! We made gifts, wrote cards and have written poems for our mothers for

Mother's Day! Ms. LaGoy's class and Ms. O'Donnell's class will incubating for spring! Thank you to Ms. York

for helping us with this! Happy Mother's Day! - The Kindergarten Teachers

Kindergarten/First Grade: Mrs. Shaw's class is enjoying the fact that "Spring has Sprung." We are

visiting the school garden weekly, playing outside a little longer and loving seeing everything in bloom. We

are starting a new writing unit and writing our own version of "The Teacher From the Black Lagoon." The

children are writing stories about their teacher from "The Marbletown Lagoon." On June 11th at 1:00 the

children will host their last author's punch and share their stories with their families. This year has been a

fabulous one. It has been full of fun, learning and loving. We hope you all have a happy and playful summer.

Happy reading and enjoying just being together! Ms. LaGoy's class has been writing poems this month. We

had a mother's day celebration and all the children shared their poems. It was a beautiful moment to hear each

child express their love for their mom. We are going to publish our favorite poems into a class book and

everyone in the class will get a copy! You can read a few of these poems on page 7 of this newsletter!

First Grade: Mrs. Sweeney’s class is very excited to be learning all about Ocean Life. The children are all

reading and writing about the different creatures that live beneath the sea. They will be writing books and

making posters or projects to go along with this unit. We are sure it will be amazing! Mrs. Loughlin’s class

has thirty poems in our poetry book, that we have illustrated and are proud to recite to anyone that will listen!

Second Grade: The 2nd grade families participated in a project titled Hearts to Hands. The children

collected items like Girl Scout cookies, gum, lip balm, etc. to send to the soldiers in Afghanistan. The children

also sent cards. So far, three large boxes have been sent. The soldiers received one and are incredibly grateful

and appreciative. The students’ cards were their favorite part of the care packages! - The 2nd Grade Teachers

Third Grade: Mrs. Bullock’s class is researching different countries and writing letters to their pen pals at

Kerhonkson Elementary School. Mrs. Brown's Class did a math/science lab to figure out which paper was

the "Best Picker-Upper" between Viva, Sparkle and Rite-Aid brand paper towels. Although Viva was more

expensive, we decided that since it is more absorbent, we would use less and save money. One child

commented that if he had something to clean up and before he could play, that he would certainly want Viva,

as he would get out to play faster!

Fourth Grade: The fourth graders are going to the state museum in Albany on May 30th and will be

meeting assemblyman Kevin Cahill. We are also looking forward to field day on the 17th and the school play!

Marbletown Page 5

Grade Level News

Science Magic By Fredie Veale

Tuesday…May...1st...2012 was Marbletown’s special day because it was the

Science Fair! Live experiments like magnets, hamsters, and eyesight. Marbletown’s

4th grade did an excellent job with their production. I feel bad for those that weren’t

there, but good thing - that’s not all! Come to the Science Expo in the Rondout Valley Middle School gym

1:30-3:30. See you there on Saturday, May 12th!

Epic Science By Andrew Yu

Tuesday, May 1st was Marbletown Elementary School’s 4th Grade Science Fair! At the science fair

were a lot of projects. Some of the projects were magnets, ants, how to make rock candy, lava lamps, and

many more projects. Parents, guardians, teachers, kids and classes came to look at the amazing projects. The

4th Grade Science Fair was a big success. Also, if you are interested in

science, you can go to the Science Expo at the Middle School at 1:30-3:30 on

Saturday, May 12th.

Science Fair By Isaac Cain

Tuesday, May 1st we had lots of science projects. My favorite was a

lava lamp. He did a great project. He would let you pick the colors. We had

Mrs. Silverman and Mrs. Flick. It was great. There were volcanoes to lava lamps. My other favorite was the

paralyzing ants. That was great. He named every one of them. I learned a lot from the science fair!

The Great Science Fair! By Mackenzie Roberts

On Tuesday, May 1st, Mr. Slater’s class. Mrs. Silverman’s class, and Mrs.

Flick’s class did a terrific science fair. One person had a little hamster in a maze,

another had glow in the dark flowers, and another had lava lamps. All grades came to it

and loved it. The ones that got the most people were the volcanoes, the lava lamp, and

the lemon battery. The science fair took place in rooms 18, 26, and 27. There were a lot

of good projects like magnets, germination, evaporation, rock candy, electricity, and

maple syrup. It was a big success!

4th Grade Science Fair

Volume 1, Issue 8 Page 6

Marbletown Page 7

Student Poetry by Mrs. LaGoy’s Class

Here are some poems the students wrote about Mom: Mommy

Green eyes Smells sweet like Oreos Cooks the best chicken fingers Playing games, laughing, loves hamburgers I love my mom because she is happy! Mom

By Trevor Mom

My mom likes sub sandwiches My mom likes to wear dresses My mom is pretty Cooking, singing, laughing, I love you because you are the sweetest mother and my mom loves me.

By Destiny Mommy

Mom mommy’ s eyes are brown My mommy’ s hair is blond She is beautiful She kisses me at bedtime Cooking, working, playing I love you because you are my best friend Mom

By Hunter Mom

Her voice is like an angel Her brown hair is beautiful Her eyes are sparkling in the sun And she is one of the most beautiful girls in the world.

By Emma

Mom

I hear her voice like a dream Her hair swishes in the wind I feel her love as she hugs me I think she is the best in the world Her love is my heart. Mother

By Ridley And here are a few poems inspired by our hatching baby chicks: Chicks

Can I hold you? Tweet You look soft. Chicks

By Landon Baby Chick

Hello, Baby Chick I know you are in an incubator But you will hatch in a few days and my Class wants to hold you.

By Ryan Chick

Could you please hatch I was waiting these years. Pretty please I am waiting for you to hatch What’ s up, chick?

By Jacob

Families with Children: The top five things you need to know about the Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act – the health care law – gives hard working families

the security they need and important new benefits. Signed into law in March of 2010, the law holds

insurance companies accountable, gets rid of the worst insurance industry practices and puts patients first.

1. Insurance companies are held accountable. If insurance companies don’t spend at least 80 percent of

your premium dollar on medical care rather than advertising and bonuses for executives, they will have to

provide you a rebate. The first rebates will be made in the summer of 2012. And starting September 1,

2011, in every State and for the first time ever, insurance companies are required to publicly justify their

actions if they want to raise rates by more than 10 percent.

2. Insurers can no longer refuse to insure children with serious illnesses. Insurance companies are no longer

allowed to deny or exclude coverage for your children (under age 19) based on a pre-existing condition

such as asthma, diabetes or other disability.

3. Free preventive service. All new health plans must now cover preventive services ranging from

mammograms to vaccinations for your child, without any additional cost to you. For more details, visit

www.healthcare.gov/prevention

4. Insurers can’t limit your care. In the past, some people with cancer or other chronic illnesses ran out of

insurance coverage because their health care expenses reached a dollar limit imposed by their insurance

company. Under the health care law, insurers can no longer impose lifetime dollar limits on essential health

benefits and annual limits are being phased out by 2014.

5. You can keep any child under age 26 on your insurance. Even if your children are married or live on their

own, if your insurance plan covers dependents, your children can stay on your plan until they turn 26. Your

child may also be eligible for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or Medicaid coverage through

your state.

Nurse’s Note

Volume 1, Issue 8 Marbletown

Phone: 845-687-0284

Fax: 845-687-7691

PO Box 9

Accord, NY 12404

Marbletown

Elementary School