Title I NewsletterWinter 2016

I really had a lot of dreams when I was a kid, and Ithink a great deal of that grew out of the fact that I had

a chance to read a lot."- Bill Gates

From the Director’s Corner

In November, all Grade 2 students throughout the Bayonne School District were issued individual chrome books.  As I spend time at each school talking with both students and teachers, I am impressed with the genuine enthusiasm and seamless integration of this technology within our curriculum.  Technology is a powerful tool that not only engages students but also encourages them to take ownership of their learning.  This is evident as students work on programs such as iXL Math and Newsela.  We continue with a successful iPAD pilot program that is presently taking place in classrooms throughout the school district.  Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Patricia L. McGeehan, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Mr. Kenneth Kopacz, and myself took the opportunity to visit each school throughout the Bayonne School District to hold parent information sessions regarding the Partnership for Assessment and Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).  The District’s Title 1 teachers continue to hold parent workshops both after school and in the evening. Check with the Title 1 teachers in your school to see when the next parent workshop is scheduled.  

Dr. Dennis DegnanAdministrator of Assessment/Evaluation

Federal and State Programs

Families Read Togetherat Midtown Community School

Title 1 Teachers at Midtown Community School recently held a parent workshop where parents were able to take time to read with their children. Many families chose a selection from the We Both Read series, which are books designed to invite parents and children to share the reading of a story by taking turns reading out loud.  In addition, all parents were invited to borrow books to bring home in order to continue family reading!  The We Both Read series of books, as well as additional reading and math resources, are materials parents may borrow from the Title 1 Parent Resource Centers that are available in all elementary schools.

Multiplication Fun

Mrs. Barone and Mrs. Lee’s Grade 3 students at Mary J. Donohoe School are diligently working on their multiplication facts. To help improve their fluency, the class went on a scavenger hunt. Clues were scattered throughout the classroom in the form of different arrays that, when found, students needed to write the multiplication sentence and product according to the clue. When finished, the students sat and discussed their findings. Pictured are students Joshua Davis and Monia Marshall finding clues and quickly writing their answers while continuing their scavenger hunt.

Lincoln Community School Parent WorkshopReading and Math Strategies

   

In December, Lincoln Community School Title 1 Teachers Lindsay Sanchez and Joe Olesky held a parent workshop which included tips and strategies on how to make reading and math more enjoyable in students’ lives.  A handout listing educational websites was distributed to all parents in attendance.  In addition, discussion focused on the importance of reading and math skills such as letter and sound recognition, phonics review, and practicing math facts on a daily basis.  Ms. Sanchez and Mr. Olesky also spoke about the importance of reinforcing skills that are learned during the school day, stressing the importance of practicing reading and writing with the goal to becoming successful life-long learners.

A Message From the Superintendent

Happy New Year! I am pleased to announce that several students from the Bayonne School District have been selected to participate in the STEM Showcase (formerly the Hudson County Science Fair) that will take place at the end of February at the Liberty Science Center.   STEM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, and is a focus in our science classes throughout the district at both the elementary and high school level.  Students use hands-on activities to support and explore scientific concepts and understanding.  Elementary and High School teachers from the Bayonne School District have been part of the Stevens Institute of Technology PISA2 (Partnership to Improve Student Achievement in Physical Science:  Integrating STEM Approaches) and NJPrime (NJ Partnership for Research to Improve Mathematics Education) programs facilitated by the Stevens Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE).  Our educators consistently utilize best practices aligned with content curriculum and standards in order to support the introduction of new concepts and skills practice from the elementary school level through high school.

Dr. Patricia L. McGeehan

HMS Parent Workshop

On Tuesday evening, December 8, 2015, Davida Lawsky, Title I Teacher, Megan Nolan, Grade 4 Science Teacher, and Elizabeth LaMagra, Title I Teacher, presented a S.T.E.M. workshop to Title I students and their parents. Eight families attended with students from Kindergarten to Grade 4. All enjoyed the presentation.

The students first listened to the story of "The Three Little Pigs.” They then were presented with a paper plate with a picture of a little pig standing in the middle. The students, parents, and siblings had to use gum drops and toothpicks to build a secure house around the pig. A hair dryer decorated with a wolf's face was turned on and blown against each house. Not one house fell!

The students proceeded to watch a cartoon of The Three Little Pigs. They had received a booklet with pictures of the story characters to color, and word search puzzles to complete. They took home their houses and booklets. Both students and parents had an enjoyable time.

Shake and Spill at Walter F. Robinson SchoolStudents in all four classrooms, Mrs.

Amadeo, Mrs. Fabula, Mrs. Manley and Mrs. Ryan's create, write and solve subtraction sentences by shaking counters in a cup and then spilling them on the ladybug. This practice enabled the children to strengthen their counting skills while developing a deeper understanding of the subtraction process.

FALL MATH FUNat Henry Harris School

Grade 1 is having fun learning to add two or three numbers using number bonds and a number balance. Grade 2 is starting "bar models" to solve word problems. Grade 3 students are working hard on subtraction with regrouping. Grade 4 mathematicians are busily completing skills on iXL including perimeter, area, factors, place value, and subtraction. They track their progress and continue to the next skill when the current skill is mastered.

Learning at Lincoln Community School

    Title 1 students at Lincoln Community School are excited as the 2015-2016 School Year is in full swing.  Students in grades Kindergarten to Grade 4 are excited about their new reading series, Journeys. Journeys offers students a variety of useful tools to help them increase their literacy skills. focus is small group instruction incorporating topics such as realistic fiction, fiction, non-fiction, and phonics skills such as consonant blends and long and short vowel sounds. main focus of small group instruction. these topics are incorporated, a love of reading will be increased which will promote success in reading in their daily lives.    In Math students are focusing on topics such as number recognition, place value, estimation, addition and subtraction facts, and factors in multiples.   As these topics are incorporated into these students’ lives, a love of reading and math will flourish which will not only increase student skills but also promote an enjoyment of reading and math in their everyday life.

Make-and-Take Parent WorkshopsAt Woodrow Wilson School

Woodrow Wilson School Title 1 Teachers Judy Czachur and Gina Puchinsky held two Make-and-Take Parent Workshops for parents with children in Kindergarten, Grades 1 and 2.  Parents made file folder language arts and math activities they could use at home with their children to strengthen and reinforce skill mastery.  Kindergarten parents made Alphabet Animals (matching the beginning letter to animal pictures) and Pumpkin Counting file activity folders.  Grade 2 parents made a Working for Peanuts folder, which included addition problems, as well as an ELA folder focusing on spelling strategies.  At the workshop for parents with children in Grade 1, each family made two activity folders – one for language arts, and the other for math.  The language arts make-and-take, entitled Rain Showers, is a file folder game for children working on consonant blends and digraph recognition. Parents cut out four umbrellas individually labeled with “ch” “sh” “pl” and “bl”.  Also included in this activity are raindrops (also cut out) that contain pictures of various objects for children to sound out.  As they name each object on the raindrop, children are instructed to listen closely to the beginning sounds of each word and place the raindrop in the correct umbrella.  The math make-and-take focused on addition. Parents cut out 24 cards, each containing a pumpkin displaying two dice.  Underneath each pumpkin are four numbers.  The purpose of this activity is for children to count the total amount of dots shown on both dice, and then select the correct number answer by placing a small clothespin on the correct number.   Parents and their children were busy cutting with scissors, gluing components, coloring raindrops, and practicing the games together.  Each table in the library was set-up with scissors, glue, clothespins, and construction paper – complete with all the components needed for each activity. Principal Maureen Brown greeted all parents and children.  Mrs. Puchinsky and Ms. Czachur modeled the purpose of, and how to assemble each make-and-take file folder. In addition to their ELA and Math file folder games, each family was given a communicator, marker and eraser, and a set of dice.

Investigating the Effects of Superstorms on our Communities

Ms. O’Connell and Ms. Clark’s 4th Grade ELA classes at Walter F. Robinson School enthusiastically delve into high-interest topics in our new online program, Newsela.  Each article is offered at a reading level that’s just right for each student and is Common Core aligned. Pictured are students

strengthening their comprehension skills in social studies (clockwise from top right):  Joshua Booker, William Hill, Kyra Munoz, Amy Mingo, and Beatrice Shokralla.

Thankful Turkeys

Title I First Grade students at PG Vroom School recently completed individual thankful turkeys! Using their vocabulary and sight words, they constructed sentences writing about things they were thankful for in their lives. They wrote the completed sentences on individual, colorful feathers. The feathers were then glued to the body part of the turkey, and displayed for their parents to read on the day of Open House. Children practiced their creative writing skills, as well as their oral reading skills.

If I Lived in a Snow Globe…

Ms. Sanchez’s first grade students had to use their senses and imagination to write what it would be like to live in a snow globe.  Pictured are Mrs. Sanchez conferencing with students in Mrs. Lewandowski’s first grade class at Mary J. Donohoe School as they work on their winter project “If I Lived in a Snow Globe.”

Save the Date

Mid- Year Conferences

Oresko School February 9, 2016

All other elementary schools February 10, 2016

BHS February 18, 2016

Title I Times Editorial Staff:

Dr. Dennis Degnan, Director; Judy Czachur, Title I Teacher, Woodrow Wilson School; Kristy Martin, Grade 7 Teacher, John M. Bailey School