February Board of Education ReportBrian Edmister, Elementary Principal

Once again, there are so many amazing things happening in our Elementary that I am having a hard time keeping up with them all. As you know, last month, Ethan Bigelow helped me out by becoming a reporter for me. This month, you will see a number of new names added to his! We have expanded our team of reporters to 9 and counting! I will be training them (or maybe they will train me) to utilize the website, Twitter, and Facebook for their posting of amazing things at GV. I guess you could say, at GV, the students are gaining a voice, not only here, but in their world! Enjoy the report. It is just a small picture of who we are becoming.

Scuba Lessons coming to GVCS! J and D Scuba from Allegany will be teaching lessons in our pool for our community, students, and staff beginning in June. Open water dives will be a required part of the class for certification. Cost will be dependent on number of applicants (somewhere in the range around $500 per person). This seems high, but it is for a life-time certification! More information will be coming in the next couple of months.

First Grade students have really gotten the hang of building structures! When they first started, the teachers had to make constant suggestions about what to do next. Now, just a couple of months later, our kids have enough spatial understanding and a grasp of what works that they created these amazing buildings entirely on their own! Growth can be measured in many ways!

This is Mrs. Auman’s class working on their body system science project. All these people have done really well. I wasn’t able to see them present their projects, but I am sure they did awesome. The groups were working on the respiratory system, nervous system, muscular system, skeletal system, and the circulatory system. Submitted by: Ethan Bigelow

Our friends have come so far this year!! I tried something new for the first time this week and they surprised me with their ability to focus and follow directions. I set up a few centers, they were asked to pick one and stay there for a few minutes. We rotated about three times so they got to make some different choices. We will start

to practice this once a week and gradually add more days. The center choices this week were, books, tangram puzzles, letter puzzles, and iPad’s. Each week they will be given different choices.

20 Week PBIS reward activityFriday February 12, 2016

Grade Level groupings and Activity Schedule

Adult Chaperones- Please help your group transition to their next station!Activity/Time 1-1:25 1:30-1:55 2-2:25 2:30-dismissalGymChaperones

4&5VanDykeSkillmanLillerTimberlake

PKRobinsonGordonFlemingBabbitt

K&1DeTinePrenticeDeichmannSwarthout

2&3WinterhalterH. MusingoKelleyVoss

Go Noodle (HS café)Chaperones

2&3PalmerWinterhalterBliven

4&5VanDykeSkillmanTimberlake

PKRobinsonGordonFlemingBabbitt

K&1DeTineZlomekFrungillo

Snack (Elem Café)Chaperones

K&1Shipman (after 1:15)HopkinsDeTineAuman

2&3ShipmanWinterhalterColeEldridge

4&5ShipmanVanDykeSkillmanSchmidt

PKShipmanRobinsonGordonFlemingBabbitt

STEAM activity (LGI)Chaperones

PKRobinsonGordonFlemingBabbitt

K&1GuilfordDeTineWescheNoresethaporn

2&3WinterhalterJohnsonBurtonDeal

4&5VanDykeMontagueSkillmanT. Musingo

Students have been working hard to get the PAWS they needed to have the PBIS party! They earned enough this week and will be able to enjoy 4 different activities (which they helped create). These activities are an activity in the gym, Go Noodle Exercise, a snack (of course), and a STEAM activity. I find it very rewarding that the students are choosing the two things we focused on last year as rewards (Movement and STEAM), rather than the old “normal” events of movies and popcorn.

Great work Lynn Kunz and Heidi Stroud for all their efforts on this activity!

Ms. Knapp has worked very hard to set up an amazing Work Study plan with our Early Learners. Students in Kindergarten and 1st Grade are learning about a variety of jobs that are currently available, but more importantly, they are learning what skills are necessary to be successful in any career they choose. It is so important that they learn that skills transfer from one profession to another as many of the jobs they will one day apply for have not even been created yet!

The High School students you see in the pictures above are from Ms. O’Connell’s BOCES Early Childhood classroom. They have been joining us in the Early Learning rooms (SPK-1st grade) each Wednesday and Thursday. During this time, they earn credit toward their work through BOCES. We gain 18 extra sets of hands that can help us individualize our work with our youngest learners. It is an all-around win for both programs!

READ ACROSS AMERICA~ Feb 29th-March 4 th SPK-Grade 12

Read A Thon: (Papers were delivered to the classrooms on Friday the 2-12 to be sent home. 9-12 given to students that are interested. IF you need more copies please email me)

Book Cover Design Contest (Papers were delivered to classrooms on Friday 2-12 to be sent home. 9-12 given to students that are interested.)

Dress up Days (Papers will be sent home when we return from break) Teachers are encouraged to dress up!! SPK-12 Monday-Crazy hair and Crazy Sock~WE are crazy about READING Tuesday-Tourist Tuesday~Reading Takes us to many Places Wed.-Hat Day~500 Hats of Bartholomew Thurs.~Book Character Day Friday~Color Wars~Students Teacher~Seuss Characters.

Thursday March 3rd~Literacy Night~cafeteria SPK-4 Guest Readers coming into the Classrooms to read Monday-Thursday. Please email Ms. Wesche with time(s) you would like a guest reader in your room.

Please email Ms. Wesche if you are available to be a guest reader.

Friday March 4th~On screen story for SPK-4 in the Auditorium (time to be announce) Whole group picture. Seuss characters meet and greet the students off the buses at 7:40 am!

Pictures from other years….

Ms. Robinsons Pre-k is doing their centers. Their centers include building, measuring, and making a valentine card. Every couple minutes they will switch to a different center to do a different activity. They are also working on winter animals. At the time they are working on hibernation. They are using a penguin for their example. They named this penguin Peggy.

-Raygen Haggstrom&Thai Norasethaporn

This is Mrs. Flemings Pre Pre-K having a very entertaining recess after nap time. They have many things to do like draw, build, and play. They also are having a recess. Things they can do at their recess are the kitchen, build, puzzles, draw, and play.

-Raygen Haggstrom&Thai Norasethaporn

Ms. Montagues 4th grade science class working on the water cycle. They are learning how to take information from their science book and proving their answers. The kids told us the steps of the water cycle… Collection, Evaporation, Condensation, and Precipitation. The kids are eager to learn more and let their brain grow. Submitted by: Sophia Gugino & Brooke Hutchison

Mrs. Schmidt’s 4th grade ELA class is working on writing their own constitution with a proposal in progress, we don't know exactly what because it is a secret! To go along with the constitution Cassidy Hand made this sigh to help stop bullying, to go with the subject they are studying ways to stop bullying. Lastly the children are learning to identify what Greek and Latin word parts are.

Submitted by: Sophia Gugino & Brooke Hutchison

The second grade has been learning how to use a website called hopscotch with Mr. Weinberg. The children have been making different shapes with measurements and using different angles. Two students took the time to show us how to use the website. It is very neat and it really looks like the kids are enjoying it.