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John Paulding 2011-2012 News
Look Who is Talking
Kindergarteners Learn About Responsibility
 The
children at John Paulding School have been learning about what it means to
be responsible and that consequences result from ones actions. They enjoyed
listening to the story Strega Nona by Tomie de Paolo. In the story, Big
Anthony is responsible for helping Strega Nona with her chores and to never
touch her pasta pot. He impulsively touches the pasta pot and while the
consequence is humorous it teaches the children about the importance of
being responsible. The children also listened to the story Lilly’s Purple
Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes. Lilly’s responsibility is to refrain from
distracting her peers by waiting to share her special purse. When she is
unable to do so, her purse is taken away. She has difficulty accepting
responsibility for her actions at first, and later understands how her
actions impact others. Following the reading of these stories, the
kindergarten children wrote stories about how they can be responsible both
at home and at school. The children wrote about helping their moms and dads,
listening to adults, cleaning up after themselves, being kind to others and
more.(Posted
2/3/12)
Happy New Year!
 The
students at John Paulding School celebrated the Chinese New Year in many
different ways this year. On January 23, Mrs. Sanchez-Zhu and her daughter,
Isabel, spoke to the students and invited parents, during an assembly about
some Chinese traditions. We celebrated the year of the Dragon. Ms. Corea’s,
Mrs. Daley’s and Mrs. Praino’s classes marched in a Dragon Parade. Children
learned how to say Happy New Year in Mandarin ( Xin Nian Kuai Lu) and in
Cantonese (Gung Hay Fat Choy). We also heard from parents how to say Happy
New Year in Korean, Pilipino, and Indonesian. We had 13 students carrying
banners representing China, Korea, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The
students all received red envelopes for good luck. They all participated by
bringing noisemakers.
After the Dragon Parade,
Mrs. Sanchez-Zhu presented a slide show about China to individual
Kindergarten classes. Mrs. Daley’s and Mrs. Pearlman’s classes cooked
dumplings and graphed what dipping sauce they liked best. What a challenge
it is to use chop sticks! Other classes read books and learned how to write
using “Chinese” characters.
(Posted
1/31/12)
Reading and Writing “Fun” in Kindergarten
 Kindergarten
students are enjoying their daily Fundations lessons. Fundations is a
structured phonological/phonemic awareness and spelling program. With the
help of the “Echo” and “Baby Echo,” the students and teachers embark on a
30-minute daily lesson that focuses on sequenced skills. The systematic
introduction of skills includes alphabet awareness, phonological and
phonemic awareness, decoding, vocabulary, fluency, word structure and
spelling. “Storytime” activities include practice with listening and
speaking along with critical thinking skills.
Daily lessons include activities with letter formation using sky writing,
dry erase boards, notebooks, and/or finger tracing. Teachers use a script
for verbalizing the proper strokes for practicing proper letter formation.
(Posted
1/7/12)
 John
Paulding Kindergarten Students Test their Strength on the Cargo Net
The kindergarten students at John Paulding School tested their strength and
endurance by climbing the cargo net as part of their Physical Education
program. They participated in a five station circuit that incorporated
various components of the physical fitness. The classes focused on the
particular muscles used to climb the cargo net. Before the children are
able to climb, the various safety expectations that must be followed while
attempting this exercise were discussed. Mr. Fischer and the entire class
watched their classmates climb the net encouraging each and everyone to try
their best. Mr. Fischer and the classes were especially happy to see how
well each group was able to cheer on one another and also use kind words to
encourage each other to complete the task. It was great to see the smiles
on their faces when they succeeded!
(Posted
1/1/12)
The Gift of
KINDNESS
The very best gifts come from the heart
and do not cost a penny.
Friendship, kindness, smiles, and love,
the gifts we can share are many.
The best gift we can give the children is to help them become the best
people that they can be – and that means developing character – becoming
giving, loving, kind, thoughtful people.
In Mrs. Thomas and Mrs. Suarez’ collaborative Kindergarten class, the
children discussed the importance of giving to others from our hearts and
showing that we care every day of the year in many ways. The children
sketched a number of different ideas of things they could do for others,
such as helping a friend or family member, singing for others, smiling,
giving hugs, using kind words, and sharing. Then each child wrote their own
sentence to express their idea about giving. (Posted
1/1/12)
Sign Language Supports Learning in Kindergarten
 The
kindergarten students of John Paulding School have been learning Sign
Language since the start of school this year. Miss Debra, sign language
teacher, has been visiting each kindergarten class every other week for a
half hour. So far this year, the children have learned most of the letters
in sign, numbers up to 10 (and soon to be 20), colors, and more! Most days,
they also play games in Sign Language. The children cannot use their voices,
forcing them to focus on each other and the teacher with their eyes and not
their ears.
The half-hour of class is spent playing games, learning songs, listening
(watching, actually) stories all in Sign. Some of the stories “read” so far
are: The Three Little Pigs, The Mixed-Up Chameleon, Go Away Big Green
Monster, There was an Old Lady who Swallowed some Leaves, and more. They
have also played Buzz and Pop, the High-Five game, Telephone and other games
without their voices.
The children love learning
sign and it helps them every step of the way with their learning: literacy,
memory, listening, focusing, fine motor development, cooperation and
acceptance.
In addition to the
children learning the actual language of sign, it is important for them to
understand who uses sign language and why. Therefore, Miss Debra
incorporates what it means to be Deaf, Blind, and Deaf-Blind into the
lessons. The children are taught that although hearing and deaf people use
different languages to communicate, we are all the same on the inside.
The teachers are very supportive of the program and use the signs as part of
their daily curriculum. With parent support, we are hopeful that we will
continue the program for the entire school year. (Posted
12/5/11)
“Sekoh” Means Hello
Thursday, November 17th,
2011, the children of John Paulding
School were lucky enough to have Little
Hawk, a member of the Mohawk Tribe,
entertain and educate them with his
presentation on traditional Native
American tribal dances. His program has
become as part of the Kindergarten
social studies unit on the tradition of
Thanksgiving. He taught the students
words, songs and some of their
customs. Little Hawk displayed his
athleticism and stamina by dancing in
and out of 18 hoops. With these hoops
he formed different animals such as the
duck and the eagle. He also performed
the challenge dance, which is a dance of
strength, balance and skill. The
person challenged must pick up a feather
with his/her teeth and the ONLY part of
the body touching the floor are the
feet. The children enjoyed attempting
to pick up the feathers using their
teeth! Little Hawk shared that
everything on earth has a purpose and he
reminded the students that they should
protect the earth for our future. (Posted
11/30/11)
Learning Through the Visual Arts
In
late October the kindergarten children of John Paulding School visited
the Katonah Museum of Art to view the exhibit Storied City: New York
in Picture Book Art. During their visit they were able to make
pop-up cards of New York City; taxis, The Empire State Building and
other city buildings and landmarks. On October 28th, The
Statue of Liberty celebrated its 125th Anniversary. Mrs.
Daley and Mrs. Farlekas’ Class made pop-ups of Lady Liberty. The
children went on the SmartBoard and viewed black and white photos of the
construction of the statue in France in 1886 and recent photos in
color. They even saw photos taken from the crown from a live cam. This
lesson was connected to learning about being an American and will tie
into Thanksgiving. Happy Holidays!
This project can be enjoyed at the end of the hall at John Paulding
School. (Posted
11/16/11)
Where Do Apples Really Come
From?
The Kindergarten students at John Paulding School traveled to Stuart’s
Farm in Somers, NY in late October. Mrs. Stuart showed them how they
sort (great Math link) and shine the apples and Mr. Stuart explained how
they make apple cider (changing solids to liquids!). Although the
orchard was hit hard by unpredictable weather, the students were
thrilled to still be able to pick apples from the trees. After picking
and eating apples, many classes also remained to enjoy a picnic lunch at
the orchard. Upon their return to John Paulding School, the students
tasted a variety of apples and the students graphed their favorite kind.
Math is always exciting when you graph and sort apples by color and
size. Lots of cooking experiences followed the taste test over the
course of several days. The teachers and students made a variety of
apple treats including applesauce, apple crisp, and apple pie. A
delightful trip and great learning experience was had by all. (Posted
11/11/11)
Officer Byrnes Teaches Halloween Safety
 Children
look forward to Halloween for so many reasons. They get to dress up as
pirates, princesses and all sorts of other characters. But most of all
children love to go trick or treating around their neighborhoods to beg
for free candy! Even with all this excitement, it is important that our
children are safe.
John
Paulding was happy to have Detective Byrnes from the Tarrytown Police
Department come into our Pre-K and Kindergarten classrooms to discuss
Halloween Safety with the children. He also informed them that police
officers will be out in the community to help everyone on Monday. Most
importantly, children should not be afraid of police officers…they are
our friends!
Here are some things we can
do to help make every Halloween safe for everyone:
1. Remind
your child NOT to eat any treats until they have been checked by an
adult.
2. Use
reflective tape on costumes or wear glow necklaces so cars can see the
children easily.
3. Masks
interfere with being able to see well. Please use face paint as an
alternative.
4. Costumes
and shoes should fit well to prevent trips and falls.
(Posted
11/5/11)
Fire
Safety
 October
is Fire Safety Month. On Tuesday, Oct. 11th, the PreK and
Kindergarteners at John Paulding School had first hand safety rules
presented by our own firefighters of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. They
were shown the protective clothing that firefighters wear; a helmet, a
big jacket, pants and boots. Sometimes they wear masks to help them
breathe and you can’t see their faces. Firefighter Bill put a mask on
so the children could hear him breathe through the mask and were taught
not to be afraid. Some children volunteered to demonstrate ‘stay low
and go’ and ‘stop, drop, cover your face, and roll’. Both of
these rules are highlighted in this month’s Let’s Find Out
magazine, Let’s Get Fire Safe! Sparky the firedog was also at
John Paulding to help children learn fire safety. Children were
escorted out to the circle to view the equipment on two fire trucks.
One of the firefighters climbed up the very tall ladder on the truck.
Our JP junior firefighters were given fire hats, coloring books, fire
‘Silly Band’ bracelets, and safety stickers to bring home.
During the assembly children were told the importance of
having smoke detectors in their home with working batteries and to have
a plan to get out safely in case there is a fire in their house. Please
help your children with this “homework assignment” and discuss fire
safety plans with them for your home. (Posted
10/5/11)
Message From The Principal
Ms. M. Milliam
Welcome to the Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Programs at the John
Paulding School!
The school has been bustling with activity this summer in preparation
for the coming school year. Let me share with you some of the upcoming
instructional initiatives.
In the area of technology, Kindergarten students will have the advantage
of using iPads in their classrooms instead of desktop computers.
Teachers have had all summer to use iPads, provided by the district,
learn new applications and familiarize themselves with their features.
Prior to the beginning of school, they will be involved in training to
learn specific ways to integrate the iPads and their appropriate
learning applications into the curriculum.
A small computer lab has been created in the library, making use of some
of the PCs that were removed from classrooms. I am very pleased about
the conversion of our library into an actual media center. This
addition will enable students and staff to continue to have access to
computers and develop technology skills beyond the use of iPads.
The space gained by the removal of computers from the classrooms will be
adapted to accommodate White Boards that are essential to the
implementation of the Fundations component of Kindergarten literacy
instruction. Fundations is a phonological/phonemic awareness, phonics
and spelling program. It provides teachers with strategies that will
complement the Balanced Literacy instruction currently implemented. Two
teachers piloted the program last year with great success. We are
excited to move ahead with full implementation. There is a parent
component to the program, so stay tuned to learn more from your child’s
teacher about your role in promoting literacy skills at home.
The Prekindergarten Program will be embarking upon a collaborative
venture with the Katonah Museum of Art. The project was started last
year with our Kindergarten Dual Language students and families, who will
continue to participate along with those from PreK. The emphasis of the
project will continue to be to promote the use of museums as learning
opportunities, draw connections between art and language development,
nurture creative expression and promote learning through the visual
language of art. Teachers and parents participated in a one day retreat
at the museum this summer to reflect on last year and plan for this
coming year.
Please carefully read the contents of the packet of information you
receive from the school in the coming days. Your familiarity with the
contents of the packet will help to prepare you to make your child’s
beginning of school a smooth one.
I look forward to working with you in providing a year full of positive
and enriching experiences for our children.
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