Washington Irving 2007-2008 News Archive

Magnificent Mandalas

4^th Grade artists in Miss Gallo’s art classes created these kaleidoscopic designs.  Each student started out with an 11” X 11” square and transfer paper.  The square is folded into eight triangles and the student’s first name is then drawn within one of the triangles.  Students had to use specific lettering techniques and modify basic letterforms to fit the space.  Then, using their transfer paper, students had to fold and refold the paper tracing their name to eventually fill each of the eight triangles.  When each student was finished we all shared our artwork in amazement of the beautiful shapes and patterns that had been created.  The last step was to inventively color their designs with the option of using patterns.  Through this lesson students learned the meaning of radial symmetry.  Radial symmetry is any type of balance based on a circle with its design extending from its center.  A star, the iris around each pupil of your eyes, a wheel with spokes, and a daisy are all examples of radial symmetry.  (Posted 12/3/08)

Circus Arts is back at WI!

On Monday December 1st, two circus professionals from the National Circus Project will join our physical education classes and work with our 4^th and 5^th grade students.  Throughout the week, the two instructors will teach a variety of circus skills including juggling, devil sticks, mime, stilts, spinning plates, diablo, and the unicycle.

5^th grade students will be creating their very own BIG TOP CIRCUS! There will be an evening performance on Friday December 5th 6:30 – 8:00pm.  Come one, come all and enjoy the show!! (Posted 11/19/08)

The Washington Irving Concert Chorus will have a special guest composer & conductor work them in choral workshops on Thursday November 13, 2008.

We have performed many of  Fransico Nunez’s works over the years and  are thrilled to meet and work with him.

The Chorus and Mrs. DiNome would like to thank the Public Schools of the Tarrytown’s Foundation for providing this grant!

Born in New York City of Dominican descent, Francisco J. Núñez is a composer, conductor, a leading figure in music education, and a visionary, whose strongly held ideas have resulted in the critical and popular success of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City (YPC). Mr. Nunez formed the YPC in 1988 with two goals in mind: commitments to musical excellence and to providing an atmosphere where young people of diverse ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds could further their personal and artistic growth through the study and performance of music, and today he is often contacted by cities around the country for help in replicating the YPC success.

He was recently awarded as an unsung Hispanic hero doing great work in his community. (Posted 11/11/08)

The TUFSD Green Committee and the EPTA partner to help friends and families of our district live in a more earth friendly way AND support the schools.  Greenraising.com is a web site on which anyone can purchase green products for home and school, including healthy and reusable SIGG water bottles and reusable lunch bags.  Greenraising is also a fundraising tool.  Whenever anyone shops on Greenraising.com and selects "EPTA of the Tarrytowns" as their affiliate, proceeds from the sale go back to our schools.  To use Greenraising, either go directly to http://www.greenraising.com/?AFID=561 or go to www.greenraising.com and select "EPTA of the Tarrytowns" from the affiliate drop-down list at the top of the page.  Please take advantage of this unique partnership and send the link to family and friends, as anyone can participate!  (Posted 9/11/08)

Washington Irving School is the proud recipient of The National Endowment for the Humanities’ (NEH) new Picturing America initiative.  The NEH is an independent grant-making agency of the US government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. 

Picturing America provides an innovative way for people of all ages to explore the history and character of America through some of our nation’s great works of art.  As one of over 26,000 schools and public libraries recently to receive the program, we now have access to this free resource that can be used to engage our students with discussions of our nation’s art.  In the coming weeks, Washington Irving School will receive a collection of 40 high-quality reproductions, along with a teacher resource book.  The book includes information on all the images and suggestions for using them to enhance learning in a wide range of subjects: including American history, social studies, writing, literature, and civics.  Art teacher, Jeanette Gallo, who secured the grant for W.I., is excited to work with teachers to incorporate this rich resource into the school’s program. (Posted 9/11/08)

WordMasters                                               

A student representing Washington Irving School recently won highest honors in this year’s WordMasters Challenge – a national language arts competition entered by over 230,000 students annually, which consists of three separate meets held at intervals during the school year.

Competing in the very difficult Gold Division, fifth grader, Jordan B. earned perfect scores in all three meets of this year’s Challenge.  He is one of only ten fifth grade students in the entire country to achieve perfect cumulative year-end scores.  Also, but competing in the year’s third and final meet of the Challenge, fourth graders Karthik R., Spencer S., and Nikhil S., fifth graders Heather B. and Austen P. and and sixth graders Katie C., Dhruv S., and K.T. T. all earned perfect scores.  Nationwide, only 351 fourth graders, 130 fifth graders and 80 sixth graders did so in this meet. 

Other students at the school who also achieved outstanding results in the year’s third meet of the Challenge included fourth graders Caleb G., Sere P., Julia S., Elizabeth S., Heather C., Mark J., Juliet L. and Dominique M.; fifth graders Colin A., Jason C., John C., Sara F., and Katy K.; and sixth graders MacKenzie H., Lily S., and Julia R..  The school’s students were coached in preparation for the Challenge by Karen Cook.

The WordMasters Challenge is an exercise in critical thinking that first encourages students to become familiar with a set of interesting new words (considerably harder than grade level), and then challenges them to use those words to complete analogies expressing various kinds of logical relationships.  Working to solve the Challenge analogies helps students learn to think both analytically and metaphorically.    

Congratulations WordMasters!  (Posted 6/9/08)

Washington Irving's No Junk Food Week

Washington Irving will celebrate No Junk Food Week June 9th to 13th. Events to include: special menus in the cafeteria, special activities at recess such as fear factor, trade in you unhealthy snacks for a healthy one, and so much more! Get rid of that junk food and take a ride on the healthy side. (Posted 6/3/08)

Student Composers

Mrs. DiNome’s general music students transformed into composers through a unit of piano composition.

Students in Mrs. D’s classes were taught piano introduction, form and composition. Ninety percent of the classes had never played piano before. Students performed their compositions in the lobby during homeroom for all to hear!

Please click here to listen to an example of their original work! (Posted 5/27/08)

Warner Library

A great community resource is Tarrytown’s own Warner Library.  WI’s AIS reading teachers along with 4^th, 5^th and 6^th graders, took a crisp walking trip for a personal Warner Library guided tour given by the children’s librarian.  The librarian shared the many offerings Warner’s Children’s Library has for our students.  Summer programs abound.  Prizes are available for those who keep a reading log; Spanish texts and tapes, videos, CDs and games are all part of  Warner’s contribution to summer fun.  We encourage all students to frequent the library, especially during the hot summer months when air conditioning is part of the reading fun.  (Posted 5/22/08)

3 2 1 Action!

6^th grade scientists in Mrs. Conjura’s classes became producers, researchers, directors, editors, musicians, and voice-over artists while developing movies about the planets in our solar system.  Students used iMovie to put all of the components of their movie together and GarageBand to compose original musical scores to enhance the movies.  The movies were premiered in class and students used Senteos, an interactive clicker, to answer quiz questions developed by each planet team after their movie was viewed.  All the movies were put together like a feature film DVD.  After viewing her movie on premiere day one student said, “I feel so proud!”  Click to view the Jupiter clip ( 9 MB, please allow the project to load) (Posted 5/20/08)

Picasso People at Washington Irving School
Picasso People is based on the well-known Modern artist Pablo Picasso.  He was born in Spain in 1881 and developed a painting style called Cubism.

Picasso People is a one-man show performed by Carlton Van Pyrz.  The show began with “Carlton the Curator” leading students through a gallery tour of some of Picasso’s most popular works of art.  He then brought to life those various works using mime, mask, puppetry, narration, and music.  “The inspiration of Picasso’s work is explored in a light-hearted array of clever stories and vignettes based loosely on his true-life experiences.”

Picasso People is an exciting way for students to develop an appreciation for art in combination with music and live theater.  This program supports a unit taught on Pablo Picasso in Miss Gallo’s 5^th Grade art classes. (Posted 5/21/08) 

"Reading Buddies"

Wednesday, March 26^th, 2008 Washington Irving (WI) students visited their “Reading Buddies” at John Paulding for the first time.  WI students read aloud self-selected picture books to the first graders modeling how good readers sound when they read aloud.  The readers focused on their fluency and phrasing which in turn captivated their audience.    All were well prepared as they took students on picture walks, activated prior knowledge, and asked comprehension questions. 

The first graders were an attentive audience that impressed their older peers with meaningful text connections.  They seemed enthralled as they rotated from reader to reader hearing various tantalizing stories.  One first grader was overheard saying, “Wow!  I want to read like that when I get big.” 

It is our hope to continue helping WI students shine as they build their self-esteem and they get to re-visit their “Reading Buddies” in the future. (Posted 3/30/08) 

The Circus is Back at Washington Irving School!  

On Monday April 7th, two circus professionals from the National Circus Project will join our physical education classes and work with our 4^th and 5^th grade students.  Throughout the week, the two instructors will teach a variety of circus skills including juggling, devil sticks, mime, stilts, spinning plates, diabolo, and the unicycle.

5^th grade students will be creating their very own BIG TOP CIRCUS! There will be an evening performance on Friday April 11th 6:30 – 8:00pm.  Come one, come all and enjoy the show!! (Posted 3/30/08) 

The Eleventh Annual Black History Jeopardy Contest

Excitement filled the air as Mrs. Gonzalez welcomed everyone to the Eleventh Annual Black History Jeopardy Contest on Wednesday afternoon, March 19, 2008.   As Mrs. Gonzalez introduced the eight 5^th grade contestants, the auditorium resonated with enthusiasm.

Proud parents, teachers and classmates were once again in awe of the talented 16 student contestants and the PowerPoint Black History Game Board.  It was evident through the constant “buzzing in,” and the correct responses that the contestants spent hours preparing for the competition.          

This year’s categories were African American Firsts, Arts & Entertainment, Black History Brain Quest, Education, Picture This, Science and Technology, and “Quotable Quotes.”   The Arts and Entertainment audio clues included: Georgia by the soulful Ray Charles, Take the A Train by the  incomparable Duke Ellington, The Entertainer by the Ragtime genius Scott Joplin and No One by the talented, multi-Grammy winner, Alicia Keys.  

The four highest scoring teams secured a golden opportunity to compete in Final Jeopardy.  This year’s semi-finalists included the following:  Imani from Mr. Adams’s class along with her partner, Jojo of Mrs. Conjura’s class as our fourth place winners.  Austen of Mr. Jacobs’s homeroom and partner, John from Ms. Creary’s class were the third place winners.   In second place were Henry from Mrs. Gonzalez’s class and his partner Ellis of Ms. Leveille’s class.  Demetri from Mr. Dietz’s homeroom and Dominic from Ms. Carty’s class triumphantly captured first place.  Each semi-finalist will receive a Baskin Robbins gift certificate, a Barnes & Noble gift certificate and a 2008 family pass to sites of the Historic Hudson Valley.  The grand prize winners, Demetri and Dominic, will also receive a $50.00 savings bond.  

In her closing remarks, Mrs. Meghan Fitzgerald, Assistant Principal, congratulated all the participants and staff for their participation.  Last year’s 5^th grade semi-finalists who returned to help with this year’s program were judges, Ben and Manisha, and technicians, Meghan and Ramon.  A special thank you goes to Neal Spitzer and Jean O’Brien for their invaluable support, and kudos to Gabrielle Carty and Linda Elmore for a job well done.  (Posted 3/27/08) 

"Nature Up Close"

Fourth grade artists at Washington Irving School studied the life and work ofAmerican artist Georgia O'Keeffe.  Georgia O’Keeffe worked in many styles and painted many different subjects over her long career as an artist.  For our work, we focused on her large scale, cropped images of flowers, shells, bones, and other natural objects.  O’Keeffe painted her subjects BIG so people would notice.  She once said, “No one notices a flower because it is so small and they haven’t the time.  To see it takes time.”  Working from small objects such as flowers, leaves, shells, and insects, students created large scale, close up oil pastel drawings.  These colorful student creations focused on small details and value changes.  (Posted 3/17/08) 

WordMasters Challenge

Three students representing Washington Irving School recently won highest honors in this year’s WordMasters Challenge – a national language arts competition entered by over 250,000 students annually, which consists of three separate meets held at intervals during the school year.

Competing in the very difficult Gold Division of the Challenge, fifth grader, Jordan B. and sixth graders MacKenzie H. and Lily S. earned earned perfect scores in the year’s second meet, held in February.  In the entire country, only 69 fifth graders and 122 sixth graders achieved at this level.  Other students at the school who also achieved outstanding results included fourth graders., Sere P. and Dominique M.; fifth graders Jason C., John C., Heather B., Mikey F, Sara F. and Joey G., and sixth graders Dhruv S, Johnny K., Katie C. and Tomas C.  The school’s students were coached in preparation for the Challenge by Karen Cook. 

The WordMasters Challenge is an exercise in critical thinking that first encourages students to become familiar with a set of interesting new words (considerably harder than grade level), and then challenges them to use those words to complete analogies expressing various kinds of logical relationships.  Working to solve the Challenge analogies helps students learn to think both analytically and metaphorically.    

Congratulations WordMasters!  (Posted 3/16/08) 

Rhythm in Art

Art and Music go hand in hand when looking at the colorful paintings of the Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944).  Kandinsky had grown up in a musical family and was also a talented musician.  He believed that painting and music were directly related, and that each could represent emotion.  “Music,” he said, “expresses itself by sounds, paintings by colors.”  Through this lesson, 5^th grade artists at Washington Irving School had the opportunity to experience just how music can influence art, as well as learning about important elements and principles of design.

We started this project by discussing the life of Wassily Kandinsky, and took a close look at a selection of his non-objective paintings.  Students learned that Non-Objective means there is NO recognizable subject matter.  It is art purely made up of shapes, lines, and colors where the artist had NO intent for it to look like anything.  We then began to create a connection between art and music by discussing a principle of design called Rhythm.  Rhythm in art is when the artist repeats certain visual elements, which causes the viewers eye to actually “move” through the work.  After discussing this, students did a “sketch to music” exercise and created four different drawings to different genres of music, such as Jazz, Classical, and Dance.  Using these pencil drawings and new ideas, we created these final drawings you see.  Students learned the importance of certain aspects of design such as Cropping and Balance.  They also learned specific blending techniques and how to create visual texture using oil pastels.    (Posted 3/10/08)

Washington Irving High Jump Contest

There was a dazzling display of jumping skills at the Washington Irving High Jump Contest held on February 14^th.  Approximately 40 students took part in the contest this week.  A grand display of talent was showcased in both the girls and boys events.  Sixth grade student Christine G. came in second place with a jump of 3’11”.  Two sixth grade students, Callie B. and Marina P., tied for 1^st place with jumps of 4’0.  In the boys event, sixth grade student Will S. jumped 4’4” for third place.  The surprise of the contest was fifth grade student, Peter J., who jumped 4’6” for second place.  The star of the event was sixth grade student Dominick O., who jumped 4’8”, and came within a fraction of an inch of setting a new WI record.  The announcer of the contest was sixth grade student Ben P..  (Posted 2/15/08)          

WI 4th Graders Experience Colonial Day

The fourth grade celebrated Colonial Day on February 7, 2008. The first floor of Washington Irving School went back through time as our social studies curriculum came alive with the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of a colonial village. Students strolled down the "village street" where each room was transformed into a colonial shop.

Crafts and activities, highlighting daily colonial life, spilled out into the hallways. Children paraded down the street to the beat of the fife and drum. Students dipped candles, made pomanders and mob caps, fashioned rag rugs, and wrote with a quill and ink. They also played quoits, crafted Bilbo catchers and whirligigs and learned the art of paper quilling. The bakery, managed by Harriet Bettman, overflowed with cornbread, pound cake and cider.

We were fortunate to have Sara Mascia, from the Tarrytown Historical Society; Lynda Fassa, from Green Babies; and Eric Clingen, from Tarrytown Woodworks, share their special talents. Our hallways were decorated with beautiful murals of colonial life drawn by teaching assistant Maureen Considine.

The fourth grade team would like to thank all those who participated. It is truly a collaborative effort between parents, community and school personnel.  (Posted 2/8/08) 

Family YMCA at Tarrytown Y Theatre Presents Washington Irving School Students in...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
El Sueño De Una Noche De Verano

WASHINGTON IRVING SCHOOL AUDITORIUM
Wednesday, February 27 at 8:30 am & Thursday February 28 at 9:15 am and 7:30 pm
Evening performance tickets $10 adults, $5 children 4th grade and up.                                                                    (Posted 2/4/08)

WI’s Black History Brain Quest 2008

Washington Irving’s Black History Brain Quest is a school wide activity patterned after Channel 7’s popular game show, Jeopardy.  During the month of February, the Black History Brain Quest “Answer” of the day will be read during the morning announcements.

Students may participate in Black History Brain Quest by placing a re-cycled entry form (WI is going Green!) in the Question Box located outside of the main office. The student’s entry must be in the form of a question and placed in the Question Box within two school days.  In researching the “answer” students acquire knowledge of the many significant contributions of African Americans to this country.  

Each day five respondents will be selected to receive a Baskin Robbins gift certificate.  The names of the winners will be posted on the Brain Quest Answer Board.  

The answers from Brain Quest will be used as a category during the Washington Irving’s Eleventh Annual Black History Jeopardy Contest.  The Jeopardy Contest is the culminating activity for Black History Month.  The entire school community is invited to cheer and encourage the 5^th and 6^th grade contestants during this assembly on Wednesday March 19^th at 12:30pm in the school auditorium.  We hope to see you there! (Posted 1/31/08)

Karthik R. Wins WI Geographic Bee
Moves one step closer to $25,000 College Scholarship

Karthik a 4^th grade student at WI won the school-level competition of the National Geographic Bee on January 16, and a chance at a $25,000 college scholarship. The school-level Bee, at which students answered oral questions on geography, was the first round in the 20^th annual National Geographic Bee. The Bee is sponsored by the National Geographic Society. Jordon B. came in second after a tension filled championship round. Elizabeth S. was the third place winner.  

The Bee included international questions such as, “Which sea, shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, has lost more than 70 percent of its volume since the 1960s as a result of diversion of water irrigate cotton and other crops?” and also questions about U.S. geography such as, “Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 Supreme Court case that helped end racial segregation in public schools, focused on a school in what city in eastern Kansas?” All of the contestants who participated did a wonderful job. It was a very exciting afternoon. (Posted 1/16/08)

Tappan Zee Dance Company Visits WI

Washington Irving students are on the move, dancing, with our local Tappan Zee dance instructors. The residency provides general music students the opportunity to learn a different dance genre at each grade level. Through movement, students will experience how dance relates to the elements of music as well as develop an understanding that dance is an important art form.

Tappan Zee dance instructors will present a dynamic performance Friday January 25, 2008 at 1:20 pm for all to experience!

Thanks to the Tarrytown K-6 Arts plan and Foundation for funding this wonderful residency. (Posted 1/15/08)

Word Masters

Two students representing Washington Irving School recently won highest honors in this year’s WordMasters Challenge – a national language arts competition entered by over 230,000 students annually, which consists of three separate meets held at intervals during the school year.

Competing in the very difficult Gold Division of the Challenge, fifth grader, Jordan B. and sixth grader Katie C. both earned perfect scores in the year’s first meet, held in December.  In the entire country, only 163 fifth graders and 172 sixth graders achieved at this level.  Other students at the school who also achieved outstanding results included fourth graders Elizabeth S., Sere P., Zachary K., Zoe Kaplan, Nikhil Suri; fifth graders Jason C., Heather B., Colin A., Mikey F; and sixth graders Lily S., MacKenzie H., Sam V. and Dhruv S.  The school’s students were coached in preparation for the Challenge by Karen Cook.

The WordMasters Challenge is an exercise in critical thinking that first encourages students to become familiar with a set of interesting new words (considerably harder than grade level), and then challenges them to use those words to complete analogies expressing various kinds of logical relationships.  Working to solve the Challenge analogies helps students learn to think both analytically and metaphorically.    (Posted 1/15/08) 

Vodcasting Comes Back to W.I.!

Mrs. Conjura is at it again with her 6th grade social studies class with the latest edition to her student created Vodcasts, also known as video podcasts.  Students studied ancient Mesopotamia and took a little extra time to study writing and food.  While working in small groups students researched the food of ancient Mesopotamia and combined this research with their knowledge of cuneiform writing to create an ancient Mesopotamian menu written in cuneiform.  They added a modern twist to this by creating commercials for a theme restaurant that could be found today.  When you walk through the doors of these theme restaurants they will bring you back in time to experience a meal like an ancient Mesopotamian.  The restaurant "owners" hope their commercials make your mouth water for a taste of the past.  We have included our Vodcasts from this event.  You can also download this into iTunes so it can be played on a video iPod.

Click below to watch video podcasts.

Ancient Sundays

Mesopotamia Breakfast

Out to Lunch

Tinky Winky                                            (Posted 12/16/07)

Student vs. Staff Football Game

On Friday November 16^th, the Washington Irving faculty took on a formidable opponent in the 6^th Grade students.  It was a highly anticipated meeting between the elder staff and the more youthful students.  The Students, with high expectations of shutting down the highly potent Staff offense, had a successful game plan of intensity and fun.  In a highly spirited game, the Staff defeated the Students by a score of 35-21.  At the end of the game, it was obvious that the score did not matter.  It was the sportsmanship, fun, and memories that we will all take from that cold November Friday.  Congratulations to all participants, fans, and chaperones for a job well done! (Posted 11/29/2007)

Lion’s Club International Peace Poster Contest

Lion’s Club International Peace Poster Contest is a contest that encourages children ages 11-13 to creatively express what peace means to them.  The contest allows students to share their unique image of peace with others, so that we may all have a greater tolerance and international understanding.  The contest was available to Ms. Gallo’s sixth grade art students at Washington Irving School.  The winning poster was judged on originality, artistic merit, and expression of the theme “Peace Around the World.”  The winning poster was created by Caitlyn from Ms. Mullin’s class.  Her poster now has a chance to win the multiple district level and national level of the competition.  Congratulations and best of luck from everyone at Washington Irving School.  Thank you to all of the students who participated! (Posted 11/14/2007)

National Geographic Bee

It is our pleasure to introduce the annual National Geographic Bee to Washington Irving.  The National Geographic Bee is sponsored by the National Geographic Society and encourages the teaching and learning of geography.  The Geographic Bee is open to all students in fourth through eighth grades.  The Bee is held in thousands of schools across the United States and in the five U.S. territories, as well as in the Department of Defense Schools around the world.

The winner of Washington Irving’s Bee will advance to the next level of competition, a written examination to determine state competitors.  All school winners are eligible to win the national championship and its first prize, a $25,000 college scholarship, at the national competition May 20 & 21, 2008 in Washington, D.C.

Your child is invited to sign up to participate in Washington Irving’s Geographic Bee which will be held after school in January at WI.  If you or your child is interested in participating in the GeoBee, please sign up with either Mrs. Cook or Mr. Large no later than November 9, 2007.  Participants will receive study materials, be enrolled in a GeoBee blackboard.com class and receive coaching in preparation for the test (schedules will vary dependant upon the number of participants, grade level, etc.).

For more information about the National Geographic Bee, please browse the GeoBee website:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geographybee/

We look forward to facilitating this wonderful competition for students in our school.

Karen Cook                                                                             Gregory Large
Challenge Teacher                                                                    Math Enrichment  ( Posted 11/4/2007)

“Magnificent Mandalas”

4^th Grade artists in Miss Gallo’s art classes created these kaleidoscopic designs.  Each student started out with an 11” X 11” square and transfer paper.  The square is folded into eight triangles and the student’s first name is then drawn within one of the triangles.  Students had to use specific lettering techniques and modify basic letterforms to fit the space.  Then, using their transfer paper, students had to fold and refold the paper tracing their name to eventually fill each of the eight triangles.  When each student was finished we all shared our artwork in amazement of the beautiful shapes and patterns that had been created.  The last step was to inventively color their designs with the option of using patterns.  Through this lesson students learned the meaning of Radial Symmetry.  Radial symmetry is any type of balance based on a circle with its design extending from its center.  A star, the iris around each pupil of your eyes, a wheel with spokes, and a daisy are all examples of radial symmetry.( Posted 11/4/2007)

Check out the WI Digital Backpack

The WI Digital Backpack is a website on which you can download office forms, flyers, schedules as well as WI monthly calendars and newsletters.  The school newsletter has good news from WI principals, staff and the EPTA.  See the calendar for information about meetings, performances, intramurals and other upcoming events.  Check every other week for practice and rehearsal schedules posted by our music teachers.  To find the Digital Backpack from www.tufsd.org, scroll over Washington Irving in the list of Schools, then click on the Digital Backpack link.  We will continue to post important and helpful documents here.  Over time, we hope that the Digital Backpack will help us communicate more efficiently with families and reduce the amount of paper (a precious resource) we use at school!  (Posted 10/30/2007)

Dr. Henri Parens, Holocaust Survivor, Speaks to Students at Washington Irving

Prejudice.  That was the word that sixth grade students were asked to keep in their minds during the presentation by Dr. Henri Parens, world renowned psychoanalyst and holocaust survivor. Throughout his presentation, Dr. Parens kept referring back to the concept of prejudice and what happens when prejudice becomes violence.  Dr. Parens was living in Poland when the Nazi forces came.  His mother and he were able to escape to France for a while, but when Nazis began rounding up Jewish people in France, both Dr. Parens and his mother were sent to a concentration camp.

Dr. Parens went on to tell the students about his escape and eventual journey to the United States.  The sixth grade students were awed by his story.  Though they had been studying the holocaust in anticipation of his arrival, to hear a first hand account from a man who lived through it was spellbinding. 

In the end, Dr. Parens again spoke of the tragedies that can occur when we let prejudice overtake what we know is right.  The sixth grade students and teachers will never forget this experience. (Posted 10/10/2007)

Washington Irving celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with Salvador Dalí.

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Salvador Dalí traveling exhibit will be displayed in the hallways of Washington Irving Intermediate School.  Salvador Dalí, a 20^th century Spanish surrealist painter, is renowned for his striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work.

The three painting exhibit will include one of his most famous works, Persistence of Memory, circa 1931.  Persistence of Memory, also known as Melting Clocks, introduced the surrealistic image of a melting pocket watch to debunk the assumption that time is rigid and fixed.

The paintings will be on display from September 27^th-October 11^th, 2007.  This exhibit will foster the learning of the students in Mrs. Molina’s 6^th grade Spanish classes who are currently studying Spain.  Students will learn about the featured artist and the art of collages turning the classroom into their own museum. (Posted 9/27/2007)

Dear Washington Irving Families,

Welcome to the 2007-2008 school year.  It will be my honor to serve as the interim Principal for this year.  I look forward to meeting you and your children.  Please remember that I am here to help.  Contact me if I can do anything at all to make your children’s education as good as it can be.

I come to W.I. with over 20 years experience as a principal.  Most recently I worked in Monticello, New York.  Previously, I worked for 20 years as principal of the Stillman Elementary School in Tenafly, New Jersey.  I enjoy the job and hope to be able to bring experience and enthusiasm to W.I.

I earned a Doctor of Education degree from Teachers College, Columbia University and a Masters of Education degree from Bank Street College in New York.  I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Columbia College.  I trust that all this good education can be put to the service of your children.

Before I became a principal, I taught fifth grade for two years in Duxbury, Massachusetts and a combination of fifth and sixth grades at the Walden School in New York City.  I love working with intermediate age students.  They combine the enthusiasm of youth and the desire to pose questions with cognitive abilities which allow them to access information on their own.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. William Greene
Principal                                                                                                  (posted 8/02/07)

Dear Washington Irving Families,

I am excited and honored to be joining the W.I. community—a community with a rich tradition of caring for its students.  I look forward to working together with teachers, and families to help each student flourish. 

The intermediate years are a most exciting and critical time in which students develop new interests, critical skills, habits of mind, as well as big ideas about the world, their community and themselves.  I am passionate about supporting teachers as they guide students through this transformation.  I am eager to get to know each student and help nurture an environment in which all students feel safe and inspired to learn.  And, I am dedicated to partnering with families to support and extend the learning that children do at W.I.   Please know I welcome your thoughts, concerns and questions anytime. 

I have spent the last three years teaching math and science in fourth and sixth grades, coaching teachers, and helping to develop the new middle school program at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in Riverdale, New York.  I look forward to applying my experience at Fieldston both as Assistant Principal at W.I. and as a contributor to the Middle School steering committee.  Prior to Fieldston, I taught sixth grade language arts and math at a public middle school in Wellesley, Massachusetts as well as math and science in grades 6-8 in San Francisco, California. 

I have also received a Masters of Science in Education with a dual focus on school leadership and math education at Bank Street College and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and psychology from Amherst College.  Most of all, I am a lifelong learner and look forward to learning with you and your students.

Sincerely yours,

Meghan Fitzgerald
Assistant Principal                                                                                (posted 8/02/07)

Washington Irving Creativity Fair
On May 10, 2007, Washington Irving School held its Creativity Fair. The Fair highlighted the incredible research conducted by the fourth and fifth grade Challenge students. Students selected topics which ranged from the Incan Civilization to the Cold War and developed lines of investigation that connected to their social studies curriculum. Over the last four months the students became experts in their fields of study through research, interviews, and field trips. Their products included a replica of the Empire State Building, a movie about Civil War women soldiers and a 3-D map of the Hawaiian Islands. It was an truly an exciting and educational event. (Posted 5/21/2007)

Washington Irving's Garden
The May flowers are certainly blooming at the Washington Irving School! Trudy Dunbar, a beloved member of the WI family, has volunteered her time and gardening knowledge to help the fifth grade students plant the beautiful flowers in front of the school. The students enjoyed planting a lovely variety of red and blue salvia, begonias, impatiens, marigolds and white verbena.  One student exclaimed, “I love planting flowers! Can we do this every day?”
Many of the students expressed their enthusiasm as the empty garden came to life with each new row of flowers. The colorful garden provides not only a warm welcome to those who enter the school each day, but also embodies the cheery atmosphere that infuses the Washington Irving School. (Posted 5/20/2007)

2007 WCSMA Administrator of the Year
The Westchester County School Music Association is pleased to announce that Ms. Rachel Gonzalez, Assistant Principal of the Washington Irving Intermediate School has been named the 2007 WCSMA Administrator of the Year.  The award is given to an administrator who has demonstrated outstanding support for their district music education program.

 Her teachers say:

“The connections that Ms. Gonzalez makes with over 600 music students are in the places where the intellect, emotion and spirit converge.  It is the human spirit, the heart; the music!”

“Ms. Gonzalez’ passion for the arts exudes into our school community and her presence has created a respect for music with practical assistance and assessment for all.  This is accomplished through exceptional shared leadership and dedication to lifelong learning.”

 Congratulations to Ms Rachel Gonzalez and the entire Tarrytown community!  (Posted 5/11/2007)

Washington Irving Orchestra goes to NYSSMA       
The Washington Irving Orchestra, under the direction of Amedee Williams, attended this years NYSSMA Majors festival. They were awarded a silver medal rating for their performance. This is the first year that any musical ensemble from Tarrytown Schools has ever attended the festival. “I am really proud of the orchestra's accomplishment and look forward to attending in the future" – Mr. Williams

Mr. Gold said, "The students showed incredible discipline and played beautifully.  We are incredibly proud of them and look forward to seeing how far they will reach now that the bar has been raised even higher."

Sixth Grade Poetry Blogs and Podcasts!
During the month of April, National Poetry Month, the sixth grade has been studying different types of poetry. We’ve mastered figurative language, read poetry, written our own couplets, quatrains, cinquains, diamontes.  We learned how to use a blog, and we have posted some of our poems for you to read!  We've included Podcasts for many of our poems, because reading our poems aloud makes them come to life! .  Some of our poems are happy, some are sad, and some are just downright silly. We’ve had lots of fun learning about poems, writing our own, and then reading them aloud.  We hope you enjoy them too!

Come see what we’ve done
We’ve been having so much fun!

Reading, writing, rhyming, reciting
Poetry sure has been exciting!

Why don’t you read each blog
And give your mind a jog,

Tell us what you think
It will tickle us pink!      (Posted 4/27/2007)

Mola Magic
During this unit of study, fifth grade artists in Ms. Gallo’s art classes studied the art of the Kuna Indians.  Panama is home to the Kuna Indians, living on the San Blas Islands in the Caribbean Sea.  They have lived in the Panama area for centuries.  They have proudly protected their Panama homeland, called Kuna Yala, or “Land of the Kuna.”  The Kuna Indians have become known to the world through their extraordinary fabric appliqué art known as Mola.  This fabric art is made by carefully cutting and layering very brightly colored cloth.  The word Mola means, “Blouse.”  Girls learn to make Molas at a young age.  A woman might spend up to one hundred hours completing a Mola.  Kuna Indians got their inspiration for Molas from their environment, such as native animals and scenes from nature. 

Fifth graders began this project by looking at a map of Central America and locating Panama.  We discussed what the environment would be like living in this area of the world.  Located near the equator, Panama has many rainforests.  Next, students examined several examples of Molas, and made a list of some of their common characteristics.  Students noticed that they are very colorful, and contain many shapes and patterns.  Also, the animals in this art form are typically shown in profile.  Fifth grade artists then set out to work by creating a line drawing of an animal.  Using a special layering technique, students cut out silhouetted shapes of their animal.  Using a variety of shapes and patterns, students decorated the body of their animals, as well as the background space.  The completed projects show principles of balance, pattern and rhythm. Click here to view photo gallery.  (Posted 4/28/2007)

Fourth Grade Art Students Inspired By Soles of the Movement
As shoes dangled from the art room ceiling, students were surrounded by the artwork of our artist in residency Chris Burns.  Through the use of old shoes, Mr. Burns was able to portray a message about the Civil Rights Movement.  When creating his art, he would utilize the soles of the shoes to paint on meaningful quotes or adhere photographs.  This let students discover that art can be made from almost anything!

Chris Burns inspired Ms. Gallo’s fourth grade art classes at Washington Irving School to use the soles of their shoes to create a self-portrait.  Students started out by taking off their shoes and tracing the shape of the sole onto the paper.  They then had to study the intricate designs on the bottom of their shoes and replicate them carefully onto their paper.  Next, we began a lesson on perspective.  Perspective is a technique that artists use to create the illusion of three-dimensional space on a flat surface like paper.  This creates a sense of depth and makes your drawing look more like real life.  While utilizing all of these techniques, students step by step added in tracings of their hands, a body with arms and legs, and a face with proper proportions.  We used watercolor pencils to color the self-portrait, and lastly, made a collage for the background.  The results were a unique work of art! For more information on Soles of the Movement visit the news archive for Washington Irving School.  Click here to view photo gallery.  (Posted 3/23/2007)

Washington Irving School Blood Drive
The New York Blood Center in conjunction with Washington Irving School will be hosting a blood drive on Wednesday, April 11, 11:00pm - 4:30pm.  Free Cholesterol Testing.  If you have medical eligibility questions, please call: (800) 688-0900.  Click here for Blood Donor Pledge Form.  (Posted 3/14/2007)

Distance Learning Has a Local Appeal
A few weeks ago Jean O’Brien, our technology integration specialist for grades 4-6, and Nichole Conjura, one of our sixth grade teachers, had a grand idea to apply distance learning technology to solve a local dilemma. The results have been intriguing.

Recently, one of their students had injured herself and required surgery that promised to keep her on crutches for a few months. This made the science class and science labs a physical challenge for her, as both were located on the third floor and the elevator only goes as far as the second floor.

The two teachers requested web cams and configured an internal connection so that the injured student could participate in the class and the labs via videoconference…from the library on the second floor! Read more  (Posted 3/12/2007)

Internet Safety and Our Children
This week there are two workshops being held in our community, and both are related to keeping our children safe on the Internet. Now, more than ever, parents need a good understanding of the Internet, its benefits and risks to children, and strategies for minimizing the associated risks. At the same time, they must have strategies for providing a safe and rewarding Internet experience for their children. This is no small task or responsibility!

The emergence of social networking sites such as MySpace, and Facebook, as well as popular sites such as YouTube pose very real issues for parents, as do cyberbullying, online predators, and more. The questions and related complications associated with these issues are worthy of explanation, investigation, and discussion. Though there is no one simple solution for keeping our children safe online, being an informed parent who is familiar with a variety of strategies is one of the best ways to ensure that appropriate steps are taken to allow your children to benefit from this wonderful medium and provide appropriate safeguards.

The two presentations take place this Wednesday and Thursday. Details are as follows:

Wednesday, March 14, 7:30pm
 

Keeping Your Child Safe in Cyberspace with Guest Speaker John Krouskoff

Fee: $10, JCC Members FREE Register now

This workshop will provide an overview of the risks and provide information and practical parenting strategies to help children use the computer safely and responsibly.

John Krouskoff is the Director of Technology for the Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns.

Thursday, March 15, 7:00pm
Internet Safety Presentation at Washington Irving School Auditorium
Please join us to hear Norman E. Friedman, a well-known speaker and author who will discuss his theory that: “ A child or adolescent may be safer walking down a deserted street or alley in an unknown neighborhood at midnight than alone in his/her bedroom with one or more adults in the next room while online.”

His topics will include:

• What are the Social Networking Sites?
• Learn the RISKS for Children on the Internet
• What are the Responsibilities of Parents?
• Dangers of Internet Misuse & 21 ^st Century Electronics
• Internet Safety Tips for Parents
• How to Check Your Computer History
• Internet Safety Tips for Kids
• Cyberbullying
• Internet Assistance for Parents

Diego Rivera Traveling Exhibit Visits Washington Irving School
From March 12th to 16th, Diego Rivera murals will be decorating the lobby of WI.  The traveling exhibit of three paintings by the 20th Century Mexican muralist includes one of his most prominent works, El Vendedor de Alcatraces, circa 1942.  Diego Rivera is renowned for capturing the culture of the Mexican people. 

The exhibit will enrich all WI students as well as enhance the learning of the students in Mrs. Molina’s 6th grade Spanish classes who are currently studying Hispanic artists.  (Posted 3/8/2007)
 

	Colonial Day 2007 On February 8, 2007, the first floor of Washington Irving School went back through time to celebrate Colonial Day. Our social studies curriculum came alive with the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of a colonial village. Students strolled down the "village street" where each room was transformed into a colonial shop. Crafts and activities highlighting daily colonial life spilled out into the hallways. Children lined the street, decorated with beautiful murals of colonial life drawn by teaching assistant Maureen Considine, to listen to the music of the fife and drum. Students dipped candles, made mob caps, fashioned rag rugs, played with Bilbo catchers and whirligigs and wrote with a quill and ink. The bakery overflowed with cornbread, pound cake and cider. We were fortunate to have Sara Mascia, from the Tarrytown Historical Society; Lynda Fassa, from Green Babies; and Eric Clingen, from Tarrytown Woodworks, share their special talents. As always, Lorraine Annicchiarico provided her beautifully sewn authentic costumes. The fourth grade team would like to thank all those who participated. It is truly a collaborative effort between parents, community and school personnel. (Posted 3/2/2007)

Black History Brain Quest 2007
Black History Brain Quest is patterned after Channel 7’s popular game show, Jeopardy.  For the month of February, the answer of the day will be read by a student during the morning announcements.

Students may participate in Brain Quest by placing an entry form in the Question Box located outside of the main office. The student’s entry must be in the form of a question and placed in the Question Box within two school days.  In researching the “answer” students acquire knowledge of the many significant contributions of African Americans to this country.

Each day five respondents will be selected to receive a Baskin Robbins gift certificate.  The names of the winners will be posted on the Brain Quest Board.

The answers from Brain Quest will be used as a category during the tenth annual Black History Jeopardy Contest.  The Jeopardy Contest is the culminating activity for Black History Month.  The school community is invited to cheer and encourage the 5^th and 6^th grade contestants during this assembly on March 2, 2007 in the school auditorium. Click here to hear the podcast.  (Posted 2/2/2007)

Outdoor Recess Guidelines for Pre-K through Grade 6
According to the American Association for the Child’s Right to Play, recess responds to children’s social, emotional, cognitive, intellectual, and physical needs.  The organization’s website cites the following benefits of recess:

• Physical activity is essential for the healthy growth and development of children

• Recess can serve as an outlet for reducing or lowering children’s anxiety

• Traditional recess activities encourage children to take turns, negotiate, or modify rules and interact cooperatively.

Therefore, every attempt will be made to provide children with a daily outdoor recess (approx. 20-30 minutes).  Click here to read more and view guidelines.  (Posted 1/19/2007

Don't Miss the Washington Irving School Circus!
It’s that time of year again! The National Circus Project will be at Washington Irvin School from Monday, January 22nd to Friday the 26th. The two circus professionals will be working with all our 4th and 5th graders teaching them many different circus skills and tricks including stilts, balance boards, unicycles, devil sticks, and more! There will be an evening performance involving half of the 5th grade on Friday, January 26th starting at 6:30pm. Come on by and see the greatest show on earth!  (Posted 1/18/2007)

Congratulations to all of the Washington Irving WordMasters contestants!
Four students representing our teams recently won highest honors in this year's first challenge meet. Competing in the Gold division of the challenge, fourth grader Heather, fifth graders Lily and Dhruv and sixth grader Emily earned perfect scores in the December meet. In the entire country, only 67 fourth graders, 67 fifth graders and 272 sixth graders earned perfect scores! Other students in WI who also achieved outstanding results in the meet were fourth graders: Jordan, Jason, Mina, Sara, Brendan, Colin and Madison; fifth graders Meaghan, Tim and MacKenzie!  Students who competed in the first meet scored higher than any teams that competed last year. Compared to the rest of the nation, our teams scored well above the median scores in every grade and division.  (Posted 1/9/2007)

Jumping for Hope
Two Fifth graders from Washington Irving decided to give a special kind of gift this holiday season, they proposed and organized their own Jump-A-Thon to raise money for Heifer International.  On November 15^th, students flocked to the gym to jump rope.  During several one minute shifts, the girls timed how many jumps our students could complete.  Students, now armed with their jump-roping personal records, took this information back to their sponsors who either paid per jump or simply donated money to the cause.  After almost a month of collecting donations, their efforts raised just over $1000 for Heifer International (an organization that works with communities to end poverty and hunger by giving them a source of food).  The funds raised were used to purchase two water buffalo, two llamas, two goats, two tree seedlings, two hives of honeybees, two flocks of chicks, and 1 flock of ducks or geese.  While this was a tremendous gift, an even greater one was given.  These two remarkable girls gave the gift of hope to those in need.  (Posted 12/14/2006)

Winter Concert
The Washington Irving Winter concert was held December 13, 2006 with performances by: The Senior orchestra, Chamber ensemble, Intermediate band, Wind ensemble and 4-5-6 Washington Irving Chorus.

Click on the links below to hear selections from the concert.

Mr. William’s Ensembles
The senior orchestra performance included Skaters Waltz by Waldteufel  and the Chamber ensemble performed Autumn by Vivaldi magnificently.
Mr. Spitzer’s Ensembles
The Intermediate Band broke new ground as they joined the Wind Ensemble in this year’s Winter Concert.  They performed William Billing’s Chester and a rhythm infused Costa Del Sol which featured 12 percussionists.  The Wind Ensemble followed with a repertoire that included Beethoven’s Turkish March and Mozart’s Air and Alleluia.
Mrs. DiNome’s Ensemble
The Washington Irving Chorus included a varied selection of literature.

The first and last selection was written by Jim Papolous one of Mrs. DiNome’s favorite composers whose compositions inspire young people to believe in themselves with beautiful musical harmonies.

Amazing soloists, the entire chorus and twirling ballerinas graced the stage with fantastic musical expression performing a selection from The Polar Express -When Christmas Comes to Town.

The final selection, I Can Feel the World Dancing, brought tears to the audience while experiencing a wonderful soloist and 25 amazing dancers with all 155 Washington Irving chorus students!

Vodcasting Comes to W.I.!
Students in Mrs. Conjura’s 6th grade social studies class took virtual field trips around the world.  They explored various caves filled with early human cave art.  They traveled back in time and became early humans painting the cave art on the walls of a “cave”.   While working in this dark “cave” students picked out a place to paint their story and were given a flashlight, which was used to represent fire.  Students were given red, violet, black and brown paint, the same colors early humans had to use.  Like early humans, they had to use their fingers to paint.  The next day, the students re-entered the cave as modern day archeologists.  They explored this newly discovered cave covered in early human cave paintings.  Each student archeologist chose a cave painting they did not paint as an early human and interpreted what the early human who made the painting was trying to depict.  Our class shared these interpretations at our Archeological Conference and created Vodcasts, also known as video Podcasts, as a record this event. Student archeologists shared their interpretations of their discoveries.  The early humans that drew the paintings also had the opportunity to correct any mistakes the student archeologists may have made in their interpretations of the painting.  We have included a couple of sample Vodcasts from this event.  You can also download this into iTunes so it can be played on a video iPod. (Posted 11/12/2006)

Click here to view the Vodcast  (3MB QuickTime movie)

Lion’s Club International Peace Poster Contest
Lion’s Club International Peace Poster Contest is a contest that encourages children to creatively express what peace means to them.  The contest allows students to share their unique image of peace with others, so that we may all have a greater tolerance and international understanding.  The contest was available to Ms. Gallo’s sixth grade art students at Washington Irving School.  The winning poster was judged on originality, artistic merit, and expression of the theme “Celebrate Peace.”  The winning poster was created by a student from Ms. Carty’s class.  His poster now has a chance to win the district-wide and national level of the competition.  Congratulations and best of luck from everyone at Washington Irving School.  Thank you to all of the students who participated! (Posted 11/8/2006)
 

Washington Irving's "Animal Face Off"
Sixth grade language arts students have been working on a unit based on the Discovery Channel’s television program “Animal Face Off”. The goal of this unit is for students to understand how readers utilize nonfiction text features for comprehension. Our projects are two-fold.  Students research an animal, and create fact sheets that illustrate their knowledge of non-fiction text features. In the culminating activity, two students’ animals are paired off to create a cartoon that shows research about their animals, and the victor of the battle. Please view the sixth grade cartoons, and learn about incredible facts and unexpected results. (Posted 11/7/2006)

Westchester Arts Council Exhibit Travels to Washington Irving Intermediate School
WI will be hosting the educational exhibit Soles of the Movement By Chris Burns, October 2006 – January 2007.

This interactive installation illustrates the African American struggle for civil rights.  Working closely with the artist, students will learn about this important period in history.  Teachers will incorporate aspects of the exhibit in their ongoing class activities.  The ongoing exhibit will be installed and located on the main floor and in the cafeteria of Washington Irving Intermediate School.  Please join us in this cultural experience.

Art Contest Winners at Washington Irving School
From May 15^th to May 19^th the Open Door Family Medical Center in Ossining held a poster contest on the topic of Healthy Living.  It required fourth and fifth grade students to create a poster that illustrated what healthy living looks like.  Ms. Gallo, art teacher at Washington Irving School, had several students from her classes enter artwork into the contest.  Eight W.I. students were chosen for the final judging by Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey.  The top three winners were revealed at a reception held on August 12^th in Ossining.  Three of our students took 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place in the contest!!  Thank you to all the students who participated and congratulations to the winners!  (Posted 10/6/2006)

Mrs. Clark’s Class is in a Food Frenzy!
The students in Mrs. Clark's 5^th grade class are off to an enthusiastic start as they explore the world of health and nutrition. They have enjoyed interacting with a virtual food pyramid as they learned about the food groups and the creation of healthy well-balanced diets. The SMART Board has become an integral part of all aspects of the curriculum, and has provided new and exciting opportunities for both teaching and learning. "It’s wonderful to see the students zest for learning as they take an active role in discovery," said Mrs. Clark as she encouraged the students to explore the interactive food pyramid. As one student in her class exclaimed, “Wow! This SMART Board is great!” Please click the image to view in full size. (Posted 9/23/2006)

SmartBoard Training
At the staff development day Washington Irving staff received training on the new technology made available to them, in part, through a grant from Senator Nicholas Spano. Teachers are being trained to utilize the SmartBoard and shown how to integrate it with the curriculum.  This year promises to be an exciting one for students and teacher, and the eighteen new SMART Board setup will be widely used to make learning interactive and fun, while working toward the goal of improving student achievement. (Posted 9/18/2006)

The Public Schools of the Tarrytowns is Now Offering Parents and Guardians the Ability to Make Changes to Their Student Emergency Information Online! 
Gone are the days of filling in multiple forms and returning a variety of cards and the important information back to each school in September! This month, parents/guardians will receive a back-to–school packet that contains a letter from the superintendent, a copy of the information the district currently has on file for each child, a student ID and password so parents/guardians can make any changes online through our secure web portal, and instructions for doing so. Parent/guardians can click on the link below or the image above and enter in the student ID and password printed on the sheet that was mailed home and access the system.  The district recently partnered with K12 Alerts® to provide this system, as well as an emergency alerts system for phone, email and text messaging to cellphones. (Click here for more information)

Summer Reading, Assignments and Supply Lists for 2006-2007
Summer reading is an important, but often overlooked part of a student’s education.  Sometimes, unfortunately, the summer slips by and students find that they have read little or nothing because they were not encouraged to read anything.  To prevent this we are requiring that  middle school and high school students read three books this summer and write a “Record of Reading” for each book.  Please follow the link for your grade to view a letter explaining the requirements for your grade.  Click here for reading lists and expectations for grades K - 6. Click here to view Back to School Supply Lists (Posted 7/6/2006)

Freedom in Roman History
To appreciate what we all share now as Freedom in our lives, sometimes we must remember when it was not so commonplace.  Dr. Bernard's Latin language students  were asked to imagine what it would be like if everything in their life were thrown into the Roman period of slavery!  They expressed their thoughts of a time when Freedom, and Civilization, was paid for by the enslavement of many less fortunate men, women and children.  Here is what some have written.  (Posted 6/16/2006)

Math Olympiad
This past Thursday, June 1, 2006 Washington Irving held a celebration and mystery hunt for this year’s Math Olympiad students. Our students were among the 150,000 students worldwide who participated in the Math Olympiad program this year.

Out of the three teams Washington Irving entered, there were 15 students who won a silver pin for scoring in the 90^th  to 97^th percentile.  One student scored in the top 2 percentile.

The Sixth Grade team was awarded a plaque for scoring in the top 10 per cent of all teams.

The celebration was a great success with the awards, mystery hunt and snacks  (Posted 6/9/2006)

Operation Egg Drop
The fifth grade at WI has just concluded a very exciting science project, “Operation Egg Drop”.  Every fifth grader was expected to design and create a container to ensure that a raw egg would remain intact when dropped from a height of 15ft.  The containers were made from materials that the students found at home and in their classrooms.  The creativity was endless: jello, parachutes, cotton, sponges, rice, pillows, etc.  Both the students and the teachers had a great learning experience.  We look forward to seeing next year’s great ideas!  Click here to view movie of the egg drop.  (Posted 5/31/2006)

A Walking Tour of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow for Our E-Pals Across the Pond
Fourth grade students in Mrs. Zerafa’s class have been communicating via email with “e-pals” from Willington, England. Ms. O’Brien, technology specialist, established this activity in November with the children writing letters to one another. The third and fourth graders from England then sent pictures of points of interest in their community.
Washington Irving’s fourth grade students took a walking tour of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow and photographed historic landmarks and places of interest. In the computer lab, the children researched and recorded the information to be “pod casted” to our friends across the pond. We hope they (and you) will enjoy our final product.

Click to view the eight minute full length project (11MB, please allow the project to load)

Click to view a 20 second excerpt (.5 MB)     (Posted 5/30/2006)

Washington Irving School Construction Timeline Presentation
At the final general EPTA meeting for this school year, Dr. Howard Smith, Superintendent, gave a presentation outlining the phases of construction for the Washington Irving School and the impact on students for the upcoming school year.  Click here to see the PDF version of the slide show.  (Posted 5/31/2006)

Picasso People at Washington Irving School
Picasso People is based on the well-known Modern artist Pablo Picasso.  He was born in Spain in 1881 and developed a painting style called Cubism.

Picasso People is a one-man show performed by Carlton Van Pyrz.  The show began with “Carlton the Curator” leading students through a gallery tour of some of Picasso’s most popular works of art.  He then brought to life those various works using mime, mask, puppetry, narration, and music.  “The inspiration of Picasso’s work is explored in a light-hearted array of clever stories and vignettes based loosely on his true-life experiences.” 

Picasso People is an exciting way for students to develop an appreciation for art in combination with music and live theater.  This program supports a lesson taught on Pablo Picasso in Miss Gallo’s 5^th Grade art classes.  (Posted 5/25/2006)

Sixth Grade Creative Writing (and multimedia!)
Do you know what’s real and what’s not?  Mrs. Mullin’s sixth grade classes sure do!  Students in both of her classes worked very hard creating realistic fiction stories.  And the story was just the beginning…

Students went through all stages of the writing process.  Some students wanted to improve their work, and they went through as many as five drafts until they felt it was perfect.   

Students then learned about book binding as they used steady hands to sew their books together.  Dedication and “About the Author,” pages came next.  Finally, students illustrated their stories with fantastic drawings. 

But, we weren’t done yet!  With the help of Ms. O’Brien and Mr. Fishbeck, students learned how to use a scanner and voice recorder so that we could share part of our finished project with you!  Hear a story written and narrated by:

Alex   (1.4 MB)
Ali      (1.9 MB)
Christian  (1.2 MB)
Marina   (0.6 MB)

(Posted 5/14/2006)

Poetry in Motion
During the month of April, Mr. Dietz’s class focused their attention on a month long poetry unit. This section involved learning various poetry forms such as couplet, quatrains, cinquains, diamantes, haikus, tankas, ABC poems, bio poems, and concrete poetry.   Many of the students learned new literary devices such as figurative language, to enrich their poems. Using alliteration, simile, metaphor, and onomatopoeia students wrote with true “poetic license.”

As a culminating activity for this unit students presented five poems to the their peers. Our focus for the presentation was to couple the power of writing with expressive speech. The following are some of our finest examples. See if you can determine the exact format, and rhyming patterns by listening and clicking on the links below.  

Click here to send us your comments about our poetry unit! 

(Posted 5/2/2006)

Fourth Grade Earth Day Celebration 2006
On Friday, April 21, 2006, fourth grade students at Washington Irving participated in Tarrytown’s Annual Tree Planting Project as part of an Earth Day Celebration.  Mayor Drew Fixel kicked off the ceremony by reading an official Tree Proclamation hereby designating Washington Irving School as part of Tree City USA.  Students shook hands with the  “Treeture.”  In addition to our assistant principal, Mrs. Gonzalez, fourth grade teachers and students, present were members of Tarrytown’s Tree Commission including Diedre Dobson-Carsto (Tree Warden), Eric Clingen (Chair), Bob Stone (Planning Board Liaison), Stefan Yarabek (Village Landscaper), and Lou Cebesta from the DEC Forestry.  Each group of two classes are now experts on our newly adopted trees: the Sugar Maple, the European Beech, and two Cherokee Princess Dogwood trees thanks to all those who came to WI to share their knowledge and expertise.  (Posted 4/26/2006)

Sixth Grade does Spring Cleaning for Earth Day
Have you done your spring cleaning yet?  The 6th grade did theirs on Friday, April 22nd in honor of Earth Day.  The students worked together diligently to clean up the school grounds at Washington Irving School.  They were armed with gloves on their hands and trash bags.   The initial appearance of the school grounds led students to believe that there would be very little trash to pick up.   They were all very surprised to collect three large trash cans of litter after cleaning up the entire outside of the school.  This community service activity helped the 6th graders gain new incites into the sometimes negative impact human beings have on their environment.  (Posted 4/26/2006)

Gardening at Washington Irving School
Did you know that there is a greenhouse on the third floor?

A group of fifth graders including members of 4-H is growing plants in Washington Irving’s very own green house.  We’ve been working very hard and our seeds are finally sprouting.

It all started at Stone Barns where we made blocks of soil and placed seeds into them.  Each day a student spends 5 to 10 minutes watering the seeds and checking the temperature. 

Soon we will be able to transplant them into the garden in front of our school.  The seeds started as little brown and black things.  Soon they will be beautiful flowers and herbs.  (Posted 4/24/2006)

Creativity Fair
Come one, come all
Please heed our call
You mustn’t stall
Because we have it all!

Hard-Working kids
have given their hearts
To increase their knowledge
and their smarts

At the W.I. Creativity Fair
These amazing kids have much to share

The Creativity Fair is here
Everyone will scream and cheer
If you come, you’ll have a ball
When you leave, you’ll know it all!

Written by Fourth Grade Challenge
(vetted by fifth grade challenge)

Please join us on Thursday, April 20^th in the Washington Irving Gym.  7:00pm – 8:00pm  (Posted 4/4/2006)

Sixth Grade Student Olympic Advertisements Include Study of Propaganda
Students in sixth grade are studying Ancient Greece. As part of the integrated Social Studies/ELA curriculum, Challenge students analyzed various media to identify propaganda techniques. They then utilized this information as they developed and produced their own advertisements promoting the Ancient Greek Olympics. Students conducted a Webquest to research the Ancient Greek Olympics and were required to integrate historical facts as well as propaganda to create a print, radio or tv advertisement. We had a lot of fun creating our advertisements and hope you enjoy them! 
View one of the video advertisements. (1.4 MB)
Listen to audio commercial one (1.7MB)
Listen to audio commercial two (1.1 MB)
(Quicktime 7.0 required for video.  Download Quicktime for Windows)
(Posted 3/24/2006)

View the Video of the 9th Annual Black History Jeopardy Contest at WI
(Quicktime 7.0 required.  Click here to download Quicktime for Windows)

9^th Annual Black History Jeopardy Contest
The Washington Irving School hosted its ninth annual Black History Jeopardy Contest on March 16, 2006.  The contest patterned after ABC’s popular game show “Jeopardy” is the school’s culminating celebration of Black History Month.  A greater understanding of the many significant contributions of African Americans is brought to the forefront in this assembly.  The pursuit of knowledge by all contestants fosters academic growth and appreciation for cultural diversity.

This year’s categories were:  African Americans Firsts, Education, Name That Tune, Picture This, and “Quotable Quotes.”  Student contestants worked in pairs collaboratively and willingly devoted many hours to prepare for the competition.  The competition between the fifth and sixth grade class representatives proved to be fast paced and exciting.   The use of modern technology, the PowerPoint presentation, the automatic team responder circuitry, picture clues, and the pre-recorded audio clues, heightened enthusiasm for the audience and participants.  

The judges, Trudy Dunbar, Louise Gonzalez and Jackie Versace, are to be commended for using wit and wisdom in making pivotal decisions.  Thank you to Jeanette Gallo’s art students for this year’s elaborate display and to Neal Spitzer for operating the sound system.  Commendations to the statisticians, Cathleen Brogan, Will Jacobs and their student assistants, who so aptly compiled the scores for the sixteen contestants.  Applause and a very special thank you to Jean O’Brien for her technical design and support.  Congratulations to contest advisors, Gabrielle Carty, Linda Elmore and Gertie Tippitt, for continuously implementing changes to the format of the set and design of the contest.   (Posted 3/17/2006)

No Junk Food Week is coming to Washington Irving School March 13th - 17th
Students at Washington Irving Intermediate School will be taking the No Junk Food Pledge. No Junk Food Contracts are filled out daily with healthy foods eaten. The students will have the opportunity to trade in their unhealthy snack for a healthy one. Random prizes will be given all week long for kids "getting caught" making healthy food choices. At the end of No Junk Food Week all participants will receive a certificate of participation. Fit Kids is an initiative of the Westchester County Executive and Department of Health. The programs objective is to help children gain the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to establish healthy eating and physical activity behaviors. Contact Nancy Checchi, RN for questions at 631-2122 or nchecchi at tufsd.org (change at to @ and eliminate any spaces).

" A child must be healthy to learn... A Child must learn to be healthy"  (Posted 3/7/2006)

Conjunction Junction …What’s Your Function?
The Family YMCA at Tarrytown After School Enrichment program, in conjunction with The Westchester Community Foundation, The Foundation for the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns and Washington Irving Intermediate School, is joining schools across America with a production of SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK LIVE! from Broadway Junior, with performances on March 2nd (at 8:30 am) and 3rd (at 9:30 am and 7 pm) at Washington Irving School.  For more information, contact Barbara Turk at (914) 631-4807 or visit the Family YMCA at Tarrytown’s website at www.ymcatarrytown.org (Re-Posted 2/28/2006)

Passport to the World: WI Olympics
Please join us March 22, 2006 , 6p.m. to 8 p.m. at Washington Irving.  An Olympic opening ceremony, games, international sports history and a wide array of foods will be part of the festivities.   To volunteer, call Kim Gaudin de Gonzalez at 366-6622 or email kg at futurenm.com (change at to @ and eliminate any spaces).  (Posted 2/27/2006)

Changes in Chickens by Ali (6th Grade)
Our Challenge class' mummified chickens are all skin and bones - literally!  Our two chickens, Chickopatra and Cluckankhamen, have gotten very skinny and much drier.  When we first started this process, the chickens were meaty and wet.  We poured salt on them, and already halfway through the process of mummification, the chickens have almost entirely dried out.  The have lost most of their fat.  Chickopatra has the most fat out of the two chickens and has a very bad odor.  The herbs we sprinkled on the chickens, including cinnamon, chamomile and thyme, were supposed to mask the smell of the dead chicken, but it didn't work too well!  This chicken looks as though a slyer of skin has been taken off of it.

Cluckankhamen most fits the description of skin and bones.  It has hardly any fat at all and a lot of its bones are visibly sticking out of its skin!  Cluckankhamen is very hard to the touch.  This chicken's odor is unbearable!  It is much worse than Chickopatra's smell!  This is part of the process of mummification though, and the chickens will soon be off to a better place.  (Posted 2/7/2006)

Black History Jeopardy Brain Quest 2006
In preparation for the Ninth Annual Black History Jeopardy Contest, all 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grade students will have the opportunity to play Black History Brain Quest all month long!

Each day during the month of February the Black History Brain Quest “Answer of the Day” will be read during the morning announcements.  Students may find the Answer of the Day on the district’s Blackboard.com website under Ms. O’Brien’s computer class.  Students are encouraged to do research and to discuss the “answers” with family and friends to determine the question.

Students participate by placing their “Question of the Day” in the Black History Brain Quest “Question Box.”  Students must respond within 48 hours of hearing the “Answer of the Day.”

Each day five lucky winners with the correct response in the form of a question will be selected.  The response from the students in the very first few days of the contest has been great.  Thank you to Baskin Robbins for providing gift certificates to the winners and good luck to all the future contestants who decide to accept the challenge! (Posted 2/7/2006)

Parent Volunteers Needed!
If you would like to volunteer to help make Colonial Day a success, please call the office at 631-4442 or email Gayle Seti at gseti at tufsd.org. (change at to @ and eliminate any spaces) (Posted 2/1/2006)

Westchester Arts Council Presents Awards to Washington Irving and Morse Schools
Washinton Irving School hosted the The Westchester Arts Council's Arts Partners Challenge Grants program award ceremony on January 24.  The ceremony recognized outstanding collaborations between artists, arts organizations and schools for their collaborative projects in arts education in Westchester, Putnam, and Orange Counties.  Westchester Arts Council Executive Director Janet Langsam presented grant awards to Peter Royston and Washington Irving Principal Zbynek Gold for the 6th grade Ancient World theater residency that will take place at the school starting this March.  In addition, Principal Joe Carmody accepted the award for a dance residency that will take place at Morse School with the Tappan Zee Dance Group.  The Hudson Valley Writers' Center also received a check for their continuing work with Washington Irving School.  Board member Julia Rust and Executive Director Dare Thompson accepted a check on behalf of the Writers' Center, to continue the Write Mind language arts program led by writer-in-residence David Surface. (Posted 1/26/2006)

A Dutch Treat
The fourth annual Colonial Day will be held on February 9th (snow day, the 10th) from 8:00-12:30. Colonial Day celebrates the fourth grade study of Dutch and English influences in New York during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The fourth grade corridor will be magically transformed into a colonial village. The students, many dressed in colonial attire, will enjoy over 25 activities such as candle making, baking, weaving, quilting, and toy making. The students will also have the opportunity to make butter, shop in the bakery featuring colonial goodies, visit the apothecary and examine authentic colonial treasures from Tarrytown.

If you would like to volunteer to help make our day a success, please call the office at 631-4442 or email Gayle Seti at gseti@tufsd.org. (Posted 1/20/2006)

6th Graders Study Ancient Egypt
Do you know what flower the Nile River Valley is shaped like?  Well, the 6th graders know.  In fact, the 6th graders at Washington Irving school know a lot about the Nile River Valley and the Ancient Egyptian civilization.  Students in all classes constructed 3-D projects representing different aspects of the civilization.  From mummies, to sphinx’s, to relief maps, students got their hands dirty building their different projects.  Not only did students have to build their projects, they also had to become experts on that aspect of the civilization.  They presented their project to their classmates and endured an intensive question/answer session where students inquired about all aspects of their projects.  Students became teachers and teachers became students as information was shared and delivered.  “Did you know that in one ancient Egyptian city, the Persians are rumored to have tossed cats over the walls,” instructed one student. “The Egyptian army gave up without a fight, preferring to be captured rather than risk injury to the sacred animals.”  A fact, none of her teachers knew before her presentation. (Posted 1/18/2006)

The National Circus Project is back at Washington Irving School!
From January 23^rd-27^th, two circus professionals will be working with students at WI and teaching them various circus skills including spinning plates, unicycles, juggling, and devil sticks.  105 randomly selected 5^th grade students will be putting on an evening performance on Friday, January 27^th at 6:30pm in the WI gymnasium. All are welcomed to stop by and cheer on our performers!  Children attending must be accompanied by an adult  Hope to see you all there! (Posted 1/17/2006)

Lion’s Club International Peace Poster Contest
Lion’s Club International Peace Poster Contest is a contest that encourages children ages 11-13 to creatively express what peace means to them.  The contest allows students to share their unique image of peace with others, so that we may all have a greater tolerance and international understanding.  The contest was available to Ms. Gallo’s sixth grade art students at Washington Irving School.  The winning poster was judged on originality, artistic merit, and expression of the theme “Peace Without Borders.”  The winning poster was created by a student from Ms. Mulhearn’s class.  Her poster now has a chance to win the district level and national level of the competition.  Congratulations and best of luck from everyone at Washington Irving School.  Thank you to all of the students who participated!