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Washington Irving
2007-2008 News
Archive
Magnificent Mandalas
4th
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 4th
and 5th 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.
5th
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)
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Francisco
J. Núñez
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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 4th,
5th and 6th
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!
6th
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
5th Grade art classes. (Posted
5/21/08)
"Reading
Buddies"
Wednesday,
March 26th, 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 N ational
Circus Project will join our physical education classes and work with
our 4th and 5th 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.
5th
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 5th 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 5th
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 of American
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, 5th
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 14th.
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 1st 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 thr ough
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 5th
and 6th grade contestants during this assembly on Wednesday
March 19th 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 4th 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 20th 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 16th, the Washington Irving faculty took on a
formidable
opponent in the 6th 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”
4th 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 f olded
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 20th 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 27th-October 11th,
2007. This exhibit will foster the learning of the students in Mrs.
Molina’s 6th 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)
[photogallery/photo00026730/real.htm]
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
The topics being covered at these two meetings are extremely important to parents. Our children are frequently
interacting in a global community, and though it is now relatively easy to do so, there are risks and responsibilities that accompany such opportunity.
Parents are encouraged to attend one or both of these meetings.
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 5th and 6th
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)
|
National Results for Meet #1 |
|
Grade and Division |
Number of teams participating |
Approximate number of students participating |
Median team score |
Our team Score |
|
4 Blue |
712 |
36,360 |
101 |
147 |
|
4 Gold |
272 |
7,470 |
107 |
184 |
|
5 Blue |
715 |
36,530 |
119 |
156 |
|
5 Gold |
287 |
8,270 |
108 |
175 |
|
6 Gold |
200 |
6,620 |
141 |
166 |
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 15th,
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.
The Arnold E. & Olga
C. Feldman Fund of the Westchester Community Foundation has made this
program possible. The exhibit has been brought to WI through the efforts
of the Westchester Arts Council.
(Posted 10/24/2006)
Art Contest Winners at
Washington Irving School
From May 15th to May 19th 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 12th in Ossining.
Three of our students took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd
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 5th 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 90th
to 97th 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 5th Grade art classes. (Posted 5/25/2006)
Haiku
Poetry
The students in Mrs. Elmore's English
class have been studying the haiku. The
haiku was invented in Japan centuries ago. The haiku consists
of 3 unrhymed lines in a set pattern of 17 syllables, 5 in the first
line, 7 in the second line, and 5 in the third line. Listen
carefully as the students read their original haikus. (Posted
5/18/2006)
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Haiku
1 |
Haiku
5 |
| Haiku
2 |
Haiku
6 |
| Haiku
3 |
Haiku
7 |
| Haiku
4 |
Haiku
8 |
Washington
Irving's Garden
The magnificent floral garden at Washington Irving School is due to
the tireless efforts of our own, Mrs. Trudy Dunbar, teacher
assistant. On Tuesday, May 9th, she recruited all the 5th
grade students for the planting of these flowers. This is a
yearly ritual and the children always look forward to this eventful
day. The flowers thrive due to Mrs. Dunbar's loving care and
devotion to tending the garden all summer long. Thank you Mrs.
Dunbar for making our school surpass the beauty of The Botanical
Gardens! (Posted 5/18/2006)
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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 20th 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)
9th
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 4th,
5th, and 6th 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 23rd-27th, 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 5th grade students will be putting on an
evening performance on Friday, January 27th 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!
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Show
Enthusiasm for the Arts!
William
Shakespeare’s Musical Comedy - Twelfth Night
The Family YMCA at Tarrytown After School Enrichment program, in
conjunction with The Foundation for the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns
and Washington Irving Intermediate School, will present William
Shakespeare’s musical comedy Twelfth Night this fall, with
performances on Monday, November 21st
at 8:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and November 22nd at 9:15 a.m.
at Washington Irving School located at 103 S. Broadway, Tarrytown, NY.
Funding for YMCA After School Theater programming comes from
Westchester Community Foundation, the Foundation for the Public Schools
of the Tarrytowns, and the YMCA. This production, with actors in fourth,
fifth and sixth grades, will be directed by Peter Royston.
Admission is FREE, donations for New Orleans hurricane relief
will be accepted.
Music
for Hope Benefit Raises Over $1,100
On October 17th, Washington Irving Intermediate School hosted
Music for Hope, a benefit concert to aid relief efforts for child
victims of hurricane Katrina. Under the guidance and coordination efforts
of Washington Irving’s own Dr. Ginette Bernard and Neal Spitzer, a variety
of amazingly talented musical guests came together to donate their time
and talent for our community. The night was a rousing success due to the
combined efforts of the musicians, our staff, administration and, of
course, our community.
After an introduction by
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Howard Smith, Master of Ceremonies Brian
Conybeare, Anchor and Reporter for NEWS 12, hosted the evening. The
showcase of talent at Music for Hope included seasoned Broadway
performers Gina Valentine & Ashton Byrum, who sang with the incredibly
talented pianist Christophe Chalamet. In addition, our own Dr. Ginette
Bernard sang accompanied by flautist Becky Gonzalez and Christophe
Chalamet. Rounding out the evening was Neal Spitzer and his band, who
performed a variety of music for the crowd of over 100!
Special
thanks to Bella’s restaurant and The Coffee Labs who generously donated
food and beverages to help make the night a success. In addition to the
money earned through food sales and donations taken at the door, both Neal
Spitzer and Dr. Ginette Bernard donated 100% of the proceeds of the sale
of their CD’s. In all, Music for Hope raised over $1100.00, all of
which will be used to purchase school supplies for children affected by
Katrina. Music for Hope is just one of numerous District-wide
efforts to promote caring and compassion for those affected by the
devastation of Katrina.
Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort
We are collecting the following supplies to send to schools that
have been devastated by hurricane Katrina. You help is greatly
appreciated. Items can be brought to school and placed in the boxes in the
main lobby:
SCHOOL SUPPLIES:
Backpacks - new or gently used
loose leaf paper
spiral notebooks
composition books
colored pencils
pens
books for reading
three ring binders
calculators
crayons
scissors
graph paper
glue sticks
PERSONAL ITEMS:
deodorant
bars of soap
toothpaste
toothbrushes
shampoo
combs/brushes
hand sanitizer
We are also selling beads for $1.00 to help
raise funds to send the care packages to the schools devastated by
hurricane Katrina. Students can purchase beads this week form their
student Council representatives. Friday September 30th will be New Orleans
spirit day and the last day the students can wear the beads in school.
THANKS!!!
Nancy Checchi, RNC
CREATIVITY
FAIR at WASHINGTON IRVING
Our theme this year in the Challenge program revolved around Dr.
Seuss’s book, Oh the Places
You’ll Go! On the
door of the Challenge classroom are the beginning words of this book:
Today is your day
You’re off to great places,
You’re off and away!
This theme created the
stage for a ten-week independent study that culminated in the Creativity
Fair held on April 28, 2005, in the Washington Irving gymnasium.
Fifty fourth and fifth grade students displayed their projects
during the day to fellow students and in the evening to family and
friends.
The study required
students to choose a topic that interested them.
In addition to topical reading, the students generated and answered
questions, wrote business letters, conducted interviews, took field trips,
composed survey questions, collected data, made graphs, organized
outlines, and prepared bibliographies with different expectations for the
two grade levels. Then they had to create an original product based on their
research.
Every class in Washington
Irving had an opportunity to visit the fair.
To generate interest, a scavenger hunt was devised and prizes
awarded in a raffle. The
displays were interactive allowing the student body to participate and
learn about the topics presented. The
Challenge students shared their expertise and provided journeys to great
places – the day was certainly their day! (Click
here to view the Creativity Fair Photo Gallery).
Sports
Physicals for 6th Graders June 1, 2005
Sports physicals for current 6th graders will take place on Wednesday June
1, 2005. The purpose of this physical exam is to clear the students for
athletic participation for the 2005-2006 school year. Students will only be seen
by the school physician if they have turned in their blue permission form.
Extra blue permission slips are available in the nurse's office. For
further information please contact: Nancy Checchi, RNC at 631-2122.
Met
PGA Golf-In-Schools Program
It looks like Spring has sprung. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the Golf
Professional was back at Washington Irving.
Paul Bryan, a golf pro from the Met PGA Golf-In-Schools program,
was back at W.I. providing golf instruction to our sixth grade students.
The students were practicing their “chipping”, “driving”,
and “putting”. The
instruction didn’t stop there. Students
will be able to receive golf instruction, clubs to use, and play golf at
the Mosholu Met PGA Golf-In-Schools Golf Course for “FREE”.
All students need to do is show up to the golf course wanting to
learn. On May 24th
and 25th, students will be participating in a day of golf at the
Mosholu Golf Course for the annual MetPGA Golf-In-Schools day.
We hope that many students take the opportunity to learn and play
golf for free this spring and summer.
For more
information, contact the PE staff at WI.
Passport to the World
Passport to the World is an
Elementary Parent Teacher Association (EPTA) sponsored multicultural
family night at the Washington Irving (WI) School. This event is greatly
supported by the WI staff and parent volunteers. It is a night where we
celebrate the rich cultural heritage of our school and community by
showcasing foods, demonstrations, performances and artifacts from around
the world. Students are encouraged to share their families’ traditions
by displaying celebration of a holiday, ceremonies, dances or other
special events that reflects their heritage.
Every year a different theme is chosen for
Passport. This year’s (2004 – 2005) theme was ‘Reaching for World
Peace’. The first part of
the evening was allocated to the “Market Place” where visitors could
make peace-related art, do origami, sample Japanese rice bowls and green
tea, have their name written in a different language, enjoy many art works
prepared by the WI staff and students and see artifacts from around the
world. The second part of the evening was allocated to performances mostly
by Washington Irving’s students. The program started off with
“Reaching for Peace Poem” followed by a Salsa dance (YMCA), piano
interludes, Irish step dancing , Tae Kwon Do black belt demonstration (Yoo’s
Martial Arts), Indian dancing, and the Dominican Republic dancing.
Colleen
Carroll visits Washington Irving School
Colleen Carroll is the
author of the 12-volume series of books titled How Artists See.
“Her books encourage children to look critically, answer-and
ask-thought-provoking questions, and form an appreciation and
understanding of an artist’s vision.”
Each book focuses on a specific theme and leads the reader through
a discussion of various works by different artists.
This helps children to see how different artists have approached
and treated the same theme. These
books also help children to understand the importance of individual style.
On
April 4th, Colleen Carroll came to visit Ms. Gallo’s fourth
grade art classes. We focused
specifically on the book How Artists See Animals.
Students learned about how artists have portrayed realistic animals
versus non-realistic animals using arbitrary color.
They were engaged in a very thought provoking discussion led by
Colleen as they followed through her big book version of How Artists See
Animals. At the end of the
session fourth graders were able to become an artist and create their own
imaginary animals using unrealistic colors.
We ended up with some pretty interesting animals!
This activity will lead the fourth graders into their next art
project in Ms. Gallo’s class. A
special thanks to Ellie Becker and the Foundation for making this
possible.
Washington Irving Fourth Graders Build Robotics,
Learn About Simple and Complex Machines
Ten 4th grade students participated in an after-school robotics
club that was sponsored by the EPTA. Students met every Thursday from
2:15 pm until 4 pm for 5 weeks to design, develop and program Lego
Mindstorms® robots. With the help of the Washington Irving computer Lab,
Mr. Large and Ms. O’Brien, the students created robots that could flip,
drive, throw candy and stop at cracks in the floor. The students and
teachers had a fabulous time. The 5th grade students will be
starting their session over the next few weeks, and 6th grade
students will follow. The three videos show the robots in action!
Fit
Kids at WI
This year, Washington Irving Intermediate School will be participating in
the FIT KIDS program designed to educate and encourage children to eat
healthier. The event is scheduled to take place the week of March 14,
2005. Fit Kids is an initiative of the Westchester County Executive and
the Department of Health. The program's objective is to help children gain
knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to establish healthy eating and
physical activity behaviors. Its long term goal is to improve overall
health and academic performance. Because healthy behaviors are established
in childhood, positive attitudes need to be promoted early in life.
Do
You Know The Facts?
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Obesity is at epidemic proportions in the United States. Today 61% of
adults are overweight or obese, and 15% of children are overweight. For
children, the percentage has doubled since the 1980s. For adolescents, the
percentage has tripled!
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Overweight and obesity are associated with a number of health risks,
including but not limited to heart disease, hypertension, diabetes,
cancer, stroke, and orthopedic complications!
-
Poor diet and physical inactivity account for at least 300,000 deaths in
the United States each year, second only to tobacco use, which causes more
than 400,000 preventable deaths each year!
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Poor eating habits are often established during childhood. More than 60%
of young people eat too much fat, and less than 20% eat the recommended
five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day!
Students
wishing to participate in the Fit kids program will receive a No Junk Food
Contract. They will list the date, the healthy snacks that they eat and
their parent will sign the contract each day along with the student.
Students who participate will be eligible to win prizes and awards.
For additional information about the program, please contact:
Mrs. Nancy Checchi, RNC (Washington Irving School Nurse) 631-2122
"A Child must be healthy to learn, so a child must learn to be
healthy"
WI
Circus
Are you ready for the smell of roasted
peanuts, the sight of dazzling acrobatics, or the roars of lions and
elephants? If so, then it must be the WI circus!
You wont see the peanuts, lions, or elephants, but the circus has
surely arrived at WI. The
National Circus Project is here for its third consecutive year. All 4th, 5th, and 6th grade
students had an opportunity work with our two circus professionals.
They spent time watching a two-man circus, learning new skills and
having fun.
Our students are trained and ready to show their skills in juggling,
balancing, the Diablo, devil sticks, and stilts.
But what would a circus be without our own WI circus clowns?
It should be a wonderful performance!
The WI fifth grade students will perform an evening performance for their
families. This performance is
set for Friday January 14th at 6:30pm in the WI gym.
It is open to the participating students’ families.
Grant
from the Starbucks Foundation Awarded to Washington Irving
School
Foundation.Dr. Ivette
Lebenberg, School Psychologist at Washington Irving
Intermediate School, together with the Foundation of the
Public Schools of the Tarrytowns, was awarded a $9,977.00
Youth Leadership Grant from the Starbucks Foundation.
The Starbucks Foundation funds organizations that
integrate the support of Starbucks partners (employees) in
their programs and those that teach the appreciation of
diversity and reach traditionally underserved communities
and communities of color.
The grant funding will be used to support the
expansion of the Second Step Character Education Program
from grades 4-6 to grades K-8.
Dr. Lebenberg and the Foundation of the Tarrytowns
applied for the grant jointly with the Manager of the
Bronxville Starbucks, Martin Rodriguez.
Partners of the Bronxville Starbucks have been
involved with W.I. over the past 20 months.
They have volunteered at W. I. School events, jointly
run a toy drive the past two Decembers for children
hospitalized during the holidays and the Bronxville
Starbucks managers provided a $50.00 savings bond for the
winner of a character education poster contest recently held
at W. I.
Dr. Lebenberg and Zbynek Gold, Principal of W.I.,
look forward to having the partners of the Bronxville
Starbucks volunteer at school events and their support in
the future
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