Calendar Reminders:

Tuesday, Nov. 7th-Parent/Teacher Conference Day. Report Cards Distributed. (No school for students)
Friday, Nov. 10th-Veteran’s Day Observed. No school for students.

Notes from Mr. Kent:

This is a Fabulous Fall Season we are having so far! The children seem to be enjoying school and settling into the routines of the school day.

One of our district’s and building level’s main concern is for the safety of all our students! In the best interest of everyone’s safety, parents will not be allowed to walk their children to their classrooms without going to the office first and making sure the classroom teacher is available to see/meet with you. All of our students are now used to seeing adults wearing photo ID’s. When our students see someone without an ID badge, this can cause them to worry and feel uncomfortable. At this point in the year, children are able to walk to the classroom on their own. We have staff members monitoring the hallways that will assure your child’s safety and comfort level. We have added an additional Safety Guard to help keep the building running smoothly and provide additional supervision.

A reminder about attendance…Regular attendance is one of the foundations for success at school. Missed days or lateness causes gaps in a student’s academic program and may contribute to poor attendance habits. Please try to schedule family vacations and medical/dental appointments outside of school day hours.
Legal absences include illness, death in the family, funerals, religious observances, weather-related emergencies, and medical emergencies. In the event you would like to request work for your child on the day he/she is absent, please contact the Main Office by 10 A.M. and the work will be available at the end of the school day in the Main Office. Please make sure that you pick-up the work that is being requested. Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

Lastly, I would like to thank you as parents and especially the PTO for all of your support. If you have not joined the PTO, I encourage you to do so. We are always looking for volunteers and support to help make our school the very best! Activities such as the Craft Fair, Book Fair, Winter Wonderland, the 100th Day Celebration, and Collaborative Projects such as “Bottle Bug” bring the whole school community together and we certainly want you to be included. When students, staff, and parents are actively involved and working together, we will achieve a lot more! Thank You!

TEAM-Together Everyone Achieves More!

     
Kindergarten News: It’s hard to believe that our kindergarteners have been in school only two months! We have learned so much! We have spent our days in school doing more things than we can list, but here are some: We’ve been using the first Phonographix subset to build, segment, blend and read words. We know several “spy” (sight) words. As readers, we turn the pages carefully, point to the words as we read them, left to right, and look carefully at the pictures as we think about the story and characters.

In Math, we are constantly counting, measuring, sorting, comparing-we even know about symmetry!

Science is all about our senses and how we use them to learn. We scientists observe many things in nature, especially as the seasons change.

Social Studies begins with self awareness, our unique characteristics and our similarities, and how we “fit in” our environment at home and at school. We’ve worked on RESPECT in September and SELF-CONTROL in October in our Second Step Program.

We had a super time on our field trip to Gabrielsen’s Farm! We can’t wait for Halloween! BOO!

Second Grade News: All of the second graders are enjoying Readers’ Workshop. We are learning how to select “just right” books and how to decode “tricky” words. We are also working very hard in Math to learn about addition and subtraction. We are really looking forward to our trip to Gabrielsen’s Farm at the end of October!

Third Grade News: Thank you to all of the parents who attended “Meet the Teacher” night. It was a pleasure to meet those of you who could attend. The third grade has had a very busy month. We have been working on building up our stamina in reading, as well as choosing “just right” books and a comfortable spot to go for reading. We have been very engaged in our reading, examining texts for the story elements and sequence of events.

We have been working on our Everyday Math routines, reviewing, and assessing the students. Also, we have been viewing the number grid, telling time, solving problems with dollars and cents, using rules to find missing numbers and making graphs. In Science, we have been investigating plant cycles and identifying the parts of a seed and plant. In Social Studies, we have been reviewing map skills and learning how to read and analyze different types of maps. Since October is Fire Prevention Month, we have also visited the Smokehouse. Please make sure your child has his/her phone number and address memorized.

      

News from the Art Room: You are probably wondering WHY we have been asking your children to collect detergent bottles and bring them into school. Wonder no more! We have been working on a large outdoor sculpture called Bottle Bug. This huge caterpillar is 50 feet long and very, very colorful. A great BIG Thank You to Cliff Baldwin and Marta Baumiller for donating a lot of their time and expertise. They are local artists and the parents of an Aquebogue student. Please ask your child about this wonderful project which involves a lesson on the importance of recycling and collaboration.

Coming in November: Author and Artist Joyce Raimondo. She will be working with fourth grade students on a special project which includes a study of abstract art and the work of artist Jackson Pollock.

News from the Math Lab: Welcome back!! The 2006-2007 school year is off to a great mathematical start. Students in all grades are growing in their number sense as they explore new concepts with numbers and shapes. This year, the fourth grade has begun to implement the Everyday Math program into their classrooms. The students are enjoying the hands-on activities, lessons and games. This year we continue with the school-wide Math Challenge. Students ranging from grades first through fourth enjoy participating and challenging themselves each week. Students have the opportunity to choose from three levels of questions. They are encouraged to choose a challenge that is just right for them-one that is not too difficult or too easy. I am happy to report that for the first time this year we had 100 correct answers turned in!

Musical Notes: The Aquebogue Music Program is having the best start ever!! Mrs. Volonts is so happy to teacher here where everyone is so talented and hard working. Please mark in your calendars that the 3rd and 4th grade chorus concert will be held at Pulaski Street School at 7 PM on DECEMBER 13th, not the 11th as listed in the district calendar. Pulaski has a larger auditorium with seating for all parents, larger risers and better acoustics, not to mention more parking, too! Our Aquebogue Chorus members are doing a great job preparing for this concert, and you will surely be impressed!!

Notes from the Library: Aquebogue students spent the summer taking advantage of a number of summer reading programs. Senator LaValle, Assemblyman Alessi and the Riverhead Free Library offered certificates to those who completed their respective reading programs. Congratulations to the forty-three students who brought their certificates of completion to the library. Each student was recognized at the Student of the Week assembly.

During the month of September, students were instructed as to how to choose a just right book, the difference between fiction and nonfiction and their location in the library. We now have the OPAC-the Online Public Access Catalog. Students and staff can quickly ascertain whether or not the library has a title in the library collection.

       

The Scholastic Book Fair will be held in the library the week of October 30th. Volunteers will be needed to help run the fair. A letter has been sent home regarding the days and times of the fair. If you have an hour or two, we certainly would appreciate your assistance. Thank you!

Bits and Bytes from the Computer Lab: We are off to a great year in Computers! Kindergarteners have been working on the networked programs Millie’s Math House and Sammy’s Science House. While visiting with Sammy, the students learned how to build things using a set of blue prints, classify and sort things, sequencing filmstrip slides and watching the film! We are now visiting Acorn Pond, where the students see the same pond, flora and fauna in the four different seasons. It is a very exciting program!

First graders are also working with Sammy, but using a more difficult level. First graders are also working on time, using the full hour. They are doing a great job.
Second graders have been working on math skills and also visiting Acorn Pond.
Third graders are very excited about their Flat Stanley classroom project and have been visiting sites that show Flat Stanley’s travels. They are using their imagination to see where their own Flat Stanley’s will travel! On their Social Studies day in the lab, the third graders are working on National Geographic’s GeoSpy, learning where they live in relation to the world around them.

Fourth graders have been working on Oswego City School District’s First Inhabitants of New York. It is very exciting to learn about the people who lived and hunted in our area so many years ago. We are also working with a geographical and political map of our wonderful state. Fourth graders also learned about the Seven Continents using the Internet sites from Enchanted Learning and Fun Social Studies.

If you haven’t logged onto Riverhead School District’s website, you don’t know what you are missing. All the schools in the district are showcased on the site, as well as important telephone and contact numbers, downloadable forms, sports schedules, art gallery, lunch menu, as well as the newsletter for each building. Just type in www.riverhead.net and get ready to explore!

October is Internet Safety Month!