Herricks School News: Indian Territory, Author Visit and Reading

There’s plenty of news and activities from the local schools. Here’s a roundup of what’s been happening in the Herricks School District for the past week.

February News

• Denton fourth graders eagerly enjoyed the annual arrival of the “Journeys into American Indian Territory” program. This in-house field trip brings to life the history and culture of the Native Americans. Children learn by doing –through building a wigwam, grinding corn, making pottery, song, dance, games and storytelling. Through these first-hand experiences children gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the culture and contributions of the American Native Americans.
• Denton parents visited many classrooms last month to celebrate the Chinese New Year and share the many popular traditions associated with this festive holiday. The children in Mrs. Rowe’s kindergarten class wore dragon masks and transformed into dancing dragons. In Mrs. Topel, Mrs. Fabian and Mrs. Degliomini’s classes, the children enjoyed traditional Chinese folk tales, foods and crafts.
• The Denton Avenue fourth and fifth graders participated in the American Heart Association's Jump Rope for Heart the week of February 27. The event encourages students to establish a healthy lifestyle through physical activity that they enjoy, in this case jump rope, and stresses the benefits of aerobic exercise and keeping your heart healthy. The event is also a fundraiser that helps the American Heart Association continue its research to help fight heart disease. Special thanks to Mr. Lesak and Mrs. Masterson for organizing this fundraiser to help promote good health and wellness.
• During the last week in February, Denton librarian Joanne Koukoulas and the PTA PARP Committee hosted a Read Across America event in the Denton library. It was a Seussational week as she invited district and community leaders to serve as guest readers throughout the week. On Monday, February 27, visited Denton to by Dr. Seuss.
• Third grade students in Mrs. Glykos’ class and their lunch monitor, Mrs. Isaris, proudly display their “Golden Spatula Award” in their classroom at Denton Avenue School. All Denton students have been working on showing respect for their school as part of Denton’s School Rules and the school character education program. One way the children have learned to demonstrate respect is by keeping their lunch table clean by throwing out their garbage. Each week Denton lunch monitors award the Golden Spatula to one class on each grade level for demonstrating respectful and courteous behavior to their adults and peers in the cafeteria. Many classrooms display their Golden Spatula on their classroom door for the school community to see.
• Beginning in January, Denton Avenue School students started participating in the “Food to Feed” Snack Wrap Program in the fight against hunger in the local community. This program, sponsored by the , allows students to help others by donating unwanted or extra packaged snacks to the St. Aiden’s Food Pantry. This project teaches children the importance of working together to help others. The Food to Feed collection container will be located in the Denton Avenue School cafeteria.
• David Adler, author of the popular Cam Jansen series, visited the students at Denton Avenue Elementary School. Adler spoke to students about his writing process and how he formulates his characters and other story elements in his books. He feels that writing provides everyone with an opportunity to tell a story that is unique for each writer. He hopes the students at Denton will use the people in their lives to create characters in their own fictional writings. Principal Haley thanked the Denton PTA and the Parents as Reading Partners committee chairpersons for providing the students at Denton with an extraordinary author visit.
• Performing to a packed audience, the Denton third grade orchestra and Denton band members debuted in their first concert. The orchestra, under the direction of Stephanie Lanuto and the band, under the direction of Mark Bligh, delighted their guests with the quality and range of their performance. Ms. Lanuto and Mr. Bligh expressed their appreciation to the third grade teachers and Denton families for their wonderful support and help in coordinating music lessons and rehearsals.

Searingtown School Mixes Technology and Teachers College Reading Instruction

• Students in Mrs. Hauck’s kindergarten class celebrated the end of a teachers college reading unit by reading their favorite star book out loud. Using a flip camera and a tripod, the teacher was able to capture the students in action. Later that day, the students watched each other’s videos on the SMART Board.