PSMS 278

On June 14th, the fourth and fifth grade participated in a one mile fun run/walk at Baker Field.  Mr. Feltman organized the run and received a grant from the New York Road Runner’s Foundation to host this event.  Thanks to all who participated and especially to Mr. F!  Great Work team!

Take a look at this great WITS video – it talks about the program and all the great things that WITS is doing to keep our kids healthy.  Also, there is a special interview with Mrs. Guido about half way through.  Go Mrs. G!

On May 18, 2012, our parents and families came to school to see our SEMs in action. There were presentations on Fairy Tales, Stupendous Scenes (acting writing dialogue and improvisation) dinosaurs, math games, sea land and air exploration, and bugs just to name a few.

It was standing room only on April 2nd and April 4th,  when Ms. Carina’s students took to the stage and danced in their 2012 Dance Recitals.  Take a look at our YouTube Video!

Take a look here for pictures of Ms. Volow’s Puppetry SEM making puppets at the Children’s Museum of Art in Tribeca. Also, check out pictures and videos of more budding 278 thesbians in Ms. Pagan and Ms. Sullivan’s SEM – scenes from “The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales”.

Come fly with us!  On December 15th, Mrs Kaufman and Mrs. Steil’s SEM put on a show stopper of a performance of Peter Pan – selected songs from the musical. And their 278 fans came out in full force as our theater saw a record crowd that night. Congratulations to all our budding thespians and singers.

On December 16th, our 278 community celebrated one of our favorite events – our bi-annual SEM celebration had the school buzzing about all the amazing things the students learned this semester including Spanish, Math Games, Dinosaurs, Ocean Life, and Family Traditions just to name a few.

November 14-18! What a busy week at 278! Dinner to Go, Parent Teacher Conferences, and Book Fair! Dinner to Go was a huge success – a special thank you to all our amazing chefs who baked delicious dishes and the generous area restaurants that donated food – we had a fantastic turnout at dinner to go. Our “eaters” had lots to chose from, including, chili, Mexican food, Italian food, pastas, chicken to die for, 6 different kids of rice, salads, desserts and so much more. Bon Appetit 278!

On Monday October 31st, our K-3rd graders paraded around the school showing off their Halloween Costumes. There were scary ghost, beautiful princesses, ninjas, pirates, and wizards just to name a few. Happy Halloween!

On October 20th the students, teachers and staff walked and walked and walked to find a cure for cancer! The sun was shining, the baked goods were delicious and we all had a wonderful time supporting this most worthy cause! Go 278!

When we check in with our children after school with hopes of catching a glimpse into the window of their school day, we many times ask the question, “What did you do at school today?” One of the most common responses we have found our children to give is, “I don’t know.” So, to give parents a more complete answer to the question, our teachers have generously offered a sampling of details about our children’s school days. We hope you find these details helpful! Don’t forget to visit www.psms278.org for more pictures of student “responses”….
In Ms. Banov’s library class:

Kindergarteners participate in read alouds to experience and develop a joy for reading. Through literature, the children also learn lessons such as respect for others, the importance of rules, and kindness to others. Recently the children explored a set of books by David Shannon: “David Goes to School,” “No, David,” and “David Gets into Trouble.” The children identified rules that the main character had learned and were encouraged to share their opinions on the books and of the author in group discussion.

In Mrs. Kaufman’s 1st grade class:

• “In reading we are learning about the elements of a narrative. We learned the every good story has characters, 1 or more settings and a beginning, middle and end”
• “In Social Studies and Writer’s Workshop we are writing about what makes up special and unique…check out our ‘ME’ books on the October bulletin board.”
• “In Math we are learning about the many uses for numbers. We are learning how to tell time to the hour!”
• “In science we are learning about the weather and seasons, check out our color coded thermometers that help us ‘dress for the temperature’…and hopefully avoid the age-old, ‘But, I don’t need a coat today’ argument”

In Ms. Lambrech’s 3rd grade class children are learning:

• how to summarize by including the main idea and most important details;
• how ballpark estimates help us check out work in math;
• how to measure to the nearest whole inch and centimeter;
• how harvest festivals are celebrated around the world

In Mr. Feltman’s writing and journalism classes:
2nd and 3rd Grade: Students are learning how to answer an informative and persuasive writing task about the John J. Harvey Fireboat
4th and 5th Grade: Students are building content knowledge about September 11th, 2001 and the writing process in order to write a persuasive essay or letter answering the question, “Should September 11th be a national holiday?” Why or Why Not?
6th, 7th and 8th Grade: Students are engaged in using multiple texts, read alouds, notetaking and paraphrasing in order to write an extensive persuasive essay or letter explaining their own stance on whether or not September 11th should be a national holiday and why. They will also provide an opposing view to their opinion
In Ms. Lucarelli’s 6th grade class children just finished learning about converting percents, decimals and fractions and they are about to begin learning about large numbers and exponents. In science class they are learning about different types of energy.

In Ms. Brady’s classes 151, 701, 702: “We’re learning different views of the history of the U.S. from Native Americans and Americans. Imagining we were natives living in the Inwood caves, we wrote about what it would be like to see our Lenape village sold. We enjoyed a special guest speaker who showed us how General Washington treated the Iroquois in New York during the American Revolution. ”

In Ms. Brady’s classes 801 and 802: “We are creating a museum of images about the efforts for Civil Rights from Reconstruction through to the Civil Disobedience of Dr. Martin Luther King’s movement. Analyzing documents and speeches in seminar, we’re comparing violent and non-violent strategies for winning rights for all.”

In Mrs. Peskie’s and Ms. Bronster’s 8th grade English Language Arts classes, children are reading the memoir, “Warriors Don’t Cry” by Melba Patillo Beals and learning about the courageous nine African American students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas during the Civil Rights movement.