Marshall Street Elementary School
Home of the Jaguars
The 2016– 2017 Communicator
Principal’s Connection
Welcome to the 2016- 2017 school year. It was a pleasure to meet the
NASD class of 2029 at our Kindergarten Orientation and to welcome our new kindergarten families to
the Marshall Street Elementary School. We are excited to begin a new year with ALL of our students
and families.
The start of a new school offers excitement and promise for staff and students alike. The Marshall
Street staff is committed to helping all students achieve and to make a difference in your child’s life
every day.
This is the time of year when it seems prudent to remind you of two important steps that you can take to
help ensure the success of your student.
September 2016
Volume III
Issue 1
Special points
of interest:
 Open House is on
September 15
 Spirit Days
 Fall Pictures

First, instill the importance of school by making sure that students are at school, on time every day.
Research shows a direct correlation between student success in school and daily attendance. The second important role that you play in the success of your student is making sure that he or she develops
healthy living routines including setting time aside each day for reading. Begin the year on a positive
note and develop a plan with your child for reading at least 15 minutes every day. The time you
spend reading with your child is time well spent.
We are looking forward to another fabulous year at Marshall Street Elementary School. Thanks for partnering with us in our important work.
Warm Regards,
Mark Skoczynski,
MSS Information
We are so excited to have your child at Marshall Street Elementary School. As we prepare for the beginning of the year activities such as back to school night, fundraisers, and book fairs, I want to provide
you with some beginning of the year tips for your child. I want to encourage you to have a “Beginning
of the Year” discussion with your child. Talk about how they feel, how they want to be remembered by
their teachers, and how they plan to behave in class/school. Just by having a simple conversation, we
can help a child stay on track throughout the course of the school year. I have also added some other
helpful tips that will help ensure a successful start to the 2016-2017 school year.
1. Establish routines: In the days leading up to the start of the new school year, parents should establish bedtime and mealtime routines. Parents should ensure students have clearly designated homework hours, television time and playtime.
2. Support study habits: Parents can encourage strong academic habits by creating a supportive
home environment for learning. “Children need to understand that learning doesn’t just take place at
school.”
Inside this
issue:
MSS Information
1/2
Reading Tips
4
Math News
4
Art News
5
Health & PE
4
Coming
Events
6
Page 2
The 2016– 2017 Communicator
MSS Information (continued)
Parent can designate a place to do homework. For younger children a family room or kitchen where a parent can supervise and
support the child will work, she said. Older children can study in their rooms or another quiet area of the home.
3.Stay involved: A top recommendation for parents is always for them to remain continuously involved in their child’s education.
4.Ask the right questions. The questions you ask your child will let them know what is most important about their education.
Make sure you ask questions like: “What did you learn about today?” and “How were you able to help someone?”
From Mrs. Chester– Kerr Guidance Counselor
As we begin the new school year, Please remember to keep these key tips in mind for a successful school year:
1. Go to bed early on school days
a. elementary aged children require at least 8-10 hours of sleep
2. Limit electronic activities
a. watching lots of TV or playing video games/cell phone games
3. Eat a healthy breakfast
a. Marshall Street serves breakfast daily beginning at 8:30 am
4. Complete homework assignments and projects
5. Ask for help when needed
In addition to these tips, it is very important that children are in school and on time every day. Children who are not receiving breakfast are
allowed to enter the building at 9:00 am to go to their classrooms.
What Parents Need To Know About Truancy
Parents are a key factor in ensuring that our students attend school each day. Families, schools and communities must work together
to keep absences to a minimum. It is mandatory for all children to attend school. When a child is absent from school and does not bring in a
written excuse within the first 3 days after that absence, it is marked as illegal. Three illegal absences warrant a Truancy Elimination Plan. If the
child receives 2 additional illegal absences, the parent can be subject to a citation. Reasons such as shopping, babysitting, oversleeping or missing the school bus are not acceptable and will be recorded as an illegal absence. In NASD the following absences will be considered excused:
personal illness, family emergency, death of a family member, medical or dental appointments, authorized school activities and educational
travel with a prior written excuse with district approval.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten has had a sensational start to the new school year! We are busy getting used to our new surroundings,
new friends and new rules in our new school! The Kindergarten teaching team is excited to integrate the Common Core Standards in a holistic approach among all curricular subject areas.
Themes that we are focusing on in September include: School Rules, All About Me, and Autumn. Students will begin to learn the
foundational skills of word work, phonics, phonemic awareness and beginning reading skills. We are also learning to represent,
count and write our numbers from 0-5.
We are working on writing and first and last names independently and we are having a great time sharing our “Me in a Bag”
projects. We learned all about our school and staff as we toured the building in search of The Gingerbread Man!
Please join us at Meet the Teacher Night on September 15 to learn more about our curriculum and daily activities.
First Grade
Our first grade year is already off to a busy start. The children have so many exciting and new things to look forward to this
year! As first graders, the children get to sit at their very own desk with their very own supplies and materials. It is very exciting
for everyone! We have started our brand new math series, My Math! The boys and girls love the videos that begin each lesson
and the colorful pages. We have also started using our journals for writing. We can’t believe how many words these brand new
first graders know!
As summer comes to an end and autumn takes over, we look forward to learning all about apples, leaves and pumpkins
through our stories, writing pieces and activities. We hope to be able to take a fall field trip this year. Look for more information
to come as the month unfolds. The first grade teachers are extremely lucky to have such wonderful students this year. Welcome
back to school!
Volume III
Page 3
From Mrs. Aponick
The staff and students in Mrs. Aponick’s class are excited for the new school year. We will be learning about letters and the
sounds they make, sharing our thoughts through writing, math concepts in our new math curriculum, all
about plants in science and current events from News-2-You.
This month we will be writing thank you notes to first responders for helping to keep us safe.
Elmwood Park Zoo will once again bring animals to our class so that we can learn about characteristics, diet,
and habitat.
Room 8 is great!
Second Grade
What a great start we’ve had in second grade. The students have been busy learning second grade expectations,
routines, and getting to know their classmates. We have been talking about being responsible, being respectful, and being safe. In math, the children are learning different strategies used to add and subtract. Many stories have been read,
discussed, and multiple opportunities have been provided for the students to write in their writing journals. The second
grade team plans to work as a team to support your child’s strengths and abilities as they grow and learn this year. We
want the best for your child, so please do not hesitate to contact us at any time if you have any questions or concerns. We
look forward to a fun, exciting, and successful school year.
Third Grade
Welcome back! We are off to an exciting start in 3rd grade! We have begun the year building classroom communities and
getting to know each other. We have established routines and learned classroom expectations. We are working on practicing the “Three Bs” of our school-wide positive behavior plan: BE respectful, BE responsible, and BE safe. Through minilessons and daily reminders, we are working toward making Marshall Street the best it can be!
Academically, we are working through our benchmark tests in order to create a roadmap for learning for the remainder of
the year. We are looking forward to beginning our new math curriculum, My Math, and starting our first Storytown
Theme: School Days. Students in Miss Schroding’s class will be exploring the Wonders reading curriculum, rather than
the Storytown curriculum. Exciting learning opportunities are ahead!
Be on the lookout for information regarding the third grade nightly reading log, as well as other important school documents in the near future. Looking forward to meeting you at Open House on Thursday, September 15 th!
Fourth Grade
Parents/Guardians of our fourth graders, we welcome you to an exciting and sensational year of fun and discovery. We are hoping that you were here on “Meet The Teacher Night” and heard some of the wonderful things we have planned for your little
scholars this year. Our fourth grade field trip to Riverbend Environmental Center will be coming up in October.
The students have started studying and practicing their multiplication facts. The mastery of multiplication facts is vital to achieving success in the fourth grade curriculum. Currently, we are beginning to work through Chapter 1, which includes: place value,
comparing, ordering, and rounding numbers, and addition and subtraction to one million.
Finally we ask that you help your child to keep track of reading their 25 books. Research has shown that students who are avid
readers are also proficient writers. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher with any questions or concerns. Thank
you in advance for all of your time and support this year!
Volume III
Page 4
Math News from Mrs. Krewson
Welcome to a new school year! I am so excited to be at Marshall Street Elementary School!
We have a new math series called My Math. One of the wonderful components of this new program is that the homework
is not separated from your child’s classwork. So, if you have a question about the homework, you can look at your child’s
classwork from that same day.
Here are some tips for math for the beginning of the year:
Keep in real – using objects to represent numbers makes math easier for your child to understand. For example, if
your child is adding 3 + 5, use 3 Cheerios and add 5 more Cheerios. Have your child “count on” from the three
Cheerios. Start with the original 3 Cheerios and help your child count 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. For older children, Cheerios
can be used for multiplication or division. If your child is solving 2 x 6, make 2 groups with 6 Cheerios in each
group. Or, start with 12 Cheerios and divide them into groups of 6. You may use any object to solve problems
including fruit snacks, pencils, pennies or anything else you may have at home.
Make it fun – play number games at home or in the car. Begin with “I am thinking of a number…” For younger students you may say “… that is one more than 3” or “… that is 4 greater than 17.” For older children, try “I am
thinking of a number …” “… that is 5 x more than 7” or “… that is 9 less than 2 x 8.” Playing math games makes
practicing math fun.
Making time – the beginning of the school year is a wonderful opportunity to practice time. We leave for school, or
for the bus stop, at 8:30. Talk about what 8:30 looks like on the clock. After practicing, have your child tell you
when it is time to leave. Next, discuss how much longer there is until you leave. For example, if it is 8:10, how
many more minutes are there until we need to leave? This can be used for to time to eat dinner, brush your teeth,
get in bed, etc.
From the Library Mrs. David
Marshall Street School students are learning to be good library citizens. They are learning how to follow the library rules and
how to take care of books .
Students are also learning about the different types of books in the library and where to find them.
Watch for library books coming home! We also have added many new titles to our collection this year.
Remind your child to take care of his or her book and return them to school on their library day.
Volume III
Page 5
From the Music Department Mrs. Bulman
We are off to a fantastic start this year in the music department! Marshall Street students are already busy singing, dancing, and playing instruments! All students will receive forty minutes of music instruction each week. We look forward to
teaching your children the joy of music this year!
3rd and 4th grade Instrumental students will begin lessons with Mr. Patti very soon. Instrumental lessons help students
develop their musical and listening abilities through performing on string, wind, and percussion instruments.
Encourage your child to keep learning music at home by checking out the following website:
http://www.incredibox.com/
This website is an awesome way for students to make up their own beats and rhythms. Check it out!
We are looking forward to a very musical year!
Mrs. Bulman and Mr. Patti
From the Art Teacher Mrs. Broadt
In art class all of the students are making masks for our school mascot the Jaguar. We learned that the Jaguar is the third largest
cat in the world after the tiger and lion! It can weigh up to 250 pounds and has the most powerful bite of all the big cats. Their diet
consists of tapirs, deer, fish, and even crocodiles! They live in Central America and South America; recent sightings in Arizona.
The black jaguars thrive in the thick canopy of the rainforest because the dark shadows help them to blend in with the surroundings. Unfortunately due to heavy deforestation, hunting by humans and the isolated populations have contributed to the decline
of jaguars. They are now fully protected at the national level. The students are looking forward to creating their own jaguar
masks!
From the Health & Physical Education Department, Ms. Brown & Mr. Shrader
In September, all grades will begin a journey on the path to fitness. The first week students will go on an adventure to
learn the 3 rules of PE class: Safe, Sweating, Smiling. On their quest students will crawl through tunnels, cross rivers (low balance beam), climb mountains (rock wall), jump lava flows (plyometric boxes), and dodge falling rocks (hop balls on ropes).
Later this month, grades 2-4 will begin discussing and working on the 5 areas of physical fitness: muscle strength, muscle endurance, flexibility, cardio respiratory endurance and body composition (We do not measure body composition). We will
continue to discuss fitness throughout the year. Grades K-1 will begin working on locomotor skills such as walking, running, hopping, skipping, and jumping. We will then move into spatial awareness activities (moving through an area without bumping into
anything) by playing traditional games such as “red light, green light” and “red rover”.
Please remember all students must wear sneakers to participate in PE class. Please check with child or child’s teacher
to find out which day they have PE. If your child needs to wear other shoes to school that day, please place their sneakers in
their backpack so that they can change when they come to class.
In health education the students will be doing lessons on bullying. Kindergarten and first grade will be doing get to know games
and friendship activities. 2nd grade will learn how to stand up for themselves, 3rd grade how to help a friend, and 4th grade how
not to be bystanders.
Medical Information for the Nurse Mrs. Falco
Here are a few important Back-to-School reminders:
·
All students are required to have an updated immunization record on file in order to stay in school. Updates include MMR,
DTaP, IPV, and the chicken pox vaccine. In addition to these boosters, school age children should have had the Hepatitis B series completed.
·
Annual school health screenings for vision, hearing, height, and weight will be begin in October.
·
Allergy & Asthma season is predicted to hit us HARD this year. Monitor all symptoms closely and follow your health care
provider’s advice. Medical care plans, rescue inhalers, and Epi pens are a necessity, and may save a life!
·
If your student has a health condition or needs special care during the school day such as medication, treatments, or monitoring, please inform the school nurse. Individual health care plans help keep your students safe and healthy.
·
PLEASE have a current and working phone number in the school office daily in the event your child needs your attention.
·
We have a wealth of information and resources available. If you need assistance with conditions, insurance, health care providers or anything else please call the office. Feel free to call me if you need assistance with any of the above.
Volume III
Page 6
From Mrs. O’Donoghue ELA Support teacher
Fall is such an exciting time of year, but it’s also the beginning of sports, new schedules, holidays, and less time for family or extras.
At times, it can be difficult to fit in additional practice that our children need to keep their skills sharp for being successful with new
learning or subjects.
So to keep learning fun….and on the go….here are some “APPS” for your phone or tablet J For more “APPS” and parent help, please
visit ‘READING ROCKETS” or http://www.readingrockets.org/literacyapps
Simplex Spelling with Reverse Phonics: Lite
Price: Free
Grade level: Pre-K, K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Skill: Phonics
Device: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
Simplex Spelling Lite is designed to improve spelling and reading skills in a fun and interactive way by using "reverse phonics." Simplex Spelling Lite contains over 50 high frequency English words; it also enables students to build on each word,
which goes above and beyond the sheer memorization of words. Simplex Spelling Lite enhances understanding in a variety of students as it appeals to audio, visual and tactile learners. It is a great tool to have for kids learning to spell, remedial students, or those learning English as a second language.
The Electric Company Wordball!
Price: Free
Grade level: K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th
Skill: Phonics, Spelling
Device: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
The Electric Company Wordball is a phonics game that integrates video clips from the TV show to teach reading and
spelling. The game consists of two parts: watching a video about a letter sound or letter combination and tapping the
"wordballs" with the featured letter or letter combination; then using the collected wordballs to complete words as they
move across the screen. The object of the app is to teach lessons about phonics, reading, and spelling.
Professor Garfield Fact or Opinion
Grade level: K, 1st, 2nd
Skill: Comprehension
Device: iPad
Professor Garfield Fact or Opinion is part story, part game, and part online safety lesson. When Garfield's friend receives an
"F" on his report about goats for using opinions instead of facts, Professor Garfield steps in to explain the differences
between a fact and an opinion (particularly with regard to the Internet), how to read with a questioning mind, and how a
fact can be verified. Developed by the Virginia Department of Education.
Bob Books #1 - Reading Magic
Grade level: Pre-K, K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 4th and above
Skill: Phonics, Spelling
Device: Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
Bob Books #1-Reading Magic is an educational experience that will teach your young children early phonics. This app teaches the sounds that letters make and how to combine them to make short words. Drag the letters for the given word to the
proper place below the picture, while the app sounds out the letters and reads the word aloud. Children's efforts will be
rewarded when the black and white screen transforms to color and the drawings become animated.
Chicktionary
Price: Free
Grade level: 2nd, 3rd, 4th
Skill: Vocabulary, Spelling
Device: Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
Chicktionary is a chicken themed spelling and vocabulary-building word game. Children create as many words as possible
out of seven letters. Completed words can be tapped to view their definition. There are multiple levels and children can
choose a timed or untimed mode. *Note: This is a noisy app — incorrect words receive scolding squawks.
Mad Libs
Price: Free
Grade level: K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 4th and above
Skill: Vocabulary
Device: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
The Mad Libs app is just how you remember the classic fill-in-the-noun/verb/adverb game, but with a twist! Fill-in-the-blank
sections are now interactive, and hints are offered to educate and entertain.
Book Creator
Price: Free
Grade level: 3rd, 4th, 4th and above
Skill: Writing
Device: Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
Simple app lets kids craft their own books to read or share.
Grade level: K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 4th and above
Skill: Writing
From Miss Raub Lead Teacher
Welcome back to school everyone! We are very excited to have the hustle and bustle of students in the hallways and classrooms
again! With the new school year, we are excited to kick-off our School Wide Positive Behavior program. School-Wide Positive
Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) is a program designed to take a proactive approach to discipline in schools to
teach appropriate student behavior, and thus improve student learning. While most discipline in schools is reactive (misbehavior
leads to punitive consequences), the SWPBIS approach provides a direction for schools to develop a comprehensive system of
behavior support tailored for their individual needs.
Key components of an SWPBIS program include planned positive interventions rather than reactive and punitive interventions,
multiple opportunities for students to receive positive, corrective feedback, teaching appropriate behaviors and allowing students several opportunities to practice those behaviors, and the eliminating antecedents that contribute to inappropriate behaviors.
At Marshall Street, students will be learning about our 3 B’s (Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe) in their classrooms
and other settings throughout the school building. Teachers will be teaching lessons for all the areas of the school including the
playground, cafeteria, bathroom, classroom, hallway, walking to and from school, and on the bus and allowing students the opportunity to practice the appropriate behavior in all of these areas so students will learn what it looks like to Be Respectful, Be
Responsible, and Be Safe in all of these settings.
In addition to learning about the 3 B’s, students will also have an opportunity to earn their way into the Jaguar 200 club. Students can earn their way into the Jaguar 200 club when a teacher, classroom assistant, cafeteria worker, bus driver, or other
school staff with a golden ticket “catches” a student who is following the 3 B’s! Any student caught being respectful, responsible,
or safe by the teacher with the ticket will also get a phone call home letting you know they were the student who earned the ticket and have a chance to be a part of the Mystery Motivator. Earning a golden ticket will allow the student to put their name on our
200 club board and have an opportunity to take part in the Mystery Motivator prize!
Students will begin earning golden tickets after our official school “kick-off” assembly on September 30th. Everyone is already
preparing for the kick-off by making mascots in art class and learning our school chant for the big day. You can support our efforts by reminding your children to Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe on school every day!
From Mrs. Conston Speech Clinician
I hope your family enjoyed a wonderful summer and welcome back to a new school year. I am eager to start working with
students, parents and staff! I am requesting the help of every parent to encourage their child to use correct speech and
language to the best of their ability in all environments, not just in the speech room. You may refer to your child’s IEP for
specific goals we will be working on as well as the Speech/Language Snapshot that will be completed during our first
speech/language sessions.
Your child has received a folder. Please help your child keep it in his/her book bag daily. Homework will be assigned for
your child to complete with an adult and I ask that an adult monitor and sign the speech homework on a regular basis. Students will have the opportunity to earn a sticker for participating with appropriate behavior, effort and motivation with
their homework completion. After earning 5 stickers your child may earn a small prize reward.
I look forward to a fun, exciting and productive year with your child.
If you have any questions about your child’s speech/language program please call me at 610-630-8550 x38928 or drop me
an email at [email protected].
Upcoming Events at our School
We have many things in the works this year at Marshall
Street. Please mark your calendars for some of the
events coming up:
September 15=Meet the Teacher Night
September 16= Constitution Day (Red, White & Blue Day)
September 20= Early dismissal (12:25)
REMINER:
***School Pictures
Friday, September 23rd***
September 23= Fall Picture Day
September 30= Favorite Team Jersey/ Color Day
October 3= No School for Students
October 12= No School For Students
October 9– 15= Fire Prevention Week
October 28= Book Character Parade (9:45 AM)
November 8= No School (Election Day)
November 22= Full student day/ evening conferences
November 23= No school for students/ AM conferences
November 24 & 25= No School Thanksgiving Break
***Book Character Parade
Friday, October 28th ***