Here are some highlights at Cedar Mountain as we close out the month of May and begin June

At Ice-Cream with a Cop, some of our students are holding the banner all Cedar Mountain students signed during Fun Day to say Thank You to our local police officers. 

Release the ….Butterflies! Students of Cedar Mountain are studying one of their favorite science topic…living things…the life cycle of the butterfly. Students are raising butterflies from caterpillars and observing daily the metamorphosis of this creature. Students will be releasing their butterflies soon.  

Musical IQ– Thank you to the Cedar Mountain SCA for bringing in a wonderful drumming assembly performed by Musical IQ. Musical IQ believes that music is a natural part of life and is universally accessible. Musical IQ’s programs use music and rhythm to give participants a palpable taste of the creative process and to create the space for them to explore and discover the possibilities which music can open up for them. You will see by the pictures below how much fun our students had exploring different percussion instruments such as a djembe drum or a triangle to make and respond to music. Many of the concepts presented by Musical IQ are taught by Mr. Moschella, in our K-1 music program.

First-Grade Engineering Project– As part of our science curriculum and the Next Generation Science Standards, students will imagine they are part of an engineering team. The team must help a farmer move cargo from one side of a river to another. Student groups will make a raft from materials that are available and model a simple transportation system that the farmer can use to cross the river. As a group, students are responsible to design the model raft, construct it, and add cargo. Teams of students will then test their raft and improve their design if needed. First-graders are looking forward to setting their rafts afloat on June 10th! Come back to see pictures of this event.

 

June SCA meeting will take place on Monday, June 3rd, at 9:45 am. I would like to introduce our new 2019-2020 officers:

President: Mrs. Megan Minter

Vice President: Mrs. Jennifer Modarelli

Treasurer: Ms. Gabrielle Raghoobar

Recording Secretary: Mrs. Lori Mish

Corresponding Secretary: Mrs. Mary Lach

Thank you to our outgoing SCA officers for all of your hours of volunteering at Cedar Mountain to bring special programs and activities to our school!

President: Mrs. Denise Clarke

Vice President: Mrs. Megan Minter

Recording Secretary: Ms. Terrianne Scognamiglio

Corresponding Secretary: Mrs. Jennifer Modarelli

Treasurer: Mr. Patrick Curreri

Here is an upcoming SCA event:

  • Sock Hop: May 31st from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, held in the lower parking lot

Mrs. Talerico and Mrs. Ollert’s Publishing Party- Students in Mrs. Talerico and Mrs. Ollert’s class read stories that they wrote this spring to their parents and other invited guests. In addition, parents received various mementos from the school year created by their child. At the end of the Publishing Party, each student gave his or her parents a “Drum Roll” letting them know why he or she is appreciated.

Here are some videos of students reading their stories 

 

Mrs. Schwarz and Mrs. Hartman’s classes got together to hold a publishing party and buddy read. Mrs. Schwarz’s kindergarten students invited Mrs. Hartman’s first-grade class to their classroom to read the stories they wrote. The kindergarten and first-grade students also enjoyed reading books together. 

Fun Day Pictures

Second Grade Orientation at Rolling Hills will take place on June 3-4, 2019- Here is the invitation from Rolling Hills Primary School.

First-Grade Readers Theater:  In early June, our first-graders will perform Readers Theater plays for their classmates. Readers Theater is an integrated approach for involving students in reading, listening, and speaking activities.  It involves children in….

  • sharing literature,
  • reading aloud,
  • performing with a purpose, and
  • working collaboratively.

Readers Theater is readers reading a script adapted from literature, and the audience picturing the action from hearing the script being read aloud.  It requires no sets, costumes, props, or memorized lines.  Instead of acting out literature as in a play, the performer’s goal is to read a script aloud effectively, enabling the audience to visualize the action.  Performers bring the text alive by using voice, facial expressions, and some gestures. Here is a picture from Mrs. Barone’s class as they practice in their classroom. Click here to see a full slide show of the class practicing for the show.

Artstanding: June 7th at Lounsberry Hollow School from 5:00 to 8:00 pm- come see “A Student’s Journey Through the Arts”. This is a very special school district event for the whole family. There will be music, visual art, theatrical productions, dancing, robotics, technology, culinary creations, virtual reality, and fun for the whole family! Admission to the show is free; however, there will be a silent auction and several raffles with proceeds going to the Vernon Education Foundation. Mr. Moschella will be leading folk dancing with several first-grade classes beginning at 5:30 pm. 

Congratulations to the Vernon Township High School graduating class of 2019! Our Vernon High School seniors will be taking a “Senior Walk” through the halls of all of our schools on Tuesday, June 11, 2019! Please have your child wear his or her Class of 2030 or 2031 t-shirt to show Vernon pride! 

As a reminder, the last five days of school, June 12-14 and June 17-18, 2018, will be Early Dismissal days. Students will be dismissed at 1:20 pm. Students may purchase a “Grab and Go” lunch from Sodexho. Forms for these bag lunches will be sent home with your child and will also be sent through School Messenger. As a reminder, if your child is on free or reduced lunch, you must make a “Grab and Go” selection for your child on early dismissal days or one will not be prepared. Here is the “Grab and Go” form.

Kindergarten Orientation for our incoming September 2019 kindergarteners will be held at Cedar Mountain Primary School on Friday, June 14, 2019, at 2:00 pm (for students with last names beginning with A-L) and 3:00 pm (for students with last names beginning with M-Z).

Teacher Name and Bus Information for 2019-2020– As a reminder, WR, CM, RH and LH will not be placing the name of next year’s teacher at the bottom of the report card in June.  Instead, parents will be receiving a School Messenger alert notifying you to go onto Genesis to receive your child’s class placement and bus information during the week of August 19, 2019. Each building needs the time in July and August to complete the hiring process and assure that our classes are well balanced and cohesive.  Making class assignments is one of the most critical decisions a school makes – thus, we want to take the time to get it just right. Thank you for your understanding.

Scholastic Summer Reading Program: The Scholastic Read-a-Palooza Summer Reading Challenge is a free program designed to be both educational and fun to help prevent the effects of the summer slide—the learning losses that can occur during the summer months. This is a fun way to keep your child’s reading skills strong all summer and enter the new school year on grade level. 

AND… Sparta Books Scholastic Read-A-Palooza:

Sparta Books is excited to announce our participation in the Scholastic Summer Read-A-Palooza Summer Celebration Event!  There will be a donation box at Sparta Books where you can bring your GENTLY USED or NEW children’s books.  The books you donate can be for any age between toddler and middle school – board books for toddlers, picture books or early readers for young readers, early chapter books, or chapter books geared to a middle-grade reader.  We will not be able to accept books for adult readers at this time.

For the first 50 customers who donate a MINIMUM of THREE BOOKS, there is a fun-filled packet you will receive!  It will include stickers, The Bad Guys tattoos, bookmarks, Peter H. Reynolds coloring sheets, a Graphix poster, and activity sheets featuring Clifford, Hello, Crabby, Dog Man, and Graphix!  Hurry – supplies are limited to the first FIFTY CUSTOMERS ONLY!  

There will be selfie photo props you can use to take a picture of yourself at the donation site to share with family and friends – come and have some fun while sharing the gift of reading with children in need!

The books collected will be donated to the Bridge of Books Foundation. Their mission is “to provide an ongoing source of books to underserved children throughout New Jersey in order to support the development of literacy skills and encourage a love of reading.“

Donations will be accepted at Sparta Books at 29 Theatre Center in Sparta, NJ beginning Saturday, June 1 and will continue until Sunday, June 30, 2019.  For more information on Sparta Books and their hours, please visit us at www.spartabooks.com or call our store at 973-729-6200. For more information on the Bridge of Books Foundation, please visit their website at https://bridgeofbooksfoundation.org.

Check out Mrs. DeSenzo, our Technology Coach, making a book donation for Cedar Mountain. Way to go Mrs. DeSenzo!!

Here is our summer reading activity sheet that will be sent home with the June report card for exiting kindergarteners. Entering first-grade students will receive a special certificate with their returned reading sheet in September 2019.

Here is our summer math activity sheet for students entering first grade and for entering second grade. This will also be sent home with your child’s June’s report card.

Here are some more math activities your child can do during the summer months to keep fresh with his or her math facts and problem-solving skills:

Online ideas-

Sumdog-

     www.sumdog.com

     Username- (your child’s 5 digit student number)

     Password- math

     School code- CMps1

Xtra math-

     www.xtramath.com- parents may register their children for free- great for math

PBS has great ideas for math fun- http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/math/math-tips-for-parents/summer-math/

Ways to include math in your everyday life-

-Play board games- these often involve counting or 1-1 correspondence

-Play card games- Each player turns over 2 cards (adds or subtracts them) highest number takes the two cards

-cook with your children to practice measuring

-Mark off the days of summer on a calendar and practice counting by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s and 10’s

-Count your grocery items as you shop or put them away

-Road trip- use license plates to make math games- Each person chooses a plate.  Add up the numbers, the highest number gets a point- repeat. 

For additional summer resources please see Miss Winzer’s Media Center site for a variety of online activities.

 

Summer Save the Date Reminders…

  • Thursday, August 15th– Genesis letter mailed to Class of 2032 Kindergarten parents
  • Week of Monday, August 19th–  Genesis Parent Portal opens- Teacher name and bus information available
  • Back to School Night-Tuesday, September 3rd (kindergarten 3:00 pm, first-grade 5:00 pm)
  • First Day of School- Wednesday, September 4th
  • Early Dismissal Days Wednesday, September 4, Thursday, September 5, and Friday, September 6, 2019, at 1:20 pm
  • September SCA meeting- Monday, September 9th, at 9:45 am
  • Fall Harvest Open House- Saturday, September 14thfrom 10:00 am -12:00 pm

Sincerely,

Rosemary Gebhardt