MORIHES ELEMENTARY 2016 2017 PARENT NEWSLETTER 1st Edition Principals’ Message ·  · 2016-12-19MORIHES ELEMENTARY 2016-2017 PARENT NEWSLETTER 1st Edition Principals’ Message

MORICHES ELEMENTARY

2016-2017 PARENT NEWSLETTER

1st Edition

Principals’ Message

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our Moriches families a fantastic and joyful holiday season. During the months of November and December, the students and staff have been focused on the virtues of grat-itude and generosity. We are all thankful for what we have and look to share with others whenever possible. Students have been participating in the Colonial Youth Food Drive and we are also collecting for a Toy Drive to help those less fortunate.

The Winter Recess/Holiday Break is from Monday, December 26th to Monday, January 2nd. Classes resume on Tuesday, January 3, 2017.

We have many new and exciting initiatives at Moriches Elementary School this year. Students in grades 1-5 have a weekly period in the STEM lab to enhance their science experiences. They have been working on hands-on multi-disciplinary lessons aligned to their grade level standards. We have re-ceived plenty of positive feedback about this new program enriching our stu-dents’ educational experiences. We also have implemented a standing library schedule which allots one period a week for each class to visit our beautiful library to check-out books as well as utilize our technology and media resources. Our goal is to increase students’ opportunities to access books and continue to cultivate their love of reading. We have also provided a health overview/training to all of our faculty and staff members of Moriches Elemen-tary School. Our district lead nurse provided overview training and infor-mation about what to do in a medical emergency. Topics covered included: CPR overview, Heimlich Maneuver training, basic first aid, food allergies and seizures. Our students’ safety is our top priority.

We wish you and your family happy holidays and a happy and healthy new year. May 2017 be your best year yet!

News from the Nurse’s Office

Influenza (flu) is a contagious disease that can be serious. Every year, millions of people get sick, hundreds of

thousands are hospitalized, and thousands to tens of thousands of people die from flu. CDC urges you to

take the following actions to protect yourself and others from flu.

A yearly flu vaccine is the first and most important step in protecting against flu viruses. Everyone 6

months or older should get an annual flu vaccine by the end of October, if possible, or as soon as possible

after October.

Flu vaccines are offered in many locations, including doctor's offices, clinics, health departments, pharmacies

and college health centers, as well as by many employers. Protect Yourself. Protect Your Family. Get Vac-

cinated.

Avoid close contact with sick people, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth, cover your coughs and

sneezes, and wash your hands often (with soap and water), and clean and disinfect surfaces and objects

that may be contaminated with flu viruses.

If you become sick, limit contact with others as much as possible. Remember to cover your nose and mouth

with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and throw tissues in the trash after you use them. Stay home for at

least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should

be gone for 24 hours without the use of a fever-reducing medicine before resuming normal activities.)

JUST A REMINDER

Please remember our friends that live on Louis Avenue. For the safety of our neighbors as

well as the students, families and staff at Moriches Elementary School, please be aware

that the speed limit on Louis Avenue is only 20 mph. We appreciate your cooperation.

Each month our Moriches’ Physical Education teachers select one boy and one girl from each

grade level to receive the ATHLETE OF THE MONTH AWARD. In order to be selected, students

must meet certain criteria.

HOW CAN YOU BE SELECTED AS ATHLETE OF THE MONTH:

Follow directions

Always come to class prepared

Show good sportsmanship

Do what is asked of you

Respect yourself and others

Always try your best

Be safe & have fun

OCTOBER RECIPIENTS NOVEMBER RECIPIENTS

Mia Cartelami & Billy Langenhahn Courtney Wood & Melvin Madera

Caitlyn Michiels & Dylan Guffanti Kaniya Bennett & Corey Payne

Jayla Thomas & Aidan Dobrie Brianna Freck & Aidan Lee

Courtney Petersen & Oryon Maldonado Rajana Heron & Devin Huggins

Ariel Thomas & Isaiah Hall Jariella Gonzalez & Braeden Vaughan

Jennifer Reina Sinchi & Christopher Bridges Kayla Gilmore & Jake Sambriski

On October 6th, Moriches had their

annual Paint Night. Students and

parents had a lot of fun creating a

fall scene.

Students show off their finished projects.

On October 18th, thirty of Moriches fifth graders were

chosen for Safety Patrol. They have the job of keeping our

hallways and walkways safe during arrival and dismissal.

The students pictured below are the Safety Patrol Group

for the first half of the school year.

Top Row (left to right): Corey Bazemore, Joellyn Gomez, Kate Samlihan, Ryan Lee,

Kaitlin Baker, Maya Blount, Jasenia Daniels, Summer Griffin, Lanasia Mayo, Christopher

Bridges, and Joseph Janssen

Middle Row: Brayden Le, Keira Phelps, Jake Sambriski, Leana Guayllazaca, Jayla Rivera,

Katrina Lissy, Ava Hatch, Nicholas Schaefer, Jason Gielarowski, and Aidan Russo

Bottom Row: Chase Graboski, Alexandra Bacany, Adrianna Filippelli, Skyler Weber,

Jennifer Reina Sinchi, Betzee Barbecho, Carla Zavala, Genesis Soto Leiva, and Marcela

Salcedo

Students at Moriches have been so excited to be a part of a new STEM program

this year. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Under the

direction of Ms. Stitham, every week the students in each grade level take part in

completing a challenge or experiment in the Science Lab. There is always a lot of

excitement in the Science Lab! Students have built towers with spaghetti, made

racetracks out of tubes, learned about habitats of animals and built houses out of

cards. The students’ most exciting day was when they made pumpkin volcanoes.

The motivation and desire for STEM is wonderful and Ms. Stitham always looks

forward to seeing the students’ new and exciting inventions and designs.

Students had a “blast” testing chemical reactions by creating

pumpkin volcanoes!

First graders in the STEM Lab

learned about dinosaurs and made

dinosaur prints.

The students in Mrs.

Megna’s second grade

class worked

cooperatively to make

a replica of a lung in

the Stem Lab.

Second grade classes learned about chromatography. Chromatography is the separation of a

mixture by passing a solution through it. Students were able to add heated water to the

plates in order to draw out the dye from the skittles. Students used a table to chart their data

and graphed a conclusion to their experiment.

Third grade classes attended the STEM Lab in October. They were asked to create some

things that would benefit the Inuit People, who live in Northern Canada. Some of the things

the students created were pouches with fur, mittens and hats to stay warm.

Third graders in the STEM Lab were learning about gravity and were asked to

create a racetrack that would allow a pom-pom to travel and stay inside the track

for more than 5 seconds. Once the pom-pom passed the test, they tested a ping-

pong ball and a marble.

Some of the creations by fourth grade students working and creating in the STEM

Lab. Students had to build a tower given 20 spaghetti sticks, 1 marshmallow and

tape.

Students in Mrs. Ranieri’s 4th grade class made catapults using simple machines.

Grade 5 created towers made from candy corn.

What’s New in Kindergarten?

The Kindergarten team is very excited to welcome an eager group of young learners. The

students are working to learn their alphabet letters and sounds. Students are learning

about numbers and shapes. This is a great time to play counting games at home. How

high can you count? Students are practicing their sight words. With the combination of

letter/ sound knowledge and sight words students are learning or beginning to learn the

skill of reading independently. Thank you to the parents for their at home support! Raz

Kids computer reading program is up and running! This is a great way to enjoy

reading at home. The PTO sponsored Reading Rainbow program has begun! Every child

is reading 10 books then receiving a sticker prize! The ultimate goal is for 100 books!

The students that reach this goal will be invited to the Reading Rainbow party at the end

of the year! Start your reading engines! We know you can reach this goal!

In September the K team participated in William Floyd Peace week. Each student created

a puzzle piece and illustrated what peace meant to them. The classes explored different

picture books, songs, and dances that taught about peace.

In October the K students participated in Fire Safety with the local fire department. Our

students learned all about stop, drop, and roll as well as 911! The students took a tour of

a Fire Engine. Most importantly, the students learned that Fire Fighters are there to help!

The Kindergarten classes had a blast on Pumpkin day! PTO had several stations of

Harvest fun! The children picked pumpkins and played many harvest games! If you have

not done so already, please send in your $5 PTO membership. The money goes to

support programs like Pumpkin Day as well as many other student activities!

Kindergarten is a year of AMAZING growth! What an exciting time in your child’s life!

The little acorns of the William Floyd Mighty Oak tree have started growing with

great success!

Mrs. Connolly’s

kindergarten

class building

simple

machines, gears

and structures.

Mrs. Miller’s kindergarten

class working on a Three

Little Pigs experiment.

Mrs. Jonaitis’ kindergarten class working on their ABC’s.

Mrs. Aiello’s kindergar-

ten class having some

fun learning time and

practicing their writing

Mrs. Petersen’s kindergarten class

enjoys morning ELA learning.

Center time learning for

Mrs. Churilla’s kindergarten

class .

SEPTEMBER

Mohammed Saleh, Payton Kurosz, Ryan Lee, Jasenia Daniels, Joellyn Gomez and Justina Morris

Matthew Dobrie, Jason Gielarowski, Allen Holness, Maya Blount, Brando Montalban and Betzee Barbecho

Fifth Grade Citizenship Award winners:

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

Allison Filosa, Adamaris Camey Perez, Leana Guayllazaca, Alexa Staats, Henrry Rivas and Liliana Munguia

Moriches Elementary School second graders visited the Brookhaven National

Laboratory. During the trip, the young scientists enjoyed a hands-on learning

experience. Students learned about sound, light and magnets while using The

Scientific Method. It was a wonderful experience and everyone learned many

new things.

On October 31st, the third grade classes enjoyed their annual STEM pumpkin investigations.

The students rotated classrooms and engaged in various scientific activities. Activity topics

included: buoyancy (will the pumpkin sink or float?), estimation of seeds, and learning about

the parts of a pumpkin. This hands-on experience could not have happened without the help

of Hank’s Farm (a local business) and parent volunteers. This educational experience was fun

and rewarding for the entire grade level.

MORICHES ELEMENTARY 37th

ANNUAL GREAT PUMPKIN CONTEST

First Place: “The Puffer/Blowfish” by Alexandra

Bacany and Family

Second Place: “The Hamburger” by Drew and

Rylie Wiegand and Family

Third Place: “The Large Poppin’ Popcorn” by Nathaniel Jacobsen and

Family

Honorable Mention: “The Pink Troll” by Payton Kurosz and Family

Honorable Mention: “The Wicked Witch” by Makayla Palmer and Family

Honorable Mention: “Frankenstein” by Courtney and Faith Petersen and

Family

Pictured left to right: Nathaniel Jacobsen, Payton Kurosz, Makayla Palmer, Alexandra Bacany, Drew Wiegand,

Rylie Wiegand, Faith Petersen and Courtney Petersen

Once again Moriches participated in a Halloween Candy Buy Back Fundraiser for the troops.

Students brought in their unwanted Halloween candy to a box that was located in the front

lobby. East End Orthodontics came in and weighed the candy that was collected over a

week. The collected candy is sent to the troops and children overseas. The students were

very generous with donating their candy!

Moriches Elementary’s kindergarten through third grade classes welcomed pediatric dental

residents from Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine. Mrs. Scheifele’s first

grade class learned the importance of taking care of their teeth and gums every day. Stu-

dents were shown the proper brushing and flossing techniques and talked about healthy

food choices as ways to take care of their teeth.

Ms. Griffith’s third grade class was all smiles after they learned how to care for

their teeth.

Third grade classes studied the electoral process. Congressman Lee Zeldin volunteered his

time to meet with all the third grade classes at Moriches Elementary. He discussed his role as

a Congressman. He also shared his experience as a graduate of William Floyd, as well as his

role in the military. He explained all the branches of government and how they impact the

student’s daily life.

Mrs. Petersen’s kindergarten class took turns voting in a voting booth. They learned about

the voting process and the importance of voting. Students took turns casting their votes on

ballots for their favorite bug, their favorite cafeteria food, and their favorite color.

First grade classes learned about Election Day by voting for their favorite cookie. Each student

was involved in filling out a voter registration form, creating a venn diagram on the two

“candidates” as well as filling out their very own ballot. The chocolate chip cookie was the

winner in Mrs. Filippelli’s class and the Oreo cookie was the winner in Mrs. Hansen and Mrs.

Scheifele’s class!

Students in Mrs. Kadletz’ class voted for the President of the Forest. Students had a choice of

three candidates. “Betsy Beaver“ promised to protect the animal’s homes, “Fitzgerald Fox”

promised he would keep every animal safe and happy, and “Bartholomew Bear” promised to

listen to problems and talk out solutions. The children registered to vote, signed a voter regis-

tration form, filled in a ballot to vote for the candidate they chose, placed the ballot in a ballot

box and received an “I voted” badge. After the ballots were counted the students graphed the

election results. It was a close race, but “Betsy Beaver” was elected as President of the Forest

with 12 votes! The students learned a lot about the election process through the lesson.

Ready, set, run………..a campaign! Mrs. Dobbeck’s classes ran their very

own candy election. The classroom was split into two groups and assigned

either “chewy” or “chocolate.” Students wrote campaign slogans, persua-

sive speeches, and created campaign buttons. After much debate the win-

ning candies were as follows: Mrs. Dobbeck’s morning class chose “Air

Heads” and Mrs. Dobbeck’s afternoon class chose “Snickers.”

First grade classes enjoying a Thanksgiving Friendship Feast together.