Church Street School Newsletter

Volume 4, Issue 2
December 2013
Church Street School Newsletter
Snow Closings/Delays/Early Dismissals
It’s that time of year again to remind everyone about the weather. Snow, ice,
sleet, and freezing rain all too frequently require schools to close, open late, or dismiss early. While this leads to excitement for children, it can result in confusion for
schools and families. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to once again
share school procedures in the event of treacherous weather or emergencies.
In the event of the closing of school, late opening, or early dismissal because of
inclement weather or other emergencies, announcements will be made in a variety of
ways. The messaging system will allow us to contact all our families immediately via
telephone and email. We have all your information from our student identification system and it is automatically uploaded. Therefore, as long as you keep your school records accurate in regard to contact information, you will be all set to receive our announcements.
Since we do not all get up bright and early and rush to our email or phone messages, and would rather enjoy a quiet cup of coffee while watching the news or listening to the radio, we also make announcements over radio stations WICC (600 AM),
WEBE (108 FM), and STAR (99.9 FM) at regular intervals between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00
a.m. Television channels 3, 8, and 30 will also list announcements.
Please remember that the doors at Church Street School will open at 9:30 a.m.
on delayed openings.
If we are dismissed early, we will dismiss at 11:00, unless changed by the superintendent. Please also follow the above procedures and don’t call the school. I
wish all of you happy holidays and a safe and happy new year.
Mr. Howard Hornreich
Principal
95 Church Street, Hamden, CT 06514
203-407-2020
Math Video Games
Do you have a child who loves
video games?
Do you want to increase their interest in math?
Check out XP Math!
This website features fun and educational games for students in
Grades 2–9.
There are more than 100 XP Math
Page 2
games available!
Go to the website: www.xpmath.com
You can search by grade level or by
math topic.
Please e-mail
ksullivan1@hamden.org with any
questions.
Church Street School Newsletter
Physical Education News
Good news from Mrs. Bouchard
The winner of the Golden Sneaker Award is
Mr. Virginelli’s Class. Congratulations!!
Congratulations to Orlando Henry from Miss Mitchell’s class and Abdulrahman Jaber from
Miss. Iannucci’s class for being chosen as the Physical Education All Star Students’ of the
month.
Congratulations to the following students for displaying outstanding sportsmanship during the Handball unit, :
Kai Zundell from Ms. Gejda’s Class
Odalys Colon from Mrs. Damico’s Class
Sabrina DeGregorio from Miss. Cole’s Class
Domenico Sposito from Mrs. Brombacker’s Class
Jaiden Austin from Miss. Warren’s Class
Tyler Jackson & Mya Hall from Mrs. Cofrin’s Class
Lea Caceres-Gomez & Mikiyah Fripp from Mr. Virginelli’s Class
Sydlie Fleurimond & Charlie Keen from Mr. Westcott’s Class
Stanley Juarez & Yariliz Santiago from Mrs. Nelson’s Class
Delvison Jimenez from Mrs. Boyd’s Class
During the month of December, students in grades 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th will be participating in the Basketball Unit. Skills taught will include dribbling with control, recognizing dribbling violations (double
dribble and traveling) chest and bounce passes, shooting, rebounding, offensive
skills (ex. moving to open space and boxing out) and defensive skills (types of defense).
Students in grades Kindergarten through 2nd grade will be learning how to manipulate a playground ball successfully. Skills will include dribbling, throwing and catching with 2 hands, rolling with 1 and 2 hands and receiving with 2 hands.
Volume 4, Issue 2
Page 3
MEDIA CENTER-GREAT VACATION READS FOR GRADES 4, 5 & 6
Sixth-grader Tommy and his
friends describe their interactions with a paper finger puppet of Yoda, worn by their
weird classmate Dwight, as
they try to figure out whether
or not the puppet can really
predict the future.
Twelve-year-old Kyle gets to
stay overnight in the new town
library, designed by his hero
(the famous gamemaker Luigi
Lemoncello), with other students but finds that come
morning he must work with
friends to solve puzzles in order to escape
Owen Brown, a fourth
grader, watches his best
friend Dana disappear
through the floor of the
school, and he sets out with
Jon and Sydney to find her.
Michael moves to a new
school and learns that some
of his friends are really aliens
who have come to Earth in
order to convince millions of
kids to be Space Heads.
Twelve-year-old Andi Boggs
discovers evidence of her
forgotten namesake, a missing relative, which leads her
into a family mystery rooted
in the Great Depression.
The young amoeba Squish,
inspired by his favorite comic
book hero, Super Amoeba,
tries to navigate his way
through school and save his
friends and the world from
the evils that lurk in the halls.
Page 4
Icky Ricky finds his way into
all sorts of messes, from having a sleepover on the ceiling,
to launching his pet hot dog
into his father's toolbox, to being shot with his favorite food,
Cheese-in-a-Can.
The only nonfiction book in
the group, examines the history of the atomic bomb, discussing the discovery of the
behavior of uranium when
placed next to radioactive material, the race to build a
bomb, and the impact of the
weapon on societies around
the world.
Church Street School Newsletter
From Lauren Skultety, Literacy Coach
There are many free technology resources available that encourage children to read
and help them develop a love of literacy. Here are some of the wonderful sources you
can use at home.
For a list of monthly literacy activities that you and your child can do together, go to
http://www.rif.org/parents/resources. You’ll find activity calendars that are broken
down by grade level. Each calendar has a variety of exciting projects for you to experience.
The website http://kids.audible.com is a literacy sight that offers free audio
downloads of popular children’s books.
On the site http://www.bookadventure.org you’ll find a reading motivation program
for children in Kindergarten through Grade 8. Children choose books to read from recommended titles, take multiple-choice quizzes on the books they've read, and earn
points and prizes for their literary successes.
Here are some suggestions to help motivate your child and foster a love of learning:
Take turns reading with your older child, or establish a family reading time when everyone reads their own book. It's important to show your child that reading is not only
a school task.
Show enthusiasm for your child's interests and encourage him/her to explore subjects
that fascinate them. If there is a topic your child is really interested in, go to the library to find books on that topic or challenge him/her to five facts about the topic.
Many newspapers have sections geared toward kids. The articles are generally on
high-interest topics and either appeal directly to kids or are written from a kid's point
of view.
Read aloud to your child frequently. Most children love being read to, especially if
they are discouraged by their own reading difficulties. The pleasure of listening to
you read may restore your child's enthusiasm for books and reading.
Volume 4, Issue 2
Page 5
Family Resource
Church Street School Family Resource Center is a great resource to access information, referrals and participate in events. We truly appreciate our Church Street family and friends,
Here are a few of the events that your children and your family can participate in:
Multi-age Early
Readers
Thursdays
Bilingual Early
Readers
Bilingual Early
Readers
Yoga after School
Tuesdays
Wednesdays
7:15-8:00 am for
4th, 5th & 6
grades.
Mondays
7:15-8:00 am for
Kindergarten, 1st,
2nd & 3Rd grades.
7:15-8:00 am for
Kindergarten, 1st,
2nd & 3rd grades.
Starting
Starting
Starting
January 9—March
13 with snow
days on March 20
& 27
January 21—
March 18
January 22March 19


3:15pm-4:15 pm
for 1st, 2nd & 3rd
grades.
Thursdays
3:15- 4:15 pm
for 4th, 5th & 6
grades.
Breakfast
Every first
Friday of the
month
7:45-9:00 am.
Join FRC, PTA,
the School Based
Health Center for
coffee and
munchies!
We still have room in our Play & Learn groups for families with children
prenatal - 5 years old. Groups are held Mondays 10:00 am-11:30am and
Wednesdays 10:00 am-11:30am.
th

ESOL registration is January 9 from 9:00 am-10:00 am. Family Resource Center also has 2 Certified Access Health Assisters to help you with
the application process through Access Health CT.


Looking for something to do with the family? We have Stepping Stones Museums passes to visit the Museum for free.

To contact us call 203-287-4259 or
email kdiakhate@hamden.org or gmartinez@hamden.org.


NEW FACES AT CHURCH STREET—MISS VALLONE
Amanda Vallone comes to Church Street from the Middletown Public Schools. Her students describe her as kind, smart and creative. She likes to eat apples, popcorn, chips and sometimes vegetables! She has one cat named Riley.
Welcome Miss Vallone!
ONE MORE NOTE FROM PHYSICAL EDUCATION!
During the winter months, it is expected that students still wear sneakers for
Physical Education Class. If they wear boots or other shoes that aren't sneakers
to school, please send them with sneakers in their bag to change into. Please
no wedge/high heeled sneakers. Also, if school is cancelled, the letter day
missed will usually be made up at the end of the year. Please refer to your calendar where the letter days are labeled in red to check what the next letter day
is. For example, Tuesday, December 17th was a 'B' Day on the calendar but
school was cancelled due to poor weather. So, that 'B' Day will be made up in
June. The following day, Wednesday, December 18th would still be a 'C' Day as
scheduled on the calendar.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
STUDENT ART WORK
Jennifer Abbad, 6,
Koi Fish Pond
Naomi Brown, K, Rectangles
Tyshaun Davender, K,
Textured Town
Mckenzie Miller-Joyce, 5,
Silohuette