Mrs. Powderly's Personification

Students in Mrs. Powderly's 2/3 PIE class have learned how to use the literary element of personification in their creative writing. In writing, personification means giving an inanimate (non-living) object human traits and qualities. For this lesson the students sat down and looked carefully at a beautiful painting that Mrs. Powderly had created.

Next, the students described elements of the painting using descriptive language. Mrs. Powderly wrote down the students descriptions of the night, trees, lake, bushes, moon and shooting star on the chalkboard.

The students used their class notes to create descriptive pieces of writing. They used personification and made the inanimate objects seem to come-to-life by using emotions, sensations or gestures in their writing. 

Here are a few of their beautiful sentences...

"The shooting star glided brilliantly across the starry, indigo night sky."

"The bright, shining moon sparkled brilliantly above the indigo blue lake.'

"The shooting star danced across the indigo blue sky."

"The trees are clapping in the wind as the shooting star gracefully glides across the dark indigo sky."

"The mysterious evergreen tree slept in the crystal clear lake."

"The sleepy towering evergreen trees are mysteriously waving their aging branches."

If you have a student in Mrs. Powderly's class ask them what personification means- you will be surprised by what they can tell you!

Fresh Fruit 'F' Day with Mrs. Nachtigal

Every “F” day Mrs. Nachtigal’s K-1 class has Fresh Fruit F day. The kids love exploring a new fruit each “F” day. This week the class was able to use their math skills in cutting up apples (1/2, ¼, 1/8) science / observation skills (what happens to the apples when heated), and some good old elbow grease turning the press, to turn a bushel of apples in yummy warm applesauce! 

It was quite magical eating the applesauce out in the courtyard sun, with lots of newly hatched painted-lady butterflies (fairies) flitting around as they read The Little House in the Fairy Wood.

 Fresh Fruit Days are becoming the favorite days of the week!

Turtle Trail

Mr. Kirschke's PIE 4/5 class went on a hike through Turtle Trail on the Sanfordville school property this week.  The trail had been created by Green Peas Club and past PIE classes, but had become overgrown with pricker bushes and poison ivy.  Some parents have been helping to fix it up.  Mr. Kirschke's and Mrs. Canevari's classes are going to design and make trail blazes to tack on trees.  They are also going to mark the trail with sign posts so that everyone will be able to follow and use the trail.  

The trail is going to be left as natural as possible, with obstacles such as large fallen trees left in place for climbing on.  Along the trail, there are many species of trees that the kids will identify and mark.  A grove of bent over Hornbeam Trees helps frame out a space where a small outside room will be created. 

The trail winds along the Wawayanda Creek, where turtles and birds are often seen, as well as evidence of beavers.  There are many interesting things for kids to observe, such as a fallen Maple Tree lying on the ground with it's roots in the stream bank. The tree is now growing sideways and it's branches are full size trees.   

PIE program wins "Be the Change for Kids" Innovation Award

Yesterday our PIE program received the "Be the Change for Kids" Innovation Award! This award was developed by the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering with the New York State School Board's Association. Three schools were chosen from dozens of districts that applied from across the state. The award comes with a $5,000 grant for the PIE program which will be used to enhance the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) component of the PIE curriculum. To see a video clip of our trip click on this link: "Be the Change" Innovation Award

The judges were impressed with Warwick's PIE program, stating, "This program successfully engages parents in their children's education, and does so in a creative fashion with parents working with the kids on solving a problem, making presentations and/or researching materials for instruction." Professor Dean Fuleihan spoke to all the students yesterday and told the 3 winning schools that one of the reasons the judges selected their schools as award winners was because their school programs foster cooperation and citizenship. The judges felt that these two qualities were very important for someone who works in the field of science because scientists work together on projects for long periods of time to see how things work.

Some of our PIE students took a tour of the college and got to see what scientists do all day. Students visited biology labs and saw a scientist studying cancer cells under the microscope. They also viewed chemistry labs and the nanoscale science "clean rooms." The kids got a kick out of seeing the scientists wearing their head-to-toe white suits, "They look like astronauts!" However, they learned that when you are working in a clean room you have to keep any dirt and dust particles from floating in the air, otherwise, they can get into the small silicon chips that the scientists work on. There were many different types of machines to see, everyone's favorite was the machine that carried the nanochips from one room to another. The tiny chips were placed into a box that ran along tracks in the ceiling overhead!

Bus ride

Lunch outside- we loved the shape of the buildings!

Our tour guide showing the kids an enlarged picture of the inside of a computer chip

The "Clean Room"

Nano transport!

Chemistry lab

We had a great day!

A Visit to the Sycamore Tree

On Wednesday afternoon the PIE K/1 students walked across the school grounds to visit their sycamore tree. Each class in the PIE program has a tree that they observe throughout the school year. Last year the PIE K/1 students had been visiting a gorgeous old tree, but sadly after Hurricane Sandy roared through Warwick their giant, old tree fell down. So what does a PIE teacher do when a problem arises??? They call some parents and say, "HELP! We need a tree!" A new tree was selected and this is what it looked like in the morning...

So the parents did this...

and after a few hours, it looked like this!

The setting was now perfect for the kids to come down and get a close up view of their new tree. This tree is a good hike across school grounds; all three K/1 classes walked out to the new site on a beautiful, sunny day. A group of parents came along for the hike too! Mrs. Barlow-Layne began the science lesson by showing the students their tree and then she led the students in a song called, The Green Grass Grew All Around. Play the video below to sing along with your child!             

                                

                                      

The kids in action!

Each teacher led a part of the lesson, Mrs. Barlow-Layne talked with the students about what it means to observe things like a scientist, Mrs. Nachtigal modeled for the students how to observe something and showed them how to draw what they observe in their Nature Journals, and Mrs. White read a story about a tree to all the children. It was a great way to spend the afternoon!

                                

The first page of a student's Nature Journal, it's going to be a great year!

Peace Wall Ceremony for PIE students

Mr. Kirschke and Mr. McLaughlin's 4/5 PIE students invited their K/1 reading and writing buddies to the Peace Wall for an end of the school year ceremony. The older students presented their younger buddies with "Goodbye and Good Luck" cards, since they will be moving up to the middle school in the fall.

Mrs. Nachtigal's K/1 students raised butterflies throughout the springtime months. The kids had so much fun observing their caterpillars transform into butterflies. They decided that the perfect place to release their butterflies would be at the Peace Wall. The students hoped that the insects would fly to the Peace Garden nearby and live there.

It was a beautiful send off! Good luck to all the PIE 4/5 students who will be moving on to the middle school in the fall, it was wonderful watching you learn and grow!

Stars & Stripes for the PIE 2/3 students!

Over the last month the topic of study in Social Studies for the PIE 2/3 students was Washington, D.C. The students read all about our nation's capital city. They learned about the office of the President and studied the famous landmarks, buildings, and monuments. Finally, they memorized and performed for parents the song "Fifty-Nifty United States," which was quite impressive!

On June 14th, Flag Day, the kids were treated to a special flag presentation. A PIE parent, Mr. Roger Bloom is an avid collector of historical flags. He brought in his collection to share with the students and he told them the history behind each flag. The students especially liked seeing how the symbols on the flag have changed over time. The kids were surprised to see the mottos that were written on some of the older flags and they enjoyed hearing the stories about the motto's different meanings. Take a look at some of the beautiful flags that were displayed on this special day.

                      

               

               

              

             

After Mr. Bloom shared his flags with the class, the students worked on designing their own school flags. They had to use the school colors- purple and gold and come up with a school motto and symbol for their flag.

            

                

              

                    

The student's flags were very creative! They used stars and stripes to represent how many grades are in our school building. To get a closer look at all the student's flags please visit the PIE Facebook page.

PIE Students LOVE to perform!

The PIE K-1 and 2-3 classes all put on school plays this year. The PIE teachers created plays that embraced the new common core english language arts standards and turned them into dramatic art! Students who are in kindergarten and first grade learn about Kings and Queens, Fairy Tales and Fables in their reading program. Children in second and third grade continue on with the Fairy Tale theme and then read Tall Tales, Fables/Folktales and Myths. The teachers decided that this year they would create plays that focused on Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes. Nursery rhymes are perfect for young readers because they build fluency, enhance vocabulary, practice rhythm, build memorization and prepare children to read.

The PIE K-1 teachers decided to hold a food drive on the day of their school play. Each family had to bring in a box of food or some canned goods to the show as their admission ticket. All of the collected food was gathered into a giant basket on stage and then delivered to the local food pantry. The children, their teachers and parents had so much fun performing for everyone. The teachers invited me into their classrooms to interview students about their performances. Read on to see what the kids had to say about performing on stage!

From the K-1 students
Ava K: "I played a kitten." Ava wanted me to know that her face was painted like a kitten and she looked like a cat, but she was still a regular human inside she was just acting like a cat. (So cute!) "I practiced a lot at school and at home with my mom and dad."

Ava M.: "I was Miss. Muffet. I wore clothes under my costume and they used pins to make my dress fit better, but they didn't go through me." (So funny) "My favorite part was wearing my costume because it went down to my feet."

Taylor: "I liked wearing a dress and having long hair. I got to say a poem. I practiced with my mom a lot." Taylor would like you to know that she would love to perform again and that her class also sang a song!

Isabella: "I was Mother Goose. I wore a red dress and my mom sewed feathers on a shawl and I wore a bonnet. I said A LOT of things. I helped people put things in the basket. I really liked to be on stage!"

Kooki: "I played a little kitten named Puff. I wore a furry collar with a sparkly bow and a white cat head. I had to remember my lines. We practiced at school and at home. I was very excited. My favorite part was putting the 3 pairs of mittens in the Old Woman's basket. You know... the Old Woman who lived in the shoe."

Harrison: "I was Tommy Tucker. I had to speak and I was a little scared. We had a party after the play and I giggled and ate cookies."


Alexa: "I played Jill. I wore a dress it was red and grey, or maybe brown, I forget. I got to be onstage with Jack. My favorite character was the Mother Cat. I rocked in a chair and said lots of words." She wanted me to know that it was her first play and that she made an ornament in class about it so that she could always remember it!

Finley: "I was Jill and my brother was Jack. My costume was my favorite it was a plaid dress with a red bow. My favorite was carrying the bucket of popcorn!"

Alana: "I was Miss. Muffet. I sang a song and said some lines. We practiced really hard at school. My favorite part was when I gave the bowls to the Mother Cat. The audience clapped really loud for us and then we did a dance!"

From the 2-3 students
Lewis: "I was Michael Finnegan. I had to look like a leprechaun. I had to practice for 2 days to remember my lines! I liked being on stage sometimes, but sometimes I got nervous." He wanted me to know that maybe he will be a director when he grows up!

Ally: "I was a Narrator. I was dressed up as one of the 3 Blind Mice. I liked to read all the lines for the show. Mrs. Powderly taught us the history behind nursery rhymes and it was neat."

Emerson: "I played a Rockin' Robin. I had to sing a song. My favorite part was watching the moms do their dance! They wore wigs. I like to do plays.

Mason: "I played The Cat in the Hat and had to memorize a lot of lines, like thirty! I liked to perform and did not have stage-fright. We read all about Mother Goose Rhymes in class and learned the history about Jack and Jill. Jack was a King and Jill was a Queen and vinegar and brown paper fixed them when they were hurt 'way back then'. We had to make sure we still did our schoolwork and homework to be in the play."

Riley: "I played The Farmer's Wife and a Narrator. I had to memorize songs. We looked up rhymes in our classroom and had to find out about why they were written. My favorite part was singing and dancing and staying on stage the whole time."

Kyle: "I played a Rhyme Robber who steals the rhymes and sell them in boxes to get rich! I practiced a lot. I had to practice dancing and saying lines. My favorite scene was Rockin' Robin because of the funny dances. I had to do an audition for my part. I had to read and sing. I like to be in plays because it's fun to do with your friends."

Nathan: "I played a Blackbird. My favorite part was the Rockin' Robin song because the blackbirds got to dance with the Dads!"