November flew by in our class. We learned more about the historically accurate first Thanksgiving. The students enjoyed making puppets to make and act out a play about the first Thanksgiving. We also learned about the annual Presidential turkey pardon. Students participated in The Great American Smoke Out by making posters to illustrate the dangers of smoking and what people can do instead of smoking. In math class, we worked on patterning and graphing. We used holiday themes to add to the fun of our learning. We made our second annual Thanksgiving dinner in out classroom. Thank you to all of the parents who generously send in food items so each child could cook a part of the meal. Next week is the annual OCS Holiday Concert. There may be some disruptions to the schedule. We will try to make it go as smooth as possible. We learned about Hanakuh this week. The students enjoyed playing Dreidle and waching some interesting movies about this Jewish holiday. We will be making a holiday cookbook in class during the last week before theholiday break. Please send in two or more recipes by December 13. We may be able to prepare some of the treats in class before the break. We are working on adding money in math class. Some students will be adding with paper and pencil. Others may use a calculator to add the amounts. We will be adding up the cost of all the things they want for Christmas. They are also typing and mailing" their Christmas list to Santa. They really love finding the things they hope to get. ;)

October Fun

We have been having a lot of fun in school this month. Our class has been making some fun creations for Halloween. The students carved shrunken apple heads to celebrate the holiday. We also made ghosts out of cheesecloth and glue in response to the story The Teeny Tiny Ghost. We will have pictures posted next week. Students are finishing up their unit on measurement in math class. They have enjoyed measuring different objects in the classroom. In social studies, the kids are learning about the affects of smoking and drugs on their body. They are also learning about how to deal with bullying. Our science class is learning about space. We will be making a booklet about the planets. Conferences have been scheduled for each child. A form with the date and time is going home this week. Please call or e-mail if there are any changes.

Back to School Night

Back to School Night was very successful. It was nice to see our OCS parents visiting our school. If you were unable to come, please feel free to contact me at any time with any questions you may have. Last night was the last night for the book fair. There will be another book fair in the spring. That is the By One Get One Free book fair. You may always order from a scholastic book order. I can certainly get you a book order form from your child's reading level if you are interested. Next week, our science class will be making applesauce in the crock pot. We love this activity because our classroom smells so nice. Yankee Candle has nothing on the real thing. ;) Our social studies class is learning about important social skills. We continue to practice them throughout the day.

First full weeks of school

Welcome Back!

We have a lot of exciting things going on in room 214 and at OCS. Students are doing a great job of being independent middle schoolers. They are opening and closing the locks on their lockers. They developed a new set of class rules and everyone signed his name that he will follow the rules.

In Language Arts Literature classes, students are working with our new writing program called Units of Study. They are working on expressing themselves through their writing. Students are also working sounding out words and constructing words using letter sounds. Each student has a spelling list. He will keep his list in his homework folder. I will not publish it on here, but you may e-mail me if the list is misplaced.

In Math class, we are completing a beginning of the year assessment. Students will then go on to work on his individual math goal for the week. I will let you know when there are tests coming up. Homework will be written in the communication book.

Our science class enjoyed making a mini scientist and cooking play doh last week. This week we will be focusing on science safety. Then we will begin to study astronomy.

5th grade science: please see Mrs. Kimball's blog.

End of the school year

As we approach the end of the school year the students continue to learn new things in each class.

In all subjects, each student is learning about the same MARE area as his grade level peers. They are working on activies to enhance their knowledge about the kelp forest, open ocean, islands, coral reef, and polar regions.

They will be partipating with their grade level peers in Ocean Week activities. hey will act as teachers to impart their knowledge onto other grade levels.

Ahh testing . . .

NJASK testing is starting next week. 7th and 8th grade will be taking the reading/language arts, math, and science portions of the test for four days. The 5th and 6th grade will test the following week. They will not have a science portion of the test. 3rd and 4th grade will be the last to test. Only the 4th grade will have a science part.

Welcome Spring!!!

The students are all really ready for Spring to arrive. I think they are even more excited for the Spring break from school.

Social Studies: Over the past couple of weeks, students have learned about Ireland and St. Patrick's Day. They loved making soda bread during science class last week.

They will continue to learn more about famous women in history and how the contributions of these women affect our lives today.

Students continue to work on life skills. Some are enjoying playing Community Skills For Life on the computer.

Science: Students are learning about the four basic cloud types. We are hoping to be able to recognize them by using a new tool we're making in class this week.

Writing: Some students are really working hard at keyboarding skills. This is a very important life skill. Others are working on writing about things that interest them, writing persuasively, and writing how-to essays.

Reading: All students are practicing reading at their independent reading level using Reading A-Z.
Some students are using flash cards with pictures on one side and words on the other. Some are using the computer based reading software to continue to build and practice reading skills.

Our 8th graders are reading a book called Torn Threads about two sisters trying to survive the Holocaust in Poland. They are working on using context clues to decipher the unknown vocabulary. They are also summarizing each chapter and answering comprehension questions.

Math: Some students are working on recognizing larger numbers, adding smaller numbers, and telling time. Others are adding two digit numbers with regrouping or subtracting larger numbers with borrowing. While others are working on multiplying and dividing fractions

March Madness

It's hard to believe March will be here tomorrow. Spring is just around the corner! We are still working hard and learning new things in room 214.

Science: The students are learning more about clouds. They conducted an experiment to see how clouds are formed. It was very exciting!

Social Studies: The students finished learning information about African Americans and their struggles and contributions. They also continue to work on life skills such as making sandwiches, relaying personal information, and social skills.

Writing: Students are working on keyboarding skills. Others are working on improving their spelling. Spelling pre-tests are usually given on Mondays. Students practice their words during the week and are tested on Friday. They are also working on writing three different types of essays: persuasive, explanatory, and speculative.

Reading: Students completed the Study Island Benchmark Assessment at their grade level. This assesment is similar to the NJASK questions. IEP accomodations were adhered to while the students completed the assessment. Students continue to work on improving their individual reading skills, as well.

Math: Some students completed a test on converting and simplifying fractions. They will be learning how to compare, add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions with like and un-like denominators. This will help them when working with recipes.
Others are working on adding and subtracting numbers with one and two-digits.
All students completed the Study Island Benchmark Assessment at their individual grade level.

Fun, Fun February

Well, the second marking period ended and we are now in the second half of the school year. Most of us are happy the groundhog did not see his shadow. I think we are all done with this crazy weather.

Our whole school is working on being C.O.R.R.E.C.T! For the next few months, we will be doing various activities to focus on each character trait. The first two weeks focused on Courage. Students were paired up with a buddy from another grade level each Friday to work together to enhance their learning about this character trait. On Wednesdays, the students work-out the character trait. They may do jumping jacks, squats, or another type of work out to use their whole body to remember the trait. Students will also have lessons in their classrooms to continue to know the correct way to be.

Science: Will continue to work on life skills activities as well as learning about cloud types to be able to predict the weather.

Social Studies: Will be learning about the holidays in February as well as the Civil Rights Movement and famous African Americans.

Writing: Most of the class is working on improving their spelling. Many are also improving their typing skills. Others are writing daily and working to edit and improve their writing.

Reading: Some students are improving their sight word vocabulary. While others continue to use reading strategies to improve their comprehension of what is read. The eighth graders will be reading a book about the Holocaust to prepare them for the upcoming unit in the general education social studies class.

Math: Some students are learning more about fractions to help them with doubling and halving recipies. Others are learning about adding two digit numbers. While others are working on sorting coins.

The New Year

Welcome 2013!!!

We have some exciting things to learn about this month.

Science and Social Studies classes are learning about the weather and ways to predict and plan for it. They will also be working on life skills activities such as making snacks and lunches. We will be learning about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the next week and a half so that we understand the meaning behind why there is no school on his observed birthday.

Language Arts/Reading classes: Students continue to work on writing and reading skills necessary for life.

Math: Some students are working on addition and counting skills. Others are working on understanding place value to then add larger numbers. While others are working on how to use math skills for real life situations.

The 8th graders will be going to the DaVinci center on January 16th to enjoy The Bodies exhibit. I will be joining them in the fun.

December Happenings

This month, the Social Studies class will be traveling the world to learn about different holidays celebrated by different cultural regions. Students will be applying their map skills to find the country on the maps. They will be learning about the culture and holiday celebrated. Then they will have to follow directions and use their fine motor skills to make crafts to go along with the holiday. They will also be writing about the things they learned.

The Science class will be learning about all kinds of weather, how the weather can change, and how it affects us. We will be conducting experiments to understand weather better. The class will also be doing some cooking to celebrate the upcoming holidays. We will be making Lattkes to celebrate Hanukkah; baking cookies to celebrate Christmas; and making for Kwanzaaa.

The Language Arts class is working on improving sentences and writing as a whole. The students are also working on their typing skills on the computer.

The Reading class will be beginning Al Capone Does My Shirts. It is a novel that provides some great topics  and subject matter for the students.

The Math class is learning how to apply their skills to real life application. The students are so eager to learn to be good consumers.

Back to business

The students did a nice job returning back to school after our unanticipated break due to the hurricane. We have begun many new things in our classes and I am excited to share them with you.

In Social Studies, the students are continuing to work on their calendars. They are also working on filling out forms. Recently, they filled out a NJ voter registration form.

In Science, the students began a study on the weather. We dabbled a bit with hurricanes, but are now learning about clouds.

In Writing, students finished their fractured fairy tales. They will continue to write each day and refine the skills we have worked through the years.

In Reading, students have begun to study onsets and rimes. They are also beginning a new reading program called Reading Key. I am hoping these skills will help them to become the great readers they have the potential to be.

October Fun!

This month we have a lot going on. In science, we will be studying leaves and photosynthesis. We are also studying pumpkins. We will be carving a pumpkin next week and roasting the seeds for a delicious snack. We are also working on following directions on recipes to make yummy food items. Next week we will be making fresh applesauce. Yummy!




In social studies, we are working on our calendar skills each day. We will be working hard to understand the election process in our country. We are also working on various life and social skills.



In language arts, we have finished our parts of speech unit. We will be looking at writing correct sentences and beginning a writers' workshop.



In reading, we have enjoyed reading David Lubar's short stories from his latest book, Attack of the Vampire Wienies. We are working on reading strategies that good readers do to improve comprehension of what they read. I am happy to report that the students were so excited by one of the stories they took it even further and developed their own version of an old fairy tale. We will be publishing them for all to read.



In math, some students are finishing up a unit on division. Others are finishing with counting change and dollars. While, others are working on addition and telling time. All students are working hard to be great mathematicians.

MARE

Students have been enjoying class trips with their grade level classes this month. While in school, they continue to work on their individual reading goals. We are also reading Lemony Snickett's A Series of Unfortunate Events. We are working on various activities in relation to the book. We'll watch the movie when we finish the book.

The math students just finished learning about place value of decimals. To help us relate place value to real life, we play The Price is Right on the Wii on Fridays. It gives the students an opportunity to undestand the cost of items as well as apply their knowledge of place value in determining the price. We are moving on to learn about probability before the end of the school year.

Each grade level contributed to out MARE bulletin board. We are all looking forward to Ocean Night at OCS.

May

The 7th grade has finished testing. Yahoo! My 7th graders tried their best each day on the NJASK test. This week the 5th and 6th grades are testing. They are also working very hard to apply all that they have learned to answer test questions.

The 7th graders are finishing up their research papers. They are putting on the final touches. The papers will be due on Friday, May 11. They are also working on reading comprehension this week by reading articles about Native Americans and answering questions based on their reading. This ties into what they jusat finished learning about in Social Studies class.

In Math, we are working on activities that require remembering basic math facts.

In Science, 6th grade is learning about the Galapagos Islands. The 7th grade is learning about the Coral Reef.

April

This month many of the students will be working on test taking strategies. We will be practicing using grade-level test practice books so that the students are familiar with test wording and set up. We will do this in Language Arts and Math classes. In addition to test prep, we will still work on the core goals during class.

In science, we are beginning to study physical and chemical changes. We will be conducting experiments to learn about each.

In social studies, we are learning about the Monroe Doctrine and the Trail of Tears.

Please call or e-mail me with any questions.

Mrs. P.

Nicholas Edward Pettinelli

I am still out on maternity leave, but wanted to add a link to the baby's birth announcement. I am enjoying time at home with my family, but am looking forward to finishing out this school year with my students!
Nicholas Edward Pettinelli

Conferences Are Around The Corner

Students have been working hard in room 214. The math class put their knowledge of polygons to the test to decorate the room for Halloween. The students made pumpkins and monsters by cutting paper into polygons and gluing it together to make their decorations.

In Reading and Language Arts, the students are busy editing their stories for our Halloween bulletin board: What's Brewing in 214? We continue to work with phomemes and sight words to improve pur reading skills. Also, students are reading independently and working on activities based on their independent reading. Two students are using the Tumbleweed Online Books through the Warren County Library. Others have selected novels they are interested in reading. All students are reading fictional books at this time.

Our science class is finishing up our unit on Erosion and Weathering. Soon we will be blasting off to study the moon and space.

Finally, I will be meeting with parents for conferences on Monday, November 7th at night and Tuesday, November 8th in the afternoon. Starting November 9th, I will be on maternity leave until April 1. Miss Megan Lynch will be filling in for me. She is currently the classroom aide for 6th grade here at OCS. She is very knowledgeable about current advances in special education and I know she will do a wonderful job teaching your children!

A few things

The end of the first month of school is upon us. Grade progress reports will be going home on Friday, October 7. Next week, some of the students will be working on independent reading packets at home. Others have reading homework packets that address the particular reading skills that need extra practice.

Students continue to learn more about geometry in math class. We are moving on from quadrelaterals to learn more about circles and circumference.

My science students are learning more about earth science. We explored the dirt around us to and will be exploring the effects of erosion and weathering on our planet.

Back to School

Hello,

We are busy getting used to our schedules and the activities in each class. I will do my best to post the homework on my blog. As you are all aware, my class has many ability and skill levels. The homework will also be leveled and geared to meet each student's needs. There will usually be spelling homework each night. As we move into October, some students will have some independent reading projects he/she will need to work on at home. Others may need to bring home a book at his/her independent reading level and read it to someone at home. Please check your child's agenda book each night to see that what he/she needs to do for the night. I will do my best to check it and sign it each day before the students leave my classroom.

In addition, I have some 7th grade social studies students for ICR. I will be re-wording and typing up much of the homework activities. You child is expected to complete the paper that is sent home each night. Remember, a current event is due EVERY Friday!

If you have any questions, please call, e-mail, or speak to me during back-to school night (Tuesday, September 20)!