There are so many wonderful enriching activities at Barnum for which we are grateful.
It has been another amzing month in kindergarten! The kindergarten teachers would like to thank the PTA for the Pumpkin Patch pumpkins and the Ajna Dance Company assembly. The children loved them! They also are pumped for having Nate the Great join us again this year and are having so much fun being a part of the Boosterthon! GO BOBCATS! This month, the students have enjoyed learning about folktales in the CKLA reading program. One of their favorites was The Three Little Pigs! They will continue to learn about the season of fall and are slowly watching the weather change as winter weather has snuck in a few times. Kindergarten classes are doing many things related to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. The students came up with amazing turkey disguises and enjoyed sharing them with their classmates and put such creativity into each disguise! They are now designing their own special holiday placemats and creating thankful turkeys. Everyone is looking forward to the Thanksgiving celebrations in their classrooms!
First grade had a fantastic end to October with our Spooky Walk and fun in-classroom fall celebrations, complete with crafts, delicious treats, and collaborative party games. As they moved into November, they took time to discuss the significance of Veterans Day and participated in meaningful activities to honor our veterans. In ELA, they are exploring fairy tales and folktales and are reading variations of these stories from different lands and cultures. Through these tales, students are actively expanding their vocabulary, strengthening reading comprehension, and learning valuable lessons. They successfully concluded a unit on addition concepts and are now ready to dive into subtraction concepts in math! The students will be spending the next few weeks learning to use pictures and models to solve subtraction problems, understand and use subtraction to compare groups (finding the difference), master key concepts like subtracting all or zero, and exploring ways to take apart numbers within 10 to build fact fluency. First grade is also fortunate to participate in the LITA "Learning In and Through the Arts" program this year. The first-grade children will engage in experiences that spark their creativity and in which they will learn to collaborate, analyze, and interpret their existing curriculum through arts-based learning. Beginning this week, Ms. Love, a teaching artist, will lead in-class workshops in music, dance, and drama. In addition, students will take part in four field trips: two visits to the Nassau County Museum of Art and two trips to the Tilles Center for live professional performances of Ada Twist, Scientist and Tortoise and Hare. These experiences connect classroom learning to real-world arts settings. First grade is especially excited for their first field trip to the Nassau County Museum of Art early next month to view the exhibit Real, Surreal, and Photoreal. This will be a fantastic opportunity for students to explore diverse art styles and expand their innate creativity. The children are also excited to participate in the Boosterthon FUN RUN event on Thursday, November 20th. They are looking forward to having fun with their friends. First grade thanks the PTA for their continued support and are looking forward to another month full of learning, art, creativity, and friendships.
Second grade thanks the PTA for providing the pumpkin patch. They also enjoyed the second annual Spooky Stroll and are looking forward to the Fun Run this Thursday, November 20th, sponsored by Boosterthon. They are finishing their unit on Ancient Greek Civilization and will start Greek Myths next. They have also reviewed different strategies for adding and are practicing addition with regrouping.
Third graders are loving Boosterthon! Nate the Great and Bobcat Bryce are keeping the energy high and motivating the students in a positive way! Exposure to NASA scientists that demonstrated resilience, courage, and humility is such a clever way to integrate these wonderful character traits into a fundraiser! In addition, the students and teachers are learning about a new computer-based testing platform called "DataMate". Third grade wishes a Happy Thanksgiving to all! They are grateful for our amazing PTA and appreciate all they do for the students of Barnum Woods!
Our fourth graders have been busy learning and creating across all subjects! In science, students worked on their Mythical Creature Projects, where they designed an imaginative creature based on the real structures and functions of a land animal, aquatic animal, or plant. They explained how their creature survives, moves, and adapts to its environment using accurate scientific details. In social studies, the students wrote informative paragraphs about life in Medieval Europe, focusing on the roles of lords and serfs. They learned how each group lived, worked, and depended on one another within the feudal system. In ELA, after reading Balloons Over Broadway, students wrote argumentative pieces to convince Macy’s to add their own creative balloon to the Thanksgiving Day Parade. They used strong reasoning, text evidence, and imagination to support their ideas. Students are also diving into their unit on Early New Yorkers, learning about the Native American groups who first lived in New York, particularly the Algonquian and Iroquois. They are beginning hands-on Native American projects where they are exploring homes, clothing, food, traditions, and how these nations used natural resources. The students are excited to compare how each group lived and the lasting impact they had on New York’s history. Fourth Grade would also like to thank you PTA for the upcoming assemblies!
Our fifth-grade students have been hard at work publishing a special writing piece centered on the theme of gratitude during the month of November. Students began by brainstorming what gratitude truly means to them. From there, each child selected three things they are especially grateful to have in their lives and thoughtfully explained why those people, places, or experiences are meaningful. The fifth grade teachers are so proud of the reflection and heart that the students put into their writing. These beautiful pieces will be on display in the fifth-grade hallway, and all are invited to take a moment to enjoy their work the next time you are in the building.
Our winter concert, featuring the fifth grade orchestra, fourth and fifth grade chorus, and fifth grade band will be performing three concerts on Wednesday, December 10th with the 7pm show at Woodland Middle School. Bring the family and watch in amazement at the level of talent our groups possess. Former Barnum chorus alumni are invited to take the stage once again for the finale, "Winter Wonderland". Our concerts are the talk of the town, and this year, the PTA has partnered up with Carvel to host an after-concert promotion. Six 4th graders will be participating in the P.E.A.K. (Parents, Educators, and Kids) Music Festival this Saturday, November 22nd. This event, much like a 4th grade All-County, allows musicians to spend a day sharing some music-making with one of their adults. Barnum's representatives this year are Mackenzie DiSalvo, David Villa, James Beckett, Alice Liu, Adilie Asanova, and Elliana Shin. Bravo to all!
Mrs. Schiller's K-Kids' club is thankful for our veterans and for all of your support in making our Barnum Woods K-Kids Field of Honor a reality. To date we have 14 flags being sponsored, proudly displaying the name of the veteran, his/her branch and rank. We have also replaced all of the American flags with new flags, provided new poles as needed, and added a flag for each branch of the military. The flags will fly until December 1st and again in the spring. This sale is ongoing, so there is still time and room to sponsor a flag and honor a special veteran. They are also so grateful for all of the food you have donated to this year's food drive! Thank you!
The Barnum Woods faculty and staff would like to express their gratitude and appreciation for the PTA and all they do for everyone in our school community. They wish everyone in our Barnum Family a very Happy Thanksgiving!