Gayhead Elementary School 15 Entry Road

Hopewell Junction, NY 12533

Tel.: 845-227-1756

Fax.: 845-227-1764

JUNE 2011

From Mr. Olavarría

Dear Parents and Guardians:

The 2010-2011 school year has flown by. It has been

extremely enjoyable working with all of you.

Gayhead School is very fortunate to have two

parent/teacher organizations that do a magnificent

job, accomplish so much and demonstrate sincere

commitment to the students. I‘d like to sincerely

thank Mrs. Bukofsky, President of Gayhead‘s PTA,

and members of the PTA Board. In addition, we

would like to acknowledge the efforts of Mrs. Lewis

as our arts in education chairperson. Without her

passion and dedication to our students, the terrific

programs she helped to arrange for would not have

been possible for our children.

Special thanks also to our School Leadership Team,

composed of parents and teachers, especially Mrs.

Yeager and Mrs. McHenry for their leadership of the

SLT. Some highlights of their accomplishments and

programs this year were – Citizen the Month

Program, Twenty-Five Book Campaign and the

purchase of hundreds of books for all our grade

levels--the main goal was for teachers to have

additional resources to reinforce their mini-lessons.

Additional thanks go out to the members of the Bully

Prevention Committee and the Math Problem of the

Month Committee.

Our PTA and SLT work very hard to bring the best

possible educational experiences to the children at

Gayhead. The energy, enthusiasm, dedication and

creativity of these two groups have benefited our

school immensely.

As we look forward to the warm, summer months, I

encourage you to help your children keep learning

during the vacation. Our district-wide Summer

Reading Program offers an exciting way to build and

strengthen your child‘s reading skills. Look for that

coming home in the next few weeks. In addition, we

are fortunate to live in an area with abundant cultural

opportunities. Experiencing these rich sites can be

fun and enjoyable as well. Please try to visit the

beautiful Mount Gulian Historic Site, Madam Brett

Homestead, Vanderbilt Mansion, FDR Homesite,

Locust Grove—the former home of Samuel Morse.

Another wonderful day trip might be to Muscoot Farm

off 684 in Katonah. These are all wonderful landmarks

close by. The grounds are beautiful for picnicking

and hiking.

I extend to you my sincere thanks for another

exciting, productive and happy school year. I am

looking forward to an even better 2011-12 school year.

As always, if you have any questions concerning your

child‘s progress, please call your child‘s teacher at

school (227-1756).

In the meantime, you have my best wishes for

wonderful summer!!

Sincerely,

José Olavarría

Principal

If you would like to receive weekly bulletins, latest

information about special events at our building, and

notification about school delays & cancellations via

e-mail, please subscribe to Gayhead School News by

visiting http://groups.google.com/group/gayhead-

school-news.

You may also access the registration screen for

Gayhead School News by clicking on the link found

on our school website.

Dear Gayhead Families and Friends,

I wanted to let you know that I have accepted a principal position in the

Hendrick Hudson School District and will start July 1st. I will miss working with

all of you but leave happily knowing the great work of our staff members,

parents and children will continue.

Thank you for a memorable two years at Gayhead. I learned so much in my first

administrative position and have grown in the position with your assistance. All

of the accomplishments I am proud of were made possible by your support and

efforts at home. As I have stated in each of the citizen of the month letters, I

feel that together we succeeded in shaping and strengthening our children‘s

character. In addition, we have done a great job providing them with the skills

needed for future success.

On a personal note, my wife and I moved into our first home and we would soon

welcome our first child Avery into the world while I was at Gayhead. For each

of these experiences, you were very supportive and interested. It was a

pleasure coming to work each day to work with your children, interacting with

you and creating ways to make Gayhead even better.

Thanks again for all of your support and all that you do!

Sincerely,

Joshua S. Cohen

Assistant Principal

GAYHEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL June 2011 PAGE 2

GAYHEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL June 2011 PAGE 3

Let‘s Move!

By Anthony Miceli and Daniel Hicks from Room #39

Michelle Obama is encouraging school kids to move more.

Gayhead‘s P.E teacher, Mrs. Boccini, went to a conference in California because of our participation in Jump

Rope for Heart. The students from San Diego and Coronado schools were demonstrating some physical

activities they do at their schools, and some of the celebrities participated in the activities alongside the

students. All schools and students are encouraged to MOVE MORE every day! There were a few celebrities like

Drew Brees, Carl Lewis, and Dave Winfield, who attended the AAHPERD (Physical Education Association),

National Convention in San Diego, California.

Local students from San Diego schools and Coronado schools are participating in LET’S MOVE! Students are

encouraged to run, jump rope, and exercise more. In early May, students and teachers from Gayhead

participated in the Let‘s Move campaign.

GAYHEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL June 2011 PAGE 4

The first grade students from room 10 and three special

guests from room 9 learned all about the science of

bubbles in a videoconference with the New York Hall of

Science.

First we discussed what we already knew about bubbles.

[ [

The teacher from the museum then asked us to blow air through

our straws into plain water and asked us to observe what happens.

We did and then we talked about what we observed. Then we did

the same, only we used soapy water.

What a difference the soap made! We observed that the bubbles

were bigger, lasted longer, that there were more bubbles, and we

could notice rainbows in the bubbles. We learned that the

rainbows were made by reflected light.

It was a wonderful learning experience and we are creating a lab

report on Comic Life on the laptops.

Have a Healthy Summer! From Gayhead‘s Health Office Staff

Summer Sun

Here are some tips for

managing the summer sun:

UV Rays are strongest in the middle of the day.

Plan indoor activities at that time or look for

shade to prevent sunburn.

Cover the skin with a shirt AND sunscreen to

avoid sunburn!

Wear a hat – preferably one that covers the neck

and ears. When wearing a baseball style hat,

remember to apply sunscreen to the neck and

ears.

Sunglasses protect eyes from UV rays. Look for

sunglasses that wrap around and block nearly

100% of UV rays. Use sunscreen! Use a

sunscreen with at least a SPF of 15 and UVA/UVB

protection. This information and more is available

at http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/

chooseyourcover/guide.htm.

Vaccine Information

Summer is a good time to be sure

that your child‘s immunizations

are up to date! Students entering

Kindergarten – Grade 12 in New

York State require the following vaccinations:

DTaP 3 doses (4 doses for NYC

students)

Tdap

(booster)

1 dose if born on or after 1/1/94

& entering grades 6-10

Polio (IPV or

OPV)

3 doses

MMR 2 doses of measles, 1 dose

mumps, rubella

Hepatitis B 3 doses

Varicella 1 dose if born on or after 1/1/98

or born on or after 1/1/94 and

entering 6th grade

Tdap 1 dose if born on or after 1/1/94

and entering grades 6-10

Summer Water Safety

When protecting kids while swimming, most

parents think about life jackets, swimming lessons

and childproofing their pool. However, swimming

in pools, lakes or waterparks that are

contaminated with germs can cause recreational

water illnesses (RWIs) such as: Giardia, Pink

Eye, Swimmer’s Ear and Molluscum

Contagiosum. Some simple steps can keep

everyone safe while swimming. In addition to

teaching your child to not swallow water when

swimming or playing in the water, you can help

keep your child and everyone else healthy in the

water if you: * Keep your child out of the water when he has an open

wound, diarrhea, pink eye, hepatitis A or other

contagious diseases;

* Don‘t share pool or beach towels;

* Take younger children to the bathroom frequently so

that they are less likely to have accidents in the water;

keep in mind that swim diapers and swim pants are not

leakproof-check--change them frequently for infants

and toddlers who aren‘t yet potty trained.

* Don‘t change diapers by the pool. Instead, take your

child to the bathroom to change his diaper--then wash

your child‘s bottom well and wash your hands too.

Head Lice Alert

Head lice reach a peak time for infestation during

the summer because of overnight camps, slumber

parties and vacations.

Consider checking your child‘s head for the

presence of lice regularly during the summer and

several times the week before school reopens.

Information about identifying lice can be found at: http://healthgate.partners.org/browsing/LearningCenter

.asp?fileName=11818.xml&title=Head%20Lice

GAYHEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL June 2011 PAGE 5

News from the PE Department:

Summer Safety

During the month of June we will cover our Stranger Danger

curriculum in all physical education classes. Below are some areas

that we covered; we recommend that you review them with your child.

We also reviewed fire safety, and encouraged the children to discuss

their individual plan at home. In grades 3- 5 we discuss Internet

safety, so please remind your child of your family rules.

We all need to work together to teach children how to protect themselves. Have a safe summer!

1. Keep them safe indoors: Make sure children know their complete home address, telephone

number and parents‘ first and last names. Children should know how to call 911.

2. Keep them safe outdoors: Parents should know their child‘s route to and from school or

activities, and insist that a child never take shortcuts. Teach children never to go anywhere

with anyone without parental permission. Parents should teach children to run away from

someone who is bothering them, and while doing so, yell to attract as much attention as

possible. If followed by a car, or if a stranger gets out of a vehicle and asks for directions,

children should be taught to run away and yell.

3. Teach your child about predators‘ tricks: Predators use tricks. Teach your child to recognize

the common methods of luring, including bribes (such as money, toys or the promise of something

the child would want), requests for help (―My puppy ran away! Will you help me look for it?‖) or threats.

4. Develop a code word: Teach your child a ―code word‖, if someone other than a parent needs to

pick up the child unexpectedly, this person needs to know the ―code word‖ before the child

agrees to leave with him or her.

5. Know the risks: Statistically, your child is most likely to be harmed by an adult they know, rather

than a stranger. A child should know what the family safety rules are and what the proper roles

are for adults in his or her life.

6. Teach kids how to say ‗no!‘ Kids have the right to say ―no!‖ — and loudly — if anyone touches them

in a way that is uncomfortable.

Taken from http://www.parentmap.com/content/view/1244/110/

GAYHEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL June 2011 PAGE 6

It‘s safer with two,

your buddy and you!

The students and teachers witnessed the fawn taking its first steps and momma doe licked them both clean.

Gayhead‘s second grade classes attended a Pond Study Workshop, given by an educator from the Mid Hudson

Children's Museum. Here are some of the highlights:

A week ago or so, one of the local does had two fawns

right here on the Gayhead property. One of our

teachers was out with the class and was able to

capture some pictures of the baby fawn and proud

mom that visited.

Students also used microscopes, and a slide

projector to observe pond water that came

from a local pond.

Using scientific tools, including hand lenses, they learned about the plants and insects they observed.

The children and even created art that was

inspired by their observations.

GAYHEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL June 2011 PAGE 8

Upcoming Field Trips

6/2 All 5th Grades are visiting

Liberty Science Center in NJ today

6/16 All 4th Grades will be going to

Albany, State Capital, Empire

State Plaza and the

New York State Senate

and New York State Museum

- 7:15-5:30

Here are some bike safety rules to

review: Stop at all stop signs and signal when turning.

Bicyclists should respect pedestrians in crosswalks.

Bicycles go with the traffic flow, not against it.

Helmets are required by state law for those under age 14,

but should be worn by everyone.

Bicycles need to stay as far to the right on the road as they

can get

The use of headphones and music players should be

discouraged while riding bicycles – it doesn‘t make

Good common sense - if it‘s that important to listen to, then

stop

JUNE 2010

1 NYS Science Assessment for 4th Gr.

2 5th Grade Field Trip to Liberty Sci.

6 1st Grade Picnic

7 3rd Grade Field Day

8 4th Grade Field Day

9 5th Grade Field Day

PTA Meeting 6:45 pm

15 5th Grade Picnic

16 4th Grade Field Trip to Albany

17 Math Carnival

21 No morning kindergarten on 6/21;

the afternoon kindergarten will

attend at the morning session time.

21, 22, 23 Early Dismissal at 11:30 am for

all grades

.

22 Fifth Grade Moving Up Ceremony at

John Jay High School 9:45 am

23 Last full day of school

Report cards go home

Have a Magnificent…