Gayhead Elementary School MAY 2011...Spelling Bee just took place on May 2. the spelling bee winner...
Transcript of Gayhead Elementary School MAY 2011...Spelling Bee just took place on May 2. the spelling bee winner...
Gayhead Elementary School 15 Entry Road
Hopewell Junction, NY 12533 Tel.: 845-227-1756
Fax.: 845-227-1764 MAY 2011
From Mr. Olavarría Dear Parents and Guardians:
We have an unusually busy month coming up. Our
Spelling Bee just took place on May 2. Cordelia Ko is
the spelling bee winner from our school. Cordelia will
be going to the District Spelling Bee held in early June.
Congratulations, Cordelia!!
The New York State assessments for grades 3-5 in
English language arts and mathematics are coming up on
May 4, 5, 6 and May 11-13 respectively.
We have an important PTA meeting coming up on May
10 at 6:30p.m. Each year school districts across New
York are required to present a plan (budget) as to how
funds will be spent for the next school year. Our
Superintendent Jim Parla will be at Gayhead School to
speak to us about the budget and upcoming budget
vote. Please try to attend. The Wappingers district
website has a message from Mr. Parla that contains
important information. Please click on
www.wappingersschools.org to read all about it.
Our orchestra is performing on May 4 at the South
Pyramid Concert. The fifth grade chorus will be
performing on May 11 and the fourth grade choruses
will be performing in concert on May 12. All concerts
take place at John Jay High School at 7:00 p.m. Our
band is performing on May 18 at the South Pyramid
Concert. On May 19th there will be a bake sale to
benefit the fifth grade picnic. There will be a School
Leadership Team meeting at 8:00 a.m. in the primary
library on May 24. School will be in session on May
27th. May 30th is a holiday – Memorial Day – there is no
school on this day. Enjoy the weekend!
Please remember, on Tuesday, May 17th be sure to stop
off at Gayhead School (or your local school district
voting location) to vote on the Wappingers Central
School District Budget.
It only takes a minute, but it is one of the most
important things you can do that will directly affect
your children and your community. The polls will be open
all day from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
If you are registered to vote in general elections,
you are automatically registered to vote in school
District elections. If you have any questions, please
call Susan Penney, the Board Clerk at 298-5000
extension 145.
Sincerely,
José Olavarría
Principal
If you would like to receive weekly bulletins, the latest
information about special events at our building, and
notification about school delays and 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.
GAYHEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MAY 2011 PAGE 2
The Wappingers Congress of Teachers
(WCT) will be running the 3rd annual food
drive from May 17 through May 24 at
Gayhead School as well as all the WCSD
schools. Mrs. Ross, one of our school
psychologists is spearheading this
effort.
The WCT welcomes contributions from
everyone - parents, students, staff and
members of the community for this food
collection. There will be large boxes in or
near the main office to collect non-
perishable food items (rice, can tuna,
peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, canned
fruits/vegetables/juice, coffee, tea,
boxes of pasta, gravies, macaroni &
cheese, boxes of crackers, salad
dressing, oil, etc.).
Last year, nearly 3,800 pounds of food
were collected!! The WCT would like to
donate even more this year.
The collected food will go to the Zion
Food Pantry, located at the Zion
Episcopal Church. The food pantry is
100% non-denominational with regard to
the people they serve.
Thank you so much for your generosity;
your help is greatly appreciated in this
effort to give back to our community!
May is Better Speech and
Hearing Month!
Communication for young and developing
students is very important in a school
setting. The American Speech-Language-
Hearing Association is a great source for
information.
Your child may have trouble with
communication if he or she:
-Began talking later than expected
-Is having difficulty learning to read
-Cannot seem to express his/her
thoughts and ideas
-Has problems understanding others and
following directions
-Does not pick up on social cues
-Has problems taking tests
-Says “huh” a lot and needs things
repeated often
-Does not respond consistently to sounds
Mrs. Munoz, Mrs. Tarantino, and Mrs. Lombardo's fourth grade class has completed their Earth
Day project. The students have come up with different ways to educate all of us at Gayhead
School about Earth Day and get everyone involved.
The winners of the door decorating contest each received a certificate and will also receive a
plant to put in Gayhead’s Garden of Life. The winners were:
Kindergarten: First Grade: Second Grade:
Mrs. O’Hearon’s Class-Room 2 Mrs. Smith’s Class-Room 8 Mrs. Hack’s Class-Room 4
Third Grade: Fourth Grade: Fifth Grade:
Miss Scalzo’s Class-Room 26 Mrs. Valentino & Room 40 Mrs. Robinson and Children
GAYHEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MAY 2011 PAGE 3
The students of Room 35 had a lot of fun judging and want to thank all of the
teachers who participated in the competition. Happy Earth Day! Go Green!
In the Special Area/Other
Category, Mrs. Robinson’s door was
created with the help of students
in Mrs. Raskin’s fifth grade class.
And…the overall winner was the door created by
Miss Scalzo’s third grade class!!
Along with their certificate and plant, they also
received a student-made trophy that the students in
room 35 created with our art teacher,
Mrs. Robinson’s help.
GAYHEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MAY 2011 PAGE 4
When times get tough and and you feel as if you've been shaken
to your roots, give this a try.
As your school bus rattles up the road to Gayhead, take a glance at
Gayhead's Mighty Oak Tree to gather the strength you need to
push through another day.
Here's a poem and a picture of that Mighty Oak to inspire you:
GAYHEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MAY 2011 PAGE 5
The Oak Tree by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr.
A mighty wind blew night and day. It stole the Oak Tree's leaves away.
Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark
until the Oak was tired and stark.
But still the Oak Tree held its ground
while other trees fell all around. The weary wind gave up and spoke,
"How can you still be standing Oak?"
The Oak Tree said, “I know that you
can break each branch of mine in two, carry every leaf away,
shake my limbs and make me sway.” “But I have roots stretched in the earth,
growing stronger since my birth. You'll never touch them, for you see
they are the deepest part of me.”
“Until today, I wasn't sure
of just how much I could endure. But now I've found, with thanks to you,
I'm stronger than I ever knew.”
The Gayhead Spelling Bee took place on the Gayhead Stage on Monday, May 2nd. Mrs. Seemha
Bhatt, the PTA chairperson, did a superb job of organizing the grade level spelling bees and the
final Gayhead spelling bee. Ms. Kim Barnett, from PTA made the introductions and gave an
overview of the rules. Our Assistant Principal, Josh Cohen was the official word announcer and
the judges were Mrs. Kelley Lewis and Mrs. Tiffany Sweeney.
The winner of the 2011 Gayhead Spelling Bee was Cordelia Ko from fourth grade. Mr. Olavarría,
our Principal, and Mr. Cohen awarded the prizes. Congratulations to all the participants and
winners!! Great job, Cordelia! Cordelia will go on to the Wappingers Central School District
Spelling Bee held in early June.
GAYHEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MAY 2011 PAGE 6
Gayhead kindergarten students enjoyed a special treat brought to our school as part of the Arts
in Education program funded through PTA.
All three kindergarten classes were visited by Henry and Skitch from The Madden Outdoor
Education Center, part of Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES. Henry engaged the children in a
discussion about birds and brought along feathers, talons and nests for the kids to explore at
their tables.
As Henry spoke to the children, Skitch was preparing for his debut! When Henry finally took
Skitch out of his crate, the children were prepared and excited to see him.
GAYHEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MAY 2011 PAGE 7
GAYHEAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MAY 2011 PAGE 8
MAY!! 2 Gayhead Spelling Bee
4, 5, 6 New York State ELA Exams, Gr. 3-5
4 Orchestra South Pyramid Concert-7:00p.m. @ JJ
10 PTA Mtg. with Superintendent Parla 6:30 p.m.
11-13 New York State Math Exams, Gr. 3-5
11 South Pyramid Concert-5th Gr. Chorus 7:00p.m. @JJ
12 Spring Concert – 4th Gr. Choruses 7:00p.m. @ JJ
14 Festival of the Arts in the Village of
Wappingers Falls, Mesier Park 10:00am-4:00pm
17 Budget Vote – polls open 7:30a.m.-9:00p.m.
18 Band South Pyramid 7:00p.m. @ JJ
19 Bake Sale to benefit 5th Grade Picnic
24 SLT Meeting 8:00 a.m.
27 School is in session as usual- (make-up)
30 School is closed - Memorial Day
To Parents and Guardians,
Re: Pick-up Notes:
Please print or write
legibly the first and last
name of the person
picking up your child.
The secretaries must
record on our pick-up list
the name of the person
picking up each child.
They must be able to
read the name.
Thank you for helping us
to keep your children
safe!!