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bolivar road school the address for success june 2011 from the principal s desk as the last month of the school year begins our focus continues to be teaching and learning with some special events intermingled all grade levels have been and will be taking part in field trips as well as participating in field day events and a school picnic fifth grade classes will celebrate the end of their mr merola three years at bolivar road school by participating in a sendoff party and a moving up celebration fourth and fifth grade chorus orchestra and band students performed in our spring concert on may 26 at the high school when we reflect on the events of the 2010-2011 school year we remember the continuing successes of our daily academic studies project c.a.r.e science fair music performances and school fair projects our student council accomplished many worthwhile projects including penny wars for the focalpoint federal credit union/sullivan food cupboard drug free red ribbon week school supplies drive for golisano children s hospital breast cancer awareness day 5th grade community day a food drive for the sullivan food cupboard a holiday card drive for us soldiers hat day for bolivar boot camp mismatch day for the syracuse symphony orchestra a can tab drive to benefit the ronald mcdonald house 5th grade drug free day hat day as a thank you for working hard on the ela tests a cat food drive for wanderer s rest and a coat boot drive to benefit the center for new americans in syracuse our pta sponsored many successful events such as before and after school clubs book fairs p.a.m.p parents as math partners holiday crafts fundraisers family fun nights project c.a.r.e and reading challenge 2011 thank you to our pta officers and committee chairpersons for your excellent leadership this year s officers were sheila pitt and margherita bertella co-presidents sonja kingsley vice president amanda blaszkow secretary jackie penfield treasurer and diane paul membership the building planning team bpt facilitated several worthwhile projects including before and after school clubs volunteer recognition and career day we are grateful to all the teachers parents and community members who sponsored the 26 clubs that were offered this year thank you to the following bpt members for their dedication to school improvement parents theresa giarrosso michelle morgillo sharon schnauffer and melissa stanek teachers eric bonnier 4th grade team shea palmer and michelle wilson support staff kristine burleigh and community member mary lou champlin to all parents thank you for your ongoing support of not only these programs but especially your child s learning efforts children are more successful in life when the home-school partnership is positive cafeteria notice please remember to send your child with money each day or put money on your child s account to last for the remainder of the year any money remaining in your child s account will carry over to the next year no refunds are given if you have outstanding charges please pay them off asap thank you state testing schedule reminder­the following test will be administered in june grade 4 nys science tests june 1 2 and 6 please encourage good attendance on these dates it is important that your child is well rested eats a good breakfast and is on time thank you!

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grade level news 3rd grade the end of the school year is approaching quickly june will be filled with many fun and exciting activities for the third graders to participate in some of these activities include career day super kids day pet day and they will also be visited by the second graders from lake street we are very proud of our third graders and the many accomplishments that they have achieved throughout the year they have made great strides in both reading and writing in math concepts were learned to help them succeed in writing explanations of how word problems were solved additionally they have become more proficient in the speed and accuracy in which they solve math facts students have enjoyed using leveled readers to help them develop valuable reading skills the leveled readers explored many different genres such as biographies folk tales fantasies plays and fictional and non-fictional stories students also enjoyed creating various types of writing pieces such as poems creative stories fairy tales autobiographies and letters third grade teachers and children have greatly appreciated and want to thank the many parents who have volunteered this year to help with various activities in the classrooms and throughout the school we hope that everyone has a safe and enjoyable summer vacation we look forward to seeing each other again in the fall don t forget to continue to read read read this summer 4th grade it s not over `til it s over although we ve heard this before it s particularly true in fourth grade as we enter into our last month of the school year in addition to being an actionpacked month our last month is often considered by many to be our greatest here s why in science we will take our new york state science test in social studies we ll be continuing with our studies of immigration the erie canal and local history whether you re interested in l frank baum the chittenango landing canal boat museum chittenango pottery or chittenango falls the subjects we ll be learning about are sure to leave all students with a new admiration for our wonderful village in addition to our local history studies we ve recently visited the fort stanwix national monument and will be visiting the chittenango landing canal boat museum these field trips will not soon be forgotten fasten your seat belt for a great time in math we ll be finishing our multiplication and division strategies in our unit packages and groups then we ll wrap up the year continuing to explore multiplication division and word problems in ela we ll continue to read a great selection of guided reading books as well as some wonderful trade books as we ll try to sneak in so much before the school year is over it s unquestionable that we ll have some great suggestions to get the students summer reading lists underway 5th grade in science we have finished up our unit on animal adaptations and have started our ponds and wetlands unit the students had a great time on their field trip to the landfill learning how to help keep madison county clean and grade level news continued 5th grade continued environmentally green we will be visiting the great swamp conservancy in canastota in early june students are learning about the importance of wetlands and the many species that live there in social studies this month students have finished up their state reports and are working on sharing them with their classmates they all worked very hard on their research reports and should be very proud of their final projects mrs randall s class is learning all about canada and ms davidson s class is studying the regions of the united states in math we are learning all about probability in our unit called between never and always in this unit students learn how to calculate the chance of an event occurring or not and what factors influence probability the students seem to really love this unit and they have had the opportunity to work in small groups to play different games to collect data to see how their predictions compared to their actual results they will also have the opportunity to create their own fair games in addition we continue to encourage every child to practice their basic multiplication and division facts daily at home as well as practice their multi-digit computations in ela students continue to work on reviewing comprehension strategies that have been taught throughout the year mr williams class is reading there s an owl in the shower by jean craighead george and will be venturing into biographies of famous people by the end of the year mrs palmer s class will be reading realistic fiction books while in literature circle groups in writing we are continuing to practice and improve upon our use of descriptive language supporting details and organizing our pieces effectively while studying the genres of writing in reading we continue to encourage students to read 15 minutes every night the end of the year is quickly approaching and each student is required to read at least 25 books by the end of june keep up the good work ais/resource classes with summer quickly approaching it s time to think of ways we can help our children maintain the academic progress they have made this past year did you know that students who do not read write or practice math concepts over the summer can actually lose three months or more of progress alternatively students who have academic practice and involved parental support can actually make gains in their achievement here are some ways to keep the learning going · read with and write to your child snuggle up with a book and your child before bed share books on tape with your child or read aloud on long summer car trips read some of the books magazines or websites your child is interested in and then discuss them together leave short notes on the refrigerator or a nighttime message on a pillow both encourage reading and demonstrate the power of words write a journal scrapbook or blog as a family taking time to record daily events you can even write group e-mails or letters to family and friends · look for a summer reading sheet to be coming home with your child in june set a goal for the summer hang the reading sheet on your refrigerator and keep track of the books that your child reads research says

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grade level news continued ais/resource classes continued that children who read six books or more during the summer break may improve their reading achievement · use flash cards and play games to practice addition subtraction multiplication and division skills also demonstrate the everyday uses of math tally your spending while shopping calculate the savings on a sale item estimate how many gallons of paint you ll need to paint the deck double recipes or let your child help put together a budget for an activity · check out the bolivar road elementary website for more age appropriate activities and on-line games and tools the time you spend on these types of activities will truly pay off come fall special area classes as this year begins to come to a close i want to say thank you to all the students for their hard work in the art room students explored a variety of new concepts skills and processes throughout the course of the school year the following are some highlights from each grade level third grade students learned about the life and art of vincent van gogh while creating their own version of the starry night they explored the concept of op art created robot paintings based on color theory learned new watercolor techniques during their palm tree paintings and made 3 dimensional dinosaurs and colorful desserts fourth grade students started the year with ink splatter creepy trees then learned how to draw portraits of their favorite people they viewed the work of pablo picasso while making abstract portraits the students built functional coil pottery detailed underwater paintings and worked in teams to create life-sized musicians fifth grade students created metallic relief portraits using a variety of materials and pinch pot animals they learned about impressionism surrealism and cubism while producing art work using oil pastels acrylic and watercolor paints in addition to all this great work students in art class participated in the original works fundraiser art and ice cream social empty bowls fundraiser and displayed art work at the chittenango post office a few works are currently being selected for a summer exhibition at the museum of young artists in syracuse prior to ozstravaganza i will be hosting award winning and new york times bestselling cartoonist eric shanower who will be discussing his works on the oz comics from marvel for all 5th grade students in the art room a strong finish to a great year mr devendorf bolivar pta corner bolivar pta thanks all our members all who volunteered at bolivar throughout the year bolivar families that attended our events and supported our fundraisers and businesses that donated items during the year we thank all our outgoing officers whose terms have ended sheila pitt and sonja kingsley we thank our chair persons who work behind the scenes to provide our students and families with activities/events such as book fair school pictures quiet games and recess time craft carts holiday craft family fun bingo the parent workshop on tobacco prevention 3-4-5 family art and ice cream social project c.a.r.e pamp reading challenge memory yearbook books for classrooms cultural events such as theater performances field trips to enhance what is learned in the classroom 5th grade celebration and moving up and t-shirts to cap off career day and more through the collection of box tops for education we donated over $500 to bolivar road points earned from labels for education will be used to acquire playground equipment and classroom supplies also the students did a great job saving and recycling capri sun drink pouches thanks to support of bolivar pta our students will have the great experience of having a guest author visit our school and inspire students to read and become writers to wrap up the year yearbooks will be delivered to students during the last week of school thank you to local businesses for donations for teacher appreciation lunch and breakfast we are looking forward to 5th grade celebration and need parent volunteers for the afternoon we are also planning 5th grade moving up and would like a few 3rd or 4th grade parents to help on the morning of june 22 to volunteer please email bolivarpta@gmail.com or leave a message at school at 687-2880 please join us on wed june 8 at 6:15 pm at bolivar for our end of year pta meeting families are welcome­we will have connect 4 games available for students to play during the meeting all officers chairpersons and their families are asked to attend this one-hour meeting is open to the public join us in welcoming our new officers elected in may co-presidents­margherita bertella and diane paul treasurer­jackie penfield and secretary­amanda blaszkow the position of vice president will be elected in september if you are interested in being a chair person or to volunteer for a committee next year please email bolivarpta@gmail.com or leave a message at school at 687-2880 thank you to volunteers who help with reading challenge and serve on the building planning team we thank our committee chairpersons diane paul­membership cheryl seal­fall and spring book fair darlene collado­school pictures connie tessier­yearbook deb becker­holiday craft katie galuski­quiet games jill just and kristen tedford­ice cream social mr devendorf­art display melissa biviano­project c.a.r.e and pamp margherita bertella and deb becker­5th grade celebration/moving up theresa giarrosso­box tops for education amanda blaszkow­campbell s labels for education denise frantz­capri sun recycling and kelly hanzel­teacher appreciation we thank bolivar road elementary staff teachers and families for continued support all year together we can and we do!

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bottles for bolivar s a special thank you to everyone who sent in bottles and cans or donated money to help us purchase t-shirts for every student to wear on career day we were able to buy one shirt for every child thanks to your support this will be a fun filled day and the kids will have a special t-shirt to remember the event is your child missing a pair of boots or shoes a lunch box coat or sweatshirt we have many clothing items on our lost and found cart that have not been claimed there are just a few more weeks left of school to reclaim your belongings june 2011 sunday monday tuesday wednesday thursday nys science test­grade 4 2 3:45 p.m bpt meeting in lib 6 p.m 5th gr parent info night cms friday saturday 1 nys science test­grade 4 1 3 career day library books are due 3 4 2 5 nys science test­grade 4 6 7 4 5 6:30 p.m 14 instrumental info night cms flag day 6:15 p.m pta meeting in library 1 school picnic during lunch periods 1 8 9 10 author visit 11 2 3 5th grade 17 sendoff party marking period ends 3 12 13 15 16 18 4 5 2 19 20 21 4 9:15 a.m 5th22 23 gr moving up last day of school ceremony chs 10:30 dismissal half day of school report cards issued 5 11:15 dismissal1 2 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 have a fun and safe summer!

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how do i keep my child engaged in literacy and mathematics during the summer u games online summer challenge literacy mathematics from may 30-august 7 2011 students in grades 3-8 are invited to play in the u games summer challenge registration for the u games is free and open to all u.s students go to http www.dimensionu.com to get started the competition consists of 5 individual rounds each two weeks long so it s never too late to score big more than 1 million dimensionm games have already been played are you ready to get in the game parents visit the parent center to learn more about dimensionm news from the building planning team on june 3 all bolivar students and staff members will participate in career day a whole school event organized by the building planning team the event will begin with a school-wide assembly and a special guest speaker following this students will attend workshop sessions on different career fields we re looking forward to this very meaningful learning experience if you are interested in becoming a member of the building planning team please call the school at 687-2880 bolivar road student council ­ 2nd half the second half of student council is coming to a close the students did a remarkable job of promoting community service at bolivar road elementary their first job was to help out at bolivar road s annual drug free ­ way to be day then they organized a can tab drive to support the ronald mcdonald house they collected 74 pounds of can tabs next up was a hat day to thank the students of bolivar road for working so hard on the new york state tests then a cat food drive was held to benefit wanderer s rest a wacky hair day was held with the proceeds going to the ride for missing children they held a card drive to send to soldiers for the memorial day holiday lastly they organized a coat boot drive to benefit the center for new americans in syracuse overall the second half of student council at bolivar road was a wonderful success the students were caring and responsible and taught everyone the value of giving back to others thank you bolivar road student council more information on the back

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the bolivar road staff and students would like to thank all of the volunteers that have assisted in various ways throughout the entire school year due to the generous gift of time that these volunteers have donated our school is an enhanced learning and social environment their efforts are greatly appreciated on a daily basis the following caring volunteers have provided assistance with field trips class projects class parties enrichment clubs building planning team p.t.a and other activities at bolivar allen terry argiro dixie athans sandra austin carol barbagallo dan barbagallo jody becker debra bertella margherita bertella pam bishal brad biviano melissa blaszkow amanda bortle jennifer boyd audrey brooker kara burgdoff steven burleigh kristine button tessie burns jennifer burns jessica byrne julie byrne james cerio renee champlin mary lou chapman brenda cianfrocco lauren cianfrocco louie collado darlene collado julio callahan renee colligan robert crayton katie culkin robin cumber kathy cziesler lori cziesler tanya damon brian danaher janice darling mary beth darrow jay darrow tina daviau charissa daviau ryan davidson sheila davie sharon davie stephen deblieux jennifer devendorf dale devendorf selena devine denise d imperio kristine driscoll misty dyer jennifer erickson bill erickson kelly faircloth theresa fanto sandra fitzgerald diane foster gina frantz denise french toby galuski katherine giancola cheri giarrosso theresa gould mike gould wendy gratien jenni griffiths jennifer handzell kelli hardy don hardy heidi heller jennifer henry donna hunt jessica jewell joseph joiner calvin just jill kackison lindsay kelly barbara kelly dan kelly ed kelly michelle kenyon heather kenyon jeff ketchum rick kimball betsy kingsley sonja korosec chad lamphere kelly lanning janet larrson christine leonard erin lewis krista lincoln jacqueline lum kimberly lynch mike martin jennifer martin larry martin sara masiclat david masiclat teresa matzell amber mccombie amanda mcdonald heather mcintosh traci morgillo michelle mulholland catherine myers shelly myka kim olmstead pam palmer shea palumb cindy palumb peter parente robin paul diane penfield jackie penoyer david penoyer kami pitt sheila pynn heidi quirk michael j quirk michael p quirl pat rainwater sonja randall laurie raymond kimberly roberts theresa sammon kimberly santola nicholas schnauffer brett schnauffer sharon seale cheryl sessler sharon shevchuck courtney simmons kristine stanek melissa stevens tom stone stephen stricker kim taylor shannon tedford kristin tessier connie thurber kathleen turner leah tysco tricia weigand phoebe weimer kimberly weir alison wickes katherine wilkowski patty wilson michelle wood annie

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