September/

October 2018

Dear Parents,

Hello and welcome to Year 2 of PS 889 ! The return of familiar faces coupled with the addition of
our new community members, has brought the promise of even more meaningful
learning opportunities for our children. Our enthusiastic youngsters have settled into their
classrooms and are busy becoming readers and writers, scientists and mathematicians and
whatever else they hope to be with their dedicated teachers guiding the way! As you will read
in the first edition of "The Hinckley Herald ", our units of study have begun with lots of engaging
activities happening in all classrooms, as well as in other spaces to which we expanded including the INSIDE THIS ISSUE
music and art rooms, the gymnasium, and the science lab. Going forward, we will be scheduling time
PreK Corner ……………………….2
for our students to visit the school library to take out books, have literature circle time or have
their Arts Connection theater classes. Fire Safety ………………………….2
At Home Learning Activities...3
I am very pleased that so many of you have been able to come to school to participate in some First Grade Happenings……….4
kind of Parent Involvement Activity. Attending a publishing party or being a mystery reader are First Grade Publishing Party.. 5
great ways to experience your child's classroom environment and it really means so much to them.
Kindergarten Corner…………...6
The Parents Association is doing amazing work to support the school through their various
committees and by providing fun events like our very successful first Movie Night! I also really Kindergarten Publishing Party.6
appreciate the collaborative effort of both the SLT and the PA working with myself and my staff Inside the Music Room ………...7
to build a joyful and rigorous learning environment here in PS 889 ! Inside the Art Room ……………..7
Arts Connection Grant………….8
My door is always open to hear your questions or comments. I look forward to a terrific year and I
hope to see you all at one of our upcoming events !

Respectfully ,

Kathryn Anderson
Principal
 Pre-K Corner by Ms. Christine Owen

The unit “Welcome to Pre-K” has come to a close. Together we

learned how to make our classroom a fun and safe place. We shared
and learned a lot about each other and ourselves. With hard work
and persistence, they are making the right choices, following
classroom rules and routines, and becoming comfortable in their new
surroundings. They have accomplished so much in such a short time;
we could not be any prouder.
In October we began the unit “My Five Sense”. The students
will learn what the five senses are, how each sense works, how our
five senses help keep us safe, and how some people interact with the
world differently when our senses are impaired. This unit focuses a
lot on Domain 2: Physical Development and Health in the
Prekindergarten Common Core. It is the perfect time to begin the
five senses unit because of the transition from summer to fall, this
will assist in exploring with our five senses.

Fire Safety by Ms. Christy Wolfe

The month of October is Fire Safety

Month. On Thursday, October 11th the Pre-K students received a
visit from Firefighter Dorogoff. The students learned ways to
prevent fires such as not playing with the stove, matches, or
candles. They also learned ways to keep safe in the case of a fire
such as crawling low to the floor since heat rises and getting out
of the building as quickly as possible. In the case that our clothes
catch on fire, it is best to stop, drop, and roll. Firefighter
Dorogoff showed the students all the gear that firefighters wear
Pre-k 2
to keep them safe when putting out fires. Firefighters help our
community stay safe each and everyday!

Pre-K 1
2
 At Home Learning Activities by Ms. Christina Singh

Encouraging Math, Reading & Writing

Learning should never end when school is not in session. Here are some fun ways to keep the learning going at home! Doing these activities at home can extend your child’s
learning and connect to what your child is learning in school!

Math
Ice Cream Math

Who doesn’t love ice cream?! This activity can be used as a treat that will get your child excited about practicing important math concepts buy building ice cream cones as he/she
practices her counting skills.

Materials:

Construction Paper
Glue stick
Scissors
Pencil
Marker

What You Do:

Cut 9 small ice cream cones out.

Cut out circles for the ice cream scoops.
Number the cones 1 through 10 with the marker.
Glue the cones in numerical order.
Have your child glue the correct number of scoops of ice cream on top of the cones.

Reading
Sight Words Memory Game

Does your child love to play games? Does he/she need help reading common words? This activity involves making a family board game that’s so fun, your child wont even notice they
are learning!

Materials:

Word List
Index cards
Marker

What You Do:

Write two copies of each word on index cards.

Have your child lay index cards on a table in rows, facedown.
Each player takes their turn revealing a word and reading the word aloud. Flip over a second card and read that word loud. If the words are the same you’ve found a match!

Reading
Build Family Mailboxes

Does your child love writing letters or getting letters in the mail? You can help your child practice his/her writing skills buy making family mailboxes. Your child will be excited
about writing letters to his/her family members while practicing to write!

Materials:

One shoe box per family member

Envelopes
Pencils/Markers
Paper

What You Do:

Have your child and each family design their own unique mailbox.
Have your child write a letter to a family member and put it in their mailbox.
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Each family member should write a letter to one another guaranteeing everyone gets a letter, including your child.
 First Grade Happenings by Ms. Meghan Prokesch

Reading

The first-grade students have been working hard on their word-solving skills in our
Word Detectives unit. In this unit, students are learning to use letter-sound
correspondence to tackle tricky words and monitor their reading. The children
continue to develop their fluency skills and are becoming more confident at using
the words they know ‘in a snap’ to solve unknown words. Students have also started
working in their guided reading groups to work on reading strategies and develop
reading independence.

Writing

The first-graders recently started an informational writing unit, How-To Books. We

kicked off the unit with a hands-on pizza making activity. The children made their
own mini pizzas and documented the steps they took using the transition words
first, next, then, and last. This unit will give the young writers continued
opportunities to write sequenced pieces with increased focus and clarity.

Math

The first-grade students are now onto chapter 3 of our Go Math curriculum. In this
chapter, the students will learn about addition strategies such counting on, adding
doubles, and adding in any order within 20. The students will also continue to work
on their problem-solving skills by solving word problems within the Go Math and
Exemplars programs.

Science

Our first-grade scientists continue to learn about how an animal’s structures can
help defend the animal from its predators. The first-graders also participated in a
hands-on pumpkin exploration. The students described a pumpkin and pumpkin seeds
using adjectives and placed their pumpkin seeds in a Ziplock bag with a damp paper
towel. They made predictions about whether the seeds will sprout without soil and
will continue to observe their pumpkin seeds to see if their predictions were cor-
rect.

Social Studies

In our social studies curriculum, the first-graders have been discussing family
traditions and activities they enjoy doing with their families, for both work and
leisure. The students also learned about Veteran’s Day and made cards for Veterans
who have served our country.

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First Grade Publishing Party by Ms. Michelle Luback

First grade was thrilled to invite our family members to our very
first publishing party for the school year on October 25th. The publishing
party was a celebration used to celebrate students’ ‘Small Moment’ stories,
but most importantly it was a time where we could all look at their work and
realize the hard work and dedication that the students put into their
writing.
Having the support of family throughout the writing process truly
speaks for itself. It allows for the children to feel proud and want to write
and show off their work, while also allowing the children to make strong and
joyous memories that will last a life time.
The children have so many great ideas and suggestions to write
about, but for this unit they had to zoom in on one specific time that they
did something. They did this beautifully! Many readers, while reading the
stories, were able to visualize what was being read.
Our Small Moment stories are hanging up outside our rooms on our
class bulletin boards, and we are so excited to have been given such great
comments and feedback from our loved ones.
After families left, we discussed how we all felt about our party and
our writing. The students were very ecstatic about seeing their families
read their published pieces as well as praising them for their hard work.
First grade cannot wait for our families to join us at our next
publishing party. We are all so proud of you first graders. Thank you to all
who joined us and if you were unable to, we hope to see you at our next
publishing party! 5

* Small Moments Make Great Stories! *

 Kindergarten Corner by Ms. Gabrielle Ali

Hello Families! We cannot believe it is already November! Our kindergarten friends have
been busy little bees since school as started. Students are showing growth and progress as
each day passes! So here is an update of all we have done so far!

Reading

Students have just finished up their Launching Reading Workshop Unit! This unit focuses on
building good reading behaviors. Students learned how to Private Read and how to Buddy
Read with beginner leveled text, storybooks and some non- fiction texts. Students are
getting used to talking about their reading and the way a story goes.

Writing

Students have just finished up their Launching Writing Workshop Unit! This unit focuses on
building good writing behaviors. Students have dipped their feet into writing All About books
and True Stories. Writers have learned that they draw, label and stretch out sounds to
make sentences.

Math

Students have been working on reading, writing and counting numbers to 9. They are using
manipulatives to help them use ten frames and to figure out numbers that are the same,
greater or less.

SS

Students have just completed a unit on learning about their School Community. Students
learned about people who work in the school and their roles. Students learned about school/
classroom rules and created rules for the classroom. Students made aerial views of their
school community. Students broke up into three groups. One group created self- portraits of
people who work in the school, one group role played school roles and one group sang a song.
We are so lucky to have such a great Kindergarten Community!

Science

Students have just finished chapter 1 of our new science curriculum about the needs of
plants and animals. Students are working on helping students from Mariposa Grove figure out
why there are no more monarch caterpillars in the Garden. Students have worked on the
first part of the conclusion that animals need to live in a habitat that has the food that they
eat. Students complete hands on activities and practice using scientific vocabulary.

Kindergarten Publishing Party by Ms. Rachel Sagesse

Welcome to our first kindergarten publishing party! The kindergarten team is ex-
cited for you all to see how your child has developed as a writer. We began our writing unit
by having students’ write and draw about ideas and topics they enjoy writing about.
Brainstorming topics helped the children to think about what interests them and what they
could write the most about. Then, they learned how to write about pieces that teach their
readers something. We wanted the students to understand that many times, writers have a
purpose and want their readers to learn something through this information. The students
also wrote about what they see within their classroom community. This was helpful because
it allowed the children to be mindful of their surroundings and observe what or who is inside
of their classroom. Finally, they created writing pieces that were fiction and non-fiction.
Through this, the students’ learned that they can be as creative as they wanted to be and
makeup a story. Or, they could only write about something that has happened.

With the efforts of drawing pictures to match their story and labeling their
6 drawings, the students’ have learned how to stretch out sounds to write words and create
sentences! They have worked carefully in revising their work and going back to add more
details. So, please join us in celebrating all the hard work they have done so far!
 Inside the Music Room: A New Year of Musical Exploration
by Diana Russo

Welcome to new and returns families to music at P.S. 889! In the music room,
students embark on a musical journey to learn, create, and perform music. Pre-K November Music Book of
and Kindergarten are busy using their singing voices to explore songs, books, the Month
and games. Students have also been learning about opposites in music such as
high vs. low and fast vs. slow, while also learning how to properly sing their Do, Kitty Alone
Re, Mi’s (as all proper musicians do). Meanwhile, 1st graders are becoming Adapted by:
percussionists and composers! First graders spent the first two months of school John M. Feierabend
learning about how to take part in a proper drum circle while playing a djembe Each month students
drum. Students are also composing through creating rhythms using hearts to explore a new picture book
represent the beats and popsicle sticks to represent the music notes. in music that has its own
In the next two months, students will be preparing for our annual Winter Unity song. Our book of the
Concert where all P.S. 889 students will perform musical numbers on stage! All month supports literacy, as
song support the theme of unity and students will discuss the meaning and well as singing and music
significance of the songs as they learn to sing them. They will prepare for the learning!
concert during music class time while continuing to explore and learn their
musical skills.
Until next time, have a musical autumn!

Inside the Art Room by Simone Kung

The new school year marks the opening of a new classroom at P.S. 889,
room 213... The art room! This new space will be the sight of lots of
learning, lots of creating, and lots and lots of joy! The beginning of the
school year has students learning lots of new art content through
exciting, hands-on art making experiences. The elementary artists have
learned all about lines, from zig zags to waves, by creating line drawings
and paper sculptures. They also learned about geometric shapes, and
practiced their cutting skills, through a unit on collage. Now the budding
artists are learning about creating organic shapes through a study of fall
leaves. Soon they will embark on a new unit about colors, and learn all
about the science of color through the medium of painting. How exciting!
Don’t forget to log on to ClassDojo to see more of the beautiful art kids
are working on in art class!

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P.S. 889 Mission
Statement
All children at PS 889 will
grow and learn with the
help of our parents,
teachers, and school
community. Together we
will work hard using our
own special gifts and tal-
ents and create a joyful
environment of lifelong
learners.
P.S. 889
21 Hinckley Place
Brooklyn, New York 11218
Phone: 929-397-9171
Fax:: 929-397-9176
E-mail: ps889K@gmail.com
Principal: Kathryn Anderson
Follow us on social media:
Facebook: PS 889K
Twitter: PS889_K
Instagram:ps889k
Arts Connection Grant by Ms. Danielle Noto
We are so happy to announce that we have been awarded a $15,000 grant through the
ARTs for English Language Learners and students with Disabilities grant. This program
helps schools build arts partnerships that enhance arts opportunities for diverse groups
of students. The goal of this grant is to work with an experienced local arts organizations
to implement school-based arts residencies that boost student achievement in and
through the arts, while developing and promoting best practices in arts education. Last
year, we had the pleasure of working with Arts Connection for a 10 week theater
workshop. Students learned about the foundations of theatrical elements and skills:
expressivity, scene structure, problem solving and teamwork. During the culminating
event, all students participated in Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed, which illustrated
how one child’s good deed can change the world.
This year we will be working with Arts Connection again in both theater and Visual Arts.
Ms. Saraevelyn will introduce the students to the basics of theater making and ensemble
building. They will learn how to work with each other collaboratively to create both move-
ment and narrative pieces by playing imagination games that challenge them to use their
voices and bodies in new ways. Ms. Ny Chhorm will be the visual artist working with the
students. She has already started working with the students in creating bursts of color
with pastels. We are so excited to see everything our young artists will create during
these residencies. A huge thank you to Mr. Ben Anderson and Mr. Daniel Levin (Program
Manager at Arts Connection) for helping write this wonderful grant.
Don’t forget to collect your box tops
and bring them to school!
November
14 Parent Teacher Conference
20 Gratitude Breakfast 8:30 am
22 Thanksgiving—No School
23 –No School
December
24—Jan 1 Winter Recess