THE PRINCIPAL'S PEN



Rolling Ridge

Report

EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE – STUDENT SUCCESS

March 2009

Principally Speaking

From the Desk of Mrs. Zajac

FROM THE DESK OF MRS. ZAJAC

Dear Rolling Ridge Families,

I just wanted to thank everyone for the warm welcome as principal of Rolling Ridge. I am lucky to have had a chance to meet many of you. Please feel free to stop in the office if we have not yet had a chance to meet.

Thanks,

Mrs. Zajac

Be a Reading Rockstar

Our Family Reading Night is set for Thursday, March 5th. We are looking forward to a Hill’s Brother’s Concert, Ice Cream Social, and Book Fair. The concert begins at 6:30pm in the gymnasium. Hope to see you there.

Morning Transportation/Absence

Just a reminder that students should be dropped off in the lower parking lot in the morning. Students will enter through the main lobby by using the outside stairs. Students that are tardy should be escorted to the office with their parents. If your child misses a ½ day or full day for an appointment, don’t forget to bring the Doctor’s excuse.

PSSA Dates to Remember

Please be aware of the dates below if you are scheduling any family vacations. Several grade levels participate in the state assessments.

PSSA Reading and Math

March 16th - March 20th

Grades 3 through 6

PSSA Science

April 27 - April 30

Grade 4

Upcoming Events

March 2nd-6th Book Fair

March 5th Family Reading Night

March 11th PTO Meeting

March 13 No School

March 16th -20th PSSA (3-6)

March 27th Spring Carnival

March 31st End of 3rd Quarter

April 7th Spring Pictures

April 7th Report Card Day

April 8th Skating Party

April 8th- 13th Easter Vacation

After School Events

There are many events that take place after school at Rolling Ridge. Thanks, in advance, for maintaining a clean environment.

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S PEN

Family Reading Night featuring the Hills Brothers is March 5th. We hope to see everyone there for a great night of books, music and food. A great combination!! If you are able to help out for a half-hour or an hour of the event, please let Emily Rocco know. Just send a note to Emily through your child’s teacher that you are available to help. Also – do not forget to get your tickets to the Ice Cream Social being held the same evening as Family Reading Night. Always a great treat!

Thank you to Jenn Rhodes and Shelly Hamilton for all of their great work on organizing the Book Fair. The Book Fair runs this entire week so be sure to stop by sometime and find the perfect book.

Spring! I know it is hard to believe it is almost here … our annual Spring Carnival will be held on Friday, March 27th from 6:00 till 9:00pm. Please watch for flyers being sent home. There are so many activities and fun things to do at the event but also lots of planning ahead of time. We appreciate all of the donations for the Bake Walk, the bottles of soft drink and especially those helping out. Cheryl, Sarah and Rebecca are working hard, so be sure to stop by.

A very special Thanks to all of the volunteers at all of the events. Once again, we cannot do these events without the help and support of the Rolling Ridge families! We understand, we all lead busy lives but that small amount of time that the parents and 6th graders help out, really makes a difference. Thank you!

I also want to thank Antonella Khalilollahi and Michelle Grabowski for their work on the Ice Cream Social.

Sincerely,

Melanie Ford

PTO President

ROOM PARENTS

Dear Parents,

On behalf of the Rolling Ridge PTO, I would like to thank all the wonderful individuals who served as room parents this year. Your help was greatly appreciated. Thank you again for your time and energy with those wonderful parties!

Stacy Loncher

Room Parent Representative

GIANT EAGLE APPLES FOR STUDENTS

How the Program Works:

It's easy! Each time you shop at Giant Eagle using your Giant Eagle Advantage Card, you will earn points for your school — points your school saves and redeems for great educational tools. But unlike collecting receipts that can be forgotten or misplaced, the points are automatically credited to your school through the Giant Eagle Advantage Card.

Rolling Ridge Elementary currently has 412 supporters for this program. So far, in the 3 periods of enrollment, we have earned 948 points.

Period 1 - 325

Period 2 - 335

Period 3 - 288

If you have not registered your card, you can go to and enter our school code 0922. You only have to do this one time.

Thank you,

Stacy Loncher

Room Parent Representative

Giant Eagle Coordinator

SPECIAL SALES

Hello Rolling Ridge Shoppers!

I just want to thank everyone for purchasing scrip orders this year. It has gone very well and I will be sending them out just once a month now till the end of the school year.

Dory Mazur

SCRIP Coordinator

823-7976

PROJECT YOU/PROJECT YOU TOO

The January meeting of Project You covered the topic of trustworthiness. Although many situations can fall into this category, our focus was on internet safety. The Internet is an amazing and valuable tool to adults and children alike. Our children are living in a technological age, experiencing things that we as parents are just beginning to understand. Even with young children, it is important to discuss with them safe and unsafe places to go when using the internet. Sad to say, even in our own community, there was a recent arrest of a person trying to lure a child into a meeting place. We need to make our children aware that people online may or may not be who they claim to be. Monitor your family’s use of the computer. Know what sites they are visiting. It’s not an invasion of their privacy. It’s for their safety. Establish rules about how your computer (or cell phones, if your children have them too) are to be used. We live in a world full of possibilities. Let’s make sure our kids experience the best of these possibilities, not the worst.

Thank you to the parent volunteers who have been kind enough to help out at our past meetings. Feel free to come lend a hand by signing up with your child at a future Project You meeting.

Gretchen Hunter, Project You coordinator (gr. 1-3)

Carrie Jaskiewicz, Project You Too coordinator (gr. 4-6)

SPRING CARNIVAL

Mark your calendars because Spring Carnival is right around the corner!

This year it will be held on Friday, March 27th from 6-9 PM

There’s something for everyone – carnival games and prizes, Chinese auction, raffles, bake walk, snack bar with pizza, nachos and hot dogs and lots of fun!

We will need donations of pop for the pop raffle and baked goods for the bake walk. Please look for the flyers that will be sent home with your child for the dates to bring donations in.

Thank you in advance for your support. We hope you can join us!

If you have any questions about the Carnival, please feel free to contact us.

Cheryl Henry and Sarah Percy Carnival Co-Chairs

Rebecca Peterson - Kitchen

HONOR ROLL

SECOND QUARTER 2008-2009

Grade Four

Trenton Abbate

Lauren Alfieri

Alix Allred

Jillian Amann-Ross

Amelia Beaumont

Matthew Belfiore

Julia Benim

Ryan Blakney

Paul Bowers

Riley Boyd

Michael Brown

Julia Burke

Nathan Carlson

Gregory Concilla

Tim Corey

Justin Tilor Fuller

Zachary Gaydos

Matthew Gray

Kathryn Hamilton

Joshua Herrera

Lindsey Homchenko

Joseph Kaschalk

Alexander Kehl

Saaman Khalilollahi

Eric Krysiak

Troy Martin

Benjamin Meyer

Tyler Miller

Steven Mooradian

Jared Nelson

Derek Nowakowski

Ryleigh Oldach

Dieter Ostermann

Tyler Passmore

Jenna Pearson

Everett Peterson

Morgan Rennie

Michael Rocco

Allison Royer

Adam Salgado

Brendan Seibert

Erin Sheridan

Kaitlyn Simmons

Nicole Snyder

Alex Stafford

Amanda Stenger

Mila Sypin

Katelyn Szewczyk

Julia Wagner

Madison Wainwright

Grade Five

Kaitlyn Askins

Kimberly Barone

Danielle Bartlett

Chelsey Bielanin

Rachel Biroscak

Luke Brooks

Tyler Carr

Anna Chimera

Brian Faipler

Taylur Fuller-Masi

Jacob Gonda

Alex Gorski

Meghan Green

Olivia Gula

Ashley Harayda

Mitchell Hillhouse

Issac Hodapp

Rebecca Horetsky

William Kalie

Dylan King

Daniel Kuhn

Emily Learn

Taylor Lewis

Collin Mazur

Connor Needham

Erica Olsen

Kristen Pound

Timothy Romanski

Jordan Seroka

Joseph Shotts

Tessa Sidelinger

Tyra Tate

Ruthie Warren

Michael Winiarczyk, III

Megan Young

Samuel Zdunski

Lauren Zemanek

Grade Six

Jennifer Angelo

Hayley Boyd

Caroline Bremner

Lindsey Bresee

Shawna Britton

Alex Burnett

Megan Carlson

Vincent Cross

Pedro Cubero

Daniel Fitzgerald

Alexander Ford

Raymond Galeza

Nicholas Harayda

Ellen Jaskiewicz

Ryan Kaschalk

Jaiden Lacey

Daniel Macaluso

Ian Mandel

Noah Mandel

Benjamin Nowak

Charlene O’Neal

Gabriella Ostermann

Cornell Pearson

Olivia Purpura

Jacob Raymond

Abigail Sallot

Jacob Sanders

Kaylee Schwenk

Rachael Sinnott

Tiffany Taccone

Meghan Uht

Nathan Vogel

Logan Wenzel

Jackson Zaunegger

Sydney Williamson

CLASSROOM NEWS

Kindergarten – Mrs. Farantzos, Mrs. Akin, Mrs. Moffet, Mrs. Bond

We have been reading and writing and doing arithmetic! After reviewing the letters and their sounds, we focused on reading vocabulary and sounding out words. We are trying to get our thoughts on paper the best we can. We have learned about main ideas and adding details.

In math we have been learning about one hundred. On Feb 5, we celebrated the 100th Day of school. We made sets of 100, brought in collections from home of 100 things. We measured the distance of 100 cubes, 100 steps and 100 paperclips. We had snacks of 100. Some of us made crowns with 100 and others found 100 balloons hidden in the room. It was a fun day that really counted! We have also been learning about our coins in math and recognizing the presidents on them.

Speaking of Presidents, we learned about a few of our presidents and how life has changed from then to now. Transportation and conveniences are much different today than when George Washington was elected.

Our room parents showed us love on Valentine’s Day with all the games and treats they brought to share with us.

Two classes had student teachers; Ms. Herring (KA) & Ms. Polakowski (KB). They were here for 7 weeks and helped us learn a lot. I think we showed them a lot about Kindergarten as well! We will miss them and wish them well in their next placements.

St Patrick’s Day and Easter are the last ‘art-filled’ holidays, though we will ALWAYS find something to draw and learn about!

We are looking forward to becoming authors. We hope you will enjoy the stories and illustrations we bring home. We will continue to work on these skills.

Grade 1 – Mrs. Testi, Mrs. Nowakowski, Mrs. Chimera, Mrs. McIntyre

We can't believe how much we are learning and growing in First Grade.

Thanks to our room parents and helpers for making the Valentines Day parties

so sweet! 

We wish the following students a "Happy Birthday!"

March- Tyler C.

April- Meagan S., Kevin C., Damaris M., Morgan F., Hannah T., Camryn V.,

Makenna W.

May-Riley J., Zoey S., Anthony R., Alex R., Faith S., Ryan H., Blake S.

Michael N.

We are Reading and Writing everyday!  In Math we’re learning to tell

time, count money, measure, and place value.  Keep practicing those math

facts!! Science is all about discovery and learning about the world around

us! Time in Social studies/Health has been spent learning about Presidents,

healthy habits, map skills and Earth's resources. We sure our looking

forward to some spring weather!!

Grade 2 – Mrs. Logan, Mrs. Rodemoyer, Mr. Young, Mrs. Pearson

The students have been very busy this quarter learning many new things. They have learned how to count money and tell time. It is important to keep practicing these life skills at home. In Math, the students are learning how to regroup in both addition and subtraction.

We just finished celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday by reading several Dr. Seuss books. The students’ created big books based upon the book Green Eggs and Ham and shared these with the first grade. They also enjoyed a breakfast of orange eggs and Spam to culminate the week of celebrating.

The students continue to learn new letter formations in cursive. Soon we will all be writing our Spelling words in cursive. The more we practice the better we will get.

In Science we have been working on force, friction, and motion using magnets and have also been learning about how the Earth changes by erosion and different types of movements. The five senses are the top priority during Health as well as healthy living (eating a healthy diet and exercise). In Social Studies, we have been learning about the presidents.

We would like to thank our room parents and volunteers for the wonderful parties throughout the school year. You have been so good to us. We enjoyed all the treats and activities that made the days so special.

Happy Birthday wishes go out to all students who will celebrate their birthdays in March, April and May.

Grade 3 – Mrs. Pero, Mrs. DeVore, Mrs. Janiuk, Ms. Emling

Congratulations to all the students that made his or her second quarter AR goals! We celebrated this accomplishment with a Snow Day! The sledding was fast and fun! The weather was cold, but a few runs up the hill warmed us right up!

It was fantastic! Kids, don’t miss out on the next celebration! READ, READ, and READ some more to make your AR goal this quarter!

In Math we have covered both subtraction and addition with renaming. We have finally approached the question they have been asking since September, “When are we going to do MULTIPLICATION?” Well, we are there! Parents, please help them practice the multiplication facts at home! They need to be memorized! Our next concepts to tackle will be geometry, fractions and measurement!!

We had fun celebrating the 101st Day of School! It sure is going fast! We looked forward to celebrating Mardi Gras! We made beaded necklaces, maracas, masks, and Fat Tuesday pancakes!

PSSA will soon be here. Be sure to get plenty of rest and eat “good” food so you can do your best.

GOOD BETTER BEST, DON’T LET IT REST, UNTIL THE GOOD IS THE BETTER AND THE BETTER IS THE BEST!

GRADE 4 – Ms. Blose, Mr. Ziroli, Mrs. Doverspike, Mr. Bookhamer

WOW! The school year is certainly flying by very quickly! We have accomplished so much and, yet, have so much more to do.

Those eligible students who were fortunate to enjoy the Husky Homework Reward at Splash Lagoon had a BLAST!!! We hope more of our friends can join us for the next reward at the end of the third quarter. A number of students also reached their AR goal at the end of this semester and enjoyed a fun afternoon sled riding, followed by a warming cup of hot cocoa. Even a few teachers were spotted flying down the hill with smiles as big as their students!

Our whole school was treated with a special Bells Holiday Concert recently. As always, it was very moving and inspirational.

READING:

At Christmas time, many of the Reading groups presented Reader’s Theater for our parents. It was enjoyable to watch and perform. Thanks to all for coming!

Ms. Blose’s class has been reading the book Rules by Cynthia Lord. Students also participated in Literature Circles. In which they were able to get together and talk about the book. This quarter we also had ten students meet their AR goal. Congratulations to: Jordan, Adam, Greg, Katelyn, Brooke, Matthew, Brandon, Cassie, Michael R, and Timothy!

Mr. Ziroli’s reading class just completed Unit 3 and took the test on this unit. We are now beginning Unit 4 entitled “Just Curious”. We continue to work on our reading skills of predicting, cause and effect, context clues, author’s point of view, and vocabulary development in preparation for the PSSA tests in March. Many more students reached their AR goal this past quarter. Congratulations and keep Reading !!

Mrs. Doverspike’s class recently finished four novels with a literature circle format. Students seemed to really enjoy this style of sharing and discussing literature and have asked to do more literature circles later this year. Nearly every student in 4D Reading has met or surpassed their AR reading goal each quarter. That’s good news for our turtles (not real, of course) that have been adopted each time a student meets their goal. Our “Wall of Famers” (30 pts. or more) so far include Saaman, Dieter, Julia W., Katie H., and Amelia. Congratulations to those students who met their goal and were in the drawing for a signed gym, book bag. Keep reading!

Mr. Bookhamer’s class continues to work through different guided reading books. We have really enjoyed spending some time with our kindergarten reading buddies. Ms. Behringer has been into our room several times this month to help us prepare for PSSA questions that we will see in March. She has provided us with many great strategies for attacking those questions.

SCIENCE:

We are learning more about our planet Earth. Recently, students have been illustrating the water cycle, cloud types, and usual weather that can be associated with these types of cloud. We are very excited to have Tom DiVecchio join us next week to discuss more weather related issues. Watch for your child’s weather picture on the 6:00 am newscast. Our next unit of study will include properties of matter and changes in matter. Then we will investigate forms of energy.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

We discussed the road to Independence for our Nation. We witnessed the change of a new nation and the struggles that it produced. We studied about Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and many other famous Americans who helped shape our country. Our next chapter will discuss the Civil War. After we study Pennsylvania’s history, we will be looking at the different regions in the United States.

MATH:

We have been working with our basic multiplication facts and applying these facts to multiplying larger numbers. It is easy when you have memorized the facts. Keep studying!! We have begun our chapter on Geometry and will be working with various solids, triangles, perimeter, and area concepts. Mr. Zajac continues to teach our classes once a week on fractions in preparing us to perform well on the PSSA math test.

Miss Blose’s math classes have been exploring Solids, Triangles, and other Polygons. Students have also been exploring congruent figures, and line segments. The students are brushing up on their multiplication tables by completing Rocket Ship Math. Each day the students take a timed test of fifty multiplication problems. If they pass their level they get to move their Rocket Ship to the next level. The students are having a BLAST brushing up on their multiplication tables!

ENGLISH:

We have been working on Writer’s Workshop activities and also studying about linking verbs used in our daily language. We have shown great improvement in our Daily Language Review sentences. We are creating advertisements in English to persuade our readers to buy something that we may be trying to sell or locating a lost pet using vivid word choices in our descriptions. We also go to Writing Lab to refine those writing skills that we learned in class and to be able to apply them.

We just finished learning to write Friendly Letters. Each student was given a pen pal in the class to write. Students really had a great time learning to format their friendly letters. After the students completed writing their friendly letter they addressed and mailed their letters in the mail. The students were excited to find out who their pen pal was.

BIRTHDAY GREETINGS GO OUT TO:

Derek N. – 2/8, Julia B. – 2/15, Madison W. – 2/16, Justin Tilor F. – 2/18, Mila S. – 2/21, Destiny C. – 2/26, Karlee P. – 3/1, Erin S. – 3/1, Shad I. – 3/3, Joey K. – 3/10, Nicole S. – 3/11, Sydney W. – 3/15, Alexis M. – 3/20, Ben M. – 3/23, Alex S. – 3/23, Paul B. – 3/30

GRADE 5 – Ms. Bool, Mr. Richards, Mrs. Renne

5B-Mrs. Bool

We are extremely proud of the 5th grade for giving up their exchange gifts at the Christmas party and, instead, pooling the money they would have spent to help families who would have had very little this year. They even gave up allowance money and did odd jobs to earn extra money. There was much more joy in giving than receiving.

This quarter has been very fun so far. Our homework reward trip to Splash Lagoon was awesome! All the Reading classes have been reading “up a storm”! New IR/AR books keep appearing in our classroom, and we are now reading like crazy to make our 3rd quarter and monthly Book-It goals. We are looking forward to making the “whole year” goal to be able to participate in the Field Day fun. Congratulations to Katrina Amann-Ross who won the 2nd Quarter Independent Reading Stars chair. There are 2 more to be raffled off. Everyone who makes their quarter goal gets to sign the chair and a ticket to win it.

Everyone did a super job on their “Biography in a Box/Bag” project. We learned about everyone from George Washington to the Beatles to Mia Hamm. The creativity was outstanding!

Our Writing PSSA’s are over, and we are so proud of how hard the fifth graders worked preparing and taking the assessment. We are working on all the skills we will need to take our Reading PSSA’s in March. Above all, reading at least 1/2 hour every night is the best preparation we can do.

Happy Birthday in April to Ashley Harayda on the 1st and CJ Mazur on the 12th.

We’d like to send a great big THANKS to Mrs. Brooks for the wonderful Valentine party! It was a Chinese themed party complete with Chinese food, a lesson on the use of chopsticks, fortune cookies, and Chinese character writing. Happy Spring!

5C-Mr. Richards

The snow is falling and the students have enjoyed sled riding when the temperatures are not too cold.

Mrs. Zdunski & Mrs. Faipler threw a great Christmas party for us.  There was lots to eat and plenty of games to play.  They also planned a super Valentine¹s Day party for us.  The students are becoming experts at the limbo. 5C says thanks for the terrific parties this year.

We have been working hard getting ready for the PSSA. This year we are taking them in Writing, Reading, and Math.  We just finished the Writing test, and we all survived!

In Science class we have been studying Mixtures & Solutions, Chemical & Physical Changes, and Acids & Bases. In Social Studies we have been learning about the early explorers.

Those students that made their Huskie Homework Heroes goal had a fantastic day at Splash Lagoon.  It was cold outside but 85 degrees inside. Our friends from Clark School were there too.  We would like to thank the PTO and our parents for helping to make this fun filled day possible...THINK SPRING!!!!!

5-D Mrs. Renne

I am incredibly excited to be the new member of the Fifth Grade team this year. The children are a wonderful group of kids, and I feel honored to have the privilege to work with them.

In the next few weeks, we will be working on math skills that will prepare the students for the PSSA. Above all, practicing basic Math Facts with flash cards a few minutes each evening will prepare the children for their test.

In English, we are working on our writer’s workshop skills, and we finished our writing PSSA! I am so proud of how hard the children worked on these!

In Social Studies, we are learning about the 13 Colonies, and we will be moving into the Revolutionary War very soon. I have found many useful videos, which the children will enjoy while they study these topics.

We would also like to send out a special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn, as well as Mrs. Manna, for their help with the Christmas and Valentines parties! We all had a wonderful time.

I look forward to seeing you in the upcoming months! If you have any questions, or would like to set up a meeting, please feel free to call me at 814-897-2100 X3354 or you may e-mail me at jrenne@hcsd..

Mrs. Renne

Grade 6: Mrs. Meyer, Ms. Sheffer, Mr. Janiuk

Winter is almost behind us and we are looking forward to all that springtime has in store for us. We are very busy with our academics right now in preparation for the PSSA in March.

In our English classes, we are working on our 6th grade required research report. We have chosen a career of interest, and we are busy researching the skills and education needed to work in that career/job.

In Math, we are adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions! We have also been practicing open-ended responses similar to those found on the PSSA, strategies for multiple-choice questions, and brushing up on our calculator skills. We are enjoying our weekly visits from Mr. Zajac and learning a lot. Thank you Mr. Z.!

In Social Studies, we are finishing our unit on immigration and how immigrants from Europe helped the United States become great. We are currently studying Great American Inventors and their contributions to America and the World. We are also studying Great American business leaders like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller and their importance on modern society.

In Science, we are beginning to look at Heat Energy relating to temperature, how heat affects matter, and sources of energy. Students will learn about solar cells, biomass conversion, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, and hydroelectricity. Students will explore radiation, convection, and conduction, as well as global warming and the greenhouse effect. Next, students will be looking at Electricity and Magnetism. Students will learn about static electricity, many types of circuits, electromagnets, and generators. We will look at how electricity is used in their homes and the cost.

We want to congratulate those who earned Honor Roll for 2nd quarter!!! They are:

All A’s-

6A: Caroline B., Ben N.,

6B: Jenny A., Alexander F., Ray G., Jacob R., Meghan U.

6C: Dan F., Olivia P., Nathan V.

A’s and B’s-

6A: Lindsey B., Shawna B., Ellen J., Ryan K., Jake S., Kaylee S., Tiffany T., Logan W.

6B: Megan C., Vince C., Pedro C., Daniel M., Cornell P., Abby S.

6C: Hayley B., Alex B., Nick H., Jaiden L., Ian M., Noah M., Charlene O., Gabi O., Rachael S., Jackson Z.

We had an awesome time at Splash Lagoon for our Second Quarter Homework Reward!!! We have a fun-filled day planned for the 3rd quarter reward, so don’t miss out!!!! Please continue to write your homework assignments in your agenda book, and complete all daily assignments!!!

Finally, we would like to send out Birthday Wishes to students who celebrate birthdays in the spring. They are:

March: Mrs. Meyer, Meghan Uht, Jessica Spiegel, Michael Hess, Jacob Raymond and Alex Burnett.

April: Shawna Britton, Ben Nowak, Dan Fitzgerald, Nick Pearson, Megan Carlson, Cameron Morgan and Tiffany Rieger.

May: Ray Galeza, Sam McGill, Olivia Purpura, Matt Bruno, Sean Rutkosky, Patrick Carson, Daniel Macaluso and Jackson Zaunegger.

L. S. - Mrs. Nicolia

Greetings from Mrs. Nicolia’s room!

In the younger grades, we’ve been working very hard on our phonics and Reading skills. We’re trying a new program this year called the Sonday system. This system diagnoses areas of difficulty and then gives a systematic way to strengthen that area for a better reading foundation. We’ve also been practicing and learning new math skills.

In third grade, we’ve been honing our skills too. We’ve been practicing for the PSSA using our coach books for Reading and Mathematics. We’re using the books to practice, teach, and reteach areas of weakness. It also gives us practice in answering questions and reading in PSSA format. We’re working on using our sounding out techniques on harder words and rereading to find the answer. We’re also now joining Ms. Emling’s class for a short while daily to work on Reading PSSA with Ms. Berringer to further hone our skills.

I want to thank those of you who have been so diligent in sending your students to school because the more they’re here; the more they learn. I also want to thank you for the support with homework and behavior. This further helps our students learn and grow in all areas.

Take Care,

Mrs. Nicolia

LSSI - Mrs. Romines

Written by Aleece, Carl, Danielle, and Dorian

We had a Valentine’s Day Party. We made Valentine Jigglers and decorated them. We are going to a Bayhawk’s Basketball game in March. We loved our Splash Lagoon Homework Reward. It was so much fun shooting the basketball in the water. We went to the sixth grade reading reward. We liked the movie and playing games.

LSSP – Mr. Lutz

From the last report we visited the Dollar Zone, the Millcreek Mall and had lunch out at Ponderosa for our before Christmas trip. The kids all had a great time as well as the adults in both Mrs. Romine’s LSSI class and my LSSP class. Some upcoming Community trips include watching the Bayhawks Basketball game, possibly the Seawolves in May and a talent show in Edinboro. As for the class room activities, the third nine weeks is in full swing. The kids are working hard and are really doing well. The 100th day was a blast. The kids enjoyed counting the different things to 100. With the weather “slowly” changing for the better, the end of the school year just around the corner the class is moving along nicely. Think Spring!!

Title 1 Reading

Title 1 reading students are working hard on phonics, comprehension skills and fluency. Thank you, parents for taking the time to read with you child every night! Your child’s decoding skills have improved tremendously this last quarter. Here are some more ideas on how you can increase your child’s reading and comprehension skills at home:

• After watching a movie or show on TV: ask your child what the show was about, who the characters were, where did the story take place, and what happened.

• While reading a story ask your child to go on a word hunt. Your child could look for short a, long o words, compound words, contractions, or even just a letter.

Short activities like the two above will make a difference in your child’s comprehension and reading abilities!

Math News – Mrs. Meehl & Mr. Zajac

The primary students at Rolling Ridge have been working hard in their math classes. They are really doing well. Please continue working with your 1st and 2nd grader on their basic addition and subtraction facts. The quicker your students memorize these facts, the more successful they’ll be in math!

Third grade has been preparing for the PSSA test (March 16-27). The students are working especially hard on open-ended questions. These are multi-part story problems that require the students to show each step of their work AND/OR explain WHY they solved the problem the way they did! This is quite difficult in the beginning, but the students are trying their best. You can assist your third graders by asking them to explain how they figured something out at home.

Our fourth, fifth and sixth grade students have been focusing on the Pennsylvania eligible content for mathematics. We have been spending a lot of time on measuring, fractions, decimals, geometry and probability. Keep up the good work, and good luck on the PSSA.

You can also visit the Pennsylvania Dept. of Education website to see sample questions (pde.state.pa.us). Click on the PreK-12 Schools tab, then on the left, click on Assessment, then click on Resource Materials. Also, drilling those basic math facts (addition, subtraction, and multiplication) will help them solve those multi-step problems without making simple calculation mistakes.

Here are some fun math websites you can check out:

This site has a variety of fun math games that help students practice a variety of skills.

This site has a problem of the week that can help students improve their problem solving abilities.

Math Facts: Thanks for your help at home. It is extremely important that your child practice and memorize his/her math facts. Take time each night to work on those math facts – it’s worth it.

Quest Report

The Quest students have been busy studying consumer products and advertising techniques for the past two months. We studied advertising techniques, learned about slogans and logos, and viewed popular TV commercials.

The children were required to develop a print advertisement for the Smencil, a scented pencil. The students were very clever in developing slogans for this new and unusual school tool. The students also had to work as a group to develop a 30-60 second TV commercial for a consumer product of their choice. The student found it very challenging to include all of the necessary information in such a short time block. I think they have found a new respect for those in the advertising field.

We will take our newfound knowledge about advertising and apply it in the next Quest course, Let’s Get Down to Business. The students will become the CEO’s of a company of their choice, and must write a business plan for their endeavor. Look out Donald Trump! Here come the Quest kids!

Elaine LaFuria

Quest Teacher

CAFETERIA CORNER

Winter just keeps coming and going. I guess it can’t make up its mind! Parents, please remind your children to look in the lost and found. We have a lot of winter items piling up. If you happen to come in for breakfast with your child, stop by the lost and found and see if anything belongs to you.

In regards to the bad peanut butter, Harborcreek School District doesn’t buy from that company and never has. So all our peanut butter is safe and sticky.

Students: When you come down for lunch please welcome the newest member to our cafeteria staff. Her name is Gracie the Goose. Check out her outfits when you go through the lunch line.

February 5th was the 100th day of school. The cafeteria had its own celebration. Everyone who bought breakfast that morning got a little surprise, we also had a few surprises at lunch. It was a great success!

Parents: With all the economical hardships, please remember you can apply for free and reduced lunches anytime during the school year. If your child qualifies, their breakfast and lunch are free, and it is strictly confidential as everything is done through the computer system. Stop in the office or drop me a note, and I can send an application home.

Parents that drive their children to school: Our breakfast starts at 8:30. If your child is buying breakfast, they can be dropped off at the lower level door by the cafeteria at 8:30, and eat their breakfast at school. Please join them if you have the time.

Dining Room Events: To all the after school activities held in the dining room, please keep an eye on your group and leave the area as clean as when you came in. We have found a lot of tables left with glue, glitter and messes on the floor. Also, we have noticed that some students have been in areas they shouldn’t have been. Thank you.

Relay for Life: The Harborcreek elementary schools Relay for Life will be having a spaghetti dinner with the proceeds benefiting the American Cancer Society. The Relay for Life team “Glo’s Groupies” will be hosting this dinner which will be held at Rolling Ridge cafeteria April 26th 2009, from 12:00 noon –5:00 pm. Further information will be sent home in the near future. Hope you can come!

THINK SPRING!!

Mrs.Hollenbeck and the Dining Room Staff

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