PENNELL IN PRINT · hat’ th 28 \ s coming up in May? 1st through 18th Spring MAP Testing Window 8...
Transcript of PENNELL IN PRINT · hat’ th 28 \ s coming up in May? 1st through 18th Spring MAP Testing Window 8...
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What’s coming up in
May?
1st through
18th
Spring MAP Testing Window
8th
Pennell PTL Meeting 6:30 pm / Library
11th
14th
15th
24th
25th
28th
Ice Cream Social 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Pennell “B” Band Concert 7:00 pm / Gym
Pennell “A” Band Concert 7:00 pm / Gym
Pennell Field Day
1:15 Early Dismissal Day
Memorial Day Holiday: NO SCHOOL
PENNELL IN PRINT
MAY 2012
PENNELL ELEMENTARY 3300 RICHARD ROAD ASTON, PA 19014 610.497.6300 x 7500
PENNELL ELEMENTARY NEWSLETTER
On Mon. May 14th, the Pennell/Parkside B-band will perform and on Tues., May 15th, the A-band will perform. We will be treated on both nights to a fantastic ensemble of talented musicians. Both concerts will be held in the Pennell gymnasium and begin at 7:00 pm.
Our annual Field Day Event will take place on Thurs., May 24th, with the raindate being Friday, June 1st. Please be sure to send your child to school with the appropriate clothing and shoes on those dates.
PTL Update: The last meeting date of the year will be held at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, May 8th in the library. I want to thank all of the wonderful parents who have made the time to attend the meetings this year and support our school!
Finally, keep a look out for the 3rd trimester progress reports. They are due to be mailed home on Tues. May 1st.
Best regards, Shawn Dutkiewicz, Pennell Elementary Principal
HAPPY SPRING!
Dear Parents,
We have a ton of exciting things coming up as we enter our last FULL month of the 11-12 school year! We have lots of MUSIC coming your way! We are very excited about our annual Spring Concert and Art Festival and Pennell/Parkside “A” and “B” Band Concerts! Students have worked extremely hard over the last several months in preparation for these wonderful spring events! The Spring Chorus Concert and Art Festival will be held on Thurs., May 3rd at 7 pm. Look forward to some beautiful art work and songs of spring!
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Our outdoor classroom and garden is taking shape!
Recently, our garden area was cleared
and plots were established that will be
assigned to each grade level. As you
can see in the picture, our learning
center structure has been complete
and is ready to house tools for
learning and investigation.
Over the course of three years, this
has truly been a collaborative project
in the making. Thanks to Pennell
families, donations, local businesses
and contractors, our outdoor
classroom is coming ALIVE!
We are aiming to re-dedicate and open our outdoor classroom in late May! Keep an eye out!
Pennell Students Perform at SONG FEST!
On March 30th, 5th grade students Emily
Egan, Mollie McGroarty, and Nina
Shicatano participated in the PMEA
District 12 Song Fest at Westtown School.
Emily, Mollie, and Nina performed with
130 students from various elementary
schools in our area. The girls rehearsed
with Mrs. O’Kane for two months to
prepare for the choral festival and
performed in a concert to showcase their
hard work and talent.
Kudos to Emily, Mollie, and Nina for their
hard work and dedication!
GREAT NEWS TO SHARE...
Nina Shicatano, Emily Egan, and Mollie McGroarty pose with their Pennell sign at the PMEA District 12 Song Fest at Westtown School.
OUTDOOR CLASSROOM UPDATE...
By ~ John Clark and Sandy Johnston ~ Elementary Physical Education Teachers
Rosemary Fowler, Supervisor of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction
“Battleship” in the Pennell Gym
Dance Off at “Aston in Action Night”
“Oh the Places You’ll Go in P.E. Land with Dr. Seuss”
Penn-Delco Elementary Physical Education, Priceless…
The elementary physical education program moves through a skills progression that will allow the students to
participate in a lifetime of sports, recreation, and dance programs. The skills progression begins in the primary
grades with emphasis on locomotor such as jogging, running, leaping, and jumping and non-locomotor-
balancing. As the students move up through the grades the skills based units introduce and develop catching,
throwing, shooting, kicking, and volleying. All of these skills are taught using critical cues and assessed with
various rubrics. For example, in the Throwing and Catching Unit a student would receive the critical cues for
throwing: step in opposition to your throwing arm, throwing arm like an L, point to the target with your non-
dominant hand, follow through as you release the ball. The student would then be given time to practice and
pair-share with a partner giving feedback.
The elementary physical education program develops sound mind and body. There are five domains of
physical fitness: flexibility, muscular endurance, muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, and body
composition. Four of these domains are included in our program throughout the various units.
Body composition is addressed by the school nurses. These domains are assessed during our Presidential
Fitness Test that is administered to our students in grades 3-5.
Other highlights in our physical education program include the adoption of the Phillies Phitness Initiative,
Jump Rope for Heart sponsored by the American Heart Association, and everyone’s favorite ~ Field Day!
Home/School Connection ~
Start a fitness log. Set a few fitness goals such as, “Before bed I will do 50 push-ups,
100 sits up, and 100 jumping jacks. Next time you are watching TV use the
commercial time to do more push-ups, sits ups and jumping jacks. Record your
progress in your journal. Continue to set new goals. You will be surprised at your
accomplishments!
SPOTLIGHT ON CURRICULUM
Each month, Pennell focuses on a core value/essential that we hope students will practice and apply in their
daily lives. We recognize students who exemplify our core essentials by giving them “team tickets”. Team
tickets are awarded to students and then displayed in our lobby. At the end of the month, students who
received a team ticket are chosen randomly to have lunch with the Principal, Mr. Dutkiewicz.
MAY’S MONTHLY VALUE: RESPONSIBILITY
Responsibility – proving you can be trusted with what is expected of you
Car Time –
JUST FOR FUN:
What is the longest you have ever been without food?
DISCUSSION STARTER:
The Emperor Penguin is the only penguin that breeds during the winter months in Antarctica. Because it’s so
cold, the mother and father penguins have to go to great lengths for their babies to survive. The female lays
the egg, and the father keeps it warm while she treks dozens of miles to the sea to get food. The parents go
without food for nearly a month and have to defend the egg from predators while they care for their unborn
chick.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
What are some ways that your parents take responsibility for you? What might happen if your parents suddenly became very irresponsible? What responsibilities do you have? What could happen if you didn’t follow through on those responsibilities?
Rest – K-2: The Babe and I by: David Adler; A young boy and his family are living through the Great
Depression of 1932 When he learns that his father does not have a job, he gets a job with his friend selling
newspapers to help make money for his family. He sells all of his papers outside of Yankee Stadium due to
the popularity of Babe Ruth and his stories in the paper. He even gets to meet the Babe!
3-5: Summer Shepherd by: Bonnie Highsmith Taylor; During World War II, Jack, who had started getting in
trouble at home, goes to work on his uncle's sheep ranch in Oregon, where he learns about responsibility,
bravery, and getting along with others.
Experience – We are all responsible for something. Some of us are responsible for children. Others are
responsible for pets. Still others are responsible for picking up snacks for the ball game next weekend. But
the one thing almost all of us must be responsible with is our money. Money can make life easier but more
often than not, it makes life tougher. It all depends on how responsible you are with it. Start your child off
right by setting up an allowance system in which he or she gives, saves, then spends his or her money. A
typical percentage division could be: Give 20% (to a charity of your child’s choice), Save 20%, Spend 60%.
But of course these can be tweaked.
CORE ESSENTIALS: VALUE OF THE MONTH
With Scholastic Reading Counts your child participates in an independent reading program that tracks their success on the books they read, in and out of school. This technology-based program creates a personalized and engaging learning environment that ensures independent reading accountability.
This year, our school-wide Reading Counts goal is 112,000,000!
* As of April 25th 2012: Congrats to the students who have read at least 750,000 words!
Students Total Words Read
Emily Egan 3,567,018
Colin Bradley 3,164,245
Kyra Green 1,818,094
Mollie McGroarty 1,800,919
Chelsea Hendrix 1,694,610
Sara Chodak 1,689,531
Hannah Nearey 1,618,785
Brooke Lawton 1,386,909
Devin Widmaier 1,381,368
Nicole Buscaglia 1,369,187
Haweh Kwaidah 1,251,372
Daniel Nearey 1,235,266
Christian Hansen 1,235,141
Arianna DePasquale 1,212,044
Zach Seddon 1,187,612
Christian Parker 1,161,507
Dylan Mokshefsky 1,145,986
Jayln Slaughter 1,144,034
Zach Volturo 1,096,723
Shalane Buck 1,056,441
Jack Segool 1,051,584
Shannon Purfield 1,049,976
Luke Rice 1,042,942
Ryley Marker 1,034,632
Randy Marker 1,032,669
Jason Bandjough 1,029,007
Darren Panusky 1,025,739
Jenna Ford 910,751
Kylie Kane 882,989
Nina Shicatano 865,871
Kassidy Lambert 864,683
Brett Michaels 855,714
Kyri Colson 829,394
Jared Volturo 821,902
Anthony Ellis 814,778
Claudia Miller 773,724
READING COUNTS
PENNELL IS MAKING
GREAT PROGRESS IN
READING COUNTS!
WE ARE UP TO 27
MILLION-WORD
READERS AND MANY
MORE NEARLY THERE!
OUR STATUS UPDATE
FOR THE 2011-2012
YEAR IS:
95,405,783
95,405,783, / 112 MIL =
85% OF OUR GOAL!
KEEP UP THE GREAT
WORK PENNELL!
“What’s on the fridge this month” is a page dedicated to those things that we want
to celebrate here at Pennell... the things that could be deemed, “refrigerator
worthy”!
Congratulations to the following students, who are classroom
winners for the Young Author’s writing contest:
Room 101 – Evan Steveline – “The Dragon Lizard”
Room 109 – Julia Lancellotti – “Mousetown”
Room 107 – Kylie Shetter – “Seeing Stars”
Room 108 – James Churchman – “The Plane Ride” and
Samuel Park – “The Lost City”
Room 211 – Brett Michaels – “Did You Ever Hear of Sharkzilla?”
Room 212 – Madison Reilly – “The Mighty Tree” and
Nicole Buscaglia – “A Long, Long Walk”
Room 210 – Grace Lobb – “The Elf on the Shelf”
Room 208 – Abigail Fisher – “Olivia the Brave”
Room 206 – Teagan Williams – “The Nose”
Room 209 – Sydney Parkinson –“The First Day of Second
Grade”, Mitchell Resnick – “The First Day of School”, and
Savannah Lewis – “The First Day of Third Grade”
Room 205 – Nick Siekierski – “Little Major League”,
Colin Bradley – “The Avalanche”, Sophia Belgiorno –
“Sky Diving”, and Kiley Boyd – “Dancing Shoes”
Room 204 – Kassidy Lambert – “Spider Island” and
Luke Rice – “The War of the Immortals”
Room 203 – Jenna Ford – “The Roof Worker and the Peanut Butter”
Room 202 – Emily Egan – “Follow the Drinking Gourd” and
Danny Nearey – “9/11/2011”
Room 102 – Frankie Wingender
Room 200 – Connor McDermond – “The Last Rocket Launch”
Room 201 – Erin Nearey – “The Seashell” and
Laura Mark –“Vlad Dracula”
Many students were selected to compete at the
county level, and Pennell had a WINNER!
WHAT’S ON THE FRIDGE THIS MONTH?
BIG CONGRATS TO...
Holcomb Prevention’s Annual
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug
(ATOD) Awareness Poster Contest
and Calendar award winners!
1st grader Justin Maiorine (4th place).
4th grader Olivia Nickerson (3rd place)
1ST grader
Justin
Maiorine
(4th place)
Of the students that competed at the county level, 4th grade student Luke
Rice won for his piece entitled, “The War of the Immortals”.
HUGE CONGRATS to LUKE RICE!
“What’s on the fridge this month” is a page dedicated to those things that we want
to celebrate here at Pennell... the things that could be deemed, “refrigerator
worthy”!
GREAT WRITING GETS RECOGNIZED!
We have some wonderful writers here at Pennell Elementary! Recently, three of our students were
recognized at the county level. Please take a few minutes to read their poetry...it is quite impressive!
WHAT’S ON THE FRIDGE THIS MONTH?
Carli Komorowski
Grade 3
First Place: Young Poets of Delaware County
In January
In January, the snow is falling. The smell of hot cocoa is flowing in the air.
In January, bears are hibernating and will soon be seeking spring.
In January, the fireworks are blowing. The sounds and excitement of a New Year coming,
In January, there are many birthdays. Ages go higher and higher.
In January the tastes of snowflakes melt in my mouth.
In January, the feel of snow shivers me.
In January
Jason Bandjough
Grade 5
Third Place: Young
Poets of Delaware County
Cats
A ghost of the alley
A big furry tuft
Circling round and round
On beds filled with fluff
Some have spots
On silky tan fur
Some have stripes
A soft gentle purr
Yellow, brown, black or gray
Cats are good for any day
Silky, soft, fluffy cat
Admire them cause they’re all that!
Gianna McFarland
Grade 2
Winner – Women’s Club
of Aston (Poetry)
I’m Gianna
My hair is as blond
as a lemon…
My eyes are as blue
as the sky…
My lips are as red
as a ladybug…
I’m as cute
as a baby…
I’m Gianna McFarland!
Pennell Elementary is fortunate to have an extremely talented and dedicated staff of teachers,
paraprofessionals, and support personnel. It is wonderful when they are recognized at the county
level for their tremendous efforts! Pennell’s very own Mr. Santini and Mr. Clark were recently
selected for excellence in education and making a difference with children!
Mr. Santini, Pennell’s Autistic Support teacher was recently selected and recognized as one of
the Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union’s Delaware County Excellence in Teaching Award
winners!
The Delaware County Excellence in Teaching Award recognizes
outstanding and dedicated teachers in Delaware County,
Pennsylvania. Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union created this award
in 2007 in partnership with Delaware County Intermediate Unit.
All recipients were honored at Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union’s
Partners in Learning Celebration on April 19, 2012 and recognized in
an edition of the Delaware County Daily Times.
CONGRATULATIONS MR. SANTINI!
Mr. Clark, the Pennell and Parkside Physical Education teacher was recently selected as a
Making a Difference Award Winner by The Right to Education Task Force.
The Right to Education Task Force was created in 1972 as part of the
P.A.R.C. Consent Agreement that provided for a free, appropriate public
education for children with mental retardation. In 1975, the Right to
Education was extended by State regulations to include learning
disabilities, physical handicaps, emotional difficulties and hearing,
visual, speech, and language impairment. The purpose of the Local Task
is to assist in improving education for all school-age children with
special needs.
The Making a Difference Award is meant to recognize staff members and students who have gone
out of their way through their work, support of friendship and/or going out of their way to be
accepting, understanding and make sure to include children of all abilities.
The Making A Difference Annual Awards Ceremony, scheduled for May 22nd, will honor Mr. Clark
and the other recipients (staff and students) from each of the 17 public and charter school districts
in Delaware County.
CONGRATULATIONS MR. CLARK!
PENNELL TEACHERS RECOGNIZED!