First Visits

As April turns to May, splashes of color seem to be everywhere.  Trees, shrubs, and flowers are all in bloom; spring is most definitely here.

This time of year is one of anticipation and excitement.  All of the fun activities the warm weather affords us come rushing back to our minds.  Baseball, softball, swimming, fishing, and intense games of tag with our friends are remembered fondly. After the long, dreary winter we are ready to get outside and enjoy the world again. The freedom that summer represents will be here soon.

The warm weather also makes me reminisce about family trips.  My family would always go on some type of trip - to visit relatives, see a new place, or take a vacation.  I'm not sure about your family trips, but as a kid I loved going and relished the sense of adventure they brought into my life.

Some time around 5th grade, we took a trip to visit my aunt in Arizona.  My aunt had recently moved out there and this was our first visit to see her.  If you have never been to Arizona is looks quite different from New Jersey.  Where New Jersey is crowded with people, houses, and trees, Arizona is immensely open with majestic mountains dotted with cacti.

On this trip, my family only stayed for a short time but I was able to spend almost a month in The Grand Canyon State. It was wonderful.  The state is so beautiful and there are so many interesting places to visit - Old Tuscon, Monument Valley, Sedona, Petrified Forest, and of course the Grand Canyon. It was all so new and so much fun.  I even remember learning how to play the game of Spades on this trip.

As I look back now as an adult, I think a lot of my fond memories of this trip stem from the fact this was first visit to Arizona.  Something about experiencing new vistas, people, and culture leave an edible imprint.

In the comment section below, I would like to hear about places you visited for the first time.  Perhaps, like me, you visited a family member in another state?  Maybe your family took a road trip somewhere that was particularly memorable for you? Perhaps you went on a vacation some place that you really enjoyed? Tell me all about it.  Where did you go?  What do you remember about the place?  Why did you enjoy it?  What is one thing you can share that would entice other people to visit?

I can't wait to read all of your comments!

The Four 4s

Today, I am pleased to present you with a guest post from our Academic Coach for Mathematics - Mrs. Realley:

The Four 4s

As the Math Coach, I love challenging myself with cool problems to solve.  One of my favorites is The Four 4s.  This problem asks “Can you find each number 0 through 10 using only four 4s and any operation?”  For example, I can find 0 by doing 4-4+4-4.  How many of the numbers can you find?

If you enjoyed this challenge, you can find more like it at

http://nrich.maths.org/primary-lower  (for K-2 students)

or http://nrich.maths.org/primary-upper (for 3-5 students). 

In the comments, let me know how many of the numbers 0-10 you were able to find.  Or tell me about an interesting math problem or game that challenged you. 

Mrs. Realley

Do you have P.R.I.D.E?

Posters with a green and white rectangle adorn numerous walls in Evergreen Avenue Elementary School.  Inside classrooms, affixed to hallway walls, hung in the cafeteria, and inserted within student agenda books, these posters represent the core of what we believe at Evergreen.  These beliefs span social, emotional, and academic tenets. These are posters of P.R.I.D.E.

P.R.I.D.E stands for being positive, being respectful, having integrity, being dependable, and showing effort.

Specific definitions and examples are included after each character trait along with our school motto, keep love present.

Students are recognized by staff members for showing the characteristics of P.R.I.D.E and their names are placed on our Good Deed Tree and a positive note is sent to their parents.  Some students are even selected by their teachers to become a P.R.I.D.E Leader.  These leaders receive a coveted bracelet:

...and get to participate in super fun celebrations each month.  A group of staff members affectionately known as the POPS (People of PRIDE) have documented these parties through video:

 https://vimeo.com/user33416701/videos

Our school is even formulating a P.R.I.D.E Council which will be comprised of 4th and 5th grade P.R.I.D.E Leaders whose job will be to advise myself, as principal, on school affairs.  While only P.R.I.D.E Leaders are eligible to serve on the P.R.I.D.E Council, all 4th and 5th grade students will have the opportunity to vote for their representative. Look for more details about this in the coming days.

Evergreen students - I would like to hear from you in the comment section below about how having P.R.I.D.E has affected you in a positive way this year.  Could you give me one example of someone you've seen demonstrating P.R.I.D.E?  What were they doing?  Tell me all about it!

Frozen with Fear

Toward the end of the 2014-2015 school year, a group of adults - Teachers, Instructional Assistants, Aides, Administrators - will be subjected to a chilly humiliation as students dump ice cold water on their heads!

Evergreen Avenue Elementary School is participating in an Ice Bucket Reading Challenge.  You may be wondering - what does this entail?

Throughout the year, students are challenged to read as many books as they can.  For each book that they complete, they are given a voting ticket.  Students then write down the name of the adult at Evergreen they most wish to see with glacier water dropped on their noggins. The tickets are tallied over the months and the top vote recipients are drafted into watery discomfiture. Moreover, the students who have read the most books on their level, will be honored by hoisting the bucket over the adult of their choosing!

Take a look at the video that introduced our students to this challenge: https://vimeo.com/109048733

Our school nurse, Mrs. Mills, and 2nd Grade Teacher, Ms. Frazier, are particularly frightened:

Who will be chosen by the students? Which adult will be submerged in painfully cold water?  Which students will put forth the effort and commitment to read enough books to win?

Only time will tell.

As we move into the first week of April, it is extremely important that all students, redouble their efforts toward reading.  Your teachers have preached all year, that the more you read, the more you will learn.  The more you learn, the more doors that are opened for you in life.

In the comment section below, I want to hear about all of those books you are reading.  Tell me your favorite book. Tell me about the funniest book you've ever read.  Make a recommendation of a good book to your fellow students.  Tell me about the book you are proudest to have finished and done well on an Accelerated Reader test.  Share with me the place in school you most enjoy reading.

I want to hear about it all.

Finally, please share who you're most eager to vote for in the challenge. The adults at Evergreen are frozen with fear!

Rock Your Socks

Ten years ago, an organization in France chose March 21 as an annual date to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day.  This date, being the 21st day of the 3rd month, was selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome which leads to Down Syndrome.  In 2012, the United Nations officially recognized World Down Syndrome Day and encouraged all members States to commemorate the occasion.

At this point, you might be wondering - "but, what is Down Syndrome and what are we celebrating"?

You probably have already seen people - both kids and adults - with Down Syndrome.

They share certain physical characteristics - flatter noses, almond shaped eyes, etc. - that make them recognizable.  Many people with Down Syndrome also experience learning difficulties and may have medical problems such as heart defects. These similarities are caused by chromosomes.

According to kidshealth.org:

Chromosomes are "thread-like structures within each cell and are made up of genes. Genes provide the information that determines everything about people, from hair color to whether they are girls or boys. Most people have 23 pairs of chromosomes, for a total of 46. But a baby with Down Syndrome has an extra chromosome (47 instead of 46). This extra genetic material causes problems with the way their bodies develop".

Therefore, Down Syndrome is not a disease that you can catch, but rather a condition that people are born with. While people with DS may share some physical characteristics with each other, they don't all look alike and more closely resemble their parents - just like you do! The  problems that many people with DS face are not insurmountable and with help from adults at an early age they can lead healthy, successful lives.

This is where you can play a part.  In the Woodbury community, here at our school, and maybe even in your own family there are people with Down Syndrome.

To celebrate these people and all the wonderful things about them that are unique and special, Evergreen Ave School will celebrate World Down Syndrome Day tomorrow March 20 (because March 21 is on Saturday!).  We are asking all students to wear their loudest, craziest, and most wild socks to school. Can't decide on which pair to wear?...don't choose, wear both!  We want you to wear your kooky socks to help advocate for the individual rights, inclusion, and respect for people with DS.

The classroom with the highest percentage of wacky socks will win a soft pretzel party!

I can't wait to see how you rock your socks tomorrow!  Please sound off below in the comment section with any questions about Down Syndrome or the people with this condition that you may have; I'd be happy to try and answer them for you.

The Power of Belief

For the majority of my life, I believed that people had certain innate talents.  If you were a really good baseball player or could sing well enough to be on American Idol, it meant that you were lucky to be born with those skills.  Kids who were prolific readers or who could compute numbers quickly and accurately in school were simply smart. Everyone seemed to be lumped into one of two categories - you either had the talent, or you didn't.  Sure you could practice at something and get better, but on a fundamental level you either were or were not.

This world view was great if you happen to be in the "good" category.  But, what if you weren't? What if your early experiences with something were not successful?  What if you failed at something? How did you react?

In elementary school, spelling was a "talent" I did not have.  Spelling tests and accurately spelling words while writing were always a challenge for me. I just assumed that I wasn't good at spelling and tried my best not to be put in positions where I had to do it all that often; rather than trying to get better, I avoided it altogether as best I could.

Much later in life, I came across the work of Dr. Carol Dweck and her research about how our brains function.  She explained how are brains are not static, or fixed, but how they can be changed and grow. She introduced me to the concept of having a Growth Mindset.  Much like a muscle, if we exercise our brains in specific ways and try to get better at the things we are not currently good at, our brains will actually grow!  More neurons - those are the cells in our brains that process and transmit information - will form inside our brains when we purposefully try to get better at things. In a sense, our brains actually get better when we work hard to improve.

Wow...

So, all of this time I spent thinking that people were born with a talent or not was wrong?  All of this time I spent thinking people were simply smart, athletic, musical, or even good SPELLERS was inaccurate?....YES, I was wrong!!!

The interesting thing is that most kids and adults still believe that everyone is born with a certain amount of talent, intelligence, or personality and one cannot increase this random gift of nature.  Here at Evergreen, each of you are different.  You know what it means to have a Growth Mindset.  You know that by working hard, learning from your failures, and believing in the power of "yet", you can grow your brains.  

However, outside of Evergreen you will still have to convince some of your friends, family members, and maybe even your parents that this is true.  To help you be persuasive, here is my challenge for you:

At Evergreen we have purposefully filled the school, your classrooms, and the lessons you learn with both visible and invisible messages of having a Growth Mindset.  Find them. List them in the comment section.  Make as many connections as you can between having a Growth Mindset and your experiences at Evergreen.  The student who finds the most and makes the best associations will be recognized by me publicly and will win a prize!

Open your eyes, look all around you and find all the ways your school is trying to teach you to believe that you can get better at anything by having a Growth Mindset, even spelling!

Jack and Annie Come to Evergreen

The mythical town of Frog Creek, Pennsylvania is the setting of fifty-two adventurous stories about a brother and sister - Jack and Annie.  Sitting atop a large oak tree, Jack and Annie are whisked to far away places while reading inside their magical tree house. Being only seven and eight years old, these two explorers utilize reading as a gateway through both time and space.

Mary Pope Osborne, the author of the Magic Tree House Series, has written books that introduce young readers to historical fiction and non-fiction themes. Topics ranging from dinosaurs, to knights, to mummies, to pirates, to ninjas, to dolphins, to polar bears, to vikings, and even to Abraham Lincoln are investigated and enjoyed.

On March 4, 2015 beginning at 5:30 pm., Jack and Annie will actually make their way to Evergreen Avenue School for our Magic Tree House-themed Family Reading Night!  All Evergreen families are invited to come out and explore rooms that have been transformed based upon the theme of a particular Magic Tree House book. Crafts will be made, stories will be read, prizes will be awarded, and certainly adventures will be had.  Our PTO will also host a book fair in the all-purpose room making all the popular and latest titles available to students for purchase.

Please be sure to come out and enjoy the night with friends and family!

Evergreen students - in the comment section below, I would like to know which Magic Tree House book is your favorite? Why do you like that one so much?