Our Holiday Bonanza Highlights

Our First Social Action Cycle!

Olivia's informative PowerPoint on puppy mills:

Vanessa's video on Dog Fighting:

Paulino's presentation on bullying:

Diego's video on wolf conservation:

Theo's video on wolf conservation:

Emma D.'svideo about horse racing.



Grace made a video about access to healthcare.

Anjali made a blog about horse abuse.

Julia made a blog about tiger conservation.

Skylar made a blog about kids who care.

Philip wrote a letter to President Obama about pollution.

Diana wrote a letter to President Obama about child labor.

Freddie wrote a letter Governor Cuomo about deforestation.

Emma N. wrote a letter to McDonalds about factory farming.

Nicolas made a flyer about eating healthy.

Ava made a flyer about overfishing.

Nilajah made a flyer about littering.

Jenna made a poster about endangered elephants.

The Museum Visits the Classroom

Math + Music

Age of Exploration Social Studies Presentations!

Our first research cycle in Social Studies is over. We all learned a lot about the explorers who landed on the Western Hemisphere in search for trade routes and riches. We chose what we wanted to research and how to present what we learned to the class. Based on our experiences, we learned what makes a clear, organized presentation. Here is our list:

Tips we learned from our first research cycle/presentations:

- Practice. PRACTICE!

- Funniness should not distract from information.

- Don't block other group members.

- Speak loudly and clearly.

- Stick to the idea and theme.

- Eye contact is important.

- Be aware of time.

- Keep camera still.

- Keep deadline in mind.

- Test-run technology.

- Cooperate with group members.

- Know your stuff.

Harvest Fest

Diego tried out his IT technician skills capturing footage from the 5th grade Harvest Fest!

Adopt a Turkey!

I am "adopting" a turkey on behalf of the kind, compassionate animal lovers in our class! All of the turkeys below have been rescued and now live at Farm Sanctuary, a farm and animal rights organization in upstate New York. It is costs a lot to care for the farm animals at Farm Sanctuary, on top of all the other work they do rescuing animals and educating people about abuse.  Please help me decide  which beautiful turkey to support this Thanksgiving.  Vote for one by commenting on this post with a name below or by telling me your choice in class.  I'll be adopting one the day before Thanksgiving!

A Wolf In the Gym!

Totally 80's!!

Like, we had a totally, like, tubular time on 80's day and raised serious money for our 5th grade activities!

The 5th grade teachers brought it on for 80's day! 

We can't wait for Tacky Holiday Sweater Day in December.

Thank you to all who participated!

5-301's Dia de los Muertos Celebration

Day of the dead is not scary or sad it is a day to celebrate the loved ones that have past yes but that dosnot make it sad.It is a day to celebrate the HAPPY lives our loved ones spent befor they past.One thing they do at day of the dead is give offerings.They give flowers and suger skulls witch are suger mixed with somthing I dont know the name of in the shape of skulls and then decorated.The more people know that day of the dead is not sad the more people will celebreate it and the more people celebrate it the more fun it will be.
- Anjali

Day of the dead isn't all about sugar sculls and treats. Its about celebrating your lost one's and being with you're family. And people get flowers and put them on graves and dance around them . Also like I said before about the sugar sculls , (witch are awesome.) are these little scull that are made of sugar and they feast and eat dead bread and other yummy snack's. Day of the dead is not like Halloween where you celebrate zombies and stuff like that, it's about getting together with you're family and celebrating the dead.
- Diego

Today we celebrated Day of the Dead. It is a Mexican/Latin American holiday that celebrates the great lives your dead ancestors had. Not to mourn them. I think that Day of the Dead is very different than Halloween but I also think that they have many similarities. I gained this idea because Halloween and Day of the Dead both have many skulls and treats but Halloween is about scary costumes and candy but Day of the Dead is about remembering your dead loved ones and their happy lives and giving them offerings. I think that this effects me because in America we celebrate Halloween and eat a lot of candy and dress up in scary costumes but it doesn't really have a meaning. Meanwhile, in Mexico and Latin America they are celebrating their loved ones and remembering their nice lives. This effects me because America doesn't have a holiday that celebrates our loved ones so we don't have a special time to remember them. This effects the greater world because since we don't have a holiday to celebrate the dead we might pass it on to other countries and then no other country will have a holiday that celebrates their dead loved ones.
- Emma N.

Now when this day comes I won't only feel sad for my family members who have died but I will think of them and talk about all the wonderful memories I have of them.
- Freddie

Today my class and I celebrated Las Dia De Muertos also known as Day of the Dead. Even though the holiday is celebrated for three days, my class only celebrated it for only one. You might think because of the name that Day of the Dead is scary holiday but it isn't. Its a happy one. See day of the dead is not to celebrate the ones that have died and morn over them, its to celebrate the lives that they lived.
- Grace

Today, we learned about Day of the Dead (which was today). I learned that is a very important holiday to Mexicans (and class 5-301). It celebrates loved ones that have passed away to celebrate what great lives they had. Because of this, I think that Mexicans have a very festive ways of celebrating.
I came to the idea that Mexicans have a very festive way of celebrating, because on Day of the Dead they have candies, sell little decorations (such as candle holders, little skulls etc.) eat lots of different foods, and decorate their houses! This affects me because it changed my thinking about remembering people who have died. Instead of remembering loved one dying being a bad thing, it can be a happy thing to celebrate! Because before I thought of the people I knew that have died was a really sad and awful thing, but now I'm going to try to think about how great their lives were.
- Julia

Today the 5th grade had the day of the dead.The idea that I had that why is this a happy latin American holiday. It is a happy holiday because celebrates their ancestors that are dead. this affects me because I can to remember my grandma.
- Paulino

Day of the dead is where you celebrate and honor the people that passed away and it is not scary or depressing it is fun and cheerful and is a way of celebrating with friends and family.
- Skylar

This tradition is not at all like Halloween its not scary its very happy and bright with colors. day.Day of the dead is a tradition that celebrates the spirits of loved ones who passed away.the people leave out offerings like water and food.they eat lots of food like sugar skulls,dead bread,etc. They hide a tiny skeleton inside some dead bread and who ever gets the doll gets a wish that comes true! day of the dead is not morbid its happy!
- Theo

day of the dead isn't supposed to be sad, it's a happy holiday! it may sound like death as in scary stuff and blood but it's celebrating the wonderful past of dead loved ones and it's very colorful. flowers are put around the grave wile people sing and dance. they leave offerings and pray. candy skulls and bread of the dead every one is happy on day of the day!!!
- Vanessa

Thank you so much to Diana for a wonderful read aloud!

Storybook Fun!

Class 301 all dressed up for fun!

Teacher particpation: A+

Our celebration was low-key. Most of us were in books!

Time for giggles!

Great 301 costumes

We're all glad Nicolas is back!

Ms. Heras dropped by to check in on her boys.

Sweet treats

Yum time!

A Jam-packed November

November 2: Dia de los Muertos celebration

We will celebrate Day of the Dead with several activities throughout the day. In the morning we will listen to a bilingual read aloud to learn about the holiday. Our own Diana will be reading aloud the Spanish pages. We will also explore some really cool Dia de los Muertos artwork from Mexico and learning about the holiday from photographs taken during the festivities in Guanajuato. We'll also feast on traditional el pan de muerto (dead bread) and sugar skulls while we decorate our own Day of the Dead crafts. Parents, if you would like to join during any part of the celebration, let us know!

November 3: Memoir Publishing Party
It is finally publishing time! Before we move onward to our Interpretative Essay unit, it is time to celebrate our memoirs. We moved through the writing cycle and learned some new strategies to improve our writing. We will be calling upon these skills in our next unit as we grow ideas supported by our life experiences and structure deep meaning within the essay structure. Parents, join us as we share our work, offer feedback and celebrate the end of our first writing cycle.

November 8: Election Day
The second Tuesday in November means it is Election Day! No school for you. We will see you the following day.

November 10: 80's Dress Up Day
The first of the 5th grade fundraising dress up days is here! On Thursday, November 10 you have the opportunity to dress retro and raise money for all of the many 5th end-of-year activities (yearbooks, the trip, the after-graduation dance, etc). So what you weren't even alive then! An adult in your life is sure to remember the era's fashions. This fundraising day is celebrated by all of the school! So let's show P.S. 58 just how awesomely 80's we can be. Parents, remember to send your child in with $1 if they are participating and find a reason to stop by if you can. It's sure to amusing. :)

November 11: Veterans Day
A National holiday? On a Friday? Yes, unlike the many holidays we observe on Mondays, 11/11 is celebrated on whichever day of the week it falls on. This date is significant in America's history; it was the date World War I ended. To honor the veterans of this massive multi-nation war, the observed date is always November 11.
 
November 15: Parent-Teacher Conferences
Class 301 has a half day while we meet with your parents. Parents, please be on the look-out for the time preference sheet. This came so quickly!

November 17: Wolf Visit
You remember that wolf visit from last year? It's kind of going to be like that. Wolf, the sequel.

November 22: Harvest Festival
Our first grade-wide celebration! Stay tuned for festival details on this potluck celebration. In the meantime, enjoy our classroom pumpkin while it's still in one piece.

November 24-25: Thanksgiving Recess
You know how this goes. You eat a lot and see family and boom! it's the holiday season.

What a month!

Best Grammar Lesson Ever!

What an amazing surprise! Our celebration during grammar was so much fun. You all made me feel so special with the cards, delicious vegan snacks and cake, the songs, the toasts, the dances! 5-301 sure knows how to party.


An extra special thank you to Nikita for organizing the celebration and the 5-301 parents for the vegan-friendly snacks and drinks... 
...and to all of 301 for making the day so special.

Ava did a great job capturing the action. 

Let's look at how scrumptious this looks.

This cake was so good! Thank you, Skylar!

Everybody dance now.