Smith News

January 1, 2020

Achieving Excellence One Student at a Time

Welcome Back!

Happy New Year and welcome back to school!!

We hope that everyone was able to spend some quality time with family, friends and loved ones over the break.

We will be working on re-establishing routines as we get back on track with learning. It is also important to take advantage of these moments, so we can rejuvenate, refocus, and approach the New Year with a renewed sense of purpose. As we make our way through the winter months, let’s take advantage of this time to support and challenge our students to reach their potential and persevere in learning.

All the best in 2020!

Ramsey Parent Academies

Parent Academies

Wednesday, January 8, 2020 - Smith School Cafeteria, 7:30 PM

One Book One Community: Enough as She Is

From the New York Times bestselling author of Odd Girl Out, a deeply urgent book that gives adults the tools to help girls in high school and college reject "supergirl" pressure, overcome a toxic stress culture, and become resilient adults with healthy, happy, and fulfilling lives.

In the Classroom & Around School

#ProfileOfARamseyGraduate #EnhancingTheStudentExperience

6th Grade Mathematics

#TeachForUnderstanding

Math students have been working together to discover the meaning of dividing fractions. Understanding the strategies for working with all kinds of numbers is very important. Since students discover these strategies, it will make more sense to them in the long run.

Students are now beginning to realize that the real power is their ability to discuss their ideas and strategies and use them in new situations.

Nourriture Française

Meaning - "French Food"

After spending the past few weeks learning about French foods along with French eating habits and shopping regime, Madame Kuhnel's 8th grade students participated in an authentic French cheese tasting complete with six varieties of French cheese, sliced baguette, chocolate-filled croissants and washed it down with Perrier and Orangina.

Les Desserts Français

Meaning - I think you can figure it this out!

Madame Back's and Madame Kuhnel's 6th grade French students participated in a dessert taste-testing. For the last few weeks, the students have been learning about popular French desserts and are now able to identify, describe, compare and rate them based on taste and texture. They all did a great job either making the desserts from scratch at home or purchasing them at the store. Some of the selections they tried were chocolate mousse, crepes, cream puffs, eclairs, a traditional French tart along with French baguette and brie. A fun (and tasty) time was had by all!!

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Day of Service

All students in 5th-8th grade from across Bergen County are invited to join together for New Jersey's largest Day of Service on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Projects include: creating " go bags" for children escaping domestic violence and in the foster care system, a collaborative art project that will be donated to public buildings, tying no-sew polar fleece blankets that will be donated to senior citizens and Project Linus, packing hygiene kits to help the homeless, and creating "thank you" bags for active service men and women.

Kosher pizza lunch and a snack is provided and the event is free to attend! All students will also be given a certificate acknowledging their community service.

Please click here or the image to register for this event!

Mrs. Christine Davis

Supervisor of K-8 Education and Student Welfare

Wellness as defined by Webster's dictionary is, "the quality or state of being in good health especially as an actively sought goal." With the start of a new year, now is a perfect time to create a plan to ensure wellness in 2020. Below is a list of some great habits to start you on not just a resolution to wellness but a commitment to your personal wellness in 2020 and beyond!

Slow down - Pause at the beginning and end of each day to celebrate your joys and accomplishments.
Take care of yourself - Eat well, exercise, and get enough sleep.
Connect with your family and friends - Communicate with the people in your life. Tell them that you love and appreciate them. Think of their positive qualities and the joy they bring to your life.
Take time during the day to renew yourself - Take a walk, read, listen to music- do the things that bring beauty into your life.
Take care of things - Make amends, fix what’s broken, clear away clutter, forgive what needs to be forgiven, and let go.
Support something you believe in - Give time to a cause, group, individual, or family who needs your help. Do something every day to make the world a better place.
Laugh, every single day - Look for the humor in every situation. How important will this problem be in twenty years?
Always take time to dream - Dreams are what will give your life its passion, its joy-and its direction. Take the time to develop your dreams so they will one day become your reality.

From the Desk of the Instructional Coaches

Scott Sirota - Mathematics Instructional Coach

Now that the holidays are over and we're all settling back into our routines, we can start to think of ways of extending learning outside the classroom. Help to beat the winter doldrums by learning alongside your child. Here are some suggestions of what you can do when the days are cold but our hearts are warm:

Talk about current events
Visit a museum together
Take your child shopping with you
Find a new book to enjoy
Cook together

I hope that you can use some of these activities to continue to connect with your child and help them to understand that learning happens outside of the 4 walls of their classroom. Happy January to all!

Report Cards

The second marking period will end on Friday January 24th. Report cards, as well as progress towards Goals and Objectives for students with IEPs, will be viewable on the Parent Portal on Friday, January 31st. Please remember the following points:

The purpose of allowing access to your child’s grades is to enhance communication between school and home regarding your child’s academic status.
Access to grades allows you to have a conversation with your child about the assignment and/or grade. It is not to question the teacher about the validity of the grade. Speak with your child first, and if there are any discrepancies, instruct your child to speak with his/her teacher.
Teachers will post grades in a reasonable amount of time after any given assessment. This will vary from class to class, and from assignment to assignment, depending upon the nature of the assessment. Please do not expect a grade to be available immediately.

If you cannot access your child’s report card via the portal, please check the “Fines” tab. You must clear all obligations before your access to grades can be restored.

Yearbook

Yearbooks are available for order but not for long. The deadline for all yearbook orders is JANUARY 7th. Don’t miss out and order one now!

Order your yearbook by clicking here

Smith School order number is #4365.

Would you or a family member like to send a special shout out or message in the yearbook to a Smith student? Fill out one of our Well Wishes form and send it in to school along with a payment of $5 (cash or check made out to Smith PTO) - Well Wishes cannot be done online.

And finally - for the PARENTS OF OUTGOING 8TH GRADERS, for $22 you can additionally purchase a yearbook Tribute Ad for your graduate - a baby photo of your child accompanied with a special message of your choosing. Please visit the yearbook website https://www.yearbookordercenter.com (school order # 4365) to purchase and submit your Tribute Ad online!