The
Nutcracker Ballet
The
Tappan Hill kindergarten students attended a performance of
Tchaikovsky’s “The
Nutcracker Ballet” on Thursday, December 4th at the Tarrytown
Music Hall. The musical score and story plot were reviewed in the
classrooms beforehand and the students thoroughly enjoyed the presentation.
The students view a Nutcracker collection, collaboratively created by staff
members, in the school’s lobby display case daily. (Posted 12/13/08)
Fairytales Tell
a Story
During the month of
December, the kindergarten students at Tappan Hill visited Lyndhurst for
their Fairytale Holiday
presentation. The children were amazed by the details incorporated into the
exhibits, such as the Seven Dwarf’s
wheelbarrow filled with jewels, the delicious meal set up in the Arabian
tent, the glowing bubbles in Ariel’s bathtub and of course they had to be
quiet not to wake Goldilocks
sleeping in the Baby Bear’s bed!
They also were able to view a portion of the home set up for an early
twentieth century holiday, along with toys from that era. The reading of
fairytales is embedded in the kindergarten curriculum. (Posted 12/13/08)
Little Hawk
Little
Hawk, a member of the Mohawk Tribe, came to Tappan Hill on Wednesday,
November 19th. We have been lucky enough to have him come to our school
for the last seven years. Little Hawk taught the children to say hello in
four (4) different tribal languages. He explained that at gatherings,
powwows, there are a variety of dances that are performed. Little Hawk
described how the Smoke
Dance
got its name (It was danced only by children … and they can kick up a lot of
dust!). He began his program with a Hunter’s dance where the children saw
him paddle an imaginary canoe but he had a real bow to shoot imaginary
arrows. Next, he invited some of the children to perform a Friendship
Dance. This dance is put on with everyone holding hands to make a circle.
To the Native Americans, the circle symbolizes strength. He performed a
Challenge Dance in which the person challenged must pick up a feather with
his/her teeth and the ONLY part of the body touching the floor are the feet!
It requires a great deal of agility. That was evident when he finished the
program with a hoop dance in which he used 18 hoops to dance in and out of.
While dancing he made the hoops into a snake, an eagle and finally Mother
Earth! (Posted 11/25/08)
We Did It!
Thanks to your efforts Tappan Hill raised
$616.78 for the trick-or-treat for Unicef Program
Thank you for all your support!!
(Posted 11/17/08)
Dr. Smith Boom, Chicka, Rocks!
At the
beginning of each school year Dr. Smith, Superintendent of Schools, comes
into each Kindergarten class to read. He bravely faces a sea of unknown,
eager five year olds and reads a book he has never seen before! This year he
left our class smiling with the refrain “Boom, Chicka, Rock, Chicka, Rock,
Chicka, Boom!” swimming in his head. Dr. Smith will return in June so that
all the Tappan Hill students get to read to him! We can’t wait.
(Posted 11/13/08)
Lessons
Learned From Picking Apples
The
students at Tappan Hill School traveled to Stuart’s Farm in Somers, NY in
late October. Mrs. Stuart showed them how they sort and shine the apples
and Mr. Stuart explained how they make apple cider. The students picked
apples from the trees and enjoyed a picnic lunch at the orchard. Upon their
return to Tappan Hill School, the teachers and students made a variety of
apple treats including applesauce, apple crisp, and apple pie. After tasting
a variety of apples, the students graphed their favorite kind. Math is
always exciting when you graph and sort apples by color and size. Writing
also takes on a different feel when you have photographs of a trip as a
story starter. A delightful trip experience was had by all. (Posted 11/11/08)
Voting - A Right and a
Responsibility
The
staff and students at Tappan Hill School celebrated Election Day on Tuesday,
November 4th. Everyone
wore red, white and blue. The school looked like one big American Flag. The
front hall of the school was decorated like there was going to be a parade.
Patriotic music was playing in the hallways as the children were passing to
their classrooms. It was a beautiful sight.
Our
Social Studies curriculum addresses the child, their family and friends,
their community and citizenship. It also incorporates map studies and where
the US is on the globe. The children have learned to recite the Pledge of
Allegiance. Children were given an opportunity to vote on something. Voting
on “best snack” is a favorite. The EPTA is giving the elementary students a
chance to vote on a movie that they would like to see at a later time. The
children were reminded that their vote is their secret and they may share it
if they like.
Tappan
Hill is a designated Polling Place for Districts 6 and 74 so the children
had the opportunity to go to the basement where everyone votes. Mrs.
Garibaldi’s class serenaded the election officials with their five year old
versions of God Bless America, This Land is Your Land, America, You’re a
Grand Old Flag, Yankee Doodle, I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy and our National
Anthem. The election officials and voters actually joined in. Mr. Garibaldi,
who was an election official, showed the children the voting machine. The
children were able to spell and sign the word ‘vote.’ The children were
reminded that it is every adult’s right and responsibility to vote. It is
also important to remember that no matter who wins the presidential
election, they are our new Commander and Chief and we should celebrate their
win and support their efforts. (Posted 11/6/08)
“Hands-on”
Science at Tappan Hill
The students at Tappan Hill School
thoroughly enjoyed their first unit of study in the Science 21 Program. It
was all about germs. Those Mean Nasty Dirty Downright Disgusting but . .
. Invisible Germs. (That happens to be the title of a very favorite book
by Rice and Merrill, purchased for every classroom.) The children drew
pictures of what they thought a germ might look like if they could see one.
Germs cause headaches, sore throats and “throw – up.” The children have
learned that water alone does not kill germs. Soap kills germs. We also
have to really dry our hands because germs like warm, wet places. So
everyday before snack and lunch, we soap, wash, rinse and dry. We know that
the germs have gone down the drain. The children are also learning to cough
and sneeze into their arm and not their hands because they touch everything
with their hands. The children were shown how germs travel from one person
or object to another when we put petroleum jelly on our hands and pretended
that some whole wheat flour were the germs. They could see how the germs
transfer from one thing to another. We found germs on chairs, blocks,
paper, markers, books, dolls, doorknobs and instruments. Yuk!
So . . . Wash your hands and get rid of
those germs! (Posted 11/5/08)
Tappan
Hill Students Learn to Stay Safe on Halloween
Tappan Hill Students were treated to a
Halloween Safety Program that was sponsored by the Tarrytown Police
Department and the Automobile Club of America.Detective Burns and Ms.
Blackburn Presented a very age appropriate program using a miniature
automobile called Otto and a puppet called Bob. Bob was dressed as Batman
for Halloween and Otto was telling Bob (and the children) what he had to do
to be safe at night.It was a participatory program so the children were very
engaged in the instruction.And of course every child wanted to tell what
they were going to be for Halloween.The classroom teachers have been talking
about bus safety, fire safety, and now Halloween Safety. The teachers feel
fairly confident that the children will do what they have been taught. The
children will be Trick or Treating for candy and for coins. The candy they
may carefully look at, share with their parents, and enjoy themselves. They
may not bring it to school. The coins should have been collected in their
UNICEF boxes for less fortunate children. The boxes should come back to
school. Speaking of candy, Please make sure that your children are
brushing, flossing, and going to the dentist. (Posted 11/5/08)
It’s
a Small World -- A Multicultural Celebration
At
Tappan Hill School, we are fortunate to have children from diverse
backgrounds. This year in Ms. Oré’s class, parents will teach the children
about their country of origin: India, Morocco, France, Ecuador, Dominican
Republic, El Salvador, Lebanon and Iceland.
This
month, we began our class celebration with Diwali. Diwali is a celebration
that means “row of lights”. The holiday is known for its festival of
lights. In every person’s home, their windows and doors are lit up with
little earthen lamps called “diyas” to welcome in the Hindu New Year. The
New Year usually takes place in October or November.
Ms.
Dhingra came to Ms. Oré’s class and read a story about the celebration and
taught the children all about this wonderful tradition. All the children
made diyas (small clay bowls) and decorated them with glitter. The children
enjoyed learning about Diwali. (Posted 10/29/08)
Tarrytown Fire Department Visits
Tappan Hill
The Tarrytown Fire
Department came to Tappan Hill School to present a Fire safety program to
the students. Freddie, the Fire Truck helped the Fire Fighters
to discuss fire safety. The fire fighters showed the children all the gear
that they wear. The firefighter walked around and shook the hands of the
students to show them that this may look a little frightening, but they are
there to help. The children learned about Stop, Drop, Roll and Cover. After
the presentation by the firefighters, the children went outside to see the
fire engines and sat in the cabin. It is important that you make a fire
safety plan for your home.
(Posted 10/27/08)
The TUFSD Green Committee and the EPTA partner to help friends and families
of our district live in a more earth friendly way AND support the schools.
Greenraising.com is a web site on which anyone can purchase green products
for home and school, including healthy and reusable SIGG water bottles and
reusable lunch bags. Greenraising is also a fundraising tool. Whenever
anyone shops on Greenraising.com and selects "EPTA of the Tarrytowns" as
their affiliate, proceeds from the sale go back to our schools. To use
Greenraising, either go directly to
http://www.greenraising.com/?AFID=561 or go to
www.greenraising.com
and select "EPTA of the Tarrytowns" from the affiliate drop-down list
at the top of the page. Please take advantage of this unique partnership
and send the link to family and friends, as anyone can participate!
(Posted 9/11/08)
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Dear
Parents,
The first
days of Kindergarten have gone remarkably well. Children have made the
transition into the public school setting very smoothly and quickly. Parent
volunteers assisted with arrivals the first few days of school and now the
children get off the bus and go to their classrooms without help or hesitation.
Thanks to everyone for contributing to a great opening of school.
As many of
you may know, our plans to move the Prekindergarten Program to the former
Fordham at Marymount site, did not come to fruition. Last year, while the plans
for the space were being negotiated, one of the PreK classes was held at the
John Paulding School. I am pleased to inform you that, as a result of creative
planning and collaborative reorganization of space, the class has been returned
to Tappan Hill. Now all of the Prekindergarten and Kindergarten students are
together again!
One of the
very special things we do to begin the year is to visit students and their
parents/families in your homes. Our hope is that we start the year off with a
focus on the “home/school connection.” Children learn that we recognize and
value what occurs in their lives outside of school. For young children, the
most important people in their lives are their family members. The second most
important are their teachers. How memorable that both parties meet and share
the mission of a successful school year from the very beginning. Thank you for
your cooperation, understanding, enthusiasm and preparation in anticipation of
teachers’ visits. It is our hope that we will continue to strengthen
relationships throughout the year and that you will be an active participant in
your child’s education.
I am
looking forward to working with you to make this an exciting, adventurous year
of learning and fun for our PreK and Kindergarten students.
Yours truly,
Ms. M. Milliam
Principal
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