School Newsletter

Principal’s Newsletter

   

Volume 2, Issue 5 May-June 2012

P.S. 11 Queens, Kathryn M. Phelan School

Dear PS 11 School Community: 

     Please  submit  your  email  address,  if  youhaven’t  already,  so  that  I  can  forwardimportant  information to you.    In addition tothe  distribution  list  that  I  have  created  forparents,  I  have  decided  to  join  a  textmessaging  system  which  will  enable  me  tosend  you  timely  messages  about  meetings,school closures, etc.       Summer  school  information  will  bedistributed in June. Summer school begins onJuly 9, 2012.   Parents will get a  letter  if  theirchild is eligible to attend.         Reading  and  Math  scores  will  arrive  inJune.   They may be cutoff scores and not theactual  scores.    They  will  be  used  to  makepromotion decisions.       The  following  website  providesinformation  that can assist you  in supportingyour  children  during  the  summer  andthroughout  the  school  year:    http://pta.org/In  the  “Topics”  tab,  select  “ParentInvolvement” and refer to the Parent’s Guideto  Student  Success  specific  to  your  child’sgrade  level.   The guide will provide you withhelpful  information  on  the  work  your  childwill be focusing on and the standards for ELAand Math.       We are in the process of creating a websitethat will  have  all  the  updates  on  P.S.  11 Q.Although  it  is not completely up yet, you canview what  is  there  at www.ps11q.org.    Visitthe site often, as we will be continually addingand updating information for you!       I  would  like  to  wish  all  of  our  P.  S.  11families  a  wonderful,  safe  and  relaxingsummer.    

Anna Efkarpides

From The Principal’s Desk

 Arpita  Nag  of  Class  505  received  a  Goldhonors  certificate  in March  but  her  namewas mistakenly omitted from the list.   

                                                                                SAFETY  PLEASE be reminded that you must showan ID when you come to the school. If youdon’t have an ID, a supervisor must come tothe lobby to escort you to the main office.All visitors need to sign in with security andthen come to the main office. Parents arenot allowed to walk to their child’sclassroom unless they get a pass from theoffice. If you have any questions aboutpolicy or curriculum, please feel free toemail me and I will get back to you as soonas possible.

My email address is: aefkarpides@schools.nyc.gov.

Please submit your email address, if you haven’t yet, so that I can forward important information to you!

Anna Efkarpides, Pr incipalEve Grabicki, Ass istant Pr incipal

El izabeth Pena, Ass istant Pr incipal

Dates To Remember

School Closed:

5/28/12 – Memorial Day

6/7/12- Chancellor’s Day

Half Days – 11:30

Dismissal

5/25/12 6/5/12 6/11/12 6/27/12 - Last

day for students and staff

Sixth Grade Graduation

- June 22, 2012

- 9:30 AM

- LaGuardia Community College

- 31-10 Thomson Ave Long Island City, NY Woodside On The Move Summer Camp - begins on July 9, 2012 at PS 11 Q.

We’re on the Web!

www.ps11q.org

Student of the Month OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP

MAY-JUNE 2012

601 Rummana Afrin 201 Sandy Athonvarangkul 602 Ali Sayed 202 Victoria Murphy 603 Mounia Amani 203 Mishel Dutan 604 Tenzin Lhamo 204 Maria Barbos 605 Marialy Moran 205 Alan Lopez 607 Nina Leung 206 Franky Ramirez 608 Roger Morocho 207 Luis Lazo 208 Bryan Loma 501 Alexis McQuade 502 Suzy Kacin 503 Laura Prishtina 101 Sidhratul Murad 504 Alve Ahmmed 102 Gabal Tamer 505 Daisy Chuqui 103 Joseph Chauca 506 Jenifer Rodriguez 104 Ricardo Ortega 105 Kaitlin Kim 401 Zoja Misut 106 Jasmin Chugui 402 Mrittika Howlader/Grace Kilgallen 107 Melanie Faican 403 Melanie Perez 108 Andrew Basnet 404 Emanuel Aguirre 405 Sebastian Drombowsky K011 Erin Thompson 406 Marlon Burgos K012 Jackelyn Neri 407 Andry Vargas K013 Tarunima Bhowmik K014 Saldon Tenzin 301 Nidhi Patel K015 Joan Mendoza 302 Jasmina Seferagic K016 Joshua Mejia 303 Tenzin Yintsel K017 Mihail Grecu 304 Sonam Sonam K018 Gianfranco Rodriguez 305 Sushanna Ojha 306 Kevin Moore 307 Esmeralda Lopez 308 Kevin Jara

School Newsletter

Principal’s Newsletter

Ten Positive Parenting Tips By: Jaceson Maughan    

While there is no one‐size‐fits‐all parenting help plan, tailoring each of these top 10 parenting tips to the child's personality and temperament will help: 

1. Respect children, and demand respect in return. This not only sets the standard for how children treat each other in the home, but also in society in general. 

2. Use your positive behavior as a model and example for children to follow. Parents cannot ask children to behave in ways that their own actions don't support. 

3. Be a teacher, showing them what to do and how to do it, and then step back and let them succeed or fail on their own. With a mixture of coaching and guidance, parents can equip children with the tools they need and let them accomplish things on their own. 

4. Listen to children, ask questions and allow time for them to just talk about whatever's on their mind. Keeping the lines of communication open is crucial with children at any age, and they are more likely to share their thoughts, feelings and concerns if they think parents are actively listening. 

5. Develop clear boundaries of behavior and performance based on the children's age and ability. Parents should give specific rules that are fair, reasonable and for the benefit of the family. 

6. Be consistent with the consequences of behavior, both with rewards and punishments. Parents should ensure that a punishment is consistent with previously established house rules. 

7. Be clear about punishments as a result of bad behavior so the child knows what will happen before making the choice. Parents must be careful to match the punishment to the problem, and avoid unbalanced punitive methods. 

8. Develop empathy for children's emotions and validate their feelings, both positive and negative. Children often can't express themselves well, physically or verbally. Validating their feelings leads to more teaching opportunities on how to handle those emotions. 

9. Nurture a deep and trusting relationship with children. Letting children know that parents are there for them no matter what adds greatly to a child's sense of well‐being and self‐esteem. 

10. Practice parenting skills tailored to a child's age and temperament. Methods that work for toddlers won't apply to pre‐teens, and parents should adjust their parenting skills as children grow and mature. 

 

Fancy Nancy Day

Twin Day

TeachersandstudentsenjoyeddressingupforPS11’sFunFridays.

Class105

Class105

Mothers Day Projects

StudentsfromClass301createdbeautifulpostersandcardstogivetotheirMomsforMother’sDay.

MothersDayProjectscontinued...

StudentsinClass108workedhardtomakebeautifulbouquetsofspecialwordsfortheirMomsforMothersDay.

SPRING!

EvidenceofSpringisintheair–andonclassroomdoors!PicturedhereisoutsideofClassK‐018.

Bunny Baskets StudentsinClass108madeadorableEasterBunnyBaskets.

Spellingwordsusingmagneticlettertiles...GrowingLimabeanplants,Class105

Drawandlabelobservationofplant.Class105Plantobservationusingscienceskills.Class105

SCIENCE!

DRAMA CLUB

PS 11 students enjoyed the Drama Club’s performance titled Fractured Fairy Tales recently when fifth and sixth grade students reenacted their own versions of Cinderella and The Three Little Pigs. The show was produced by members of the P.S. 11 Drama Club under the direction of Ms. B. Kotsogiannis.

TRIPS

Pizzaria Uno

Class108(Aboveleft)andClass105(Aboveright)wenttoPizzariaUno.Theyhadfunmakingtheirownpizzaandtheneatingit.

Valentine’s Day Dance Wow!! What a dance!!!! We had Mother and Son, Father and Daughter come and have a wonderful time as a family. Parents and their children came dressed up ready to have a party. They danced, played games and spent a wonderful evening together. Thank you to all the volunteers that helped us have a successful event.

Thank you! Linda Schuler Parent Coordinator

Trips!

FirstGradeclasseswenttotheQueensZoo.PicturedhereisClass105.Theyhadfunpettingtheanimalsandfeedingthemandthentheyposedforagroupshot.

Trips continued . . .

Central Park Zoo

ESL For Parents

Congratulations!!! Every week parents came on Tuesday and Thursday for a class in English. This was a time to socialize, learn about each other’s cultures, and learn English. Our last class was on May17, 2012. It was a pleasure to teach our parents and look forward to our classes next year.

Thank you, Linda Schuler, Parent Coordinator

Class108visitedtheCentralParkZoo.TheywalkedthroughtheRainforesthabitat(above)andreallylovedthepenguins.

RAFFLE! We held a raffle for a notebook reader (Nook). All parents who handed in a completed parent’s survey received a raffle ticket. 50% of the school’s parents filled them out. Hopefully next year we will have a 100%. Thank you to all the parents who participated. The winners of the raffle were brothers, Tarif Khan of Class 3-207 and Labib Khan of Class 2-M201. Congratulations!

Thank you, Linda Schuler Parent Coordinator

ART

ADINKRA!

P.S. 11 students were afforded the wonderful opportunity to have guest teaching artist N’Ketiah Brakohiapa come to the school through a federal grant brought in from our cultural partner, City Lore, Inc. While visiting different classes, N’Ketiah shared his indigenous art form from Ghana, Africa called ADINKRA, which uses specific symbols in printmaking. Students learned about N’Ketiah’s personal boyhood story and his role in his own family’s ADINKRA tradition. He shared the meaning of every symbol as each student explored printing ADINKRA in various colors.

ASSEMBLY AND PERFORMANCE

Class 202 and Class 204 sang songs in English and Spanish about the fifty United States of America.

Classes 202 and 204 proudly sang “Waving Flag” and added percussion with their sticks and mallets.

MUSIC!

Composing music is Fun!

Let us show you how to play the bells.

Letusshowyouhowwecanplaytheviolin.

Welearnhowtoplaythesnaredrum!

Welearnhowtomakeourownpercussioninstruments.

Problem Solving With Class 501

As part of our study of parts of a whole, the students created word problems. Here

are a few samples. We hope you enjoy solving them!

There are 1,200 students in P.S.11 Queens. 25% of the students enjoy singing. Half of the

people that enjoy singing joined the chorus. Two thirds of the chorus members have solos and speaking parts in the next performance. Two fifths of the members are soloists. How many members have solos in the next performance?

_________________ members

By: Zion Torres

Barnes & Noble had an order of 136 comic books, which were coming next week. When the books came, 3/8 of the comic books were based on superheroes. The rest were manga (Japanese comics). How many of the comics were based on super heroes? How many were manga?

Answers: ________ superhero comics ________ manga comics

By: Joseph Kurkowski

Adam had $80 in the bank. He spent 1/10 of his money on a snack and drink. Then, he donated 3/10 of his money to a charity. Finally, he used 1/40 of his money on a bus that took him home. How much money does Adam have left?

$________________

By: William Tang

Alexis is reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. She realized after reading page 432 she had read 60% of the book. What is the total number of pages in the book?

Answer: pages

By: Alexis McQuade

Kindergarten through Second Grade Students used computers in the Early Childhood Lab to explore the options available to create a work of art.  Here are some of the pieces they made.  

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a Wonderful and Restful Summer!