A Message From Mrs. Berardi and Mrs. Kaprinski

Dear Par-

ents/Guardians:

Since this is our Novem-

ber/December newslet-

ter, we would like to

take this opportunity to

wish you a safe and hap-

py holiday season.

At the conclusion of the

first marking period, all

students should be well

adjusted to their new

grade levels, coursework,

and teacher expecta-

tions. If your child is

having academic difficul-

ty, we encourage you to

discuss organizational

and/or study strategies

with his/her teachers

and guidance counse-

lor.

As the winter season

approaches, please re-

member to send your

child to school with

appropriate layers of

clothing so that he/she

is able to participate in

outdoor recess when it

is not raining.

On Thursday, Novem-

ber 13th we will have a

Community Tea. You

can stop into the prin-

cipal’s office any time

between 8:00 a.m. and

10:45 a.m. to chat

with us or each other

about any ideas or con-

cerns you may have

with the Middle

School. We are

looking for ways to

increase contact and

communication

with home and hope

that many of you

will be able to join us.

We will be organizing

our students’ “Tea

with B & K” soon.

We will send out an

automated email mes-

sage with dates and

detailed information.

It is our pleasure work-

ing with your child.

With idealism and en

Seventh Grade Physical Forms and Medications

Please send your child’s

completed 7th grade

physical form in to the

Health Office as soon as

possible. If your child

has a physical scheduled

with his/her physician,

please call the Health

Office and notify us of

the scheduled date of the

physical.

The school physician

will do a health apprais-

al in January on any 7th

grade student who has

not handed in a 7th

grade physical.

Please make sure your

child’s asthma medica-

tion and any other

emergency medications

are brought to the

Health Office along

with the appropriate

doctor’s orders. Par-

ents must bring in the

medications—students

are never allowed to

carry medication to

school on the bus for

safety reasons.

The 7th grade screen-

ing of vison, hearing

Issue 2 November/December

Linden Avenue Middle School Newsletter 2014-2015

thusiasm we are taking a

stand for making Lin-

den Avenue the best

school it can be! Please

call teachers, counselors

or administration for

any help that we can

offer in the academic

and social/emotional

support of your chil-

dren.

and scoliosis has begun

in the Health Office.

Parents will receive a

referral letter by mail if

any part of the screen-

ing needs further evalu-

ation by a physician.

Please remind your

child to bring their eye-

glasses to school if they

should be wearing

them.

Winter Dance The Winter Dance will be held at Linden Avenue Middle School on Friday, December 5th (snow

date—December 12th) from 7 to 9 p.m. To help with the flow of traffic, at 8:50 p.m. the sixth grade

students will be dismissed followed by the seventh graders and then the eighth graders.

On October 27th and 28th, all 6th grade students participated in Conflict Resolu-

tion Training. Mr. and Mrs. James Childs, from JaRa, spent three hours with each

6th grade team to discuss what conflict is and ways to prevent and resolve such is-

sues. During the session, students engaged in discussion and group activities.

Make sure to ask your child what he or she learned.

the National Constitution Cen-

ter, the Liberty Bell, U.S. Capi-

tal, Arlington National Ceme-

tery, the National Air and

Space Museum, various Smith-

sonian Museums, the Fort

McHenry National Monument,

the National Aquarium, and a

guided tour of Washington

The LAMS 8th grade class is

happy to be arranging a class trip

to Philadelphia, Pa., Washing-

ton, D.C., and Baltimore, Md.,

for March 25 - 27, 2015

(Wednesday—Friday). The trip

promises to be a fun and educa-

tionally rewarding experience.

Some highlights include visits to

D.C.’s monuments and memori-

als.

Page 2

Conflict Resolution

LAMS Eighth Grade Trip

Linden Avenue Middle School Newsletter

purpose of Awareness Day is for

students to have a safe, comfort-

able space to discuss topics such

as tolerance and acceptance,

cultural awareness, formation of

beliefs, team building and how

these topics relate to

LAMS. The ongoing battle

against bullying and its harmful

effects were discussed through-

out the day. The students

gained a deeper understanding

of themselves and others.

Awareness Day

The 8th grade class attended

Awareness Day at Camp Ramapo

on Tuesday, October 28th. The

ly from scratch. Students vol-

unteered their time after school

over two days to make the pies.

Students worked so hard and

were so proud. Thank you to

families that supported us.

We had a special guest from the

community, a parent of an 8th

grader, Karen Haslem, share

quilts from her collection. She

showed quilts that she has made

as well as some historic pieces.

Students were really engaged

and inspired by her work.

Thank you, Karen!

To see photos and get class up-

dates follow us on twitter –

SmithsHACS.

Home and Careers Home and Careers classes have

kicked off the year with sewing in

all grade levels. Students in 6th

and 7th grade are working on

hand sewing, while 8th grade stu-

dents are mid-way through their

machine sewn quilt projects.

We had a very successful, apple

pie bake sale at Open House.

Student peeled and cut 600+ local

apples to make 100 pies complete-

Issue 2

Parents please remind your child

to always lock his/her locker and

to have a spare change of clothes

for PE class. A sweatshirt is also

a good idea for outdoor classes.

If your child is feeling under the

weather and you, as a parent,

would like him/her to be ex-

cused from PE, you must provide

a note. This note is only good

for two consecutive classes. Af-

ter that, a doctor note is re-

quired.

they may only stay in the school

after school hours if they are

with a teacher or coach. Some

students have stayed after school

without supervision. Please note

that this is not allowed. They

may not stay after to wait for

sports competitions or other

activities in the late afternoon.

For safety, please be sure that

A Message From the Physical Education Staff

After School Hours and Student Pick Up During the Day

Page 3

From Student Services

A number of

students stay af-

ter school with

their teachers for

extra help or for

clubs. After they

are finished with their sessions or

club activities, they report to room

151 and 159 to wait for the late

bus. Please remind your child that

your child is not making after

school plans that have not been

discussed with you beforehand.

If you are here to pick up your child

during the day, please sign in at the

Main Office where you will be di-

rected to go to Student Services/

Attendance Office.

Our 6th Grade School Counselor,

Mrs. Quaglietta, recently presented

a lesson to students on “Developing

Healthy Coping Skills”. The objec-

tive of the lesson was to teach stu-

dents what coping skills are and to

encourage students to use healthy

coping skills when faced with over-

whelming feelings. Students brain-

stormed a list of healthy coping

skills, including: talking with a par-

ent, talking to a trusted adult at

school, deep breathing, going for a

walk, etc. She also showed them

how they can use humor, jour-

naling, music, art and movement

as a way to keep themselves calm

and relaxed. Mrs. Quaglietta had

students rank how they were feel-

ing on a 5 point scale (1= not

great, 3=okay, 5=great) before and

after the Healthy Coping Skills les-

son. Fifty-five percent of the stu-

dents in 6th grade reported feeling

the same before and after the lesson.

Thirty-two percent of students re-

ported feeling 1 point better. Final-

ly, thirteen percent reported feelings

two points or higher from the start

of the lesson to the end of the les-

son. Be sure to ask your 6th graders

about what they learned from the

lesson and what their favorite

healthy coping skill is.

Picture make up day for students who were absent will occur on November

14th. Be sure to sign up in the main office 3 days prior. Anyone who needs a

retake should also sign up and bring your photo package to the photographer

on November 14th.

Important News From Student Council

LAM’S Winter Concert Dates

December 12th—School Assembly—8:00 a.m.

December 16th—Linden Avenue 7-8

Concert—7:30 p.m.

December 18th—Linden Avenue 6-7

Concert—7:30 p.m.

new items for teens to enjoy this

holiday season. So many remem-

ber to donate to Toys for Tots,

thinking primarily of the very

young. However, many of the

children serviced are teenag-

ers. As we are thankful for our

blessings, let us remember those

less fortunate with a

small donation. Stu-

dents who donate will be

entered into a raffle for a

prize to be given in De-

cember. Some gift ideas:

books, gloves, jewelry,

bath items, make-up,

hats, sports equipment,

games, and puzzle

books. Thank you in advance for

your generosity.

Another upcoming project is our

annual Project Personal

Care. Personal care items such as

soaps, shampoos, toothpaste,

Student Council is once again col-

lecting Box Tops 4 Educa-

tion. Please cut all box top logos

off the tops of General Mills and

Betty Crocker items. The coupon

generally has a line at the top that

says “Official Coupon.” Students

may give them to homeroom

teachers. The home-

rooms compete to see

who can bring in the

most box tops. Student

Council members may

give box tops to Mrs.

Goldhirsch for service

points (each top is 1/10

of a point). Likewise, we

are collecting Hannaford

Helps coupons. Seven years ago

we raised more Hannaford Dollars

than any school in the re-

gion. This provided us with a

$1000.00 bonus check!

November and December are Toys

4 Teens months. Please donate

combs, hair items, makeup, deo-

dorants, etc. will be donated to our

local food pantries. That drive will

begin November 1st and go on

through December.

January will mark the 17th annual

Copper Jar Contest. Classes will

compete to raise money for the

NYS Leukemia and Lymphoma

Society. This is a penny war. Clas-

ses may attack other groups by do-

nating larger coins or bills into jars

that are not their own. Remember:

Pennies in your jar and silver or

paper in competitors’ jars!

National Junior Honor Society is

collecting old towels, sheets, and

blankets for the animals at the DC

SPCA. Donations may be brought

to room 141 (Mrs. Goldhirsch's

office) through November 19th.

Breakfast Program at LAMS

7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. If your child is in the

lunch program as free or reduced, your child is

entitled to free or reduced breakfast. Tuesday

and Thursday are Soup/Salad/Breadstick Days.

Homemade soup goes with all meals and a

breadstick goes with the Salad Bar option.

LAMS Mentoring Club

In October, the Linden Avenue

Middle School Mentoring Club

had their first meeting and en-

joyed an afternoon of pumpkin

carving and Halloween inspired

treats! In Mentoring

Club, students are paired with a

teacher or staff member from

Linden Avenue Middle

School. We meet monthly as a

group for a fun after-school ac-

tivity. Next month we will be

making Thanksgiving themed

edible crafts. A big thank you

to Migliorelli Farm for donating

the pumpkins!

On October 23, LAMS 8th grad-

ers enjoyed an amazing day of

STEM activities at the 4th annual

Bard Science Day. Students par-

ticipated in five different work-

shops hosted by Bard professors

and undergraduates. In the Com-

puter Science workshop students

used computers to program the

Scribbler robots, which were

then used for a scavenger hunt

of the science building. In Biol-

ogy, students created Winograd-

sky columns and Microbial Fuel

Cells to observe miniature eco-

systems and measure power gen-

erated by microbes found in soil.

In the Chemistry lab, students

used a flame photometer to

measure how much sodium chlo-

ride is found in Gatorade. In

Physics, students created Mag-

netic Probe Microscopes to simu-

late how Scanning Probe Micro-

scopes allow scientists to see at-

oms. In Mathematics, students

used dominoes to solve problems

in math and to learn about the

Graph Theory.

While the overall goal of this trip

was to spark interest in STEM re-

lated fields, it also served to pro-

vide students with the opportunity

to work in laboratory settings at an

institute of higher learning, collab-

orate with peers as well as profes-

sionals in each discipline, and en-

gage in exciting research. Many

thanks to all the professors and

students at Bard for providing

such an enriching experience for

our students!

Bard Science Day with our 8th Graders

Students at LAMS learned about

seatbelt safety in a fun and mem-

orable way. Ms. Amell and Mrs.

Quaglietta, co-advisors of the

SADD (Students against Destruc-

tive Decisions) Club brought

back to LAMS the “Battle of the

Belts” challenge. The challenge

took place during students’ recess

time. They gathered together in

teams of four students. When

the whistle blew, the students ran

a short distance to an SUV,

where they quickly got into the

vehicle, put their seatbelts on,

and put their hands up. Once all

students had their hands up, the

referee blew the whistle, and the

students moved clockwise

(putting their seatbelts on, hands

up, etc.) and so on until the stu-

dents had rotated four times.

This event has been a popular

event in previous years at LAMS.

Many middle schools and high

schools across the country partic-

ipate in events like Battle of the

Belts each year.

SADD Brings Back “Battle of the Belts” to LAMS

"The Ba�le the Belts is

a l� fun and I think

we should definitely

bring it back next year!

We had fun and learned

about the value seatbelt

safety. I knew I learned

something from the day

because when my family

and I were in the car last

night, I told my li�le

brSher to put his seatbelt

on, even before he had

the chance to do it

himself."

- 6th grader, Tyler

Hanaburgh

It's that time again: Across most of the United States, daylight savings time (DST) will end at 2 a.m. on Sunday,

November 2nd, when clocks will fall back to standard time.

Daylight Savings Time Reminder