Following is a listing of events and happenings that have taken place at LPES throughout the month of December 2009:

January 7, 2010


Events and happenings at the Elementary School during the month of December 2009 are as follows:


I.  ATTENDANCE
   
Elementary School
    As of the end of December, student and staff absences continue at “normal” levels.
   
II. SECOND GRADE HOLIDAY PLAY

    On Friday, December 18, the second grade performed the musical holiday play Christmas on Candy Cane Lane for parents and families in the LPES gymnasium.  All thirty seven students in 2nd grade were included in this lively performance which featured wonderfully colorful costumes,  and a host of joyous songs.
    Although the play was primarily for parents and families, students in other grade levels were invited to dress rehearsals that were held earlier in the week.


                III. HEALTH WELLNESS

Mind Body
    The “BASE” (Breathing and Stretching Exercises) CD has been produced and we are awaiting delivery.  We are anticipating kicking this off in every classroom during early January.


IV. F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

Playground Committee 
    FRIENDS continues to pursue the the “natural playground” concept.  Katrina Kroes and representatives of the playground committee did an overview presentation for the Board of Education in December, and the concept seems to have been well received. 
    To date, the playground committee has made contact with or been contacted by three natural playground companies who will all be invited to look over the property and to make proposals. 
    Committee members visited a natural playground in Vermont recently, and talked to the principal of the school about how it functions throughout the year.  Here is the link to a video to see a Natural Playground in action at this school in VT:
        http://www.naturalplaygrounds.com/multimedia/NPWebclipfinalLoRes.mp4
    The Natural Playgrounds web address is: www.naturalplaygrounds.com.  A portfolio of their other projects can be seen at: http://naturalplaygrounds.com/portfolio.php
    FRIENDS will be hosting a public presentation regarding the natural playground concept on Wednesday, January 13 at the Elementary School at 7:00 pm. The playground committee is hoping  for a large turnout, and much public comment. 




Holiday Shopping
    The annual holiday shopping day event at LPES was a great success.  Fifteen vendors set up tables and offered a wide variety of wares at kid-friendly prices. Fifth graders helped the kindergarteners do their shopping, and LPHS Key Club members were also on hand for the day to help the younger students with shopping and wrapping.  A huge contingent of parents and FRIENDS members were here to assist in every way possible to help make the day run smoothly.

V. FIELD TRIPS

Whiteface Lodge
    On December 2 the staff at the Whiteface Lodge rolled out the red carpet for the students and staff of LPES for their annual Children’s Holiday Celebration.  Students had great fun skating, decorating gingerbread cookies, watching a movie in the hotel theater, and K - 2 even had lunch there. It was a perfect day weatherwise, and a great time was had by all.

Elizabethtown
    The fourth grade travelled to Elizabethtown to participate in an event honoring John Brown and the anti-slavery movement.  They were addressed by an abolitionist from Thailand, as well as by a  woman who was an actual modern day slave in California.
    This event tied in with the fourth grade study of local and Adirondack history.  Each fourth grade wrote a class poem, and performed a dramatic rendition of it at the event which was attended by a host of area schools.  LPES fourth graders were the youngest group in attendance, but their poems were stellar, and their performances admirable.

Placid Industries
    Kindergarten students visited Placid Industries in honor of the letter “P.”

Palace Theater
    Grades K, 3, 4 and 5 went to the movie Princess and the Frog on December 18 compliments of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. parent/teacher organization.

VI.   GRANTS AWARDED TO LPES ENDEAVORS

Theme Unit Collaboration
    In an effort to facilitate opportunities for students to make connections between the curriculum of the classroom and the music, art, library, technology, foreign language and physical education curricula, Mrs. Briggs, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Paulson, Mrs. Damp, Mrs. Hambley, and Mr. Young collaborated on a grant proposal and submitted it to the Education and Training Consortium.  Consequently, $400 was awarded to help fund the project.
    Each teacher will use the theme “Wild West” in their subject areas, helping students to see the many different facets of westward expansion of the United States across subject disciplines. Students will make connections between artists, musicians, games. literature, language, songs, and film.  The expectation is that students will gain a deeper understanding not just of the historical facts of that era, but develop a comprehensive understanding of the culture as well. 
    The money from the grant will be used to enhance the final product - The Wild West Festival which will be held on an evening in June at LPES.
   

Breakfast Cart Program
    The idea of a Breakfast Cart program at LPES was created with the long-term goal of increasing specific students’ functional life skills.  Selected students in grades 3-5 participate in this program so that they may realize, through hands-on activities, the practical use of their classroom knowledge.  Groups of students are assigned to and are responsible for different facets of the Breakfast Cart program, which runs twice per six-day cycle.  The activities of the program include: researching recipes, baking, taking orders from staff members, delivering food, taking money and making change, accounting for program income and disbursements.


    The program effectiveness is measured through a wide variety of progress monitoring activites designed to measure student growth in a host of areas.  The $400 will be used to purchase small kitchen appliances and tools to use for baking, and a cart for delivering food products.

. 
VII. CURRIULUM MEETINGS

    To date eleven 2010-2011 curriculum/budget meetings have been held at LPES with four more to go.  The meetings include teachers in all grade levels and special areas, and are presided over by Mr. Witkowski and Mr. Retrosi.  This overview of where we are headed in the forthcoming year is a very productive and informative exercise.
     

VIII. MUSIC

3, 4, 5 Concert
    The holiday concert for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades took place on Thursday, December 17.The concert was held at the Elementary School gymnasium. Two performances were given by each of these grade levels as well as the LPES Band and Chorus, at 8:45 am and again at 1:30 pm. 
   
    Both performances were well attended by parents and families.  I have received comments on both sides of the issue of holding the concert during the day rather than at night at the high school auditorium.  We committed to daytime performances for the fall semester for the first time ever, so that ALL students would have the opportunity of performing.  Our spring extravaganza will be in the evening, but again at the Elementary School.  We will reassess how we do the concerts for fall 2010.

All School Sing Along
    At 1:30 pm on Tuesday, December 22 the entire student body of LPES assembled in the gym for an all school sing along.  Each grade had special holiday songs prepared, and performed  them proudly, inviting all students to chime in whenever they chose to.  Special performances were given by two fifth grade singers/songwriters, Annie Baker and Ashley Chris, who performed a song they wrote and set to their own music.  A faculty group featuring Mrs. Briggs, Mrs. Bickford, Mrs. Paulson, and Mrs. Kirchner gave a wildly entertaining rendition of “Mr. Santa” in four-part harmony.  Lastly, Mr. Retrosi read “A Visit From St. Nicholas” to kick the holiday season off.

IX. POLAR EXPRESS EVENT

    K, 1st, and 2nd graders clad in their pajamas gathered on Friday, December 18 for a reading of “The Polar Express” by Mr. Retrosi sitting in a rocking chair in a long red bathrobe next to a blazing fire (electric fireplace).  Afterwards, hot chocolate was served.

X. HOLIDAY DINNER

    Staff members turned the tables on the students during our annual holiday dinner.  Instead of standing in the lunch line, students seated themselves at festively decorated tables with colorful place settings and were served by staff members a holiday dinner fit for royalty. 

XI.  NYS SOCIAL STUDIES ASSESSMENT RESULTS

    Fifth graders blew the NYS Social Studies Test clean away this year!  Results just in from the State show 88% (37 out of 42 students!!!) of fifth graders scoring in levels 3 and 4. 



   

                          Submitted by Rick Retrosi, Elementary Principal