Books of the Month for 2009-10:
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun
Books of the Month for 2008-09:
Sep
| Oct
| Nov
| Dec
| Jan
| Feb
| Mar
| Apr
| May
| June
Welcome
The East Hills School is an elementary school that educates more than 500 students in the second through fifth grades in a warm, welcoming, and enriching atmosphere. Its multicultural population is representative of more than twenty different nations.
Our philosophy, and that of the Roslyn Public Schools, is to provide, through education, an opportunity for, and an inspiration to, each child to continue a lifelong quest for truth and knowledge. Furthermore, we believe that each student has the right to the opportunity to grow to capacity in intellect, emotional maturity, and aesthetic appreciation while accepting responsibility to self and others.
This philosophy is our governing credo. It is the basis for our building-wide collegial atmosphere and aura of respect and dignity. The youngsters are offered myriad opportunities for involvement such as vocal and instrumental music, intramural sports, an after-school art program, computers, 5th Grade Class Council, community service projects and lunchtime enrichment workshops.
In addition to these extensive offerings our regular day is also filled with exciting and enriching programs for all. These include numerous curricula related field trips, cultural arts presentations, monthly nutrition days, our annual book fair, and our 3C's character education program.
These offerings enhance our basic program in which instruction is delivered in a continuum of hands on, interdisciplinary lessons involving all staff members. Thematic units are presented throughout the school; a literature based reading program is employed in the primary grades and a novel based approach is implemented in the fourth and fifth. Process writing experiences are linked with the reading of literature to create a comprehensive language arts program for all students. Computer instruction, as with science, is accomplished in both the classroom and building laboratories. Special areas of study such as library/media, physical education, speech, art and enrichment are also deeply integrated into the classroom program.
We constantly strive to expand the experiences of our children. Staff training is extensive and continuous throughout the year. Parent support is astounding.
It is our remarkable staff and involved parents who have joined together to make East Hills such a wonderful school.
In Memory of a Colleague and Friend
Every year, the East Hills Schools and East Hills PTA host a walk-a-thon named in memory of Marlene Kaufman, a teacher who died in 1996. This past year, the PTA decided to devote funds that have been raised from the annual event to build a garden for the entrance to the school—a very appropriate gift because of Ms. Kaufman's love of gardening. On June 11, the whole school came out to dedicate the beautiful new garden.
Cutting the ribbon on the new garden were (left to right) Assistant to the Superintendent for Operations Thomas Mohrman, Principal Allison Brown, Assistant Principal Nichole Lewis, PTA Co-President Chris Messina, Past PTA Presidents Arianne Golub and Victoria Zecher, Board of Education President Meryl Waxman Ben-Levy, Board Trustee Stanley Stern and PTA Co-President Vanessa Davey.
PARP Week is All About Reading!
From March 18 to 26, East Hills School celebrated PARP (Parents as Reading Partners) Week with all kinds of activities relating to reading. PARP is a state-wide PTA collaborative effort that seeks to build a reading partnership between the home and school. This year's PARP theme was "Cuddle Up with a Good Book."
 Parp Guest Readers assemble in the library before reading to East Hills classes. |
We kicked off the events with visits from author and illustrator Kathleen Bart. On March 18, Ms. Bart met with our second graders and read her book "Tale of Two Teddies." At the end of the program, she showed the children how to draw their own special teddy bear and add details to help make their writing more interesting. On March 19, Ms. Bart presented her "Global Cultures" program to our 3rd, 4th and 5th graders which talked about her travels throughout the world. She showed the students the cookbook she wrote which gives not only recipes from many countries but also tells about their culture and customs. Many students pre-purchased personalized copies of Ms. Bart’s books as part of a PTA fundraiser.
On March 22nd, Ms. Brown announced the "Principal’s Challenge." She said that if the East Hills students read 800 hours during the week of Monday, March 22 - Friday, March 26, each child would receive a special prize. Students were asked to read either alone or with a special adult for at least 20 minutes per day and fill out and send in their signed forms to school. At the end of the week, we were very pleased to announce that our East Hills Elementary School students read a total of 900 hours, clearly surpassing the goal of 800! Each child received a special word search book to take home.
March 23 was our special "Guest Reader" Day when Roslyn school administrators and district staff were invited to East Hills Elementary School to participate in PARP. The guest readers, including some East Hills staff, visited all of the classrooms and either read the March Book of the Month, "Fox", or a book of their choice. In addition to reading and discussing the story, the guest readers described their love for reading with the students and explained their role in the school system. Staff and students alike really enjoyed the special interactive experience!
Throughout the week, students designed their "favorite book" cover and sent them in to school. The covers were displayed in the main corridor for all to enjoy. Some of the other fun activities during the week included partner reading day, crazy hat day, wear a t-shirt with writing and bring in your favorite book. Families were also encouraged to sign the PARP contract (to read at least 20 minutes each day) and to "turn off the tv" on March 25th. Our staff, students and families all enjoyed the many and varied activities held throughout the week. We are looking forward to another successful PARP week for 2010-2011 school year!
Jodi Markowitz & Melanie Wagner
PARP Co-Chairs
East Hills Stands Tall!
October 5-9 was National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week, and it was also "Stand Tall" Week at East Hills! The heart of the anti-bullying activities centered on the book "Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon" by Patty Lovell. This wonderful and inspiring story makes any child who feels less than perfect cheer with joy to meet Molly Lou Melon, a girl who doesn’t let anything — or anyone — shake her belief in herself. Each class was given the book for their classroom library, and each classroom teacher read it aloud to the students.
The week's activities were coordinated by two of our staff members, Ms. Rachel Look and Mrs. Christine Flanagan, with support from the East Hills "Bucket Filler" Team.
Students and staff were busy all week discussing strategies, writing anti-bullying poems and slogans, and designing posters. All week they shared and implemented ideas that will enable them to protect themselves and others against bullying.
The highlight of the week occurred on Friday morning at our "Stand Tall" Pep Rally. The energy was electric as students felt the strength of standing together as a community against bullying. We sang, we cheered, we shared strategies. Most importantly, all East Hills members made the promise to:
"Speak up when I see bullying
Reach out to others who are bullied
Be a friend whenever I see bullying"
We know that we can count on everyone in the East Hills family to continue to support this empowering experience by helping our children to "Stand Tall" for themselves and others.
"Bullying…It's Not Okay" — a brochure for parents
The Verizon FiOS news magazine show "Push Pause", on FiOS1, will air the East Hills School's "Stand Tall" story on Thursday, October 29 and Friday, October 30. The program times are 10:00 am, 3:30 pm and 6:30 pm.
Commemorating 9/11 with Good Deeds
The Federal government proclaimed September 11 a national day of remembrance and service. All Americans are encouraged to perform a good deed in memory of those who gave so much eight years ago.
At East Hills, we believe that doing a good deed on September 11 aligns perfectly with our Bucket Filling campaign. To honor the date, we asked each child on September 11 to write on a card the good deed they planned to do. It could have been a onetime kindness ("Today I will…") or an ongoing service ("Every Saturday, I will…"). Each child then placed his/her card in a bucket. By the end of the 9/11 commemoration, our East Hills’ buckets were overflowing with good deeds!
Our Bucket-Filler Mural represents our school-wide mission to create a community of bucket-fillers. This concept was developed by Dr. Donald O. Clifton in the 1960’s and adapted by Carol McCloud in her beautiful book, "Have You Filled A Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids." Bucket-Fillers are those who help without being asked, give hugs and compliments, and generally spread their love and good feelings to others. At East Hills we have adopted this concept as our school-wide theme encouraging students to make positive choices every day.
We are very thankful to Mrs. Shari Wexler and Mrs. Jen Bravo for their time and effort put into creating our spectacular mural and we are very proud of all our “Bucket-Fillers” who contribute to its beauty every day.
|
We are 
