Tappan Zee
Elementary Videos/Highlights 2011-2012
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2010-2011
Highlights
2009-2010
Highlights
TZE Students Use 21st Century Technology in Data &
Graphing
TZE
students in Ms. Liane Kolesar's 2nd grade class have
been immersed in their Data and Graphing Unit. This
week, students worked in partnerships to create a
survey question with four options so that they can
collect data. Using tally marks, they collected
responses from the students in their class. Then, as
a class, they put the 11 questions they created onto
a Google Form. It was then embedded onto the class
blog and then the students walked around to survey
teachers asking them the same questions using Dr.
Lee's iPad. Having gathered the data, each
partnership created two separate graphs to compare
and contrast student responses to teacher responses.
TZE’s
Foster Grandparents Help Students Bloom
Tappan Zee
Elementary School participates in the Foster
Grandparent Program of Rockland County. On Monday,
May 14th, the Foster Grandparent’s 44th Annual
Recognition Dinner, was held at the Nyack Seaport.
Attending the reception were TZE Grandmas Marie,
Lola, Flora, and Sarah, along with their respective
teacher partners Eileen Corry-Griffith, Joan
Rudolph, JoAnn Neugebauer and Donna Schaefer. Tappan
Zee Elementary School principal William Lee,
assistant principal Sheila Beglin and school
secretary Ann Quigley, along with Grandma Sarah's
husband, Grandpa Roy also enjoyed the evening’s
events. A special thank you went to Tappan Zee
Elementary School art teacher, Tatiana DiPierno,
who, with her students, created the beautiful table
centerpiece, following the party theme "Flowers –
Grandmas and Grandpas Help Our Children Bloom."
Tappan Zee Elementary School is thankful for these
extremely dedicated volunteers who give so may
countless hours of time and support to TZE students.
Third Grade Assembly
On
Wednesday, May 9, the PTA sponsored an assembly for
our Third Grade students. Mr. Hugh Neff came to us
all the way from Alaska. He spoke with the students
about chasing their dreams, being a team player,
motivation and what it is like as living a life with
a pack of sled dogs. Mr. Neff is a Dog Musher in
Alaska and has participated in the Iditarod for
several years.
TZE Students Tech Music Assembly
Second and Third
graders at TZE were treated to a Technological Music
Assembly, sponsored by the PTA. Brent Daniels who is
a producer, composer, singer, sound designer and
recording artist demonstrated how to use technology
to sculpt sound and create music. Using a Digital
Sampling Workstation, Mr. Daniels created an
exciting and entertaining performance, while showing
students the important relationship between
computers and composing in 21st century recorded
music.
Earth Day Fashions... TZE Style
In honor
of Earth Day, Ms. Liane Kolesar and Mrs. Carol
Heinemann's 2nd grade class was challenged to think
creatively and design clothing out of recyclable
materials. For over a month, they collected what
many would normally recycle and have no use for.
Magazines, newspapers, water, soda bottles, cans,
toilet and paper towel rolls, old ribbons, paper and
plastic shopping bags, tinfoil, and much more came
rolling in to theTappan Zee Elementary classroom. It
began to look like a cyclone had hit. The fashions
that the students produced from the mountains of
recyclables were then modeled in the Exclusive 2012
Recyclable Fashion Show for families and students.
Students wore pizza box hats, plastic bag bathing
suits, Better Homes and Garden Magazine skirts,
Newspaper pants, and Jetpacks. In addition, students
used their knowledge of sequencing to write a "how
to" for one piece of clothing or accessory that was
created throughout this process. They were also
required to write descriptive paragraphs that were
read out loud before they began to walk down the
"red carpet" runway to show off their moves and
their fashions to parents and classmates. It was a
memorable experience for all.
Tappan Zee Elementary Celebrates Earth Day
As
part of our Earth Day Celebration activities, the
students at Tappan Zee Elementary School decorated
grocery bags donated by Shoprite of Northvale. After
decorating with colorful Earth Day symbols, slogans
and pictures, the bags were returned to Shoprite for
distribution to customers in a salute to Earth Day.
Pictured are the proud students in Mrs.
Corry-Griffith and Grandma Marie's classroom as they
proudly show off their projects.
Move
Over Mme Tussaud – Here Comes The TZE Wax Museum
On Friday, March 16th
the entire 3rd grade at TZE took to their podiums in
their assigned spots throughout the school, and
assumed “their pose” in the character of their
chosen historical figure. The triptych behind each
of them showed a timeline, with pictures, in the
life of that notable. When their “button” is
pressed, the figure comes alive and narrates their
life and outstanding achievements. “The event is
truly a team effort,” commented Principal Bill Lee.
“Students worked extremely hard on the research, and
the timelines, teachers put in many hours of
support, guidance and assistance, and parents did
yeoman duty working with students on posters and
costumes,” he concluded. The final result was an
overwhelming buzz throughout the hallways of Tappan
Zee Elementary of students narrating impressively
long and fully memorized facts, along with parents
and teachers taking pictures and videos of the
untold number of the historical community
representing all times, centuries, and walks of
life. Click on
Audrey Heburn to view slide show - A must
viewing!
(Slideshow by BJ Greco)
TZE
Celebrates Mexico
On March 1st Tappan Zee
Elementary 3rd grade teachers Mrs. Mary Danner, Mrs.
Patricia McCarthy, Mrs. Kathy Pflugbeil and Mrs.
Beverly Carbonaro, along with their classes explored
and celebrated the culture, customs and traditions
of Mexico with an exciting fiesta! As a culminating
activity for their study of Mexico, the classes
shared the celebration which included delicious
food, cooked and donated by parents, piñatas and the
hat dance in the gym, followed up with Mexican
crafts in the classroom. Parents helped to make the
event a huge success by volunteering their time to
set up, cooking, cleaning up and helping out with
crafts.
Tappan Zee Elementary’s "Ad-ventures in Advertising”
In
their ongoing discussion of author's purpose,
(inform, entertain & persuade) the students in Mrs.
Kathryn Cuccia and Mrs. JoAnn Neugebauer's 2nd grade
classes created their own eye-catching
advertisements. The students first had to discover
what it takes to create an advertisement. Then,
working with a classmate, they created their own
unique ad for a product or service of their choice,
which included an attractive illustration, a slogan,
catchy words, offers, and even a made-up website
contact. The students now understand that an
advertisement is just one of many kinds of
persuasive writing.
TZE’s
Word of the Month in Books and Characters
Each month at Tappan Zee Elementary School there is
a read aloud for students that highlights a
character education word. Mrs. Tatiana DiPierno,
TZE’s art teacher, has constructed characters from
the read aloud books, giving them the personalities
of the word for that month Mrs. Kristin Cavanagh’s
class came to “visit” with the characters from three
of this year’s books. They include the Statue of
Liberty (Community), the Hawk (Thankful) and Mean
Jean the Recess Queen (Fairness). The Statue of
Liberty, representing word of the month “Community”,
is taken from Betsy Maestro’s book, Coming to
America. The Hawk, representing word of the
month “Thankful”, is taken from Jonathan London’s
book Giving Thanks. Mean Jean the Recess
Queen representing the word of the month “Fairness”,
is taken from Alexis O’Neil & Laura Huliska-Beith’s
book, The Recess Queen.
Tappan Zee Elementary Students Work to Solve 21st Century
Concepts
TZE students in teacher Clair Brady’s 3rd grade classes have
been studying problem solving the 21st century way. Every
Friday the class studies robotics. The students have been
working in groups to build robots from scratch following a
manual written only in diagrams. Each group of students have
to work together as a group to solve any problems that arise
in completing the task. They are monitored by their teacher
who does not provide any answers but simply makes sure they
are working together in figuring out their task. Each group
must develop a schedule and assign roles so that every
person is accountable. This, they must determine on their
own through effective communication. In the end? Sharpened
problem solving skills, effective communication with
classmates ………and robots !!
TZE
Welcomes the “Snowflakes”
Jack Frost might
not have visited everyone yet this winter, but he has
arrived with certainty at Tappan Zee Elementary School.
Children in Mrs. Eileen Corry-Griffith's 2nd grade class,
along with the assistance of their Foster Grandma Marie,
created large paper snowflakes and decorated the halls and
windows of the school. The craft/activity provides students
with both an excellent fine-motor skill exercise as well as
a lovely finished product for all to enjoy.
“The
Snow Queen”
On Thursday, November 17th, the 3rd graders were
treated to a performance of “The Snow Queen” by the
Vagabond Players. Please see photos of the assembly
below.
