MONTGOMERY C. SMITH INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL
Telephone: 518.828.4658
NEWS ARCHIVE
Summer Reading
Dear Parents/Guardians,
All M.C. Smith Intermediate School students (grades three, four, five, and six) are encouraged to complete a reading assignment over the summer.
The Hudson Children’s Book Festival is pleased to provide each student with an age-appropriate book to read. Each child will also receive a small packet of work to go along with their required reading. You may assist your child with the reading and completion of the assignment. What a great way for you to encourage reading over the summer!
We are also sending home a reading record with each student. We challenge our students to enjoy summer reading and complete the reading logs. Please keep in mind that studies show that children who continue to read during the summer perform better in school in the fall.
When school resumes in September, your child is asked to bring their reading assignment to the teacher for their new grade. Your family may keep the book as our gift. Also, each child returning a signed reading record that meets our challenge of 6 books for third and fourth graders and 4 chapter books for fifth and sixth graders, will receive another free book compliments of the Hudson Children’s Book Festival!
We wish you and your family a safe and happy summer.
Sincerely,
Mark Brenneman, Principal Tanya Green, Reading Specialist
Lisa Dolan, Literacy Coach Allison Blake, Reading Specialist
The B-Bomb Show Visits HIS
On Thursday, December 9th, members of the New York State Theatre Institute performed "The B-Bomb Show" at grade level assemblies. The B-Bomb Show is a new, unique theatrical event that takes on bullying through the power of participatory storytelling and drama. Students experienced characters and situations that draw out their own reactions and insights into the problem of bullying.
The show was developed by John McGuire, who explains, “this project builds on our relationships with the schools -- it’s something they’ve been talking to us about and now we have a way to address it on the students’ level in their environment. We are hoping to shine a spotlight on the issue to examine how and why bullying happens, and find a way to deal with it as human beings. Theatre has the power to engage the emotions which research shows helps learning and retention. And learning to process emotions effectively is, of course, important to education in its own right.”
Students Showcase Volcano Research
Students in Mrs. Cousens and Mrs. Semanick’s class are studying volcanoes in science. Some students elected to construct a three dimensional cut-away model of a volcano to accompany their research reports on cinder cone, composite, or shield volcanoes.
America the Melting Pot
Link to video: America the Melting Pot.
In Third grade Mr. Acevedo’s class was treated to a three session dance workshop developed by Leah Cox (education director of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company of New York City).
Ms Cox’s dance program tied directly into the children’s Social Studies curriculum. When the workshop was complete, Mr. Acevedo integrated the other subject areas into the creation of the ten minute documentary, “America the Melting Pot”. The documentary was written, developed and staged by the students using the choreography and vocabulary they learned in the workshop. The children, who are now in fourth grade, will meet again with Ms Cox for another workshop in the spring.
(* Bill T. Jones is a two time Tony Award winning Broadway choreographer.)
“Tradition continues at the Family Math Night”
Family Math Night is a night designed to inspire parents and their children to come together and talk about math. Several games were placed at stations by Mrs. Murphy and Mr. Landry showing dozens of families how they can use math at home. The games are designed to sharpen the student’s skills while getting parents involved at the same time. To see pictures of the Family Math Night, please visit Mrs. Murphy’s webpage.
Third graders learn about animals in the Wetlands
Chelsea Benson, the Education Program Coordinator from Mud Creek Environmental Learning Center, taught the third graders at Montgomery C. Smith Intermediate School. She started her lesson with a grab bag themed game which really “grabbed” their attention as she introduced her topic of Wetlands. Miss Chelsea had many visuals and hands-on
activities for the students to learn about animal adaptations and habitats. Her instruction was divided into whole class instruction and small group presentations. This enriching experience directly ties into the third grade curriculum of animals, their habitats, adaptations, and life cycles.
Letter from Mark Brenneman and Antonio Abitabile
Dear Parents and Guardians,
School has begun and we are very excited to have students back in our building. The teachers have been working hard to prepare themselves for an exciting new school year. The beginning of school has been outstanding and our new students seem to be acclimating well to the school. There are a few changes this year that we wanted to make you aware of:
- We have moved to trimesters this school year. This means that the school year is broken down to thirds not quarters. Specials will rotate by trimester where students have each special for thirteen weeks. Students in grades three through five will have Art, Music and Computers. Students in sixth grade will have Art, Music and Family Consumer Science. Report cards will also be distributed by trimester. There will be interim reports every seven weeks and report cards will be every thirteen weeks.
Any changes to student pick-up must be received in the main office by two o’clock. We cannot make changes to student pick-up arrangements after this point. If you are planning to pick your child up early please call the main office and let us know so we can have your student waiting in the main office.
We are extremely excited about all of these things occurring at the Intermediate School and across the district. We hope to see you at each of these events. Please feel free to contact the school at any point to speak with Mr. Abitabile or myself.
Sincerely,
Mark Brenneman, Principal and
Antonio Abitabile, Associate Principal
Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports
Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports has kicked off for the year at the Intermediate School. Students have received Hawk Hoorays for being safe, responsible, and respectful at school. These were placed in a drawing to win an Ipod. The lucky winner was 5th grader Shamari Forbes who is pictured here with Antonio Abitabile, Associate Principal. Students will continue to earn tickets to win fabulous rewards throughout the year for their outstanding behavior.
Third graders visit Love Apple Farm
The Columbia County Community Health Care Consortium Inc., Kids in Motion, with Kari Rieser as Program Coordinator, generously supported the third graders field trip to Love Apple farm. Coordinated by the District’s Food Service Manager, Cathy Drumm, and Grade Level Chair, Marlene Parmentier, the trip taught students about agriculture in New York State during Harvest Week. Students were able to feed animals at the petting zoo, pick apples in the orchard, and enjoy delicious apple cider and cider donuts. Classroom activities were provided by Mrs. Drumm for teachers to use before and after the trip. The fresh air experience ties into the third grade curriculum of plants and life cycles and animals and habitats. Teachers also used the field trip to help with the discussion of communities.
MCIS Students Make Donation
Students in Mrs. Ostrander’s Home and Careers classes raised money as part of their Community Service project. The two classes baked the brownies using the measuring skills they learned. Then they packaged them and sold them in the community. They raised $100.00 and donated it to Animalkind Inc. of Hudson, a rescue animal shelter.
