More Middle School Academic Awards to Celebrate!

]The following students earned recognition for excellence on the American Mathematics Competitions' 8th grade contest: Stephanie (6th grade), Annika (7th grade), Matthew (5th grade), Joey (8th grade), Dylan (5th grade), David (8th grade), Allen (5th grade), Sang Uk (8th grade), Austin (5th grade), Justin (8th grade), William (7th grade).  David was in the top 1% nationally.  These students will take the 10th grade contest in the coming weeks.

Spelling Bee Champions:  Emily (school champion) and Sang Uk (runner-up) receive their awards

The following 8th grade students received recognition for their performance on the National Etymology Exam (a high school contest): Bronze medalists: Peter, Nick. Caroline.  Silver medal: Casey, Lauren, Justin, Sang Uk.

Congratulations to you all!

HEADlines: Six Students Win Art Awards

HEADlines: Six Students Win Art Awards: This year, six EMS students placed in the regional Scholastic Gold Key Award group. They will move on to the national adjudication. Those winners will be announced in April. The works will be on display at the Montclair Art Museum from February 11 – Please follow the link above to view the work. Congratulations to all!

Boys' Basketball Off To A Good Start

The Boys' Basketball team is comprised of 26 players ranging from 6th - 8th grade. They have started the year off very well with victories over Alpine, Tuxedo Park, Saddle River and Collegiate. The players have been coming every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for practice, and have worked very hard to improve their skills.

Newcomers Willy DelRio, Galen Raab, and Alon Berkowitz have impressed everyone with their hustle, determination  and knowledge of the game. Veterans Richard Nelson, Joey DeRose, Jeffrey Richardson, Zane Diaz, and Greg Litt have done whatever it takes to help the team.

Jon Candler leads the team in rebounding and has inspired everyone with his hustle. Sal Buzzerio is the team's lead scorer and has displayed impressive offensive talent. Three-year-starter Carter Hirschhorn has taken his game to a new level and has always set a positive tone for the entire team. The Eagles have a few home games remaining, so if you want to watch exciting middle school basketball, please come and support the team!

~Coach Love

EMS International Festival 2012

A few images from today's very special event.  Food and fun for all.

(Photos: Evan Brown)

Little School Science: What's Happening in Mrs. Milne's Class

Electricity! It’s SHOCKING!  Third grade students are currently exploring static electricity with a Van de Graaf generator as part of their magnet and electricity study.

Birds and Binoculars!  Fourth grade students are practicing the proper use of binoculars as they search for birds on our beautiful campus.

Acids and bases!  The second graders are learning about chemical reactions using acids, bases and test tubes! It’s remarkable!

As well, the second-grade chemistry students are exploring the nature of polymers (gak and slime). It’s messy! It’s fun! It’s captivating!

Looking Forward to the International Festival!

Chilton House Kindergartners have been busy getting ready for the International Festival through classroom and library activities!  In Ms. Lowell and Ms.Su's classroom, parent volunteers read the book Children From Around the World, and helped the class make beautiful masks representing different cultures. In the library, Mrs. Goldstein read the book Peace, by Karen Katz, to discuss the concept of peace and expose children to the word ‘peace’ in different languages. Students then cut and assembled their own pre-made books to take home.  Through this activity, they gained the opportunity to practice seeing, saying and writing the word 'peace' in many languages. ~Mrs. Goldstein

Book making....

Mask making...

Not to be outdone, Mr. Cooper and the many wonderful volunteers also took some time out to make masks/decorations for Saturday's International Festival.

The children (and grown-ups) are very excited about the upcoming festival!  We hope to see everyone there this Saturday, January 28, from 12:00-2:00 in the Gymkhana!  

Block Building in Kindergarten

The children in C2 have been working hard on building tall, elaborate block structures in the unit block area. They are excited to see how high they can build while keeping the structure sound and steady.


There is a great deal of mathematical thinking going during the planning and building of structures. The children have to choose which blocks to use by exploring length, size, width, proportion, symmetry and patterns as they problem solve and try to balance one block on top of another to create their masterpieces.

International Festival Inspires Classroom Activity

EMS Chamber Virtuosi take "master class" then open for Joshua Bell

Prior to his Sunday (1/22) performance at the Bergen Performing Arts Center, American Grammy Award winning violinist Joshua Bell met with our violin students for a private workshop.  Then The Elisabeth Morrow School Chamber Virtuosi, conducted by Music teacher Amelia Gold, took the stage as the opening performance for Joshua Bell. (Photos: Annitsa Philliou)




Amelia Gold: “It was an unbelievable experience. We played with Joshua Bell and it changed the lives of our students.  Having an opportunity to meet, play with and talk to an artist of his magnitude is incredible. He walked in to our rehearsal and said, 'you sound amazing!' His artistry is so inspiring and the experience of sharing the stage with Joshua Bell is one that will stay with our students forever.”

Jungle Book a Big Hit!

New Milestones for Daryl Johns

Jazz Bassist Daryl Johns (EMS '10) has been selected to participate in the prestigious Grammy Camp–Jazz Session Program. As well, the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz has selected Daryl as a member of its 2012 National High School All-Star Jazz Sextet.  Congratulations, Daryl.

Photo: provided by D. Keefe

C5...A Winter Wonderland

Though there has not been much snow outdoors, there has been plenty of it inside Chilton House in Kindergarten. The students in C5 have been celebrating the winter season with a variety of activities including exploring the concept of symmetry by creating snowflakes and mittens, building a ski and sledding slope with hollow blocks, and playing with "snow" at the sensory table. In Spanish they learned vocabulary for winter clothing. This interdisciplinary unit provided the children with the opportunity to create, develop vocabulary in math and language all while having fun. Now all we need is a real life snow fall to make it perfect!

EMS Fifth Grader, Henry Maw, Creates iPhone App -- for a Good Cause

Henry Maw, currently a 5^th grader at EMS, is no ordinary 10 year old boy from Bergen County, New Jersey.  First, he had the idea for a new game app and had the support to make his idea a reality. Second, he made the decision to donate 20% of all proceeds from the sale of this app to charity. Third, he is embarking on a crusade with his family to encourage other App developers to positively impact, or give a portion of their sales to, social, charitable and philanthropic organizations.

Born from an idea that Henry doodled on the back of a piece of paper and with the help of his family, he was able to work with a team of professionals to bring his new app – MonkeyBerry - to life. Available on the iTunes App store, the game provides fun and entertainment for people of all ages with an adventure through Berry Island where they embark on challenges including falling coconuts and molten lava balls. A sneak peak of the app can be seen at www.henrymaw.com.

The game was not enough.  Coming from a family actively involved in social causes, he was motivated by a sense of doing the right thing.  Henry felt compelled to donate a portion of the revenues earned on the sale of his app to charity supporting organizations that include Table to Table, a food rescue program for the hungry in Northern New Jersey and the ASYV, a village in Rwanda, Africa that helps vulnerable orphans, including those impacted by the 1994 genocide. 

And now he and his family have developed a website called Apps For Impact at http://www.appsforimpact.com/ to promote App developers and sellers who have a social impact or donate a portion of their sales or profits to social and philanthropic causes.

For more information, click here.

Congratulations!

Fifth-grader Henry Maw developed his own smartphone game app.  Follow this link to view his interview on Fox Business News.  You can also read how Henry started the project here.

4th Grade MLK Presentation

During yesterday's Little School assembly, Mrs. Lustberg's fourth graders gave a presentation celebrating the life and achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  They concluded the assembly by reciting his famed "I Have A Dream" speech.

 

Lions, Tigers and Bears, OH MY!

Self Portraits in Chilton House

Returning from Winter Break, the students in Ms. Leff's and Ms. McConville's group made life-size self portraits.  While wonderful as art pieces, this was also part of their study of comparisons: similarities and differences.  Students are alike in many ways and different in many ways!  These paintings deserve to be seen in the original.

Spelling Bee

19 students in grades 4 - 8 participated in the EMS Spelling Bee. This "Challenge by Choice" activity took place after school on Friday, January 6, in the Russell Berrie Music Room. Eighth grader, Sang Uk Park, finished in second place. The first place winner was sixth grader, Emily Yu. She will participate in the semi-finals of the North Jersey Spelling Bee to be held at Bergen Community College in March.  The final winner of the North Jersey Bee will progress to the National Spelling Bee that is held annually in Washington, DC.

Reading Group Reads "LIttle Pear"

Miss Evans' reading group recently read Little Pear by Eleanor Frances Lattimore.  This story is about a young boy who lives in a small village in China.  The children built their background knowledge about China by reading information books, visiting Qwiki (a website that offers an informative slide show with a voice-over), and examining world maps.  After reading the story, the students enjoyed learning how to use chopsticks while eating some of Little Pear's favorite foods.