4.30.2013

Bye Bye Butterflies

For the past three weeks kindergartners have observed caterpillars develop into beautiful butterflies. Today the children said farewell and released them into their garden.

Letter from Justice Sotomayor

When you get a letter from a Supreme Court Justice, it's usually worth sharing...

4.29.2013

First and Fourth Grade Buddy Time

It was an enjoyable afternoon as the first and fourth Grade had buddy time during class today.  They interviewed each other and wrote down a list of each other's likes, then they made each other friendship bracelets by stringing beads.









A Visit from NYU's Mass Transit

It was great to see Michael Hajjar, EMS class of 2007, recently on campus with his a cappella group, Mass Transit, the only all male group at NYU.  Michael is pictured at center with Brittany Sklar, Ms. Gold and Ms. White.  Check out the quick clip of Mass Transit singing along with the EMS Middle School students below. Fun, Right?!




Treasure Hunt with 6th Grade Buddies

Our Prekindergarten students took a walk to Morrow House to visit their sixth grade buddies.  They all participated in a treasure hunt that gave them a tour of Middle School and led to a surprise of yummy cupcakes at the end.










Congratulations 4th Graders!!


Each year, our fourth graders select a cause to which they donate their proceeds from their talent show.  This year, the class selected the Hope For Ariang Foundation.  You may recall, the Director of Hope for Ariang, Gabriel Bol Deng visited Elisabeth Morrow in November of 2012.  Upon his return visit to Elisabeth Morrow, our fourth graders were proud to present Mr. Bol Deng a check in the amount of $1165.  Proceeds go toward assisting Hope for Ariang's missionproviding South Sudanese with inclusive access to education, opportunities, and resources, with a special focus on women and girls.  Along with the donation, Mr. Bol Deng will also be taking back a number of letters from our fourth graders--wishing the students well, telling them about our school, and hoping to hear back from the Ariang students.  

Spring Fling Photos at BERGEN.COM

Click this link.

4.26.2013

C4 Went Fishing

Appropriate post for a Friday afternoon, right?  Even if they were taken yesterday :).  
Looks like fun and engaging...a simple exercise to build dexterity and motor control.  Thanks for the pictures Mrs. Aslam.



4.25.2013

Musical Explorers....

Last week, the Second Graders travelled in to New York City to participate in the Musical Explorers concert at Carnegie Hall.  After studying songs and rhythms from China, India and Broadway, the students had the opportunity to sing and dance with musicians representing each style.  We were lucky enough to get seats in the front row, and our own Olivia Ma was selected to go on-stage to perform the dance motions to "Mo Li Hua", a traditional Chinese folk song with world-famous opera singer Fang Tao.  Unfortunately, photos of the performance were not permitted.






Color Conducting


The kindergartners had the opportunity to take a leadership role in their music classes this week.  The class was divided into 4 different instrument groups, each represented by a colored scarf in the center of the room.  The students took turns conducting their class by stepping on the scarf of the instrument they wanted to hear.  It was great fun to watch the conductors decide how to lead their classmates.  Some carefully stepped from scarf to scarf, while others reveled in jumping, leaping and even rolling to create music.

This activity is a low-pressure way to allow the students to get used to standing up in front of a group and being a leader.  It also strengthens skills like observation, reaction time and following directions. 





4.23.2013

Garden of Dreams Talent Show


For the second year in a row, EMS third-grader Caroline Sakovits had the opportunity to perform on the Great Stage at Radio City Music Hall in the Garden of Dreams Talent Show on Tuesday, April 16th. After being a featured performer last year, she returned to the stage to sing with the Alumni Choir, and danced a solo in front of an audience of thousands at the star-studded event.
For more information on the Garden of Dreams, visit: www.gardenofdreamsfoundation.org

photo: Avi Gerver & Angela Cranford / MSG Photos

With Savion Glover - photo: B. Sakovits

With Damaris Lewis - photo: B. Sakovits

photo: Amanda Schwab / Startraks Photo

4.22.2013

More Earth Day photos from Chilton House

Here are a few more photos from our outdoor sing-a-long last Friday. Happy Earth Day!







EMS Students Raise Funds for Sandy Relief

Liel Sterling '13 and Ema Bandazian '14 are recognized by New Jersey's First Lady, Mary Pat Christie, for their fundraising initiatives on behalf of the Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund. See BERGEN.COM (photo: Linx Photography)

Happy Earth Day!

Our Chilton House outdoor sing-a-long was a big success!  With Mrs. Spaeth leading us in song, we celebrated Earth Day.  The few drops of rain did not stop the children from singing about the Earth, springtime, the imminent arrival of Mrs. Milne's chicks and we even had a song for the daffodils!  Hope you enjoy it too.






Morning Quliters

Here's one of the quilting crews from this morning - LS Art Room:




4.20.2013

Deadline!

Spring Fling Deadline is Monday, April 22.  Follow THIS LINK for details and online registration.

4.19.2013

Impressed with EMS students in DC

The eighth grade trip began a "grand touring day" today with a visit to the Capitol. Afterwards, during both day and night, they visited many of our most famous landmarks: 

 -  the White House (where we saw the Obama girls and Beau playing on the back lawn)
 -  the World War II Memorial 
 -  the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial 
 -  the Lincoln Memorial 
 -  the Korean War Veteran's Memorial
 -  the Jefferson Memorial 
 -  the FDR Memorial
 -  and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.

Throughout the trip, tour guides, security guards, and other tourists have commented to us about being moved by the students' knowledge, maturity, and conduct. Many mentioned that the students seemed older than eighth graders.  

At the Capitol, students dressed in "Assembly Day" dress - coat and tie for boys and skirts or dresses for girls - and a group got to chat with some congressmen from Florida and North Carolina before a vote. One of the congressmen, commenting on how impressed he was with the students' appearance, said, "I have to step up my [fashion] game!"

Here are the students reciting the Gettysburg Address on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a DC trip tradition.

Final Day in DC

Students visited Arlington National Cemetery on the final morning in DC. After visiting the Kennedy Gravesite (students saw a lot Kennedy since 2013 is the 50th anniversary of his assassination), the students viewed the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Eighth Grade Student Council members dedicated a wreath from Elisabeth Morrow at the tomb, shown here.

It was a poignant and fitting end to this culminating trip.

4.18.2013

The 1st Grade Patio is Open

Providing interactive learning options is a great way for children to start their school day.  For example, our first grade classes have several options to start the day, prepare themselves, and be ready to learn. For some, the wonders of living science are explored with hands-on experiences—observing, touching and interacting with animals that live in the elementary school's science lab. Other children choose to move their bodies through organized games and play that readies them to be able to focus in the classrooms. Yet another option is stopping by the Library to select a book or engage in conversation with Mrs. Rosoff (our Little School Librarian) about new reads.  Children need opportunities to make choices, organize their time, socialize, and play with one another at school.