Second grade musicians have been working on identifying, arranging, reading, and performing rhythm patterns with eighth notes, quarter notes, and quarter rests.  They can successfully recognize, read, and perform these rhythms in the many songs we’ve sung in class over the past year: Bee, Bee Bumblebee; Rain, Rain, Go Away; Naughty Kitty Cat; Hot Cross Buns; Bounce High, Bounce Low; and Snail, Snail.  They have also been developing the ability to accompany songs and poems on pitched percussion instruments with rhythmic ostinato.  Here are some examples of their rhythm patterns.

                

Lastly, they have been preparing holiday and winter selections for their upcoming holiday concert on Friday, December 19.  Here is the link for the holiday concert information: http://www.mendhamboro.org/Page/3124

Phys Ed: WOW! its getting cold, what can you do outside when its cold? a nice brisk walk, or perhaps a ride on your bike, shooting around in your driveway, or even kicking a ball in the back yard with mom,dad, or even a friend.  It is important to keep exercised.  Inside the gym, the hilltop boys and girls are keeping exercised.  They just finished playing some fun Halloween games which focused on their eye-hand coordination, dodging, aiming and reinforcing cooperation  and sportsmanship.  I am looking forward to bringing Dance their way in November.  With technology and the big screen in the gym, the children will be doing some Wii  Just Dance moves.  

Kindergarten, First and Second grade students are having fun learning about their body parts in Spanish class! Cabeza, Hombros, Rodillas y Pies (Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes), putting together Sr. Papa (Mr. Potato Head) and Simon Dice (Simon Says) are just some of the activities we have done in class recently to practice body parts. Challenge your child to tell you a body part to touch (Toca…)! Don’t forget to visit the Spanish website and practice 

Quizlet together at home: http://quizlet.com/_ygr7c

Finally, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, what is your child thankful for? Ask them to share this with you in Spanish, as we did an activity with this in class as well! Doy gracias por… (I am thankful for)

iFeliz Dia de Accion de Gracias!

3rd Graders have been listening to The Get Rich Quick Club by Dan Gutman
We, the members of the Get Rich Quick Club, in order to form a more perfect summer, vow that we will figure out a way to make a million dollarsby September. We agree that neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night will prevent us from achieving our stated goal, till death do us part.  Gina Tumolo and her Get Rich Quick Club are determined to make their summer pay off. They're going to make a pact and hatch a scheme, and their small-town life will never be the same again.

Mrs. LeMay has been "book-talking" and "book-trailering" books by the bushel!  This excites readers to experience a diverse range of literature.  

In technology class students recently reviewed graphing using Microsoft Excel.
Students gathered data from their classmates, entered data into a spreadsheets, created a graph, and inserted legends, titles and artwork.  We will be heading back to keyboard practice next week, as well as an introduction to using the Online Public Access Catalog system to locate literary resources. 

November is a very short school month, and before we know it, it’s going to be December!  All of our Hilltop students have been busy making their holiday program props ready for the holiday concert in December.  It’s been fun but surreal to think about and getting ready for the winter holidays already.  

Along with the holiday program props, our fourth grade artists have started a new unit:  Art of the Face.  In this unit, they will be learning about different styles of art that pertains to a human face, and try to create and experiment with three particular styles:  realistic, abstract, and symbolic.  They have started with a history of portraiture that discussed few essential questions:  one, what makes Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci so famou, and two, how is Mona Lisa different from an abstract portrait, such Dora Maar by Pablo Picasso?  Then, they were given a handheld mirror to observe their own image and to draw a realistic self- portrait.  The lesson has focused on learning  about facial proportions and drawing basic shapes of the facial features.  

From the Gym: 

October has begun, the fall temperatures have arrived.  Its a great time to get out and ride a bike, or even take a walk as a family and look at all the colored leaves on the trees

Gym News:   The 2nd and 3rd graders scored many goals as they worked on their kicking skills in class.  All children were given an opportunity to be a goalie if they choose to.  Challenges were given to those who wanted it, and a cone was placed farther away to see if they could still score.    

In this month the children will be focusing on the mile run for 3rd grade and a 1/2 mile run for 2nd. Sit ups for 1 minute will also be scored for each student.  If your child wakes up one morning and says their stomach hurts, ask them if they did sit up in gym class, and ask them if it is their stomach muscles that hurt.  For some they will feel it when they get out of bed.  

Halloween is just around the corner.  There will be some fun activities planned in the gym for the students to do.  

Enjoy October.

From the Music Room: 

Third grade musicians have been learning what melody, unison, ostinato, and harmony mean.  Ask them if they can describe each vocabulary word.  Hints: 1) If they sing Ickle Ockle from music class, they are singing a melody.  2) If they sing Ickle Ockle with a group of people, they are singing in unison.  3) If they sing Swimming in the Sea, they are singing an ostinato. If they sing Ickle Ockle while others sing Swimming in the Sea, they are singing in harmony.  

They have also learned about Johann Sebastian Bach and listened to an organist play Bach’s famous Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV 565 ( Toccata and Fugue in D Minor video ) on the organ. This is a great piece for Halloween!  It is powerful and mysterious!  

Other classical pieces that evoke the spirit of Halloween are:

1. Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King
2. Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5 n G Minor
3. Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain
4. Camille-Saens’ Dance Macabre

So if you decorate your house for Halloween and want some spooky tunes to broadcast as trick or treaters come by, try these classical pieces on for size.  For more, see Classical Music for Halloween and Classical Music for Halloween 2.

From the Spanish Room: 

First graders have been learning and reviewing their colors in Spanish as they talk about “manzanas,” or apples! This was a fun unit for them in their own classrooms, and they enjoyed drawing about them & sharing which kind they liked or disliked. Students enjoyed playing “Adonde esta la manzana?/Where is the apple?” in which they had to find who had the apple, asking and responding only in Spanish… as well as using their manners of course (por favor- please, gracias- thank you)!

We always start off class with our weekly routines in which students greet a friend in Spanish, say the date and then vote on how the class is feeling and the weather that day. Can your child tell you how they are feeling in Spanish? Can they ask you how you are feeling? (¿Cómo estás?) We also do fun movement and stretching activities to count from 1-15.

Please be sure to check the Hilltop Spanish website for information on what we are doing in class and how you can practice at home! Together, you can go onto “Quizlet” and practice topics such as colors, numbers and feelings through flashcards and games… and listen to a native Spanish speaker say each word! Since first graders only come to Spanish class once a week, please encourage your child to practice at home as well. Thank you for your support!

From the Library Media Center: 

In Kindergarten and 1st grade we have been discussing and reviewing genre, author, illustrator, publisher, setting, character, and theme.  In 3rd and 4th grades we are reading the hilarious novel, The Get Rich Quick Club by Dan Gutman. 

3rd and 4th grade students have begun their keyboarding practice! 
We have reviewed proper body positioning, hand placement and the responsibility of each finger!  Students have been the Alemna Typing Method and Dance Mat Typing.  In 2nd and 3rd grade I recently introduced/reviewed Microsoft Excel. Students collected "Favorite Halloween Candy" and "Are Bats Cute or Creepy?" data from their classmates, entered their data in a spreadsheet, inserted charts and graphs, and customized the pats and pieces of their graphs.





From the Art Room: 

Kindergarteners have been gradually introduced to using tools and materials in the artroom.  

For one, they have been introduced to painting.  Although some students have painting experience at home, painting in the art room requires a great deal of organization.  The routines for distribution and cleanup of materials have to be established so that painting can  eventually become an independent activity with shared responsibility.  The students have been fantastic and so quick to learn how to paint properly in the art room.  For another, kindergarteners have been cutting and pasting.  Using the scissors and glue sticks all come with rules for safety in the art room.  And the students have been very respectful in following the safety rules.  

We have been talking and practicing some important concepts in art, such as overlapping to create the illusion of space and using and recognizing geometric and organic shapes around us.  Other learning objectives have been using facial expressions to show feelings and learning to mix and blend two colors go produce a third color.  So when they bring home their paintings of pumpkins and the collages of bats, please encourage them to talk about the process and how they created those artworks.  We are going to have a wonderful year of art!

From the Gym: 
2nd Graders are off and running.  We started off the year by getting to know each other in the class by playing some movement games. The focus for the month is on eye –foot coordination.  In order to improve and advance these skills, the children work on a unit called “SOCCER”.  The children can relate to the sport and not even realize what actual skills they are improving on. The smiles and laughter in the gym or out on the Hilltop field is one of my goals for them. I will be getting the children conditioned by starting off with a little jog either in the gym or out on the Hilltop field.  This will be the start to an ongoing jog that they will take every time they enter the gym.  I am hoping that this little jog will inspire them to run the fun run at the Harvest Hustle on Sept. 27.

From the Art Room: 

Welcome back!  I hope you all had a wond-ART-ful summer!

To start off the new school year with a bang, all students have begun a big project that is going to be a part of the HSA fundraiser.  Our students are working hard to create a nice artwork that can be kept for many years.  Parents – look out for the HSA notice in a month or so to order your child’s artwork to be printed!   

Our first graders will be learning about different types of pictures this school year:  portrait, still life, landscape, and folk art, to name a few.  This year we started out with learning about what “scene”(a picture of a place that tells a story) is and how to show it visually.  The first graders thought about a fun moment they had in the summer, then they drew what that “scene” looks like. Their pictures are truly something to be seen!

From the Music Room: 

Hilltop fourth graders will be taking up their recorders again to begin a year-long journey inRecorder Karate, a recorder curriculum by Barb Philipak.  I have made adaptations for songs to suit our students’ skill levels and needs. To see what we plan to do, click on this link:  http://www.mendhamboro.org/Page/530

This program is designed to hone students’ recorder skills and music notation skills in a year-long format.  Most fourth graders have their recorders at school and are ready to begin.  If your child took his/her recorder home for the summer and needs to bring it back, please send it in ASAP.  If you cannot locate the recorder, let me know via e-mailkanefke@mendhamboroschools.org.

Hilltop fourth graders who elected to take a band or orchestra instrument will begin lessons on their instruments during the week of 9/22/14.  We have 12 band & orchestra groups!  Mrs. Kanefke will teach lessons to groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,and 6: all saxophone groups and violin, viola, and cello groups. Mr. Alzaher will teach lessons to groups 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12: flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, baritone, and french horn.  For the lesson schedule, click on this link:http://www.mendhamboro.org/Page/2645

Lastly, the fourth graders took a music survey to let me know what their favorite parts of music are, what their favorite instruments are in the music room, what instruments they would like to use more, and what their favorite songs are.  I have begun to use their favorite songs, if school appropriate, during choice time. Ask your child about the popular songs Rude and Human on the keyboard or xylophone.  

From the Spanish Room: 

Third graders are having a “fabuloso” time so far in Spanish class! They jumped right back into español, remembering how to tell their name, how they are feeling and share their interests with their classmates. Challenge your child to do the same with you! Be on the lookout for their “Todo Sobre Mí/All About Me” pennants that will be hanging up in the hallways at school. We are working really hard on speaking only in Spanish during class … both during the lesson and when a student needs something, such as a pencil or to use the bathroom. Our first unit this year in third grade will be “Yo Soy Especial/I Am Special,” in which students will introduce and describe themselves in Spanish. They will be expected to ask and respond to simple questions about themselves, such as what they are like and what they look like. Finally, this year students can review and practice topics we are learning about in class using the web based tool Quizlet! Be sure to check the Spanish website under “Preparing for PARCC” where your child can learn, practice, self-assess and play games to review what we are doing in class!  

From the Library Media Center: 

Kindergarteners have been singing their way through library class!  We are learning about realistic fiction, fantasy fiction, nonfiction, authors, illustrators and more!  We have learned about the "No, No, Never, Nevers" of  library book care and how to select a book that is just right!  We read Off to School Baby Duck, Born to Read, and are now having fun listening to the Pete the Cat stories. Ask your kindergartener to sing you our new song, Hi Ho Librario.  To see what we are reading in the library, check out our digital bookshelf at http://www.mendhamboro.org/Page/2594 

The Hilltop Library and Technology students extend a huge thank you to the Mendham Borough HSA for our new Smart TV.  We are all very excited to use this new technology to further enrich our learning experiences!