Dear Saint Ann School Families, Effective April 25, 2019, the parking lot walkway to the School from the FDC will be closed for approximately 3 to 4 weeks as construction on the covered walkway takes place. Pedestrian traffic will use the sidewalk next to the FDC entrance to the Lawrence Avenue sidewalk and then cross Rossa Avenue via the crosswalk to the school. There may be some minimal intermittent disruption to parking areas during the construction process. Please be careful in the area and comply with signage and safety directions. It is especially important that children are closely monitored around the construction area. We look forward to the project's successful completion and we appreciate your patience and cooperation!
Saint Ann School garden is in bloom! Some of the irises planted last year have blossomed and the garden underwent some Spring cleaning and it's ready for some new seeds to be planted in May. Stay tuned for our next update!
Another successful "Trout in the Classroom" (TIC NJ) experience for Saint Ann School students has come to an end. TIC NJ is made possible by a partnership between the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife and Trout Unlimited. SAS received 516 rainbow trout eyed eggs on October 10, 2018, and students in grades 5-8 watched the progression of trout from eyed eggs to alevins, to fingerlings. Throughout the school year, students participated in various maintenance tasks to keep our trout happy and healthy. 493 eyed eggs were healthy and 159 rainbow trout survived. On April 12, 2019, 7th graders took the trip to Allaire State Park to release the 159 Rainbow Trout fingerlings in Mingamahone Brook. TIC NJ at SAS is run by science teacher Mrs. Meredith Daniel. Equipment & supplies are funded by SAS PTA. Thank you to Mrs. Daniel for bringing this science program to SAS, to our students for the loving care, and to our PTA members for their constant support!
6th & 7th grades in Mrs. Daniel's Science class presented their SPRK Ball projects. 7th graders designed a carrier that would go over the SPRK Ball to transport band-aids and paper towels. They were given a scaled-down version of the maze and had to calculate the distances the carrier would travel and program them into the SPRK Ball software. While they could practice the route in the classroom, they only had one chance of presenting with the actual course on Presentation Day. This is to simulate situations in science, such as how astronauts prepare for sending spacecraft into outer space: they can prepare based on previous information, but they won't know for sure how it will work until it runs. 6th graders created a 2D maze on graph paper, scaled it up to a larger sheet of bulletin board paper and drew it, turned their 2D maze into a 3D maze on Makers Empire, and coded their SPRK Balls to travel the maze. Every move of the SPRK Ball was programmed ahead of time and on presentation day both classes only had the chance to test their codes for accuracy.
Students finished up the second round of our 3D Printing Club! They designed their own board games by coming up with a theme, making rules, designing game board pieces (which were 3D printed), and choosing a board design (which was laser printed). They also created a 3D design to be used to make a mold for things like chocolate.
On April 12, our 7th graders helped put our rainbow trout into portable aerating tanks so they could release them into Mingamahone Brook in Allaire State Park. We counted 159 trout! See link for pictures.
Saint Ann School students, faculty, & staff would like to thank Mrs. Ortiz for a wonderful Library Week, filled with fun events, great guests, and educational information. We are blessed to have such a dedicated librarian who contributes to educate and care for our students.
Tuesday, April 16 is National Voice Day. The theme for this year's Voice Day is "Be Kind With Your Voice" and Mrs. Moya's students are learning all about how to prevent damage to their voice and vocal cords. As one of the projects Mr. Moya assigned, 5th-grade students, researched things to avoid in order to keep your voice healthy and created posters, which are displayed outside their classrooms. For more information about World Voice Day, you can visit http://world-voice-day.org/
7th graders released our rainbow trout last Friday in Mingamahone Brook at Allaire State Park! St Ann School received the "eyed eggs" back in October, and students have watched them grow into 3-inch long fingerlings. Each student released at least one trout, and overall a total of 159 trout were released! Success! The "Trout in the Classroom" program is run by the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife with Trout Unlimited. It's a science-based program that teaches children about the importance of coldwater conservation via a hands-on approach to learning. Trout eggs for this program are provided by the Pequest Trout Hatchery.
Prek 4 is learning all about the letter N! Mrs. Petura took her class on a Nature Walk and together they observed how birds build their Nests. After collecting the materials needed to build their own nests they gave it a try! Will their nests hold up? Can they hold an egg without falling apart? The answer is YES!
6th-grade students are debating the hot topic in ancient Greece.... which city-state is more superior: Athens or Sparta? In this Social Studies cross-curricular lesson, students must research a specific topic, whether education or economics and craft a persuasive argument on how their topic relates to the overall superiority of either city-state. Student teams, win points for their team based on the legitimate arguments they present. Teams lose points based on behavior and if legitimate arguments have a rebuttal brought against them by the opposing team. Let the debate begin and may the best city-state (according to 6th-grade) win!
Members of the Saint Ann School Drama Club showcased their talent this past weekend in a wonderful opening performance of the musical "The Music Man". Students stepped on stage and delivered a great show to families and friends who crowded the school gymnasium Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. If you didn't get a chance to see the show, come out next Friday and Saturday for the closing performance. It's not to be missed and you won't be disappointed! Kudos to all our thespians!
Meet our outstanding Mrs. O'Shea! Virginia O'Shea joined Saint Ann School last September and has been working as learning assistant in Mrs. Bickham's Kindergarten class. Although this is her first academic year teaching at Saint Ann School, she has been part of our family for a while as the parent of one of our students. Bringing her teaching skills and her parent perspective to the classroom every day, she is perfect for helping our kindergarteners grow in faith, knowledge, and love. We are proud and lucky to count her as part of our school community!